mingling without adopting

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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mingling without adopting

Psalm 106:34-39 (JDV)

Psalm 106:34 They did not exterminate the peoples as Yahveh had commanded them
Psalm 106:35 but mingled with the nations and adopted what they had made.
Psalm 106:36 They served their idols, which became a snare to them.
Psalm 106:37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.
Psalm 106:38 They shed innocent blood – the blood of their sons and daughters whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; so the land became polluted with blood.
Psalm 106:39 They defiled themselves by what they had done and prostituted themselves by their deeds.

God has not commanded us to exterminate the unbelievers around us. He has commanded us to reach them with the gospel, which will require us to go to them — and to allow them to come to us. But we still need to avoid adopting their ways, serving their gods, and sacrificing our children.

LORD, show us how to reach the lost among us, without joining their rebellion.

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forgive us this day

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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forgive us this day

Psalm 106:32-33 (JDV)

Psalm 106:32 They angered Yahveh at Meribah’s water, and Moses suffered because of them;
Psalm 106:33 because they embittered his breath, and he spoke rashly with his lips.

Like, Moses, you can suffer because of the sins of someone else. They can embitter your breath and cause you to say or do inappropriate things. We are all connected.

You should try to prevent these failures, but you might not always succeed. That is why the Lord taught us to come to him regularly, seeking forgiveness.

LORD, forgive us this day our daily sins, and guide us away from temptation.

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the righteous killer

Posted on May 21, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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the righteous killer

Psalm 106:28-31 (JDV)

Psalm 106:28 They aligned themselves with Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.
Psalm 106:29 They angered Yahveh with their deeds, and a plague broke out against them.
Psalm 106:30 But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stopped.
Psalm 106:31 It was credited to him as righteousness from one generation to the next – permanently.

During a time when the Israelites were being seduced into idolatry by the neighboring Moabites and Midianites, a priest named Phinehas had to do something. He entered the tent of the Israelite Zimri, found him with the Moabite woman Cozbi, and ran them both through with his spear (Numbers 25).

God had sent a plague to Israel because of their intermingling with these foreign idolaters. Phinehas’ bloody intervention made the Israelites rethink their situation.

Jesus does not command us to kill others for our faith, but he does want us to intervene in our society when it leads its people to disobey God.

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heading to a fall

Posted on May 20, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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heading to a fall

Psalm 106:24-27 (JDV)

Psalm 106:24 They rejected the pleasant land and did not believe his promise.
Psalm 106:25 They grumbled in their tents and did not listen to Yahveh.
Psalm 106:26 So he raised his hand against them with an oath that he would make them fall in the open country
Psalm 106:27 and would disperse their descendants among the nations, scattering them throughout the lands.

If you were walking toward a cliff, heading to a disastrous fall, would you want to know it? The first two verses of today’s passage outline the dangerous decisions that sealed the fate of the Israelites in the wilderness.

They had rejected God’s plan for them, wanting something else.
They did not believe in God’s promise to their ancestors.
They complained about their present situation.
They did not listen to Yahveh when he spoke his word through Moses.

As a result, God chose to let them fall in the wilderness and to scatter their descendants among the nations.

Forgive us LORD for failing to believe your promises, and for the sin of complaining. Teach us to trust your sovereignty over today and your commitment for tomorrow.

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turning away his wrath

Posted on May 19, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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turning away his wrath

Psalm 106:16-23 (JDV)

Psalm 106:16 In the camp they were envious of Moses and of Aaron, Yahveh’s sacred one.
Psalm 106:17 The land opened up and swallowed Dathan; it covered the assembly of Abiram.
Psalm 106:18 Fire blazed throughout their assembly; flames consumed the wicked.
Psalm 106:19 At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped the cast metal image.
Psalm 106:20 They exchanged their fame for the image of a grass-eating ox.
Psalm 106:21 They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,
Psalm 106:22 wonderful things in the land of Ham, awe-inspiring acts at the Red Sea.
Psalm 106:23 So he said he would have destroyed them – if Moses his chosen one had not stood before him in the breach to turn his wrath away from exterminating them.

There are millions who are in rebellion against God — the same God whose wrath consumed the rebels in the wilderness. It was a fire that exterminated God’s enemies, and it is their destiny — unless. Unless someone like you can stand in the breach and turn God’s wrath by bringing these sinners the gospel.

LORD, give us an opportunity to rescue the rebels all around us.

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they would not wait

Posted on May 18, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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they would not wait

Psalm 106:13-15 (JDV)

Psalm 106:13 They quickly forgot what he has done and would not wait for his counsel.
Psalm 106:14 They were seized with craving in the wilderness and tested God in the open country.
Psalm 106:15 He gave them what they asked for, but sent emaciation to their throats.

There is a sinful prayer. It is the prayer that presumes what I need and asks God for it, without waiting for his counsel. That was the sin that the Israelites sinned in the wilderness. Even though God gave them what they asked for, it led to disaster.

LORD, we will wait on you. Tell us what we really need, and give us patient endurance until the time is right for you to give it.

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his reputation and our rescue

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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his reputation and our rescue

Psalm 106:6-12 (JDV)

Psalm 106:6 We have sinned along with our ancestors; we have done wrong and have acted wickedly.
Psalm 106:7 Our ancestors in Egypt did not grasp the significance of your wonderful things or remember your many acts of covenant faithfulness; instead, they rebelled by the sea – the Red Sea.
Psalm 106:8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his power known.
Psalm 106:9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; he walked them through the depths like through an open country.
Psalm 106:10 He saved them from the power of the adversary; he redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
Psalm 106:11 Water covered their foes; not one of them remained.
Psalm 106:12 Then they believed his promises and sang his praise.

Rescue came to the Israelites, in spite of their rebellion, because God wanted to make his power known. Chappell says “We must follow God and live for His purpose. We must walk in His path for His name’s sake” (49). When our identity is bound up in God’s, he will move to deliver us to protect his divine reputation.

Chappell Stephen. The Heart of the Shepherd: Embracing God’s Provision for Life’s Journey. Striving Together Publications 2008.

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where I meet us

Posted on May 16, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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where I meet us

Psalm 106:4-5 (JDV)

Psalm 106:4 Remember me, Yahveh, when you show favor to your people. Come to me with your deliverance
Psalm 106:5 so that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones, rejoice in the joy of your nation, and boast about your hereditary possession.

The psalmist asks for deliverance for himself, but he also recognizes that it’s not about just him. The “I” of the psalmist expects to be part of an “us” — God’s chosen ones, his nation, his hereditary possession.

It’s okay to come to Jesus just as you are and to joy in your personal deliverance from sin and death. But it is not okay to ignore God’s purpose for delivering you. He has a plan to rescue the nations through faith just like he rescued you. He has a church committed to fulfilling the great commission that needs your help. Once you are saved, incorporate!

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window or mirror?

Posted on May 15, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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window or mirror?

Psalm 106:1-3 (JDV)

Psalm 106:1 Praise Yah! Give thanks to Yahveh, for he is good; his covenant faithfulness endures permanently.
Psalm 106:2 Who can recount Yahveh’s mighty acts or proclaim all the praise due him?
Psalm 106:3 How fortunate are those who uphold justice, who practice righteousness at all times.

Warren Wiersbe said of the writer of this psalm that his “eye penetrated deep into the mysteries of God’s ways in the world. Nature and life are windows through which we should see God, but if we lack that integrity of heart they become mirrors in which we see only ourselves. Jesus taught this in His parable of the foolish farmer (Luke 12:13-21). In his bumper crop and sudden wealth, the farmer did not see God; he saw only himself. Count the eleven personal pronouns in the farmer’s soliloquy and note the repetition of “I will.” This man was not pure in heart. He did not see God; he saw only himself” (126).

LORD, help us to see you in the miracles all around us — to acknowledge your work in creation, and praise you as you deserve.

Wiersbe Warren W. Heirs of the King: Living the Beatitudes. Discovery House 2007.

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ritual or righteousness?

Posted on May 14, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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ritual or righteousness

Psalm 105:43-45 (JDV)

Psalm 105:43 He brought his people out with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy.
Psalm 105:44 He gave them the lands of the nations, and they inherited what other peoples had worked for.
Psalm 105:45 All this happened so that they might keep his prescriptions and obey his instructions. Praise Yah!

God miraculously provided rescue and blessing for his people so that they could honor him by obeying his commands. The problem was, they decided to obey only some of his commands — the rituals — while disregarding the moral commands. Humphreys gives this example: “that is where the problems arose, for it was easy for the people to slip into ritualism and ignore the moral commands. That is, they often ignored the moral commands but carefully observed the sacrifices which the Lord had provided for the cleansing of sins. This meant, for example, that a powerful man could steal a defenseless widow’s land and add it to his own, then use her as a servant, and then offer a large sin offering to cover his sin. This kind of practice occurred frequently in Israel during the time of the divided kingdom” (27).

Modern-day evangelicals are not immune to the temptation to substitute ritual for righteousness. We need to be all in with God. If we say he has saved us by his grace, then we need to respond to that grace by obedience to the commands of his Son. After all, he is our king.

Humphreys Fisher. The Nature of God. Broadman Press 1985.

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