With God All Things Are Possible1
Today we will read a part of Israel’s history found in
Psalm 78:13-32
13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters stand like a heap.
The story of the Israelites freedom from slavery begins at the Red Sea and the drowning of the Egyptian army. Our spiritual liberty begins at the drowning of all our sins in Jesus’ blood.
14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a fiery light.
Thanks be to God for his guiding hand. We are not wanderers who have lost their way in a barren desert without roads. We follow where the perfect wisdom of Jehovah leads.
15 He split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16 He made streams come out of the rock
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
God gave the Israelites generous and amazing supplies. These are excellent pictures of the streams of grace that flow to us from the great depths of his electing love and covenant faithfulness.
17 Yet they sinned still more against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
What a change! They receive grace, but then they sinned. It is enough to make us weep to see how good God is and how badly people respond to that goodness. It would seem as if the more the Lord blesses people the less people bless their God.
18 They tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
To wish God would help us to satisfy our unholy feelings is to tempt the Lord. But his holiness will not give in to our desires, because God cannot be tempted.
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?”
To question the Lord’s power is to speak against him. Unbelief is actually trying to damage the reputation of the all powerful and gracious God.
21 Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of wrath;
a fire was kindled against Jacob;
his anger rose against Israel,
22 because they did not believe in God
and did not trust his saving power.
Nothing angers God as much as unbelief. Oh for grace to keep us from not believing the Holy One.
23 Yet he commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven,
24 and he rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them the grain of heaven.
This made their unbelief all the worse. To not trust God is a crime. To not trust God when he has been so merciful to us is a greater crime. It is much worse to doubt when we have already received such great favors from our gracious Father.
25 Man ate of the bread of the angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
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.
When God gives, he gives generously.
29 And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved.
30 But before they had satisfied their craving,
Satisfying a desire does not kill it. A person can be satisfied with evil, but they are not sickened by it. They may change the kind of the sin, but they continue to sin. Notice that, in this case, God’s generosity was not a sign of his love, but actually a sign of his anger.
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
God often strikes the mighty while he has pity on the poor and the weak.
32 In spite of all this, they still sinned;
despite his wonders, they did not believe.
Mercy did not soften them. Punishment did not humble them.
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1 Matthew 19:26
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