Word of God Communities

21 I will give thanks to you

because you have answered me

and have become my salvation.

22 The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.

23 This came from the Lord;

Path 1: New Testament and Psalms

In Psalm 118, God’s steadfast love anchors His people through thanksgiving and distress as the rejected stone becomes the cornerstone. Psalm 119 is an acrostic starting with each section corresponding to the letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  Psalm 120 is the first of the fifteen Songs of Ascents used for pilgrimages.

The Rejected Stone: Psalm 118 teaches that God builds His kingdom through what men despise. The cornerstone is not chosen by worldly strength, but by the Lord’s wisdom. This prepares us to see Christ’s humiliation and exaltation as the pattern for the church’s victory.

Path 2: Old Testament Pentateuch/History

In Joshua 1–3, Israel stands at the edge of the promised land as Joshua receives Moses’ charge: be strong, courageous, and obedient to God’s word. Rahab’s faith signals God’s mercy to the nations, and the Jordan crossing shows the Lord leading His people into…

This portion of Deuteronomy is designed to echo the creation account of Genesis 1-11. After defining the nations as He did in Gen 10-11, God chose Abraham in Genesis 12. Here in verse 8, He explains again how He made the nations and starting in verse 9 is speaking of His people as His special creation with language that would connect it to Genesis 1.

9 But the Lord’s portion is his people,

Jacob, his own inheritance.

10 He found him in a desolate land,

in a barren, howling wilderness;

4You fast with contention and strife

to strike viciously with your fist.

You cannot fast as you do today,

hoping to make your voice heard on high.

5Will the fast I choose be like this:

A day for a person to deny himself,

1Hallelujah!

Happy is the person who fears the Lord,

taking great delight in his commands.

7He will not fear bad news;

his heart is confident, trusting in the Lord.

8His heart is assured; he will not fear.

Path 1: New Testament and Psalms

In Psalms 112–114, we see the blessed life of the righteous set beside the Lord’s mighty deliverance. The God-fearing household is steady, generous, and unafraid because its heart is fixed on the Lord. Then praise widens to the nations as Israel remembers the exodus, when creation trembled before her redeeming King.

The Unafraid Righteous Household: Psalm 112 does not picture a trouble-free life, but a well-ordered one. The righteous still hear bad news, yet they are not ruled by panic because they fear the Lord more than circumstances. Their generosity, integrity, and confidence make the home a place of courage, refuge and blessing.

Path 2: Old Testament Pentateuch/History

In Deuteronomy 31–32, we see Moses prepare Israel for life after his death by placing the law, Joshua, and a covenant song before them. The Lord promises His presence, yet warns that Israel will turn aside.…

1: This is the declaration of the Lord

to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies your footstool.”

This is quoted directly at least 5 times in the New Testament. Peter quotes it to the crowds on Pentecost in Acts 2 explaining that Jesus was both Lord (kýrios – a person exercising absolute ownership rights) and Messiah.

19-20 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, love the Lord your God, obey him, and remain faithful to him.

8“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

and your ways are not my ways.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

9“For as heaven is higher than earth,

so my ways are higher than your ways,

and my thoughts than your thoughts.