Psalm 78 - Post 2

For this second post I wanted to dig further into several verses found within Psalm 78. The Lord highlighted particular verses and as I meditated on them certain questions arose. Psalm 78:9 is one verse that Gary Morgan highlighted within his message during the conference and when I read it I knew there was something God was trying to get me to understand in it. That led me to search through other verses as well.

Verse 9 (amplified version): “The children of Ephraim were armed and carrying bows, yet they turned back in the day of battle.”

The question that came to me almost immediately was: Why? Why did they turn back in the day of battle? If they had all the weapons to fight and were trained and ready for battle what made them turn back? Was it fear that they weren’t ready to face the enemy? Or was it a lack of trust in God to be with them and bring them through the battle?

I then realized a correlation with the church today and the perceived fear and lack of trust that the children of Ephraim were experiencing. It appeared as if God was trying to say something about our hearts. He has given us every weapon we need to fight, He has also promised to be with us in the mist of the battle, yet so often we opt to not fight. We give in to the lies of the enemy and let him control how we feel and what we think. What is in our hearts that make us turn back from the battle, listen to the enemy and cower at the thought of him coming against us?

So many verses in the Word tell us a different story. “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us…” (Rom. 8:37); “The weapons of our warfare are…mighty before God to overthrow strongholds…” (2 Cor. 10:4); “We can do all things through Christ…” (Phil. 4:13); “I am with you always…” (Matt. 28:20).

It is about agreeing with heaven and declaring the truth using the weapons He has given us to face the fear and put it back in its place. What is your heart focusing on? Is it fear or is it truth? Do you trust God to be there and give you what you need? Do you expect the enemy to come against you, or do you expect the power of God in your life to override any attempt the enemy may make?

Verse 10 (amplified version): “They kept not the covenant of God and refused to walk according to His law.”

Okay so the Israelites weren’t keeping the covenant again, so what does this have to do with me? When you put this verse in context with verse 9 it begins to tell a story. It is as if the Psalmist is saying they turned away in battle because they were not keeping the covenant and not obeying God’s law. So what are the conditions of this covenant? It is clear this verse is talking about the covenant God made through Moses with the implementation of the Ten Commandments. This is the Law that they were not walking in.

It appears that there is a relationship between keeping covenant, obeying God and being strong enough to face the enemy head on with the assurance that you will be victorious. But there is more, this verse continues in 11.

Verse 11 (amplified): “And forgot His works and His wonders that He had shown them.”

So here is more insight into the reason behind the retreat from the battle. It says they forgot His works and wonders He had shown them. The next several verses recaps all the miracles God did for the Israelites from bringing them out of the slavery of Egypt, parting the Red Sea so they could walk across on dry land, leading them with a cloud by day and fire by night, bringing water out of the rock and feeding them manna in the wilderness. Apparently the Israelites did not have a thankful heart as they forgot what God had done for them. They forgot the terms of the covenant He had made with them as well as the Law He had set before them to follow. Apparently this is what led to their courage failing in battle. If you believe God is not on your side the enemy can look really big and really scary. Because they forgot all God had done for them, they could not see how He would help them defeat the enemy and their courage waned.

It is important that we remember what God has done for us in the past and have a thankful heart so that we do not lose sight of who He is in our lives and the power He possesses over the enemy. A natural progression seems to occur when we are thankful, recognizing and remembering all God has done for us. This progression causes us to trust Him and love Him more and it creates intimacy between us and God. Then when we love and trust God we want to obey Him and follow His Word. So when we are led into battle just as Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit (Luke 4:1-2), we will trust that He has our back, and we will come out victorious (just like Jesus did). We can trust that we have the weapons we need for the battle. We can trust as well that the Word of God is inside us (Psalm 1:2) and that the Lord is on our side (Hebrews 13:6).

Over and over again this Psalm reiterates the fact that Israel would love God, obey Him, and walk in covenant with Him, but would also lose their way, break covenant, forget His faithfulness and love and turn their backs on Him. Each time the central reason for their disobedience and lack of trust appears to be their lack of thankfulness and gratitude remembering what He had already done in their lives.

Let’s make it a point to remember God’s faithfulness toward us, the blessings we enjoy every day, and His love toward us that is unfailing. Let’s also remember by being thankful everyday in our speech, our walk, and our obedience toward Him.

Psalm 78 - Post 1

We had a special conference at our church a week or so ago and one of the speakers, Gary Morgan encouraged us to read Psalm 78. I felt very impressed by the Lord to do this and once I did I began to see some things I have not seen before. God is so good that way. This blog and maybe one or two to follow is a culmination of what the Lord gave me from these Scriptures.

Psalm 78 in a nutshell gives an account of the back and forth relationship between Israel and God from Genesis up until David became king. The picture is sobering as all God wanted from Israel was their loyalty, trust, and obedience and because of their selfish hearts they would consistently turn away from God. The cycle went something like this: God would bless them, they would enjoy it for a season, and then they would forget that what they were enjoying was God's blessing and want more, so they would either get mad at God for not giving them more or they would go against God's law to get what they wanted. God would then get angry at them for not being thankful, for not trusting Him, and for not obeying His law. In His love and mercy for them He would give them what they wanted even though it was not the best for them. His hand of protection would be lifted as what they selfishly desired was not in His will for them and they would experience the full weight of the consequences of their sin. They would then repent and cry out to God and He would cover them again with His protection blessing them. Unfortunately this cycle went on and on until the Psalmist writes that the Israelites began worshiping idols which produced jealousy in the heart of God. God in His love and mercy gave them what they wanted and took His presence from the tabernacle and placed David on the throne over them.

As I read this I couldn't help to notice the similarity of the heart of Israel and the heart of the church, as well as the heart of Israel and my own heart. Why is it so easy to turn away from God and attempt to do things on our own? Why is it so easy to forget the blessings God has poured down upon us? Why is it so easy when things get hard to quit trusting God? I felt very sobered by this Psalm because I could see where my heart has forgotten the many blessings from God that I live with every day. My heart has continued to seek after its own selfish desires for my life, and it has so many times turned away from trusting God. Forgive me Lord.

I do not want to follow the same cycle the Israelites followed. It seems as though there is a connection between thankfulness, trusting, obeying, and blessing. One of the things Gary Morgan was trying to get across to us was the idea of agreeing with heaven when we pray instead of pleading with God for things we think we need or want. I think this goes along with being thankful for the blessings we have, trusting that God is who He says He is and has proven to be in our lives, and obeying as we hear His voice. We must live in such a way that we believe He already knows what we need, has our best interest at heart, and is continually working on our behalf.