The Mysterious Ways of God

1 Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together. Thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and closed in on Samaria and fought against it. 2 And he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-hadad: 3 ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your best wives and children also are mine.’” 4 And the king of Israel answered, “As you say, my lord, O king, I am yours, and all that I have.” 5 The messengers came again and said, “Thus says Ben-hadad: ‘I sent to you, saying, “Deliver to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children.” 6 Nevertheless I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants and lay hands on whatever pleases you and take it away.’”

7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, “Mark, now, and see how this man is seeking trouble, for he sent to me for my wives and my children, and for my silver and my gold, and I did not refuse him.” 8 And all the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen or consent.” 9 So he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you first demanded of your servant I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’” And the messengers departed and brought him word again. 10 Ben-hadad sent to him and said, “The gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me.” 11 And the king of Israel answered, “Tell him, ‘Let not him who straps on his armor boast himself as he who takes it off.’” 12 When Ben-hadad heard this message as he was drinking with the kings in the booths, he said to his men, “Take your positions.” And they took their positions against the city. 

13 And behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says the LORD, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will give it into your hand this day, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 14 And Ahab said, “By whom?” He said, “Thus says the LORD, By the servants of the governors of the districts.” Then he said, “Who shall begin the battle?” He answered, “You.” 15 Then he mustered the servants of the governors of the districts, and they were 232. And after them he mustered all the people of Israel, seven thousand. – 1 Kings 20:1-15 ESV

With the opening of chapter 20, both Elijah and Elisha, his newly commissioned replacement, suddenly disappear from the scene. Elijah will not be mentioned again until verse 17 of chapter 21. It would appear that he and his young protégé were busy fulfilling the command of God.

“Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.” – 1 Kings 19:15-16 ESV

After Elijah had cast his cloak on Elisha, the two of them must have spent a significant amount of time searching for Hazael and Jehu. They would have begun their journey in Abel-meholah, Elisha’s hometown, located about 25 miles south of the Sea of Galilee. As they made their way north to Damascus in Syria, the sovereign plan of God continued to unfold in the land of Israel. In his former state of disillusionment and despair, Elijah had thought he was the last living prophet in Israel, but he was about to be proven wrong. While he and Elisha were busy searching for the new kings of Syria and Israel, God would raise up other prophets to act as His spokesmen to King Ahab.

God’s miraculous defeat of Baal on Mount Carmel had left Ahab and Jezebel unfazed and unrepentant. The loss of their 450 prophets had not diminished their enthusiasm for their false god, and they had failed to acknowledge the sudden end of the three-and-a-half-year drought as a gracious act of God. This arrogant and prideful couple remained stubbornly opposed to the God of Israel. But just as the prophets of Baal had been no match for Yahweh, so Ahab and Jezebel would soon discover that their power and prominence would provide them no protection against the judgment of God.

With the end of the drought, the famine that had plagued the land slowly abated. But now, Ahab found himself facing a threat of a different sort. Any sense of relief he felt from the drought’s ending and Elijah’s sudden disappearance quickly faded when the Syrians laid siege to the capital city of Samaria. Surrounded and facing a confederation of forces that greatly outnumbered Israel’s army, Ahab found himself in a difficult situation. And the terms of surrender he received from King Ben-hadad made things far worse.

“Your silver and gold are mine, and so are your wives and the best of your children!” – 1 Kings 20:3 NLT

Operating from a position of weakness, Ahab was forced to agree to Ben-hadad’s terms but stubbornly refused to comply. Perhaps he was trying to buy time. But his delay only aggravated the problem, causing Ben-hadad to up the ante.

“I have already demanded that you give me your silver, gold, wives, and children. But about this time tomorrow I will send my officials to search your palace and the homes of your officials. They will take away everything you consider valuable!” – 1 Kings 20:5-6 NLT

Ahab had been able to survive the drought, living in luxury as his people suffered and died. But now, he was facing the loss of everything he held near and dear. Ben-hadad was threatening to steal Ahab’s glory, and for a man whose identity was derived from what he possessed, this message got his attention.

Ahab, desperate to preserve his status and prevent the loss of everything he considered of value, consulted his advisors. Threatened with the loss of their own children and personal wealth, these men convinced Ahab to reject  Ben-hadad’s demands and to refuse any further negotiations with the Syrians. They were desperate to prevent the Syrians from accessing the capital so they could plunder all their possessions. Eager to protect his personal domain, Ahab took their counsel and sent word to Ben-hadad. But his message was not well-received. Ben-hadad reacted with anger and issued his final word on the matter in the form of a vow.

“The gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me.” – 1 Kings 20:10 ESV

The words of Ben-hadad are eerily similar to those delivered by Queen Jezebel to Elijah after he had destroyed the 450 prophets of Baal. She, too, had made an oath to her false gods, swearing to kill Elijah or face their judgment.

“So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” – 1 Kings 19:2 ESV

It’s interesting to note that Ben-hadad, a pagan, believed that his gods actually existed and were capable of giving him success in battle. Yet, Ahab, king over the chosen people of Yahweh, makes no mention of any gods whatsoever, including the gods of his wife. He was operating in his own strength and according to the wisdom of men. And he displays his arrogance and overconfidence in his response to Ben-hadad.

“A warrior putting on his sword for battle should not boast like a warrior who has already won.” – 1 Kings 20:11 NLT

As would be expected, Ben-hadad was infuriated by Ahab’s boastful message and ordered an immediate attack on the city. He was done negotiating with this pompous and prideful fool. As those reading this story, we fully expect and even hope that God will allow Ahab to get what he so justly deserves.

But God’s ways are not our ways. While we see the Syrians' attack as the hand of God against wicked King Ahab, the author reveals that God has other plans altogether. As Ahab and the citizens of Samaria brace themselves for the coming attack, God sends a prophet with a message of hope.

“This is what the LORD says: Do you see all these enemy forces? Today I will hand them all over to you. Then you will know that I am the LORD.” – 1 Kings 20:13 NLT

This statement shocks and surprises us because it seems so unexpected and undeserved. Why would God do such a thing for an arrogant and egotistical man like Ahab? He was idolatrous and had led the entire nation of Israel into apostasy. Among all the kings of Israel, he was the epitome of wickedness and immorality. And yet, here was God giving him a message of divine deliverance.

Rather than dropping to his knees in humble repentance and gratitude for God’s gracious intervention, Ahab responds with a series of questions. First, he asks, “By whom?” He demanded details. Ahab wanted to know who would get the credit for the victory, and the prophet replied, “By the servants of the governors of the districts” (1 Kings 20:14 ESV). Much to Ahab’s disappointment, God was not going to use him as the means of delivering the decisive blow to the Syrians. That prompted Ahab to ask, “Who shall begin the battle?” (1 Kings 20:14 ESV). He desperately wanted to know if he would have any part to play in this divine deliverance. And, once again, to our surprise and dismay, God informs Ahab that he will have the privilege of putting God’s plan into play.

With God’s plan clearly articulated, Ahab set about putting the pieces together to make it happen.

Then he mustered the servants of the governors of the districts, and they were 232. And after them he mustered all the people of Israel, seven thousand. – 1 Kings 20:15 ESV

This verse should bring to mind the promise God had made just before He sent Elijah on his mission to anoint the future kings of Syria and Israel.

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

God had promised His reluctant prophet that He would raise up a remnant from among the apostate people of Israel, and He would use these faithful few to accomplish His will. Now God was using Ahab, the apostate king of Israel, to choose the 7,000 faithful whom God would use to defeat the Syrians in battle. Ahab would begin the battle, but he would not secure the victory. That privilege would fall to those who had not bowed down to Baal.

None of this was about Ahab. He was the king, but, in reality, he was nothing more than a bit player in God’s sovereign plan for the redemption and restoration of His people. Ahab may have worn the crown, but God was King over Israel. And while Ben-hadad’s superior numbers appeared to give him the advantage, God had the faithful few. He was going to bring about a great victory, using only those who had refused to bow their knees to Baal.

God was about to reveal His power through weakness, and He would do so through those whose presence was unknown but whose faith had remained unwavering. With God on their side, this faithful remnant would defeat the enemy, and their unexpected victory would bring great glory to Yahweh. In the Song of Moses recorded in the Book of Deuteronomy, we’re given an explanation for the kind of victory God was about to bring.

How could one person chase a thousand of them,
    and two people put ten thousand to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
    unless the LORD had given them up?
But the rock of our enemies is not like our Rock… – Deuteronomy 32:30-31 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.

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.

A Legacy of Apostasy

25 Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 26 He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.

27 Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon. 28 So Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah and reigned in his place. 29 And as soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite. 30 It was for the sins of Jeroboam that he sinned and that he made Israel to sin, and because of the anger to which he provoked the LORD, the God of Israel.

31 Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 32 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah began to reign over all Israel at Tirzah, and he reigned twenty-four years. 34 He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel to sin. – 1 Kings 15:25-34

You have to go back to Chapter 14 to pick up the story of Jeroboam’s reign over the northern kingdom of Israel, his eventual death, and the ascension of his son Nadab to the throne.

Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. And the time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. And he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place. – 1 Kings 14:19-20 ESV

This matter-of-fact synopsis of his two-decades-long reign doesn’t tell the whole story. Since the inception of his kingship, Jeroboam had led the people of the ten northern tribes to abandon Yahweh for the false gods he had created. He had set up golden calf idols in the cities of Dan and Bethel and made his own priesthood to offer sacrifices on behalf of the people. Fearing that the Israelites would return to Jerusalem in Judah to worship at the Temple of Yahweh, Jeroboam had instituted his own religion featuring his substitute gods. Yahweh had condemned this egregious act of apostasy and issued a decree of judgment against Jeroboam, delivered by the prophet Ahijah.

Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger, and have cast me behind your back, therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone. Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the LORD has spoken it.”’ Arise therefore, go to your house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the LORD, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. Moreover, the LORD will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today. – 1 Kings 14:7-14 ESV

Jeroboam had sent his wife to seek the prophet’s assistance and was hoping that Ahijah might provide insight into his son's illness. But the news he received was far from encouraging. The prophet disclosed that Abijah would die, and his words were fulfilled. Upon arriving home, Jeroboam’s wife found that Abijah had died and “all Israel buried him and mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet” (1 Kings 14:18 ESV).

With Abijah’s death, Jeroboam’s son Nadab was destined to succeed his father to the throne. But his reign was short-lived and marked by the same excesses as Jeroboam's. The apple had not fallen far from the tree.

He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin. – 1 Kings 15:26 ESV

Jeroboam had taught his son well, and, evidently, the death of his brother had little impact on Nadab. It seems unlikely that Nadab was uninformed as to the circumstances surrounding Abijah’s death. The pronouncement made by the prophet could not have gone unnoticed in the royal household. Yet, Nadab chose to make no course corrections regarding his father’s ill-fated obsession with idolatry. He carried on Jeroboam’s legacy and, in so doing, helped fulfill the prophet’s prediction.

Two years into his reign, Nadab was leading the northern tribes into battle against the Philistines. Nadab likely sought the aid of his false gods before launching his raid against the Philistine town of Gibbethon. However, they proved to be far from helpful, as Nadab was assassinated by one of his own men, a man named Baasha from the tribe of Issachar. The prophet had warned Jeroboam that his sins would have repercussions. 

“…the LORD will raise up a king over Israel who will destroy the family of Jeroboam. – 1 Kings 14:14 NLT

And it was only going to get worse. After crowning himself king, Baasha conducted a campaign to completely eradicate all members of Jeroboam’s family.

He immediately slaughtered all the descendants of King Jeroboam, so that not one of the royal family was left, just as the LORD had promised concerning Jeroboam by the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh. – 1 Kings 15:29 NLT

It is unlikely that Nadab knew he was acting in the interests of Yahweh. He was unaware that he was an instrument in the hands of God, carrying out divinely decreed judgments against Jeroboam for his apostasy. But the author makes it clear that Nadab’s actions were God-ordained.

This was done because Jeroboam had provoked the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, by the sins he had committed and the sins he had led Israel to commit. – 1 Kings 15:30 NLT

Having wiped out the royal family of Jeroboam, Baasha went on to reign for 24 years. As the text indicates, he conducted an ongoing campaign against King Asa and the southern kingdom of Judah. His hatred for his southern kinsmen never abated, and his idolatrous behavior never diminished. Instead, “he did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of Jeroboam, continuing the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit” (1 Kings 15:34 NLT).

Yet, Yahweh used this idolatrous and murderous man to accomplish His divine will regarding Jeroboam. Baasha meted out the justice of Yahweh on the kinsmen of Jeroboam, but never recognized his own guilt and culpability for perpetuating the dangerous practice of idolatry. He failed to connect the dots and grasp the connection between Jeroboam’s unfaithfulness and Yahweh’s judgment. In fact, he had no idea that he was serving as Yahweh’s agent of judgment but did what he did for selfish and self-serving reasons. He had no intention of removing the idols and high places that  dotted the landscape of the northern kingdom. At no point did he call the people of Israel to repentance or encourage them to renew their commitment to Yahweh.

Under his leadership, the downward spiritual spiral of the ten northern tribes ran unchecked, and his unabashed apostasy would result in Yahweh’s judgment upon his house. He too, would not go unpunished for his rebellious and idolatrous behavior.

King Baasha serves as the perfect foil to Judah’s King Asa. It was said of Asa, the great-grandson of King Solomon, that he “did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight, as his ancestor David had done” (1 Kings 15:11 NLT). And yet, Baasha “did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of Jeroboam, continuing the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit” (1 Kings 15:34 NLT).

Two men, both serving as kings over the people of God, but who exhibited two completely different mindsets when it came to the worship of God. One was faithful, while the other was disobedient. Asa attempted to do the right thing and promote the worship of Yahweh, while Baasha perpetuated the destructive habits of his predecessors. And this pattern of disobedience would continue from one royal administration to another.

Kings would come and go in Israel with God pouring out His divine judgment on each successive monarchy. Yet, they would refuse to repent and return to Him in humility and submission. Yahweh was trying to get their attention but their unbridled pride and arrogance prevented them from hearing His message and heeding His warning. And the outcome was far from pretty.

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 Risk of Fading Faithfulness

54 Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. 55 And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56 “Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. 57 The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, 58 that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. 59 Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, 60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other. 61 Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the LORD our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.” 

62 Then the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the LORD. 63 Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD. 64 The same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD, for there he offered the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before the LORD was too small to receive the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings.

65 So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days. 66 On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had shown to David his servant and to Israel his people. – 1 Kings 8:54-66 ESV

After Solomon had finished his prayer of dedication for the temple, he turned to address the crowd of spectators who had gathered to witness this auspicious occasion. But it’s interesting to note what the author of 1 Kings leaves out of his description of this event. For some strange reason, he chose to ignore what appears to be a rather significant meteorological phenomenon. Evidently, the close of Solomon’s prayer was accompanied by a potent sign from heaven that would have been hard to miss or misinterpret. Fortunately, the Book of 2 Chronicles fills in the gaps, providing a detailed description of precisely what happened.

When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple. The priests could not enter the Temple of the LORD because the glorious presence of the LORD filled it. When all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glorious presence of the LORD filling the Temple…– 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 NLT

Solomon had been kneeling before the bronze altar that stood in the courtyard, outside the entrance to the Temple. This was the altar that Hiram had constructed. On it, the bodies of the sacrificial animals were placed that had been dedicated to God. When Solomon closed his prayer,  fire came down from heaven and consumed the carcasses of the animals. At the same time, the glory of the LORD filled the temple, most likely in the form of a dark cloud. God had heard Solomon's prayer and signaled His answer in a powerful and demonstrative way. By consuming the sacrifices, God deemed them to be acceptable. By filling the Holy of Holies with His Shekinah glory, He placed His seal of approval on the Temple itself. This unexpected display of power made a profound impression on the people.

…they fell face down on the ground and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying,

“He is good!
    His faithful love endures forever!” – 2 Chronicles 7:3 NLT

They were blown away by what they witnessed, and their amazement turned to shouts of praise as they reflected on God’s goodness and unfailing love. He had graciously deemed to accept their sacrifices and to grace the Temple with His presence. They were overjoyed at having been able to witness this mind-blowing demonstration of HIs covenant commitment to them. Solomon put into words what the people were thinking.

“Praise the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave through his servant Moses.” – 1 Kings 8:56 NLT

Their very presence in the land was evidence of God’s faithfulness. Hundreds of years earlier, He had made a promise to Moses that He would give the people of Israel the land of Canaan as their inheritance. That promise had been a reiteration of the one He had made to Abraham centuries earlier.

Speaking to the audience gathered before him, Solomon expressed his hope that God would show Himself just as faithful to them as He had been to their ancestors. But he also declared his understanding that, besides God’s abiding presence, they would need His divine assistance to remain faithful themselves. He knew that, without God’s help, they were powerless to live in obedience to the commands outlined in the Mosaic Law.

“May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us. May he give us the desire to do his will in everything and to obey all the commands, decrees, and regulations that he gave our ancestors.” – 1 Kings 8:57-58 NLT

As a people, they were utterly dependent upon God for all their needs. He was their provider, sustainer, and protector. And, as illustrated by the content of his prayer, Solomon was well aware that the people of Israel would falter and fail. He knew their hearts would wander and their commitment to God would wane. There would be moments marked by disobedience and rebellion. So, he expressed his hope that God would not forget the content of his prayer.

“…may these words that I have prayed in the presence of the LORD be before him constantly, day and night, so that the LORD our God may give justice to me and to his people Israel, according to each day’s needs.” – 1 Kings 8:59 NLT

He was asking that God faithfully fulfill His covenant commitment to them – despite them. Solomon called the people to make a strong assessment of their commitment to God as well.

“…may you be completely faithful to the LORD our God. May you always obey his decrees and commands, just as you are doing today.” – 1 Kings 8:61 NLT

After the impressive display they had just witnessed, there was no reason for them to ever doubt God's faithfulness. The proper response to such a powerful reminder would be a heartfelt commitment to remain obedient to the One who had already done so much for them. Their determination to live in faithful obedience to their good and gracious God would become a witness to the nations around them.

“Then people all over the earth will know that the LORD alone is God and there is no other.” – 1 Kings 8:60 NLT

That was the bottom line. While the Temple would serve as a physical manifestation of God’s glory, their lives were meant to be a visible demonstration of how sinful men can enjoy a relationship with a holy God. They were to be witnesses to the world of God’s gracious love and, through their adherence to His commands, they were to illustrate their submission to and faith in His divine will.

Solomon’s address to the people was followed by the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of cattle, sheep, and goats. Gallons upon gallons of blood were spilled. Countless unblemished animals were sacrificed one after the other as offerings to Yahweh. They also offered up burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of peace offerings. This went on for days – “fourteen days in all—seven days for the dedication of the altar and seven days for the Festival of Shelters” (1 Kings 8:65 NLT).

When the festivities finally came to an end, “They blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad because the LORD had been good to his servant David and to his people Israel” (1 Kings 8:66 NLT)

This was a high point in the history of the Hebrew people. They had a king, just as they had always hoped for, and he was wise, powerful, and wealthy. They were living in a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity. Now, their seven-year effort to complete the Temple had culminated with God’s divine seal of approval. He had graciously renewed His covenant commitment to them, and all they had to do was remain faithful in return.

But faithfulness would prove to be a rare commodity among the people of Israel. Even their wise king, who had used his wisdom and wealth to build a glorious house for Yahweh, would discover that faithfulness was not something money could buy. Even Yahweh would warn King Solomon that faithfulness was a non-negotiable requirement if they wanted to enjoy His abiding presence, protection, and power.

“…if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And this house will become a heap of ruins.” – 1 Kings 9:6-8 ESV

The Temple would not be enough, and the sacrifices of animals could never replace the need for repentant hearts. If the Israelites wanted to continue to enjoy the abiding presence of Yahweh, they would need to treat Him with honor that emanated from their hearts. Solomon would have been wise to consider the words his father once wrote.

You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
    You do not want a burnt offering.
The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
    You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. – Psalm 51:16-17 NLT

Hundreds of years later, Yahweh would pronounce an indictment against His unfaithful people, warning them of the coming destruction of Jerusalem because they refused to honor Him as the one true God. Solomon’s Temple still stood, and the people continued to offer the required sacrifices and celebrate the prescribed annual feasts. But it was all ritual and religious rule-keeping. Their hearts were not in it.

“…this people draw near with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    while their hearts are far from me… – Isaiah 29:13 ESV

When the dedication ceremonies for the Temple finally ended, the people “blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad because the LORD had been good to his servant David and to his people Israel” (1 Kings 8:66 NLT). It had been a great day, filled with awe-inspiring signs from heaven and a spectacular demonstration of communal dedication to Yahweh. Everybody, from the king to the lowliest peasant, was thrilled to be an Israelite, one of the chosen people of God. They felt privileged and honored to be part of Yahweh’s treasured possession. But when the thrill of the moment wore off and the rigors of daily life resumed, would their joy and gladness remain? Would the cares of life and the temptations of the world turn their hearts away from Yahweh and cause their faithfulness to fade? 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.

Hear, Forgive, and Restore

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; 24 you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. 25 Now therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ 26 Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O LORD my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

31 “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house, 32 then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

33 “When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, 34 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.

35 “When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, 36 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

37 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, 38 whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, 39 then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind), 40 that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.

41 “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name's sake 42 (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, 43 hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.

44 “If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the LORD toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, 45 then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.

46 “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, 47 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ 48 if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, 49 then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause 50 and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 (for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace). 52 Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. 53 For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O LORD God.” – 1 Kings 8:22-53 ESV

This prayer, offered at the opening of the temple, provides tremendous insight into Solomon’s knowledge of God and his keen awareness of human nature. His words reveal how greatly he revered and honored Yahweh, the all-powerful God of Israel. While Solomon had built a Temple that would be considered one of the wonders of the world, it was no match for the majestic and holy God of the universe. Even in all its glory and splendor, Solomon’s Temple was an insufficient dwelling place for the one true God who created the heavens and the earth, and he admitted it.

“…even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built!” – 1 Kings 8:27 NLT

Solomon boldly proclaimed Yahweh’s unique nature as the one true God.

“O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven above or on the earth below.” – 1 Kings 8:23 NLT

Yahweh is incomparable and without rival. All other gods are the figments of men’s imagination and, therefore, non-existent. But Israel’s God is real and has proven His existence through tangible acts of power, grace, mercy, and love. He is a covenant-making, promise-keeping God who always fulfills every commitment He has made. The very fact that Solomon was dedicating the temple was proof that Yahweh had kept His promise to David.

“It is Solomon your son who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish his kingdom forever if he continues strong in keeping my commandments and my rules, as he is today.” – 1 Chronicles 28:6-7 ESV

As Solomon stood before the Temple with his arms outstretched in humble supplication, he pleaded with the God of heaven, asking Him to continue to extend His mercy, grace, and forgiveness upon His people. But Solomon knew that God’s unfailing love and faithfulness were conditional. It required the faithful and obedient worship of His people. They had been set apart for His glory and were expected to worship Him alone. They were to refrain from worshiping other gods, and were expected to keep His commandments, and demonstrate to the world their status as His chosen people – “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6 ESV).

Solomon clearly understood God’s expectations. They were to be a people who were wholeheartedly committed to God – “servants who walk before you with all their heart” (1 Kings 8:23 ESV). And Solomon fully understood that God required the same degree of obedience from him. God had promised to extend David’s dynasty as long as his successors mirrored David’s faithfulness.

“You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.” – 1 Kings 8:25 ESV

Solomon knew that the presence of the Temple alone would not be enough to ensure God's ongoing favor. It would offer no guarantee of God’s presence and could never serve as a substitute for the faithfulness of the people. It would serve as a place of intercession, where the Israelites could come, confess their sins, declare their intention to repent, and humbly ask God for forgiveness.

Speaking on behalf of himself and the entire nation of Israel, Solomon prayed, “May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive” (1 Kings 8:30 NLT).

What Solomon says next is quite revealing, and his words, while directed at God, seem to be spoken for the benefit of the people as well. As they stand in the courtyard of the newly completed Temple, they can hear every word Solomon says, and the full import of his prayer is not lost on them.

Solomon felt the need to present God with a series of hypothetical scenarios in which the people might find themselves in need of forgiveness.

“If someone wrongs another person…” – Vs. 31 NLT

“If your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you…” – Vs. 33 NLT

“If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you…” – Vs. 35 NLT

“If there is a famine in the land or a plague or crop disease or attacks of locusts or caterpillars, or if your people’s enemies are in the land besieging their towns—whatever disaster or disease there is…” – Vs. 37 NLT

“If your people go out where you send them to fight their enemies…” – Vs. 44 NLT

“If they sin against you—and who has never sinned?—you might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to their land far away or near.” – Vs. 46 NLT

Solomon tried to cover all the bases, offering up a wide range of potential circumstances that reveal his astute understanding of human nature and man’s propensity to sin. He was aware that the nation of Israel, while set apart by God, would not always live up to its special status. So, he wanted to remind the people that, when they sinned, and they would, there was a proper and preferred response.

“…if they turn to you and acknowledge your name and pray to you here in this Temple, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel.” – 1 Kings 8:33-34 NLT

Sin was inevitable, but forgiveness was always available. It simply required confession and repentance – an admission of guilt and a willing realignment of their love back to God alone. It didn’t matter how egregious or grievous the sin; God would forgive, as long as they came in humble repentance. This offer of forgiveness was available to all the people of God, whether they were natural-born Jews or foreigners who had converted to Judaism.

“In the future, foreigners who do not belong to your people Israel will hear of you. They will come from distant lands because of your name, for they will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your powerful arm. And when they pray toward this Temple, then hear from heaven where you live, and grant what they ask of you. In this way, all the people of the earth will come to know and fear you, just as your own people Israel do. They, too, will know that this Temple I have built honors your name.” – 1 Kings 8:41-43 NLT

Solomon even described the worst-case scenario of the people of Israel being defeated by their enemies and exiled to a foreign land. This must have seemed like a far-fetched and unlikely outcome to the people standing in the Temple courtyard. After all, they lived in one of the most powerful nations on earth at that time. However, Solomon prophetically poses a potential scenario in which the people's sins lead to their expulsion from the land. He reminds them that, even in that dark hour, their response should be the same: Pray, confess, and repent.

And if the worst should ever happen, Solomon begs Yahweh to honor His covenant commitment and answer the prayers of His people.

“Forgive your people who have sinned against you. Forgive all the offenses they have committed against you. Make their captors merciful to them, for they are your people—your special possession—whom you brought out of the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt.” – 1 Kings 8:50-51 NLT

Little did Solomon know that his words would be recorded for posterity and become permanently etched on the pages of this book and passed down from generation to generation. Hundreds of years later, when the people of Israel found themselves exiled in the land of Babylon because of their sin and rebellion against God, they would find in God’s Word a record of Solomon’s prayer and a reminder that God’s forgiveness was theirs to have – if only they would repent and return to Him.

The Book of 2 Chronicles records Yahweh’s response to Solomon’s prayer of dedication, in which He assures His people of His willingness to hear their confessions and offer forgiveness and restoration. 

“…if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 NLT

But their confession of guilt must be accompanied by humility and heartfelt repentance. They must be willing to turn from their wicked ways and return to the worship of Yahweh alone. Divine judgment must produce humble contrition and repentant hearts, then Yahweh will hear, forgive, and restore. 

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.

Failure to Believe

36 Then the king sent and summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there to any place whatever. 37 For on the day you go out and cross the brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall die. Your blood shall be on your own head.” 38 And Shimei said to the king, “What you say is good; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

39 But it happened at the end of three years that two of Shimei’s servants ran away to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And when it was told Shimei, “Behold, your servants are in Gath,” 40 Shimei arose and saddled a donkey and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants. Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. 41 And when Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and returned, 42 the king sent and summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the LORD and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and go to any place whatever, you shall die’? And you said to me, ‘What you say is good; I will obey.’ 43 Why then have you not kept your oath to the LORD and the commandment with which I commanded you?” 44 The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart all the harm that you did to David my father. So the LORD will bring back your harm on your own head. 45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD forever.” 46 Then the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died.

So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. – 1 Kings 2:36-46 ESV

There was one last piece of unfinished business that Solomon had to attend to. Just before his death, David had charged Solomon with the task of repaying Shimei for the disrespectful way he had treated him as he was evacuating Jerusalem after Absalom’s takeover of the kingdom (2 Samuel 16:5-14). This relative of David’s predecessor, King Saul, had held a grudge against David ever since he had supplanted Saul as the king of Israel. He was overjoyed to see David having to suffer the indignity of sneaking out of the capital city because his own son had stolen his kingdom. Shimei even threw stones at David, hurling insults and curses as he did so.

“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 16:7-8 NLT

Shimei wrongly assumed that David's fall was the work of Yahweh. Some of David’s faithful soldiers, who had accompanied him out of the city, offered to strike Shimei down, but David would not allow it. Instead, he told them, “My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to do it. And perhaps the LORD will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today” (2 Samuel 16:11-12 NLT).

David could empathize with Shimei’s anger and resentment. He understood why Shimei was so upset and had also concluded that God was behind it all. When Shimei called David a murderer, he had struck a very sensitive nerve. David would have immediately recalled his complicity in the death of Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:14-17). Shimei was right; he was a murderer, and perhaps God was still repaying him for his sinful actions against an innocent man. So, David refused to punish Shimei for his actions.

But some time later, when the attempted coup had been thwarted, and Absalom had been killed, David returned to the city of Jerusalem. And one of the first people to greet him upon his arrival was Shimei.

As the king was about to cross the river, Shimei fell down before him. “My lord the king, please forgive me,” he pleaded. “Forget the terrible thing your servant did when you left Jerusalem. May the king put it out of his mind. I know how much I sinned. That is why I have come here today, the very first person in all Israel to greet my lord the king.” – 2 Samuel 19:18-20 NLT

With the news of Absalom’s death and David’s return to Jerusalem, Shimei feared for his life. He knew he was a dead man unless he could convince David of his remorse and regret for his previous actions. Feigning sorrow for his emotionally driven display of anger, Shimei begged the king for forgiveness.

Though Shimei deserved punishment, David was unwilling to spoil the joy of the occasion by meting out judgment. He could have had Shimei executed on the spot, but instead, “the king said to Shimei, ‘You shall not die.’ And the king gave him his oath” (2 Samuel 19:23 ESV).

David kept that oath, but on his deathbed, it became clear that he had never really forgiven Shimei for what he had done. He allowed Shimei to live, but he intended to repay his accuser in the end. So, years later, as he neared death, David gave Solomon a not-so-subtle hint about what should be done with Shimei.

“And remember Shimei son of Gera, the man from Bahurim in Benjamin. He cursed me with a terrible curse as I was fleeing to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan River, I swore by the LORD that I would not kill him. But that oath does not make him innocent. You are a wise man, and you will know how to arrange a bloody death for him.” – 1 Kings 2:8-9 NLT

David didn’t tell Solomon what to do. He simply reminded Solomon of what Shimei had done. He fully expected Solomon to defend his honor by having Shimei put to death. But Solomon had other plans. Rather than subjecting Shimei to capital punishment, he had him confined to the city of Jerusalem. Shimei, as a Benjamite, lived within the territory of his tribe. But Solomon ordered that he relocate within the city walls, where his actions could be carefully monitored. Shimei was given strict instructions never to venture outside the walls of the city for any reason, under penalty of death.

“Build a house here in Jerusalem and live there. But don’t step outside the city to go anywhere else. On the day you so much as cross the Kidron Valley, you will surely die; and your blood will be on your own head.” – 1 Kings 2:36-37 NLT

Solomon graciously spared Shimei’s life but placed him under house arrest. This arrangement seemed to work well for Shimei. For three years, he enjoyed a peaceful and prosperous life. But then, the unexpected happened. Two of his servants ran away and, without thinking about it, Shimei saddled a donkey and pursued his missing property. When he had recaptured his runaway servants and returned to Jerusalem, he was surprised to learn that he had been summoned to the king’s palace.

By this time, Shimei must have understood the gravity of his situation. He had violated the oath he had made, and Solomon reminded him of their agreement.

“Didn’t I make you swear by the LORD and warn you not to go anywhere else or you would surely die? And you replied, ‘The sentence is fair; I will do as you say.’ Then why haven’t you kept your oath to the LORD and obeyed my command?” – 1 Kings 2:42-43 NLT

Notice that Solomon describes Shimei’s oath as having been made to the LORD. When he agreed to the stipulations handed down by the king, he had been swearing an oath before Yahweh. Solomon had been acting as God’s appointed leader, and when Shimei agreed to the terms of the contract, he made a binding covenant with God Almighty. Now he had broken that vow and failed to keep his word, and he would have to suffer the consequences. Solomon ensured that Shimei understood the seriousness of his situation.

“You certainly remember all the wicked things you did to my father, David. May the LORD now bring that evil on your own head. But may I, King Solomon, receive the LORD’s blessings, and may one of David’s descendants always sit on this throne in the presence of the LORD.” – 1 Kings 2:44-45 NLT

David had kept his word and allowed Shimei to live. Now, Solomon was going to keep his word and have Shimei executed for the violation of his oath. Shimei’s death would not be because he had left the confines of the city of Jerusalem. The death sentence that hung over his head was due to his unlawful treatment of and rebellion against the LORD’s anointed, King David. He deserved to die because he was a rebel, but Solomon had shown him grace and mercy. The city of Jerusalem had become a city of refuge, a place where he could find release from the condemnation of death he so richly deserved. As long as he remained within the walls of the city, he would be spared. His confinement was not imprisonment, but a form of protection. As long as Shimei remained faithful to reside within the confines of the city, he would be spared the penalty of death. But as soon as he walked outside the gates, he violated his oath and forfeited his right to live.

In so many ways, this narrative foreshadows what Jesus Christ would do for guilty sinners. He would become the place of refuge, the living Jerusalem, where those condemned to death could find mercy, grace, and life. As long as Shimei remained within Jerusalem's protective walls, he would be spared the penalty he deserved. But when he allowed himself to be distracted by the cares of this world and went in pursuit of his runaway servants, Shimei revealed his true heart. He placed a greater value on material things than he did on the gift of life he had been offered by the king.

Jesus would later remind His disciples about the necessity of abiding in Him. He would challenge them to remain faithful, recognizing that their hope of eternal life was found in Him alone.

“Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” – John 15:5-7 NLT

Shimei had failed to remain in Jerusalem, and it cost him his life. He had seen the walls of the city as a prison rather than a source of protection. He had seen his agreement with the king as restrictive rather than redemptive. How often do those who are offered the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ come to see that offer as a burden rather than a blessing? They prefer the “freedom” of sin over the emancipation from death that is offered within the protective walls of God’s gracious love. Like Shimei, they ultimately forfeit their lives. 

In the passage above, Jesus is not teaching the possibility of losing one's salvation. He is calling for faith that stands the test of time. It endures the trials and temptations of this life because it is based on the hope of eternal life. The apostle John described those who give the appearance of abiding faith, but walk away at the first sign of trouble.

These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us. – 1 John 2:19 NLT

Jesus used agrarian imagery to describe those who will claim to have faith in Him but eventually turn away. 

The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. – Matthew 13:20-21 NLT

The author of Hebrews provides a powerful warning against professing a false faith that fails to stand the test of time and the inevitability of trials. He encourages his audience to seek a faith that endures to the end. 

Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. – Hebrews 3:12-14 NLT

It seems that Shimei never really believed that Solomon would put him to death. When his slaves ran away, Shimei never stopped to consider the danger he faced if he left the confines of Jerusalem. His possessions meant more to him than the threat of death. Jesus spoke of those who place a higher priority on this life than the one to come. 

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” – Matthew 16:24-26 NLT

In capturing his runaway slaves, Shimei got what he was looking for, but he also got what he deserved: Death. He failed to take his oath to Yahweh seriously because he never really believed his life was on the line. He regained his slaves but lost his soul; a high price to pay. 

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.

Undeserved Grace. Unmerited Favor.

41 Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished feasting. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “What does this uproar in the city mean?” 42 While he was still speaking, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are a worthy man and bring good news.” 43 Jonathan answered Adonijah, “No, for our lord King David has made Solomon king, 44 and the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites. And they had him ride on the king’s mule. 45 And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon, and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have heard. 46 Solomon sits on the royal throne. 47 Moreover, the king’s servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours, and make his throne greater than your throne.’ And the king bowed himself on the bed. 48 And the king also said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has granted someone to sit on my throne this day, my own eyes seeing it.’”

49 Then all the guests of Adonijah trembled and rose, and each went his own way. 50 And Adonijah feared Solomon. So he arose and went and took hold of the horns of the altar. 51 Then it was told Solomon, “Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, for behold, he has laid hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’” 52 And Solomon said, “If he will show himself a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall fall to the earth, but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” 53 So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and paid homage to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.” – 1 Kings 1:41-53 ESV

As Solomon was being anointed the next king of Israel, his brother, Adonijah was just a few hundred yards away at En-rogel, a spring on the outskirts of Jerusalem. He was throwing what he believed to be his own pre-coronation party. But just as they were finishing their festivities, the sound of trumpets could be heard emanating from the city of David. This was a signal used to gather the people or to announce news of great significance. It was only a matter of time before the news of the events taking place in Jerusalem made its way to Adonijah and his rebel companions.

Suddenly, the son of Abiathar the priest burst into the room with a stunning and unexpected revelation that was going to take everyone by complete surprise, including Adonijah. But the self-assured and over-confident host of the party welcomed Abiathar with open arms, eager to hear what he had to say.

“Come in,” Adonijah said to him, “you are a good man. You must have good news.” – 1 Kings 1:42 NLT

But what Jonathan had to tell them was anything but good news. In fact, it’s likely that this young man risked interrupting Adonijah’s invitation-only party because his father was one of the guests. Jonathan was fully aware of Adonijah’s plans to usurp David’s throne, and he knew his own father was complicit in the plot. So, he burst into the room, hoping to warn his father about the dramatic turn of events in Jerusalem.

“Our lord King David has just declared Solomon king! The king sent him down to Gihon Spring with Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, protected by the king’s bodyguard. They had him ride on the king’s own mule, and Zadok and Nathan have anointed him at Gihon Spring as the new king. They have just returned, and the whole city is celebrating and rejoicing. That’s what all the noise is about.” – 1 Kings 1:43-45 NLT

It doesn’t take much creativity to imagine how these words effected the mood in the room. Jaws dropped in shock. Hearts, once merry and expectant, sank in fear. Wine glasses probably crashed to the floor as the shocked guests took in this devastating news. No one in the room had seen this coming, especially Adonijah. He had not factored this contingency into his planning. So, as Jonathan continued to report the late-breaking news from Jerusalem, a dark and foreboding cloud settled over the room.

“What’s more, Solomon is now sitting on the royal throne as king. And all the royal officials have gone to King David and congratulated him, saying, ‘May your God make Solomon’s fame even greater than your own, and may Solomon’s reign be even greater than yours!’” – 1 Kings 1:46-47 NLT

Everyone present was shaken to their core. They had each chosen to align themselves with Adonijah, in the vain hope that his coup would succeed and he would reward them handsomely for their commitment to his cause. But now, having heard the news from Jerusalem, they were having second thoughts and experiencing overwhelming regret. They had bet on the wrong team, and risked everything in the hopes of a big return on their investment. But King David had thrown a wrench into their plans by crowning his son Solomon as the next king of Israel. Jonathan revealed the final bit of news that must have hit Adonijah and his guests like a sucker punch to the gut: The king himself had pronounced a blessing on the whole proceedings. Unlike Adonijah, Solomon had not attempted a coup. He had been anointed the king of Israel by royal decree and with the full support of David

“Then the king bowed his head in worship as he lay in his bed, and he said, ‘Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who today has chosen a successor to sit on my throne while I am still alive to see it.’” – 1 Kings 1:47-48 NLT

This last bit of news brought an abrupt and immediate end to the party. Any joy that remained in the room disappeared along with the guests. They bailed on Adonijah, leaving him completely alone and with no other option than to seek refuge in the Tabernacle. He knew he was a dead man because Solomon, with his newly acquired authority as king, would be quick to execute all those who had played a part in this failed insurrection. So, in an attempt to save his life, Adonijah entered the holy place within the sanctuary in the hopes that he might receive asylum from God Himself. He sought shelter at the altar, grasping its decorative horns and, in essence, offering himself as a sacrifice to God.

The horns of the altar were considered a place where God's presence and authority were manifest. It was on the altar that the sacrifices for atonement were made. As part of Israel's sacrificial system, the blood of the sacrificed animal was smeared on the horns of the altar, representing the atoning power of the sacrifices and the possibility of finding grace. Clinging to the horns of the altar was a way of appealing to God's mercy and forgiveness. Adonijah was attempting to demonstrate his contrition, and hoping his brother would extend mercy, grace, and forgiveness.

News soon reached Solomon that his half-brother had sought refuge in the Tabernacle, where he demanded a pardon.

“Let King Solomon swear today that he will not kill me!” – 1 Kings 1:51 NLT

Amazingly, Solomon agreed to Adonijah’s demand, but with very clear conditions.

“If he proves himself to be loyal, not a hair on his head will be touched. But if he makes trouble, he will die.” – 1 Kings 1:52 NLT

Solomon would have been justified and well within his rights as king to order Adonijah’s death, but he decided to extend mercy instead. He absolved his brother of all guilt and allowed him to return to his home. Despite all that Adonijah had done to deny him his God-ordained right to the throne, Solomon sought restitution rather than revenge. He would inaugurate his reign with an act of unmerited favor, extending mercy and grace to the guilty and justifiably condemned.

Adonijah’s actions provide a sobering reminder of what happens every time a sinner receives forgiveness from God by grasping the grace and mercy offered by the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. In a sense, the condemned sinner grasps the blood stained horns of the altar and places himself at the mercy of God. The author of the Book of Hebrews describes the once-for-all-time sacrifice that Jesus made on behalf of sinful men.

He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. – Hebrews 9:11-12 NLT

Adonijah received mercy and grace from his brother, but the repentant sinner receives mercy and grace from God the Father when he appeals through the shed blood of Jesus.

Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. – Hebrews 9:13-14 NLT

Adonijah got what he desired, not what he deserved. Solomon spared his life and gave him his freedom. But Adonijah may have been a free man, but he was not a changed man. It would only be a matter of time before he came up with another scheme to promote himself at the expense of his brother. He would eventually take his pardon lightly and treat his brother's grace and mercy with contempt.

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 Danger of Spiritual Lukewarmness

1 Now King David was old and advanced in years. And although they covered him with clothes, he could not get warm. 2 Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman be sought for my lord the king, and let her wait on the king and be in his service. Let her lie in your arms, that my lord the king may be warm.” 3 So they sought for a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4 The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him, but the king knew her not. – 1 Kings 1:1-4 ESV

It would be easy to assume that the books of 1st and 2nd Kings are nothing more than historical accounts that provide a chronological record of the kings of Israel and Judah. They read like a two-volume ancient history textbook, providing detailed accounts of the reigns of 40 different monarchs who eventually ruled over the people of God. But these two books are far more than just a retelling of past historical events. They were written to tell a story and to provide an explanation for Israel’s sorry state of affairs after their return from exile.

While we don’t know the identity of the author of these two books, we do know to whom they were written. In their original form, they comprised one book that was addressed to the people of Israel who survived captivity in Babylon and were part of the remnant who returned to the land of Judah.

After 70 years of subjugation to the Babylonians, they made their way back to the land that had been their promised inheritance and discovered the city of Jerusalem in an abysmal state of disrepair and the beautiful temple built by King Solomon to be nothing but a pile of rubble. The gates of the city had been destroyed and the once-formidable walls lie in ruins. The former capital of Israel was a virtual ghost town, and while the people would eventually restore the city and rebuild the temple, the nation would never enjoy a return to its glory days.

But how did this happen? What caused the fall of one of the greatest nations on earth? Why did Yahweh seemingly abandon His people and allow them to undergo such devastating destruction at the hands of their enemies?

Those are the kinds of questions that the books of 1st and 2nd Kings attempt to answer. They retell the sad story of Israel’s demise. First Kings begins with the coronation of King Solomon and his dedication of the Temple. Second Kings ends with the capture of King Zedekiah and the destruction of the Temple. And in between, we are given a detailed accounting of Israel’s serial unfaithfulness to God. The author provides his audience with a no-holds-barred retelling of Israel’s fall from the heights of glory to the depths of despair and devastation, and it is not a pretty picture. But it is a memorable one, providing those who read it with a never-to-be-forgotten reminder of what happens to those who forsake the Lord.

But these two books are not all doom and gloom. Yes, they paint a not-so-attractive picture of the people of God, portraying them as unfaithful and fully deserving of God’s judgment. But they also provide undeniable evidence of God’s unwavering faithfulness. After all, those who ended up reading these two books were living on the other side of the exile. They were fortunate to be among those who had been restored to the land of promise because Yahweh had kept His word. He had told them they would go into captivity for 70 years.

“Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. Moreover, I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” – Jeremiah 25:8-11 ESV

But He had also promised that a remnant would be allowed to return.

“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:10-11 ESV

And He had been faithful to do exactly what He said He would do.

It was George Santayana who wrote in 1905, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Yahweh wanted His people to know and understand every sordid and sorry detail concerning their past relationship with Him. Their current state of affairs had historical precedence. They needed to be reminded that, as the people of God, their sin would always have consequences. Yahweh cannot allow unfaithfulness to go unpunished. Disobedience will always bring about divine discipline. And these two books were not intended to be a simple retelling of ancient history, but they were designed to prevent its repetition. Even today, there is much we modern westerners can learn from the history of the kings of Israel and Judah. They contain timeless lessons that bear repeating and offer the unflattering portraits of men whose examples we should avoid.

The very first portrait we are given is of the aging king, David. We are told he was “old and advanced in years” (1 Kings 1:1 ESV). The once-powerful king of Israel is shown to be a shadow of his former self. The warrior-king who helped establish Israel as one of the greatest nations on earth has been relegated from the battlefield to the bedroom. Rather than fighting the enemies of Israel, he is waging a hopeless battle with the effects of old-age and senility. The one of whom they used to sing: “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7 ESV), is now portrayed as a feeble old man, covered in blankets and fighting to stay warm.

His body is suffering the ravages of time, and David is unable to produce enough body heat to keep himself warm. In his old age, the slayer of Goliath finds himself so weak that he has to rely on the body heat of a young slave girl to keep him alive. In his prime, David suffered from an inordinate attraction to beautiful women that often got him into trouble. Because David is still the king, his advisors seek out the most beautiful woman they can find. But at this point in his life, the only pleasure David can derive from Abishag the Shunammite is the warmth her body can produce.

The author makes it clear that David received no sexual pleasure from this arrangement. It was totally utilitarian in nature.

The girl was very beautiful, and she looked after the king and took care of him. But the king had no sexual relations with her. – 1 Kings 1:4 NLT

As the book opens up, we are given a less-than-flattering glimpse of King David, confined to bed and constricted to mere survival. The great king of Israel is portrayed with diminished capacities and at the end of his life. His amazing rise to power and the record of his many accomplishments are found in the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel. But David’s glory days are behind him. His reign is coming to an end, and his fast-approaching death will usher in an important transitional period for the nation of Israel. The stability the nation enjoyed under his leadership was going to be put to the test. The peoples’ dedication and commitment to God will be exposed for what it really is: Lacking.

In some ways, the description of David’s physical condition provides a subtle portrayal of the spiritual condition of the nation. Over time, they have grown spiritually cold and incapable of rekindling the fire they once had for God. It won’t be long until they find themselves sharing their beds with the “young women” of the pagan nations in an attempt to “heat up” their languishing spiritual lives.

David had been a good king. According to Yahweh’s own estimation, he was a “man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). But even his godly leadership failed to produce faithfulness among the people of Israel. As will become evident, his influence over his own children proved to be lacking. Even before he breathes his final breath, David will find his kingdom under siege by his own family. From the king’s palace to the peasant’s hut, the unfaithfulness of Israel will soon be on full display.

These opening verses of 1st Kings paint David in a less-than-favorable light. He is old and in some ways, helpless. But his physical incapacity and inability to keep himself warm, mirrors the spiritual lukewarmness of the people of Israel. In the Book of Revelation, the apostle John quotes Jesus speaking a word of condemnation against the church of Laodicea.

“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” – Revelation 3:15-17 NLT

Israel was guilty of the same thing and Yahweh would deal with them according to the tepidness of their spiritual fervor and unfaithfulness.

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.

Waiting On God

A Song of Ascents.

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!
2     O LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
    to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
    O LORD, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
    that you may be feared.

5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the LORD
    more than watchmen for the morning,
    more than watchmen for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the LORD!
    For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
    and with him is plentiful redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel
    from all his iniquities. – Psalm 130:1-8 ESV

The author of this psalm begins with an impassioned plea for Yahweh to show him mercy. While he doesn't disclose the nature of his circumstances, he is in desperate need of Yahweh to intervene and rescue him. His request for mercy (taḥănûn in Hebrew) is a prayer of “supplication”  expressing his desire for unmerited favor. It would appear that he thinks his suffering is somehow tied to an undisclosed sin he has committed. This is not a confession of sin as much as it is a confirmation of Yahweh’s marvelous mercy and grace. The psalmist doesn’t follow David’s lead and confess a specific sin. In Psalm 51, written in the aftermath of David's affair with Bathsheba and his sanctioned murder of her husband, David willingly acknowledged the gravity of what he had done.

For I recognize my rebellion;
    it haunts me day and night.
Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
    I have done what is evil in your sight. – Psalm 51:3-4 NLT

This psalmist doesn't minimize sin, but instead, he emphasizes Yahweh’s willingness to extend mercy despite our sins. 

LORD, if you kept a record of our sins,
    who, O LORD, could ever survive?
But you offer forgiveness,
    that we might learn to fear you. – Psalm 130:3-4 NLT

This perspective coincides with that of David found in another one of his psalms.

He does not punish us for all our sins;
    he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
    is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. – Psalm 103:10-11 NLT

What an unbelievable reminder. Our God is not some kind of cosmic scorekeeper, keeping meticulous track of all our sins and waiting for us to balance our good behavior with our bad behavior. He's not Santa Claus, "making a list and checking it twice” so he can determine “who's naughty or nice."

As the psalmist points out, if God kept track of all our sins, we'd be in big trouble, because our sins would far outweigh any righteousness we might have to offer. Isaiah put it in these graphic terms: "We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind" (Isaiah 64:6 NET).

Instead of chronicling each of our sins and expecting us to right every wrong we have ever done, God offers forgiveness instead. Why? So that we might learn to fear and reverence Him (verse 4). When we begin to understand the magnitude of our sinfulness, His forgiveness becomes all the more precious to us because He is a holy God who stands diametrically opposed to our wickedness. Yet, in His grace and mercy, He reaches down and offers His undeserved favor and forgiveness. 

That is they the psalmist declares that he is willing to wait on Yahweh. 

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the LORD
    more than watchmen for the morning,
    more than watchmen for the morning. – Psalm 130:5-6 NLT

He compares himself to a night watchman, someone whose job it was to stay awake all night and keep an eye out for any danger. These individuals were invaluable to the safety of a city as they patrolled the walls and watched for any signs of danger. But their greatest desire was to see the sun come up without incident. They waited or longed for the morning. 

That is the psalmist's perspective as he considers the darkened nature of his own predicament. He is willing to wait for Yahweh to show up with the rising sun and extend mercy. The prophet Jeremiah expressed this same hopeful perspective as he considered the faithfulness of Yahweh.

The faithful love of the LORD never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!” – Lamentation 3:22-24 NLT

Jeremiah wasn’t putting his hope in his own ability to live a righteous life. He knew that was impossible. Like Isaiah, he recognized that all his righteous deeds were “nothing but filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6 NLT) in Yahweh's eyes. No, his hope was in the faithfulness and forgiveness of the LORD. Yahweh's mercies were new every morning, which is why the psalmist said he waits for the LORD like a watchman waits for the morning. There is an expectation and eagerness in his words. Despite his sinfulness, Yahweh was prepared to shower him with mercy and grace. 

But some of us have a different attitude when it comes to sin. We take the perspective that our sins aren't all that bad. We seem to believe that our sins are less egregious and offensive than those of others. Somehow, our need for forgiveness is not that great, so we fail to recognize the unbelievable and undeserved nature of the gift Yahweh offers. 

The psalmist seemed to understand both the magnitude of his sin and the magnificence of the one who offered him forgiveness. He writes, "O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows. He Himself will redeem Israel from every kind of sin" (Psalm 130:7-8 NLT).

Unfailing love and overflowing redemption. The psalmist believed in both and was counting on the fact that Yahweh was prepared to redeem Israel despite their sin. Yahweh wasn't waiting for His rebellious people to clean up their act and exhibit some form of sinless perfection. No, He was prepared to rescue them and forgive them, despite their inability to live up to His righteous standards.

That is a sobering reminder to all of us. Our God offers forgiveness from every sin, large or small, through His Son Jesus Christ. He isn't keeping a list of all our sins and checking off the ones we successfully eliminate from our lives. Yahweh isn’t weighing our wickedness and righteousness in a balance in the hopes that our good deeds will somehow outweigh our evil deeds. 

In one of his psalms, David expressed the futility of anyone trying to earn Yahweh's favor through self-effort. 

The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,
    to see if there are any who understand,
    who seek after God.

They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
    there is none who does good,
    not even one. – Psalm 14:2-3 ESV

The apostle Paul quoted David’s words when writing to believers in Rome to remind them that their personal righteousness was not the key to their acceptance by God.

…for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. As the Scriptures say,

“No one is righteous—
    not even one.
No one is truly wise;
    no one is seeking God.
All have turned away;
    all have become useless.
No one does good,
    not a single one.” – Romans 3:9-11 NLT

For Paul, acceptance by God had nothing to do with living up to a some kind of moral code and list of religious rules.

…no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. – Romans 3:20 NLT

He goes on to explain the amazing nature of God’s plan for making us acceptable in His sight, and it has nothing to do with our futile attempts at self-righteousness.

God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. – Romans 3:21-22 NLT

And he explains why Yahweh came up with this alternate plan for restoring sinful men to a right relationship with Himself.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. – Romans 3:23 NLT

In other words, sin wasn't just a black spot on our resumé; it was a roadblock that prevented us from ever earning God's favor and restoring our fractured relationship with Him. But Paul provides the good news.

Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. – Romans 3:24 NLT

This news should cause us to stand in awe and reverence before our gracious, loving God. It should draw us near to Him, not push us away in fear. He should be where we run for hope and healing because He will not reject us because of our sins. Instead, He welcomes us with open arms. Long before Jesus came to earth and offered Himself as the sacrifice for the sins of mankind, David expressed his confidence in God's grace, mercy, and forgiveness. 

The LORD is compassionate and merciful,
    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
He will not constantly accuse us,
    nor remain angry forever. – Psalm 103:8-9 NLT

Then he adds:

He does not punish us for all our sins;
    he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
    is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
He has removed our sins as far from us
    as the east is from the west. – Psalm 103:10-12 NLT

That was the confident assurance of the author of Psalm 130. He shared David's belief that Yahweh was compassionate, merciful, loving, kind, and forgiving. He was well aware of his sins but counted on God to remove them as far as the east is from the west. There was no list of wrongs done. There was no demand for course correction or behavior modification to earn His favor. All God asked for was that His people place their faith and hope in Him. Which is why the psalmist ends his song with the words, “hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows” (Psalm 130:7 NLT).

Father, thank You for Your unfailing love and limitless forgiveness. Forgive me for not taking advantage of it and for sometimes thinking I don't even need it! If You kept track of all my sins, I would be without hope. But instead, You offer me forgiveness and healing. Never let me forget that. 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 Has Done Great Things

A Song of Ascents.

1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
    we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
    and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
    “The LORD has done great things for them.”
3 The LORD has done great things for us;
    we are glad.

4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
    like streams in the Negeb!
5 Those who sow in tears
    shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping,
    bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
    bringing his sheaves with him. – Psalm 126:1-6 ESV

This psalm appears to have been written sometime after the Israelites returned from their captivity in Babylon under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah. After conquering the Babylonians in 539 B.C., the Persian King Cyrus issued a decree allowing the former citizens of Judah to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. 

“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.” – Ezra 1:2-4 ESV

As the Persian king acknowledges, his decision was divinely ordained by “the LORD, the God of heaven.” Seventy years earlier, Yahweh had told his people that their captivity was imminent but that it would be followed by their return to the land. 

“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:10-11 ESV

Yahweh kept His word and influenced Cyrus to use his royal powers not only to command the release of the Israelites but also to return all the plundered items taken from the Temple. 

King Cyrus himself brought out the articles that King Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the LORD’s Temple in Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his own gods. Cyrus directed Mithredath, the treasurer of Persia, to count these items and present them to Sheshbazzar, the leader of the exiles returning to Judah. – Ezra 1:7-8 NLT

Yahweh also “stirred the hearts of the priests and Levites and the leaders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the LORD” (Ezra 7:5 NLT). The small remnant of Israelites who were moved by God to make the arduous journey back to Judah were assisted by their neighbors, who donated silver, gold, food, supplies, and livestock to support them on the journey. It is estimated that Zerubabbel led 50,000 Israelites back to Judah to begin the process of rebuilding the Temple and repopulating the city of Jerusalem. 

In 458 B.C., Ezra, a scribe and an expert in the Mosaic Law, led another contingent of 5,000 Jews back to Judah. By this time, the Temple had been rebuilt, but the people were unfamiliar with Yahweh's laws and the sacrificial system. 

Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in August of that year. He had arranged to leave Babylon on April 8, the first day of the new year, and he arrived at Jerusalem on August 4, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the LORD and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel. – Ezra 7:8-10 NLT  

In 445 B.C., Nehemiah, who was serving as the cupbearer to the new Persian king, Artaxerxes, received a disturbing report about the state of affairs in Jerusalem. 

“Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.” – Nehemiah 1:3 NLT

Moved by this news, Nehemiah appealed to Yahweh for His divine intervention.

“Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’

“The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants. O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” – Nehemiah 1:8-11 NLT

Yahweh heard and answered Nehemiah's prayer, and prompted King Artaxerxes to sanction the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. 

It is unclear at what point during this nearly 100-year period the psalmist wrote his song of ascent, but he describes the initial return of the exiles as a dream-like experience. After 70 years in captivity, it must have been a surreal experience to enter the gates of Jerusalem. For many of them, this would have been their first time seeing the City of David, as they had been born in captivity. And despite the dilapidated conditions of the walls and buildings, they were filled with laughter and sang for joy (Psalm 126:2). Even the surrounding nations were stunned by the unexpected repatriation of Judah by the Israelites and recognized it as a divinely ordained event. “The LORD has done great things for them,” they exclaimed. 

But the psalmist recognizes that all is not well. The initial wave of enthusiasm gave way to concern over the less-than-ideal conditions in the land. While some of their neighbors praised Yahweh for His divine deliverance of His people, others were not so happy to have the Israelites back in the land. During the 70 years the people of Judah had been in exile, their lands, homes, and properties had been taken over by neighboring nations. Fearful that the Israelites would prosper and repopulate the land, their enemies sent a letter to King Artaxerxes, accusing the Israelites of insurrection.

“The king should know that the Jews who came here to Jerusalem from Babylon are rebuilding this rebellious and evil city. They have already laid the foundation and will soon finish its walls. And the king should know that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, it will be much to your disadvantage, for the Jews will then refuse to pay their tribute, customs, and tolls to you.” – Ezra 4:12-13 NLT

These very same people had stringently opposed all the rebuilding efforts instituted by Zerrubabel and Nehemiah. But nothing they did curtailed the rebuilding of the Temple or the walls and gates of the city. This led them to seek Artaxerxes’ intervention. 

Their ploy worked because the king issued a decree ordering all rebuilding efforts to cease. This work stoppage would remain in effect until Darius ascended the throne in 520 B.C. He reinstituted Cyrus’ original decree and authorized the Jews to continue their restoration of the Temple and the city.

The psalmist’s words seem to reflect the sadness that accompanied the initial joy of returning to the land. He prays, “Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negeb!” (Psalm 126:4 NLT). Their return had been met with opposition, and the taunts and accusations of their enemies had turned their joys to tears. But he continued to trust in Yahweh's faithfulness.

Those who sow in tears
    shall reap with shouts of joy! – Psalm 126:5 NLT

He acknowledges that the days ahead will be difficult, but he expresses his conviction that Yahweh will have the final say. Their enemies can shout, scream, threaten, and write letters of accusation, but Yahweh is sovereign over all. The same God who moved the hearts of Cyrus, Artaxerxes, and Darius would ensure their success and secure their future.

They weep as they go to plant their seed,
    but they sing as they return with the harvest. – Psalm 126:6 NLT

It is easy to see why this psalm was one of the songs of ascent. It expresses a confidence in Yahweh that every generation of Israelites needed to hear and embrace. The enemies of Israel would always be there. The opposition to Yahweh's power and the existence of His people would never dissipate. The Israelites’ return to the land had been a wonderful, God-ordained experience. It was a joy to no longer be in exile, but that did not mean the troubles and trials of life were over. 

One of the things the Israelites had to contend with was their own culpability for their suffering. They couldn't blame all their problems on their enemies. The whole reason they had gone into exile in the first place was because of their sinfulness. Now that Yahweh had returned them to the land, they would need to do more than rebuild the house of God; they would need to clean house. Ezra recognized the seriousness of the problem and called the people to repentance.

“But now we have been given a brief moment of grace, for the Lord our God has allowed a few of us to survive as a remnant. He has given us security in this holy place. Our God has brightened our eyes and granted us some relief from our slavery. For we were slaves, but in his unfailing love our God did not abandon us in our slavery. Instead, he caused the kings of Persia to treat us favorably. He revived us so we could rebuild the Temple of our God and repair its ruins. He has given us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

“And now, O our God, what can we say after all of this? For once again we have abandoned your commands!” – Ezra 9:8-10 NLT

They were back in the land and had rebuilt the Temple, but they were still living in open rebellion against Yahweh. Seventy years had passed, but nothing had changed. Ezra knew that the blessings of God would mean little if the people refused to change their ways. 

“O LORD, God of Israel, you are just. We come before you in our guilt as nothing but an escaped remnant, though in such a condition none of us can stand in your presence.” – Ezra 9:15 NLT

Any attempts to renovate the Temple and restore the city would be futile if the people refused to repent and return to the LORD. The dream would turn into a nightmare if God’s people failed to learn the lessons of the past. However, Ezra's prayer had a profound impact on the people. They responded appropriately, saying, “We have been unfaithful to our God, for we have married these pagan women of the land. But in spite of this there is hope for Israel” (Ezra 10:2 NLT).

There is always hope because Yahweh is faithful. He is loving, gracious, patient, and forgiving. But He requires repentant hearts and a willingness to submit to His will. All the way back at the dedication of the Temple, God had made a promise to Solomon.

“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT

And that promise still stood. The LORD would forgive their sins and restore their fortunes if they would only return to Him in repentance and humility.

Father, You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. You never change and You never fail to keep Your promises. Thank You for this reminder that I can trust You at all times. And thank You for reminding me that You still expect obedience, humility, and faithfulness from Your covenant people. Forgive me for demanding restoration and reward without repentance. I confess that, far too often, I cheapen Your amazing grace by treating it with contempt and taking it for granted. Help me live in keeping with who You are and who You have called me to be. Amen

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

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

Blessing and Obedience

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You must not have any other god but me.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The True Temple of God

A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song.

1 On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
2     the LORD loves the gates of Zion
    more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
3 Glorious things of you are spoken,
    O city of God. Selah

4 Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
    behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush—
    “This one was born there,” they say.
5 And of Zion it shall be said,
    “This one and that one were born in her”;
    for the Most High himself will establish her.
6 The LORD records as he registers the peoples,
    “This one was born there.” Selah

7 Singers and dancers alike say,
    “All my springs are in you.” – Psalm 87:1-7 ESV

In another psalm attributed to the sons of Korah, the author praises the glory of Zion, the mountain upon which Jerusalem sits. In this royal city of David was located the majestic Temple, the dwelling place of Israel’s God. That this psalm was written by one of the sons of Korah makes it all the more striking. Their ancestor was a man who took part in an open rebellion against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. He was motivated by discontentment with his clan's role in the service of the Temple. Numbers 16 records God’s punishment of Korah and his co-conspirators, but it also chronicles His sparing of Korah's sons. They were graciously allowed to live and continue their work in God’s house.

So, this unnamed son of Korah chose to express his admiration for the Temple and its impact on the nation of Israel. He displays joy at the privilege of serving in the place where God chose to make His presence known. Yahweh had given His seal of approval for the Temple that Solomon built by taking up residence in it.

When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple. The priests could not enter the Temple of the LORD because the glorious presence of the LORD filled it. When all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glorious presence of the LORD filling the Temple, they fell face down on the ground and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying,

“He is good!
    His faithful love endures forever!” – 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 NLT

Years later, the psalmist reminds his fellow Israelites of their good fortune at having the Temple in their midst.

On the holy mountain
    stands the city founded by the LORD.
He loves the city of Jerusalem
    more than any other city in Israel.
O city of God,
    what glorious things are said of you! – Psalm 87:1-3 NLT

It was not the building itself that set Israel apart from all the other nations on earth. It was a magnificent structure that filled every Israelite with pride, but its true grandeur came from the glory of Yahweh that filled the Holy of Holies. At the dedication of the Temple, God declared His acceptance of the structure Solomon had constructed and His intention to bless His chosen people by dwelling among them.

“I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.” – 2 Chronicles 7:16 NLT

But the psalmist points out that Jerusalem, the city of God, would be home to more than just the people of Israel. He adds what appears to be a quote from Yahweh that expresses the Temple's international influence and the countless people from all the nations of the world who chose to make Yahweh their God.

I will count Egypt and Babylon among those who know me—
    also Philistia and Tyre, and even distant Ethiopia.
    They have all become citizens of Jerusalem! – Psalm 87:4 NLT

While Yahweh had set apart the Israelites as His own, He had not turned His back on the other nations. His presence and power had manifested from His holy Temple in Jerusalem and drawn others to choose Him as their God. Yahweh was an equal-opportunity deity who welcomed all to worship Him.

“Everyone enjoys the rights of citizenship there.” – Psalm 87:5 NLT

Jerusalem was to be a light on a hill, shining forth the glory of God to the nations cloaked in darkness. The prophet Isaiah carried this idea further when he wrote of a “servant” who would bring light to the world.

“I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness.
    I will take you by the hand and guard you,
and I will give you to my people, Israel,
    as a symbol of my covenant with them.
And you will be a light to guide the nations.” – Isaiah 42:6 NLT

And now the Lord speaks—
    the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant,
    who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him.
The Lord has honored me,
    and my God has given me strength.
He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me.
    I will make you a light to the Gentiles,
    and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” – Isaiah 59:5-6 NLT

Centuries later, the apostle John linked this “servant” role to Jesus.

In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
    and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
    and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness can never extinguish it. – John 1:1-5 NLT

The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. – John 1:9 NLT

Jesus would later say of Himself, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12 NLT). Jesus was the Son of God who took on human flesh and, according to John, “made his home among us” (John 1:14 NLT). The Greek word John used to describe Jesus’ incarnation is skēnoō, which comes from the root word skēnos, which can be translated as “tabernacle” or “tent.” John is suggesting that Jesus “tabernacled” among us, just as the earthly Tabernacle dwelt among the people of Israel as they journeyed through the wilderness.

John goes on to say, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son” (John 1:14 NLT). As the glory of God existed in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle, so Jesus displayed the glory of God in His human life.

For in Christ all the fulness of the  Deity dwells in bodily form.” – Colossians 2:9  BSB

Even Jesus utilized the metaphor of the Temple when referring to His life. He told the Jews, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19 NLT). John went on to explain the meaning behind Jesus’ rather cryptic saying.

But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said. – John 2:21-22 NLT

Jesus represented the true temple of God. In Him, divinity and humanity were joined together. He was the new locus of God's presence on earth. Four decades after His death and resurrection, the Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. To this day, the peak of Mount Zion is void of any memory of the Temple’s once grand presence, except for the stones of its former foundation.

According to Paul, the Temple and everything associated with it were mere shadows of something greater to come (Colossians 2:17). They pointed to Christ, and the author of Hebrews explains how they provided a glimpse into the reality of Jesus’ role as the final manifestation of God’s glory on earth.

That first covenant between God and Israel had regulations for worship and a place of worship here on earth. There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place. Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place. In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant. Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now. – Hebrew 9:1-5 NLT

All the furniture that filled the earthly Tabernacle was meant to illustrate Christ.

The golden lampstand – “I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12)

Table of shewbread – “I am the bread of life.” –(John 6:35)

The altar of incense – Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ…a fragrance from death to death…a fragrance from life to life. (2  Corinthians 2:14-16 NLT)

The Ark of the Covenant – Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation [hilastērion: Mercy Seat] by his blood, to be received by faith. (Romans 3:24-25)

Jesus became the means by which sinful men could receive permanent atonement for their sins. He became the true Temple of God, offering access into the Father's presence through His own shed blood. His sacrifice made atonement available to all who were willing to accept the gracious gift of His righteousness in exchange for their wickedness. And the Book of Revelation reveals that the day will come when Jesus, “the more perfect tent [skēnē}” will permantly replace any need for an earthy Temple.

I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. – Revelation 21:22-27 NLT

Jesus, the light of the world, will become the light of all eternity. The living temple will make access to God available to all, with no further need for repentance, redemption, or reconciliation with God.

And all who enjoy eternal life in the New Jerusalem will sing the song written by the son of Korah.

The people will play flutes and sing,
    “The source of my life springs from Jerusalem!” – Psalm 87:7 ESV

Father, the Temple no longer exists but that is not a problem for you. You have never needed a physical house in which to live. Yet You sent Your Son to take on an “earthly tent” and live among us so that He might die on behalf of us. He sacrificed that “tabernacle” so that You might restore it and provide a means for our future resurrection and glorification. Thank You for sending Jesus as Your earthly dwelling place and making access to Your presence possible. 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.

Salvation is Near to Those Who Fear Him

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

1 LORD, you were favorable to your land;
    you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people;
    you covered all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath;
    you turned from your hot anger.

4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
    and put away your indignation toward us!
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
    Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again,
    that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O LORD,
    and grant us your salvation.

8 Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,
    for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
    but let them not turn back to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
    that glory may dwell in our land.

10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
    righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
    and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, the LORD will give what is good,
    and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him
    and make his footsteps a way. – Psalm 85:1-13 ESV

The opening lines of this psalm appear to be speaking of God’s deliverance of a remnant of Israelites from their captivity in Babylon. After 70 years in exile, God sovereignly orchestrated their return under Ezra and Nehemiah.

This plan for their restoration had been in place from the very beginning and was announced to the exiled Israelites in a letter written by the prophet Jeremiah.

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

God kept His word and brought His chosen people home to the land of promise. But their homecoming was anything but joyful. They returned to find Jerusalem in ruins, the Temple completely demolished, and their former homes destroyed. In their absence, other people groups had taken over the land and did everything in their power to stop any plans for resettlement.

When the first wave of Israelites returned to Canaan, word was sent back to Nehemiah in Babylon describing the sorry state of affairs.

“Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.” – Nehemiah 1:3 NLT

Under the leadership of Zerubbabel, the remnant of Israelites who returned to the land of promise attempted to rebuild the Temple but were met with fierce opposition.

…the local residents tried to discourage and frighten the people of Judah to keep them from their work. They bribed agents to work against them and to frustrate their plans. – Ezra 4:4-5 NLT

This organized resistance was relentless and long-term. Years later, a contingent of Israel’s enemies wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes, attempting to portray the Israelites as insurrectionists and a threat to his kingdom.

“The king should know that the Jews who came here to Jerusalem from Babylon are rebuilding this rebellious and evil city. They have already laid the foundation and will soon finish its walls. And the king should know that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, it will be much to your disadvantage, for the Jews will then refuse to pay their tribute, customs, and tolls to you.”

“Since we are your loyal subjects and do not want to see the king dishonored in this way, we have sent the king this information. We suggest that a search be made in your ancestors’ records, where you will discover what a rebellious city this has been in the past. In fact, it was destroyed because of its long and troublesome history of revolt against the kings and countries who controlled it. We declare to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, the province west of the Euphrates River will be lost to you.” – Ezra 4:12-16 NLT

The psalmist sees this persistent opposition as a sign of God's displeasure and calls on Yahweh to relent from His anger and restore His people to favor once again. 

Now restore us again, O God of our salvation.
    Put aside your anger against us once more.
Will you be angry with us always?
    Will you prolong your wrath to all generations? – Psalm 85:4-5 NLT

His assumption was that God remained angry over Israel’s past disobedience and was using their enemies to punish them. So, he pleads with Yahweh to pour out His ḥeseḏ, His unfailing love. This Hebrew word is most often translated as “mercy” and reflects a need for God's undeserved favor. The psalmist knew the Israelites had done nothing to deserve God's love and forgiveness. Their days in exile were not marked by repentance or faithful worship of God. Yahweh had returned them to the land in keeping with His promise and as proof of His faithfulness.

But the psalmist understood that their return to the land would be incomplete and unproductive if their relationship with Yahweh remained unrestored. A rebuilt city, restored Temple, and a revitalized local economy would mean nothing without a revived relationship with God. The psalmist knew that spiritual revival would be an important part of Israel’s renewal.

I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying,
    for he speaks peace to his faithful people.
    But let them not return to their foolish ways.
Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
    so our land will be filled with his glory. – Psalm 85:8-9 NLT

Their return to the land could not be marked by the same spiritual apathy and apostasy that led to their fall. Things would need to be different this time around. They had experienced a location change, but God expected heart change. Yahweh desired His people to serve Him willingly and faithfully, not out of coercion or compulsion, but out of love.

Long before the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, God had given them His expectations concerning their behavior. If they obeyed Him, they would experience His blessings.

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

Your towns and your fields
    will be blessed.
Your children and your crops
    will be blessed.
The offspring of your herds and flocks
    will be blessed.
Your fruit baskets and breadboards
    will be blessed.
Wherever you go and whatever you do,
    you will be blessed.

“The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!

“The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.” – Deuteronomy 28:1-8 NLT

And the psalmist reveals that he understood that this relationship between God and His covenant people remained unchanged. If the people wanted to experience God's unfailing love and enjoy the fruits of a relationship with Him, they would need to be faithful. Love, peace, truth, and righteousness were theirs if only they would keep their covenant commitments to Yahweh. 

Unfailing love and truth have met together.
    Righteousness and peace have kissed!
Truth springs up from the earth,
    and righteousness smiles down from heaven.
Yes, the LORD pours down his blessings.
    Our land will yield its bountiful harvest.
Righteousness goes as a herald before him,
    preparing the way for his steps. – Psalm 85:10-13 NLT

But God's blessings would accompany obedience. Rebuilding the city and the Temple would not be enough. The Israelites would need to rebuild their relationship with Yahweh and make Him a non-negotiable priority for their lives.

Father, it's always been about a relationship with You. Our behavior is important and our actions do matter, but You have always focused on the heart. The things we do for You mean nothing if we do them for the wrong reasons or with a hardened heart. Show me how to make You the top priority in my life, not the things You do for me. I want to be faithful whether things are going well or not. I want to remain committed even when my circumstances don't make sense and my hope begins to waver. Show me how to fear You so that I might remain faithful to 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.

Before You Cry Out, Confess

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

1 O God, do not keep silence;
    do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2 For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
    those who hate you have raised their heads.
3 They lay crafty plans against your people;
    they consult together against your treasured ones.
4 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
    let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
5 For they conspire with one accord;
    against you they make a covenant—
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
    Moab and the Hagrites,
7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
    Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Asshur also has joined them;
    they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah

9 Do to them as you did to Midian,
    as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10 who were destroyed at En-dor,
    who became dung for the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
    all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves
    of the pastures of God.”

13 O my God, make them like whirling dust,
    like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes the forest,
    as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so may you pursue them with your tempest
    and terrify them with your hurricane!
16 Fill their faces with shame,
    that they may seek your name, O LORD.
17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
    let them perish in disgrace,
18 that they may know that you alone,
    whose name is the LORD,
    are the Most High over all the earth. – Psalm 83:1-18 ESV

This final psalm of Asaph contains an impassioned plea for God to intervene on behalf of His chosen people. No context is given to explain Asaph’s despair, but he provides a lengthy list of Israel’s enemies who are causing them suffering and distress. He includes the Edomites, Ishmaelites, Moabites, Hagrites, Gebalites, Ammonites, Amalekites, Philistines, and the inhabitants of Tyre and Asshur. The New International Version rightly translates Asshur as “Assyria,” and states that this powerful northern kingdom “joined them to reinforce Lot’s descendants” (Psalm 83:8 NIV).

Asaph describes what he sees as an international conspiracy to wipe out God’s chosen people. According to Asaph, these disparate nations had nothing in common except their hatred for the Israelites and a shared desire to see them completely eradicated.

They devise crafty schemes against your people;
    they conspire against your precious ones.
“Come,” they say, “let us wipe out Israel as a nation.
    We will destroy the very memory of its existence.” – Psalm 83:3-4 NLT

From Asaph’s perspective, God has gone radio silent and allowed Israel’s enemies to go unchecked in their genocidal quest. Asaph attempts to make this personal by appealing to God’s pride.

Don’t you hear the uproar of your enemies?
    Don’t you see that your arrogant enemies are rising up?
They devise crafty schemes against your people;
    they conspire against your precious ones. – Psalm 83:2-3 NLT

Asaph can’t understand why these pagan nations have been allowed to operate unrestrained and without any retribution from God. They are idolatrous, immoral, and representative of all that stands opposed to God’s will. Their violent resistance to Israel’s existence is indicative of their hatred for Yahweh and their opposition to the covenant promises He made to Abraham.

So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River— the land now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” – Genesis 15:18-21 NLT

“I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.” – Genesis 17:8 NLT

For Asaph, the situation was complicated by the presence of nations like the Ammonites and Moabites, who were distant relatives of Israel. These descendants of Abraham’s nephew, Lot, had joined forces against their own kin, enlisting the aid of the Assyrians to attack Israel. However, the Ammonites and Moabites were not the only blood relatives of Abraham who decided to make Israel their enemy number one. The Hagrites were also descendants of Abraham through his wife's handmaiden, Hagar. When Abraham’s wife Sarah could not bear him an heir, she suggested that he use Hagar as a surrogate. In an act of faithlessness, Abraham complied, and Hagar bore Ishmael, whose descendants became the Ishmaelites. So, the Hagrites and Ishmaelites, despite sharing a common ancestry in Abraham, had chosen to align themselves against His chosen people.

In frustration, Asaph attempts to give Yahweh a history lesson, reminding Him of His past acts of deliverance. This unsolicited lecture was intended to stir God to action.

Do to them as you did to the Midianites
    and as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.
They were destroyed at Endor,
    and their decaying corpses fertilized the soil. – Psalm 83:9-10 NLT

Asaph recalls two battles in which Yahweh gave the Israelites decisive victories over the Midianites and Canaanites. Both of these events took place during the period of the Judges. The first is recorded in Judges 4, where the prophet Deborah led the Israelites in battle against the Canaanites and defeated Sisera, the Canaanite commander, and Jabin, the Canaanite king. The second victory took place under the judgeship of Gideon and is recorded in Judges 7-8. He led the Israelites in battle, but this time, it was against the Midianites. With a small force of 300 men, Gideon and the Israelites defeated a much larger Midianite force. 

Asaph reminds God of Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite commanders, and Zebah and Zalmunna, the Midianite kings. These pagans got what they deserved, and Asaph wants to know why God won’t do the same to Israel’s current foes. Just in case God doesn’t connect the dots, Asaph gives Him His marching orders.

O my God, scatter them like tumbleweed,
    like chaff before the wind!
As a fire burns a forest
    and as a flame sets mountains ablaze,
chase them with your fierce storm;
    terrify them with your tempest.
Utterly disgrace them
    until they submit to your name, O LORD.
Let them be ashamed and terrified forever.
    Let them die in disgrace. – Psalm 83:13-17 NLT

For Asaph, the solution is simple. God is all-powerful and fully capable of defeating any enemy of any size on any occasion. All He has to do is act. The identity and size of the foe don't matter. If God can defeat Midianites and Canaanites, He can deal with Edomites, Ishmaelites, Moabites, Hagrites, Gebalites, Ammonites, Amalekites, and Philistines. Asaph believes God can deliver, but can't understand why He has not yet done so. What is Yahweh waiting for? What is the reason for His delay? Why would Yahweh allow these nations to continue their harassment of God’s people and their mocking of God’s name?

Asaph ends his psalm with a not-so-subtle word of encouragement, appealing to Yahweh’s jealousy for His honor in the hopes that He will vindicate the people who bear His name.

Then they will learn that you alone are called the LORD,
    that you alone are the Most High,
    supreme over all the earth. – Psalm 84:18 NLT

But Asaph never stops to consider whether their suffering may be due to sin. He does not self-reflect or analyze their plight, to see if they have violated God’s will. This lack of personal or corporate culpability is telling. While Asaph is familiar with the stories of Deborah and Gideon, he seems to have conveniently left out that the Canaanites and Midianites were attacking because Israel had been unfaithful.

After Ehud’s death, the Israelites again did evil in the LORD’s sight. So the LORD turned them over to King Jabin of Hazor, a Canaanite king. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-haggoyim. Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help. – Judges 4:1-3 NLT

The Israelites did evil in the LORD’s sight. So the LORD handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel, camping in the land and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. These enemy hordes, coming with their livestock and tents, were as thick as locusts; they arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. And they stayed until the land was stripped bare. So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD for help. – Judges 6:1-6 NLT

Sin brought judgment, but when the Israelites cried out, God brought deliverance. The entire Book of Judges records the cycle of sin, judgment, repentance, and deliverance that Israel experienced during the period of the Judges. While Asaph fixated on God's deliverance, he neglected to focus on Israel's rebellion. He conveniently left out the fact that the Israelites had done evil in the LORD’s sight. God loves to deliver His people, but He requires an acknowledgment of sin and a humble recognition that He alone deserves glory, honor, and reverence.

Father, I love it when You deliver me from difficult situations, but I am less fond of admitting my guilt and shame. I don't particularly like to shine the light on my own culpability or complicity for my suffering. So often, I am the cause of my pain and the author of my misfortune, but I demand that You step in and fix my mistakes and clean up my messes. Help me to honor You by willingly admitting that I am the undeserving recipient of Your grace and mercy. Give me the strength to admit my faults and allow You to convict me of the sins that produce so much hurt and heartache in and around me. And thank You for rescuing me from my own stupidty and stubbornness. You are a good and gracious God. Amen

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

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

Obedience from the Heart and Not the Head

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. Of Asaph.

1 Sing aloud to God our strength;
    shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
2 Raise a song; sound the tambourine,
    the sweet lyre with the harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
    at the full moon, on our feast day.

4 For it is a statute for Israel,
    a rule of the God of Jacob.
5 He made it a decree in Joseph
    when he went out over the land of Egypt.
I hear a language I had not known:
6 “I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
    your hands were freed from the basket.
7 In distress you called, and I delivered you;
    I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
    I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
    O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9 There shall be no strange god among you;
    you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
10 I am the LORD your God,
    who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
    Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;
    Israel would not submit to me.
12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
    to follow their own counsels.
13 Oh, that my people would listen to me,
    that Israel would walk in my ways!
14 I would soon subdue their enemies
    and turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward him,
    and their fate would last forever.
16 But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
    and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.” – Psalm 81:1-16 ESV

This psalm is divided into two contrasting halves. Verses 1-10 contain a call for the people of Israel to celebrate the appointed feasts and festivals ordained by God. Before entering the land of Canaan, the Israelites received a directive from God, ordering them to commemorate their divinely-ordained victories over their enemies by keeping the various annual feasts He prescribed.

“When you arrive in your own land and go to war against your enemies who attack you, sound the alarm with the trumpets. Then the LORD your God will remember you and rescue you from your enemies. Blow the trumpets in times of gladness, too, sounding them at your annual festivals and at the beginning of each month. And blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and peace offerings. The trumpets will remind your God of his covenant with you. I am the LORD your God.” – Numbers 10:9-10 NLT

The first of these annual feasts was the celebration of Passover, instituted by God just before their deliverance from captivity in Egypt. God gave them specific instructions for conducting the first Passover, leaving nothing to their imaginations or up to chance. Once God delivered them from bondage, they were to put this date on their calendars and celebrate it annually.

“Remember, these instructions are a permanent law that you and your descendants must observe forever. When you enter the land the Lord has promised to give you, you will continue to observe this ceremony. Then your children will ask, ‘What does this ceremony mean?’ And you will reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. And though he struck the Egyptians, he spared our families.’” – Exodus 12:24-27 NLT

These annual feasts were intended to serve as reminders, prompting the people to recall God’s gracious acts of deliverance. By celebrating what Yahweh had done in the past, they would be encouraged to trust Him for the future. These annual holidays were designed to highlight God’s former demonstrations of faithfulness and instill a sense of hope for His ongoing provision. Asaph quotes where Yahweh reminded the people of Israel that He had heard their cries for deliverance and provided an answer.

“Now I will take the load from your shoulders;
    I will free your hands from their heavy tasks.
You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you;
    I answered out of the thundercloud
    and tested your faith when there was no water at Meribah.” – Psalm 81:6-7 NLT

All along their journey from Egypt to Canaan, God met their needs. He tested their faith by allowing them to run out of food and water, but when they grumbled and complained, He graciously and miraculously stepped in. He turned bitter water sweet, provided water from a rock, fed them manna and quail, and kept their sandals from wearing out. But God’s acts of mercy and grace came with a condition. He expected His people to show their appreciation by willingly keeping His commands and treating Him with the dignity and honor He deserved.

“There shall be no strange god among you;
    you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
I am the LORD your God,
    who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
    Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” – Psalm 81:9-10 NLT

God would not tolerate spiritual infidelity among His people. If they would remain faithful, He would continue to pour out His blessings. But this is where the psalm takes a dramatic turn. Despite all of God’s gracious acts of kindness, mercy, and grace, the people of Israel proved to be unfaithful and disobedient.

“But my people did not listen to my voice;
    Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
    to follow their own counsels.” – Psalm 81:9-10 NLT

It is interesting to note that they kept the annual feasts and festivals. They adhered to God's laws concerning the sacrifices. On paper, they were rule-keeping, festival-celebrating, sacrifice-giving adherents to God's commands. But it was all for show. God saw through their pretense and declared their efforts to be unacceptable.

“Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men.” – Isaiah 29:13 ESV

In the opening chapter of that same book, God declares His dissatisfaction with their hypocritical displays of religious rule-keeping.

“When you come to worship me,
    who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?
Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;
    the incense of your offerings disgusts me!
As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath
    and your special days for fasting—
they are all sinful and false.
    I want no more of your pious meetings.
I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals.
    They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!
When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look.
    Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen,
    for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.” – Isaiah 1:12-15 NLT

For God, it has always been about obedience. But He requires more than lip service and heartless adherence to a set of rules. Going through the motions is not enough. If our heart is not in it, our displays of outward obedience become nothing more than legalism masquerading as devotion.

Asaph provides another stinging quote from Yahweh that displays His desire for true, heartfelt obedience.

“Oh, that my people would listen to me!
    Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths!
How quickly I would then subdue their enemies!
    How soon my hands would be upon their foes!” – Psalm 81:13-14 NLT

The Book of 1 Samuel records the story of Saul attempting to cover up an act of disobedience by offering sacrifices to Yahweh. He had just defeated the Amalekites in battle, but failed to heed God's command to take no plunder or leave any survivors. God had made His will clear, stating, “completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys” (1 Samuel 15:3 NLT). But Saul spared the life of the Amalekite king and “kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality” (1 Samuel 15:9 NLT). 

When Saul was confronted by the prophet Samuel for his disobedience, he tried to justify his actions.

“I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” – 1 Samuel 15:20-21 NLT

But Samuel wasn’t buying what Saul was selling. Even when Saul claimed that he intended to offer the animals as sacrifices to Yahweh, Samuel delivered the unexpected news that Saul’s actions would have unexpected and unpleasant consequences.

“What is more pleasing to the Lord:
    your burnt offerings and sacrifices
    or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,
    and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,
    and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.
So because you have rejected the command of the Lord,
    he has rejected you as king.” – 1 Samuel 15:22-23 NLT

Psalm 81 is a powerful reminder that God desires far more than outward obedience. He is looking for adherence that begins on the inside and works its way out. David understood this inside-out perspective on obedience. After being confronted by the prophet Nathan for his affair with Bathsheba, David declared his conviction to God.

“You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
    You do not want a burnt offering.
The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
    You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.” – Psalm 51:16-17 NLT

Adrean Rogers relates a familiar story that puts Saul’s unacceptable attitude in terms we can all relate to.

“There is a classic story about a father who told his little four year old son to sit down, but the son didn’t sit down. So the father said a second time, “Son, I said sit down.” The boy still didn’t sit down. Finally, the father took him by the shoulders and forcefully placed him in the chair. He said, “Now, Son, sit there!” The little boy answered, “I may be sitting down on the outside, but—” he added defiantly, “I’m standing up on the inside!” – Adrean Rogers, oneplace.com

Saul was standing up on the inside. So were the Israelites. Yes, they were doing all the right things by keeping the prescribed feasts and festivals, offering the appropriate sacrifices, and adhering to the rules as they knew them. But God was not satisfied because their hearts were not in it.

But the solution to their problem was simple. All they had to do was obey from the heart. Their rule-keeping needed to come from the right place — a broken and repentant heart. If they would acknowledge their sin and love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, He promised to feed them “with the finest wheat” and satisfy them “with wild honey from the rock” (Psalm 81:16 NLT).

Father, obedience without love is meaningless. How often have I displayed the attitude of that small boy in Adrean Roger’s story. On the outside I may be sitting down, but on the inside I am standing in bold defiance to Your will and in rejection to Your ways. I may appear compliant, but my heart reveals a different reality. I want to be obey from the inside-out. I want my acts of submission to Your will to be heartfelt and not a legalistic form of religious rule keeping. Give me the attitude of David and not Saul. Help me to obey from the heart and not the head. So that my life might be a testimony to Your faithfulness and proof of my love for 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.

Our Gracious God

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Testimony. Of Asaph, a Psalm.

1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
2     Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
stir up your might
    and come to save us!

3 Restore us, O God;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved!

4 O LORD God of hosts,
    how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears
    and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6 You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,
    and our enemies laugh among themselves.

7 Restore us, O God of hosts;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved!

8 You brought a vine out of Egypt;
    you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;
    it took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
    the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 It sent out its branches to the sea
    and its shoots to the River.
12 Why then have you broken down its walls,
    so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13 The boar from the forest ravages it,
    and all that move in the field feed on it.

14 Turn again, O God of hosts!
    Look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
15     the stock that your right hand planted,
    and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
16 They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;
    may they perish at the rebuke of your face!
17 But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
    the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
18 Then we shall not turn back from you;
    give us life, and we will call upon your name!

19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!
    Let your face shine, that we may be saved! – Psalm 80:1-19 ESV

Like the psalm that precedes it, this is a national psalm of lament, but it is difficult to determine the exact context surrounding its message. Some scholars believe Asaph is addressing the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC. But if Asaph was a resident of the southern kingdom of Judah, his prayer in verse 3 would appear to place the timing of this psalm after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC.

Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
stir up your might
    and come to save us! – Psalm 80:3 ESV

Asaph seems to indicate that something has happened to the people of Judah, the residents of the southern kingdom. In verses 5 and 6, he describes the extent of their suffering, which he attributes to God's divine punishment.

You have fed us with sorrow
    and made us drink tears by the bucketful.
You have made us the scorn of neighboring nations.
    Our enemies treat us as a joke. – Psalm 80:5-6 NLT

Asaph’s reference to Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh is intended as a not-so-subtle reminder that the nation of Israel used to be a unified whole. There had been a time under the reigns of David and Solomon when the 12 tribes of Israel were unified and dominated the political landscape of Canaan. Ephraim was the primary tribe in the north, the Benjamites lived in the south, and the tribe of Manasseh was located east of the Jordan River in the Transjordan. So it makes more sense to see this psalm lamenting Israel’s abysmal condition after the northern and southern kingdoms had fallen to the Assyrians and Babylonians.

It is interesting to note that Asaph opens his psalm with a reference to Joseph, the son of Jacob, who had been sold into slavery by his brothers. Under God’s sovereign hand, this young man ended up in Egypt and rose to the second-highest position in the land. His miraculous and meteoric rise to prominence was God-ordained and for the sole purpose of providing a place of refuge for his family when a famine struck the land of Canaan.

Asaph opens his psalm by addressing Yahweh as the “Shepherd of Israel” (Psalm 80:1 ESV), who leads Joseph like a flock. Joseph’s two sons, born to him in Egypt, were adopted by his father Jacob, and their descendants became heirs of the land of promise. Ephraim and Manasseh, two of the tribes mentioned in verse 2, were the descendants of Joseph’s two sons and, at one time, enjoyed a place within the unified nation of Israel alongside the tribe of Benjamin.

But sin had disrupted Israel’s peace and prosperity. King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, behaved like a fool by fostering idolatry and apostasy in the kingdom. His actions resulted in God splitting the kingdom in half. From that point, the downward spiritual spiral continued in the north, south, and east, as all the tribes exhibited a penchant for unfaithfulness and a stubborn refusal to repent and return to Yahweh.

So, Asaph calls on God to step in and fix the problem.

Show us your mighty power.
    Come to rescue us! – Psalm 80:3 NLT

Asaph attributes their fate to God’s displeasure with them, but he never acknowledges their complicity and guilt. At no point does Asaph attempt to confess the sins of his fellow Israelites. Instead, he questions why God remains so angry and unwilling to answer their prayers for deliverance.

Asaph attempts to remind God of His past acts of kindness by chronicling how He had delivered the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt and established them in the land of Canaan.

You brought us from Egypt like a grapevine;
    you drove away the pagan nations and transplanted us into your land.
You cleared the ground for us,
    and we took root and filled the land.
Our shade covered the mountains;
    our branches covered the mighty cedars.
We spread our branches west to the Mediterranean Sea;
    our shoots spread east to the Euphrates River. – Psalm 80:8-11 NLT

Those were the good old days, when the Israelites enjoyed the blessings of God. They had been fruitful and filled the land of Canaan. Under the leadership of David and Solomon, their numbers grew and their kingdom spread, making them a force to be reckoned with in the region. But all that had changed. The conditions in Israel were markedly different when Asaph penned this psalm because sin had brought the judgment of God.

Yet, Asaph never mentions their sin. He fails to acknowledge their complicity in their own demise, choosing instead to blame God.

But now, why have you broken down our walls
    so that all who pass by may steal our fruit?
The wild boar from the forest devours it,
    and the wild animals feed on it. – Psalm 80:12-13 NLT

While God had brought judgment upon the people of Israel, it had been as a result of their rebellion against Him. Asaph obsesses over the consequences they suffered and demands remediation, but he refuses to confess their guilt. He begs God to intervene and appears to try to shame God into action.

Take care of this grapevine
    that you yourself have planted,
    this son you have raised for yourself. – Psalm 80:14-15 NLT

Asaph freely admits that God had chosen Israel to be His treasured possession, but he couldn't understand why they were suffering so greatly. It made no sense. As the nation that bore His name, the Israelites should have been prospering and enjoying all the benefits of their privileged position. But, according to Asaph, they were like a vineyard that had been “chopped up and burned by” (Psalm 80:16 NLT) by their enemies.

So, Asaph asks God to reverse the trend and restore His people to greatness.

May you give support to the one you have chosen,
to the one whom you raised up for yourself. – Psalm 80:17 NET

In response to God’s miraculous deliverance, Asaph promises the renewed allegiance of the people of Israel.

Then we will never abandon you again.
    Revive us so we can call on your name once more. – Psalm  80:17 NLT

By referring to God’s name, Asaph appeals to God’s reputation. He knows that Yahweh holds His name in high regard and will not allow it to be tarnished by those privileged to bear it. He had warned the Israelites that their behavior reflected on His character.

“You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.” – Exodus 34:14 NLT

He would not allow them to drag His name through the mud by their repeated acts of apostasy and idolatry, and that is the reason for their current state of deprivation and despair. All 12 tribes were guilty of worshiping other gods and had angered Yahweh with their refusal to heed His warnings and repent of their sins. But Asaph longs to see God redeem and restore them.

Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
    Make your face shine down upon us.
    Only then will we be saved. – Psalm 80:19 NLT

He was right. God was the only solution to their problem. Their cities lay in ruins, and their economy was devastated. They had no king or army and no hope of improving their fortunes unless God stepped in. Asaph’s reliance upon God was commendable, but he failed to recognize the corporate need for repentance. The prophets made it clear that redemption and restoration were available but required repentance.

Seek the Lord while you can find him.
    Call on him now while he is near.
Let the wicked change their ways
    and banish the very thought of doing wrong.
Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them.
    Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. – Isaiah 55:6-7 NLT

God would later inspire Jeremiah to deliver the following message to the Israelites living in exile in Babylon. He wanted them to know that their captivity had an expiration date, but to enjoy His deliverance, they must exhibit repentant hearts.

“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 29:11-14 NLT

Asaph was right to call on God, but neglected to call the people to repentance. God had promised to hear their prayers and restore their fortunes, but He required that they look for him “wholeheartedly.” God demanded their sold-out devotion to Him alone, instead of their usual brand of half-hearted, going-through-the-motions, on-again-off-again worship.

Yet, despite their failure to repent and return to Him in wholehearted devotion, God eventually released them from their exile in Babylon and restored them to the land of Canaan. Their covenant-keeping God graciously ended their captivity and arranged for a remnant to return to Jerusalem under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah. Yahweh proved to be faithful even when His people refused to keep their end of the covenant agreement. And, according to the Book of Ezekiel, God is far from done with His chosen people. The day is coming when He will perform a miracle of transformation that will ensure their unwavering devotion to Him.

“For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

“And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God. I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior.” – Ezekiel 36:24-29 NLT

Father, You truly are amazing. Your love never fails. You always keep Your word. Your grace is always undeserved. Your mercy never runs out. Your patience is inexhaustible. And Your plan for Your people is unstoppable. Despite us, You continually pour out Your blessings through Jesus Christ. You have made a way where there was no way. You do the impossible and accomplish the improbable. And we don’t deserve it. 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.

Our Forever Faithful God

A Maskil of Asaph.

1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
    incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
    I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known,
    that our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children,
    but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
    and the wonders that he has done.

5 He established a testimony in Jacob
    and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
    to teach to their children,
6 that the next generation might know them,
    the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
7     so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
    but keep his commandments;
8 and that they should not be like their fathers,
    a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
    whose spirit was not faithful to God.

9 The Ephraimites, armed with the bow,
    turned back on the day of battle.
10 They did not keep God's covenant,
    but refused to walk according to his law.
11 They forgot his works
    and the wonders that he had shown them.
12 In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders
    in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
    and made the waters stand like a heap.
14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
    and all the night with a fiery light.
15 He split rocks in the wilderness
    and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16 He made streams come out of the rock
    and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

17 Yet they sinned still more against him,
    rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They tested God in their heart
    by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God, saying,
    “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
20 He struck the rock so that water gushed out
    and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
    or provide meat for his people?”

21 Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of wrath;
    a fire was kindled against Jacob;
    his anger rose against Israel,
22 because they did not believe in God
    and did not trust his saving power.
23 Yet he commanded the skies above
    and opened the doors of heaven,
24 and he rained down on them manna to eat
    and gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Man ate of the bread of the angels;
    he sent them food in abundance.
26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
    and by his power he led out the south wind;
27 he rained meat on them like dust,
    winged birds like the sand of the seas;
28 he let them fall in the midst of their camp,
    all around their dwellings.
29 And they ate and were well filled,
    for he gave them what they craved.
30 But before they had satisfied their craving,
    while the food was still in their mouths,
31 the anger of God rose against them,
    and he killed the strongest of them
    and laid low the young men of Israel.

32 In spite of all this, they still sinned;
    despite his wonders, they did not believe.
33 So he made their days vanish like a breath,
    and their years in terror.
34 When he killed them, they sought him;
    they repented and sought God earnestly.
35 They remembered that God was their rock,
    the Most High God their redeemer.
36 But they flattered him with their mouths;
    they lied to him with their tongues.
37 Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
    they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he, being compassionate,
    atoned for their iniquity
    and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
    and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 He remembered that they were but flesh,
    a wind that passes and comes not again.
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
    and grieved him in the desert!
41 They tested God again and again
    and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember his power
    or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
43 when he performed his signs in Egypt
    and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.
44 He turned their rivers to blood,
    so that they could not drink of their streams.
45 He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them,
    and frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He gave their crops to the destroying locust
    and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail
    and their sycamores with frost.
48 He gave over their cattle to the hail
    and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49 He let loose on them his burning anger,
    wrath, indignation, and distress,
    a company of destroying angels.
50 He made a path for his anger;
    he did not spare them from death,
    but gave their lives over to the plague.
51 He struck down every firstborn in Egypt,
    the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 Then he led out his people like sheep
    and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid,
    but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And he brought them to his holy land,
    to the mountain which his right hand had won.
55 He drove out nations before them;
    he apportioned them for a possession
    and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

56 Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God
    and did not keep his testimonies,
57 but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
    they twisted like a deceitful bow.
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
    they moved him to jealousy with their idols.
59 When God heard, he was full of wrath,
    and he utterly rejected Israel.
60 He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh,
    the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
61 and delivered his power to captivity,
    his glory to the hand of the foe.
62 He gave his people over to the sword
    and vented his wrath on his heritage.
63 Fire devoured their young men,
    and their young women had no marriage song.
64 Their priests fell by the sword,
    and their widows made no lamentation.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
    like a strong man shouting because of wine.
66 And he put his adversaries to rout;
    he put them to everlasting shame.

67 He rejected the tent of Joseph;
    he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,
    Mount Zion, which he loves.
69 He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
    like the earth, which he has founded forever.
70 He chose David his servant
    and took him from the sheepfolds;
71 from following the nursing ewes he brought him
    to shepherd Jacob his people,
    Israel his inheritance.
72 With upright heart he shepherded them
    and guided them with his skillful hand. – Psalm 78:1-72 ESV

In this rather lengthy psalm, Asaph continues his recollection tour of Yahweh’s past activity in the lives of the Israelites. But he couples his retrospective on God’s goodness and grace with a painful reminder of Israel’s unfaithfulness. Asaph is painfully equitable in his exposure of his people’s rebellion against Yahweh, declaring the guilt of both the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel. While it is likely that this psalm was written long before God divided the nation of Israel because of the disobedience of King Solomon, Asaph purposefully uses two different names to refer to his fellow Israelites.

In verses 9-20, he points out the rebellion of the Ephraimites. Ephraim was one of the two sons born to Joseph in Egypt. Their grandfather, Jacob, adopted them as their own and blessed each of them.

“May the God before whom my grandfather Abraham
    and my father, Isaac, walked—
the God who has been my shepherd
    all my life, to this very day,
the Angel who has redeemed me from all harm—
    may he bless these boys.
May they preserve my name
    and the names of Abraham and Isaac.
And may their descendants multiply greatly
    throughout the earth.” – Genesis 48:15-16 NLT

But Jacob gave a special blessing to the younger son, Ephraim.

“Manasseh will also become a great people, but his younger brother will become even greater. And his descendants will become a multitude of nations.” – Genesis 48:19 NLT

God did bless the tribe of Ephraim, providing them with an inheritance of land in Canaan just like all the other tribes. Eventually, when King Solomon died, the ten northern tribes split away from the tribes and Judah and Benjamin, creating the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. In time, the northern kingdom became known as Ephraim, fulfilling Jacob's blessing. Under the leadership of Jeroboam, the newly formed northern kingdom established its own religious system, erecting temples to its false gods and forbidding the members of the ten tribes from traveling to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple. This pattern of idolatry and rebellion would continue until God sent the Assyrians to judge His people for their rebellion. The northern kingdom (Ephraim) fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC.

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Asaph repeatedly uses the name Ephraim long before the northern kingdom was formed and fell.

The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows,
    turned their backs and fled on the day of battle.
They did not keep God’s covenant
    and refused to live by his instructions.
They forgot what he had done—
    the great wonders he had shown them… – Psalm 78:9-11 NLT

When the Ephraimites were allotted land in Canaan, they failed to obey God’s command and eradicate the pagan people groups that lived there.

The tribe of Ephraim failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, so the Canaanites continued to live there among them. – Judges 1:29 NLT

They did not drive the Canaanites out of Gezer, however, so the people of Gezer live as slaves among the people of Ephraim to this day. – Judges 16:10 NLT

Asaph blames their failure to keep God’s covenant on their refusal to remember all the great wonders he had shown them during their journey from Egypt to Canaan. He recalls the miracle of the Red Sea, where God opened a path for them to escape the Egyptian army. He reminds them of the pillar of cloud and pillar of smoke that led them all during their 40-year trek through the wilderness. He points out God’s provision of water from a rock so that their thirst could be quenched and their grumbling would cease. Yet, despite God’s gracious acts of kindness and provision, “they kept on sinning against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. They stubbornly tested God in their hearts, demanding the foods they craved” (Psalm 78:17-18 NLT).

Through the medium of song, Asaph reminds his audience of what happened next. God became angry with His people’s display of ungratefulness and unfaithfulness.

Yes, his anger rose against Israel,
for they did not believe God
    or trust him to care for them. – Psalm 78:21-22 NLT

But rather than punish them, God miraculously provided manna and quail to fill their rumbling stomachs and stop their grumbling hearts. However, God didn’t let them off without a painful lesson in obedience. He fed them, but He also “killed their strongest men. He struck down the finest of Israel’s young men” (Psalm 78:31 NLT). But His wrath was not capricious or without effect, because it got their attention.

When God began killing them,
    they finally sought him.
    They repented and took God seriously.
Then they remembered that God was their rock,
    that God Most High was their redeemer. – Psalm 78:34-35 NLT

One of the things Asaph learned from his survey of Israel’s past was the consistency of their rebellion and the constancy of God’s grace and forgiveness. Asaph accuses them of giving God “lip service” (vs 36) and even lying to His face. Yet, “Yet he was merciful and forgave their sins and did not destroy them all” (Psalm 78:38 NLT). Their holy and righteous God “held back his anger and did not unleash his fury” (Psalm 78:38 NLT).

In verses 42-53, Asaph recounts the miracles God performed as part of their deliverance from captivity in Egypt. He recalls the ten plagues and the miracle of the Red Sea crossing. He reminds them of their God-ordained victories over Canaan’s occupants so the land could be their inheritance. But despite all God’s actions, the Israelites “kept testing and rebelling against God Most High” (Psalm 78:56 NLT).

Verses 56-64 outline Israel’s continued rebellion and stubborn refusal to repent of their sins. No matter how many times God poured out His grace and mercy, they thumbed their noses in His face by worshiping false gods in His place. So, God ultimately allowed the Philistines to capture the Ark of the Covenant at Shiloh (1 Samuel 4:4-11). On that fateful day, many Israelites, including the priests Hophni and Phinehas, were killed.

This demoralizing defeat at the hands of their enemies did little to alter Israel’s behavior, but it was followed by yet another gracious act of mercy from Yahweh. He eventually turned the tables, restored the ark to Israel, and led David to establish Jerusalem as the place where a temple to God’s glory would be constructed. His son Solomon would erect this earthly dwelling place for Yahweh and conduct an elaborate ceremony to commemorate its opening.

But Asaph ends his psalm by rejoicing over God’s choice of the tribe of Judah and David to serve as “the shepherd of Jacob’s descendants—God’s own people, Israel” (Psalm 78:71 NLT). Despite Israel’s track record of apostasy and unfaithfulness, Yahweh remained committed to His covenant promises, pouring out His mercy and grace on His chosen people.

“If Israel’s record is her shame, God’s persistent goodness emerges as her hope (and ours) for the unfinished story.” – Derek Kidner, Psalms 73-150, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries series

Father, I am always amazed at Your faithfulness, patience, mercy, grace, and love in the face of mankind’s repeated rejections of You. Even Your chosen people have a lousy track record of faithfulness, providing You with ample reason to renege on Your covenant promises. But You are a covenant-keeping God who refuses to give up on Your people even when they give up on You. What a powerful reminder this psalm provides to those of us who call ourselves Your children but who tend to follow the example of the Israelites. We are no more deserving of Your grace, mercy, and love than they were. But their history is a vivid and much-needed reminder that Your grace is unearned and Your mercy is unmerited. Amen

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

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

No Restoration Without Repentance

A Maskil of Asaph.

1 O God, why do you cast us off forever?
    Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old,
    which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage!
    Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
3 Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
    the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!

4 Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place;
    they set up their own signs for signs.
5 They were like those who swing axes
    in a forest of trees.
6 And all its carved wood
    they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
    they profaned the dwelling place of your name,
    bringing it down to the ground.
8 They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
    they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

9 We do not see our signs;
    there is no longer any prophet,
    and there is none among us who knows how long.
10 How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
    Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
    Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!

12 Yet God my King is from of old,
    working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You divided the sea by your might;
    you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
    you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15 You split open springs and brooks;
    you dried up ever-flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, yours also the night;
    you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.
17 You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth;
    you have made summer and winter.

18 Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs,
    and a foolish people reviles your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts;
    do not forget the life of your poor forever.

20 Have regard for the covenant,
    for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21 Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame;
    let the poor and needy praise your name.

22 Arise, O God, defend your cause;
    remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
    the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually! – Psalm 74:1-23 ESV

In the previous psalm, Asaph sought help and hope in the sanctuary of God, where his disgruntled outlook about the prosperity of the wicked was altered by a glimpse of God’s goodness and glory.

I tried to understand why the wicked prosper.
    But what a difficult task it is!
Then I went into your sanctuary, O God,
    and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked. – Psalm 73:16-17 NLT

Now, in Psalm 74, Asaph is no longer talking about the prosperity of the wicked; he is questioning the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the sanctuary. This unexpected and inexplicable tragedy has left Asaph shaken and questioning God’s presence and power. Israel’s beloved sanctuary, the dwelling place of Yahweh, has been destroyed, leaving Asaph and his fellow Israelites in a state of shock and dismay. Still reeling from this devastating calamity, Asaph calls on God to remedy the situation.

Remember that we are the people you chose long ago,
    the tribe you redeemed as your own special possession!
    And remember Jerusalem, your home here on earth.
Walk through the awful ruins of the city;
    see how the enemy has destroyed your sanctuary. – Psalm 74:2-3 NLT

While no timeline or details are provided that might explain what Asaph is describing, it seems safe to assume he is writing about the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 BC. The Book of Jeremiah provides graphic details concerning this fateful event, and its record corroborates Asaph’s description of Jerusalem’s fall.

On August 17 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 some of the poorest of the people, 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 craftsmen. But Nebuzaradan allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind to care for the vineyards and fields. – Jeremiah 52:12-16 NLT

The Babylonians were methodical in their plunder and destruction, using axes to completely obliterate the Temple's ornate interior. Anything of value was carted off to fill the treasury of the Babylonian king. Then, Asaph states, “they burned down all the places where God was worshiped” (Psalm 74:8 NLT). With the Temple’s destruction, the sacrificial system was effectively eliminated, leaving the people of Israel with no way to receive atonement for their sins and reconciliation with God. And as if that was not bad enough, Asaph informs God that the news just kept getting worse.

We no longer see your miraculous signs.
    All the prophets are gone,
    and no one can tell us when it will end.
How long, O God, will you allow our enemies to insult you?
    Will you let them dishonor your name forever?
Why do you hold back your strong right hand?
    Unleash your powerful fist and destroy them. – Psalm 74:9-11 NLT

It was as if God had completely abandoned His people, leaving them without a place for His presence to dwell and providing them with no communication as to when their fate would improve. Asaph can’t fathom why the sovereign, all-powerful God of Israel would allow their enemies to destroy the Temple, defame His name, and turn His chosen people into chattel.

In verses 12-17, Asaph reminisces about God’s past displays of power and deliverance. He uses creation imagery to describe Yahweh’s victory over the chaos that ruled over the universe.

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. – Genesis 1:1-3 NLT

But Asaph seems to be using the creation account as a metaphor for God’s victory over the Egyptians when He parted the waters of the Red Sea and destroyed the army of Pharaoh.

You split the sea by your strength
    and smashed the heads of the sea monsters.
You crushed the heads of Leviathan
    and let the desert animals eat him.
You caused the springs and streams to gush forth,
    and you dried up rivers that never run dry. – Psalm 74:13-15 NLT

Yahweh was all-powerful and fully capable of destroying Israel’s enemies, but in this case, Asaph felt as if God was doing nothing. He not only allowed the Babylonians to invade and destroy Jerusalem, but He also did nothing to pay them back for their actions. Asaph and his fellow Israelites waited for God to remember His covenant promises and act. He couldn’t understand God’s apparent apathy and inactivity. What was He waiting for? Why wouldn’t He avenge His people and defend the holiness of His name?

See how these enemies insult you, Lord.
    A foolish nation has dishonored your name.
Don’t let these wild beasts destroy your turtledoves.
    Don’t forget your suffering people forever. – Psalm 74:18-19 NLT

In his desire to see God intervene, Asaph conveniently overlooked Israel’s role in their own destruction. God had repeatedly warned them that their destruction was imminent and could only be avoided if they would repent of their idolatry and faithfully serve Him alone.

The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go to the entrance of the Lord’s Temple, and give this message to the people: ‘O Judah, listen to this message from the Lord! Listen to it, all of you who worship here! This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says:

“‘Even now, if you quit your evil ways, I will let you stay in your own land. But don’t be fooled by those who promise you safety simply because the Lord’s Temple is here. They chant, “The Lord’s Temple is here! The Lord’s Temple is here!” But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice; only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols. Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever.

 “‘Don’t be fooled into thinking that you will never suffer because the Temple is here. It’s a lie! Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours, and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, “We are safe!”—only to go right back to all those evils again? Don’t you yourselves admit that this Temple, which bears my name, has become a den of thieves? Surely I see all the evil going on there. I, the Lord, have spoken!” – Jeremiah 7:1-11 NLT

But the people had failed to heed God’s warnings, and He sent the Babylonians to carry out His judgment. While Asaph is persistent in his pleas for God’s mercy and intervention, he makes no mention of Israel’s sin and their need to repent. There are no words of confession or signs of contrition. He wants God to keep His covenant promises, but never admits that the Israelites had failed to hold up their end of the agreement.

Arise, O God, and defend your cause.
    Remember how these fools insult you all day long.
Don’t overlook what your enemies have said
    or their growing uproar. – Psalm 74:22-23 NLT

Asaph seems to have conveniently forgotten the words that God spoke to Solomon at the dedication of the Temple hundreds of years earlier. Yahweh made it painfully clear that His presence, power, and provision would be tied to the Israelites’ covenant faithfulness. He would dwell among them as long as they remained faithful to Him and Him alone.

“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. And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled and will gasp in horror. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?’” – 1 Kings 9:6-8 NLT

Asaph wanted to see God work. He longed for the Almighty to use His vast power to rectify their problem, but he never acknowledged their role in their own destruction. He wanted deliverance without confession and restored fellowship without repentance. But God had made His requirements known. At the dedication of the Temple, He told Solomon what the people would need to do if they wanted to receive forgiveness and experience restoration.

“…if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT

Father, what a sobering reminder that my sin has consequences and while I am free to call on Your to deliver me from the suffering sin produces, You demand my contrition and confession. You have told us that if we confess our sins, You are faithful and just to forgive them and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But we tend to want the cleansing without confession. We want restoration without repentance. Help me to understand that my sins, while forgiven, can never be overlooked or treated as irrelevant. You still demand faithfulness. You still require humility of Your people. And when we take ownership for our sin, You always keep Your promise to restore and renew us. 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.

God’s Great Grace

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin!

3 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O God of my salvation,
    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    build up the walls of Jerusalem;
19 then will you delight in right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar. – Psalm 51:1-19 ESV

In 1910, Julia H. Johnston penned the words to the hymn “Marvelous Grace of Our Loving Lord.” They reflect her understanding of the unmerited grace God made available to sinners through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount out-poured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.

That last line speaks volumes and echoes the sentiment expressed by David in this psalm. As the title of the psalm suggests, David wrote this well-known and oft-quoted song of praise after reflecting on the marvelous reality of God's grace in the face of unforgivable sin.

That God’s grace is greater than all our sins is a truth that is virtually impossible for us to comprehend. It’s difficult to fathom how a holy and completely righteous God could love us so much that He would be willing to extend us grace despite our consistent struggle with sin. But David had experienced this truth first-hand. Here in Psalm 51, he is dealing with the aftermath of his sin with Bathsheba. David was known as the man after God’s own heart and was the anointed king of Israel, yet he wrestled with the guilt and conviction of his affair with a married woman. As if that sin was not enough, when David discovered his illicit sexual tryst had produced a baby, he ordered the death of Bathsheba’s husband so that he might marry her and provide a more acceptable explanation for her pregnancy.

His was a sin of the first degree. It shocks even the most hardcore agnostic or atheist. These kinds of things are just not done in civilized society. But here is the leader of God’s chosen people confessing his guilt and willingly accepting God's just judgment.

Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
    I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say,
    and your judgment against me is just. – Psalm 51:4 NL

David opened his psalm with an admission of guilt and a plea for mercy. He describes the stain of his sin and the impurity of his guilt as barriers to God. He knew he was guilty, but he was counting on the fact that Yahweh was merciful and compassionate. 

Have mercy on me, O God,
    because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
    blot out the stain of my sins. – Psalm 51:1 NLT

He firmly believed that God was ready and willing to forgive his sin and restore him to a right relationship with Himself. He also knew that God was the only one who could provide restoration. So he cries out to God for mercy and appeals to God’s unfailing love. He asks God to show him compassion and begs for the stain of his sin to be removed. He pleads with God to wash him clean from his guilt and purify him from his sin.

David understood the depth of his sin and guilt. He had not attempted to excuse his actions or diminish his culpability. He owned his sin and confessed that he deserved God's just judgment. But this did not prevent him from crying out for God’s mercy and grace.

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Oh, give me back my joy again;
    you have broken me—
    now let me rejoice. – Psalm 51:7-8 NLT

David was a broken man. Ever since his lust-fueled liaison with Bathsheba, he had been plagued by guilt and shame. His role in her husband’s death only stoked the flames of the raging condemnation that consumed his joy. When the prophet Nathan confronted the king about his sin, David confessed, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:14 NLT). And while Nathan assured David that God would forgive him, he warned that his sin would still be consequences.

Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin. Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the word of the Lord by doing this, your child will die.” – 2 Samuel 12:13-14 NLT

The child was born but suffered from a deadly disorder. David fasted and prayed that God would spare the life of his son, but seven days later, the child died. This loss weighed heavily on David’s heart. Yet, David didn’t lash out at God in anger and resentment. He bore the brunt of God’s righteous wrath and cried out for restoration.

David knew that only God could make him clean. Time doesn’t heal all wounds, but God certainly can. Only God could renew his broken heart and restore a sense of joy through His compassionate act of salvation. Only God could give him the ability to return to a life of obedience and righteousness.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and make me willing to obey you. – Psalm 51:12 NLT

David was at the mercy of God and found comfort in that fact. The key to David’s appeal to God was his understanding that God was looking for true repentance from a heart grieved over its mistreatment of God and His Word. David knew that his sin was ultimately against God, not Bathsheba or Uriah. He also knew that God was looking for godly sorrow and not just a false sense of remorse or regret. The apostle Paul explains what godly sorrow looks like in his letter to the Corinthian church.

For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. – 1 Corinthians 7:9-10 NLT

The sacrifice God wanted from David had little to do with lambs, goats, blood, or offerings. But it had everything to do with a broken and contrite heart. A heart that is broken and crushed because it understands that it has offended a holy, yet loving and merciful God.

You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
    You do not want a burnt offering.
The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
    You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. – Psalm 51:16-17 NLT

God wanted sacrifices offered in the right spirit, with the right kind of heart behind them. David’s sin had been an affront to God, and that sin needed to bother him as much as it did God. It seems clear from this beautifully worded and bluntly honest psalm that David had come to grips with the weight of his sin and built. That is what led him to come before God in sorrow, repentance, openness, honesty, and complete reliance on God’s mercy and grace.

David had full confidence that God would hear and restore him because he knew that God was gracious, kind, loving, and merciful. David’s God was forgiving. His grace was greater than all of David’s sins – from the smallest to the largest. David’s sins of adultery and murder rank high on our scale of transgressions against God, and yet David found mercy, grace, and forgiveness even for these two heinous sins against God’s holiness. God’s grace really was greater than David’s worst sins. Long before Julie H. Johnston wrote the words of he own song of praise, David learned the powerful truth they contain.

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.

Father, thank You that Your grace truly is greater than my sin. And because of Your grace I can receive forgiveness, cleansing. restored joy, and the constant assurance of Your unfading love. Too often, I begin to believe that my sin is greater than You are. I listen to the words of the enemy and begin to doubt the reality of Your forgiveness, grace, and mercy. He convinces me that I am undeserving and You are unrelenting in Your hatred for my transgressions. Help me to understand that Your love is never based on my loveliness or loveableness. Your grace and mercy are there because I need them, not because I deserve them. 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.

Sin, Sorrow, and Confession

A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering.

1 O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
    nor discipline me in your wrath!
2 For your arrows have sunk into me,
    and your hand has come down on me.

3 There is no soundness in my flesh
    because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
    because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head;
    like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

5 My wounds stink and fester
    because of my foolishness,
6 I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
    all the day I go about mourning.
7 For my sides are filled with burning,
    and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and crushed;
    I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

9 O Lord, all my longing is before you;
    my sighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
    and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
11 My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,
    and my nearest kin stand far off.

12 Those who seek my life lay their snares;
    those who seek my hurt speak of ruin
    and meditate treachery all day long.

13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
    like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 I have become like a man who does not hear,
    and in whose mouth are no rebukes.

15 But for you, O LORD, do I wait;
    it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
16 For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,
    who boast against me when my foot slips!”

17 For I am ready to fall,
    and my pain is ever before me.
18 I confess my iniquity;
    I am sorry for my sin.
19 But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
    and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
20 Those who render me evil for good
    accuse me because I follow after good.

21 Do not forsake me, O LORD!
    O my God, be not far from me!
22 Make haste to help me,
    O Lord, my salvation! – Psalm 38:1-22 ESV

We are not told what David’s sin was, but he clearly articulates what he believes to be the consequences for that sin. David is suffering greatly, both physically and emotionally. He sees his circumstances as directly related to his sin and as a rebuke from God. Crying out to God, he says, “Because of your anger, my whole body is sick; my health is broken because of my sins. My guilt overwhelms me – it is a burden too heavy to bear” (Psalm 38:3-4 NLT).

David clearly understands that sin has consequences and that God, because He is just, must punish sin. There is discipline involved when sins are committed. As children of God, we are not allowed to sin freely and without repercussions. If we belong to God, our sin produces guilt. His Spirit convicts us of our sin and creates within us those same feelings that David had. He speaks of God’s rebuke and discipline. He uses words like crushing, broken, grief, crushed, anguish, and pain. And he attributes it all to his “foolish sins” (Psalms 38:5 NLT).

Speaking of this conviction of sin, C. H. Spurgeon states, “God’s law applied by the Spirit to the conviction of the soul of sin, wounds deeply and rankles long; it is an arrow not lightly to be brushed out by careless mirthfulness, or to be extracted by the flattering hand of self righteousness” (C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David – Volume 3)

David could not escape God's loving discipline by simply finding something to distract him. He could avoid it for a time, but his unconfessed sin would continue to haunt him, leaving him longing for relief. Conviction is designed to lead to confession. If conviction is ignored, it will only lead to continued sorrow. It will eat away at you from the inside out.

My guilt overwhelms me—
    it is a burden too heavy to bear.
My wounds fester and stink
    because of my foolish sins. – Psalm 38:4-5 NLT

That’s why confession is so important. It is the anecdote for conviction, guilt, and shame. John reminds us, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9 NLT). In Psalm 38, the word that David uses, which is translated as “confess” in the New Living Translation, is actually the Hebrew word for “tell or declare.” He claims to avow, acknowledge, or confess the sins for which he has been convicted. He gets them out in the open with God. The truth is, God already knows what David has done and is only waiting for David to acknowledge or confess his guilt. He must openly admit and agree with God that what he has done is wrong. Spurgeon says that this process of confession is therapeutic and healing.

”Open confession is good for the soul. When sorrow leads to hearty and penitent acknowledgment of sin it is blessed sorrow, a thing to thank God for most devoutly. I will be sorry for my sin. My confession will be salted with briny tears. It is well not so much to bewail our sorrows as to denounce the sins which lie at the root of them. To be sorry for sin is no atonement for it, but it is the right spirit in which to repair to Jesus, who is the reconciliation and the Saviour. A man is near to the end of his trouble when he comes to an end with his sins.” – C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David – Volume 3

But an essential part of confession is sorrow. David states, “I am deeply sorry for what I have done” (Psalm 38:18 NLT). Confession without sorrow is nothing more than regret or remorse. You may regret your sins because they have produced pain and discipline, but that is not what God is looking for. Confession as a means of escaping coming punishment is not enough. There must be sorrow for the sin we have committed and not just sorrow for the discipline our sins have incurred. A child may express sorrow for something he has done, but it may be motivated by a desire to escape further punishment. It might have nothing to do with sorrow for having offended his parents. The same can be true with us.

In his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul mentioned another letter he had sent that addressed a sin with which they were struggling.

I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. – 2 Corinthians 7:8-10 NLT

The kind of sorrow God wants us to experience is intended to lead us away from sin and result in salvation. David was deeply sorry for his sins. He confessed them to God and asked for forgiveness and restoration. He knew only God could bring the physical, emotional, and spiritual healing he needed. He cried out to God, “Do not abandon me, O LORD. Do not stand at a distance, my God. Come quickly to help me, O Lord may savior” (Psalm 38:21-22 NLT).

David’s pain and sorrow were real. His suffering was intense, and so was his desire for relief. But David knew that confession must precede restoration. He needed to own what he had done and recognize that his pain and suffering were a just and righteous consequence for his disobedience to God. God was not being vengeful or vindictive. David’s suffering was not an overreaction on God's part. The punishment fit the crime, and David knew it. But he also knew that his only hope for relief and restoration was in God.

Do not abandon me, O LORD.
    Do not stand at a distance, my God.
Come quickly to help me,
    O Lord my savior. – Psalm 38:21-22 NLT 

Father, they say confession is good for the soul, and nothing could be more true than when it comes to sin in the life of a believer. When we sin, the Spirit convicts our soul and creates in us a holy discontentment and discomfort. Like David, we grow increasingly unhappy with our condition, feeling guilt and shame for what we have done. But You are simply using that conviction to lead us to confession, in order that You might forgive and restore us. Give us an increasing hatred for sin and a willingness to acknowledge its presence in our lives as soon as it shows up. Help us respond quickly to the Spirit’s prompting and confess our sin with godly sorrow because we have offended You, our heavenly Father and holy God. Amen

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

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