Psalm 105 Bible thoughts

Daily Bible thoughts 643: Friday 20th June 2014:

As we conclude our look at this psalm, the overwhelming thought we are left with concerns God’s lavish provision for His covenant people. It will encourage us today to think that this God is our God. See:

His material provision (37a; see Ex.12:35, 36). It wasn’t just the gift of wealth, but an abundance of it: ”laden”, and that means a lot!! This material enlargement also included territorial conquest (44). The land of Canaan was inhabited by many godless peoples (Gn.15:19-21) ”He made them a gift of the country they entered, helped them seize the wealth of the nations.” The Message.

His provision of strength for the journey: ”…and from among their tribes no-one faltered.” (37b).

His provision of protection (38): He caused the mighty Egyptians to fear them and want them to leave their country. This was the Lord’s doing and it remains ‘marvellous’ in our eyes. ”Egypt was glad to have them go-they were scared to death of them.” The Message. Their leaving meant an end to the devastating plagues (38).

His provision of guidance (along with protection). This is covered in (39).

His provision of life’s necessities (40, 41). He gave them each day their daily bread, and water. They looked to Him in prayer, and He did not fail them.

His provision of great joy (43). ”He led his people out singing for joy; his chosen people marched, singing their hearts out!” The Message.

In all that the Lord did for them He was ‘remembering’ His promise to Abraham made centuries earlier (42).

It was also to the end that they might live as God’s Holy people (45): He did all this ”So they could do everything he told them – could follow his instructions to the letter.” The Message. The Lord did not give them all this blessing so they could live any old way they chose. They were expected to live to the praise of God’s glory, so that through them God’s light would shine on all nations to their blessing. They were not blessed to hoard the blessing, but to share it. The Psalm begins with the people looking to the Lord in trust (4), and concludes with them obeying. ‘Trust and obey’ is the essence of our walk with God too. Without the obedience, praise is just religious noise (Amos 5:23, 24).

Prayer: Lord, you have loaded us with blessings. Help us to not abuse them but use them for your glory.

June 20, 2014 0

Daily Bible Notes 622: Thursday 22nd May 2014:

Psalm 105:23-36

In these verses the psalmist deals with the 400 year period the Israelites were in Egypt, and he sees God’s overarching sovereignty in it. Being a different people in the world’s culture needn’t work against us (23). In this strange and often threatening environment, we can flourish and grow (Remember verse 12, and consider what a change God can make). We may be ”aliens and strangers in the world” (1 Peter 2:11) but that should not be seen as a drawback. If God is on our side, who will be against us (Rom. 8:31)?God gives the growth (1Cor.3:6, 7).

So it was in that ”alien” place that God gave huge population growth to His people, which was a matter of grave concern to the Egyptians (Ex.1:6-10). They oppressed the children of Israel until God raised up a deliverer (24-26). ” God gave his people lots of babies; soon their numbers alarmed their foes.” The Message. It was in that self-same place that God performed His miracles through Moses and Aaron. ”They worked marvels in that spiritual wasteland, miracles in the Land of Ham.’’ Once, in this passage we read about what ”They” did (27). But even there ”They performed his miraculous signs…his wonders… Thereafter the emphasis is repeatedly on ”He” (7 times in 28 -36 in the NIV. See also ”his” in 28) God was the One who struck the Egyptians with plagues (In 26-36 eight of the ten plagues are mentioned), and they finally caused Pharaoh to free the Israelites from bondage (Exodus chapters 7-11).

In the New Bible Commentary, Alec Motyer makes the point that the people of Israel did not enter Egypt due to any sin on their part, but by God’s command and under His promise (Gn.46:3, 4). Nor was it for any sin of their own that they experienced Egyptian hostility. Indeed (25) it was by an act of God! Here is the mystery of divine providence. His thoughts and ways are not ours, but higher (Is.55:8). But how marvellous His ways are (Rom.11:33-36)! He brought them into an atmosphere of intimidation, danger and pressure, and there He revealed His great power. God always, it seems, has a man or woman ready when a job needs to be done. He waits to hear you say: ”Here am I! Send me!” (Is.6:8)

Some people argue that we now live in a ‘post-Christian’ culture. There is a growing indifference on the part of many, and even antagonism, and a shrug of the shoulders that says, ‘This is just irrelevant to me.’ But let us take heart, for if God could do such a mighty work in Egypt, He can do it here in our day. He is the same God for all time, and eternity. Nothing will ever change Him.

Prayer: Thank you Almighty Lord that you still show your wonders in ‘Egypt’.

May 22, 2014 0

Daily Bible thoughts 612: Thursday 8th May 2014:

Psalm 105:12-22

Here are some lessons from the history of Israel about being the covenant people of God:

He prospered them (12): I take great encouragement from this verse that the growth of the church is in the Lord’s Hands. It’s not that we have nothing to do but ”…God…makes things grow.” (1 Cor.3:8). We know that this tiny group was to become a great nation. God can take the ”few indeed” and make them many. (Just recently I heard about a small group of Christians meeting in a home. They have now grown to be more than 60 people and hire a church building for their Sunday evening services. This is a wonderful story of growth in our day. Jesus is the builder of His church, and we should not despise the day of small things.)

He protected them (14, 15; Gen.35:5): Even when they made serious errors of judgment God took care of them (Gen.12:10-20; 20:1-18; 26:1-11). Note, by the way, that Abraham was the first person in the Bible to be called a prophet (15; see Gen.20:7)

He provided for them (16-22): However, God’s protection did not mean that they were always shielded from hard times. A famine came into the land of Canaan (Gen.41:56, 57). Times were hard and the situation they faced was deathly serious (16). But God’s providence meant that He ”sent a man before them” into Egypt (17). It was, someone said, an ”anticipatory providence’ ‘At first things didn’t look good for Joseph (17, 18). But Joseph had a divine gift to interpret dreams accurately. In God’s timing, that ability was his ticket out of prison. In an astounding reversal he was raised to high office in the land, becoming second only to Pharaoh. He was lifted from jail to serve God’s purposes. Effectively he was authorised to rule, and he saved the people. God’s man suffered terribly, but the Lord was working in grace and mercy to have a ruler in Egypt to welcome and feed His needy people. (When you look at Joseph’s story closely you see that there are remarkable parallels to the life of Jesus, who came to be the Saviour of the world in an even deeper and more meaningful way).

”The Lord not only holds sway over all the earth (7) but executively ordains earth’s events (16). Again we face a mystery, for we cannot trace the paths and patterns of divine providence. But where we cannot understand why this or that experience has been called down, or why necessities of life have been withdrawn from us (16), we can be sure that he is still on the throne…and that he has made a provision for our future…” J.A.Motyer: New Bible Commentary, pp.554, 555

Today you may feel that your feet are bruised, and that in some real way you are in chains. But there is a ”till” in the purposes of God, and at the right time He will bring you out. Trust Him. He is able to do far abundantly above all you can ask or imagine.

Prayer: Help me to believe that in your good timing Lord, a light will shine in every dark place in my life.

May 8, 2014 0

Psalm 105:1-11

This psalm starts with a call to give thanks to the Lord, sing praise to Him, worship Him and earnestly pray to Him. All of this is staring us in the face in the opening four verses. It’s a great start! But there is a further element. It is what I will call the evangelistic or missionary aspect: ”make known among the nations what he has done…tell of all his wonderful acts… (1, 2). ”Just standing in church singing praise songs to God is not enough; we then must go out from our churches into the world and proclaim what God has done.” Tom Hale: The applied Old Testament Commentary, p.900. There is this evangelistic spirit in the Old Testament. The Jews were not meant to keep the Lord to themselves, but share Him with the world (see Ps.9:1, 2). ”Hallelujah! Thank GOD! Pray to him by name! Tell everyone you meet what he has done! Sing him songs, belt out hymns, translate his wonders into music! Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs, you who seek GOD.” The Message.

It is a good thing to deliberately ”Remember” (5-7) God’s miracles. When I moved to Leeds in 1983, I was given a copy of a book entitled ‘Fifty glorious years’, produced by ‘Bridge Street’ church to celebrate their ‘golden’ anniversary. I read with excitement and joy various stories of people who were healed during the George Jeffries ‘crusade’, which proved a springboard for this little Christian community to grow significantly. These were remarkable ‘testimonies’ of healing, and I was soon to meet people who knew the individuals whose stories I read. They could verify the truth of the accounts. Even today I regularly think about that little book and am inspired by it. It is right to remember what the Lord has done, and even write it down. It will inspire others who come after us.

It is important to remember that God keeps His promises. This is the central theme of this psalm (compare 11 with 44, 45) He is as good as His Word. A covenant is a freely made commitment of God, a stated intention to be God to Abraham and His descendants, and that they will be His people.”It was made initially with Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3, 7; 15:7-21) and then confirmed with Isaac (Genesis 26:2-5) and with Jacob (Genesis 28:10-15). The particular aspect of the covenant emphasized in this psalm is the promise of the land (verse 11). Though individual Israelites might forfeit the enjoyment of the land because of disobedience, God’s promise of the land stands firm forever: God will remember His covenant!” Tom Hale: The Applied Old Testament Commentary, pp.900/901. Of course, it is true to say that God’s covenant with Abraham is not merely ancient history. We also are heirs of the promise given to Abraham (Romans 4:16, 17; Gal.3:6-9). This promise has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ through whom we receive the ”promised land” of an eternal home in heaven.

Prayer: I rest my life on your utter reliability Lord. You are always as good as your Word. Thank you.

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Free Daily Bible notes by Rev Stephen Thompson

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