📖📖 Bible in 270 days 📖📖

22.11.2020

📓 The Book of Psalms: 78-83 📓

Psalm 78 – A Psalm of instruction of warning not to repeat Israel’s sins of the past, but to remember God’s saving acts, persistent grace and remember to keep faith with Him and His covenant. Asaph teaches that our children must hear what our fathers have told them so that they may be faithful to the Lord. The Lord’s saving acts and covenant statutes must be taught to establish faith and obedience down through the generations.

Reference should be made to plagues in Egypt, the exodus, the water miracles at the Red Sea and desert. They put God to the test. God wonderfully provided manna and quails. Rebelliousness continued to be Israel’s way of life. God rejected Israel. They did not believe God could give them victory over the Canaanites. The exodus generation was condemned to die on the desert.

Thus rebellion made God abandon her to her enemies and there was great destruction. Israel under the leadership of Joshua and the saving events under David were victory over the enemies establishment of Zion as his royal city and appointment of David to be the shepherd of his people.

Psalm 79 – Israel’s prayer for God’s forgiveness and help and for his judgement over the nations who had attacked God’s special domain, violated the temple, destroyed the royal city, slaughtered his people and reduced them to the scorn of this world. Their prayer was for God to forgive and help his people and to redress the violent acts of the enemies. Then they the sheep of God’s pasture would praise God forever.

Psalm 80 – This Psalm is a prayer for restoration when she had been ravaged by a foreign power. An appeal for God to arouse Himself and go before His people with all His glory and might. God had given them tears to eat and drink rather than the bread of angels and water from the rock. Israel was once God’s flourishing vine. They prayed that God would renew His care for the ravaged vine. Prayer – Restore us, O LORD God Almighty; make your face shine upon us that we may be saved.

Psalm 81 – This Psalm is a festive song. God had delivered them from the forced labour to which they were subjected in Egypt. God wanted them to trust in Him for all of life’s needs. But Israel was rebellious and did not listen to God and they were abandoned by God to their sins. If only the people listened to God and followed His ways, He would subdue the enemies and punish them. Then the people would be satisfied with the finest wheat and honey.

Psalm 82 – A word of judgement on unjust rulers and judges. The first task of kings and judges was to defend the cause of the weak and fatherless, maintain right of the poor and oppressed and rescue the weak and needy. But they were devoid of true understanding and with such rulers the whole world order would crumble. The Psalmist prayed for the perfect reign of God to come quickly to the world.

Psalm 83 – Israel’s prayer to God to crush their enemies. Israel’s very existence was at stake as the nations allied against Israel. The godless powers had to be crushed if God’s kingdom of righteousness and peace should come and be at rest. The ultimate goal of God’s warfare was not merely the security of Israel and destruction of the enemies but the worldwide acknowledgement of the true God and of his rule even to the point of seeking him as his people did.

Mrs Caroline Chellappa 📝
Chennai

Psalm 81:10 I am the Lord your God who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it

God didn’t rescue His people from slavery in Egypt to make them miserable. God saves us to lead us to His good life.

As we depend on Him alone,He welcomes us to come to Him with our deep hunger and opening wide our hearts and souls in expectation of His provision Nothing delights Him more than filling us up with His nourishment, fulfilling and satisfying us We donot have because we donot ask.

Cynthia Sathiaraj
Chennai