Tagged: Erased from the book of life

The Book of Life: Psalm 69:28

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 6: The Book of Life: Psalm 69:28.

Let them be erased from the book of life and not be recorded with the righteous (Ps. 69:28).

Psalm 69:28 is the first reference to the book of life by name in Scripture. It shares some themes with “the book you have written” and “my book” in Exodus 32:32-33. For example, in both passages, there is the threat of people being erased from the book. Yet, the messianic context of Psalm 69 offers insights into righteous suffering, divine justice, and a passionate defense of God’s reputation.

When it comes to Psalm 69, British evangelist and author G. Campbell Morgan once commented, “Perhaps in no psalm in the whole psalter is the sense of sorrow profounder or more intense than in this. The soul of the singer pours itself out in unrestrained abandonment to the overwhelming and terrible grief which consumes it.”

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The Book You Have Written (Part 3)

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 5: The Book You Have Written.

Two previous posts [read #1; read #2] explored the first Old Testament reference to the book of life:

So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Oh, these people have committed a grave sin; they have made a god of gold for themselves. Now if you would only forgive their sin. But if not, please erase me from the book you have written.” The LORD replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will erase from my book” (Exod. 32:31-33).

So, how might we summarize Moses’s conversation with God about “the book you have written”? 

First, at its most basic level, the book of life is a record of the living – that is, those who are alive at a particular time in history, as opposed to those who have died. In the context of Exodus 32, this means a record of living Israelites. But there’s more.

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Erased: The Book You Have Written (Part 2)

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 5: The Book You Have Written.

In the previous post, we were introduced to the first Old Testament reference to the book of life:

So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Oh, these people have committed a grave sin; they have made a god of gold for themselves. Now if you would only forgive their sin. But if not, please erase me from the book you have written.” The LORD replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will erase from my book” (Exod. 32:31-33).

In that post, we explored the context in which this referencee to the book of life is set. Now, we note that these verses tell us names may be erased from God’s book. 

Moses doesn’t offer to die instead of the people, but rather with them. God already has honored Moses with the offer of a nation of his own in place of Israel (Exod. 32:10), an offer Moses declines for the sake of God’s reputation among the heathen nations. Now, Moses seems to say that if God judges the Israelites with annihilation, the Lord might as well take the life of their leader as well. 

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The Book You Have Written (Part 1)

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 5: The Book You Have Written.

This post begins a series of posts on Section II of The Book of Life: The Book of Life in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament features at least seven references to a set of divine books in which people’s names are recorded, along with documentation of their works. We explore these passages on the basis of our discoveries in Section I: (1) the book of life is God’s registry of the redeemed; (2) it’s a real book, not a metaphor for God’s memory; (3) it is the Lamb’s book, purchased by his blood; and (4) names are entered at or after the time of creation, with the unrepentant wicked erased from the book of life when they pass a point of no return.

Now, we begin a series of posts that examine the first biblical reference to the book of life; Moses, speaking to Yahweh, calls it “the book you have written,” and the Lord responds by calling it “my book” (Exod. 32:31-33). Then, we delve into David’s song of lament, in which he petitions the Lord for relief, asking that the names of his tormenters be erased from the book of life (Ps. 69:28). The third reference explores David’s wonder at his own existence, exalting Yahweh for writing all the king’s days in his divine book (Ps. 139:16). 

Next, we see the immediate and prophetic implications of the book of life in the days of Isaiah (Isa. 4:3), followed by the book of life as Daniel shares his vision of the Ancient of Days, and as books are opened before the almighty judge (Dan. 7:9-10). The sixth Old Testament reference propels us to a time of future resurrection and judgment, in which those whose names are written in “the book” escape God’s wrath (Dan. 12:1-3). 

Finally in this section, we investigate the only reference in Scripture to a “book of remembrance” (Mal. 3:16). As a bonus, we’ll note the connection between the Israelite festival of Rosh Hashana and the book of life.

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