Daily Meditations

Psalm 106:3 Act justly do what is right Verse 2 of the Psalm asked two questions, “ Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare His praise?”  Perhaps verse 3 is partly attempting to answer those questions. Those who act justly and always do what is right, these are the ones who can declare the mighty acts and fully make known His praise. And if that’s the case, then count me out, I’m simply not good enough!  To be blessed can mean a lot of things! Some Bible versions just translate this word as happy, but I think the use of “happy” in our language underplays what is meant here. The blessed are those who have experienced the protective love and care of the Lord, they recognise His presence with them, they “know” Him and consider themselves to be supported and upheld by Him. The word “blessed” also carries overtones of being consecrated, made holy, approved, even exalted. That we should be any of those things is remarkable and to maintain such status we must ma...

Psalm 106:2 The mighty acts of the Lord There are at least two sides to the question, “ Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord? ” Firstly, who could possible recall them all and adequately explain what the Lord has been doing? I don’t know about you but my personal experience of the  “mighty acts of the Lord”  would fill several books, and even if I were to write them, there would be events and situations that I failed to remember. Add to that all the “ mighty acts of the Lord ” in my lifetime that have taken place around me in the lives of others, in His dealings with the church, in the life of our nation and the world, there is no chance that I could recall them all. John wrote, in the last verse of his Gospel,  “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”  So yes, it is impossible for us to remember all the occasions when the Lord ha...

Psalm 106:1 Introduction This is another lengthy psalm, and it takes a different tone to Psalm 105. Psalm 105 celebrates the acts of God in saving and freeing the Israelites from Egypt. It declares His power and His provision for the people as He fulfilled His covenant promises to the patriarchs and brought Israel to the land that was promised.  Psalm 106 focusses primarily on the rebellion and disregard of Israel for the Lord their God and His commands. So, Psalm 105 celebrates God’s salvation of His people and Psalm 106 describes that people’s rejection of Him. And so it has ever been! The writer begins with a few verses of praise but, in verse 6, the theme changes dramatically to one of repentance and sorrow on behalf of a recalcitrant nation. It could be written for today, as we shall see!   V1        The Psalm begins with yet another command to “Praise the Lord!” One of the most potent ways of thanking God for all that He has done i...

Psalm 105:45 We are His lights to the world This is the last verse of what has been an intriguing and eye-opening journey through the history of Israel. In particular, the miraculous deliverance of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt and the beginnings of the exodus to the Promised Land. We have seen that all these events are in fulfilment of the Covenant promises made to the patriarchs, and there is abundant proof that the Lord is a God who keeps His word! He is also a God of abundance and provision who watches over His people and ensures that they have everything they need, and more. Why does He do this? What is His plan? Does He have a deeper reason for choosing the Jewish people and pouring blessing after blessing upon them? Yes He does, it is so that they might keep His precepts and observe His laws. In other words, God is saying to this nation, “I will bless you and provide for you in ways that you cannot begin to imagine, all I ask is that you keep the terms of my contract with you. I ...

Psalm 105:44 He gave them the lands We must never forget that the land of Israel belongs to the Lord. Do you remember the words we read in verse 11, taken from Leviticus 25:23-24?  “the land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers. Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land.”    “The land is mine” says the Lord .  The land was given to Israel as an inheritance, they could farm it, live in it and live on it. They could cleanse it of other nations and powers, they could loan it out, but any contract with others must include a clause that provided for redemption. That is one of the reasons why they lost the land and regained it so often, their landlord was and is, the Lord, and there are terms and conditions that apply specifically to those who live in Israel. Other peoples have tried to take the land, and whilst their destructive influences have ...

Psalm 105:43 Shouts of joy! Let us not forget that, despite all the moaning and grumbling, the Israelites were delighted to be free of their Egyptian slave masters. The first few months of their journey brought them to the boundaries of the Promised Land and although there had been some hiccups along the way, these are people who are anticipating a better life, a life of freedom and prosperity. Of course they rejoiced, and their celebrations are encapsulated within the Song of Moses and Miriam. A song that exalts the Lord, that praises Him for His deliverance, that revels in the destruction of Pharaoh and his army, and that celebrates the miraculous powers of their Saviour in Chief, Yahweh, who is  “majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders. ” Included in the song is a great sense of anticipation for the future, that they will be brought to the place that the Lord made for His dwelling. The words of this great hymn of praise are set out in Exodus 15 and are well worth...

Psalm 105:42 An everlasting Covenant This verse is about remembering! In verse 5 of the Psalm the Israelites are ordered to  “Remember the wonders He has done.”  Then in verse 8 we read,  “He remembers His covenant forever, the promise He made, for a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, the oath He swore to Isaac ….” And now God’s ability to remember is reaffirmed. Let there be no doubt then, God has remembered all that He promised to Abraham and at the heart of that promise was the land of Israel and the future expansion of Abraham’s family into a great nation. Time and again the Scriptures tell us that this covenant that God made with the first of the patriarchs is an everlasting covenant. There is only one signatory, it is God. Abraham was not given any conditions and clauses in this contract that he must keep. It was completely one-sided and everything in it was down to the Lord God who vowed that He would maintain it forever! That is why Israel’s ...

Psalm 105:41 He opened the rock In Exodus 17:1-7 we read of the first episode of “rock-striking”, it took place at Horeb when the Israelites were very early into their wilderness wanderings. The rock was struck by Moses as a direct result of the people’s complaining about their thirst and also by command of the Lord after Moses appealed to Him for help. That place was called Massah which means testing. Move the clock forward 40 years and now the children of the original liberated slaves have the same complaint! In Numbers 20:13 they have come full circle! By that I mean that 40 years earlier the Israelite camp hade been set up at Kadesh Barnea on the southern borders of the Promised Land. From there the 12 spies had gone out to survey Canaan and their reports had led to the Great Rebellion that caused the Lord God to curse that generation with 40 years of wilderness wanderings. In Numbers 20, they have arrived back at Kadesh Barnea and once again they are faced by the challenges of con...

Psalm 105:40b The bread of angels The supply of Manna for the Israelites is described in Psalm 78:23-25 as follows:  “Yet He gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens; He rained down manna for the people to eat, He have them the grain of heaven. Human beings ate the bread of angels; He sent them all the food they could eat. ” I have no doubt that this heavenly feast, provided 6 days per week, was far more than just bread. It was God’s provision for 40 years of travelling and must therefore have contained all the nourishing ingredients required for a healthy diet. What was it like? “When the morning dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor.”  Exodus 16:14. The Israelites did not have a clue what this was so Moses told them,  “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.” “The people called the bread manna. It was like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.  Exodus 16:3. “The manna was...

Psalm 105:40a Quail! Just as Israel received deliverance and salvation from the slavery and deprivations of Egypt, so we are delivered from the slavery and hopelessness of sin and the world. We are taken, by baptism, through the waters and we then begin the journey of faith to the Land of God’s promises. But, just like Israel, we need to be fed!  A quail is a small, brown-feathered bird that resembles a partridge. Quail are known for their delicious meat and are often hunted as game birds for that reason. Quail are mentioned in   Exodus 16:13 ,   Numbers 11:3   and   32 . The people following Moses had complained that they were sick of eating manna every day and longed for meat, such as they had back in Egypt .  God  heard their grumbling and gave them quail to eat. Although the Lord gave the Israelites quail, He was displeased with their  grumbling  and their ungrateful words against Him. He told Moses to tell them,  “The Lord heard you...

Psalm 105:39 He spread out a cloud “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.”  Exodus 13:21-22. I love the picture painted here of the pillars that were provided by God to give light and guidance on the journey that the Israelites took through the wilderness. However, that is not all, the verse we are looking at today, and others, suggests that the Lord provided a cloud as a covering over the people, especially during the day, to protect them from the heat of the sun. In Psalm 121:5-6 we read,  “The Lord watches over you – the Lord is Your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night .”  And clouds come into play when the Lord provided a shield of darkness at the beginning of their journey, as th...

Psalm 105:37-38 The dread of Israel By the time the angel of death had passed over the land, the Egyptians were not just sick and tired of the Hebrew slaves, they were terrified of them! Even Pharaoh urged them to leave immediately and to do so with their God’s blessing upon him! The fear of death hung over Egypt and the Israelites took full advantage. They asked for articles of silver and gold and for clothing from their captors, and the Egyptians delivered big time! So much so that the account in Exodus talks about the slaves “plundering” their hosts before they left the land for good. The Lord had promised Moses,  “And I will make the Egyptians favourably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. Every woman is to ask her neighbour and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians. ” Exodus 3:21-22. It must have been a str...

Psalm 105:28-36 The Plagues! I’m not sure that I can produce a commentary on each of the plagues that came upon the land of Egypt (or Ham) and its inhabitants. Each plague is self-explanatory and the listing here is not dissimilar to the accounts in Exodus chapters 7-11, although there are some differences. Maybe it will be helpful to just point these out and explain why it seems that the psalmist tweaks the account a little bit!  Firstly, we should note that only seven plagues are listed here in the Psalm whereas Exodus tells us that there were ten. Seven is always the number of completeness so I suspect that the psalmist is reminding his readers / singers that God’s vengeance and wrath against Egypt was complete. We do not read here of the death of the livestock or the plague of boils and in this psalm, the gnats and flies are combined but in the reverse order to the Exodus account. One of the most obvious differences is that the plague of darkness comes first here, in verse 28, ...

Psalm 105:27 Wonders in the land of Ham We spent time, in verse 23, looking at the meaning and significance of Ham. Since then, we have followed the fortunes of the Hebrews who were destined to live in Ham for many years while the Lord God awaited the fulfilment of His plan; the plan revealed to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses and Aaron are now ready to take their place in the story of the redemption of the Hebrews and to Ham they must go to seek an audience with the Pharaoh and to try and negotiate the release of the slaves. At that time, Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three! Exodus 7:7. We are all familiar with the story of the 10 plagues, but it all started when Aaron’s staff became a snake in front of Pharaoh. His magicians were able to copy this sign although they suffered the indignity of having their staffs swallowed up Aaron’s staff! As we know, Pharaoh’s heart was very hard, he resisted the Lord God and the pleas to free the Hebrew slaves on numerous occasions...

Psalm 105:26 God chose Moses and Aaron Imagine being one of those Hebrew slaves! After several hundred years of relative comfort and peace, watching children grow up, living prosperously off the land and growing in confidence and stature, one day everything changed. It’s not clear if the Hebrews saw trouble coming or ever spent time pondering their future; did they pass on to their children and regularly remind them of the promises given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? They were certainly aware of their tribal status and there were leaders amongst them and a level of culture and education. On the other hand, it may be that these people had adapted to their way of life, were very comfortable with their partnership with the Egyptians and they had no reason to ponder the future too much. One day everything changed, and a Pharaoh came to power who felt threatened by their numbers and their influence. In a short space of time the Hebrews were transformed from being free men and women to slaves...

Psalm 105:24-25 It was the Lord who did it! You will remember that it was 70 people who travelled, with Jacob, down to Egypt to be protected and cared for by Joseph.  (Genesis 46:27, Exodus 1:5.) These “foreigners” were allocated the land of Goshen, the name means “a place of comfort and plenty.” It is thought to be in the Nile delta close to the desert but well irrigated and fertile. When Joseph asked Pharaoh for this particular area of land, he was being very clever! He explained that his family were shepherds and they tended livestock and that they had brought their animals with them. If asked by Pharaoh or any Egyptian what their occupation was, the Hebrews were to say that they were carrying on the family tradition of raising livestock. Then they would be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen because  “all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians! ” Genesis 46:31-34.  “So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best p...

Psalm 105:23 The land of Ham Noah had three sons, as you will know. After the flood, Noah’s son, Ham, carried on the line of the serpent! Noah, a farmer, planted a vineyard and proceeded to drink some of its wine. He became intoxicated and lay, naked, in his tent.  “Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked. When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.””  Genesis 9:22-25. There is some ambiguity about this story in that there may be inferences that Ham did more than just look at his father’s nakedness. Best not to speculate! Noah went on to bless his other sons – Shem and Japheth. Ham’s son Canaan proceeded to ...

Psalm 105:20-22 The road to success The incidents described in the previous verses are all to do with Joseph, and they summarise the events that unfolded in his life as recorded in Genesis 39. Now we have a brief summary of Genesis 40-41. Joseph’s ability to understand and interpret dreams comes to the attention of the Pharaoh who has also been troubled by his nocturnal reveries! Joseph is able to reveal that Egypt is about to be blessed by 7 years of agricultural abundance followed by 7 years of famine. He also points out that Pharaoh needs a discerning and wise man to take charge of Egypt and to manage the food supplies for the next 14 years! Joseph’s wisdom and supernatural understanding impress the king who promotes the young man to oversee the project, he effectively becomes Prime Minister of Egypt at the age of 30! I wonder what Potiphar and his wife thought of that!  The actions of the Pharaoh are remarkable: ·        The king released Joseph an...

Psalm 105:18-19 The word of the Lord proved him true There are some who doubt this description of Joseph’s imprisonment! Firstly, the account of his captivity in Genesis 39:20-23 says nothing about his feet being shackled and his neck being put in irons.  Joseph, you will remember, had been a faithful servant of Potiphar, the Captain of Pharaoh’s guards. It was only when he resisted the charms of Potiphar’s wife, who then lied about him, that Joseph found himself imprisoned. What puzzles some experts is that iron was not in common usage at that time, and so the suggestion is that this description of Joseph’s incarceration may not be literal! Perhaps we’ll never know, although I prefer to stick to the black and white of God’s Word! What is for sure is that our young hero had a tough time in prison and was “persona non gratis” so far as the officials in Egypt were concerned. Whilst languishing in jail, Joseph befriended other prisoners but more importantly gained the trust of the War...

Psalm 105:16-17 Joseph in slavery We humans have no clue, most of the time, about what is really happening around us! As Psalm 104 was eager to show us, God is active in all creation, the creatures of the world serve Him and glorify Him, the praise being offered is continuous. Even inanimate objects and geological structures act according to the will of God. It is, therefore, no surprise to learn that when famine comes it is God who sends it! In these verses the famine is, of course, the one that overtook the Egyptians and brought hardship on them and also upon their neighbours. Seven predicted years of plenty were followed by seven years of deprivation, exactly as God foretold. The man at the centre of these events was Joseph, the son of Jacob, sold as a slave by his brothers. Joseph must have questioned his fate many times, especially when everything seemed to be working against him, little did he know that the Lord God had a master plan and that he was pivotal in bringing this to fr...

Psalm 105:14-15 Do my prophets no harm It’s a remarkable fact that from the time of Abraham onwards, no kingdom, nation or individual was allowed to permanently oppress the people who were destined to become Israel. The only oppression that they suffered was under the Pharaohs but even that was used for good, in fact the slavery of Egypt turned out be the labour pains that gave birth to the nation and ultimately its identity as a unique population of people with their own homeland.  An early account of “oppression averted” is found in Genesis 20 and in the story of Abraham’s encounter with Abimelek, the King of Gerar. (By the way, this is exactly the area of land that would be inhabited by Ishmael’s descendants in the years to come.) Abraham wanted no conflict with Abimelek so he passed off Sarah, his wife, as his sister and allowed Abimelek to take her. God spoke to the innocent suitor and revealed that Sarah was married and that he should not touch her! Abimelek was able to hold ...

Psalm 105:12-13 Nomads living on a promise God’s initial Covenant was with just one man – Abraham. It was extended to Isaac and updated through Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons but that was it, the full extent of God’s promises to make these people a great nation must have seemed impossible. Debbie and I currently have 5 children and 4 grandchildren, we could hardly consider that one day our descendants will become like the dust of the earth and will bring blessing upon all nations! The Covenant promises must have seemed like a pipe dream, even to Jacob with his many sons, but these ancient patriarchs believed what the Lord God had told them, and they claimed the future by faith.  It wasn’t just the numerical value of the family that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had to grasp by faith, but also the promise of the land, a country all of their own, and it was not an obscure location, they knew exactly where this land was! It was Canaan, an area occupied by pagan tribes that had previously been th...

Psalm 105:11 To you I will give the land We need to remember that the ancient land of Canaan had already appeared in the Scriptures long before the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In Genesis 2:8 we read that , “the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there He put the man He had formed.”  Eden was effectively Canaan and beyond, and the Garden was planted in the east of the land of Eden. The Lord Himself was present in that Garden and met there daily with Adam and his wife Eve, it was the most sacred place on earth! This is the land that was then promised to Abraham and his successors. Listen to the words spoken later,  “The Lord said to Moses, “Command the Israelites and say to them: “When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance is to have these boundaries.””  The text goes on to describe the boundaries of the land that is to be possessed by Israel and they are very similar to the ancient boundaries of Eden! Another t...

Psalm 105:10 An everlasting covenant Most of us are familiar with the story of Jacob when he had a dream and saw,  “a stairway (or ladder) resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.”  This story, in Genesis 28, goes on to describe the Lord standing above the ladder, and He said:  “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” This was the decree that the Lord gave to Jacob who was, of course, destined to have his name changed by God to Israel! This was...

Psalm 105:8-9 A thousand generations Most genealogists define a generation as a period of between 20-30 years. This is the time needed for children to grow up and become adults, and to begin to have their own children. A “generation” is therefore a structural term that describes a parent-child relationship. According to verse 8 of this Psalm, God’s promises given to Abraham extended to a thousand generations, in other words for 20,000 – 30,000 years! The first generation is then highlighted, it started with Abraham and passed to his successor – Isaac.  That God thinks this way is borne out by a number of Scriptures, for instance in Exodus 20, after the commandment about not making or worshipping images, we read in verse 6, that the Lord  “shows love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.”  As we have already noted, the words here in this Psalm are a repetition of those spoken by David when the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusale...

Psalm 105:8 He remembers His covenant forever The Covenant made with Abraham came in several parts. When God first called him, He told Abraham to  “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”  Genesis 12:1-2. That Covenant still stands and that is why Christians should be among those who have an affinity with the Jewish people today. That does not mean that we support everything they do or believe, but we do still accept their right to exist and to live in the land that God gave them. They are a primarily godless people today, bent on destroying their enemies, but they are also hated and despised by much of the world’s population, it all goes back to their affinity with the Lord our God, the L...

Psalm 105:7 He is the Lord our God The footnotes in my Bible point out here that Jacob is mentioned 34 times in the Psalms; the children of Jacob are unmistakably the people of Israel who trace their ancestry back to him and therefore to his sons, the progenitors of the 12 tribes. Abraham, the father of Israel, is only mentioned in this Psalm (v6 and v42) and in Psalm 47:9, and the only time that the name of Isaac surfaces in the Psalms is here in v9. I’m wondering if this is because although the Psalms were written by Jews and given to Israel, they have a so much wider context and those who follow Yeshua are children of Abraham too. (See Romans 4) In other words, the Jews wrote these songs, they preserved them and used them in the various celebrations and temple ceremonies. They learned them from a young age and repeated the words continually, so yes, their attachment to Jacob and their tribal ancestors was paramount in their thinking and their writing. It is the Holy Spirit who has r...

Psalm 105:5-6 Remember the wonders He has done As I write this, it’s Christmas Day 2023. The house is full of family members, and more are coming to join us later in the day. I will be speaking to my daughter and son-in-law in Tokyo, as well as indulging in the festive banquet produced by my wife. Just 3 months ago I was in an isolation ward in a hospital in Portsmouth, recovering from a heart attack! It does indeed do us good to remember  “the wonders He has done.” In the gloom of early morning today, before light dawned, a Robin was singing its heart out in the garden, reminding me a of a Christmas long past when I lived alone with just such a Robin for company. Again, I marvelled at  “the wonders He has done.”  This heavenly Father of mine has filled my life with so many good things. What about you? Isn’t it good to stop and reflect from time to time and to remember the wonders, to recall His miracles and believe me, in my case there have been many! Stop today and thin...