Inter-Community Church of God
November 13, 2022 Service
Isaiah 12GNB
- Nothing New Under the SunWhich is a pretty-much direct quote from the book of Ecclesiastes.And that is certainly true of our human behavior.Three millennia past, a song writer and worship leader in Israel, by the name of Asaph, who appointed to that role by King David, wrote a hymn to remind Israel of their unfaithfulness.I mentioned to someone in conversation yesterday that the devil doesn’t need any new tricks. The same old stuff still works way to well.3,000 years after the psalmist Asaph wrote this hymn about how the people of Israel responded to the amazing His-Story of God, nothing has changed in terms of God’s faithfulness. And we also discover that nothing has really changed in the way humanity responds to the amazing grace of God.Lets take a walk through the middle part of Psalm 78.We left off with a verse that remind us thatGod Gives Better Than We Ask
Psalm 78:25 ESV 25 Man ate of the bread of the angels; he sent them food in abundance.You would think that people would know that God is doing for them way more than they do for him, because this gift of Manna, the bread of angels, was given to them after they almost berated the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,When they had worried that God couldn’t care for them in the desert.Psalm 78:19–20 ESV 19 They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness? 20 He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?”God had responded with Manna, the heavenly food, but the people complained that this sweet, melt-in-you-mouth sustenance did not give them a satisfying chew. It was like ambrosia is to us, that fruit cocktail with coconut and marshmallow all stirred together with Cool Whip that has been called a salad to justify it on our summer buffets. It’s good, it’s sweet, but it isn’t barbeque.That is why, since they complained,They Got What They Asked For:God Sent the Quail For MeatPsalm 78:26–28 ESV 26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind; 27 he rained meat on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas; 28 he let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings.So they were knee-deep in meat, made up their barbeque, and. . .Psalm 78:29 ESV 29 And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved.It turns out having more meat than they could eat was a bad thing:God Let Them Have What They Begged for, andThey Died Because Their Demands Were MetPsalm 78:30–31 ESV 30 But before they had satisfied their craving, while the food was still in their mouths, 31 the anger of God rose against them, and he killed the strongest of them and laid low the young men of Israel.Their Hearts Were UnchangedPsalm 78:32 ESV 32 In spite of all this, they still sinned; despite his wonders, they did not believe.They still did not beleive!They could have enjoyed life, but instead,God Sent Them DeathPsalm 78:33–34 ESV 33 So he made their days vanish like a breath, and their years in terror. 34 When he killed them, they sought him; they repented and sought God earnestly.Because they acted like slavery in Egypt was better than having a miracle-working God who gave them heavenly food.Now, it seems,They Remembered God is FaithfulPsalm 78:35 ESV 35 They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer.But it didn’t stick.If you have read ahead in the Psalm, you find the roller-coaster ride of faith that is still common with us, 3,000 years later: as a whole,Humanity Doesn’t Understand FaithfulnessAnd so, thinking they believed in God, they really only believed in themselves. andFlattery Will Get You NowherePsalm 78:36–37 ESV 36 But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues. 37 Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant.God doesn’t want our lies, he wants our hearts.No matter how we sinGod Loves This WorldPsalm 78:38–39 ESV 38 Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath. 39 He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again.God Atones for Our SinGod Restrains His AngerGod Remembers We Are Helplessand sends help.God Sends Hopeto our HopelessnessAND STILL WE SIN AGAINST GODWhy Do We Keep Doing That?Psalm 78:40–41 ESV 40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert! 41 They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel.God will put up with us for a while,But even God’s patience runs thin after a while.Our Hearts Must Change Toward God Psalm 78:25GNB
Psalm 78:19–20GNB
Psalm 78:26–28GNB
Psalm 78:29GNB
Psalm 78:30–31GNB
Psalm 78:32GNB
Psalm 78:33–34GNB
Psalm 78:35GNB
Psalm 78:36–37GNB
Psalm 78:38–39GNB
Psalm 78:40–41GNB
- Psalm 78: A Song of His-Story UnlearnedWe will wrap up the reflections on Psalm 78 this morning. If you haven’t yet done it, I encourage you to read Psalm 78 for yourselves. Although it is the 2nd longest Psalm in the Bible, it does not take a long time to read. Read it clear through at least once without stopping to try to sort out or study each verse. Just soak it all in before you go back to consider the individual themes.Psalm 78 is not a prayer, like many of the Psalms. It is also not a “Halellujah” Psalm of Praise.This Psalm is a history lesson for the people of God. It was a history lesson for those who entered Solomon’s temple courts, and for later generations as they continued to deal with the challenges of sins against God while they were still living under God’s grace as the Chosen People of God.I’ve broken this up into just 3 themes which are clear throughout the Psalm.The first is the opening admonition of the Psalm,We Must Tell His-StoryOur history of faith is the story of our relationship with our God. It is our story but more importantantly is that our history is His Story of relationship with us. And we MUST Tell His-Story for history to be complete.A summary of our responsibilities to our descendents, our children and grandchildren and on, is in verses 4 and 7:
Psalm 78:4 ESV We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.That’s the What we must do, now here is the WHY we must tell the story:Psalm 78:7 ESV so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;Tell the next generations so they will know that God can be trusted to take care of our future because he has already taken care of us in the past, and blessed those who keep his commandments.But then the Psalm dives into our basic problem of sin and idolatrry. And don’t think we are free of idolatry just because we don’t usually carry religious idols with us or trek off to take pilgrimage to bow before a representation of God or because we don’t chant our daily promises to God and offer daily sacrifices to prove our devotion.The truth is, we are are as idol-adept as any of our ancestors. It is difficult for the human mind to wrap itself around the idea of the eternal God who is Spirit and yet Father of his human Son and yet has no form or description. So we make something.We paint pretty or thoughtful pictures of Jesus the Son of God even though the Bible gives absolutely no description of Jesus. So we paint the Son of God in our own image.We don’t learn to converse with God very well, so we have a set pattern of prayers we say. How many of you say pretty much the same words when you say grace for your meals or other times in the day when your prayers are common? Most of us can be counted on to be repetative in our prayers. We have our own chants to call up our God for our blessings.We have descriptions of God that run anywhere from Heavenly Father to GrandFather to the Man Up There or the Guy in the Sky, or see the great artistry of the paintings in the Roman cathedrals and confirm for ourselves that God is like us, because the Bible says that we are made in his image.But there is a lot of difference between an image and the reality.To be made in the image of God is about as thorough a picture of who God is as is a selfie taken to show off how we look today or who we are with or where we are.We are still pretty good at being idolators. So take heed that we don’t slip into dangerous ground where we make God all about what we want from him.Which brought us to the second theme of Psalm 78,Why Do We Keep Doing That?We read the continual disobedience of God’s people, as they substitute what isn’t God for God himself, and the turn from what is true to what is visible.And the sins of idolatry and the sins of faithlessness continue to run their rollercoaster ride of obedience and disobedience, until it looks like all is lost, or we suffer for our sins and we experience the consequences of disobedience.But even after God proves he is faithful to his promises of discipline we can’t quite quit our misbehavior, and the Psalmist writes in vers 32,Psalm 78:32 ESV In spite of all this, they still sinned; despite his wonders, they did not believe.And finally when we run out of every other option, we get smart again. And for a fleeting moment our memories are clear, so when we read verse 35 we say “finally!”:Psalm 78:35 ESV They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer.But then, in the very next phrase our sinfulness is exposed once again:Psalm 78:36 ESV But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues.If we are honest, we know we fit that category of disbelief as well.It’s a good thing that we find the next record of His-Story with us, memory of God’s grace always at work:Psalm 78:38 ESV Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath.For if we really get a handle on God’s majesty and power and greatness, it is a good thing that :Psalm 78:39 ESV He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again.So God doesn’t just anihilate us like we deserve. I remember Moses talking with God in Deuteronoly, reminding God that the ungodly nations would take note if God destroyed his chosen people. Moses’ side of the story was kind of like saying, “So you had power enough to get them out of Egypt but you had to destroy them because your own people did believe in you?”Which is where we are this morning as the last theme I want to note is this one, more a question than a statement:Why Can’t We See God at Work?This is a question the Psalm is asking, as it runs through all the missteps, mistakes and misdeeds of Israel and the miracles of God that has brought them out of bondage in Egypt and into the promised land, and finally to Zion where David’s choice by God to lead, and Judah’s appointment as the one tribe to represent all of Israel.It’s a question for us as we live through the ups and downs of living in the blessings of God which we so often take for granted. Until finally, we find how to live with thanksgiving under the rule of God, to discover the perfect plan he has for us.After the Psalmist Asaph had run through the need for us to share the story of God’s greatness, he rehearsed the ups and downs of all God did for Israel and of how the Israelites slipped into sin over and over.The third part of this second-longest song in the hymnal of Israel is a rehearsal of the greatest story of all time, and God’s new plan of blessing.Let’s hear how it turns out:What, AGAIN??!!OOooh Boy, it didn’t take long for things to keep on getting bad in terms of their behavior.The Psalmist just has to say it:Psalm 78:40 ESV How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert!So here they were, in the desert when they should have been in the promised land already. But because of lack of faith, they were stuck where they were.Psalm 78:41 ESV They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel.Again and again, provoking the Lord God. What is the point in that, after all? What is there to gain in causing the Lord to turn from grace to judgement?Round and round they went, always wandering, always looking for something that was different than what God was planning to give them.And always getting God’s purpose for them lost in their desire to fulfill every need instantly.Their problem was a short memory. Just like you and I often have. Wrapped up in the challenge of our “now” we forget the lessons of our “then” and are pretty sure God can’t take care of us “when”.Psalm 78:42–43 ESV They did not remember his power or the day when he redeemed them from the foe, when he performed his signs in Egypt and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.Since they can’t seem to remember the work of God for them, the Psalm rehearses the story, the most important story of their foundation as a nation. It is true for all us. We need to. . .Remember What God Has Done For YouIf we think about it, we all have a story of what God has done. It may not have been what we have expected, but it was always what we needed.Israel needed a rescue from Egypt. And the Pharaoh, at that time the most powerful ruler in the world, commanding the greatest people of his day, was not about to let this rabble of slaves leave just because they complained about the work they were forced to do.The Israelites needed to tell the stories again of what God did for them, and what he did to Egypt.Remember the MiraclesThe invitation to remember was part of the song they sang:Psalm 78:44–45 ESV He turned their rivers to blood, so that they could not drink of their streams. He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them.Sounds like a real melodious lilt, doesn’t it? Just press into the melody and sing with the Levites,Psalm 78:46–48 ESV He gave their crops to the destroying locust and the fruit of their labor to the locust. He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamores with frost. He gave over their cattle to the hail and their flocks to thunderbolts.Aw, now I’m starting to get into it:Psalm 78:49–50 ESV He let loose on them his burning anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels. He made a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death, but gave their lives over to the plague.And we just say, “It’s about time that tyrant got his nation rearranged and counted his losses too high. As we continue to sing, we sing that:Pharaoh’s Disbelief MeantGod Had to Pull Out All the Stops:because the king of Egypt wouldn’t listen to reason, wouldn’t listen to God’s voice, wouldn’t relent or repent, finally, God made a drastic move:Psalm 78:51 ESV He struck down every firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.And so while we are shaking our fist at Pharoah saying that’s what he deserved, we forget that we aren’t really far off from deserving what he got.So its important that we:Remember God’s CareBy rehearsing the past blessings of God that got us through and carried us on:Psalm 78:52–53 ESV Then he led out his people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.What a mighty God we serve! He a God worthy of glory and praise, a God worthy of our time and attention.Don’t forget that His Story reminds us of the many facets of God, as it describesGod as Both Shepherd and DestoyerPsalm 78:53–54 ESV He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. And he brought them to his holy land, to the mountain which his right hand had won.God Clears the Path for His PeoplePsalm 78:55 ESV He drove out nations before them; he apportioned them for a possession and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.So with all God has done, with the way he has set them free, led them through, fed and watered them and fought their battles for them,Psalm 78:56–57 ESV Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God and did not keep his testimonies, but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers; they twisted like a deceitful bow.They—no, We— Just Don’t Get ItPsalm 78:58 ESV For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols.It’s no wonder thatGod Was Sick of Their IdolatryPsalm 78:59–61 ESV When God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel. He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt among mankind, and delivered his power to captivity, his glory to the hand of the foe.If God’s People Won’t Share His Story, God Will Still Reveal His GloryThis didn’t turn out well:Psalm 78:62–64 ESV He gave his people over to the sword and vented his wrath on his heritage. Fire devoured their young men, and their young women had no marriage song. Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.Yet, undeservedly, God still has an open heart for a sinful people, and its as if we can see what the Psalmist wrote:God, With A Growl, Purges His EnemiesPsalm 78:65–66 ESV Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a strong man shouting because of wine. And he put his adversaries to rout; he put them to everlasting shame.Israel Was Remade by God’s ActsPsalm 78:67–68 ESV He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves.God Chose A Man Who Loved Him to LeadPsalm 78:70–71 ESV He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the nursing ewes he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people, Israel his inheritance.So the Shepherd becomes the KingPsalm 78:72 ESV With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.God’s Own Heart for Israel Describes David’s Rule.We Still Have Our Shepherd King Psalm 78:4GS-NETBIBLE
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