A WORD FOR TODAY, April 16, 2021
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, April 16, 2021
“Give thanks to Yahweh! Call on his name! Make his doings known among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him! Tell of all his marvelous works. Glory in his holy name. Let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice. Seek Yahweh and his strength. Seek his face forever more. Remember his marvelous works that he has done: his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth, you offspring of Abraham, his servant, you children of Jacob, his chosen ones.” Psalm 105:1-6, WEB
Monday was the Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust, which is why I’ve written several devotions focused on some of the people and their experiences this week. They say that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it, but it seems that human beings are doomed to repeat it anyway.
We have been studying the Psalms this year in my Sunday school class. Most of the psalms have references to people and events from the past, but there are at least a few that are specifically focused on Holy History. Two psalms, 105 and 106, share a similar history but from a different point of view. The history represented is from Abraham through Joshua, although a few verses might point toward a time after the exile.
Psalm 105 describes the positive things God did for Israel. The actor in this psalm is God. He does great things for His people and He is worthy of our praise. Psalm 106 describes Israel’s negative behavior. The actor in this psalm is Israel, and their actions are usually rebellion or grumbling. We also find comfort in this psalm because the psalmist reminds us every few verses of God's grace and mercy for His rebellious people who quickly forget God's goodness and grumble because God is not acting as they expect Him to act. This is true of all human beings, including you and me.
Psalm 105 is the attitude we should take, but we tend to have the attitude of the Israelites in 106. We rebel and grumble because we are human. We study the past to learn from it so that we can be obedient to God’s Word and worship Him with our whole lives. The whole duty of man is to obey and praise the LORD. As we remember the past, we gain confidence in God’s promises and it leads us to obedience and worship.
God did all His great works and had mercy on His people because He remembered His promise. The Hebrew word “hesed” is translated “loving kindness” in the first verse of today’s passage. This word means God’s covenant love and mercy; it is about God’s faithfulness based on His promises rather than on our obedience. His deliverance and the remembrance of His “hesed” has a purpose; it is meant to motivate God’s people to trust Him and to act in obedience, to make God’s people keep His statutes and laws. It is obvious from the entire history of Israel, and mankind in general, that the people had a hard time keeping their promises. Over and over again, God’s people turned from Him and worshipped the false gods, not only Baal in the ancient days, but everything that takes our attention from our Savior in these days. We all have our own gods, but that which we worship in these modern times are not as obvious. We trust in our jobs, we put of families first, we turn to government when we need help. While all these have a good purpose in the world, we have to learn how to trust in God and worship Him above all else.
Maximillian Kolbe gave up so much for the sake of others, from food to his very life because he trusted in God’s grace. Viktor Frankl refused to succumb to give-up-it is; he did not give up hope because he trusted in God. Corrie Ten Boom learned what it means to be forgiven and she forgave her enemy because she trusted that God’s Word is true. These remembrances from the past help us get through our own struggles and keep God in first in our lives worshipping Him with praise and thanksgiving every day.
We ended our conversation the Sunday we discussed these psalms with the question, “Are you a 105 or a 106?” Are you praising God for His good works? Or are you grumbling because you don't think that God is working fast enough or in the manner you expect? We can rest in the knowledge that God does forgive our grumbling and our rebellion when we turn to Him, but we should STRIVE to have an attitude of praise all the time.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org.