Psalm 125:3

Psalm 125:3

The land allotted to the righteous

Whatever the moment in Israel’s history that this Psalm was written, there was a threat in the air – there always was! Be it the taunts and intrusions of local tribes and nations like the Philistines or the Ammonites or be it the oppressive menace of the Empires of the Assyrians, the Babylonians or the Persians; the land and the people of Israel constantly experienced dark clouds on their horizon. Someone was always out to intimidate or even destroy them. 

Despite the ominous presence of dark forces, the people were protected, and they prospered under the hand of the Lord God. In this verse they are described as the righteous and their enemies as the wicked. Israel was righteous not because they were perfect or even tolerably good, there were too many broken commandments and laws for them to claim that distinction. Their righteousness was attributed to them by God, His presence was amongst them. They, out of all the nations, were alone in honouring His Name. Because they were chosen by the Lord, they were deemed to be His righteous people and the land He had allotted to them was holy too. 

We need to remember that the righteousness that you and I bear before the Lord is not earned and it cannot be gained by human effort, it is a gift that comes to us by the sacrifice of Yeshua the Lamb and the redemption He bought for us at the cross. 

Can we apply this verse to our own land, is it a land that has been allotted to the righteous? I suppose that if there are many righteous in any land who exercise their faith and their devotion, they might feel that they are blessed by God, as did the British at the peak of their Empire. Many in the USA believed that they too were God’s chosen, some still do! However, the only ones who truly qualify are the Jews plus those of us who have been brought into the Kingdom of God and who live and prosper under His Reign and His Word. Israel is still fighting to keep the wicked at bay and to retain their land, even though most Jews today do not accept Messiah. For those of us who do, there is a double blessing, the Lord will keep us from the sceptre of the wicked and from using our hands to do evil. Know who you are. Know who it is you serve. Know whose kingdom you are inhabiting, and you will be saved from the invasions of the wicked. 

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