Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “Lest We Forget” – Tuesday, 23 September 2014 - Scripture: Psalm 78:1-3,19-39

Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “Lest We Forget” – Tuesday, 23 September 2014 - Scripture: Psalm 78: An Asaph Psalm
1-4 Listen, dear friends, to God’s truth,
    bend your ears to what I tell you.
I’m chewing on the morsel of a proverb;
    I’ll let you in on the sweet old truths,
Stories we heard from our fathers,
    counsel we learned at our mother’s knee.
We’re not keeping this to ourselves,
    we’re passing it along to the next generation—
God’s fame and fortune,
    the marvelous things he has done.
17-20 All they did was sin even more,
    rebel in the desert against the High God.
They tried to get their own way with God,
    clamored for favors, for special attention.
They whined like spoiled children,
    “Why can’t God give us a decent meal in this desert?
Sure, he struck the rock and the water flowed,
    creeks cascaded from the rock.
But how about some fresh-baked bread?
    How about a nice cut of meat?”
21-31 When God heard that, he was furious—
    his anger flared against Jacob,
    he lost his temper with Israel.
It was clear they didn’t believe God,
    had no intention of trusting in his help.
But God helped them anyway, commanded the clouds
    and gave orders that opened the gates of heaven.
He rained down showers of manna to eat,
    he gave them the Bread of Heaven.
They ate the bread of the mighty angels;
    he sent them all the food they could eat.
He let East Wind break loose from the skies,
    gave a strong push to South Wind.
This time it was birds that rained down—
    succulent birds, an abundance of birds.
He aimed them right for the center of their camp;
    all round their tents there were birds.
They ate and had their fill;
    he handed them everything they craved on a platter.
But their greed knew no bounds;
    they stuffed their mouths with more and more.
Finally, God was fed up, his anger erupted—
    he cut down their brightest and best,
    he laid low Israel’s finest young men.
32-37 And—can you believe it?—they kept right on sinning;
    all those wonders and they still wouldn’t believe!
So their lives dribbled off to nothing—
    nothing to show for their lives but a ghost town.
When he cut them down, they came running for help;
    they turned and pled for mercy.
They gave witness that God was their rock,
    that High God was their redeemer,
But they didn’t mean a word of it;
    they lied through their teeth the whole time.
They could not have cared less about him,
    wanted nothing to do with his Covenant.
38-55 And God? Compassionate!
    Forgave the sin! Didn’t destroy!
Over and over he reined in his anger,
    restrained his considerable wrath.
He knew what they were made of;
    he knew there wasn’t much to them,
How often in the desert they had spurned him,
    tried his patience in those wilderness years.
Time and again they pushed him to the limit,
    provoked Israel’s Holy God.
How quickly they forgot what he’d done,
    forgot their day of rescue from the enemy,
When he did miracles in Egypt,
    wonders on the plain of Zoan.
He turned the River and its streams to blood—
    not a drop of water fit to drink.
He sent flies, which ate them alive,
    and frogs, which bedeviled them.
He turned their harvest over to caterpillars,
    everything they had worked for to the locusts.
He flattened their grapevines with hail;
    a killing frost ruined their orchards.
He pounded their cattle with hail,
    let thunderbolts loose on their herds.
His anger flared,
    a wild firestorm of havoc,
An advance guard of disease-carrying angels
    to clear the ground, preparing the way before him.
He didn’t spare those people,
    he let the plague rage through their lives.
He killed all the Egyptian firstborns,
    lusty infants, offspring of Ham’s virility.
Then he led his people out like sheep,
    took his flock safely through the wilderness.
He took good care of them; they had nothing to fear.
    The Sea took care of their enemies for good.
He brought them into his holy land,
    this mountain he claimed for his own.
He scattered everyone who got in their way;
    he staked out an inheritance for them—
    the tribes of Israel all had their own places.
"Lest We Forget" by David Graves
This Psalm reviews the history of Israel, describing the way they sinned against God time after time. Even though the people experienced one miracle after another, the memory of those miracles faded quickly. God had led the Israelites day and night, provided water for them, and sent manna and quail for them to eat–yet they still did not totally trust Him. They refused to enter the Promised Land at Kadesh Barnea. God’s discipline brought them to their knees in temporary repentance, but their confessions were insincere (v. 36), and they soon rebelled again.
Israel was a rebellious nation, but God in His mercy was gracious to them, forgave them, held back His wrath, and gave them opportunities for a new beginning. Why the long history lesson in Psalm 78? The Jews were commanded to teach their children the works and ways of the Lord so that the next generation would know Him and trust Him.

We have the same obligations today. Whenever Israel stopped teaching their children, the nation forsook God. We still need reminders of God’s faithfulness and also of our failures. We still need to teach our children about God’s grace, mercy, faithfulness, and love for us.

Hymn for Today:

"A charge To Keep I Have" by Charles Wesley
1. A charge to keep I have,
A God to glorify!
A never-dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky;
2. From youth to hoary age,
My calling to fulfil;
O may it all my powers engage
To do my Master's will.
3. Arm me with jealous care,
As in Thy sight to live;
And, O Thy servant, Lord, prepare
A strict account to give.
4. Help me to watch and pray,
And on Thyself rely;
Assured, if I my trust betray,
I shall for ever die.
Thought for Today:

“Our greatest legacy will be in the faith we pass along to the next generation."
Prayer Needs:
That many people in Granada will come to know Jesus the Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, and will receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
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