1 Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who live in this world,
2 both low and high,
rich and poor alike:
3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
4 I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle:
In Old Testament Israel, 1 & 2 Chronicles indicate that certain people, such as Asaph or the Sons of Korah, served as influential worship leaders. Today, we don't have very much information about who these individuals were or what they accomplished, except for their important role in designing songs to help Israel follow God. Psalm 49, like several others, is attributed to the "Sons of Korah". From what you can see in verses 1-4, try to imagine what the writer(s) of this psalm must have been like.
What is the intended goal of this psalm?
5 Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me –
6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their great riches?
7 No one can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for them –
8 the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough –
9 so that they should live on for ever
and not see decay. NIV-UK
Verse 5 is the beginning of what the writer(s) considers to be a riddle: With that in mind, what perspective is the writer trying to get us to think about?
Why is there no need to fear evil days ahead?
Why can't a person buy redemption?
With verses 8-9 in mind, why do we need Jesus?
::::: APPLICATION CHALLENGE :::::
Take a moment to read and pray about Mark 10:35.
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