Divided Allegiance

25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. 27 If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 29 And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. 31 He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. 32 And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. 33 He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings. – 1 Kings 12:25-33 ESV

Because of Solomon’s unfaithfulness, God divided his vast kingdom in half, placing ten of the 12 tribes under the rule of Jeroboam. This left Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, with only the tribe over which to reign, that of Judah. The sprawling domain he had inherited from his father had been greatly diminished, virtually overnight. This judgment against Solomon resulted in the division of one kingdom into two. In the north, the ten tribes would become the nation of Israel. In the south, the tribe of Judah, which was later joined by the tribe of Benjamin, would become known as the nation of Judah.

The 12 tribes of Israel were the descendants of the 12 sons of Jacob, whose name God later changed to Israel. These 12 tribes had been set apart by God and bestowed with a great privilege; they were to be His chosen people.

“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” – Deuteronomy 7:6 ESV

“And the LORD has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.” – Deuteronomy 26:18-19 ESV

God had miraculously rescued them out of their slavery in Egypt and had led them to the land of Canaan, which He had promised to give them as their inheritance. On their way to this promised land, God graciously provided them with His law, which provided them with detailed instructions regarding their behavior as His chosen people. They were His treasured possession and, as such, they were to reflect their unique status by conducting their lives according to His commands. This would ensure that they remained holy or set apart, living distinctively different lives from all the other nations of the world. And because God knew they would fail to keep all His laws, He provided them with the sacrificial system so they could receive cleansing from and forgiveness for their sins. But the one thing God required from them was faithfulness. The very first law He had given them to obey concerned their unwavering allegiance to Him.

“You shall have no other gods before me.” – Exodus 20:3 ESV

And because He knew the natural proclivity of man’s heart, God elaborated on His command by adding the following restrictions:

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me…” – Exodus 20:4-5 ESV

The book of Exodus goes on to record that the very day Moses came down from the top of Mount Sinai with the commandments of God in hand, he discovered the people of Israel had already violated the first command. While he had been on the mountaintop, the people had begun to have second thoughts about his leadership and the God he claimed to represent.

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” – Exodus 32:1 ESV

Aaron, the brother of Moses, obliged the people and ordered the construction of a golden calf, which the people promptly began to worship. When Moses later descended from Mount Sinai, he found the people dancing and singing before their newly crafted god.

And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire… – Exodus 32:19-20 ESV

However, this wasn't a new god; it was a reimagining of the one true God. When the golden calf was finished, the people said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 32:4 ESV). But this declaration by the people concerned Aaron.

When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” – Exodus 32:5 ESV

Aaron clarified that this idol was to be seen as a representation of Yahweh, the LORD. He had helped the people create a more approachable and personable Yahweh. Rather than the God of smoke, fire, thunder, and lightning that had appeared on Mount Sinai, they now had a version of Yahweh that reminded them of the false gods they worshiped back in Egypt. 

This proclivity for unfaithfulness did not stop in the wilderness of Sinai. Even after God graciously led them to the land of Canaan and assisted them in conquering and occupying the land He had promised to give them, the people continued their pattern of disobedience, which led to further spiritual adultery. Idolatry became a habit for the people of God. And it was Solomon’s own penchant for false gods that led to the division of his kingdom.

…when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD… – 1 Kings 11:4-6 ESV

But the infidelity of the people of Israel didn’t end with God’s judgment. As this chapter reveals, they seemed to have an endless capacity for unfaithfulness. As soon as Jeroboam was crowned king over the ten northern tribes, he made an executive decision that he hoped would guarantee his reign for years to come. Fearing that the people would feel obligated to worship Yahweh in Jerusalem, where Solomon’s temple was located, Jeroboam came up with a plan to erect his own holy cities with his own gods. This would eliminate the need for any Israelite to journey to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices. So, buoyed by the advice of his counselors, Jeroboam built these shrines in the cities of Dan and Bethel. Just like Aaron and Solomon, Jeroboam became personally responsible for leading the people into rebellion against God.

This caused Israel to sin; the people went to Bethel and Dan to worship the calves. – 1 Kings 12:20 ESV

And Jeroboam didn’t stop with the construction of these shrines to his man-made gods. He created his own religious system, complete with priests and a sacrificial system. He attempted to replicate all the details of the system established by Yahweh and, in doing so, provided the people with an alternative means of cleansing and forgiveness. But everything he did was in direct violation of Yahweh’s law.

It’s important to remember that God had given Jeroboam his kingdom and his kingship. He had done nothing to earn his new position or to establish his domain. It had all been handed to him by the sovereign will of God. And yet, fearing that he might lose what he had been given, Jeroboam chose to violate the will of God to protect and preserve his newfound power and prestige. Relying on faulty human reasoning, he determined that the best way to maintain the people’s allegiance was to provide them with their own gods to worship. And like docile sheep, the people willingly followed the lead of their new shepherd.

On the fifteenth day of the eighth month (a date he had arbitrarily chosen) Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had made in Bethel. He inaugurated a festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to offer sacrifices. – 1 Kings 12: 33 NLT

The many shrines that Solomon had built to honor Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians; Milcom, the god of the Ammonites; and Chemosh, the god of Moab, were still in the land of Judah. The spirit of idolatry had not ended with the split of the kingdom. Now, Jeroboam had ensured that the ten northern tribes had their own false gods to worship in place of the one true God. 

Centuries later, the apostle Paul described mankind’s tendency to try to replace the one true God with their own versions of Him. 

But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.  They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. – Romans 1:18-23 NLT

The Israelites, whom Yahweh had chosen to be His treasured possession, had every reason to know and understand the truth about God. He had redeemed them out of slavery in Egypt. He had led them across the wilderness to Mount Sinai, where He appeared to them in the form of a dark cloud complete with thunder and lightning. From Sinai’s peak, He had given them His law and the plans for the Tabernacle, which would serve as His heavenly dwelling place during their journey to Canaan. 

Yahweh assisted them in their conquest of the land of Canaan and fulfilled His promise to give them the land as their inheritance. But the people of Israel have proved to be far from faithful and prone to spiritual infidelity. Solomon had set the tone, and his successors would follow his lead. The rest of the Book of Kings chronicles the sad story of how the divided nation of Israel failed to give Yahweh their undivided allegiance. Led by their kings, the people of Israel would consistently turn their backs on Yahweh. They would never entirely abandon Him, but they would consistently break their covenant commitment to Him. 

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

God’s Will Would Be Done

26 Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, also lifted up his hand against the king. 27 And this was the reason why he lifted up his hand against the king. Solomon built the Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of David his father. 28 The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious he gave him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph. 29 And at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had dressed himself in a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the open country. 30 Then Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes 32 (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33 because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and they have not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my rules, as David his father did. 34 Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of David my servant whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes. 35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and will give it to you, ten tribes. 36 Yet to his son I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name. 37 And I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. 39 And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever.’” 40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. – 1 Kings 11:26-40 ESV

Despite all his wisdom, Solomon had made some serious errors in judgment, not the least of which was his decision to violate many of God’s commands. He had chosen to disobey God by amassing for himself stables full of thousands of horses and a harem filled with a thousand wives and concubines. On top of that, he had filled his treasury with vast quantities of gold and silver — all in direct violation of God’s commands (Deuteronomy 17:16-17).

Solomon had also managed to fulfill all the dire predictions the prophet Samuel had conveyed to the people of Israel when they demanded “a king to judge us like all the other nations have” (1 Samuel 8:5 NLT). Long before David or Solomon reigned over Israel, God had been their sovereign King. But the day came when the people grew tired of being governed by the judges and prophets whom God had placed over them. They preferred to have a leader who looked and acted like the kings of their enemies. In demanding a human king, they actually rejected the righteous rule of God over their lives. So, God gave them their wish but warned them of the consequences.

“These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers…He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work.” – 1 Samuel 8:11-13, 16 ESV

Solomon was guilty of all of the above. He had conscripted large numbers of his own people to serve as laborers on his many building projects. Solomon had used his power as king to force the people of Israel to do his bidding. There’s little doubt that the citizens of Solomon’s realm grew resentful of the involuntary nature of their role in building his kingdom and fame. Verse 26 introduces a man named Jeroboam, from the tribe of Ephraim, one of the largest of the northern tribes. It just so happened that Jeroboam was the son of one of Solomon’s former officials. At some point, Solomon took note of this young man, whose father had recently died. Recognizing a certain degree of leadership ability in Jeroboam, Solomon decided to put him on his payroll.

Jeroboam was a very capable young man, and when Solomon saw how industrious he was, he put him in charge of the labor force from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph. – 1 Kings 11:28 NLT

But notice that Solomon expected Jeroboam to supervise the laborers who had been conscripted from his own tribe. This unique responsibility exposed Jeroboam to the less-than-ideal conditions under which his fellow tribesmen were forced to serve King Solomon. It should come as no surprise that Jeroboam began to build up resentment over what he observed day after day. This scenario bears a striking resemblance to one involving the famous Hebrew patriarch, Moses. The great deliverer of Israel had been born in Egypt during a time when the people of Israel were suffering great persecution at the hands of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

…the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king.…the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy. They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands. – Exodus 1:11, 13-14 NLT

However, even under these harsh conditions, the people of Israel continued to increase in number, prompting Pharaoh to devise a plan to significantly reduce their numbers.

Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah: “When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.” – Exodus 1:15-16 NLT

He instituted a policy of ethnic cleansing meant to diminish any future possibility of the Israelites staging a revolt. But in the midst of this horrible circumstance, God raised up Israel’s future deliverer. Moses, who was an infant at the time and a target of Pharaoh’s edict, was miraculously spared and ended up being adopted into Pharaoh’s household. He would be raised as an Egyptian, living in the royal palace and enjoying all the benefits of his position as the adopted grandson of Pharaoh. But one day, as an adult, Moses would be given an up-close and personal exposure to the plight of his own people.

Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand. – Exodus 2: 11-12 NLT

Despite his high standing in Pharaoh’s household, Moses’ rash action brought down the full wrath of his grandfather. He became a wanted man and was forced to flee for his life, eventually settling as an exile in the land of Midian. It was while living in the wilderness of Midian that Moses had a personal encounter with God and received his commission as Israel’s future deliverer.

Moses had seen the mistreatment of his people and taken matters into his own hands. But God was going to use Moses’ misapplied empathy and compassion in a far more effective way – all so that His divine will might be fulfilled.

In the case of Jeroboam, he was given a similar commission from God. But rather than a visit from God in the form of a burning bush, Jeroboam was confronted by a prophet of God.

One day as Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh met him along the way. Ahijah was wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone in a field, and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten of these pieces, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and I will give ten of the tribes to you!’” – 1 Kings 11:29-31 NLT

Like Moses, Jeroboam received a direct commission from Yahweh. In a sense, he, too, would become a deliverer of his people. God was going to use Jeroboam to deliver the tribe of Ephraim, along with nine other northern tribes, from their subjugation under Solomon’s rule. As Moses was used by God to punish the wicked Egyptians, Jeroboam would become God’s chosen instrument for delivering judgment upon Solomon for his many acts of unfaithfulness and disobedience.

Much to his shock and surprise, Jeroboam was informed that God was going to divide Solomon’s vast kingdom in half and install him as the new king over ten of the tribes. God was painfully specific when delineating His reasons for this dramatic shift in the nation’s fortunes.

“For Solomon has abandoned me and worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians; Chemosh, the god of Moab; and Molech, the god of the Ammonites. He has not followed my ways and done what is pleasing in my sight. He has not obeyed my decrees and regulations as David his father did.” – 1 Kings 11:33 NLT

Yet, God also revealed His intentions to allow Solomon to complete his reign over an undivided kingdom. But at Solomon’s death, his son would inherit a kingdom that consisted of a single tribe, that of Judah.

“His son will have one tribe so that the descendants of David my servant will continue to reign, shining like a lamp in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen to be the place for my name.” – 1 Kings 11:36 NLT

Despite Solomon’s unfaithfulness, God remained faithful, vowing to keep the covenant He had made with David. He would preserve a remnant of Solomon’s kingdom so that one day He might fulfill the promise concerning the future king who would reign on David’s throne for perpetuity.

“And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” – 2 Samuel 7:16 ESV

God had future plans in store for the rebellious nation of Israel. But for now, He was determined to punish Solomon for his repeated acts of unfaithfulness. He provided Jeroboam with the same arrangements He had made with Solomon. If Jeroboam remained committed to the word and the will of God, he would enjoy God's blessings.

“I will place you on the throne of Israel, and you will rule over all that your heart desires. If you listen to what I tell you and follow my ways and do whatever I consider to be right, and if you obey my decrees and commands, as my servant David did, then I will always be with you. I will establish an enduring dynasty for you as I did for David, and I will give Israel to you.” – 1 Kings 11:37-38 NLT

Because 1 Kings is a book of history, it will just be a matter of time before we know whether Jeroboam lived up to God’s expectations. Yet, regardless of what Solomon had done or whatever Jeroboam would end up doing, God’s will would be done. All His promises would be kept and His plan would be fulfilled in its entirety.

But when Solomon heard about the message spoken by the prophet, he tried to thwart Yahweh’s will. He set out to eliminate any threat by having Jeroboam murdered. But Jeroboam escaped to Egypt, where he remained in exile until the death of Solomon. It’s interesting to note that Moses had fled from Egypt to escape the wrath of Pharaoh. Now, Jeroboam was fleeing to Egypt in an attempt to escape the wrath of Solomon. But, like Moses, Jeroboam would one day return and complete the assignment Yahweh had given him.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Obedience Is Non-Optional

1 As soon as Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD and the king’s house and all that Solomon desired to build, 2 the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 And the LORD said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, by putting my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 4 And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, 5 then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ 6 But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 And this house will become a heap of ruins. Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9 Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore the LORD has brought all this disaster on them.’” – 1 Kings 9:1-9 ESV

Twenty years into what would prove to be a 40-year reign, Solomon received a second vision from God. Having completed all the major building programs he had initiated, including the Temple, Solomon was ready to focus his attention elsewhere. So, God revealed Himself to Solomon in a dream, just as He had done at Gibeon 20 years earlier.

At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night… – 1 Kings 3:5 ESV

In this second divinely inspired dream, Solomon heard God reaffirm His commitment to honor the Temple by bestowing His presence upon it. In doing so, God would set the Temple apart and make it holy.

“I have heard your prayer and your petition. I have set this Temple apart to be holy—this place you have built where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.” – 1 Kings 9:3 NLT

At the dedication of the Temple, when the fire descended from heaven and consumed the sacrifices, God demonstrated His acceptance of both the offering and the Temple. This was followed by the cloud of His presence taking up residence in the Holy of Holies. These actions signified that the building Solomon had constructed had been consecrated to God and was now deemed for His use alone. The Temple, its grounds, and all the furniture and utensils contained within it belonged exclusively to God. He affirmed His approval of the Temple and His willingness to grace it with His presence, power, and protection. But Yahwehn also expected His people to treat the Temple with a requisite degree of reverence and awe.

Next, God turned His attention to Solomon. It was not enough to have a Temple dedicated to the service and worship of God; Yahweh also expected His king to live a life that was totally set apart and consecrated to Him. So, He gave Solomon a sobering reminder of His expectations.

“As for you, if you will follow me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, then I will establish the throne of your dynasty over Israel forever. For I made this promise to your father, David: ‘One of your descendants will always sit on the throne of Israel.’” – 1 Kings 9:4-5 NLT

Notice the conditional nature of this statement. God said, “if you will…then I will.” The promise God made to David was conditional. David could expect to have a line of descendants to sit on his throne, but God expected those men to live in faithfulness and obedience to Him. As the firstborn son to inherit the crown from his father, Solomon was expected to live a life marked by integrity and godliness, just as his father did. God was demanding that Solomon follow in the footsteps of David, who, throughout his life, had displayed a commitment to living and leading in godliness. The psalmist reminds us that David had been chosen by God to shepherd His people, and David had done his job well.

He chose David his servant
    and took him from the sheepfolds;
from following the nursing ewes he brought him
    to shepherd Jacob his people,
    Israel his inheritance.
With upright heart he shepherded them
    and guided them with his skillful hand. – Psalm 78:70-72 ESV

Now, it was Solomon’s turn. He had done an excellent job of constructing the Temple, but now it was time to lead the people with integrity of heart and to guide them with skillful hands. As God’s appointed and anointed king, he was to be an example for the nation, displaying a commitment to God that revealed his consecrated status. Like the Temple, Solomon belonged to God. He had been dedicated to God’s service and was expected to shepherd God’s people according to His will. Yahweh warns Solomon of the severe consequences he or any of his descendants will face if they fail to remain faithful.

“But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the commands and decrees I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, then I will uproot Israel from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations.” – 1 Kings 9:6-7 NLT

Anyone familiar with Israel's history recognizes that this warning from God is more than prescriptive; it is also prophetic. In other words, God is not only giving Solomon a list of prohibitions, but He is also providing him with a glimpse into the nation's future fate. Despite all He had done for them, the people of Israel would end up turning their backs on Him. It would begin with their kings, the very men whom God had promised to bless if they would follow Him with integrity and godliness.

Look closely at what God says He will do.

I will uproot Israel from this land… – Vs. 7

I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name… – Vs. 7

I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations… – Vs. 7

If Solomon or any of his descendants failed to keep their covenant commitment to God, the nation would suffer God's judgment. They would forfeit the inheritance they had received from Him. Rather than living in the land of promise, a land flowing with milk and honey, they would find themselves eking out an existence as exiles in a foreign land.

Even the majestic Temple would become an eyesore, prompting people to question what could have caused God to bring such a calamity upon His house and His people.

“…all who pass by will be appalled and will gasp in horror. They will ask, ‘Why did the LORD do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?’” – 1 Kings 9:8 NLT

In his dream, Solomon receives the sobering answer to their question.

“Because his people abandoned the LORD their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to them. That is why the LORD has brought all these disasters on them.” – 1 Kings 9:9 NLT

The author of 1 Kings already knows the rest of the story; his inclusion of this incident is meant to foreshadow and explain all that is to come. His audience will be reading this chapter long after Solomon is gone and his successors have begun to reveal their penchant for disobedience and unfaithfulness. The final verses of the last chapter conclude on a somber and poignant note.

Ahaziah son of Ahab began to rule over Israel in the seventeenth year of King Jehoshaphat’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria two years. But he did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, following the example of his father and mother and the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had led Israel to sin. He served Baal and worshiped him, provoking the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, just as his father had done. – 1 Kings 22:51-53 NLT

By this time in the story, the nation of Israel had suffered a civil war that left it divided into two competing kingdoms: Israel and Judah. Both are characterized by wickedness and idolatry. Nearly all of their kings displayed a blatant disregard for God, violating His commands and failing to shepherd His people with integrity of heart or guiding them with skillful hands. For the most part, they turn out to be poor shepherds who refused to keep their end of God’s covenant agreement. As a result, the whole nation suffered.

Solomon’s dream was intended as a warning. God wanted His king to understand that a Temple would not be enough. A place to worship God would prove to be insufficient if the heart of the king remained uncommitted to God. Years later, God would speak through the prophet Isaiah, declaring the blatant hypocrisy of His people, who confused the ritual of worship with genuine, heartfelt devotion to God.

 “These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
    is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.” – Isaiah 29:13 NLT

The promise of God’s abiding presence among them was contingent upon their obedience and obeisance. Yahweh placed a high priority on the covenant commitment they had made to Him. The Book of Exodus records the enthusiastic response of God’s people when Moses read the contents of the Book of the Law to them in the wilderness. 

“We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey.” – Exodus 24:7 NLT

Years later, at Moab, Moses would rearticulate Yahweh’s expectations and explain that their commitment to the covenant would be binding on all their descendants. 

“You are standing here today to enter into the covenant of the LORD your God. The LORD is making this covenant, including the curses. By entering into the covenant today, he will establish you as his people and confirm that he is your God, just as he promised you and as he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

“But you are not the only ones with whom I am making this covenant with its curses. I am making this covenant both with you who stand here today in the presence of the LORD our God, and also with the future generations who are not standing here today.” – Deuteronomy 29:12-15 NLT

There was no escape clause or statute of limitations. Future generations of Israelites could not claim ignorance or opt out of the commitment their ancestors had made. It was binding and non-negotiable. So, as Solomon took in the words that Yahweh spoke in his vision, he understood the gravity of the moment and the sobering significance of the message he had just received: Obey or risk God’s judgment.  

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

One Last Thing

12 Then Solomon said, “The LORD has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. 13 I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.” 14 Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood. 15 And he said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David my father, saying, 16 ‘Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there. But I chose David to be over my people Israel.’ 17 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 18 But the LORD said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. 19 Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’ 20 Now the LORD has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and I have built the house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 21 And there I have provided a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.” – 1 Kings 8:12-21 ESV

Having completed construction of the Temple and safely secured the Ark of the Covenant within the Holy of Holies, Solomon was ready to formally dedicate the new structure. This was a momentous occasion for the entire nation of Israel, and a large number of them had assembled to witness the official arrival of the Ark, the symbol of God’s presence, power, and mercy. The people of Israel had a vested interest in the new Temple, having witnessed and participated in its construction for more than seven years. By the order of Solomon, tens of thousands of Israelites had been conscripted to serve as laborers, carpenters, masons, cooks, and foremen on this massive project. David had come up with the idea of building a house for God, and Solomon had made it a reality, but the people had supplied the blood, sweat, and tears. It had become a community project for which they took great pride.

Standing before the temple, with the citizens of Israel spread out behind him, Solomon summarized the fruit of their labor.

“O LORD, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness. Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!” – 1 Kings 8:12-13 NLT

Speaking directly to Yahweh, Solomon affirmed the LORD’s holy and transcendent nature. He paraphrased the words that God had spoken to Moses on Mount Sinai after He had delivered the people of Israel from their captivity in Egypt.

And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.” – Exodus 19:9 NLT

Moses was told to assemble the people of Israel and prepare them for an encounter with God. Three days later, they gathered at the base of Mount Sinai.

On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. – Exodus 19:16-18 ESV

God made Himself visible to the people of Israel, manifesting His presence in the form of a thick, dark cloud that resembled smoke belching from a kiln. This tangible representation of the Almighty was accompanied by a frightening pyrotechnic show that further enhanced His greatness and instilled fear in the people.

Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. – Exodus 20:18-21 ESV

Forty years later, on the banks of the Jordan River, Moses addressed a new generation of Israelites who were preparing to enter the land of Canaan. He reminded them of that fateful day when God appeared to their fathers and mothers at Mount Sinai.

“You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while flames from the mountain shot into the sky. The mountain was shrouded in black clouds and deep darkness. And the LORD spoke to you from the heart of the fire. You heard the sound of his words but didn’t see his form; there was only a voice.” – Deuteronomy 4:11-12 NLT

God had chosen to reveal Himself to His people. Ever since the day they left Egypt, He had traveled before them in the form of a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day (Exodus 40:34-38). When God gave Moses instructions to build the Tabernacle, He had also promised to make His presence known by appearing in the form of a cloud over the mercy seat, which sat on top of the Ark, located within the Holy of Holies.

“Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.” – Leviticus 16:2 ESV

With the transfer of the Ark of the Covenant into the newly constructed Temple, Solomon was welcoming God into His new home. It was “a glorious Temple” (1 Kings 8:13 NLT), where God would dwell permanently. This was no tent, designed to be erected, taken down, and then transported from one place to another. It was a massive stone structure built to last forever, providing Yahweh with an everlasting dwelling place on earth. And Solomon rejoiced over having been able to play a part in this great endeavor.

“I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.” – 1 Kings 8:13 ESV

This was not an expression of pride or arrogance on Solomon’s part. He was simply expressing his amazement at having been used by God to make his father’s dream a reality. Turning and addressing the people, Solomon gave them a brief history lesson, outlining the events that had led up to this great day.

While David had conceived the idea of building a permanent house for God, he was not given the privilege of making it a reality. Instead, God would build David’s kingdom, using David’s military prowess to ensure that the nation of Israel had secured all the land that God had promised as their inheritance. David proved successful at his God-given task. He fought many battles, conquered the enemies of Israel, and established the nation as a formidable force in the region. But it was because of David’s bloody conquests that he would be denied the privilege of building a house for God.

“You have killed many men in the battles you have fought. And since you have shed so much blood in my sight, you will not be the one to build a Temple to honor my name. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace. I will give him peace with his enemies in all the surrounding lands. His name will be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel during his reign.” – 1 Chronicles 22:8-9 NLT

Solomon reminds the people that, while David’s intentions had been admirable, God had declared that the honor of building the temple would fall to his son. Solomon had been divinely ordained to carry out the wishes of his father.

“You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, but you are not the one to do it. One of your own sons will build the Temple to honor me.” – 1 Kings 8:18-19 NLT

Solomon wanted the people to understand that the Temple was not to be a monument to his own greatness. It had been built to honor the name of God and existed for His glory alone. Solomon realized that he sat on the throne of Israel solely at God’s discretion.

“…now the LORD has fulfilled the promise he made, for I have become king in my father’s place, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised.” – 1 Kings 8:20 NLT

Solomon makes it clear that his ascendancy to the throne had been ordained and orchestrated by God so that he might build a house for God.

“I have built this Temple to honor the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.” – 1 Kings 8:20 NLT

He had successfully completed the task assigned to him by God. His nearly eight-year-long commitment to this project had come to an end, and now he could rest in the knowledge that the LORD had taken up residence in His new home, assuring Israel of His permanent presence in their midst.

Yet, as will be revealed in Solomon’s prayer of dedication, he knew that God would not actually dwell in the Temple. Yahweh was too great to be confined to a building built by human hands. But Solomon understood that the Temple, in all its glory, would be a constant reminder to the people of Israel of both God's greatness and nearness. He would go on to ask the God who dwells in heaven to honor His Temple on earth by hearing and answering the prayers offered up in its courts.

“May you watch over this Temple night and day, this place where you have said, ‘My name will be there.’ May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place. May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive.” – 1 Kings 8:29-30 NLT

As Solomon stood gazing at the massive structure he had helped to create, his heart must have swelled with pride. He had spent seven decades and a good portion of the royal treasury to make his father's dream a reality. But despite the Temple's impressive facade and its no-expenses-spared interior, he knew the Temple was nothing more than a building built by human hands. Without Yahweh's presence, it would be a hollow shell, devoid of significance and powerless to provide and protect those who worshiped within its walls. The Temple was always meant to be a means to an end. It was to a meeting place, where the God of heaven would make Himself visible and accessible to those who honored and revered His name. 

Years later, Solomon would pen the following words in the only Psalm attributed to him. 

Unless the LORD builds a house,
    the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the LORD protects a city,
    guarding it with sentries will do no good.
It is useless for you to work so hard
    from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
    for God gives rest to his loved ones. – Psalm 127:1-2 NLT

As proud as he was of his awe-inspiring Temple, Solomon knew his hope was in the LORD. Unless Yahweh showed up, the Holy of Holies would remain empty, and the fate of his kingdom would be in question. Solomon must have recalled the words that Moses spoke to Yahweh in the wilderness of Sinai. While the people of Israel had encamped at the base of Mount Sinai, Moses had grown accustomed to having regular encounters with Yahweh in the tent of meeting. But God had informed Moses it was time to leave Sinai and lead the people to the land of promise. To which Moses responded:

“If you don’t personally go with us, don’t make us leave this place. How will anyone know that you look favorably on me—on me and on your people—if you don’t go with us? For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.” – Exodus 33:15-16 NLT

Moses knew that it was Yahweh's presence that set the people of Israel apart. Without it, they were no different from any other nation. Solomon understood that reality as well. He knew that without Yahweh’s presence, the Temple would mean nothing and his kingdom would amount to nothing. His hope for the future was dependent upon Yahweh showing up and setting His people apart with His presence, power, and provision.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Power of God's Presence

1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. 2 And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. 4 And they brought up the ark of the LORD, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. 8 And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. – 1 Kings 8:1-11 ESV

After nearly seven and a half years of construction, the temple was finally completed. The only thing left to do was to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant from its resting place in the City of David and transfer it to its new home within the Most Holy place of the new Temple. However, while this might sound like a relatively easy task, considering all the time, energy, and effort that went into building the Temple, it is actually a challenging and dangerous endeavor. As the son of David, Solomon would have been well aware of the stories surrounding his father’s past attempts to transport the Ark. He was not interested in repeating his father’s mistakes.

God had given Moses precise instructions on the proper way to move the Ark from one place to another. Because it was considered to be holy, it had to be handled with extreme care and treated with deep reverence. God had provided clear guidelines concerning both how and who was to transport the Ark and the other holy vessels.

“When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles.… And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.” – Numbers 4:5-6, 15 ESV

Throughout the 40 years that the Israelites spent wandering in the wilderness, long before they settled in the land of Canaan, this was the method used to transport the Ark from place to place. But after Israel finally settled in the land of promise, the Ark had come to rest in the town of Kiriath-jearim, and was kept under the care of a man named Abinadab. When David became the second king of Israel and established Jerusalem as his capital, he determined to relocate the Ark and the Tent of Meeting (also known as the Tabernacle). So, he consulted with all his officials, including the generals and captains of his army, and then announced his plans to the people of Israel.

“If you approve and if it is the will of the LORD our God, let us send messages to all the Israelites throughout the land, including the priests and Levites in their towns and pasturelands. Let us invite them to come and join us. It is time to bring back the Ark of our God, for we neglected it during the reign of Saul.” – 1 Chronicles 13:2-3 NLT

Having received the unanimous support of the people, David organized an elaborate parade to accompany the Ark on its journey from the home of Abinadab to Jerusalem. It was a festive and joyous occasion, featuring music, dancing, and a worshipful celebration of God.

Then David and all Israel went to Baalah of Judah (also called Kiriath-jearim) to bring back the Ark of God, which bears the name of the Lord who is enthroned between the cherubim. They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab’s house. Uzzah and Ahio were guiding the cart. David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments—lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets. – 1 Chronicles 13:6-8 NLT

But the joy quickly turned to sorrow, and the dancing was replaced by mourning. David had disobeyed God's commands. In his zeal to move the Ark of the Covenant, he had neglected to do so according to God’s clearly revealed will. As a result, tragedy struck.

But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand and steadied the Ark of God. Then the LORD’s anger was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him dead because of this. So Uzzah died right there beside the Ark of God. – 2 Samuel 6:6-8 NLT

God had never commanded the Ark to be transported by a cart pulled by oxen. However, David had devised this ingenious plan to expedite the process of transporting the Ark. In his mind, it would be a much quicker and easier way of getting the job done. But his plan resulted in Uzzah’s death. As the oxen stumbled and the Ark began to fall, Uzzah attempted to steady the Ark with his hand. In doing so, he disobeyed God's command.

“…they must not touch the holy things, lest they die.” – Numbers 4:15 ESV

David was angry and frustrated over Uzzah’s death. But he was also confused and wondered how he would ever get the Ark safely transported into Jerusalem. Unsure of what to do, he simply ordered the Ark to be moved to the house of Obed-edom of Gath, where it remained for three months. Eventually, David was informed that the presence of the Ark had resulted in great blessings for Obed-edom. This news appears to have prompted David to take another chance at moving the Ark, but this time he chose to do it God’s way.

So David went there and brought the Ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the City of David with a great celebration. After the men who were carrying the Ark of the LORD had gone six steps, David sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. And David danced before the LORD with all his might, wearing a priestly garment. So David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the LORD with shouts of joy and the blowing of rams’ horns. – 2 Samuel 6:12-15 NLT

Fortunately, Solomon was able to use his knowledge of these past events and the wisdom given to him by God to make the right decision. He chose to follow God’s commands and treat the Ark of the Covenant with the honor and reverence it deserved.

…the priests took up the ark. And they brought up the ark of the LORD, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. – 1 Kings 8:3-4 ESV

When the priests had successfully moved the Ark into the Most Holy Place of the new Temple, a significant event occurred. Because they had followed God’s instructions, they received a visible sign that God was pleased with their efforts.

When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the LORD. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple of the LORD. – 1 Kings 8:10-11 NLT

Yahweh showed up. He entered the Most Holy Place, in the form of a cloud, and settled over the Mercy Seat, which covered the Ark of the Covenant. This visible manifestation was meant to assure Solomon and the people of Israel that Yahweh had taken up residence in the newly completed Temple. It was a tangible reminder of how God had revealed Himself to their ancestors in the wilderness hundreds of years earlier.

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. – Exodus 40:34-35 ESV

Solomon had managed to build a one-of-a-kind structure of unsurpassed beauty. But it was the presence of the cloud that transformed what was an opulent but ordinary building into the dwelling place of God. Solomon had built a building. But only when God showed up did it truly become a Temple. The apostle Paul would later remind his fellow believers in Christ that they, too, had become temples of God because of the presence of the Spirit of God within them.

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT

Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? – 1 Corinthians 3:16 BSB

It was not the massive stones, elaborate carvings, precious gems, intricately woven fabrics, and expensive metals that made the Temple glorious; it was the presence of God. The cloud of His presence made the Temple holy, just as the presence of the Holy Spirit sets apart every believer as “a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21 ESV).

Yahweh anointed Solomon’s Temple with His divine presence. In a sense, He gave the Temple His Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. Without the presence of Yahweh, the Temple would have remained just another building. It would have been impressive to look at, but devoid of power. It was only when Yahweh showed up that the Temple was transformed from a brick-and-mortar edifice to the earthly dwelling place of Israel’s God. The apostle Paul reminds us that the same thing takes place each time the Spirit of God takes up residence in the life of a believer.   

For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. – 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 NLT

As human beings, our only claim to fame is that we have been made in the image of God. But because of indwelling sin, our ability to reflect His image has been marred. However, when a sinner places His faith in the life-transforming work of the Son of God, he is immediately filled with the Holy Spirit and receives “power from on high” (Luke 24:49 ESV). At that moment, the glory of God takes up residence in the believer’s life and transforms a fragile clay jar into a temple worthy of Yahweh’s presence and overflowing with Yahweh’s power. 

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

No Detail Too Small

13 And King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. 14 He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze. And he was full of wisdom, understanding, and skill for making any work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all his work.

15 He cast two pillars of bronze. Eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured its circumference. It was hollow, and its thickness was four fingers. The second pillar was the same. 16 He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits. 17 There were lattices of checker work with wreaths of chain work for the capitals on the tops of the pillars, a lattice for the one capital and a lattice for the other capital. 18 Likewise he made pomegranates in two rows around the one latticework to cover the capital that was on the top of the pillar, and he did the same with the other capital. 19 Now the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars in the vestibule were of lily-work, four cubits. 20 The capitals were on the two pillars and also above the rounded projection which was beside the latticework. There were two hundred pomegranates in two rows all around, and so with the other capital. 21 He set up the pillars at the vestibule of the Temple. He set up the pillar on the south and called its name Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the north and called its name Boaz. 22 And on the tops of the pillars was lily-work. Thus the work of the pillars was finished.

23 Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. 24 Under its brim were gourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. 25 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward. 26 Its thickness was a handbreadth, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held two thousand baths.

27 He also made the ten stands of bronze. Each stand was four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high. 28 This was the construction of the stands: they had panels, and the panels were set in the frames, 29 and on the panels that were set in the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the frames, both above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths of beveled work. 30 Moreover, each stand had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and at the four corners were supports for a basin. The supports were cast with wreaths at the side of each. 31 Its opening was within a crown that projected upward one cubit. Its opening was round, as a pedestal is made, a cubit and a half deep. At its opening there were carvings, and its panels were square, not round. 32 And the four wheels were underneath the panels. The axles of the wheels were of one piece with the stands, and the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. 33 The wheels were made like a chariot wheel; their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. 34 There were four supports at the four corners of each stand. The supports were of one piece with the stands. 35 And on the top of the stand there was a round band half a cubit high; and on the top of the stand its stays and its panels were of one piece with it. 36 And on the surfaces of its stays and on its panels, he carved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the space of each, with wreaths all around. 37 After this manner he made the ten stands. All of them were cast alike, of the same measure and the same form.

38 And he made ten basins of bronze. Each basin held forty baths, each basin measured four cubits, and there was a basin for each of the ten stands. 39 And he set the stands, five on the south side of the house, and five on the north side of the house. And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house. – 1 Kings 7:13-39 ESV

The first question that comes to mind when reading this section of Chapter Seven is why the author took such great pains to describe each and every item in such precise detail. The amount of information is almost overwhelming, and even with all the helpful descriptions, it’s virtually impossible to determine what each item actually looked like.  So, why dedicate so much time and space to their description?

In a sense, the author is telling his readers that Solomon was a man who took a keen interest in every phase of the massive construction project he had commissioned. His father had left him with the overwhelming responsibility to create a house worthy of the God of Israel, and that was not something he took lightly. Solomon was a hands-on construction manager who cared deeply about every detail concerning this once-in-a-lifetime undertaking. While he delegated much of the work, there was never a moment when Solomon was not intimately and personally involved in it. He cared deeply about this project and wanted to ensure that the finished product was both beautiful and functional. When completed, the Temple would become the focal point of Israel’s worship of Yahweh. So, Solomon intended for every item associated with its construction and its ultimate operation to be of the finest craftsmanship.

From the quarrying of the massive stones used to build the temple to the carving of the intricate reliefs that adorned the bronze stands, Solomon oversaw everything. To ensure that the workmanship was of the highest quality, Solomon hired the finest craftsman money could buy.

Verse 13 states that Solomon sought out the services of a skilled craftsman from the city of Tyre, a gifted worker in bronze. But notice the additional details concerning Hiram’s qualifications:

And he was full of wisdom, understanding, and skill for making any work in bronze. – 1 Kings 7:1 ESV

This brings to mind a passage from the book of Exodus where God provided Moses with the identity of another man who would assist in the construction of the Tabernacle.

The LORD said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.” – Exodus 31:1-5 ESV

As was the case with Moses, it seems that Solomon was receiving divine assistance in procuring the services of the right people to help him complete this one-of-a-kind project. Hiram came highly recommended and divinely gifted for the job.

Once he arrived in Jerusalem, Hiram set to work casting the two bronze pillars that would grace the entrance to the Temple. At 27 feet in height, these two immense pillars were likely more decorative than functional. Since they were cast from a relatively soft metal like bronze and featured hollow interiors, they would have been incapable of providing support to the Temple’s roof.

These pillars were intended to frame the entrance to the Temple and provide symbolic significance to the One who dwelt within. Each pillar had a name. One was called Boaz, which means “In Him is strength.” The other was named Jachin, which means “He shall establish.” Both names were explicit references to the God of Israel. Every detail that adorned these pillars, from the water lilies to the pomegranates, was intended to illustrate the goodness and greatness of God. The Israelites served a God who provided them with everything they needed, including fertility and fruitfulness.

Next, Hiram crafted “the sea,” a large bronze basin that would sit outside the Temple's entrance. This massive bowl was designed to replace the bronze laver that God had prescribed for the Tabernacle, while serving the same function as the original. According to Exodus 30, the first laver was used by the priests to purify themselves before offering sacrifices to God.

“You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, with which Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering to the Lord, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die. They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.” – Exodus 30:18-21 ESV

The new basin was 15 feet in diameter, 47 feet in circumference, with a depth of 7.5 feet. It could hold up to 18,000 gallons of water, and its large size appears to have been designed to allow priests to completely immerse themselves, rather than just washing their hands and feet. It rested on the backs of 12 bronze oxen, arranged in groups of three, with each group facing a different direction on the compass. These bronze bulls may have been intended to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. But regardless, they were clearly symbols of strength.

Hiram then crafted ten mobile carts, each equipped with a large bronze basin. They featured wheels that allowed them to be moved about the Temple courtyard.

He also made ten basins in which to wash, and set five on the south side, and five on the north side. In these they were to rinse off what was used for the burnt offering, and the sea was for the priests to wash in. – 2 Chronicles 4:6 ESV

Each cart was six feet square and five and one-half feet high, and it held a bronze basin that could hold up to 240 gallons of water. As the Chronicles passage indicates, they were strategically located around the Temple courtyard and used by the priests to cleanse the blood from the sacrificial animals before they were offered to God.

You can almost sense that Solomon was attempting to improve on every item used in the original Tabernacle. He was making significant upgrades. Every item Hiram created was bigger and better than the original. Solomon was obsessed with making the house of God a grand and glorious structure, with every detail reflecting the majesty of its divine occupant. He could have saved himself a lot of time and money by reusing the original items, but Solomon would not settle for anything less than the best. So, he poured countless hours and resources into creating a Temple worthy of his great God, down to the last detail.

Solomon was following the instructions Yahweh gave to Moses from Mount Sinai when He ordered the creation of the original Tabernacle.

“Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you.” – Exodus 25:8-9 NLT

Moses received detailed plans for the construction of the LORD’s house, with nothing left to the imagination. God was explicit in describing every facet of the Tabernacle’s design, and ordered Moses, “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain” (Exodus 25:40 NLT). Evidently, Moses received a vision of what the completed Tabernacle should look like, and he was to ensure that the finished product was an accurate facsimile. He was not to cut corners, leave out any detail, or make alterations to its design. No expense was to be spared, no shortcuts taken, and no cost-cutting measures considered because this was to be the house of Yahweh. The God of the universe deserved nothing but the best. If the people of Israel expected Him to dwell among them, they would need to build a house worthy of housing His presence. 

“I will meet the people of Israel there, in the place made holy by my glorious presence. Yes, I will consecrate the Tabernacle and the altar, and I will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Then I will live among the people of Israel and be their God, and they will know that I am the LORD their God. I am the one who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am the LORD their God.” – Exodus 29:43-46 NLT

Solomon shared Moses’ commitment to build a house that Yahweh would deem worthy of bearing His name and containing His glory. So, he went out of his way to ensure that this house met Yahweh's exacting standards, because he longed for the assurance of Yahweh's presence and power.       

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Worthy of Praise

1 Praise the LORD!
Praise the name of the LORD,
    give praise, O servants of the LORD,
2 who stand in the house of the LORD,
    in the courts of the house of our God!
3 Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
    sing to his name, for it is pleasant!
4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,
    Israel as his own possession.

5 For I know that the LORD is great,
    and that our LORD is above all gods.
6 Whatever the LORD pleases, he does,
    in heaven and on earth,
    in the seas and all deeps.
7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
    who makes lightnings for the rain
    and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

8 He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
    both of man and of beast;
9 who in your midst, O Egypt,
    sent signs and wonders
    against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10 who struck down many nations
    and killed mighty kings,
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
    and Og, king of Bashan,
    and all the kingdoms of Canaan,
12 and gave their land as a heritage,
    a heritage to his people Israel.

13 Your name, O LORD, endures forever,
    your renown, O LORD, throughout all ages.
14 For the LORD will vindicate his people
    and have compassion on his servants.

15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths, but do not speak;
    they have eyes, but do not see;
17 they have ears, but do not hear,
    nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them become like them,
    so do all who trust in them.

19 O house of Israel, bless the LORD!
    O house of Aaron, bless the LORD!
20 O house of Levi, bless the LORD!
    You who fear the Lord, bless the LORD!
21 Blessed be the LORD from Zion,
    he who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise the LORD! – Psalm 135:1-21 ESV

Psalm 135 is yet another example of a Hallel or praise psalm. These psalms derive their designation from their repeated use of the word “praise,” which in Hebrew is hālal. It means “to praise” or “to boast,” and in these psalms, the focus of that praise is always on the LORD. 

Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good… – Psalm 135:3 NLT

The psalmist’s call for praise begins in the house of the LORD and is directed at the Levitical priests, musicians, and caretakers of the Temple. These men had the privilege of serving Yahweh by performing their sacred duties in the house that bore His name. Their jobs were essential for administering the sacrificial system that Yahweh had ordained. Without it, the people of Israel would have no means of receiving atonement for their sins. The entire religious apparatus of Israel was built upon the sacrificial system, which was dependent upon the abiding presence of Yahweh. Centuries earlier, long before there was a Temple or the city of Jerusalem, Yahweh had commanded Moses to construct a Tabernacle in which He would reside.

“Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them.” – Exodus 25:8 NLT

Within the Tabernacle, in the Holy of Holies, Moses was to place the Ark of the Covenant, a gold-encrusted box containing the Ten Commandments, Aaron's staff, and a jar of manna. The lid on this sacred piece of furniture was called the Mercy Seat, and Yahweh said, “I will meet with you there and talk to you from above the atonement cover between the gold cherubim that hover over the Ark of the Covenant. From there I will give you my commands for the people of Israel” (Exodus 25:22 NLT).

Yahweh provided Moses with the plans for the Tabernacle as well as the instructions for administering the sacrificial system. Nothing was left to chance or up to the whims of the people; it was all divinely ordained, from the nature of the burnt offerings to the design of the priests’ robes. Yahweh had determined every detail concerning the Tabernacle and its functionality to ensure that His people could enjoy His ongoing presence, but, more importantly, experience the atonement for their sins that made a relationship with Him possible.    

“These burnt offerings are to be made each day from generation to generation. Offer them in the LORD’s presence at the Tabernacle entrance; there I will meet with you and speak with you.  I will meet the people of Israel there, in the place made holy by my glorious presence. Yes, I will consecrate the Tabernacle and the altar, and I will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Then I will live among the people of Israel and be their God, and they will know that I am the LORD their God. I am the one who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am the Lord their God.” – Exodus 29:42-46 NLT

The psalmist reminds all the people of Israel of their unique status as Yahweh’s treasured possession.

For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,
    Israel for his own special treasure. – Psalm 135:4 NLT

He uses the two names of their ancestral progenitor, reminding his audience that they were the beneficiaries of the promise Yahweh had made to Jacob. 

“I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.” – Genesis 28:13-14 NLT

Years later, Yahweh reaffirmed His covenant promise to Jacob and provided him with a new name in the process. 

“Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.” So God renamed him Israel.

Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.” – Genesis 35:10-12 NLT

The psalmist reminds his fellow Israelites that they were the fulfillment of that promise. Yahweh had kept His word and produced from Jacob a great nation that occupied the land He had promised as their inheritance. Because of Yahweh’s covenant faithfulness, the psalmist declares, “I know that the LORD is great, and that our LORD is above all gods” (Psalm 135:5 ESV).

Everything in Israel's history pointed to the reliability and supremacy of Yahweh. He wasn't just another god among many; He was the one true God, and was worthy of their praise, honor, and worship. And as if to jog their memories and renew their understanding of Yahweh's greatness, he recites the tales of His past acts of intercession and deliverance.

He destroyed the firstborn in each Egyptian home,
    both people and animals.
He performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt
    against Pharaoh and all his people.
He struck down great nations
    and slaughtered mighty kings—
Sihon king of the Amorites,
    Og king of Bashan,
    and all the kings of Canaan.
He gave their land as an inheritance,
    a special possession to his people Israel. – Psalm 135:8-12 NLT

From their days of captivity in Egypt to their conquest of the land of Canaan, Yahweh had been with them, proving His presence through indisputable displays of power and provision. The ten plagues, the Red Sea crossing, the defeats of the armies of Egypt, and the victories over the nations of Canaan had all been Yahweh's doing. 

These stories were well-known to the people of Israel, but were intended to be more than tales from the past. They were to serve as evidence of Yahweh’s unchanging character and unwavering commitment to His people. Times may have changed, but their God had not. He remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

Your name, O LORD, endures forever;
    your fame, O LORD, is known to every generation. – Psalm 135:13 NLT

What Yahweh did for Moses and the ragtag remnant of Israelites who escaped Egypt and conquered the promised land, He could do again for His chosen people. The victories over superior enemies that Joshua and the people of Israel experienced were still possible because Yahweh remained just as powerful and capable as ever.

For the LORD will give justice to his people
    and have compassion on his servants. – Psalm 135:14 NLT

Yahweh is worthy of praise because He is the just, righteous, compassionate, faithful, and covenant-keeping God. He never reneges on a promise or fails to keep His word. He is reliable, trustworthy, personal, mighty, consistent, patient, and loving. 

The very next psalm echoes this idea of Yahweh's goodness and enduring, never-failing love.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His faithful love endures forever. – Psalm 136: 1-3 NLT

He is “the God of gods,” a distinction that Psalm 135 amplifies by comparing Yahweh with the worthless, unreliable gods of the nations. 

The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold,
    shaped by human hands.
They have mouths but cannot speak,
    and eyes but cannot see.
They have ears but cannot hear,
    and mouths but cannot breathe.
And those who make idols are just like them,
    as are all who trust in them. – Psalm 135:15-18 NLT

These mute, blind, and powerless figments of men's imagination aren’t gods at all. They are helpless, hopeless substitutes for the one true God. In his letter to the believers in Rome, the apostle Paul disclosed the genesis behind mankind's love affair with false gods by exposing their rejection of the real God. 

They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. – Romans 1:19-23 NLT

The psalmist points out the idiocy of idolatry, not to ridicule their pagan neighbors, but to remind the Israelites of their own sordid track record of pursuing the same powerless substitutes for Yahweh. From the very beginning, Yahweh had warned them about making replacement gods.

“You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.” – Exodus 20:3-5 NLT

But they had disobeyed. Yet, Yahweh still considered them as His treasured possession. He had punished them for their sin and rebellion, but had not abandoned them. He remained their God, and they remained His people. And this amazing fact led the psalmist to issue a corporate call to praise Yahweh for His faithfulness, patience, and love. 

O Israel, praise the LORD!
    O priests—descendants of Aaron—praise the LORD!
O Levites, praise the LORD!
    All you who fear the LORD, praise the LORD! – Psalm 135:19-20 NLT

This psalm reflects an understanding that Yahweh alone is the source of all hope and deliverance. It is a reminder of God's goodness and faithfulness. He has been and always will be worthy of praise. His promises never fail because His nature never changes. The psalmist was convinced of Yahweh’s unchanging character and prepared to praise Him for not only His past providence but for the fulfillment of His promises that lie in the distant future. 

According to Yahweh's word, He will once again establish the city of Jerusalem as His permanent dwelling place. The day is coming when He will restore His people to their land and dwell among them. Despite their unfaithfulness, He will remain faithful. He will once again prove to be their refuge and strength. Because that is the kind of God we worship and serve. He is reliable and trustworthy. He is faithful and true. He is a covenant-keeping God who never abandons those He loves. No matter how bleak the circumstances may look, God is there. He is working behind the scenes in ways we can't see. He is faithfully and perfectly working out His divine plan. He is our refuge and strength.

Father, You can be trusted. You are always faithful. Your love for us never fails. Your plans for us never get derailed. You are and always will be our refuge and strength in times of trouble. So there is no reason for us to fear. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The ABCs of God's Word

Alef

1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
    who walk in the law of the LORD!
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
    who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong,
    but walk in his ways!
4 You have commanded your precepts
    to be kept diligently.
5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast
    in keeping your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame,
    having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart,
    when I learn your righteous rules.
8 I will keep your statutes;
    do not utterly forsake me!

Beth

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
    By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you;
    let me not wander from your commandments!
11 I have stored up your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O LORD;
    teach me your statutes!
13 With my lips I declare
    all the rules of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I delight
    as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
    and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
    I will not forget your word.

Gimel

17 Deal bountifully with your servant,
    that I may live and keep your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
    wondrous things out of your law.
19 I am a sojourner on the earth;
    hide not your commandments from me!
20 My soul is consumed with longing
    for your rules at all times.
21 You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,
    who wander from your commandments.
22 Take away from me scorn and contempt,
    for I have kept your testimonies.
23 Even though princes sit plotting against me,
    your servant will meditate on your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my delight;
    they are my counselors. – Psalm 119:1-24 ESV 

This anonymous psalm contains 175 verses, making it the longest chapter in the Bible. Another unique feature of this psalm is its acrostic arrangement around the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The author has painstakingly arranged each set of eight verses around a different Hebrew letter, with the first word of each verse beginning with that letter. Verses 1-8 start with the letter aleph, verses 9-16 begin with the letter beth, and verses 17-24 use the letter gimel. This pattern continues to the final eight verses, which feature the letter taw. 

This acrostic arrangement could have served as a catechismal tool, providing an easy-to-remember format for teaching doctrinal truth to children. The author uses a variety of synonyms throughout the psalm to encourage obedience to and reverence for God's word.

• The law 

• Testimonies

• Way(s)

• Precepts

• Statutes

• Commandments

• Rules

• Word

• Works

• Promises

Each of these synonyms refers to God's spoken word as recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures, which included the Law and the Prophets. The Law was how the Israelites referred to the books written by Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Prophets includes the prophetic and poetic books that form the rest of the Old Testament. In his gospel account, Luke records the journey of two of Jesus’ dejected disciples who were making their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They had just witnessed the death of Jesus and were mourning their loss when suddenly, Jesus appeared before them. At first, they failed to recognize Him, but when they finally realized they were talking to their resurrected Rabbi, they were shocked. This led Jesus to gently rebuke them, saying, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” (Luke 24:25-26 NLT). Then Luke adds, “Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27 NLT). 

So, when the psalmist refers to “the word” of God, he speaks of the Old Testament, the same Scriptures Jesus used to instruct His two disciples on the road to Emmaus. But his emphasis on the Word should not be mistaken for worship of the Word. The psalmist goes out of his way to use synonyms that illustrate the spoken word of God. The Israelites believed that the Law of Moses was received directly from Yahweh on Mount Sinai. It was divinely inspired and, therefore, sacred. The prophets spoke on behalf of Yahweh, having been called and commissioned by Him to declare His message of repentance to His people. But Yahweh also “spoke” through His actions, demonstrating His power, holiness, and transcendence through His “wondrous ways.” 

Yahweh wasn’t just a character from the stories recorded on ancient scrolls. He was the living God who made Himself known through creation and His mighty acts of judgment and deliverance. He made promises and kept them because He is trustworthy and true. He gave laws and expected them to be obeyed because He is righteous and just. He provided rules for living because He was sovereign, all-wise, and knew what was best for His children. 

This entire psalm is one man's testimony to Yahweh's praiseworthiness. For 176 verses, covering every one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, the psalmist encourages unbridled worship of Yahweh in the form of willing obedience. 

Joyful are people of integrity,
    who follow the instructions of the Lord.
Joyful are those who obey his laws
    and search for him with all their hearts. – Psalm 119:1-2 NLT

He expresses his own longing to live in keeping with the laws of God, but acknowledges his incapacity to do so.

Oh, that my actions would consistently
    reflect your decrees! – Psalm 119:5 NLT

He makes a personal promise to do everything in his power to remain obedient but confesses that he may need help.

As I learn your righteous regulations,
    I will thank you by living as I should!
I will obey your decrees.
    Please don’t give up on me! – Psalm 119:7-8 NLT

In the second set of eight verses, the psalmist admits how difficult it is for sinful man to live up to Yahweh's holy standards. He opens verse eight with the proverbial question: “How can a young person stay pure?” The psalmist would have been well acquainted with the psalm of David.

The LORD looks down from heaven
    on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
    if anyone seeks God.
But no, all have turned away;
    all have become corrupt.
No one does good,
    not a single one! – Psalm 14:2-3 NLT

He would have also known about the prophet Isaiah's less-than-flattering assessment of humanity.

We are all infected and impure with sin.
    When we display our righteous deeds,
    they are nothing but filthy rags.
Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall,
    and our sins sweep us away like the wind. – Isaiah 64:6 NLT

When he asked how any young man might live a pure life, he already knew the answer: Obedience to the word of God. Purity wasn't self-determined and could not be self-produced. Left to their own devices, sinful men and women will follow the desires of their sin-prone hearts. The prophet Jeremiah provided a stark assessment of the human heart.

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? – Jeremiah 17:9 BSB

And the Book of Proverbs describes the futility of pursuing self-purification.

Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am cleansed from my sin”? – Proverbs 20:9 BSB

The psalmist knew that his only hope was in the Word of Yahweh.

I have hidden your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you. – Psalm 119:11 NLT

This is about more than inculcating knowledge or storing up information. It's about life change that comes through heart transformation. The psalmist knew from experience that behavior modification was not enough. Reformed habits were not a long-term solution to a sinful heart. 

For the psalmist, the law was a means of knowing Yahweh better. Like creation, Yahweh's Word was intended to be a revelation of Himself. His righteous statutes, commands, and precepts were designed to reflect His holiness. When God gave the law to Moses, He told him, “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2 NLT). 

The written law was a reflection of Yahweh's character. It was the code of conduct He required of His chosen people. They were to live set-apart and distinctively different lives from the nations around them. In living in obedience to His commands, they would reflect their status as His treasured possession. Their lives would mirror His glory and righteousness to a world mired in darkness and sin.

In the third set of eight verses, the psalmist acknowledges his dependence upon Yahweh. Not only does he need Yahweh's Word, but he also requires Yahweh's help to understand and obey it.

Open my eyes to see
    the wonderful truths in your instructions.
I am only a foreigner in the land.
    Don’t hide your commands from me! – Psalm 119:18-19 NLT

He doesn't gloat in his set-apart status as a child of God or boast in his identity as a descendant of Abraham. Instead, he refers to himself as a foreigner, an undeserving stranger who needed Yahweh's help to know and obey His commands. This mindset is starkly different from that of the Jews with whom Jesus spoke and recorded by John in his gospel account. 

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” – John 8:31-32 NLT

Notice that Jesus ties true discipleship with obedience to His Word or teachings. He offers His audience freedom in exchange for faith in His words concerning Himself. Jesus would later claim, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” (John 14:6-7 NLT). He was the Living Word that provided access to the Father and the power to live in obedience to His commands. 

But the Jews to whom Jesus spoke took exception with His words.

“But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” – John 8:33 NLT

They were cocky and bit overconfident in their status as God's chosen people. They took great pride in their heritage as Abraham's descendants and viewed themselves as Yahweh's treasured possession.  Yet, Jesus was unsparing in His assessment of their true status.

“I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message. I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.” – John 8:34-38 NLT

Even in Jesus' day, the Jews put a higher value on their inheritance than on obedience. Their status as Jews was of more importance than Yahweh's command to obey. Jesus was speaking the words of His Father, but they refused to hear and obey. They prided themselves on their adherence to the Mosaic Law, but Jesus had come to fulfill the law and the prophets. He was the latest revelation of God. According to the opening lines of John's gospel, “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son” (John 1:14 NLT).

Long before Jesus appeared in human form, the psalmist wrestled with a desire to know and understand God's truth. He desperately desired to obey God's Word as revealed through the Scriptures. But he knew how difficult this could be.

You rebuke the arrogant;
    those who wander from your commands are cursed. – Psalm 119:21 NLT

Despite setbacks, personal attacks, and struggles with disobedience and unfaithfulness, the psalmist remained committed to knowing and keeping God's word. He also knew that any attempts to obey were hopeless without God's help.

Even princes sit and speak against me,
    but I will meditate on your decrees.
Your laws please me;
    they give me wise advice. – Psalm 119:23-24 NLT

He didn't view God's commands as onerous or burdensome. They were a delight because they reflected God's wisdom, glory, goodness, and power. God's laws were a window into His very nature, providing earth-bound humans with a glimpse into His majesty, holiness, grace, and mercy. As the psalmist will later confess, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105 NLT).

Father, I love Your Word because it reveals You. When I open Your Word, I get a glimpse into Your character, a reminder of Your power, and encouragement that You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. You are the unchanging, all-powerful, gracious, and merciful One who saves, sanctifies, redeems, restores, loves, and disciplines. Your written Word and the Living Word reveal You in all Your glory. Give me a greater desire to know both better so that I might obey You more readily and willingly. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Common Grace. Communal Praise.

1 Praise the LORD, all nations!
    Extol him, all peoples!
2 For great is his steadfast love toward us,
    and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD! – Psalm 117:1-2 ESV

This extremely short psalm is addressed to “the nations.” The author uses the Hebrew word gôyim, which typically referred to non-Israelites. But in this case, he seems to have in mind all nations, including Israel. The second Hebrew word he uses is 'ummâ, which refers to a “people, tribe, or nation.” 

The psalmist calls people of every tribe, nation, or tongue to praise the LORD. Regardless of their ethnicity or religious proclivity, they should extol the greatness of Yahweh because they have enjoyed the benefits of His common grace. As Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, God “gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike” (Matthew 5:45 NLT). He also stated that God “is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked” (Luke 6:35 NLT). This addresses one of three points of God’s common grace as outlined by the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) and adopted as the doctrine of common grace at the Synod of Kalamazoo (Michigan) in 1924.

Yahweh shows undeserved favor to all those He has made. David highlighted this amazing reality in one of his psalms. 

The LORD is merciful and compassionate,
    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
The LORD is good to everyone.
    He showers compassion on all his creation. – Psalm 145:8-9 NLT

When Paul and Barnabas arrived in Iconium on one of their missionary journeys, they attempted to persuade the pagan Gentile crowd of God’s love for them by highlighting this feature of His common grace.

“In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.” – Acts 14:16-17 NLT

The second point of common grace is God’s sovereign restraint of sin among humanity. Since God has a plan of redemption and that plan has a timeline, He intervenes on behalf of fallen humanity and prohibits the extent of their sin so that His plan can unfold according to His divine schedule. You see this point played out in the promise He made to Abraham. In Genesis 15, God told Abraham, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth” (Genesis 15:13-14 NLT). God was informing Abraham of the 400 years his descendants would spend in captivity in Egypt. But God clarified that the story would have a positive ending.

“After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.” – Genesis 15:16 NLT). 

God had everything under control. He was orchestrating all the details concerning the creation of the Hebrew nation, which included their four-century-long captivity in Egypt and the restraint of sin among the Amorites. When the time came for the Israelites to conquer the land of Canaan, the guilt of the Amorites and the other inhabitants of the land would have earned their elimination. In fact, prior to Israel beginning their conquest of the land of Canaan, God provided Moses with a lengthy list of prohibitions against sexual sins and abominations. Then He added, “Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for the people I am driving out before you have defiled themselves in all these ways. Because the entire land has become defiled, I am punishing the people who live there. I will cause the land to vomit them out” (Leviticus 18:24-25 NLT). 

Through His common grace, God restrained the behavior of the Canaanites long enough for the Israelites to become a great nation, experience deliverance from Egypt, and arrive at the border of the promised land. 

In Genesis 20, Moses records a less-than-flattering moment from Abraham’s life, when the father of the Hebrew nation sought sanctuary in the land of Gerar. In an ill-advised plan to protect himself from harm, Abraham told his wife Sarah to introduce herself as his sister. His fear was based on the fact that she was beautiful, and one of the inhabitants of Gerar might be tempted to kill him to have Sarah as his wife. Abimelech, the king of Gerar, was taken by Sarah's beauty and decided to make her a part of his harem. But God intervened and protected Sarah from being sexually violated by Abimelech. In a dream, God warned Abimelech of the danger he was in.

“You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!” – Genesis 20:3 NLT

Having not consummated the relationship, Abimelech pleaded with God.

“Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he is my brother.’ I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean.” – Genesis 20:4-5 NLT

In the dream, God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her” (Genesis 20:6 NLT). God graciously intervened and prevented Abimelech from committing adultery. 

The third point of common grace involves the ability of the wicked to do acts of righteousness. God's grace makes this capacity of the unrighteous to do good deeds possible. Even with unregenerate hearts, they can show kindness, extend mercy, express love, and do good deeds to others. 

Speaking to a group of pagan unbelievers, Paul said, “Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it” (Romans 2:14 NLT). Their actions demonstrate God's common grace, allowing them to do good even when their hearts remain unrepentant and unregenerate. 

So, for the psalmist, his message of praise is directed at all nations and includes every people group on the face of the earth. Every Jew, Gentile, pious Hebrew, and pagan heathen was obligated to praise Yahweh for His steadfast love and faithfulness. All men benefit from God's goodness and grace. They breathe the same air, enjoy the bounty of God’s creation, experience the joy of human relationships, and are allowed to exist on this earth despite their sinfulness and open rebellion to their Creator. 

While the psalmist had no concept of Jesus as Messiah when he wrote this abbreviated psalm, he foreshadowed the very words of Jesus when He gave His farewell address to His disciples.

“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20 NLT

God's grace was to be available to all mankind, regardless of their ethnicity. Jesus' death and resurrection opened a way of salvation to anyone who would receive God's gift of grace. Paul described this message of God's grace as “good news” to all who would believe it.

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” – Romans 1:16-17 NLT

In the Book of Revelation, the apostle John describes a vision he received of the heavenly throne room. In it, a heavenly host was singing the praises of “a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders” (Revelation 5:6 NLT). The song they sang highlighted the sacrificial death of Jesus and its gracious impact on the nations of the earth. 

“You are worthy to take the scroll
    and break its seals and open it.
For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God
    from every tribe and language and people and nation.
And you have caused them to become
    a Kingdom of priests for our God.
    And they will reign on the earth.” – Revelation 5:9-10 NLT

John was given a second vision of the heavenly throne room, in which he saw “a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language” (Revelation 7:9 NLT). They were standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. And the song they sang echoed their common experience with God's undeserved grace.

“Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne
    and from the Lamb!” – Revelation 7:9-10 NLT

This is the message of this short but powerful psalm, and the day is coming when all the gôyim and 'ummâ will praise God for who He is and all He has done for them. People from every tongue will proclaim their gratitude for His steadfast love and faithfulness with one voice, and they will do so for eternity.

Father, You are a good and gracious God. Your love never fails and Your mercies are new every morning. There is not a day that goes by in which we fail to experience Your common grace. You bless all mankind with life and breath. You shower us with rain. You give us light in the form of the sun. You provide us with food. You bless us with children. And You provided us with the gift of Your Son, as the sole means by which we can be restored to a right relationship with You. Every human being owes You a debt of thanks. But all who have found salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone own you their never-ending praise and adoration for eternal life. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Blessing and Obedience

1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory,
    for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

2 Why should the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens;
    he does all that he pleases.

4 Their idols are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak;
    eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear;
    noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel;
    feet, but do not walk;
    and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 Those who make them become like them;
    so do all who trust in them.

9 O Israel, trust in the LORD!
    He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD!
    He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!
    He is their help and their shield.

12 The LORD has remembered us; he will bless us;
    he will bless the house of Israel;
    he will bless the house of Aaron;
13 he will bless those who fear the LORD,
    both the small and the great.

14 May the LORD give you increase,
    you and your children!
15 May you be blessed by the LORD,
    who made heaven and earth!

16 The heavens are the LORD's heavens,
    but the earth he has given to the children of man.
17 The dead do not praise the LORD,
    nor do any who go down into silence.
18 But we will bless the LORD
    from this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the LORD! – Psalm 115:1-18 ESV 

The anonymous author of this psalm opens with a prayer requesting Yahweh to glorify His own name for His own sake. While this petition sounds selfless and focused on God's glory alone, the request has an ulterior motive. The psalmist is asking Yahweh to reveal His unfailing love and faithfulness for His chosen people by performing an act of divine intervention. Some unforeseen situation has taken place that requires a literal act of God, and the psalmist unashamedly begs Yahweh to do the impossible. 

Whatever their dilemma, the psalmist was willing to let Yahweh get all the glory for delivering His people. They needed help, not credit. In a blatant attempt to appeal to Yahweh’s pride, the psalmist poses a hypothetical scenario in the form of a question.

Why should the nations say,
    “Where is their God?” – Psalm 115:2 ESV

He suggests that any inaction on God's part will come across as impotence to their pagan neighbors. These idol worshipers will view Israel’s God as powerless in the face of their superior deity. If Yahweh doesn’t do something spectacular and sooner rather than later, their enemies will end up mocking Him and glorifying their own gods. 

The psalmist knew that Yahweh was a jealous God who refused to share His glory with anyone or anything else. The prophet Isaiah had recorded Yahweh’s unequivocal perspective on the matter. 

“I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols.” – Isaiah 42:8 NLT

When He gave Moses the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, Yahweh clarified His views on idol worship. 

“You must not have any other god but me.

“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind, or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.” – Deuteronomy 5:7-9 NLT

Almost as if he is trying to prove his allegiance to Yahweh, the psalmist provides his personal opinion on the idiocy of idolatry.

Their idols are merely things of silver and gold,
    shaped by human hands.
They have mouths but cannot speak,
    and eyes but cannot see.
They have ears but cannot hear,
    and noses but cannot smell.
They have hands but cannot feel,
    and feet but cannot walk,
    and throats but cannot make a sound.
And those who make idols are just like them,
    as are all who trust in them. – Psalm 115:4-8 NLT

Unlike Yahweh, who is all-powerful and not of this earth, these lifeless manmade statues are mute, blind, and completely impotent. They are the figment of a man's imagination and the work of his hands, and Yahweh ridiculed the pagan nations that placed their hope in these harmless and helpless symbols of hope. 

“Their ways are futile and foolish.
    They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol.
They decorate it with gold and silver
    and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails
    so it won’t fall over.
Their gods are like
    helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field!
They cannot speak,
    and they need to be carried because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of such gods,
    for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.” – Jeremiah 10:3-5 NLT  

Yet, the psalmist knew that his own people were guilty of trusting in the false gods of their enemies. Apostasy and idolatry had been an ongoing problem within the nation of Israel from the very beginning. That is why he addresses the Israelites directly and challenges them to place their hope in the one true God: Yahweh.

O Israel, trust the LORD!
    He is your helper and your shield.
O priests, descendants of Aaron, trust the LORD!
    He is your helper and your shield.
All you who fear the LORD, trust the LORD!
    He is your helper and your shield. – Psalm 115:9-11 NLT

He knew Yahweh would not act if His covenant people remained stubbornly disobedient and unfaithful. So, he calls on the people and the priests to repent and return to Yahweh. If they wanted to see the LORD’s salvation, they would need to treat Him with the dignity and honor He deserved. 

Long before the people of Israel set foot in the land of Canaan, Yahweh had warned them to remain faithful to the covenant commitment they had made with Him. Moses left nothing to the imagination when he declared the non-negotiable conditions of the covenant. 

“The Lord has declared today that you are his people, his own special treasure, just as he promised, and that you must obey all his commands. And if you do, he will set you high above all the other nations he has made. Then you will receive praise, honor, and renown. You will be a nation that is holy to the Lord your God, just as he promised.” – Deuteronomy 26:18-19 NLT

That is the point the psalmist had in mind when he wrote: “The LORD remembers us and will bless us. He will bless the people of Israel and bless the priests, the descendants of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the LORD, both great and lowly” (Psalm 115:12-13 NLT). Obedience brings blessing. If the Israelites wanted to see God act, they would need to obey. If they wanted to experience the blessings of God, they would need to treat Him with honor and respect. 

While this psalm opens up by addressing Yahweh directly, its message is aimed at the disobedient and disengenuous people of God. The entire discussion about idols was for their benefit and intended to remind them of the futility of placing their hope in anything or anyone other than Yahweh, “the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 115:15 NLT). 

It seems likely that the psalmist had Deuteronomy 28 in mind when he penned the words of his song.

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:

Your towns and your fields
    will be blessed.
Your children and your crops
    will be blessed.
The offspring of your herds and flocks
    will be blessed.
Your fruit baskets and breadboards
    will be blessed.
Wherever you go and whatever you do,
    you will be blessed.” – Deuteronomy 28:1-6 NLT

They had experienced Yahweh's blessings over the years. But now they faced an uncertain future because they had been unfaithful to their covenant commitments. But it was not too late. They could change their ways. They could reverse course. All that was required was repentance, a rejection of their false gods, and a return to their commitment to worship Yahweh alone. And to drive home his point, the psalmist gives them the choice between death and sold-out devotion to their God.

The dead cannot sing praises to the LORD,
    for they have gone into the silence of the grave.
But we can praise the LORD
    both now and forever!

Praise the Lord! – Psalm 115:17-18 NLT

Continued disobedience would bring God's judgment and, ultimately, death. But repentance would result in redemption and a restoration of God's covenant blessings. The choice was theirs. 

Father, we love to see You perform powerful acts of deliverance. We like reading the stories that record Your miraculous interventions on behalf of Your people. But we tend to forget that You desire faithfulness from those who bear Your name and benefit from Your goodness. We love the idea of unmerited favor and undeserved grace, but tend to take your favor for granted and cheapen your grace by treating it with contempt. Like the psalmist, we want to see You intervene on our behalf, but we fail to recognize that You still require obedience and sold-out worship from Your people. You remain a jealous God who will not tolerate unfaithfulness or spiritual infidelity. Show me how to live with expectation of Your power while maintaining a passion for Your glory. It seems odd to expect deliverance from the God we so often treat with disinterest. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Pervasive and Powerful Presence of God

1 When Israel went out from Egypt,
    the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2 Judah became his sanctuary,
    Israel his dominion.

3 The sea looked and fled;
    Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
    the hills like lambs.

5 What ails you, O sea, that you flee?
    O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams?
    O hills, like lambs?

7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD,
    at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns the rock into a pool of water,
    the flint into a spring of water. – Psalm 114:1-8 ESV

This psalm commemorates two significant events in the history of the nation of Israel. Both entail miraculous interventions by Yahweh that symbolize His power and provision for His chosen people. The first goes all the way back to their final days in Egypt, when God delivered them from 400 years of captivity and helped them escape from their Egyptian overlords by providing a way of escape across the Red Sea.

When the Israelites escaped from Egypt—
    when the family of Jacob left that foreign land—
the land of Judah became God’s sanctuary,
    and Israel became his kingdom.

The Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way! – Psalm 114:1-3 NLT

In these verses, the psalmist summarizes God’s miraculous deliverance and its stunning outcome. The Book of Exodus provides additional details that would have been familiar to every Israelite. 

Then Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the Lord opened up a path through the water with a strong east wind. The wind blew all that night, turning the seabed into dry land. So the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on each side!

When all the Israelites had reached the other side, the Lord said to Moses, “Raise your hand over the sea again. Then the waters will rush back and cover the Egyptians and their chariots and charioteers.” So as the sun began to rise, Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the water rushed back into its usual place. The Egyptians tried to escape, but the Lord swept them into the sea. Then the waters returned and covered all the chariots and charioteers—the entire army of Pharaoh. Of all the Egyptians who had chased the Israelites into the sea, not a single one survived. – Exodus 14:21-22, 26-28 NLT

The story of Yahweh’s parting of the Red Sea and His defeat of the Egyptian army had been passed down for generations. It was a well-known and oft-told tale that provided the Israelites with comfort and confidence. The same God who had delivered their ancestors was with them and remained just as powerful and prepared to rescue them in their time of need. 

In fact, the psalmist highlights that Yahweh’s deliverance had established Israel as His chosen possession.

…the land of Judah became God’s sanctuary,
    and Israel became his kingdom. – Psalm 114:2 NLT

Yahweh’s plan had been to return His people to the land He had given them as their inheritance. Centuries earlier, Yahweh warned Abraham that his descendants would end up as slaves in a foreign land, but that He would deliver them.

“You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. (As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.” – Genesis 15:13-16 NLT 

Yahweh later reiterated that promise to Abraham. 

“This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.” – Genesis 17:7-8 NLT

In delivering Abraham's descendants from their captivity in Egypt, Yahweh fulfilled His promise. He led them from Egypt all the way to Canaan, and along the way, He established Himself as their God and King. At Mount Sinai, He gave them His Law and the plans for the Tabernacle. He intended to live among them, dwelling in the Holy of Holies within the Tabernacle. His Law was designed to set them apart as His holy people, providing them with a code of conduct that set them apart from all the other nations. But because He knew they would fail to live up to His holy standards, Yahweh provided them with the sacrificial system to provide atonement and forgiveness for their sins. 

When the people of Israel left Mount Sinai and began the final phase of their journey to Canaan, Yahweh warned them:

“You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.” – Exodus 19:4-6 NLT

Yahweh expected His chosen people to live differently from all the other nations. He had set them apart for a reason. The Tabernacle was to be His earthly throneroom, where He would rule as King in their midst. His Law was perfect and holy, providing His people with a non-negotiable code of conduct based on divine righteousness, not man-made laws. 

But there is a second miracle Yahweh performed for His people. After their 40-year journey across the wilderness, the Israelites faced another body of water that served as a barrier to their future. They would have to cross the Jordan River to enter the promised land, and, as before, God stepped in.

The water of the Jordan River turned away. – Psalm 114:3 NLT

The Book of Joshua fills in the details of this miraculous event.

So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho.

Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground. – Joshua 3:14-17 NLT

The Ark of the Covenant served as Yahweh's literal throne in the Tabernacle. Its lid was known as the Mercy Seat, above which the Shekinah glory of God dwelt. As the priests stood in the middle of the riverbed carrying the Ark of the Covenant, the presence of God held back the waters of the Jordan and allowed the people to walk across on dry ground. 

In a few short verses, the psalmist summarizes Yahweh’s unforgettable demonstrations of His power and provision for His people. 

The mountains skipped like rams,
    the hills like lambs!
What’s wrong, Red Sea, that made you hurry out of their way?
    What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away?
Why, mountains, did you skip like rams?
    Why, hills, like lambs? – Psalm 114:4-6 NLT

The mountains is probably a reference to Mount Sinai, where Yahweh appeared in smoke, fire, thunder, and lightning. 

On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled. Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently. – Exodus 19:16-18 NLT

The mountain shook because of Yahweh's presence. The waters of the Red Sea and the Jordan River had parted at the presence of Israel's God. Creation was subject to the will of the Almighty. His divine presence made the mountains shake and the waters part. To drive home his point, the psalmist adds one last proof of Yahweh's power. 

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
    at the presence of the God of Jacob.
He turned the rock into a pool of water;
    yes, a spring of water flowed from solid rock. – Psalm 114:7-8 NLT

During their days in the wilderness, the Israelites made a habit of complaining about the difficulty of their journey. At one point, they ran out of water and voiced their displeasure to Moses, who took the matter up with Yahweh. In response, God provided a solution.

“Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you. 6 I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.” So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on.” – Exodus 17:5-6 NLT

But the text goes on to reveal that thirst was not the Israelites’ real problem; it was their lack of faith. 

Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not?” – Exodus 17:7 NLT

In their minds, the lack of water proved that Yahweh was not present. He must have abandoned them along the way. But Yahweh was there, and He proved it by providing water from a rock. That is why the psalmist ends his song by stating, “Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the God of Jacob” (Psalm 114:7 NLT). 

At the presence of Yahweh, mountains shake, the seas part, and water flows from a rock. The earth trembles at His presence, but why don’t we? What prevents us from sensing His nearness and responding in awe at His holiness? Why do we find it so difficult to believe that God is in our midst? The psalmist recounts the physical evidence of God's power and provision in the lives of the Israelites. He uses the lyrics of his song to remind others of Yahweh’s all-pervasive presence. In our times of greatest need, Yahweh is there. Whether we face uncrossable seas, vast tracts of wilderness, a lack of resources, or unconquerable enemies, Yahweh is with us and for us. His presence remains even when the conditions of life point to His seeming absence. And, like the earth itself, we need to learn how to tremble at the presence of the LORD. He is great and greatly to be praised. 

Father, You are always with me, whether I can sense it or not. My circumstances are a lousy barometer of Your presence because they deceive me into believing You are not there or You simply do not care. But difficulties are not evidence of Your absence, they are opportunities to experience Your presence. The Red-Sea moments of life are designed to reveal the unseen presence of the One who can part seas, shake mountains, and provide life-giving water from a lifeless rock. Nothing is too difficult for You. So forgive me for doubting Your presence. Far too often, I have followed the lead of the Israelites and said, “Is the Lord here with us or not?” But I want to live in faithful expectatoin of your presence and in constant awe of Your power. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Praise Him for His Presence

1 Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
    praise the name of the LORD!

2 Blessed be the name of the LORD
    from this time forth and forevermore!
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting,
    the name of the LORD is to be praised!

4 The LORD is high above all nations,
    and his glory above the heavens!
5 Who is like the LORD our God,
    who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down
    on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust
    and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes,
    with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home,
    making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the LORD. – Psalm 113:1-9 ESV

Five times in nine verses, the psalmist uses the Hebrew word hālal to call for the praise and adoration of Yahweh. This is a command, not a suggestion, directed at the people of God. He is ordering them to joyously celebrate the LORD for who He is and all that He has done for them. 

Praise (hālal) the LORD!

Yes, give praise (hālal), O servants of the LORD.
    Praise (hālal) the name of the LORD!
Blessed be the name of the LORD
    now and forever.
Everywhere—from east to west—
    praise (hālal) the name of the LORD. – Psalm 113:1-3 NLT

God’s name was associated with His character, and the name the psalmist repeatedly uses when referring to God is Yᵊhōvâ. This was the name God declared when Moses asked, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” 

God had just commissioned Moses to lead His people out of captivity in Egypt, but Moses was reticent to accept this difficult assignment. Yet, God responded to Moses’ reluctance with patience, stating, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh (Yᵊhōvâ), the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:15 NLT). God was declaring He was the always-existent, ever-present One who would be a permanent fixture in the lives of His chosen people. And to drive home the permanency of His presence, God added, “This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations (Exodus 3:15 NLT).

So, when the psalmist ordered his fellow Israelites to praise the name of the LORD, he was calling them to remember that God was with them and had never forsaken them. Despite all their faults and track record of unfaithfulness, Yahweh had remained committed to the covenant promises He had made to them. He had proven His faithfulness for centuries by displaying His power, provision, and protection. From their deliverance from captivity in Egypt to their 40-year journey through the wilderness, God had been with them. When they crossed the Jordan River into Canaan, Yahweh assisted them in their conquest of the land’s inhabitants. 

Yahweh had lived up to His name as “the existing One.” He had been with them in Egypt and had led them through the wilderness to the land of promise. During the period of the judges, Yahweh had remained by their side, delivering them from their oppressors and forgiving them for their apostasy and idolatry. When they demanded to have a king like all the other nations, Yahweh obliged their request, but never relinquished His sovereignty over them.  

As with the previous two psalms, this one highlights God’s greatness by declaring His transcendence. The psalmist describes Yahweh as “high above the nations; his glory is higher than the heavens” (Psalm 113:4 NLT). This is not a reference to God's location but His sovereignty. He is LORD over all. But this all-powerful, unapproachable deity was not distant and aloof; He was personal and present.

Who can be compared with the Lord our God,
    who is enthroned on high?
He stoops to look down
    on heaven and on earth. – Psalm 113:5-6 NLT

Yahweh had proven Himself to be intimate and immersed in the affairs of His people. Though He was holy and righteous, He made Himself available to sinful men. On Mount Sinai, the Creator of the universe made Himself known to Moses, a convicted murderer who had spent 40 years as a fugitive from justice. Yahweh had chosen this flawed and fear-filled man to be the deliverer of His captive people. The transcendent, invisible God had “stooped down," seen the situation in Egypt, and chosen to intervene. 

“I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them…” – Exodus 3:7-8 NLT

Yahweh delivered His captive people, and had been doing so ever since. That is why He deserved their praise. He had proven to be faithful and trustworthy. His power was unequaled, and His constant presence was undeniable. And the examples of His handiwork were everywhere.

He lifts the poor from the dust
    and the needy from the garbage dump.
He sets them among princes,
    even the princes of his own people!
He gives the childless woman a family,
    making her a happy mother. – Psalm 113:7-9 NLT

The stories of Moses, Joseph, and David come to mind. He took a murderer, a prisoner, and a lowly shepherd and transformed them into men of integrity and influence. Yahweh intervened in the lives of women like Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Hannah, providing these barren women with children. Rebekah gave birth to Jacob, whom Yahweh later renamed Israel. It was through this unexpected son that the nation of Israel came into being. 

Yahweh had a track record of showing up and making His presence known among His people, which is why He deserved their praise. He lived up to His name as the ever-existent, always-present One. He kept His promises, continually and faithfully delivering, protecting, guiding, disciplining, and providing for His people. And He was far from done. Which is why the psalmist ends his song with an emphatic, non-negotiable reminder to “Praise the LORD!”

Father, You have never failed to show up in my life. While there have been moments when I could not see or feel Your presence, You have always been there. What I mistook as your invisibility or unavailability was really just the result of own insensitivity to Your presence. When I look back on my life, I see the proof of Your presence. But I want to grow in my ability to sense You in the present, not just the past. I desire to grow more aware of Your involvement in the moment and not just in retrospect, because I know You never leave me or forsake me. There is never a moment when I am on my own or left to my own devices. You are always there and You always care for me. So, I praise You, O LORD for You are worthy. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Remember and Rejoice

1 Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;
    make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
    tell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;
    make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
    tell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
4 Seek the LORD and his strength;
    seek his presence continually!
5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
    children of Jacob, his chosen ones!

7 He is the LORD our God;
    his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant forever,
    the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
    his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
    as your portion for an inheritance.”

12 When they were few in number,
    of little account, and sojourners in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them;
    he rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
    do my prophets no harm!”

16 When he summoned a famine on the land
    and broke all supply of bread,
17 he had sent a man ahead of them,
    Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 His feet were hurt with fetters;
    his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until what he had said came to pass,
    the word of the LORD tested him.
20 The king sent and released him;
    the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21 he made him lord of his house
    and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to bind his princes at his pleasure
    and to teach his elders wisdom.

23 Then Israel came to Egypt;
    Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 And the LORD made his people very fruitful
    and made them stronger than their foes.
25 He turned their hearts to hate his people,
    to deal craftily with his servants.

26 He sent Moses, his servant,
    and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them
    and miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
    they did not rebel against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood
    and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
    even in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
    and gnats throughout their country.
32 He gave them hail for rain,
    and fiery lightning bolts through their land.
33 He struck down their vines and fig trees,
    and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
    young locusts without number,
35 which devoured all the vegetation in their land
    and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
    the firstfruits of all their strength.

37 Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,
    and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
    for dread of them had fallen upon it.

39 He spread a cloud for a covering,
    and fire to give light by night.
40 They asked, and he brought quail,
    and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
    it flowed through the desert like a river.
42 For he remembered his holy promise,
    and Abraham, his servant.

43 So he brought his people out with joy,
    his chosen ones with singing.
44 And he gave them the lands of the nations,
    and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil,
45 that they might keep his statutes
    and observe his laws.
Praise the LORD! – Psalm 105:1-45 ESV

According to this unnamed psalmist, Yahweh was worthy of praise because of His faithful commitment to the people of Israel. This entire psalm is a call for the Israelites to acknowledge the trustworthiness and greatness of their covenant-keeping God. In the opening lines of his song, the psalmist repeatedly charges his fellow Israelites to recall and recount God's wondrous works on their behalf. 

Let the whole world know what he has done. – Psalm 105: 1 NLT

 Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. – Psalm 105:2 NLT

Remember the wonders he has performed,
    his miracles, and the rulings he has given… – Psalm 105:5 NLT

If the Israelites needed a reason to celebrate Yahweh’s goodness and greatness, their rich and storied history was filled with examples. But for the psalmist, the most remarkable illustration of Yahweh's faithfulness was the covenant He made with Abraham, the patriarch and progenitor of the Hebrew people.  Centuries earlier, God had called this pagan idol worshiper to abandon his clan, homeland, and false gods for a new lifelong relationship with Him. 

“Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” – Genesis 12:1-3 NLT

What made this promise even more remarkable was that Abraham was already an old man, married to an equally old and barren wife. But despite the poor odds for success, Abraham obeyed and followed Yahweh to the land of Canaan. The psalmist adds a line to his song that celebrates God's faithfulness to fulfill His covenant commitment to Abraham.

He always stands by his covenant—
    the commitment he made to a thousand generations.
This is the covenant he made with Abraham
    and the oath he swore to Isaac.
He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
    and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant:
“I will give you the land of Canaan
    as your special possession.” – Psalm 105:8-11 NLT

While no timeline is given to establish the dating of this psalm, it was obviously written long after the Israelites had entered and taken possession of the land of Canaan. Centuries had passed, and the Israelites had enjoyed a long tenure as occupants of the “land of promise.” It had taken hundreds of years for God to fulfill His covenant commitment to Abraham, but every facet of His original promise had occurred just as He said it would. With each passing generation, God reaffirmed His intention to keep His word. After the death of Abraham, God reiterated His covenant promise to Abraham's son, Isaac. 

“Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” – Genesis 26:3-5 NLT

When Isaac eventually died, God passed on His covenant promises to Isaac's son, Jacob, whom God later renamed Israel. 

“I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.” – Genesis 35:11-12 NLT

But despite God's promises, Jacob's small family was anything but a great nation, and they lived as relative nomads in the land that was supposed to be their inheritance.

…they were few in number,
    a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.
They wandered from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another.
Yet he did not let anyone oppress them.
    He warned kings on their behalf:
“Do not touch my chosen people,
    and do not hurt my prophets.” – Psalm 105:12-15 NLT

But God was not done, and the psalmist recalls the next phase of God’s promise-keeping plan for His chosen people. Verses 16-22 recount the astonishing story of Joseph, the son of Jacob, who was sold into slavery by his own brothers. Jealous of Joseph’s favored-son status, his brothers plotted to get rid of him by selling him to slave traders and then telling their father that he had been killed by a wild animal. They lived with this lie for years while their brother experienced a roller-coaster existence in the land of Egypt. 

They bruised his feet with fetters
    and placed his neck in an iron collar.
Until the time came to fulfill his dreams,
    the Lord tested Joseph’s character.
Then Pharaoh sent for him and set him free;
    the ruler of the nation opened his prison door.
Joseph was put in charge of all the king’s household;
    he became ruler over all the king’s possessions. – Psalm 105:18-21 NLT

This was all part of God’s plan for the descendants of Abraham. He had sent Joseph ahead to prepare for the next phase of His covenant-fulfilling strategy, which was in keeping with another promise He made to Abraham. 

“You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. (As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) After four generations your descendants will return here to this land… – Genesis 15:13-16 NLT

The psalmist knew the story well and recounted how Jacob and his family migrated to Egypt to escape a famine in the land of Canaan. 

Then Israel arrived in Egypt;
    Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham.
And the LORD multiplied the people of Israel
    until they became too mighty for their enemies.
Then he turned the Egyptians against the Israelites,
    and they plotted against the LORD’s servants. – Psalm 105:23-25 NLT

The Book of Genesis affirms that Jacob's family was anything but a great nation when they arrived in Egypt.

…there were seventy members of Jacob’s family in the land of Egypt. – Genesis 46:27 NLT

But as the psalmist recounts, the Israelites grew in number, just as God had said they would. In fact, their numbers increased so significantly that they became a threat to the Egyptians. In four centuries, the Israelites had multiplied and prospered under God's sovereign hand, causing the Pharaoh to enact a series of edicts that enslaved and oppressed God's people. But verses 26-36 recount how Yahweh raised up a deliverer to rescue His people from slavery and lead them back to the land of Canaan. 

Through a series of devastating plagues, Yahweh punished Pharaoh and the people of Egypt for their refusal to set His people free. But eventually, God persuaded the pride-filled Pharaoh to release the Israelites and allow them to return to the land of promise. 

Moses served as their official God-appointed tour guide and leader, but it was really Yahweh who directed their path and provided for all their needs along the way. 

The LORD spread a cloud above them as a covering
    and gave them a great fire to light the darkness.
They asked for meat, and he sent them quail;
    he satisfied their hunger with manna—bread from heaven.
He split open a rock, and water gushed out
    to form a river through the dry wasteland. – Psalm 105:39-41 NLT

The psalmist leaves little doubt that Yahweh was behind every part of their ancestors’ wilderness experience. Yahweh had led them and fed them. He provided for all their needs and traveled alongside them in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21). Their 40-year journey from Egypt to Canaan had been filled with God's presence and marked by His power. Despite their grumbling, complaining, disobedience, and disloyalty, the Israelites learned that their God was faithful and trustworthy. He never abandoned them along the way. Instead, He showered them with mercy and grace, repeatedly rescuing and redeeming them from one self-inflicted disaster after another. 

According to the psalmist, Yahweh, “remembered his sacred promise to his servant Abraham. So he brought his people out of Egypt with joy, his chosen ones with rejoicing” (Psalm 105:42-43 NLT). But Yahweh didn't stop there; He led them to and into the land of promise, providing them with victories over their enemies and ownership of their inheritance. 

He gave his people the lands of pagan nations,
    and they harvested crops that others had planted.
All this happened so they would follow his decrees
    and obey his instructions. – Psalm 105:44-45 NLT

With all that as background, the psalmist calls on the descendants of Abraham to “Praise the LORD!” (Psalm 105:45 NLT). This was a call to celebrate God's goodness and greatness and remember His faithfulness and covenant-keeping nature. The danger each generation of believers faces is forgetting God's faithfulness. Even Moses knew that the generation that entered the land of Canaan would be tempted to forget all that Yahweh had done, so he provided them with a sobering warning.

“Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.” – Deuteronomy 8:11-18 NLT

Remember and rejoice. Praise the LORD for who He is and all that He has done. But never forget that “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning (Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT).

Father, You are a good and trustworthy God who has proven Yourself faithful and true for generations. We have no cause to doubt You, but we do. We have no reason to question Your goodness and greatness, but we do so anyway. Yet, You respond with mercy and grace. You shower us with undeserved blessings and continue to fulfill all Your covenant promises. You never go back on Your word, and never give up on Your people. We have every reason to praise You but we are quick to forget and prone to complain. Our forgetfulness leads to ungratefulness. Our dissatisfaction results in disobedience. Help us see you more clearly, remember You regularly, and praise You more frequently. For You are worthy of our praise. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Worthy of Our Worship

1 The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble!
    He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2 The LORD is great in Zion;
    he is exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name!
    Holy is he!
4 The King in his might loves justice.
    You have established equity;
you have executed justice
    and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt the Lord our God;
    worship at his footstool!
    Holy is he!

6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
    Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.
    They called to the LORD, and he answered them.
7 In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
    they kept his testimonies
    and the statute that he gave them.

8 O LORD our God, you answered them;
    you were a forgiving God to them,
    but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9 Exalt the LORD our God,
    and worship at his holy mountain;
    for the LORD our God is holy! – Psalm 99:1-9 ESV

The psalmist opens his song with a statement of God's kingship and sovereignty.

The LORD reigns… – Psalm 99:1 ESV

This statement is not up for debate or open to discussion. It is a matter-of-fact declaration of a non-negotiable reality. Yahweh rules over all and is worthy of worship, reverence, and obedience. His unprecedented power and authority are without question and demand the fear of all men. That is why the psalmist states, “Let the peoples tremble!” (Psalm 99:1 ESV).

To illustrate Yahweh's majestic holiness, the psalmist describes Him as “enthroned above the cherubim” (Psalm 99:99:1 NLT), a reference to the Shekinah glory of God that appeared above the Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle. The instructions for constructing this earthly “throne” were given to Moses by God on top of Mount Sinai in the wilderness.

“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.” – Exodus 25:17-22 NLT

Once the Tabernacle was completed, God agreed to inhabit it with His glory and dwell among the people of Israel.

“I will meet with you, to speak to you there. There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory.” – Exodus 29:42-43 ESV

“I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God.” – Exodus 29:45 ESV

The promise was meant to reassure His people by guaranteeing His abiding presence. But it was also intended to instill in them a reverential fear because of His holiness. The entire Tabernacle was an elaborate symbol of Yahweh's glory and greatness. It was adorned with gold, silver, expensive fabrics, and finely crafted furnishings that testified to the majesty of its divine inhabitant. This was no ordinary tent but the dwelling place of Yahweh, the God of the universe and the all-powerful King who loves justice and establishes equity on earth. That is why the psalmist demands a response of awe and reverence from the people of God.

Praise the LORD our God.
Worship before his footstool.
He is holy! – Psalm 99:5 NLT

As if to drive home his point, the psalmist recalls how Yahweh appeared to the people of Israel as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, to guide them during their journey from Egypt to the land of Canaan. They were never without His abiding presence and never lacked His protection and provision for their needs. When they prayed to Him, He listened. When they sinned, He punished. When they grew thirsty, He provided them with water to drink. When they ran out of food, He graciously gave them manna and quail. And all He asked for in exchange was their worship.

But let's be honest. Most of us need a good reason to worship God, which usually has more to do with us than Him. We'll worship Him if He has been good to us. We'll worship Him if He has met our expectations and fulfilled all our desires. We'll worship Him if our life goes as we expected it to go. But let one thing go wrong, and all bets are off. We find it hard to worship God amid difficulties. Singing His praises is difficult when we're busy singing the blues.

But the Psalmist reminds us that our praise of God has little to do with what He has done for us lately. It has everything to do with who He is. He is God, and He is holy. So we should exalt or lift up His name, simply because of who He is. Our praise should be motivated by His character and essence, not His ability to meet our laundry list of needs or wants.

God is not worthy of our praise or worship because He meets all our desires and answers every one of our prayers. We worship Him because He deserves it.

God rules. On your toes, everybody!
He rules from his angel throne—take notice!
God looms majestic in Zion,
He towers in splendor over all the big names.
Great and terrible your beauty: let everyone praise you!
    Holy. Yes, holy. – Psalms 99:1-3 MSG).

He is KING! He is mighty, majestic, powerful, and deserving of our honor, respect, fear, awe, obedience, gratefulness, and worship. Worship is a recognition of who God is. It is an awareness that He is God and we are not. When we come to God only for what we can get from Him, that is the farthest thing from worship. In doing so, we turn Him into a glorified slot machine. We pull the handle, hoping to hit the jackpot. We want Him to deliver on our desires for happiness, success, popularity, peace, comfort, and contentment. And when He doesn't come through, we express disappointment rather than worship.

But again, the psalmist reminds us, "Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain in Jerusalem, for the LORD our God is holy!" (Psalm 99:9 NLT). We are to worship Him simply because He is holy. He is set apart, distinct, different, sacred, one-of-a-kind, unique, and without equal in all the world. And if that doesn't get us to worship Him, then the psalmist reminds us that one day God will judge the earth. He will send His Son back to set things right and restore the world to its original splendor. He will judge the nations. He will put an end to sin and establish His Kingdom on earth. That's the God who deserves our worship, praise, honor, glory, and full attention.

Shout your praises to God, everybody!
Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!

Round up an orchestra to play for God,
Add on a hundred-voice choir.

Feature trumpets and big trombones,
Fill the air with praises to King God.

Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause,
With everything living on earth joining in.

Let ocean breakers call out, “Encore!”
And mountains harmonize the finale—

A tribute to God when he comes,
When he comes to set the earth right. – Psalm 98:4-9 MSG

Father, You deserve my praise and worship, not because You do things for me, but simply because of who You are. Forgive me for the many times I hold back on my praise because I am waiting for You to meet my needs on my terms. I fail to recognize Your holiness and so I fail to give You the honor You so rightfully deserve. Open my eyes to the reality of Your uniqueness. Let me see You in all Your splendor and holiness, and shout Your praises simply because of who You are. Anything You do for me is like icing on the cake – an extra bonus from the hand of the Almighty God. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Singing God's Praises

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3 You return man to dust
    and say, “Return, O children of man!”
4 For a thousand years in your sight
    are but as yesterday when it is past,
    or as a watch in the night.

5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
    like grass that is renewed in the morning:
6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
    in the evening it fades and withers.

7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
    by your wrath we are dismayed.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
    our secret sins in the light of your presence.

9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
    we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
10 The years of our life are seventy,
    or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
    they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who considers the power of your anger,
    and your wrath according to the fear of you?

12 So teach us to number our days
    that we may get a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O LORD! How long?
    Have pity on your servants!
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
    that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
    and for as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your work be shown to your servants,
    and your glorious power to their children.
17 Let the favor of the LORD our God be upon us,
    and establish the work of our hands upon us;
    yes, establish the work of our hands! – Psalm 90:1-17 ESV

This psalm is attributed to Moses, making it the oldest of all the psalms recorded in the Psalter. In this eloquent prayer, Moses addresses God’s faithfulness by focusing on His eternality. He is the ever-present Creator God who not only formed the universe but also faithfully cares for it.

For Moses, God’s eternal nature was a comfort and a concern. He knew God personally and had spent countless hours on top of Mount Sinai receiving instructions to pass on to the people of Israel. Moses had performed miracles in the power of God. He stood before Pharaoh and spoke on behalf of God. This former murderer and sheep herder had delivered the people of God from their slavery in Egypt and then led them across the wilderness to Canaan. During the 40 years he served as Israel's guide, judge, and counselor, Moses saw the power of God on display. He had witnessed God destroy the Egyptian army at the Red Sea. But he had also seen God punish His own people for their disobedience. The Almighty was a force to be reckoned with and not taken lightly or treated flippantly.

You sweep people away like dreams that disappear.
    They are like grass that springs up in the morning.
In the morning it blooms and flourishes,
    but by evening it is dry and withered. – Psalm 90:5-6 NLT

Moses had observed firsthand the wrath of God. He had been an eyewitness to God's destruction of Korah and his co-conspirators (Numbers 16:1-40). He had seen God consume Aaron's disobedient sons with fire (Leviticus 10:1-20). He was forced to stand back and watch as God inflicted his sister Miriam with leprosy (Numbers 12:1-10). From his perspective, God’s power was awe-inspiring and fear-producing.  

We wither beneath your anger;
    we are overwhelmed by your fury.
You spread out our sins before you—
    our secret sins—and you see them all.
We live our lives beneath your wrath,
    ending our years with a groan. – Psalm 90:7-9 NLT

Moses began his ministry of deliverance at the age of 40 and served another 40 years as Israel's God-appointed leader. During that time, he experienced all the ups and downs that come with leadership. He was constantly questioned, doubted, accused, ignored, and blamed. He endured a failed coup attempt. His leadership skills were ridiculed, his sense of direction was questioned, and his calling by God was regularly doubted by those he was supposed to lead. So, by the time he reached his seventies, Moses was a worn-out, doubt-filled man who struggled with a lack of confidence and a fear of failure.

Seventy years are given to us!
    Some even live to eighty.
But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble;
    soon they disappear, and we fly away. – Psalm 90:10 NLT

Moses had been reluctant to serve as God's deliverer, but now that he had spent nearly half his life attempting to lead a stubborn people to the “land of promise,” he was worn out and questioning God’s reliability and his own competency. He felt alone and deserted. The people fought him at every turn, and it appeared as if God had abandoned him somewhere along the way.

O LORD, come back to us!
    How long will you delay?
    Take pity on your servants! – Psalm 90:13 NLT

Leading God's people was difficult work and came with few perks. Moses didn't receive many thanks or commendations along the way. The people were always quick to complain but rarely expressed gratitude for his selfless service. He labored and toiled without pay and little in the way of remuneration for his efforts. In his weariness and depression, Moses called out to God and begged for His intervention.

Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love,
    so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!
    Replace the evil years with good. – Psalm 90:14-15 NLT

When Moses received his calling from God on Mount Sinai, he had been reluctant to accept God's commission. He felt he was the wrong man for the job and was ill-equipped to pull off such a daunting task. But God assured him, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12 NLT). Yahweh would go with him and before him. The great Creator God would lead the way and provide Moses all the power he needed to accomplish his mission. 

But decades later, Moses was running out of steam and losing motivation. The journey had taken much longer than expected, and the people of Israel proved to be far more stubborn and difficult to lead than Moses could have imagined. Yes, there had been victories along the way. God had stepped in and provided manna and quail when the people grew hungry. He had provided water when the people’s thirst caused them to complain. During their years wandering in the wilderness, their clothes and sandals had not worn out. Yahweh had provided for all their needs.

But as the people neared the end of their journey and Moses approached the end of his life, he was begging God to show up yet again. He desperately desired to see Yahweh demonstrate His power and display His glory one more time.

Let us, your servants, see you work again;
    let our children see your glory.
And may the Lord our God show us his approval
    and make our efforts successful.
    Yes, make our efforts successful! – Psalm 90:16-17 NLT

This song of Moses stands in stark contrast to another song he wrote decades earlier. Immediately after the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, Moses penned the following words:

“I will sing to the Lord,
    for he has triumphed gloriously;
he has hurled both horse and rider
    into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song;
    he has given me victory.
This is my God, and I will praise him—
    my father’s God, and I will exalt him!
The Lord is a warrior;
    Yahweh is his name!
Pharaoh’s chariots and army
    he has hurled into the sea.
The finest of Pharaoh’s officers
    are drowned in the Red Sea.” – Exodus 15:1-4 NLT

Moses was stoked. His excitement was palpable and contagious. He had seen God perform an epic miracle, and he wanted everyone to know about it. But by the time we get to Psalm 90, Moses is a much older and wilderness-wearied man who had long forgotten the miracle of the Red Sea. For Moses, his best days were in the rearview mirror. The future was unsure, and the presence of God was in question.

But there is yet another song that Moses wrote. It came near the end of his life as he prepared to turn over the reins of leadership to Joshua. Moses was 80 years old and had spent half his life guiding the people of Israel from Egypt to Canaan. But despite his age, Moses was far from weak and not the least bit pessimistic. It is almost as if his prayer in Psalm 90 had been answered. Even in old age, he had a renewed sense of faith and hope in Yahweh.

“Listen, O heavens, and I will speak!
    Hear, O earth, the words that I say!
Let my teaching fall on you like rain;
    let my speech settle like dew.
Let my words fall like rain on tender grass,
    like gentle showers on young plants.
I will proclaim the name of the Lord;
    how glorious is our God!
He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect.
    Everything he does is just and fair.
He is a faithful God who does no wrong;
    how just and upright he is!

“But they have acted corruptly toward him;
    when they act so perversely,
are they really his children?
    They are a deceitful and twisted generation.
Is this the way you repay the Lord,
    you foolish and senseless people?
Isn’t he your Father who created you?
    Has he not made you and established you?” – Deuteronomy 32:1-6 NLT

Even as he anticipated his death, Moses expressed his faith in Yahweh. His days had been numbered by God, and the end was near. Yet, Moses was not bitter or disappointed. He did not moan about his lot in life or express frustration over his inability to enter the land of promise with the rest of the Israelites. 

No, Moses encouraged the people of Israel to remember God for who He was and for all that He had done. He also reminded them to own their own rebellion and recognize their unfaithfulness to God. Over the last 40 years, Yahweh had given them what they deserved but had also showered them with unmerited favor and grace. They were about to enter the land of promise and enjoy all the blessings of Yahweh, and Moses wanted them to know that obedience would be a non-negotiable requirement.

So, he ended his last song with a call to rejoice in the Lord. He wanted the people of Israel to acknowledge God's goodness and greatness.

“Rejoice with him, you heavens,
    and let all of God’s angels worship him.
Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles,
    and let all the angels be strengthened in him.
For he will avenge the blood of his children;
    he will take revenge against his enemies.
He will repay those who hate him
    and cleanse his people’s land.” – Deuteronomy 32:43 NLT

Three songs written by the same man. But the greatest of the three is the last one because it reflects the faithfulness of a man who spent 80 years serving and worshiping Yahweh. As he approached the end of his life, he could still sing God's praises and call the people of Israel to remain faithful. 

Father, it is so easy to lose sight of Your faithfulness. Sometimes we can look back and see Your acts of power and mercy. But other times, we tend to forget and allow our thinking to become clouded and memories to become blurred. But You are always faithful. Your goodness and greatness never fade or falter. Your love remains the same no matter the circumstances. I want to be able to sing Your praises and I want to do so more loudly and joyously the older I get. May I have the perspective of Moses and be able to look back on my life and see Your handiwork woven throughout the fabric of my existence – from beginning to end. Because You are forever faithful. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Stop, Stand, and See

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

1 I cry aloud to God,
    aloud to God, and he will hear me.
2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
    in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
    my soul refuses to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I moan;
    when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah

4 You hold my eyelids open;
    I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider the days of old,
    the years long ago.
6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
    let me meditate in my heart.”
    Then my spirit made a diligent search:
7 “Will the Lord spurn forever,
    and never again be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
    Are his promises at an end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
    to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
    yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,
    and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
    What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
    you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 You with your arm redeemed your people,
    the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

16 When the waters saw you, O God,
    when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
    indeed, the deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
    the skies gave forth thunder;
    your arrows flashed on every side.
18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
    your lightnings lighted up the world;
    the earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was through the sea,
    your path through the great waters;
    yet your footprints were unseen.
20 You led your people like a flock
    by the hand of Moses and Aaron. – Psalm 77:1-20 ESV

Asaph once again found himself facing a difficult situation that left him lying awake in his bed at night. In his suffering state, he attempted to cry out to the LORD, but received no answer. Sleep eluded him, and he had begun to lose hope. His prayers went unanswered, and his need for relief went unmet.

All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven,
    but my soul was not comforted. – Psalm 77:3 NLT

Wide awake and with the entire evening to consider his circumstance, Asaph began to question the very presence and compassion of God.

Has the Lord rejected me forever?
    Will he never again be kind to me?
Is his unfailing love gone forever?
    Have his promises permanently failed?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he slammed the door on his compassion? – Psalm 77:7-9 NLT

Nothing made sense. His pain was real, and his cries for help were heartfelt, but God felt distant and disinterested in his plight. There seemed to be a barrier between him and God, preventing his prayers from reaching their destination and leaving him in a state of desperation and deep despair. In assessing his situation, he reached a far-from-positive conclusion.

“This is my fate;
    the Most High has turned his hand against me.” – Psalm 77:10 NLT

The NET Bible translates verse 10: “I am sickened by the thought that the Most High might become inactive.” His greatest fear was not his ongoing pain and suffering but the thought that God might not intervene. He couldn’t imagine life without God’s gracious intervention. He could recall past occasions where God answered his prayers for help quickly and compassionately. But this time, he felt as if he had been abandoned to suffer in silence and solitude, all alone and with no hope of relief.

Yet, Asaph refused to give up on God. He would not allow his current circumstances to determine his view of God’s faithfulness. His sleepless nights, unanswered prayers, and ongoing suffering were difficult but not determinative of God’s character. Sometime during his “dark night of the soul,” Asaph made a conscious decision to remember God’s past acts of deliverance rather than to dwell on His seeming absence.

I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
I will ponder all your work,
    and meditate on your mighty deeds. – Psalm 77:11-12 NLT

If Asaph couldn’t see God in the present moment, he would look for Him in the stories of the past. Raised on the epic tales of God’s deliverance of the people of Israel, Asaph had a storehouse of soul-stirring, faith-building reports of God’s power and provision. He had grown up hearing the well-documented and faithfully preserved stories of Yahweh’s faithfulness. In his next psalm, Asaph makes a promise to tell the next generation of the wonderous works of God.

I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
    stories we have heard and known,
    stories our ancestors handed down to us.
We will not hide these truths from our children;
    we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
    about his power and his mighty wonders. – Psalm 78:2-4 NLT

Asaph knew that God’s past acts of deliverance were meant to remind His people of His presence in the present. Yahweh would always be with them and would never abandon them, no matter how dark and desperate things might appear.

When Moses led the people of Israel to the promised land, he soberly reminded them to pass on the stories of God’s faithfulness to the next generation.

“For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him? And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?

“But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.” – Deuteronomy 4:7-9 NLT

As Asaph lay awake in the darkness of his despair, he reached back into the distant past to shed light on his circumstances. Recalling the familiar stories of God’s faithfulness led Asaph to conjure a more accurate image of God’s character.

O God, your ways are holy.
    Is there any god as mighty as you?
You are the God of great wonders!
    You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.
By your strong arm, you redeemed your people,
    the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. – Psalm 77:13-16 NLT

When Asaph needed a reminder of God’s power, he recalled one of the most amazing moments in Israel’s storied past. As the waves of despair and doubt threatened to overwhelm him, Asaph imagined the scene that took place on the shores of the Red Sea centuries earlier. The recently released Israelites found themselves facing the advancing Egyptian army and trapped against the impassable waters of the Red Sea. Caught between a rock and a hard place and facing certain death, the panicked Israelites lashed out at Moses in anger and fear.

As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the Lord, and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’” – Exodus 14:10-12 NLT

But Moses responded with confidence and certainty, imploring them to trust in Yahweh, their deliverer.

“Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD [Yahweh] rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The LORD [Yahweh] himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” – Exodus 14:13-14 NLT

And Yahweh did rescue them.

…the LORD [Yahweh] opened up a path through the water with a strong east wind. The wind blew all that night, turning the seabed into dry land. So the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on each side! – Exodus 14:21-22 NLT

It was this epic event that Asaph focused on in his darkest moment. When faced with his own Red Sea moment, Asaph recalled the people's cries, Moses' words, and the Almighty's actions. Though he could see no way of escape or hear the voice of God, he could live vicariously through the lives of his ancestors and be reminded to stand firm, fear not, and see the salvation of the LORD. By looking back in time and recalling God’s past faithfulness to His covenant people, Asaph was encouraged.

When the Red Sea saw you, O God,
    its waters looked and trembled!
    The sea quaked to its very depths.
The clouds poured down rain;
    the thunder rumbled in the sky.
    Your arrows of lightning flashed.
Your thunder roared from the whirlwind;
    the lightning lit up the world!
    The earth trembled and shook.
Your road led through the sea,
    your pathway through the mighty waters—
    a pathway no one knew was there!
You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep,
    with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds. – Psalm 77:16-20 NLT

Notice Asaph’s emphasis on God’s provision of a “pathway no one knew was there” (Psalm 77:19 NLT). When the Israelites reached the shores of the Red Sea, they had no way of knowing that their salvation would be through the sea, not around it. Their path of deliverance would be through the waters of despair and doubt. What they thought would be the source of their demise would be the pathway to their salvation.

Asaph could not understand the nature of his suffering. He found it difficult to see any light in the darkness that engulfed him, but his recollection of Israel’s Red Sea experience was just the encouragement he needed to not give up.

There were so many stories Asaph could have recalled that would have bolstered his faith. The chronicles of God’s power and provision were many, and they each provided a much-needed reminder to trust and obey. Asaph could have focused his attention on the story of Abraham and Sarah when God announced their son's pending birth.

“I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!” – Genesis 18:10 NLT

They had waited six decades for this news, but when Sarah heard it, she scoffed.

…she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?” – Genesis 18:12 NLT

But responded to Sarah’s doubt with a question of His own.

“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” – Genesis 18:14 NLT

This rhetorical question was meant to assure Abraham and Sarah that their God was faithful, powerful, and indomitable. Barrenness and old age were no match for God. An impassable sea was no problem for the God of the impossible. Asaph’s difficulties and the seemingly impenetrable darkness of his despair would fade in the light of God’s glory and goodness. All Asaph had to do was heed Moses’ advice: “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exodus 14:13 ESV).

Father, when things take a turn for the worse, I tend to allow my circumstances to distort my view of You. I let the darkness of life drown out the light of Your goodness, drawing faulty conclusions about Your love and faithfulness. This reminder from Asaph was much needed. In those moments when I can't see You, I need to recall the countless stories of Your past provision in my life. When those become cloudy and difficult to remember, I need to turn to Your Word and recount one of the many occasions when You delivered Your people from far worse situations than anything I have ever faced. You are good, gracious, powerful, faithful, constant, and always reliable. Never let me forget that nothing is impossible with You. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Worthy of Praise

A Psalm of David.

1 Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
    ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
    worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.

3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
    the God of glory thunders,
    the LORD, over many waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
    the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
    the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
    and Sirion like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
    the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth
    and strips the forests bare,
    and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
    the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
11 May the LORD give strength to his people!
    May the LORD bless his people with peace! – Psalm 29:1-11 ESV

How do you honor someone you can’t see? How do you recognize and rejoice in the greatness of an invisible God? That has always been a problem for the people of God. Abraham and Moses had private conversations with God. Abraham even caught glimpses of God’s glory in the burning bush, and Moses was allowed to see God’s back as he passed by him on the mountain. A handful of God’s people have had supernatural glimpses of God’s glory. For the rest of us, we are left with the task of trying to honor and adequately ascribe to God the glory He so richly deserves.

For David, it was pretty simple; he saw God all around him. When he looked into the night sky and saw all the stars and planets, he saw God's hand.

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
    the moon and the stars you set in place—
what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
    human beings that you should care for them? – Psalm 8:3-4 NLT

The heavens reflected God’s glory. After Samuel anointed him to be the next king of Israel, David spent years running from King Saul and hiding in the wilderness. While sitting in the mouth of a cave in the middle of the rugged mountain landscape, he saw more than his fair share of storms. As he witnessed the lightning flash across the night sky and occasionally strike a tree, shattering it in two, and as he listened to the thunder echo off the canyon walls, shaking the ground beneath his feet, David couldn’t help but think of God. To him, the thunder was the very voice of God.

The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars;
    the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon. – Psalm 29:5 NLT

The voice of the Lord strikes
    with bolts of lightning.
The voice of the Lord makes the barren wilderness quake;
    the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. – Psalm 29:7-8 NLT

The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks
    and strips the forests bare. – Psalm 29:9 NLT

His use of anthropomorphic language was an attempt to describe God’s incomparable power. The thought of God speaking was enough to cause David to stand in awe. Seven times in this passage, David refers to God’s voice. He knew that God had spoken the world into existence. He recognized that God’s words carried weight and the sound of His voice was more powerful than the most potent lightning, capable of bringing great destruction or incredible blessing.

David was a king, and he understood the concept of power. He knew that the king’s word was law, but he also knew that, as a man, his power was limited, and his voice only carried so much weight. However, God’s voice was limitless in power, and He alone deserved glory and recognition on the part of both angels and men that He alone was worthy of worship.

Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings;
    honor the Lord for his glory and strength.
Honor the Lord for the glory of his name. – Psalm 29:1-2 NLT

David begins this Psalm by encouraging men and angels to give to God honor for His glory and strength. As far as David was concerned, all beings were to recognize God’s unparalleled majesty and worship Him accordingly. God alone is King. His voice is powerful, and He is worthy of our worship and praise.

This dramatic imagery of God’s thunder-like voice shattering trees and shaking mountains almost portrays Him as unapproachable and inaccessible. It is reminiscent of the language Moses used to describe God’s appearance on Mount Sinai in the wilderness.

On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled. Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently. – Exodus 19:16-18 NLT

The people of Israel stood at the base of Mount Sinai and gazed up at this spectacular demonstration of Yahweh’s divine glory.

“You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while flames from the mountain shot into the sky. The mountain was shrouded in black clouds and deep darkness. And the Lord spoke to you from the heart of the fire. You heard the sound of his words but didn’t see his form; there was only a voice.” – Deuteronomy 4:11-12 NLT

And this unforgettable pyrotechnic display made an impression on them.

When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear. – Exodus 20:18 NLT

They feared Yahweh’s power and presence. His awe-inspiring demonstration left them shell-shocked and begging Moses to protect them from God's wrath.

“You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!” – Exodus 20:19 NLT

But Moses assured them that they had nothing to fear.

“…for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!” – Psaelm 20:20 NLT

God wanted His people to know that He was to be feared but for the right reasons. He was glorious and great and worthy of praise. He was powerful and capable of dispensing judgment on the disobedient and unrighteous. But He wanted to bless His children, not destroy them.

That is why David ends His Psalm with a comforting thought.

The Lord rules over the floodwaters.
    The Lord reigns as king forever.
The Lord gives his people strength.
    The Lord blesses them with peace. – Psalm 29:10-11 NLT

This same glorious, powerful, majestic God gives His people strength and blesses them with security. David knew that it wasn’t he and his mighty men who protected the people of Israel – it was God. God gave them the strength to face their enemies and withstand adversity. It was God who blessed them with peace (shalom). For David, peace was not just an absence of conflict but a sense of completeness and an awareness of well-being and security in adversity.

When a thunderstorm strikes, it’s an opportunity to think about God. As the lightning flashes across the sky, it provides a visible demonstration of God’s glory and greatness. These meteorological displays are God-ordained reminders of His power and worthiness of our awe and wonder. They should remind us of His greatness and cause us to give Him the glory He so richly deserves.

Honor the Lord for the glory of his name.
    Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. – Psalm 29:2 NLT

Father, Your power is all around us, but we fail to recognize it. We just see nature, but we don’t see the God behind it. Give me the eyes of David. Help me to see You all around me. Let me recognize Your presence in all of life. I want to worship You and honor You for who You are. I want to grow in my awareness of Your power and glory. Open my eyes so that I might see You more clearly each day. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The King of Glory

A Psalm of David.

1 The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,
    the world and those who dwell therein,
2 for he has founded it upon the seas
    and established it upon the rivers.

3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
    And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not lift up his soul to what is false
    and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord
    and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord, strong and mighty,
    the Lord, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And lift them up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord of hosts,
    he is the King of glory! Selah – Psalm 24:1-10 ESV

Ultimately, this Psalm is about God. It speaks of His holiness, power, glory, and transcendence. God is not like us. He is transcendent and wholly righteous in all that He does. He is the creator of everything and operates outside the limits of time and space. God is eternal and omnipresent. He sees all, knows all, and is obligated by His holiness to mete out justice to all those who fail to live up to His rigorous and unbending moral standards. Sinful men can’t just come into His presence any time they want – flippantly or arrogantly. They must recognize His holiness and acknowledge their unrighteousness.

David understood and revered the otherness of God. He begins his Psalm with a declaration of God’s status as the maker of the heavens and the earth. He is the uncreated, ever-existent one who exists outside His creation and rules over it from “his holy place” (Psalm 24:3 ESV). From his limited, earth-bound perspective, David envisions God’s abode as a mountain. He is inaccessible and unapproachable. David may be referring to Mount Sinai in the wilderness, where Moses met with God and received the Ten Commandments. Moses described God’s glorious presence on Mount Sinai in startling and intimidating terms.

On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled. Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently. As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply. The Lord came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain. – Exodus 19:16-20 NLT

Not only was this manifestation of God’s glory frightening to the people of Israel, but they had been warned about the danger of coming anywhere near His presence. In preparation for Yahweh’s appearance on the mountaintop, the people were commanded to purify themselves.

“Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing. Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch. Mark off a boundary all around the mountain. Warn the people, ‘Be careful! Do not go up on the mountain or even touch its boundaries. Anyone who touches the mountain will certainly be put to death. No hand may touch the person or animal that crosses the boundary; instead, stone them or shoot them with arrows. They must be put to death.’” – Exodus 19:10-13 NLT

God was holy and they were not. They could not just barge into His presence unprepared and with an attitude of entitlement. David seems to have this incident in mind when he asks, “Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?” (Psalm 24:3 NLT). And he answers his own questions. 

Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
    who do not worship idols
    and never tell lies. – Psalm 24:4 NLT

God’s holiness demands that His people be righteous and faithfully keep His commands. David seems to truncate God’s law into two simple imperatives. The first is God-directed, demanding that men worship Yahweh alone, which is in keeping with the first of the Ten Commandments. David’s second injunction is man-oriented, prohibiting the speaking of falsehoods. His simplification of God's moral code is in keeping with what Jesus said when He was asked what the greatest commandment was.

“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:37-40 NLT

Love God and love others. That was the core issue behind the Mosaic Law, and David seems to have understood that long before Jesus explained it to the Pharisees. Only those who love God and others well “will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior” (Psalm 24:5 NLT). According to David, only those kinds of people can seek God and worship in His presence.

This high view of God runs counter to the current trend of seeing God as our friend or the kindly old grandfather in the sky. Far too many treat God like He’s their personal valet, life coach, or personal trainer. David reminds us that God is not someone who is to be treated lightly or with disdain. Those who seek God and enjoy the benefits of a relationship with Him are those whose deeds are blameless, whose hearts are pure and innocent, and whose lives are not marked by worthless, vain conduct. They recognize that their behavior plays a big part in their ability to enjoy God’s blessings.

God is the King of Glory. He deserves our praise, adoration, worship, wonder, awe, reverence, fear, and respect. He is strong and mighty. He is holy and righteous. He is set apart. He is above all and deserving of all glory and honor. It is God’s separateness and our own sinfulness that makes the cross of Jesus Christ so amazing and life-changing. It is Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross that allows sinful men and women to have access to the very throne room of God. It is what He has done that enables us to share in His righteousness and be viewed by God as holy. We have access to His presence not because WE are blameless and pure in and of ourselves but because Jesus Christ was blameless and pure. Because He took all our sinfulness on Himself at the cross, we were imputed His righteousness. We are seen by God as blameless, innocent, clean, pure, holy, and righteous.

And as if that was not enough, God gave us His Holy Spirit to indwell us and empower us to live holy lives. We can live righteously and rightly – despite the presence of our sinful natures. We can live by the Spirit, or we can live according to the flesh (our sinful nature). We can live in obedience or disobedience. The choice is up to us. Each day we must recognize God’s holiness and our own sinfulness. We must remember what Christ has done for us on the cross. We must rest in the fact that we have the same power that raised Christ from the dead living within us in the form of the Holy Spirit. We can live holy lives. We can say no to sin and yes to God’s transformative power in our lives.

Our daily desire should be to come into God’s presence – recognizing His holiness and our responsibility to treat Him with dignity, honor, and respect. Paul put it this way,

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. – Romans 12:1 NLT

We belong to Him. He paid for us with His own Son’s life. We are to give our lives to Him and allow Him to transform us into the likeness of His Son – and in so doing, honor Him for who He is – the King of Glory.

The final three verses of this Psalm provide a prophetic vision of the second coming of Jesus Christ when He appears as the King of kings and Lord of lords. He will be Jehovah-Sabaoth, the LORD of Hosts, who returns to earth to complete God’s grand plan of redemption that includes the restoration of all things. David describes the gates of Jerusalem being opened wide so that the LORD of Hosts can enter and rule in righteousness from the throne of David.

These closing verses present a stark contrast to David's opening questions: “Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?” Rather than a man attempting to enter God’s presence based on his own righteousness, this closing scene pictures the King of Glory coming to dwell with men on earth. The righteous one will make His home with us. 

Father, never let me treat You with anything but respect, glory, and honor. Never let me get so casual with You that I lose sight of your holiness. Never let me take for granted that I have access into Your presence because of what Jesus did for me on the cross. You are the King of glory and You deserve my respect, honor, and awe. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

No Odds Too Great For God

To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

1 Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone;
    for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
2 Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
    with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
    the tongue that makes great boasts,
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
    our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

5 “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
    I will now arise,” says the Lord;
    “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
    like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
    purified seven times.

7 You, O Lord, will keep them;
    you will guard us from this generation forever.
8 On every side the wicked prowl,
    as vileness is exalted among the children of man. – Psalm 12:1-8 ESV

David opens this Psalm using obviously hyperbolic language. He asserts that “the godly are fast disappearing” and “he faithful have vanished from the earth!” (Psalm 12:1 NLT). In an attempt to paint the worst possible case, David portrays the plight of the godly as running on fumes. Under the relentless assault of the wicked, the righteous are quickly becoming extinct. They are going the way of the dinosaurs. 

Whatever situation caused David to pen these words, he was far from optimistic about the future of the faithful. Even among the godly, he noticed a downward trend in their treatment of one another.

Neighbors lie to each other,
    speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts. – Psalm 12:2 NLT

Wickedness was contagious and the pressure to conform to society’s moral standards was relentless. He sensed a slow but steady decline in the spiritual well-being of the nation of Israel. Over the years, the reality of living in a fallen world surrounded by godless enemies had taken a toll on the chosen people of God. The relativistic lifestyles of these pagan nations had influenced the behavior of the Israelites, just as God had said it would.

Long before the Israelites crossed the Jordan River and began their conquest of the land of Canaan, Moses had warned them about the dangers of assimilating the ways of the wicked.

“When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and occupy, he will clear away many nations ahead of you: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These seven nations are greater and more numerous than you. When the LORD your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy. You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you. This is what you must do. You must break down their pagan altars and shatter their sacred pillars. Cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols. For you are a holy people, who belong to the LORD your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.” – Deuteronomy 7:1-6 NLT

Now, centuries later, David witnessed the consequences of their failure to heed God’s warning. Joshua and the people of Israel had successfully conquered Canaan but had refused to purge the land of its pagan occupants. The Book of Judges opens with a less-than-flattering assessment of Israel’s efforts to eliminate the competition.

The tribe of Manasseh failed to drive out the people living in Beth-shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and all their surrounding settlements, because the Canaanites were determined to stay in that region. When the Israelites grew stronger, they forced the Canaanites to work as slaves, but they never did drive them completely out of the land. – Judges 1:27-28 NLT

The tribe of Zebulun failed to drive out the residents of Kitron and Nahalol, so the Canaanites continued to live among them. – Judges 1:30 NLT

…the people of Asher moved in among the Canaanites, who controlled the land, for they failed to drive them out. – Judges 1:32 NLT

This failure to comply with God’s commands was a nationwide problem. Virtually every tribe of Israel refused to carry out God’s instructions and chose to compromise with the Canaanites instead. Their disobedience did not go unnoticed by God.

“For your part, you were not to make any covenants with the people living in this land; instead, you were to destroy their altars. But you disobeyed my command. Why did you do this? So now I declare that I will no longer drive out the people living in your land. They will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a constant temptation to you.” – Judges 2:2-3 NLT

David was witnessing the fruits of Israel’s failure to comply. Over time, the persistent presence of these godless nations had worn down the resolve of God’s people. Like the proverbial frog being boiled alive in a pot, the Israelites had not noticed the danger, and now it was too late. David seemed to believe that the righteous were already in the minority and quickly losing the battle with the wicked. He sensed among his people a growing disregard for God's ways. Any fear of God they may have had was being replaced by a prideful and arrogant sense of autonomy.

“We will lie to our hearts’ content.
    Our lips are our own—who can stop us?” – Psalm 12:4 NLT

David felt abandoned and alone. Looking around, he saw just a handful of faithful God-followers willing to hold their ground against the enemy's relentless onslaught. His words echo those of the prophet Elijah, when he felt that he was the last man standing in Israel.

“I have zealously served the LORD God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.” – 1 Kings 19:10 NLT

When living in a fallen world, it is easy to feel lost and alone. The people of God have always been in the minority and that can create a sense of isolation that leads to despair. Elijah had experienced a rousing victory over the prophets of Baal, but found himself running from the wrath of Queen Jezebel, who had issued a warrant for his death. Gripped by fear and loneliness, the prophet declared his plight to God.

“I have zealously served the LORD God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.” – 1 Kings 19:14 NLT

But God assured Elijah that things were not as bad as they seemed. He was not alone. In fact, God revealed that He would raise up an army of faithful men to stand alongside the beleaguered prophet.

“I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!” – 1 Kings 19: 18 NLT

This is the message of Psalm 12. Despite his dark assessment of the situation, David knew God was in control and could turn the tables. He knew that Yahweh was well aware of the current conditions in Israel and had a plan to remedy the situation.

It would appear that David received a message from the Lord. No explanation is provided for how this oracle from God was communicated, but its content is clear and concise.

“I have seen violence done to the helpless,
    and I have heard the groans of the poor.
Now I will rise up to rescue them,
    as they have longed for me to do.” – Psalm 12:5 NLT

Whether David received this news in a vision or from a prophet of God, he knew it was reliable and trustworthy. He had no doubt that God would keep His word because, “The LORD’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over” (Psalm 12:8 NLT). God wasn’t concerned about the odds or the shrinking numbers of the faithful. He had always worked with a remnant. God didn’t need a mighty army to rack up victories over the enemy. His power wasn’t dependent upon man’s resources — either physical or spiritual. 

Years later, King Jehoshaphat of Judah received a disturbing message.

“A vast army from Edom is marching against you from beyond the Dead Sea.” – 2 Chronicles 20:2 NLT

A coalition of Ammonite and Moabite forces was headed his way, and “Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance” (2 Chronicles 20:3 NLT). The message he received was unmistakable.

“Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” – 2 Chronicles 20:15 NLT

This was the same message Moses delivered to the people of Israel as they stood on the banks of the Red Sea with the army of Pharaoh barrelling toward them.

“Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” – Exodus 14:13-14 NLT

It was the same message Moses gave to the people of Israel as they prepared to enter the promised land for the first time.

“When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you! When you prepare for battle, the priest must come forward to speak to the troops. He will say to them, ‘Listen to me, all you men of Israel! Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today! Do not lose heart or panic or tremble before them. For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’” – Deuteronomy 20:1-4 NLT

David was familiar with these stories but, more importantly, he had experienced the reality of God’s deliverance in his own life. That is why he could write, “LORD, we know you will protect the oppressed, preserving them forever from this lying generation,
even though the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land” (Psalm 12:7-8 NLT).

Despite the disturbing trend toward apostasy and spiritual apathy, David knew he could trust God to rescue the helpless. No battle was too great for God, and no enemy could stand toe-to-toe with the Almighty. When David looked around him, he quickly became distraught and disheartened. But when he looked up, he remembered that God was on His throne and in complete control at all times. This is what allowed David to later write:

Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;
    he will answer him from his holy heaven
    with the saving might of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They collapse and fall,
    but we rise and stand upright. – Psalm 20:6-8 NLT

Father, it’s so easy to allow our circumstances to weaken our faith. Like David, we sometimes feel isolated and alone, like we are the last saint standing. But with You on our side, we are never alone. The odds are never in the enemy’s favor. The victory is never in question. The number of the faithful has nothing to do with the outcome of the battle. You are our hope. You are the Jehovah-Sabaoth, the LORD of Hosts, the Commander of Armies. The battle is yours and the victory is ours. Help me to never forget that reality. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The High Cost of Compromise

1 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” 3 As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. 4 Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, 6 saying:

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. 7 From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today. 8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. 9 For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem.

10 “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? 15 O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.” – Ezra 9:1-15 ESV

It had been 80 years since the first wave of Israelites returned to the land of Judah under the aegis of King Cyrus of Persia. These former exiles had been given permission to return to their homeland so that they might restore the city of Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple of Solomon. This generation of Israelites had been born in Babylon during the 70 years of exile that God had ordained as punishment for their parents' failure to keep their covenant commitment to Him.

Sixty-six years before the Babylonians invaded Judah and captured the city of Jerusalem, God foretold of the coming destruction. He spoke through His prophet Jeremiah, who delivered His warning of pending judgment to the stubbornly rebellious people of Judah.

“But you would not listen to me,” says the Lord. “You made me furious by worshiping idols you made with your own hands, bringing on yourselves all the disasters you now suffer. And now the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Because you have not listened to me, I will gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy. I will bring them all against this land and its people and against the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy you and make you an object of horror and contempt and a ruin forever. I will take away your happy singing and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard. Your millstones will fall silent, and the lights in your homes will go out. This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.” – Jeremiah 25:7-11 NLT

Everything happened just as God said it would. In 539 B.C., the Babylonians ended a years-long siege, breaching the walls of Jerusalem and wreaking destruction upon the city and its citizens. Those who did not die by the sword were taken captive and transported to Babylon. But God had also placed a time limit on their season of suffering. Long before the Babylonians invaded Judah, God declared that their subjugation of His people would last seven decades.

“Then, after the seventy years of captivity are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his people for their sins,” says the Lord. “I will make the country of the Babylonians a wasteland forever.” – Jeremiah 25:12 NLT

Once the Babylonian conquest of Judah had taken place and the exiles were trying to acclimate to their new surroundings in a foreign land, God sent another message through His prophet Jeremiah.

This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” – Jeremiah 29:10-14 NLT

God kept His word. When 70 years had passed, He motivated King Cyrus to issue a decree authorizing the release and repatriation of the people of Judah. A remnant of Jews returned to Judah under the leadership of Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel. Upon their arrival, they began the formidable task of rebuilding the Temple and were immediately met with stiff opposition from the local inhabitants. During the 70 years of exile, the once-vacant cities and homes of the Judahites had been taken over by foreigners. The king of Assyria had relocated some of his foreign captives to Judah, authorizing them to claim the land as their own. In time, these immigrants intermarried with the Israelites who had been left behind after the Babylonian invasion. These mixed-race occupants of the land became known as Samaritans. 

By the time Ezra arrived some 80 years later, he discovered that the Babylonians exiles who returned under Zerubbabel’s leadership had also been intermarrying with the locals.

“…the Jewish leaders came to me and said, “Many of the people of Israel, and even some of the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the other peoples living in the land. They have taken up the detestable practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. For the men of Israel have married women from these people and have taken them as wives for their sons.” – Ezra 9:1-2 NLT

Ezra’s whole purpose for returning to Judah was to instruct the people in the laws of God. He had brought a contingent of Levitical priests to assist him in his efforts. But he soon discovered that he had his work cut out for him. The people of Judah were living in direct violation of one of God’s primary prohibitions. Centuries earlier, God had forbidden His chosen people from intermarrying with the nations living in Canaan.

“When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy. You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you.” – Deuteronomy 7:2-4 NLT

For hundreds of years, God’s people had violated His laws. This is the reason He sent the Babylonians to defeat and enslave them. But even after 70 years of forced exile, the people of Judah had failed to learn their lesson. They repeated the sins of their forefathers and intermarried with the idolatrous nations that had occupied the land in their absence. The returned people of God grew complacent about their faith and compromised their convictions. 

Ezra was appalled by what he heard.

“…the holy race has become polluted by these mixed marriages. Worse yet, the leaders and officials have led the way in this outrage.” – Ezra 9:2 NLT

Those who knew better had promoted this behavior. The leaders of Judah, including the Levites and priests, were responsible for this sad spiritual state of affairs.

Ezra’s reaction reveals a lot about his character. He immediately went into mourning over the news of the people’s apostasy. Then he took the matter to Yahweh. Personally ashamed of their conduct, Ezra took it upon himself to confess the corporate sins of the people, declaring himself to be complicit in their act of rebellion.

“O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush to lift up my face to you. For our sins are piled higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached to the heavens.” – Ezra 9:6 NLT

As a scribe and an expert in the Mosaic law, Ezra knew that what they were doing was in direct violation of God's commands and that God would not take their disobedience lightly. It shocked Ezra that the people would behave in this way despite God's amazing grace and mercy. God had shown them favor by allowing a remnant of them to return to the land, rebuild the Temple, and restore the city of Jerusalem. He had not forsaken them but had fulfilled His promise to end their 70 years of captivity and send them home.

The people of God had not earned or deserved God’s gracious treatment of them. Even their time living as slaves in Babylon had been marked by continued rebellion against God. They had regularly worshiped false gods and rejected and rebelled against the one true God. Yet, He had kept His word and fulfilled His promise.

Ezra did not take God's grace lightly. He was shocked that the people could so easily snub their noses at God and blatantly live in open rebellion to His commands. Their lives were marked by compromise. Rather than separate themselves from the other nations that had taken up residence in the land during their absence, they gladly coexisted with them, marrying off their sons and daughters to them. Not only that, they compromised their allegiance to God by taking on the false gods of their neighbors, diluting their faith, and offending the very One who had rescued them from captivity.

This parallels the experience of so many of us as believers. God has redeemed us from slavery to sin. He has made it possible for us to be restored to a right relationship with Him. Yet we find ourselves comingling with the world around us. Rather than remaining separate and set apart, we determine to blend in and, in the process, end up compromising our convictions. Many of us, having been set free by God, find ourselves enslaved to the world. We seek our self-worth and satisfaction from what the world offers. We long to be accepted by the world. So, we seek to blend in and slowly, steadily, we begin to make compromises and concessions. We rationalize our behavior and excuse our actions. We refuse to accept Jesus' warning that the world will hate us just as it hated Him.

Instead of living as strangers and sojourners in this land and recognizing that we are citizens of another kingdom, we choose to get too cozy and comfortable with this world. We gladly adopt their ways and accept their standards as our own. The convictions of the culture around us slowly begin to influence and infect us, and we begin to lose our distinctiveness. Chosen and set apart by God, we find ourselves looking more and more like the world around us. Our distinction as Christians becomes more a label than a lifestyle. That was the problem Ezra encountered when he arrived in Judah. The saints had lost their saltiness. The intensity of their light had diminished and they were close to being overwhelmed by the surrounding darkness.

And yet, God still showed them favor. He continued to extend mercy. It was He who sent Ezra back with the sole task of reestablishing His law in the land. God had allowed them to rebuild the temple and He would eventually send back Nehemiah with another wave of exiles to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem. God was not done and He is not done today. Despite all we see happening around us and the feeling that the darkness is overwhelming, God remains on His throne. He is still in charge. But He is looking for a remnant of His people who will boldly stand apart from the crowd and speak up for the truth. He is calling His people to come back to Him, reject the ways of this world, and renew their commitment to live in holiness.

For the believer, compromise is deadly, and the temptation to do so is greater than it has ever been before. The world wants to silence our voices, stifle our faith, compromise our convictions, and distract us from our devotion to God. But we must never forget that God has redeemed us from the world. We can live in it and yet not become part of it. We have been called to make a difference, not blend in. We have been saved so that we might tell others of the truth regarding man's sin and God's plan of salvation. Some of us have compromised our faith. Others of us have allowed ourselves to succumb to defeat and despair. We live as if all hope is lost and the enemy is winning. But our God reigns. He wins in the end. His victory is assured. We must live like we believe it. All is not lost. But it is time for the called out to stand up and to live out their faith.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson