“ Had it not been the Lord who was on our side,”
Let Israel now say,
“Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
When men rose up against us,
Then they would have swallowed us alive,
When their anger was kindled against us;
It is the old play-ground quote that states, "My dad is bigger than you dad!" That was the trump card of all arguments. Sometimes "dad" would be replaced with brother; uncle; or, worse, mom. You knew if some kid through down the "mom" card you were in trouble. Knowing that you have powerful person on your side made you much bolder at the swing set. In the above Psalm we have the best throw-down of all: My God is bigger than you god. The writer here makes it plan to all who read that if it were not for his God, he would be defeated. He even states it twice. The emphatic nature of the repetition should not be missed. Notice the peril that would await them had not God been there to rescue: Swallowed alive!! Men live to swallow others (see Prov. 1:12). We may not think it but men live for the destruction of other men. We ought not be naive in the land we live; there is but one step between us and death - were it not for our God. Man's anger is kindled against the believer. It is simply restrained by the working of the Holy Spirit in the world. If the Holy Spirit were removed we would see the full wrath and violence of man toward each other (2 Thess. 2:1-12). Let us praise God that He walks with us, beside and before us. He is on our side.
The above journal entry was written in 2018. I failed to even mention that Psalm 124 was “a song of ascents.” That meant the song was sung as the people went up to worship in Jerusalem. It was a song to sing out praise to God for His divine protection. It is now 2023. A week or so ago Israel was once again attacked by her enemies. She is in a heated battle, again, to defend herself as her enemies have a sworn duty to their god to obliterate Israel out of existence. We don’t have a date for the psalm but we can assume it was written somewhere prior to the fall of Israel, so prior to 700 BC. We are reading a song that was composed over 3,000 years ago that starts with the above refrain needed at this very moment. If it had not been for God being on their side, Israel would be consumed by her enemies. Never has there been a nation who has been the center of so much hatred. But, the verse is still true. It is not the help of other countries, it is not the commited army Israel has, nor is it the sophisticated technology they have that will save Israel. It is one thing and one thing alone, God is on their side. They are still His chosen people. During the end times we read that God will once again restore them to that status. The above words are the refrain for the day. If God was not on their side their enemies would swallow them alive.
No comments:
Post a Comment