SPIRITUAL DIARY
FOR 11/18/2012 9:48:41 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Psalm 136
PT-2
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Psalm 136:10-25
Message of
the verses: As we look at the next part of Psalm 136 we
would do good to remember what Dr. Wiersbe wrote at the end of his introductory
commentary “The focus is on giving thanks to God for who He is and what He has
done for His people.” With that said we
will look at the second main point in this psalm.
The
Redeemer—He Brings Us Out (vv. 10-12): “10 To Him who smote the Egyptians in their
firstborn, For His lovingkindness is everlasting, 11 And brought Israel out
from their midst, For His lovingkindness is everlasting, 12 With a strong hand
and an outstretched arm, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
We move from creation right to the time when God
brought Israel out of the land of Egypt by great power and strength as He
destroyed the land of Egypt, the army of Egypt and the god’s of Egypt. The psalmist speaks of the death of the first
born of the Egyptians and in doing this we must remember that God did not harm
the first-born of Israel because of the blood of the lambs that were slain on
their behalf. The Passover was the
birthday of the nation of Israel, before that they were a family, starting out
as a very small family, but because of the promise of God they are now a
nation. The Passover is a picture of the
Lord Jesus Christ and what He did for us on the cross. We saw the power of God greatly in the Exodus
but even greater at the cross of Christ.
The Shepherd—He Brings Us Through
(vv 13-16): “13 To Him who divided the
Red Sea asunder, For His lovingkindness is everlasting, 14 And made Israel pass
through the midst of it, For His lovingkindness is everlasting; 15 But He
overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, For His lovingkindness is
everlasting. 16 To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His
lovingkindness is everlasting;”
I have always loved to study history, especially the
history of Israel, and this psalm is a study of the history of the nation of
Israel.
The psalmist remembers the crossing
of the Red Sea on dry ground and the drowning of Pharaoh in the Red Sea, and
then speaks of the wondering of the children of Israel in the wilderness. It was during this time in the wilderness
that God took Israel to Mt. Sinai where the Law was given to them and also the
tabernacle was built. Dr. Wiersbe
writes, “The nation needed the discipline of the law and the delight of worship
before they were ready to enter Canaan and take the land.”
We know that Israel sinned greatly in
the wilderness and God disciplined them by causing them to walk around for the
next 38 years, making a total of 40 years until all of the first generation had
died, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua.
The Lord led them for forty years by fire at night and a cloud in the
day time. The Lord Jesus now leads His
children every day.
The Conqueror—He brings us In (vv.
17-22): “17 To Him who smote great
kings, For His lovingkindness is everlasting, 18 And slew mighty kings, For His
lovingkindness is everlasting: 19 Sihon, king of the Amorites, For His lovingkindness
is everlasting, 20 And Og, king of Bashan, For His lovingkindness is
everlasting, 21 And gave their land as a heritage, For His lovingkindness is
everlasting, 22 Even a heritage to Israel His servant, For His lovingkindness
is everlasting.”
In this section we see the Lord as the Conqueror who
uses Israel to capture kings on the East side of the Jordan River, and giving
that land to Ruben, Gad, and the half tribe o Manasseh. The men from these tribes would go to the
other side of the Jordan in order to help Israel defeat the people in the
Promised Land. We must remember that the
land is the Lords, but He gave it to Israel as an inheritance.
As we look at how this section
applies to our lives I will quote from Dr. Wiersbe, “Believers today have been
delivered from sin through faith in Christ and are now in the ‘kingdom of the
Son of His love (Col. 1:13). Canaan is
not a picture of heaven, for there will be no wars in heaven. It pictures our present inheritance in Jesus
Christ, and inheritance that we claim as we walk by faith and defeat Satan and
his forces that want to keep us in bondage and spiritual poverty. This is the theme of Hebrews 1-3.”
The Deliver—He Brings us Back (vv.
23-25): “23 Who remembered us in our low
estate, For His lovingkindness is everlasting, 24 And has rescued us from our
adversaries, For His lovingkindness is everlasting; 25 Who gives food to all
flesh, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. 26 Give thanks to the God of
heaven, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
This section describes the book of Judges where the
Lord brought seven nations into the land of Israel to discipline them because
they had turned to idols for their worship instead of the Lord. The book of Judges is a very depressing book,
for it begins on a high note and then even though there are peaks and valleys
in the book the peaks become lower all the time and the valleys become lower
all the time until we read these words at the end of the book: “Jud 21:25
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right
in his own eyes.” Such a sad ending to
this book when it could have been a time of growth and prosperity for Israel,
but was not as Israel chose sin over obedience.
Dr. Wiersbe writes the following,
“This is no way to live in the wonderful land God had given them, but it
describes many professed believers today.
When things are going well, they forget the Lord, but when things grow
worse, they turn to Him for help” When I
look at the culture in our country today I am shocked, and frightened as to
what will happen to it. It surely
reminds me of the book of Judges. We as
members of the Church in the United States have in some ways been content with
the good things that have been given to us by living here, and have forgotten
for the most part the things of the Lord.
As I read through the book “Implosion” by Joel Rosenberg I have to agree
with him that the only way our nation will be saved is that the Church will be
given another “Great Awakening,” like the two others in our past.
This psalm ends on a high note as we
are to give thanks to the God of heaven.
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I want to
be committed to praying for a Holy Spirit Revival in our land even if we don’t
get one I believe that all of us in the Church should be praying for one.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to
learn contentment, and be transformed by the renewing of my mind through the
Word of God.
Memory verses for the week: Psalm 130:1-5
1 Out of the debts I cried to You, O LORD. 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my
supplications. 3 If You, Lord, should
mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul does
wait, and in His Word do I hope.
11/18/2012 11:05:50
AM
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