A Faithful Remnant

1 Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 2 And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. 4 Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. 6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.” – 2 Kings 4:1-7 ESV

The author has made the corporate nature of Israel’s sin abundantly clear. While focusing most of his attention on the men who ruled over the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel, he also exposed the pervasive nature of the unfaithfulness and apostasy that infected the entire nation. As the kings of Israel continued to stubbornly pursue and promote the worship of false gods, the people willingly followed their lead. Yet, despite the ubiquitous presence of idolatry, a remnant of those who chose to remain faithful to Yahweh remained, and these faithful few found themselves constantly tempted to compromise their convictions and cave in to the pressure to conform. On those occasions when Yahweh was forced to pour out His divine judgment upon the nation, these same individuals suffered alongside their rebellious neighbors.

However, the author occasionally provides a glimpse into the lives of these spiritual holdouts, and when he does, they shine like stars in the darkness of Israel’s apostasy and rebellion. These somewhat rare sightings of the faithful few also provide a powerful reminder of God’s mercy and love. He knows His flock and is aware of those who still worship Him as the one true God despite the spiritual decline taking place all around them. Not only that, He is fully cognizant of their circumstances and always ready to care for them in their time of need.

Chapter four opens up with one such story, and it follows close on the heels of the account of Israel’s miraculous victory over the Moabites. God had graciously rescued the forces of Jehoram and Jehoshaphat after they had run out of water in the wilderness of Edom. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had intervened on their behalf, refreshing them with water and then rewarding them with a decisive, yet undeserved, victory over the Moabites.

The prophet Elisha played a pivotal role in this memorable event, delivering the good news of God’s plan to rescue them from impending doom and grant them victory over their enemy. However, when the prophet returned home, he found himself facing yet another crisis, one much smaller in scale but just as serious in nature. He was approached by the wife of a fellow prophet whose husband had recently died, leaving her and her two young boys with no source of income. The creditors were already knocking at the door, demanding payment of her husband’s debts. If she failed to settle her accounts in full, her boys would become indentured servants, paying off the debt through years of forced labor.

This was a common practice in those days, even among the Israelites. Those who were unable to pay off their debts could become servants to their creditors, working off their indebtedness through labor. But God had provided regulations concerning these transactions.

“If you buy a Hebrew slave, he may serve for no more than six years. Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing for his freedom. If he was single when he became your slave, he shall leave single. But if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife must be freed with him.” – Exodus 21:2-3 NLT

“If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell himself to you, do not treat him as a slave. Treat him instead as a hired worker or as a temporary resident who lives with you, and he will serve you only until the Year of Jubilee. At that time he and his children will no longer be obligated to you, and they will return to their clans and go back to the land originally allotted to their ancestors. The people of Israel are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, so they must never be sold as slaves. Show your fear of God by not treating them harshly.” – Leviticus 25:39-43 NLT

This widow found herself in a difficult situation, facing the potential loss of her two young sons, so she appealed to Elisha. We are given no insight into what she expected the prophet to do for her. Was she hoping he would intercede with her creditors and beg them for mercy? Did she think the prophet would pay off her debt? Even Elisha questioned her expectations.

“What can I do to help you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” – 2 Kings 4:2 NLT

To the widow, this question must have sounded like a request for payment. She probably heard the prophet asking what she had to offer in return for his help, so she sadly reported, “Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil” (2 Kings 4:2 NLT). Her circumstances were dire. She had nothing to offer the prophet and no way of paying off her debt. From her perspective, everything was hopeless, and her prospects for deliverance were bleak. Even if her sons became indentured servants, it would be years before their labor would pay off the debt, and, in the meantime, she would be left alone and with no means of financial support. It couldn’t get any worse.

But Elisha saw things from a different perspective. He had just witnessed his God provide water to a desert and rescue the army of an apostate, unbelieving king. He fully trusted that Yahweh could and would rescue this helpless widow in her time of need. So, Elisha instructed her to gather as many jars, containers, pots, and pans as she could find, even borrowing them from her neighbors. He wanted her to be aggressive in her efforts, instructing her to find “not too few” of these empty vessels. When she was done, she and her boys were to close the door to their house and then begin the process of pouring the olive oil from her near-empty flask into the various jugs and jars they had gathered.

So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. Soon every container was full to the brim! – 2 Kings 4:5-6 NLT

At no point did the widow question Elisha’s instructions. Despite how strange his orders may have seemed, she and her boys faithfully did as they had been told, and a miracle took place right before their eyes. The oil in the jar somehow replenished itself and did not run out until the last jar had been filled. Imagine the excitement of those young boys as they brought jar after jar to their mother and observed as she filled them with the seemingly endless supply of oil. Soon, their entire house was filled with jars brimming with oil. When the supply of jars finally ran out, the oil stopped flowing. But not before God had miraculously filled every last vessel.

When the woman informed Elisha what had happened, he showed no sign of surprise, but simply told her to take the oil and sell it. She was to use the proceeds to settle her debt. But God didn’t just bring her indebtedness to zero; He gave her a surplus. Once the oil had been sold, she and her sons would have more than enough money to take care of their needs for a long time to come.

This story evokes another miracle that occurred between a prophet and a destitute widow. Elisha’s former mentor, Elijah, had a similar experience. After his victory over the prophets of Baal, Yahweh instructed Elijah, “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you” (1 Kings 17:9 NLT). When he arrived in Zarephath, the prophet asked the widow for some bread and a cup of water. But the woman replied, “I swear by the LORD your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die” (1 Kings 17:12 NLT).

Unfazed by her disappointing news, Elijah instructed the woman to take what flour and oil she had and bake him a small loaf of bread. Then he informed her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” (1 Kings 17:13-14 NLT).

So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the LORD had promised through Elijah. –1 Kings 17:15-16 NLT

This unnamed woman and the widow who followed Elisha’s instructions both represent the remnant of the faithful who lived all throughout the nation of Israel at that time. Despite all the apostasy and unfaithfulness, some still longed to have their needs met by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They refused to bow the knee to Baal and Asherah. They had resisted the temptation to compromise their convictions. In their time of need, Yahweh saw them and sent one of His prophets to minister to them. Neither woman knew what to expect, but shared their plight with the prophet of the one true God. They somehow knew that their only hope of rescue would be found in throwing themselves at the mercy of Yahweh, and He delivered.

While Israel had proven to be unfaithful to God, He continued to demonstrate His covenant faithfulness to them in both big and small ways. This story offers a glimpse into the merciful nature of God and His care and concern for those who are "the least of these” (Matthew 25:40).

“For the LORD your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed. He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing.” – Deuteronomy 10:17-18 NLT

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.

A New Sheriff In Town

1 Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take away your master from over you?” And he said, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”

4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take away your master from over you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”

6 Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground.

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” 10 And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” 11 And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more.

Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. 13 And he took up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over. – 2 Kings 2:1-14 ESV

For years, the prophet Elijah had faithfully performed his role as God’s spokesman. He had been given the difficult assignment of prophesying on behalf of God during the reign of Ahab, Israel’s most vile and apostate king. To make matters worse, he had been forced to live with a bounty on his head, placed on him by the queen, Jezebel. She had sought to have him killed because he had executed 450 of the prophets to her false god, Baal.

Elijah stood as a beacon of light in the spiritual darkness that pervaded the northern kingdom. It was a land filled with apostasy and evil, where Yahweh had been replaced by the pagan gods of Jezebel. Ahab, the king, and Elijah, the prophet, had become spiritual enemies who each represented the polar extremes of God’s relationship with the people of Israel. Ahab was an ambitious schemer who had long ago abandoned his relationship with Yahweh. He operated according to his own agenda, living to satisfy his personal passions and desires. However, Elijah was a man of intense faith who took great risks to fulfill God's will. He regularly stood opposed to the wickedness that permeated Israel, sometimes feeling as if he were the last man standing.

“I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” – 1 Kings 19:10 ESV

But God had proven to Elijah that he was far from alone. Others had refused to bow the knee to Baal, including the young man, Elisha, whom God had chosen to be Elijah’s replacement. Now that Ahab was dead, God made it clear that Elijah’s assignment was complete. He had done his job, and now it was time for him to receive his reward. God was going to call him home.

But Elijah’s departure would be anything but normal. God had something spectacular in store for Elijah’s final day on earth, and it would serve as a sign of God's approval of Elijah’s faithfulness. But this remarkable event would also provide Elisha with the proof he needed that his all-powerful God would be with him as he began his role as Elijah’s replacement.

It seems evident from the text that God had previously informed Elijah that this would be his last day, and He had told the prophet the nature of his departure.

…the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind. – 2 Kings 2:1 ESV

However, Elijah did not seem to know precisely when or how this supernatural event would occur. He and Elisha began their journey in Gilgal, and three separate times, Elijah gave his young protégé the opportunity to remain behind. By offering Elisha the option of staying behind while he continued his God-ordained journey, Elijah was testing the depth of the young man’s commitment. Was Elisha willing to stand beside his mentor as he followed the path God had laid out before him? The answer seems apparent. Elisha repeatedly refused to abandon his mentor, saying, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you” (2 Kings 2:2 ESV).

When they arrived in Bethel, Elisha was met by 50 prophets of Yahweh who questioned whether he knew about Elijah’s imminent departure. He assured them that he was well aware of what was about to happen and asked that they say nothing more about it. One can only imagine the fear and sadness that gripped Elisha as he considered the prospect of losing his friend and mentor. He was faced with the formidable task of filling the sandals of one of Israel’s greatest prophets, and he knew that the wickedness of Israel had not abated with Ahab’s death. Ahaziah had proven to be just as idolatrous and unfaithful as his father. When Ahaziah died after a short, two-year reign, his brother Jehoram became king, and he too followed in the footsteps of Ahab.

He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, though not like his father and mother, for he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless, he clung to the sin of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from it. – 2 Kings 3:2-3 ESV

So, Elisha was fully aware that he would have his work cut out for him, and Elijah’s repeated suggestions for him to remain behind would have been extremely tempting. But he refused to compromise his convictions or renege on his commitment to stay by Elijah’s side. The two continued their journey from Bethel to Jericho, then on to the banks of the Jordan River. This circuitous route must have confused Elisha because it seemed to have them walking in circles. There appeared to be no clear destination in mind. Yet, Elisha stayed by Elijah’s side every step of the way.

When they arrived at the banks of the Jordan, “Elijah folded his cloak together and struck the water with it. The river divided, and the two of them went across on dry ground!” (2 Kings 2:8 ESV). Elijah’s cloak, like Moses’ staff, was a symbol of his God-given authority and power. Just as Moses used his staff to part the waters of the Red Sea, Elijah used his cloak to provide him and Elisha with a miraculous pathway through the waters of the Jordan. This display of supernatural power was meant to remind Elisha that he served a great God. But for the young prophet, it seems to have had a different impact. He appears to have focused on his own inadequacy and ill-preparedness for what lay ahead. So, when Elijah asked him what he could do for him before departing, Elisha asked for a double portion of his spirit. Whatever divine enablement Elijah possessed, Elisha wanted twice as much of it. This was not a power grab or a sign of greed on Elisha’s part; it was an admission of need. He felt inadequate for the job and didn’t believe he met Elijah’s standards. So, he asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.

Elijah seemed to indicate that the young man’s request, while difficult, was tied to his faithfulness. As long as he remained committed to remaining by Elijah’s side, he would receive that for which he asked.

As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven. – 2 Kings 2:11 NLT

Literally, out of nowhere, a fiery chariot appeared and separated the two men. This sudden and spectacular display of God’s power could have sent Elisha running for his life, but he remained where he was. As he stood watching this remarkable scene, Elisha cried out, “My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!” (2 Kings 2:12 NLT). But as he stood distracted by the horses and chariots, Elijah was carried away by a whirlwind. God miraculously transported the great prophet into His presence.

When Elisha came to his senses, he realized what had happened. All that was left of his friend and mentor was his cloak. Elijah was gone, and Elisha was on his own. Or was he? As he made his way to the eastern shore of the Jordan, Elisha held the cloak of Elijah in his hand. As he stood facing the waters and the prospect of serving as the prophet of God, he cried out, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” (2 Kings 2:14 ESV). He knew that any hope he had of surviving his tenure as a prophet would require that he place his trust in the God of Elijah. He was going to need Yahweh’s presence and power to succeed. When he struck the water with Elijah’s cloak, the water parted, and he crossed over on dry ground. Elijah was gone, but Elijah’s God was still there.

The mantle had been passed. Elisha was the God-appointed heir to Elijah, and he possessed the cloak and the double portion of Elijah’s spirit. But, more importantly, he had access to the power of God. As Elisha walked across the dry riverbed, he had no idea what challenges he would face in the days ahead. But he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was God’s chosen vessel to carry on Elijah’s work. Evil still reigned in Israel, darkness still pervaded the land, and the newly commissioned prophet would have his work cut out for 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.

The Power to Revive and Restore

17 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” 19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. 20 And he cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” 22 And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” 24 And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.” – 1 Kings 17:17-24 ESV

God used Elijah to deliver His message of judgment against King Ahab and his foreign queen, Jezebel. In marrying this princess from Sidon, Ahab had also adopted her false god, Baal, and built a temple for its worship. He also erected a shrine to honor Asherah, the moon-goddess and supposed mother of this pagan deity. Angered by these blatant acts of rebellion and apostasy, God had sent Elijah to tell the royal couple that their kingdom would suffer under a great drought. Their disrespect and disregard for God had brought His discipline.

But after Elijah successfully delivered his message, God sent him away. He ended up at a cave, where God graciously and miraculously arranged for ravens to provide all the food he needed to survive. But eventually, Elijah became a victim of the very drought he predicted. Soon, the brook dried up, and the daily deliveries of bread and meat no longer appeared. So, God sent Elijah to the Sidonian town of Zarephath, where he took up residence with a poor widow and her son. She, too, was suffering from the effects of the drought. But, once again, Yahweh proved Himself to be the one true God by causing her meager supply of flour and oil to miraculously multiply and never run out.

In the midst of a drought and severe famine, she had more than enough to sustain herself, her son, and God’s prophet. Through it all, Elijah learned to trust God for all His needs. But even more importantly, Elijah discovered that his God was greater than the gods of Ahab and Jezebel. While Baal, the so-called fertility god, was powerless to stop the drought or reverse the effects of the famine, Yahweh turned “a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug” (1 Kings 17:12 ESV) into a never-ending food supply for Elijah and his gracious hostess.

Then suddenly, the story takes a dramatic turn for the worse. The woman’s young son dies unexpectedly. Faced with this devastating change in her circumstances, the woman vented all her anger and frustration on the prophet of God.

“O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?” – 1 Kings 17:18 NLT

It seems that the woman had falsely assumed that her son’s death was a form of divine retribution for a former sin she had committed. Perhaps by this time, Elijah had shared the details of his encounter with Ahab and Jezebel, explaining that he had been the one to predict the drought as a punishment for their sin. So, when her son suddenly died, she would have naturally reasoned that God was using the prophet to deliver yet another judgment for sin – that of her own.

But ignoring her despair-driven accusation, Elijah took the lifeless body of her son and placed it on his own bed. Then Elijah turned his attention to God. But notice the tone of His prayer. He seems to echo the words of the widow, passing the blame up the food chain and questioning the goodness and graciousness of God.

“O LORD my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?” – 1 Kings 17:20 NLT

Elijah’s response reveals his firm belief that God is sovereign over all things, but he is perplexed and confused by the seeming injustice of it all. In his frustration, He accuses God of doing something wicked. The Hebrew word is rāʿaʿ, which is most often translated as “evil.” The boy’s death makes no sense to Elijah; it seems unnecessary and completely nonproductive. When Elijah first met the woman, she had been fully expecting her son to die of starvation because of the drought. But God had intervened and provided more than enough food to keep all three of them alive. So, to Elijah, the boy’s death seemed pointless and, if anything, it appeared to be an act of cruelty.

But while Elijah was having a difficult time understanding the ways of God, he remained convinced of the power of God. Three times, he lay across the dead body of the boy and cried out, “O LORD my God, please let this child’s life return to him” (1 Kings 17:21 NLT). And the fact that Elijah repeated this process three separate times demonstrates both his persistence and dependence upon God.

It’s important to consider that Elijah had no precedent on which to base his prayer. He was asking Yahweh to do the impossible – to raise a dead body back to life. There is no indication that Elijah had ever seen or heard of God doing such a thing. Elijah was not basing his request on some past miracle recorded in the Hebrew scriptures. The Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, contains no instance of God raising the dead back to life. So, Elijah was asking God to do something that had never been done before. His request was a tremendous act of faith.

In a classic example of understatement, the author simply records, “The LORD heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived!” (1 Kings 17:22 NLT). One can only imagine Elijah’s shock and surprise when the lifeless body of the boy was suddenly reanimated. Two times, nothing had happened. But on the third try, God chose to intervene and answer Elijah’s prayer. We’re not told why God didn’t answer Elijah’s prayer the first time. Perhaps it was a test of Elijah’s faith to see if he would continue to ask and believe even when his request went unanswered. But God had heard, and He ultimately answered, and in a truly remarkable way. Elijah’s unbridled excitement and enthusiasm were on display as he announced the news to the boy’s grieving mother.

“See, your son lives.” – 1 Kings 17:23 ESV

It would be easy to misread this statement and assume that Elijah is saying something like, “See, I told you so!” It almost appears as if he is chastising the woman for her lack of faith. But at no point in the story did Elijah tell the woman that her son would live. He had no way of knowing whether God would answer his prayer or not. At least two times, God failed to do so. But when God had finally provided the miracle for which Elijah was asking, the prophet couldn’t contain his enthusiasm. The New Living Translation provides a much more accurate rendering of Elijah’s response.

“Look!” he said. “Your son is alive!” – 1 Kings 17:23 NLT

No one was as shocked as Elijah, and his joy overflowed in a display of emotional celebration. He most likely walked into the room, carrying the boy in his arms, and then handed him over to the smothering embrace of his overjoyed mother. And, through tears mixed with laughter, the woman managed to express her gratitude to the prophet by declaring her belief in his God.

“Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the LORD truly speaks through you.” – 1 Kings 17:24 NLT

While Yahweh had been keeping the widow and her son alive, she must have had her doubts about Elijah and his God. But now, as she clutched her resurrected son in her arms, she finally recognized and confessed the sovereignty of God and the authority of His prophet. Her son had been dead but was now alive. Her devastating loss had been miraculously reversed with the return of her son. Her sorrow had been turned to joy.

It is easy to overlook the fact that this miracle took place in an obscure village in the region of Sidon. While Jezebel had brought her false god from Sidon to the land of Israel, Elijah had brought the God of Israel to the land of Sidon. The arrival of Baal had been accompanied by drought and famine. But when Yahweh made His appearance in the pagan land of the Sidonians, He had turned a widow’s poverty into plenty and had replaced death with life. In doing so, He had proved Himself to be the one and only God of the universe.

And God intended this powerful lesson to prepare His prophet for all that was about to happen. Elijah didn’t know it yet, but the most significant test of his faith was in his future. After three years of a debilitating and devastating famine, God was going to send Elijah back to the land of Israel to go face-to-face with the king and queen and toe-to-toe with their false god. If Yahweh could revive the dead son of the Sidonian widow, He was powerful enough to restore the stagnant spiritual state of the people of Israel. But would Elijah continue to believe in Yahweh’s power when the odds were stacked against him and the forces of evil threatened his very existence? Only time would tell.

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 Almighty and Accountability

8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah, and he reigned two years. 9 But his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. When he was at Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah, 10 Zimri came in and struck him down and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place.

11 When he began to reign, as soon as he had seated himself on his throne, he struck down all the house of Baasha. He did not leave him a single male of his relatives or his friends. 12 Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, 13 for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned and which they made Israel to sin, provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their idols. 14 Now the rest of the acts of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? – 1 Kings 16:8-14 ESV

Being the heir to a king in Israel could be a dangerous occupation, particularly if your father was under God’s judgment. There was Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, who was assassinated in the second year of his reign. Baasha, his murderer, took his place on the throne of Israel, and Baasha secured his kingdom by having the entire extended family of Jeroboam executed. That way, there would be no heirs to try to reclaim the throne.

Twenty-four years later, Baasha’s son, Elah, ascended to the throne after his father’s death. But he, too, would enjoy a reign of only two years before being assassinated by Zimri, one of his own military officers. And Zimri also took drastic measures to protect his newfound power and position.

Zimri immediately killed the entire royal family of Baasha, leaving him not even a single male child. – 1 Kings 16:11 NLT

Both Jeroboam and Baasha were under the judgment of God. In Jeroboam’s case, God had placed his entire lineage under a curse because he had led the northern tribes of Israel to worship false gods.

“You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made other gods for yourself and have made me furious with your gold calves. And since you have turned your back on me, I will bring disaster on your dynasty and will destroy every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel. I will burn up your royal dynasty as one burns up trash until it is all gone.” – 1 Kings 14:9-10 NLT

And though Baasha was not a descendant of Jeroboam, he would find himself under a similar curse because he had chosen to follow Jeroboam’s example.

“I lifted you out of the dust to make you ruler of my people Israel, but you have followed the evil example of Jeroboam. You have provoked my anger by causing my people Israel to sin. So now I will destroy you and your family, just as I destroyed the descendants of Jeroboam son of Nebat. The members of Baasha’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures.” - 1 Kings 16:2-4 NLT

Yahweh had elevated these two men from obscurity to places of power and great influence. But rather than respond in gratitude and reverence, they let their success go to their heads. They lost sight of the fact that they had been placed on the throne by God and that it was He who deserved their honor, worship, and faithfulness. It was the prophet, Daniel, who told King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings” (Daniel 2:20-21 NLT). The psalmist, Asaph,  wrote, “it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another” (Psalm 75:7 ESV).

Power is intoxicating, and it has a highly attractive quality to it that, once tasted, can become addictive and habit-forming. As has been made abundantly clear, the position of king was highly coveted in Israel. Since Jeroboam, who was a relative nobody, had been able to enjoy his 15 minutes of fame and fortune, everyone believed the position was open to anyone with enough drive and ambition to take it. Baash deemed himself a far better candidate than Nadab, so he took matters into his hands, eliminated the competition, and crowned himself king. But in doing so, he failed to realize that he was nothing more than an instrument in the hands of God. The Almighty had used him to bring judgment against the house of Jeroboam. Baasha would have enjoyed a long and fruitful reign if he had only recognized the hand of God in his life and given Him the glory and honor He so richly deserved. But Baasha became blinded by his own glory.

The history of the kings of Judah and Israel has come a long way since the day when Solomon asked God for “an understanding mind” (1 Kings 3:9 ESV). As the newly crowned king of the still united nation of Israel, Solomon was aware of his shortcomings. He knew he was young and ill-prepared to rule over the vast kingdom his father had built. And, faced with the formidable task of following in his father’s footsteps, Solomon had sought the assistance of God.

“I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” – 1 Kings 3:7-9 NLT

Notice that Solomon understood that the people of Israel were God’s chosen people, not his. He was simply a figurehead, serving on behalf of God and according to His sovereign will. At the early stages of his reign, Solomon seemed quite aware of his place on the depth chart. He had no delusions of grandeur and showed no signs of an overinflated sense of self-worth. He was humble, submissive, and fully aware of his need for God’s help. But over his four-decades-long reign, Solomon grew increasingly more self-reliant and obsessed with the trappings of power and success. He began to seek fulfillment and satisfaction in all the wrong places and, ultimately, he was forced to confess that his quest had left him unfulfilled and dissatisfied.

I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. – Ecclesiastes 2:9-11 NLT

In essence, Solomon had become an idol factory. He manufactured all kinds of substitutes for God, hoping to discover meaning and purpose for his life. In the early days of his reign, he turned to God. But as the years progressed, he began to seek help and hope in all the wrong places.

I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire! – Ecclesiastes 2:4-8 NLT

He had it all, but he had nothing. Surrounded by all the trappings of success, Solomon discovered that his life was empty and he was trapped in an existential maze with no hope of finding the exit. He was lost. Yet the answer to his problem was all around him. It was God who had given him wisdom and wealth. His fame and fortune were the handiwork of Yahweh. But Solomon had begun to read his own press clippings and assumed that his greatness was his own doing. He lost sight of God, and that ultimately led him to seek help from his menagerie of false gods. That decision would have long-lasting ramifications, resulting in the division of his kingdom and the rise of men like Rehoboam, Jeroboam, Nadab, Abijah, Baasha, and Zimri.

The pattern established by Solomon continued for generations. Each successive king seemed to lose sight of his calling and, in time, lost touch with God. They each became guilty of making substitutes for God, a fact that the author of 1 Kings makes painfully clear.

So Zimri destroyed the dynasty of Baasha as the LORD had promised through the prophet Jehu. This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed, and because of the sins they led Israel to commit. They provoked the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, with their worthless idols. – 1 Kings 16:12-13 NLT

Late in his life, long after his meaningless quest for significance had left him empty-handed, Solomon came to a painful yet necessary epiphany.

Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him? God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. This, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind. – Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 NLT

He allowed God to become obscured by the pleasures and trappings of success. He spent his entire life pursuing wealth, treasures, fame, and influence. But in doing so, he turned His back on the very one who had made it all possible. It was God who had placed Solomon on the throne. It was God who had blessed Solomon with wisdom and wealth. And it was God who took it all away and gave it to someone else. Now, years later, the pattern continued to repeat itself, providing further proof of the validity of Asaph’s words: “It is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.”

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.

Blinded by the Blessings

14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15 besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land. 16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels of gold went into each shield. 17 And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 18 The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and the throne had a round top, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, 20 while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom. 21 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

23 Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. 25 Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

26 And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. 28 And Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s traders received them from Kue at a price. 29 A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150, and so through the king’s traders they were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria. – 1 Kings 10:14-29 ESV

Up to this point in his narrative of Solomon’s reign, the author of 1 Kings seems to have spent far more time describing Solomon’s vast wealth than providing evidence of his great wisdom. He has only offered one concrete example where Solomon utilized his God-given gift of wisdom to settle a dispute between two prostitutes who were fighting over legal custody of a newborn baby (1 Kings 3:16-28). There have been several allusions to Solomon’s wisdom, such as the statement made by the Queen of Sheba.

“Everything I heard in my country about your achievements and wisdom is true! I didn’t believe what was said until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half of it! Your wisdom and prosperity are far beyond what I was told.” – 1 Kings 10:6-7 NLT

However, it appears that the author has intentionally placed more emphasis on Solomon’s rapidly expanding financial portfolio. God had promised to bless Solomon with riches and honor (1 Kings 3:13), and it is evident that He had kept His word. In just a single year, nearly 25 tons of gold were added to Solomon’s treasury. That’s a staggering figure, but it represents only a fraction of the revenue that flowed into the kingdom each year. Income from his many business ventures, tributes paid by vassal states, and gifts from various kings and dignitaries further enhanced his annual revenue. His proverbial cup was running over.

People from every nation came to consult him and to hear the wisdom God had given him. Year after year everyone who visited brought him gifts of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. – 1 Kings 10:24-25 NLT

As a result, “King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on earth” (1 Kings 10:23 NLT). It seems that his wisdom and wealth shared a symbiotic relationship. Both were gifts that had been made possible by God. Yet, like all God-given gifts, the real test lies in how they are utilized. Both wisdom and wealth can be misused and abused. Any gift from God can be used for ungodly purposes. It seems that Solomon allowed his wisdom and wealth to become a distraction. Somewhere along the way, he had lost sight of the divine purpose for his gifts — to govern the people of Israel with justice (1 Kings 3:11). He began to repurpose his wisdom and riches in a vain search for meaning in life. He would later write of his growing disenchantment with the pursuit of pleasure and prosperity.

I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. – Ecclesiastes 2:9-11 NLT

Notice how many times Solomon uses the personal pronoun “I.” He had become totally self-consumed, focusing all his attention on what he could gain from what he had been given. Even his God-given wisdom became little more than a tool for trying to decipher the mysteries of life. While he understood wisdom’s inherent value, it wasn’t long before he came to despise this valuable gift from God.

Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate. Both will die. So I said to myself, “Since I will end up the same as the fool, what’s the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless!” For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten.

So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind. – Ecclesiastes 3:14-17 NLT

Twenty years after ascending to the throne of his father, David, Solomon was experiencing unparalleled success. He had the Midas touch. It seems that everything he touched turned to literal gold. In fact, gold was so prevalent in his kingdom that “silver was considered worthless in Solomon’s day” (1 Kings 10:21 NLT).

Solomon had built his own fleet of ships, which returned every three years with their holds full of additional treasures, including “gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks” (1 Kings 10:22 NLT). He had amassed “a huge force of chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses” ( 1 Kings 10:26 NLT). And many of those horses had been imported from as far away as Egypt.

All of these descriptions of Solomon’s incredible wealth must be placed within the context of the commands God had given concerning those who would serve as kings over His people.

“The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’ The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.” – Deuteronomy 17:16-17 NLT

God had blessed Solomon with unparalleled resources, but Solomon used them in ways that were contradictory to God’s will. His misuse of God’s gracious gift was in clear violation of God’s command. Solomon’s wealth had never been intended to feed his ego or fulfill his wildest dreams. It was meant to enable him to provide the people of Israel with proper care and protection. While accumulating chariots and horses may have sounded like a good strategy for ensuring Israel’s national security, it was in direct violation of God’s will. Solomon’s own father had written about the futility of placing one’s hope in such things.

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

Solomon appears to have been preoccupied with the outward trappings of royalty. He had built for himself an opulent palace, where exquisite meals were served on golden plates and the finest wine was served in golden goblets. Oppulence was prevalent in Solomon’s kingdom. He spared no expense, spending vast sums of money on frivolous things like decorative shields made of gold and a one-of-a-kind royal throne of incomparable value 

Then the king made a huge throne, decorated with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. The throne had six steps and a rounded back. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, and the figure of a lion stood on each side of the throne. There were also twelve other lions, one standing on each end of the six steps. No other throne in all the world could be compared with it! – 1 Kings 10:18-20 NLT

Solomon looked like a king and lived like one. He had all the trappings of success and, from the outsider’s perspective, was living the dream. Yet, the day would come when Solomon finally recognized that he had confused the gift with the Giver.

Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers! – Ecclesiastes 10-11 NLT

The wisdom and wealth given to him by God had never been intended to fulfill his every self-centered desire or satiate his relentless need for self-satisfaction. Solomon had been anointed and blessed so that he might lead the nation of Israel into a period of peace, prosperity, and faithful service to God. Solomon had started out well, even asking God for the capacity to lead the people of Israel with wisdom and discernment.

“Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” – 1 Kings 3:9 NLT

But somewhere along the way, Solomon let the blessings of God go to his head. He had allowed the gifts to take precedence over the Giver and, in doing so, turned the blessings of God into a curse. His insatiable appetite for success and significance would turn his heart away from God. His relentless pursuit of pleasure and personal comfort would distract him from fulfilling his God-given purpose. Yahweh had set him on the throne to promote godliness and faithfulness among the people of Israel. 

“…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.” – 1 Kings 9:4-5 NLT

But God’s promise to extend the Davidic dynasty came with a crucial conditional clause. 

“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

And as the next chapter unfolds, the outcome of Solomon’s pursuit of pleasure, prosperity, and prestige will become painfully apparent. He would have been wise to heed the words of Moses, spoken to the Israelites as they prepared to enter the land of Canaan.

“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. But I assure you of this: If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, you will certainly be destroyed.  – Deuteronomy 8:18-19 NLT

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 Greater Gift Than God

1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 3 And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more breath in her.

6 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 7 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. 8 Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 10 Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 Moreover, the fleet of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones. 12 And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the LORD and for the king’s house, also lyres and harps for the singers. No such almug wood has come or been seen to this day.

13 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants. – 1 Kings 10:1-13 ESV

In the two decades that Solomon had served as king of Israel, the news of his incomparable wisdom, vast wealth, and rapidly expanding kingdom had spread throughout the known world (1 Kings 4:31). News of his skills as a composer, author, horticulturist, and biologist further enhanced his already mythical reputation as the wisest man who ever lived. Intrigued by what they heard, kings and dignitaries from other nations sent their emissaries to Jerusalem to see if all the rumors about him were true.

…kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon. – 1 Kings 4:34 NLT

The author of 1 Kings provides an extended example of one such visit. On this occasion, the Queen of Sheba undertook the long and arduous journey to Jerusalem to witness the wisdom of Solomon firsthand. The kingdom of Sheba was located approximately 1,200 miles away, on the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, in the region now known as Yemen. The queen traveled with a large royal retinue and brought with her a vast amount of spices, gold, and precious stones. It appears that the real purpose of her trip was to secure an alliance between her nation and the rapidly expanding kingdom of Solomon. From its location at the confluence of the Sea of Aden and the Red Sea, the kingdom of Sheba had been able to expand its dominance of the spice and incense trade in that region of the world. A peaceful alliance with a powerful nation like Israel would only further enhance and protect their future prospects.

Upon her arrival, the queen was given a personal appointment with Solomon, where she was able to satisfy her curiosity about his wisdom and wealth. This interrogation was most likely meant to assess the validity of Solomon’s reputation, but was also intended to reassure the queen whether a treaty with Israel would be beneficial. In the end, she was left breathless by her encounter with Solomon.

…when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more breath in her. – 1 Kings 10:4-5 ESV

She was blown away by what she saw and heard, and confessed that the reality of Solomon’s wisdom and the greatness of his kingdom far exceeded the rumors and her own expectations.

“Everything I heard in my country about your achievements and wisdom is true! I didn’t believe what was said until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half of it! Your wisdom and prosperity are far beyond what I was told.” – 1 Kings 10:6-7 NLT

The inclusion of this personal, third-party assessment of Solomon’s greatness was meant to validate all that the author had written up to this point. Her testimony was intended to prove that all the descriptions concerning Solomon’s wisdom and the wealth of his kingdom were far from rhetorical flourishes or hyperbole. It was all true.

And this pagan queen affirmed the divine nature of Solomon’s reign, deeming the people of Israel as the fortunate recipients of their God’s love because He had chosen to make this just and righteous man their king.

“Praise the LORD your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness.” – 1 Kings 10:9 NLT

In a way, the inclusion of this statement was meant to remind the Hebrew readers of this book that their nation had been blessed by God. His sovereign decision to anoint Solomon as David’s successor was a divine act of love and mercy because He had given them a wise, just, and righteous king to rule over them. After decades spent conquering the nations of Canaan and fighting ongoing battles with the Philistines, God had blessed the people of Israel with a time of peace and prosperity.

Saul’s reign had ended in failure and disappointment. David’s reign had been marked by war and bloodshed. Now Solomon was leading them into a period of unprecedented expansion, prosperity, and peace. This was meant to be a golden age for the nation of Israel.

And, almost as further proof of God’s blessing on the nation, the author records that the queen of Sheba gifted Solomon with “9,000 pounds of gold, great quantities of spices, and precious jewels” (1 Kings 10:10 NLT). The blessings just kept coming. Solomon’s great wealth continued to grow. And all of this was in keeping with the promise that God had made to Solomon.

“Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies—I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life!” – 1 Kings 3:11-13 NLT

However, it’s essential to recall that God’s promise came with a condition.

“…if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.” – 1 Kings 3:14 NLT

That vital caveat must not be overlooked, and its presence constantly lingers behind the scenes portrayed in Chapter 10. God was faithfully keeping the promise He had made to Solomon, blessing him with riches and fame beyond his wildest imagination. However, the unspoken question that looms over this entire narrative is whether Solomon, in the midst of his growing wealth and notoriety, will be able to remain faithful to God. As his fame and fortune continue to increase, will he allow the blessings of God to become substitutes for God, distracting his attention and diverting his love?

Almost as an aside, the author reveals another example of God’s blessings on Solomon. He notes that Hiram, the king of Tyre, continued to shower Solomon with incredible gifts of great value.

Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir, and they also brought rich cargoes of red sandalwood and precious jewels. – 1 Kings 10:11 NLT

Without having to lift a finger, Solomon’s immense wealth was growing by the minute. God was using these pagan potentates to expand Solomon’s already extensive net worth. But would Solomon view these gifts as the gracious provision of God, meant to underwrite the divine initiatives He had in mind for the nation of Israel? Or would Solomon allow his growing wealth to fund a lifestyle of excess and dissipation? The answer to those questions can be found in the writings of Solomon himself.

Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers! – Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 NLT

Solomon would eventually discover that even the blessings of God become disappointing and disillusioning when they become substitutes for Him. The Book of Ecclesiastes chronicles his growing love affair with materialism and hedonism. Over time, he allowed his fame and riches, graciously bestowed upon him by God, to distract him from his worship of and commitment to God.

I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. – Ecclesiastes 2:9-11 NLT

However, at this point in the story, Solomon appears to recognize that his blessed lifestyle has come from the gracious hand of God. He has not yet succumbed to the temptation to make the gifts of higher value than the Giver. The pessimism of unbridled prosperity and the endless pursuit of insatiable pleasure would eventually set in. But for now, Solomon was content to graciously accept his blessings as gifts from Yahweh. 

As for the queen of Sheba, having been exposed to the visual evidence of God’s goodness, she returned to her kingdom more convinced than ever of Solomon’s greatness. The signs of Yahweh's presence, pleasure, and provision were inescapable. But for Solomon, the blessings of God would prove to be a distraction, filling his royal treasuries with great wealth and his heart with dangerous thoughts about his own self-importance. Possessions, power, pleasure, and prominence can be gifts from God that quickly turn into weapons of self-destruction. Jesus Himself had much to say about the dangers of the love of money and the  

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” – Matthew 6:19-21 NLT 

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.” – Matthew 6:24 NLT

“Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” – Luke 12:15 NLT

“The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.” – Mark 4:18-19 NLT

The queen of Sheba had been enamored with Solomon’s wealth and wisdom. But would Solomon allow those divine gifts to replace his love for the Giver? 

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.

A Wealth of Reasons to Be Wary

20 Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy. 21 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

22 Solomon's provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors of meal, 23 ten fat oxen, and twenty pasture-fed cattle, a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl. 24 For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates. And he had peace on all sides around him. 25 And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon. 26 Solomon also had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. 27 And those officers supplied provisions for King Solomon, and for all who came to King Solomon's table, each one in his month. They let nothing be lacking. 28 Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds they brought to the place where it was required, each according to his duty.

29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, 30 so that Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32 He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. 33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. 34 And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom. – 1 Kings 4:20-34 ESV

Solomon inherited a vast and sprawling kingdom from his father. But in time, Solomon would expand its borders until it reached from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Euphrates River in the far northeast. Its southern border reached all the way to the land occupied by the once-powerful Egyptians. As the author makes clear, many of the regions under Solomon’s rule were vassal states that were required to pay an annual tax to the royal treasury. Some of the land under Solomon’s rule was located outside the original geographic boundaries designated by God and allotted to the 12 tribes of Israel. Through alliances and treaties, Solomon expanded the influence and scope of his kingdom without waging a single war. His reign was marked by a period of unprecedented peace and prosperity, and it was in direct fulfillment of the promise God had made to Abraham hundreds of years earlier.

“I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies.” – Genesis 22:17 NLT

David had been the conqueror, completing much of the work the 12 tribes had failed to do when they first took possession of the land of Canaan. David had successfully defeated and subjugated many of the remaining remnants of those nations that the Israelites had been charged to eliminate from the land. However, Solomon’s expansion of the kingdom occurred through peaceful negotiations and economic alliances.

Some believe that the author’s reference to Judah and Israel is proof that he wrote his book after God had divided the nation into the southern and northern kingdoms (1 Kings 11:43). But even when David had announced his decision to make Solomon the heir to his throne, he used these two designations when referring to his kingdom.

“…he shall be king in my place. And I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.” – 1 Kings 1:35 ESV

It seems likely that, over the years, the Israelites had already aligned themselves into two factions that were little more than loose confederations of tribes structured around geographic boundaries. Regardless, Solomon ruled over all of Israel and Judah, from the north to the south. And it was a period of unparalleled peace and abundance.

During the lifetime of Solomon, all of Judah and Israel lived in peace and safety. And from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, each family had its own home and garden. – 1 Kings 4:25 NLT

Everyone benefited from Solomon’s reign, including Solomon. In this passage, the author outlines the extent of Solomon’s great wealth, providing tangible proof that God had kept the promise He had made to Solomon.

“I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life!” – 1 Kings 3:13 NLT

The detailed lists provided by the author are intended to stagger the imagination and illustrate the vast nature of Solomon’s wealth.

The daily food requirements for Solomon’s palace were 150 bushels of choice flour and 300 bushels of meal; also 10 oxen from the fattening pens, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep or goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roe deer, and choice poultry. – 1 Kings 4:22-23 NLT

The budget required to operate his royal residence was astronomical. Yet, Solomon had cleverly created a system that helped to underwrite this ongoing expense.

The district governors faithfully provided food for King Solomon and his court; each made sure nothing was lacking during the month assigned to him. They also brought the necessary barley and straw for the royal horses in the stables. – 1 Kings 4:27-28 NLT

A rotating schedule was implemented to equally distribute the responsibility for providing food for Solomon’s court, as well as for his expanding collection of horses. This note should catch the reader’s attention because it was in direct violation of God’s earlier command.  

“The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself.” – Deuteronomy 17:16 NLT

Yet, the author reveals that “Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses, and he had 12,000 horses” (1 Kings 4:26 NLT). While the text reads “40,000,” it is thought to be a copyist’s error.  In 2 Chronicles 29:5, a companion passage, it reads: “Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.”

However, the most crucial point is that Solomon had assembled a stable of 12,000 horses, specifically bred to pull chariots. Later in his book, the author provides further details concerning Solomon’s extensive collection of horses and chariots.

Solomon built up a huge force of chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He stationed some of them in the chariot cities and some near him in Jerusalem. The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. And valuable cedar timber was as common as the sycamore-fig trees that grow in the foothills of Judah. Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Cilicia. – 1 Kings 10: 26-28 NLT

It is interesting to note that Solomon’s own father had described the vanity of putting one’s hope in horses and chariots.

Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the LORD our God. – Psalm 20:7 NLT

Yet, Solomon seemed to have bought into the concept of a strong offense being the best defense. But in building up his formidable collection of chariots and horses, he had violated the command of God. Even though this passage paints a glowing picture of Solomon’s wealth, fame, and influence, a faint but dark cloud can be seen on the horizon.

Solomon was wise, wealthy, and highly successful. His kingdom was marked by tremendous prosperity and unprecedented peace. Yahweh had blessed him with a degree of wisdom that was unmatched by any other living human being.

God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore. In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else… – 1 Kings 4:29-31 NLT

The wisdom that God bestowed upon Solomon was extensive, providing him with encyclopedic knowledge and a vast interest in a wide range of disciplines.

He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish. – 1 Kings 4:32-33 NLT

Along with his vast wealth and wisdom, Solomon found fame. The author states that “kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon” (1 Kings 4:34 NLT). He was a celebrity. He had a retinue of admirers who came from all over the world to witness his fabled wisdom and fabulous wealth. But you can almost sense the foreboding nature of this passage. Amidst all the splendor and opulence, a shadow looms. Much later in his reign, Solomon wrote of his vast wealth, wisdom, and penchant for surrounding himself with the finer things in life. 

I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!

So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. – Ecclesiastes 2:4-10 NLT

In the early stages of his reign, Solomon found himself on a trajectory of success and unparalleled significance. He was sought out and looked up to. He was revered and envied. He had everything a man could ever want. But there was a cancer lurking, unseen and undetected, that threatened the health of his glorious kingdom. In time, it would reveal itself.

For now, Solomon was living the dream and using his God-given wisdom to build a kingdom that was unrivaled in power, size, and scope. But he needed to be watchful and wary of the hidden dangers that lurked behind the trappings of outward success. If he wasn't careful, he could become intoxicated by his own fame and fortune. His success could go to his head and cause him to lose sight of the One who made it all possible. Yahweh was blessing Solomon, and soon, it would be time for Solomon to return the favor by building a house for Yahweh. 

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.

Passing the Buck

1 When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, 2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, 3 and keep the charge of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, 4 that the LORD may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

5 “Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner the son of Ner, and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist and on the sandals on his feet. 6 Act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. 7 But deal loyally with the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for with such loyalty they met me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 8 And there is also with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9 Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.” – 1 Kings 2:1-9 ESV

The text provides no indication as to how long David lived after Solomon was crowned king. But the book of 1st Chronicles seems to indicate that as long as David remained alive, the two of them served as co-regents.

And again they crowned David’s son Solomon as their new king. They anointed him before the Lord as their leader, and they anointed Zadok as priest. So Solomon took the throne of the Lord in place of his father, David, and he succeeded in everything, and all Israel obeyed him. All the officials, the warriors, and the sons of King David pledged their loyalty to King Solomon. And the Lord exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and he gave Solomon greater royal splendor than any king in Israel before him.

So David son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. He reigned over Israel for forty years, seven of them in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. He died at a ripe old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth, and honor. Then his son Solomon ruled in his place. – 1 Chronicles 29:22-28 NLT

As long as David lived, Solomon acted in more of a ceremonial capacity, sitting on the throne and serving as the titular head of state. Officially, his father remained the true king of Israel, providing Solomon with counsel and maintaining a final say in the kingdom's affairs.

“The exact relationship between David and Solomon during the period of coregency is not made clear. Normally in such coregencies, the father remained in supreme command as long as he lived, with the son more or less carrying out his directives. This probably was true with David and Solomon also, though the fact that David was bedridden during this time suggests such an arrangement may have been more theoretical than actual.” – Leon J. Wood, Israel’s United Monarchy

With David's eventual death, Solomon would assume all the power and authority associated with his title as king. So, when David recognized that his death was near, he called for his son so that he might give him some final words of instructions. This would be his last chance to advise Solomon and to pass on a few last-minute requests regarding some unfinished business within the kingdom.

First, David encouraged his son to “keep the charge of the LORD your God” (1 Kings 2:3 ESV). He wanted Solomon to remember that his role as the king had been assigned to him by God. It was a divine appointment and was to be treated with the requisite awe, reverence, and obedience that such a responsibility deserved. Solomon was not to take his new power and authority lightly or use it in a self-serving manner. The key to his success would be his faithful adherence to the law of Moses. So, David challenged his young son to “Observe the requirements of the LORD your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go” (1 Kings 2:3 NLT).

From his own experience, David knew that faithful adherence to God’s law was a non-negotiable requirement for the man who would rule over God’s people. Solomon would need to be a man who knew and obeyed the laws of Yahweh, setting an example for all those under his care. As the king went, so would the people go. He would need to provide a powerful example of moral, ethical, and spiritual integrity, operating according to all of God’s statutes, commandments, rules, and testimonies.

David knew that Solomon had the hand of God on his life because he had been given an assurance from God that his son would have a long and prosperous reign.

“Furthermore, the LORD declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. But my favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.” – 2 Samuel 7:11-16 NLT

But David was also intimately familiar with all the temptations that came with the throne's power and prestige. Solomon was just a young man, and, if he was not careful, he could find himself intoxicated by all the fame, notoriety, wealth, and power that came with the crown. Kings were worshiped and revered. Kings were feared and fawned over. But David wanted his son to understand that he ruled at the behest of God Almighty. His reign had been made possible by the sovereign God of the universe.

And like any good father, David longed for his son to experience the blessings of God on his life. So, he shared with Solomon a promise that God had given him.

“If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.” – 1 Kings 2:4 NLT

At this point, David’s death-bed discussion with Solomon takes a slightly abrupt and unexpected turn. He suddenly transitions from talking about faithful adherence to God’s law and begins giving Solomon a strange “to-do list” containing a few unfinished items of official business. In a sense, David passed the buck and assigned to his son some rather distasteful duties he had chosen to shirk during his own reign.

First, he ordered Solomon to punish Joab for two murders he had committed. Joab had a track record of disobedience. On two separate occasions, while serving as the military commander over David’s forces, he had acted independently from David’s orders, putting two men to death without the king's orders. The first was Abner (2 Samuel 3), and the second was Amasa (2 Samuel 20). In both instances, Joab deserved to die for his actions. But David had chosen to do nothing. Now, after years had passed and David was preparing to die, he passed off this distasteful responsibility to his son.

And David was not done. He also assigned Solomon the task of paying back a man named Shimei. His story is recorded in 2 Samuel 16. This man made the mistake of cursing David as he fled from Jerusalem after Absalom had taken over his throne.

As King David came to Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei son of Gera, from the same clan as Saul’s family. He threw stones at the king and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded him. “Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. “The LORD is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. You stole his throne, and now the LORD has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!” – 2 Samuel 16:5-8 NLT

When David had been restored to his throne, he chose to do nothing to repay Shimei for his actions. Now, he was expecting Solomon to clean up the mess and mete out justice on his behalf.

But David had different instructions concerning Barzillai, an individual who had chosen to show David mercy by providing him and his companions with food as they fled the city of Jerusalem (2 Samuel 17:27-29).

“Be kind to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead. Make them permanent guests at your table, for they took care of me when I fled from your brother Absalom.” – 1 Kings 2:7 NLT

David was expecting his son to take care of his unfinished business. For whatever reason, he had chosen to allow two of these men to go unpunished for their actions. But, seemingly motivated by revenge, David gave his son strict instructions to pay them back for their crimes. It seems that David wanted to die in peace, knowing that his enemies would be dealt with properly, but he wanted no blood on his hands. He would leave the unpleasant task of executing the guilty to his young son, Solomon. David, the great king of Israel, had shirked his responsibilities and was now expecting someone else to clean up the mess he was leaving behind. He probably knew these men could pose a threat to his son’s kingdom, so he recommended their elimination. But had he done his job, none of these would have been necessary.

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.

Beyond Compare

Of David.

1 Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
    who trains my hands for war,
    and my fingers for battle;
2 he is my steadfast love and my fortress,
    my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and he in whom I take refuge,
    who subdues peoples under me.

3 O LORD, what is man that you regard him,
    or the son of man that you think of him?
4 Man is like a breath;
    his days are like a passing shadow.

5 Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!
    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!
6 Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;
    send out your arrows and rout them!
7 Stretch out your hand from on high;
    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,
    from the hand of foreigners,
8 whose mouths speak lies
    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

9 I will sing a new song to you, O God;
    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10 who gives victory to kings,
    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me
    from the hand of foreigners,
whose mouths speak lies
    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

12 May our sons in their youth
    be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars
    cut for the structure of a palace;
13 may our granaries be full,
    providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
    and ten thousands in our fields;
14 may our cattle be heavy with young,
    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;
may there be no cry of distress in our streets!
15 Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! – Psalm 144:1-15 ESV

Perspective can be an elusive thing. It is easy to have a one-dimensional view of life and its surrounding circumstances. We can end up seeing things from our point of view and lose sight of reality, easily viewing ourselves as somehow special, our talents as genuinely unique, and our inherent value as greater than it really is.

For David, God provided a different and more accurate perspective on life. He found Yahweh to be the central focus of all life and meaning. He was the creator and sustainer of life. The world exists for Him and not the other way around. He was the one who conceived the idea of humanity and then brought it to life. David was blown away that this all-powerful God would even bother to waste a single second dealing with the likes of men. The Message paraphrases verse three quite clearly and frankly: “I wonder why you care, GOD – why do you bother with us at all?”

This psalm is an amalgam of thoughts borrowed from other psalms written by David, including Psalm 18. He begins with a series of one-word descriptions that reflect his experience with Yahweh. He refers to Yahweh as his rock, ally, fortress, tower, rescuer, shield, and refuge. Each of these terms carries a military connotation, revealing David’s background as a warrior and king. In his experience, he has found Yahweh to be a powerful ally and reliable source of safety, security, and strength. 

As David surveyed his life, he could recount the many ways Yahweh had not only prepared him for the conflicts of life, but had also protected and preserved him in the midst of them. Yahweh served as David's instructor, training him for battle and equipping him with the skills he would need to gain the upper hand over his enemies. However, when things didn't go quite the way David expected, he found Yahweh to be a source of comfort and refuge —a place to regroup and recover for the fight ahead. Yahweh was like a strong tower or fortress that David could return to when the battle took a turn for the worse. 

David found the thought of Yahweh's intimate interactions with him to be unfathomable. He was grateful but legitimately perplexed that the God of the universe would waste any time thinking about him. 

Man is like a breath;
    his days are like a passing shadow. – Psalm 144:4 ESV 

“O LORD, make me know my end
    and what is the measure of my days;
    let me know how fleeting I am!
Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
    and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! – Psalm 39:4-5 ESV

As for man, his days are like grass;
    he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
    and its place knows it no more. – Psalm 103:15-16 ESV

David had a healthy perspective of life because he had an accurate view of God. He understood the greatness of God and the pitifully powerless condition of man. This king, who ruled over a rapidly expanding nation, did not allow his victories and vast empire to go to his head. When compared with Yahweh, he was nothing, and his kingdom was impotent and unimpressive when likened to the heavenly domain of the Almighty. David could muster human forces to fight his battles, but Yahweh was equipped with supernatural resources that no physical army could stand against.

Open the heavens, Lord, and come down.
    Touch the mountains so they billow smoke.
Hurl your lightning bolts and scatter your enemies!
    Shoot your arrows and confuse them!
Reach down from heaven and rescue me… – Psalm 144:5-7 NLT

David could look back over his life and see the evidence of Yahweh's handiwork. There were so many instances David could recall where Yahweh had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Losing battles had been transformed into triumphant celebrations because Yahweh had shown up at just the right time and done what only He could do. These unexpected outcomes led David to praise Yahweh.

I will sing a new song to you, O God!
    I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp.
For you grant victory to kings!
    You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword. – Psalm 144:9-10 NLT

And these past victories led David to pray for more of the same in the future.  

Save me!
    Rescue me from the power of my enemies. – Psalm 144:11 NLT

David lived dependent on God — gladly and willingly. He viewed God as his rock, his source of stability and strength. He saw God as his personal trainer and reliable ally. When David ran into trouble, Yahweh was who David ran to for help, hope, and healing. He didn’t become too full of himself or let his position, possessions, or power distort his perspective on life. He knew he needed Yahweh at all times and in every way. His strength came from Yahweh. His victories were due to Yahweh. His rescue from trouble was totally up to Yahweh. His success or failure was in Yahweh’s hands. His present prosperity and future posterity were up to Yahweh. Which is why he could say, “Yes, joyful are those who live like this! Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 144:15 NLT).

Living with a clear perspective of life and Yahweh's role in it is essential to experiencing joy. When we understand who God is, we will gladly place our hope on Him, and refuse to see ourselves as more than what we are — mere mortals. A God-focused perspective can bring peace even amid difficulty, hope in the face of heartache, and confidence even when surrounded by confusion and chaos. A healthy perspective of God gives us a healthy view of life.

David closed his psalm with a hopeful and heartfelt prayer that reflects his understanding of Yahweh's supremacy and man’s dependency. David understood that life on this planet was a gracious gift from God and that any hope of future blessings, fruitfulness, victory, or peace came from Him alone. 

May our sons flourish in their youth
    like well-nurtured plants.
May our daughters be like graceful pillars,
    carved to beautify a palace.
May our barns be filled
    with crops of every kind.
May the flocks in our fields multiply by the thousands,
    even tens of thousands,
    and may our oxen be loaded down with produce.
May there be no enemy breaking through our walls,
    no going into captivity,
    no cries of alarm in our town squares. – Psalm 144:12-14 NLT

Father, it is amazing that You, the God of the universe, would take time to even think about me, a mere man. But You do. You created me, care for me, sent Your Son to die for me, and You have a plan that includes me. You are great, powerful, holy, sinless, righteous, and yet You choose to care for me. Thank 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.

I Will Sing of My Redeemer

1 By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows there
we hung up our lyres.
3 For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

4 How shall we sing the Lord's song
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget its skill!
6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy!

7 Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites
the day of Jerusalem,
how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,
down to its foundations!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,
blessed shall he be who repays you
with what you have done to us!
9 Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
and dashes them against the rock. – Psalm 137:1-9 ESV

This psalm is a song of lament, written sometime after the fall of Jerusalem to Babylonian invaders in 587 B.C.. After a 30-month-long siege, the city’s inhabitants were on the brink of starvation, a fact that the prophet Jeremiah describes in great detail in the Book of Lamentations.

See how the precious children of Jerusalem,
worth their weight in fine gold,
are now treated like pots of clay
made by a common potter.

Even the jackals feed their young,
but not my people Israel.
They ignore their children’s cries,
like ostriches in the desert.

The parched tongues of their little ones
stick to the roofs of their mouths in thirst.
The children cry for bread,
but no one has any to give them.

The people who once ate the richest foods
now beg in the streets for anything they can get.
Those who once wore the finest clothes
now search the garbage dumps for food.

The guilt of my people
is greater than that of Sodom,
where utter disaster struck in a moment
and no hand offered help.

Our princes once glowed with health—
brighter than snow, whiter than milk.
Their faces were as ruddy as rubies,
their appearance like fine jewels.

But now their faces are blacker than soot.
No one recognizes them in the streets.
Their skin sticks to their bones;
it is as dry and hard as wood.

Those killed by the sword are better off
than those who die of hunger.
Starving, they waste away
for lack of food from the fields.– Lamentations 4:2-9 NLT

Eventually, the Babylonians breached the city's walls.

By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone.Then a section of the city wall was broken down. Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians… 2 Kings 25:3-4 NLT

After a slight delay, Nebuchadnezzar ordered the wanton destruction of Jerusalem and the capture of many of its citizens, who were taken back to Babylon as slaves. 

On August 14 of that year,which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem. He burned down the Temple of the Lord, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings in the city. Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side. Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population. But the captain of the guard allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind to care for the vineyards and fields.– 2 Kings 25:8-12 NLT

The psalmist picks up the story sometime after the exiles arrived in Babylon. He describes them as weeping beside the rivers of Babylon, as they considered the full weight of their devastating circumstances. The depth of their sorrow is reflected in their decision to ban all music.    

We put away our harps,
hanging them on the branches of poplar trees.
For our captors demanded a song from us.– Psalm 137:2-3 NLT

Mocked relentlessly by their Babylonian overlords, the exiles mourned and wept in silence, refusing to assuage their grief with songs. This sad state of affairs should not have been a surprise to them, because Yahweh had warned it would happen.

“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.” – Ezekiel 25:8-11 NLT

The former citizens of Jerusalem justified their actions, saying, “How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a pagan land?” (Psalm 137:4 NLT). From their perspective, they had no reason to sing. Their city had been destroyed, their homes burned, the Temple plundered and reduced to rubble, and they had been chained and forced-marched all the way to Babylon, where they would spend the next seven decades as slaves. Even if Yahweh's promise was true, and they would return to Jerusalem after 70 years, many of them knew they would never live long enough to see that day. 

Yet, the psalmist refused to give up. He couldn’t bring himself to give up and give in to despair. He wasn't minimizing their situation; he was simply attempting to remind himself and his fellow exiles that they still had reason to hope. 

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget how to play the harp.
May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I fail to remember you,
if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.– Psalm 137:5-6 NLT

When the Babylonians shouted, “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!” (Psalm 137:3 NLT), they were mocking the Israelites' practice of singing the songs of ascent as they made their annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem during the feast days. The psalms were designed to remind the Israelites of the unique status of Jerusalem, not just as their national capital, but as the home of the Temple, considered to be Yahweh's earthly dwelling place. As they made their way up the paths to Mount Zion, they could see the glorious Temple, which stood as a reminder that they served a holy, all-powerful, and covenant-keeping God.

I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth!– Psalm 121:1-2 NLT

The LORD keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.– Psalm 121:7-8 NLT

What if the LORD had not been on our side?
Let all Israel repeat:
What if the LORDhad not been on our side
when people attacked us?
They would have swallowed us alive
in their burning anger.
The waters would have engulfed us;
a torrent would have overwhelmed us.
Yes, the raging waters of their fury
would have overwhelmed our very lives.– Psalm 124:1-5 NLT

But now, they sat by the rivers of Babylon, engulfed and overwhelmed by the reality that their God had not saved them. He had not been on their side. As they had walked away from Jerusalem in chains, their minds were seared with the parting image of their once-glorious Temple in ruins and their impregnable city reduced to rubble. 

But the psalmist wanted to remember Jerusalem as it had been before the Babylonians arrived. He longed to relish the halcyon days when Yahweh's Shekinah glory dwelled above the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies. He still held out hope that their God had not completely abandoned them. While their circumstances were bleak and their chances for survival seemed slim, he believed that Yahweh was still on His throne and would remain faithful to His covenant promises. He offered up a prayer to the LORD, begging Him to remember what the Edomites said as they gleefully witnessed the fall of Jerusalem.

O LORD, remember what the Edomites did
on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem.
“Destroy it!” they yelled.
“Level it to the ground!” – Psalm 137:7 NLT

The Edomites were descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob, and thus blood relatives of the Israelites. But the Edomites held a long-standing grudge against Jacob's progeny, and rejoiced in their destruction. The sight of Jerusalem being invaded by Babylonian troops spurred the Edomites to demand its complete destruction. They wanted the Israelites and their capital city wiped off the face of the earth. 

The psalmist called on Yahweh to act. Surely, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would not stand back and allow His chosen people to suffer permanent extinction. He had heard the cries of the prophets, warning the Israelites to repent of their sins or face God’s judgment, and he had lived to experience it firsthand. But he had also heard the prophets speak of God’s promise to redeem and restore them.

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

He might not live to see that day, but he was willing to trust that the LORD would bring it about. With the words of the prophet Jeremiah ringing in his ears, the psalmist expressed his belief that Yahweh would do what He promised to do.

“Listen to this message from the LORD,
    you nations of the world;
    proclaim it in distant coastlands:
The LORD, who scattered his people,
    will gather them and watch over them
    as a shepherd does his flock.
For the LORD has redeemed Israel
    from those too strong for them.
They will come home and sing songs of joy on the heights of Jerusalem.” – Jeremiah 31:10-12 NLT

Notice the emphasis on songs of joy. While the Babylonians mocked the Israelites' songs of ascent, the psalmist focused on the day when singing would be renewed because of God’s faithfulness. The highways and byways surrounding Jerusalem would once again ring with joyful praise as the Israelites made their way to a restored city and a rebuilt Temple, where they would enjoy a renewed relationship with their God. This news, coupled with Jeremiah's prediction of Babylon's eventual fall, produced hope in the heart of the psalmist.

“How Babylon is fallen—
great Babylon, praised throughout the earth!
Now she has become an object of horror
among the nations.
The sea has risen over Babylon;
she is covered by its crashing waves.
Her cities now lie in ruins;
she is a dry wasteland
where no one lives or even passes by. – Jeremiah 51:41-43 NLT

The tables will be turned, and the fortunes of Israel and Babylon will be reversed, which led the psalmist to end his song with an exuberant, if not macabre, refrain of praise and rejoicing.

O Babylon, you will be destroyed.
    Happy is the one who pays you back
    for what you have done to us.
Happy is the one who takes your babies
    and smashes them against the rocks! – Psalm 137:8-9 NLT

Father, when times get tough, it can be difficult to sing Your praises. Suffering seems to cause short-term memory loss, leaving us unable to recall Your many acts of grace, mercy, kindness, and love. Dark days can produce a cloudy recollection of Your power and providential provision of all our needs. We can find ourselves sitting by our “rivers of Babylon,” whining about our lot in life rather than singing about Your glory and goodness. Help me keep a song on my lips at all times because You are forever faithful, all-powerful, never unaware of my circumstances, and . always ready to act on my behalf. I have plenty of reasons to sing Your praises even when I can't sense Your presence. 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

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 Power to Obey

Daleth

25 My soul clings to the dust;
    give me life according to your word!
26 When I told of my ways, you answered me;
    teach me your statutes!
27 Make me understand the way of your precepts,
    and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
28 My soul melts away for sorrow;
    strengthen me according to your word!
29 Put false ways far from me
    and graciously teach me your law!
30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
    I set your rules before me.
31 I cling to your testimonies, O LORD;
    let me not be put to shame!
32 I will run in the way of your commandments
    when you enlarge my heart!

He

33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes;
    and I will keep it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
    and observe it with my whole heart.
35 Lead me in the path of your commandments,
    for I delight in it.
36 Incline my heart to your testimonies,
    and not to selfish gain!
37 Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
    and give me life in your ways.
38 Confirm to your servant your promise,
    that you may be feared.
39 Turn away the reproach that I dread,
    for your rules are good.
40 Behold, I long for your precepts;
    in your righteousness give me life!

Waw

41 Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD,
    your salvation according to your promise;
42 then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me,
    for I trust in your word.
43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
    for my hope is in your rules.
44 I will keep your law continually,
    forever and ever,
45 and I shall walk in a wide place,
    for I have sought your precepts.
46 I will also speak of your testimonies before kings
    and shall not be put to shame,
47 for I find my delight in your commandments,
    which I love.
48 I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,
    and I will meditate on your statutes. – Psalm 119:25-48 ESV

The psalmist's life was anything but easy. Following Yahweh's law had not guaranteed him a trouble-free life or provided him with immunity from sin and sorrow. He flatly states, “My soul clings to the dust” (Psalm 119:25 ESV), describing his current state of mourning. He provides no specifics as to his predicament, but adds, “My soul melts away for sorrow” (Psalm 119:28 ESV). He is struggling with deep depression and reaches out to Yahweh for help and healing.

“Revive me by your word,” he pleads (Psalm 119:25 NLT) because he is filled with doubts and doing battle with his own inner demons. False ideas fill his mind, and wrong conclusions about his problems wreak havoc with his self-confidence. He can't seem to decide whether his pain is self-induced or the result of disobedience to God's commands. Is he being punished for his sins or simply reaping the consequences for his unfaithfulness?

It almost seems he is grasping at straws as he searches for an explanation to his dilemma. He even brings up the love of money and materialism.

Give me an eagerness for your laws
    rather than a love for money!
Turn my eyes from worthless things,
    and give me life through your word. – Psalm 119:36-37 NLT

This is a man in turmoil, who longs to be restored to a right relationship with Yahweh. But he knows the key to his restoration is found in God’s commands.

…revive me by your word – vs 25 (NLT)

…encourage me by your word – vs 28 (NLT)

…give me the privilege of knowing your instructions – vs 29 (NLT)

Teach me your decrees – vs 33 (NLT)

Give me understanding – vs 34 (NLT)

Make me walk along the path of your commands – vs 35 (NLT)

Give me an eagerness for your laws – vs 36 (NLT)

…give me life through your word – vs 37  (NLT)    

The psalmist knows that something is missing. He understands the value of God's decrees but seeks more than mental assent to a set of regulations. Knowing God's laws and keeping them are not the same thing. Knowing what God commands is useless if the heart doesn't grasp the why behind it. That’s why he pleads, “Help me understand the meaning of your commandments” (Psalm 119:27 NLT) and “expand my understanding” (Psalm 119:32 NLT). 

Laws can do little to regulate the lives of those who fail to comprehend their underlying purpose. Without understanding why God gave His statutes, men will always view them as restrictive and repressive. They will become a burden rather than a delight. But the psalmist inherently knew God's laws were not just a list of prohibitions to be obeyed; they could bring joy, pleasure, peace, comfort, security, and an overwhelming sense of God's presence and delight.

That is why the psalmist says, “I have determined to live by your regulations” (Psalm 119:30 NLT). He claims to cling to them like a drowning man grasps a life preserver. He pursues them with a vengeance because he comprehends their value. He knows true happiness is found only when one obeys God's commands. Disobedience doesn't bring delight. Freedom from the law doesn't emancipate or make one the master of one's fate; it enslaves and entraps. The apostle Paul understood this reality and warned the believers in Rome not to allow their desire for freedom to end up enslaving them to sin.

Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living. – Romans 6:16-18 NLT

The psalmist also understood the danger of pursuing freedom at all costs.

Help me abandon my shameful ways;
    for your regulations are good.
I long to obey your commandments!
    Renew my life with your goodness. – Psalm 119:39-40 NLT

He knew that God's laws were good, holy, and had a divine purpose behind them. They were not a set of arbitrary rules designed to restrict and repress, or the sadistic musings of some cosmic kill-joy intent on keeping humanity from having a good time. They were the gracious gift of a good God who longed for His children to experience His blessings by living according to His holy standards. Once again, the apostle Paul provides insight into man's love-hate relationship with God's law. 

…it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good. – Romans 7:7-12 NLT

The psalmist was content to give Yahweh the benefit of the doubt. He didn't fully understand all that was going on in his life, but he knew that the answer was to be found in the law, not apart from it. He longed to experience God’s love as salvation from his doubt, despair, and difficulties.

LORD, give me your unfailing love,
    the salvation that you promised me. – Psalm 119:41 NLT

His salvation would be found in keeping the law. But to keep the law, he would need help. He described God's laws as his only hope (vs 43) and understood Yahweh was his only source of help to live obediently. This entire psalm is a tribute to the efficacy and integrity of God's law and a declaration of the psalmist's commitment to remaining obedient in the face of opposition and uncertainty.

I will keep on obeying your instructions
    forever and ever.
I will walk in freedom,
    for I have devoted myself to your commandments. – Psalm 119:44-45 NLT  

This anonymous psalmist represents all God’s children who have ever wrestled with doubts concerning God's commands. Even New Testament believers, who embrace the doctrine that they have been set free from the law of sin and death, wrestle with the concept of obedience. When they hear Jesus say, “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15 NLT), they question the validity of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone. Jesus’ words sound a lot like works, and it doesn't help when He later states, “Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me” (John 14:21 NLT).

The disciples wrestled with Jesus’ words because they did not yet have the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. In fact, Jesus told them their ability to obey would be made possible through the Spirit's power.

“All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me.…when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” – John 14:23-24, 26 NLT

But even with the power of the Spirit of God present within him, the apostle Paul described the ongoing state of confusion and conflict that would plague the life of every believer, including himself.

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. – Romans 7:21-25 NLT

But Paul knew that Jesus was the solution to his ongoing sin problem. Jesus was not just the source of salvation, but also of being restored to a right relationship with God the Father. He was the key to our ongoing sanctification, the transformation of our lives into His own likeness as we live in obedience to His commands in the power of the Holy Spirit. For the psalmist and Paul, obedience was the key to God's blessing, and God was the key to obedience, so none of us might be tempted to boast (Ephesians 2:9). 

Father, You demand obedience but You also supply the power. Your law is not onerous or impossible; it is holy, righteous, and good. And while we are incapable of keeping it in our own strength, You sent Your Son to live according to Your law – without sin. He kept every aspect of Your law. He was fully obedient at all times, even to the point of suffering death on the cross in keeping with Your will for Him. And because He obeyed and we believed, we have received His righteousness. We are made new and fully acceptable to You. Not only that, we have received the presence and power of Your Spirit, empowering us to live obediently to Your commands – not perfectly but persistantly and willingly. With the psalmist I pray, “Help me abandon my shameful ways; for your regulations are good.
I long to obey your commandments!” (Psalm 119:39-40 NLT). 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.

The Power of Praise

1 Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
    in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the LORD,
    studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
    the LORD is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
    he remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
    in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
    all his precepts are trustworthy;
8 they are established forever and ever,
    to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
    he has commanded his covenant forever.
    Holy and awesome is his name!
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
    all those who practice it have a good understanding.
    His praise endures forever! – Psalm 111:1-10 ESV

This psalm opens with the Hebrew word hālal, which is translated as “praise.” It is where we get our English word, hallelujah. This succinct and straightforward psalm calls for the people of Israel to boast in the glory and majesty of their God. The psalmist himself declares his intent to thank God for all He has done. His praise will be continual because God's acts of goodness and greatness are limitless and show up in new ways every day. 

Yahweh is worthy of our praise because His works are great and demand our attention. If we would simply stop and consider all He has done, we, too, would be motivated to sing His praises nonstop. 

Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty.
    His righteousness never fails.
He causes us to remember his wonderful works. – Psalm 111:3-4 NLT

But how quickly we forget and easily overlook God's gracious provision and protection. Many of us find it challenging to find things to praise God for. Part of the problem is that we take so much for granted, like food, the air we breathe, and life itself. Sadly, some of us take personal credit for many of His blessings. Food and shelter become the byproduct of our own efforts rather than the gracious provision of the LORD. We take responsibility for our success and credit for our good health. Our homes are the results of hard work and determination. But the psalmist reminds us that God “gives food to those who fear him” (Psalm 111:5 NLT). 

The Book of Nehemiah records another declaration concerning God's praiseworthiness. It was a prayer spoken before the assembled people of Israel. They had just confessed their corporate sins and stood for three solid hours as “the Book of the Law of the LORD their God was read aloud to them. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God” (Nehemiah 9:3 NLT). This was followed by a call for praise and a prayer.

“May your glorious name be praised! May it be exalted above all blessing and praise!

“You alone are the LORD. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you.” – Nehemiah 9:5-6 NLT

This prayer contained a lengthy list of God's past accomplishments on Israel's behalf, including everything from the spectacular to the seemingly superficial. It recalls God's call of Abraham, their deliverance from Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, and Yahweh's appearance on Mount Sinai. But it also mentions His provision of food and water. 

“You gave them bread from heaven when they were hungry and water from the rock when they were thirsty. You commanded them to go and take possession of the land you had sworn to give them.” – Nehemiah 9:15 NLT

But rather than praise God for His goodness, they complained and disobeyed. Yet, despite their ungratefulness, God did not abandon them to die in the wilderness. 

“…you did not stop giving them manna from heaven or water for their thirst. For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell!” – Nehemiah 9:20-21 NLT

The people of Israel were quick to complain and slow to praise. They found it hard to recognize God's blessings but were adept at blaming Him for all their problems. If you're like me, you probably have no trouble coming up with things to complain to God about. There is no shortage of issues we feel compelled to blame God for and demand that He change. But why can't we come up with anything to praise Him for?

The author of this psalm didn't seem to have that problem. He overflowed with praise as he recalled all that God had done in his life and the corporate life of the people of God. He said, "How amazing are the deeds of the LORD! All who delight in him should ponder them" (Psalms 111:2 NLT). That seems to be the key. We need to ponder and think about what God has done – take the time to dwell on all the great things He has done and is doing in and around our lives. But this is not something that comes naturally for most of us. 

The psalmist dwells on every act of God, from the mundane to the miraculous. God is the one who divided the Red Sea and allowed the people to cross on dry land. But He is also the one who provided them with food each day. A byproduct of praising the LORD is a growing fear and reverence for Him. As we recognize and dwell on the many things He does that are worthy of our praise, we grow in our admiration of and reverence for Him. That produces a more willing desire to obey and serve Him. This idea is picked up in the very next psalm in the psalter.

Praise the Lord!

How joyful are those who fear the Lord
    and delight in obeying his commands. – Psalm 112:1 NLT

Obedience brings blessing. In God's grand economy, it seems that the more we praise Him, the more we are blessed by Him. As we praise God, we discover just how incomparable He is. There is no one and nothing else like Him. Our praise of Him increases our admiration for Him. His worth increases in our eyes as we concentrate on all He is and all that He does. But that takes time. It takes concentrated effort.

It might be wise to regularly sit down and write out all the things you have to praise God for. Make a list. Start with the simple, then move on to the more spectacular. When we begin to realize that EVERYTHING we have that is of any value comes from Him, we might start to understand just how great He is and how blessed we are.

Contemplating God's many blessings will increase our gratitude and awe of Him. It will remind us how good and great He is and produce a reverent fear of His power and amazement that this majestic God has chosen to bless us with His presence and provision. 

 What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!
Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom.
    All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. – Psalm 111:9-10 NLT

Father, forgive me for failing to praise You. I seem to have no problem complaining to You or demanding that You fix all my problems, according to my plan and my time frame. But then, even when You do, instead of praising You, I either take it for granted or take credit for it myself. Help me to see all that You do and praise You as You deserve. You are truly a great God and worthy of my 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.

Plenty of Cause for Praise

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul!
    O LORD my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2     covering yourself with light as with a garment,
    stretching out the heavens like a tent.
3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
    he rides on the wings of the wind;
4 he makes his messengers winds,
    his ministers a flaming fire.

5 He set the earth on its foundations,
    so that it should never be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled;
    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
    to the place that you appointed for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,
    so that they might not again cover the earth.

10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
    they flow between the hills;
11 they give drink to every beast of the field;
    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
    they sing among the branches.
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
    and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
15     and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine
    and bread to strengthen man's heart.

16 The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,
    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
    the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
    the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

19 He made the moon to mark the seasons;
    the sun knows its time for setting.
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
    when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 The young lions roar for their prey,
    seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
    and lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes out to his work
    and to his labor until the evening.

24 O LORD, how manifold are your works!
    In wisdom have you made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the sea, great and wide,
    which teems with creatures innumerable,
    living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
    and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.

27 These all look to you,
    to give them their food in due season.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;
    when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
    when you take away their breath, they die
    and return to their dust.
30 When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,
    and you renew the face of the ground.

31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
    may the LORD rejoice in his works,
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
    who touches the mountains and they smoke!
33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
    I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the LORD.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
    and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
Praise the LORD! – Psalm 104:1-35 ESV

When was the last time you expressed your love and adoration to God? I mean, really let Him know how much you appreciate Him? In this psalm, the anonymous author echoes David's words in Psalm 103.

Bless the Lord, O my soul… – Psalm 103:1 ESV

His word-for-word use of David's lyrics is not a case of plagiarism but a recognition of the truth behind their meaning. He understands that true worship begins in the soul, or man's heart. So, he repeats David's words, but makes them his own by adding a personal touch to explain his cause for rejoicing.

Bless the LORD, O my soul!
    O LORD my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty… – Psalm 104:1 ESV

While David focused on Yahweh's love, grace, mercy, and provision for His people, this unnamed psalmist concentrates His attention on the wonder of Yahweh's handiwork, particularly His creation. 

You are dressed in a robe of light.
You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens;
    you lay out the rafters of your home in the rain clouds.
You make the clouds your chariot;
    you ride upon the wings of the wind.
The winds are your messengers;
    flames of fire are your servants. – Psalm 104:2-4 NLT

Using his sanctified imagination, the psalmist tries to picture the moment Yahweh created the heavens and the earth. Familiar with the oft-repeated details of the creation account, he describes God as arrayed in light, a symbol of His purity, power, and life-giving nature.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. – Genesis 1:1-4 NLT

God began His act of creation by illuminating the darkness with the light of His presence. It is no coincidence that the Genesis account records the presence of light before the sun, moon, and stars came into existence. Without advanced scientific training or a degree in cosmology, the psalmist inherently understood that God was the original source of light.

In the Book of Revelation, the apostle John records his vision of the New Jerusalem, the divinely designed and constructed city that will be the final home for God and His people at the end of the age. After destroying His first creation, God will begin again.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” – Revelation 21:1-4 NLT

When God recreates heaven and earth this time, there will be one dramatic difference.

And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. – Revelation 21:23-25 NLT

The psalmist had no way of knowing what John saw in his vision, but he inherently knew that God was the source of light. He understood the power and majesty of God because he could see it in the universe around him. When he witnessed the seas and the mountains, he could only conclude that they were the handiwork of an all-powerful God who was to be treated with awe and admiration.

But the psalmist didn't stop with his admiration for God's creative ability; he went on to describe God's life-sustaining power.

You make springs pour water into the ravines,
    so streams gush down from the mountains.
They provide water for all the animals,
    and the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
The birds nest beside the streams
    and sing among the branches of the trees.
You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home,
    and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor.
You cause grass to grow for the livestock
    and plants for people to use.
You allow them to produce food from the earth… – Psalm 104:10-14 NLT

The entire creation was designed to support and sustain life, but specifically human life. Man was the apex of God's creation and was intended to be the caretaker of all that He had made. The rest of the creative order was designed as the source of human flourishing and fruitfulness.

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth,c and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

So God created human beingsd in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened. – Genesis 1:26-30 NLT

The psalmist understood that God had designed the earth for mankind. He could survey the world around him and see that every facet of the creation pointed to God’s sustaining power. The LORD had created an environment in which life would not only survive, but thrive. His power kept the stars and planets in their places, provided light and warmth from the sun, and food for every living creature, including man.

They all depend on you
    to give them food as they need it.
When you supply it, they gather it.
    You open your hand to feed them,
    and they are richly satisfied.
But if you turn away from them, they panic.
    When you take away their breath,
    they die and turn again to dust.
When you give them your breath, life is created,
    and you renew the face of the earth. – Psalm 104:27-30 NLT

The psalmist was blown away by it all, and he expressed his awe in the form of a prayer.

May the glory of the LORD continue forever!
    The LORD takes pleasure in all he has made! – Psalm 104:31 NLT

He knew that the universe was no accident and that the ongoing existence of humanity could not be left to chance. Yahweh was the only logical explanation for all that existed and the only hope for its continued flourishing. Without God’s ongoing power and provision, life as we know it would be unsustainable. And, as the psalmist thought about this sobering truth, he could only respond in worship and praise.

I will sing to the LORD as long as I live.
    I will praise my God to my last breath!
May all my thoughts be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the LORD. – Psalm 104:33-34 NLT

Let's face it, most of us take God for granted. We rarely think about the fact that each breath we take is a gift from Him. Unless we happen to be standing at the brink of the Grand Canyon looking out over its majestic landscape, we probably don't get blown away by His creative handiwork. We rarely stand in awe of His power and creativity as we drive to work or mow the grass. But if we could train ourselves to think "godly" thoughts and look for Him daily in the world around us, we would probably be more grateful and a lot less grumpy!

So, let us adore Him, sing His praises, and shout about His incredible mercies. Remind one another of His limitless love. We have much for which to be grateful, and there's more to come.

Let all that I am praise the Lord. Praise the Lord! – Psalm 104:35 NLT

Father, give me eyes to see You, lips to praise you, ears to hear you, hands to serve you, feet to follow you, and a lifetime that is filled with adoration for who You are and all that You have done. 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.

Some Things Never Change

A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord.

1 Hear my prayer, O LORD;
let my cry come to you!
2 Do not hide your face from me
    in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
    answer me speedily in the day when I call!

3 For my days pass away like smoke,
    and my bones burn like a furnace.
4 My heart is struck down like grass and has withered;
    I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of my loud groaning
    my bones cling to my flesh.
6 I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,
    like an owl of the waste places;
7 I lie awake;
    I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
8 All the day my enemies taunt me;
    those who deride me use my name for a curse.
9 For I eat ashes like bread
    and mingle tears with my drink,
10 because of your indignation and anger;
    for you have taken me up and thrown me down.
11 My days are like an evening shadow;
    I wither away like grass.

12 But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever;
    you are remembered throughout all generations.
13 You will arise and have pity on Zion;
    it is the time to favor her;
    the appointed time has come.
14 For your servants hold her stones dear
    and have pity on her dust.
15 Nations will fear the name of the LORD,
    and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
16 For the LORD builds up Zion;
    he appears in his glory;
17 he regards the prayer of the destitute
    and does not despise their prayer.

18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
    so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD:
19 that he looked down from his holy height;
    from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners,
    to set free those who were doomed to die,
21 that they may declare in Zion the name of the LORD,
    and in Jerusalem his praise,
22 when peoples gather together,
    and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.

23 He has broken my strength in midcourse;
    he has shortened my days.
24 “O my God,” I say, “take me not away
    in the midst of my days—
you whose years endure
    throughout all generations!”

25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
27     but you are the same, and your years have no end.
28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure;
    their offspring shall be established before you. – Psalm 102:1-28 ESV

This is one of those psalms most of us can relate to because we've all had times in our lives when we felt just as the psalmist did. He cried out to God, asking that his prayer be heard, but felt as if God had turned a deaf ear to his plight. Things were so bad that he couldn't sleep, had lost his appetite, and felt like everything was caving in on him.

My heart is sick, withered like grass,
    and I have lost my appetite.
Because of my groaning,
    I am reduced to skin and bones. – Psalm 102:4-5 NLT

Does that sound familiar? It does to me. The fact is, we all go through moments like that because we live in a fallen world. We are surrounded by hurt and heartache. People do mean things to other people. Difficulties and trials come, and almost always at the wrong time. It was true in the psalmist's day, and it is true in ours as well. Some things never change. Centuries pass, generations come and go, but the sinful state of humanity remains the same as it always has been.

Yet, while describing his life's dark and depressing circumstances, the psalmist breaks up his lament with the word “but.”

But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever;
    you are remembered throughout all generations. – Psalm 102:12 ESV

He recognizes that there is one other unchanging feature surrounding his life: The consistency and constancy of Yahweh. While his sorrow and heartache remained, he reminded himself that his God was still on His throne and in complete control of all the affairs of men.

For the psalmist, the Temple in Jerusalem was the dwelling place of God. In the Holy of Holies, the glory of God rested over the Mercy Seat on top of the Ark of the Covenant. This manifestation of God's presence and power was meant to provide His people with assurance and confidence. It was in the Most Holy Place that God met with His people. But the psalmist describes a scene in which the Temple and the city of Jerusalem were in disarray and needed God's intervention. 

You will arise and have mercy on Jerusalem—
    and now is the time to pity her,
    now is the time you promised to help. – Psalm 102:13 NLT

Something had happened. Not only was the psalmist's life in turmoil, but the capital city had also suffered some significant loss. Yet, the psalmist knew that God was still enthroned on high, and from His unique vantage point, He could look down on the sufferings of mankind and intervene. God could hear the groanings of the prisoner set free those doomed to death. God was not bound by time or limited in how He could deal with our difficulties.

The psalmist compares the brevity of his own life to God’s eternality.

He broke my strength in midlife,
    cutting short my days.
But I cried to him, “O my God, who lives forever,
    don’t take my life while I am so young!” – Psalm 102:23-24 NLT

Man is finite, but God is infinite and will outlast the world He created. He will be around long after we are gone. Unlike those He made, Yahweh's years will never end. He has no birth date or death date. And while our lives will end, God will still be there faithfully and sovereignly interacting with those who follow after us.

Suffering and God's sovereignty are part of life. When we think everything is out of control, we need to remind ourselves that He is not. He remains unchanged and unaffected by the affairs of life. His strength never weakens, His sovereignty never wanes, and His ability to hear and respond to the needs of His people never diminishes. God sits on His throne and rules over the affairs of men, whether we recognize it or not. So, despite his personal circumstances and the current conditions surrounding Jerusalem, the psalmist can say, “You are always the same; you will live forever.
The children of your people will live in security. Their children’s children will thrive in your presence” (Psalm 102:27-28 NLT). 

No matter what happens in this life, God remains unchanging and reliable. He is always consistent, caring, powerful, and present, even when our circumstances seem to prove otherwise. God said of Himself, “For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken” (Isaiah 54:10 NLT). He promises to show His children mercy. And Jeremiah, who was known as “the weeping prophet,” echoed his confidence in Yahweh's unwavering mercy and compassion.

For no one is abandoned
    by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion
    because of the greatness of his unfailing love.
For he does not enjoy hurting people
    or causing them sorrow. – Lamentations 32:31-33 NLT

God is unchanging, and His compassion is unwavering. Even when He appears distant or disinterested in our circumstances, He is there and cares. He hears and answers. His power remains constant, and His plans for our lives remain firmly established and unstoppable.

“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.” – Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

Father, help me to continue to learn to focus on You and not my circumstances. You are the unchanging one. You are the ONLY thing I can count on in this life. You are consistent and constant, faithful and unfailing. And Your eternalness reminds me that I have a secure future – forever. This life is NOT all there is. 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.

What's God Done For Your Lately?

A Psalm

1 Oh sing to the LORD a new song,
    for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm
    have worked salvation for him.
2 The LORD has made known his salvation;
    he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
    to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
    the salvation of our God.

4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
    break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
    with the lyre and the sound of melody!
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
    make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!

7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
    the world and those who dwell in it!
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
    let the hills sing for joy together
9 before the LORD, for he comes
    to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
    and the peoples with equity. – Psalm 98:1-9 ESV

According to the psalmist, singing God's praises should be a regular part of a believer's life. The “marvelous things” He has done are not relegated to the pages of Scripture, nor are they destined to serve as memorials of His former activities on behalf of His people. He is the God of the past, present, and future, and continues to display His power and pour out His grace in abundance. Jeremiah provides a timely reminder that Yahweh is ever-present and always working, tirelessly dispensing His love and mercy just as He did in the past.

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

Too often, the stories of God's miraculous interventions on behalf of His people are spoken of in the past tense. They become little more than Sunday School tales about the Israelites' Red Sea crossing or Daniel's deliverance from the lion's den. To prove His power, we are forced to search the pages of Scripture and recall the well-documented accounts about manna, water from a rock, the ten plagues, or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. But the psalmist challenges us to “sing a new song” that chronicles more recent evidence of His power and personal activity in our lives.

God is not on sabbatical or taking early retirement. He is alive and still actively involved in the lives of His children, performing extraordinary deeds and accomplishing deliverance with His right hand and mighty arm. But for many believers, stories of God's miraculous power remain in the ancient past and rarely appear in their daily lives. Yet the psalmist would challenge us to expect more from God.

He remains loyal and faithful to the family of Israel.
All the ends of the earth see our God deliver us.
Shout out praises to the LORD, all the earth.
Break out in a joyful shout and sing! – Psalm 98:3-4 NLT

Yahweh continues to provide evidence of His power and plenty of reasons to rejoice in His faithfulness. His sovereign oversight of the universe remains unchanged. His care and concern for His chosen people have not diminished. His plan for the redemption of mankind and the renewal of all things has not been altered or abandoned. In fact, the psalmist reminds us that God is far from done.

Let the sea and everything in it shout,
along with the world and those who live in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands!
Let the mountains sing in unison
before the Lord.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He judges the world fairly,
and the nations in a just manner. – Psalm 98:7-9 NLT 

In these verses, the psalmist emphasizes the future, reminding God's children that they have no reason to fear what lies ahead. The One who created the universe has plans for it. The Judge of all the earth will one day step in to arbitrate and adjudicate all the injustices and inequities that plague this fallen world.

Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
    Let the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord, for he is coming!
    He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice,
    and the nations with his truth. – Psalm 96:12-13 NLT

“For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.” – Acts 17:31 NLT

The LORD will mediate between nations
    and will settle international disputes.
They will hammer their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will no longer fight against nation,
    nor train for war anymore. – Isaiah 2:4 NLT

God has a track record of faithfulness and a long history of interceding on behalf of His people, but He is not a past-tense God. He is far from finished and not resting on the laurels of His past accomplishments. In fact, another psalm reminds us that God is wide awake and fully active, all the time.

He will not let you stumble;
    the one who watches over you will not slumber.
Indeed, he who watches over Israel
    never slumbers or sleeps.

The LORD himself watches over you!
    The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade.
The sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon at night.

The LORD keeps you from all harm
    and watches over your life.
The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go,
    both now and forever. – Psalm 121:3-8 NLT

The reality of God’s persistent presence and undiminished power should cause every believer to “Shout out praises to the LORD” and “Break out in a joyful shout and sing!” (Psalm 98:4 NLT). He is at work all around us, rescuing, redeeming, restoring, and revealing His unfailing love and faithfulness in visible and tangible ways. And one day, He is going to complete His plan of redemption for the world, sending His Son to set up His earthly Kingdom where He will rule in righteousness and dispense justice. Paul wrote to his young protege Timothy, reminding him of Jesus’ future earthly reign, when He will “judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:1 NLT). 

The apostle John was given a glimpse of mankind's final judgment, which will occur at the end of Christ's 1000-year reign on earth. Though the psalmist would not have known the details concerning this future event, this is the judgment he had in mind when he wrote, “For he comes to judge the earth. He judges the world fairly, and the nations in a just manner” (Psalm 98:9 NLT).

And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire. – Revelation 19:11-15 NLT

Father, You never sleep or slumber. You don't take days off. There is never a moment when You are distracted or disinterested in what is taking place on this planet. And You are as actively involved in my life as You were in the daily affairs of the Israelites. I just don't see it. Sadly, I seldom look for or expect Your activity in my life. Even when I pray, I tend to doubt whether You will come through. Yet, the psalmist encourages me to sin a new song every day. I am to shout your praises on a regular basis, not just because of what You’ve done in the past but because of what You are doing in the present. Open my eyes so that I can see Your power all around me. Then open my mouth so that I can sing Your praises for all to hear. 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 LORD Reigns

1 Oh sing to the LORD a new song;
    sing to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
    tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
    he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
    but the LORD made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
    ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
    bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9 Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
    tremble before him, all the earth!

10 Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!
    Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
    he will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
    let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12     let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13     before the LORD, for he comes,
    for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
    and the peoples in his faithfulness. – Psalm 96:1-13 ESV

This psalm is prominently cited in a song ascribed to King David when he brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. As the centerpiece of Israel’s worship, the Ark represented the presence of God. During their days wandering through the wilderness, the Israelites were comforted by the fact that Yahweh's Shekinah glory rested above the mercy seat, which served as the lid for the Ark. So, when David relocated the Ark into his capital city, he wrote a celebratory song that reminded the people of Israel of the goodness and greatness of their God.

In penning the words to his song, David borrowed heavily from Psalm 96, incorporating some of its most memorable lines to encourage the heartfelt worship of Yahweh among his people. God's presence among them was not to be taken lightly or for granted. As the sovereign King of the universe, Yahweh demanded honor, reverence, and unwavering allegiance from His covenant people. Their obedience to His commands was not optional, and their steadfast devotion to Him alone was not up for debate. He had clearly communicated the terms of His relationship with the people of Israel, and He expected wholehearted compliance on their part. 

“I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.” – Exodus 20:5 NLT   

If they wanted to experience Yahweh’s presence, power, and provision, they would need to be faithful. By bringing the Ark into Jerusalem, David was relocating God's presence into the heart of his capital and reminding his people of their complete reliance upon Him for all their needs. He alone could protect them from their enemies, provide for all their needs, and pour out forgiveness and redemption for their sins. Without Yahweh, they would be just another nation striving to preserve their existence in a world marked by hostility and mired in sin.

Psalm 96 opens with the words, “Sing to the Lord a new song.” This was a call for the people of Israel to praise Yahweh, not just for His past acts of deliverance but for His present activity in their lives. He was present and moving powerfully in their midst. The God who created the universe and delivered their ancestors from their captivity in Egypt was still moving mightily in their lives. That is why the psalmist states, “Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does” (Psalm 96:2-3 NLT).

As David celebrated the arrival of the Ark into Jerusalem, he used the words of Psalm 96 to encourage faithfulness among his people. He wanted them to understand their need for God and their obligation to declare His glory to the nations around them. Every time Yahweh moved among His people, they were to declare His majesty, power, and sovereignty to the surrounding nations. His glorious deeds among His people were to be a testimony to His greatness and evidence of His role as the one true God. That is why the psalmist addresses the pagan nations and calls on them to reject their false gods and worship Yahweh alone.

O nations of the world, recognize the LORD;
    recognize that the LORD is glorious and strong.
Give to the LORD the glory he deserves!
    Bring your offering and come into his courts.
Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor. – Psalm 96:7-9 NLT

But their acknowledgment of Yahweh depended on the Israelites’ faithfulness and willingness to declare His glory. If God's people don't see Him as active in their lives and refuse to declare His power and presence, the nations will continue to seek help and hope from false gods. God’s people were to declare, “The Lord reigns!” (Psalm 96:10 ESV). But this was to be more than lip service or pious-sounding rhetoric. It was to come from the heart and express their own personal experience. 

This psalm provides a glimpse of what it means to worship God. It is less an activity than an awareness of God's character and attributes. It is a recognition of who He is, what He has done, and what He will do because of His unchanging character. God is loving and kind. He is holy and righteous. He is powerful and completely in control. What He says, He will do. He can be trusted. He is reliable. Even when things do not appear to be going as expected, and God seems nowhere in sight, He is there.

His character is consistent with His behavior, and it is in keeping with His word. If we don’t understand who God is, we will never truly worship Him. The reality of HIS faithfulness allows us to be faithful to Him. If we view Him as untrustworthy, we will doubt and disobey Him. If we don’t believe His promises, we will never rest in them. And we will never be able to say, “The Lord reigns!” and mean it. Our testimony to God's goodness and greatness will become second-hand and lack personal evidence that He is alive and active in our lives. This lack of firsthand experience with Yahweh will weaken our testimony and fail to impress a lost and dying world that our God rules and reigns.

Our worship of God is fickle and feeble at best. It tends to be based on present circumstances. If things are going well, our God is good and worthy of praise. If things are going poorly, we begin to doubt Him and even complain about our lot in life. When we do, we portray Yahweh as a fickle, fairweather God who can’t be trusted or relied upon. 

Even when we worship Him, our efforts can portray a half-hearted commitment that paints God as an add-on to our lives rather than the sole focus of our affection. We turn worship into an activity that we only participate in on Sundays. Our devotion to Him is relegated to a worship hour and a particular music style. The entire endeavor becomes more about us than Him. We judge the effectiveness of our worship based on our personal tastes. If we enjoy our worship service of choice and like the music and the message we hear, we believe we’ve worshiped. But we can go through that process and never acknowledge God's lovingkindness, faithfulness, righteousness, truth, and strength. We can feel good, but leave without having grown closer to God. In essence, the worship service becomes more about us than Him.

This psalm reminds us that God is to be our focus. Not because of what He is currently doing for us, but simply because of who He is. He is God, and there is no one else like Him. He is God, and He is entirely trustworthy and true. He is God, and is all-powerful, and capable of doing whatever He chooses to do. If He is not doing what we THINK He should be doing, He has a very good reason. If He allows difficulty into our lives, He is not asleep, apathetic, or impotent; He has a plan.

Yahweh has made us, and we are His sheep. We belong to Him, and He knows what is best for us. But do we trust Him? Do we believe He is strong enough to meet any and all of our needs? Do we comprehend just how much He loves us? The psalmist reminds us that when God made a promise to David that his kingdom would endure forever, even the people's unfaithfulness and disobedience could not alter that promise's reality and reliability. God's word endures. His faithfulness is unfailing. His lovingkindness is everlasting. His truth never falters. His strength never diminishes.

Tell the nations about his splendor.
Tell all the nations about his amazing deeds.
For the LORD is great and certainly worthy of praise;
he is more awesome than all gods. – Psalms 96:3-4 NET

Father, so often I attempt to worship You in ignorance. I try to sing Your praises but I don't fully understand or appreciate who You are. I tend to sing only when I feel like it. I praise You only when You’ve done something for me. Yet You are worthy of praise all the time. You are loving, kind, righteous, holy, trustworthy, and powerful to save. Help me come to know You better so that I might better worship You rightly. Not just for what You do but just because of who You are. And may I be able to declare to the nations, “The LORD reigns!” and truly mean it because I have experienced it in my own 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.

You Reign Above It All

1 The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty;
    the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
2 Your throne is established from of old;
    you are from everlasting.

3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
    the floods have lifted up their voice;
    the floods lift up their roaring.
4 Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
    mightier than the waves of the sea,
    the LORD on high is mighty!

5 Your decrees are very trustworthy;
    holiness befits your house,
    O LORD, forevermore. – Psalm 93:1-5 ESV

This psalm is short but packs a punch. In it, the psalmist declares Yahweh's sovereignty and eternality. His reign is everlasting and overwhelming in its power and influence. The God of Israel is without equal, ruling over all creation, including the waves of the sea and the kings of the earth. But unlike human rulers, King Yahweh doesn't derive His power from men or rely on regal attire to define His glory and greatness. The psalmist describes Him as “robed in majesty” with “strength as His belt.”

Yahweh needs no throne, scepter, palace, or royal raiments to set Him apart from His peers, because He has none. His unbridled power and sovereignty are evident in the natural world, and all nature declares His undiminished majesty and might. King David shared the psalmist's vision of creation displaying Yahweh's glory.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
    night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
    their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
    and their words to all the world.

God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
    It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
The sun rises at one end of the heavens
    and follows its course to the other end.
    Nothing can hide from its heat. – Psalm 19:1-6 NLT

In the ancient world, the ocean was considered a place of mystery and dread. It was filled with sea monsters that threatened the lives of men, and its waves could destroy the strongest of ships. Despite their close proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, the Israelites were not a seagoing people. They feared its power and associated it with evil. For their ancient ancestors, the Red Sea had served as a barrier to their escape from Egypt. But Yahweh parted the sea and allowed them to walk across on dry land. 

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. – Exodus 14:21-22 ESV

When the Israelites finally arrived in the land of promise, they found it inhabited by Canaanites, who believed their god, Baal, had overcome Yamm, the god of the seas. Yet, Yahweh aided His people in conquering the land and defeating the Canaanites and their powerful god.

The psalmist describes Yahweh as “mightier than the violent raging of the seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore—the LORD above is mightier than these” (Psalm 93:4 NLT). No power in heaven or on earth could stand before the God of Israel. 

The waters of the ocean were no match for Yahweh, and the armies of earthly kings were powerless before Israel's God. His kingdom was everlasting, and His royal decrees were binding. He could not be defeated or dethroned. And the psalmist found comfort in the truth that Yahweh's reign was “holy forever and ever” (Psalm 93:5 NLT).

The contemporary hymn, “Reign Above It All,” paints a vivid picture of God’s sovereignty and power as revealed through Jesus Christ.

The reign of darkness now has ended
In the kingdom of light
In the kingdom of light
Forever under Your dominion
You're the King of my life
You're the King of my life

You reign above it all, You reign above it all
Over the universe and over every heart
There is no higher name
Jesus, You reign above it all

On the cross, the work was finished
God, You poured out Your life
Just to give us new life
Now from the lips of the forgiven
Hear an anthem arise
'Cause Jesus You're alive, oh

You reign above it all, You reign above it all
Over the universe and over every heart
There is no higher name
Jesus, You reign above it all
Let all of Heaven and the Earth erupt in song
Sing hallelujah to the Everlasting One
There is no higher name
Jesus, You reign above it all
You reign above it all

You sent the darkness running
Out of an empty grave
Now seated alone in glory
Enthroned on the highest praise

You reign above it all, You reign above it all
Over the universe and over every heart
There is no higher name
Jesus, You reign above it all
Let all of Heaven and the Earth erupt in song
Sing hallelujah to the Everlasting One
There is no higher name
Jesus, You reign above it all

– Paul McClure, Reign Above It All lyrics © Essential Music Publishing

Father, You reign above it all. You are great and greatly to be praised. May I never forget just how powerful, majestic, and worthy of praise You are. Never let me forget that You alone are God, and that no power in heaven or earth can stand before 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.

A Right Response to a Righteous God

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath.

1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
    to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
    and your faithfulness by night,
3 to the music of the lute and the harp,
    to the melody of the lyre.
4 For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;
    at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

5 How great are your works, O LORD!
    Your thoughts are very deep!
6 The stupid man cannot know;
    the fool cannot understand this:
7 that though the wicked sprout like grass
    and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction forever;
8     but you, O LORD, are on high forever.
9 For behold, your enemies, O LORD,
    for behold, your enemies shall perish;
    all evildoers shall be scattered.

10 But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
    you have poured over me fresh oil.
11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
    my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree
    and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house of the LORD;
    they flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They still bear fruit in old age;
    they are ever full of sap and green,
15 to declare that the LORD is upright;
    he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. – Psalm 92:1-15 ESV

In this psalm of thanksgiving, the unidentified author provides a litany of reasons to praise Yahweh. His exuberant song takes the form of a prayer, with his words spoken directly to the One whose blessings he enjoyed.  He expounds on the benefits of verbally declaring God’s unfailing love and faithfulness and proudly admits his habit of doing so regularly.

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
    to sing praises to the Most High.
It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning,
    your faithfulness in the evening… – Psalm 92:1-2 NLT

In this eloquently written song of praise, the psalmist paints a clear picture of how the people of God should respond to Him. We will see life from a different perspective as we reflect on all that He has done in the past and all that He is doing around us in the present. As we read the Scriptures, we discover His character and learn about His great acts of goodness and righteousness toward His people over the years. Reflection on who God is and how He interacts with His people results in increased optimism and trust.

You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me!
    I sing for joy because of what you have done.
O Lord, what great works you do! – Psalm 92:4-5 NLT

We are more apt to rejoice even when things do not appear to go the way we would like them to go, because we know and understand His character. Thanksgiving and praise come more readily and freely because we see life from God's perspective. He is powerful, loving, righteous, just, and causes His people to live fruitful lives even in times of difficulty.

We tend to forget that God is ruler over everything and everyone. As we survey the disturbing state of the world, it can sometimes appear as if God is somehow a powerless spectator to the events taking place or, worse yet, a disinterested deity who could do something about it, but chooses not to. But the psalmist reminds us that God reigns and rules on high.

But you, O Lord, will be exalted forever. – Psalm 92:8 NLT

God is in complete control, and He is all-powerful. Praise and thanksgiving come naturally when we genuinely believe these things about God. But when we doubt His power and majesty and don't recognize His faithfulness and love for us, we find it hard to thank Him in times of difficulty.

But where do we learn about God? How can we grow in our confidence in His character and power? One way is through the reading of His Word. As we read the Scriptures, we are given a glimpse into the incredible character of God as it is exposed in the stories of God's interactions with mankind. We see examples of His love, mercy, kindness, and righteousness, as well as His anger, justice, holiness, and hatred of sin. We also see God's redemptive nature. From the stories of the Old Testament, we learn that God longs to redeem and rescue His people from their slavery to sin and introduce them to the life of freedom He so graciously offers.

But the psalmist sees God's handiwork in his own life and declares his personal experience with God's power, provision, and blessings.

But you have made me as strong as a wild ox.
    You have anointed me with the finest oil. – Psalm 92:10 NLT

For the psalmist, Yahweh wasn't a distant deity who rarely entered into the affairs of men; He was a personal and intimate God who made His presence known in tangible ways.

My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
    my ears have heard the defeat of my wicked opponents. – Psalm 92:11 NLT

The Bible is a picture of who God is. The stories are reminders of His character. He is the same today as He was then. But we can also learn of God's character as He works in and around our lives today. But we have to know what to look for. We can see His faithfulness and love as we encounter other believers who come alongside us in times of difficulty. Their love is an expression of His love. We can see God's power when we see marriages restored or sicknesses healed. We can see God's provision every time we eat a meal, deposit a paycheck, or pay a bill. He provides the means to do them all. We can see God's matchless mercy and grace every time we find ourselves falling into sin yet again. Despite our failure to remain faithful, we can go to Him and receive forgiveness, mercy, and grace.

Like the psalmist, we can see God in our lives, but we have to train ourselves to look for Him. When we learn to see Him, we will begin to thank Him, sing His praises, and declare His goodness and mercy. And the older we get, the more we will be able to look back on our lives and see the signs of God's presence and power on display. And while our life may feature moments of pain, suffering, and disappointment, we can sing His praises along with the psalmist.

The righteous flourish like the palm tree
    and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
    they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age;
    they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the Lord is upright;
    he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. – Psalm 92:12-15 ESV

Father, it is good to give You thanks, but I confess that I spend far too much time complaining and far too little time being grateful. Yet, when I look back on my life, I see so many examples of Your love, mercy, grace, and power. You have given me much to be thankful for and I have no excuse for my ingratitude. I have been richly blessed and am totally undeserving of all that You have done. Thank You for your kindness, patience, unfailing love, and commitment to my well-being. Without You, I would be nothing. Help me to sing Your praises more regularly and joyfully so that others may know just how good and great You are. 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.