Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb19961027.htm

PSALMS: DIARIES OF GODLY OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS
Psalm Forty-Eight: A Witness To God's Concern That We Practice Association Separation
(Psalm 48:1-14)
  1. Introduction
    1. God has called His people to live separate from ungodly associations in marriage, business, church and personal relations, for only then can they enjoy God's blessings, 2 Cor. 6:14-18 with Ryr. St. Bib., KJV ftn.
    2. Psalm forty-eight is a testimonial to the high priority God places on Biblical Separation (as follows):
  2. A Witness To God's Concern That We Practice Association Separation, Psalm 48:1-14.
    1. God had commanded Israel to be separate from the godless nations around her, cf. Deut. 7:1-6.
    2. However, good King Jehoshaphat agreed to increased military defense by uniting with wicked Ahab who promoted Baal worship in the Northern Kingdom, and this enraged the Lord, 2 Chron. 18:1; 19:1-2a. God thus promised through a prophet, Jehu to exercise divine wrath against Jehoshaphat, 2 Chron. 19:2b.
    3. That wrath came in the form of an alliance between enemies Moab and Ammon to attack Jehoshaphat, effectively challenging the security he unwisely sought by wicked international alliance, 2 Chronicles 20:1.
    4. Jehoshaphat then correctly sought God's help by faith as opposed to calling on another nation's help, and God delivered him without Jehoshaphat's armies having to fight in the battle, 2 Chron. 20:2-30:
      1. The king gathered the whole nation of Judah in the temple complex and prayed for God's help, 20:4-13.
      2. God's Spirit came upon Jahaziel who predicted that the battle was thus God's, and Jehoshaphat would only need to go out against the armies and find them and take spoil, 2 Chron. 20:14-17.
      3. Jehoshaphat led the people out to meet these armies by faith, sending the singers praising the Lord out in front of the armed men, 2 Chron. 20:18-21.
      4. When the singers began to praise the Lord, God caused the armies to be invaded by marauders of some kind, and they all killed each other off, leaving Israel with the spoil when they arrived, 20:22-25.
      5. Accordingly, en route back to Jerusalem, as the singers praised God for victory, Psalm 48 was probably the psalm sung in this return trip of triumph, 2 Chron. 20:28 and Alexander, Psalms, p. 213-214.
      6. Never again was Jehoshaphat besieged by foreign armies, 2 Chron. 20:29-30!
    5. Thus, Psalm 48 is a testimonial about the blessings of divine sustenance for looking to God for help as opposed to making alliances with godless parties for help (as follows):
      1. God was to be praised for preserving Jerusalem due to Jehoshaphat's faith in God versus seeking military protection by making unholy international alliances, Ps. 48:1.
      2. God's city was like the "sides of the north," an expression in heathen literature of the era to indicate the abode of the gods, 48:2 and Ryr. St. Bib., KJV ftn. to Isa. 14:13. Thus, it was the city of the true deity as opposed to the false and impotent gods of other nations that could not help in alliances.
      3. The psalmist then described the victory over Jerusalem's former Gentile attackers, Ps. 48:3-8.
      4. Accordingly, Jerusalem's security was pictured as secure in the strength of her great God, Ps. 48:9-14. Befittingly, Jerusalem was never again attacked during Jehoshaphat's reign, 2 Chron. 20:30.
    6. However, Jehoshaphat later made a godless alliance with Ahaziah, the wicked successor to Ahab, the king God had before chided him concerning an evil alliance, 2 Chron. 20:35-36.
    7. Because of this LATER return to a bad alliance, God applied some of the judgment figuratively pictured in the triumph psalm of Psalm 48 to Jehoshaphat!
      1. In a figurative sense, the victory psalm of Jehoshaphat spoke in verse 7 of God's destroying the enemy like ships of Tarshish that are broken by the wind. As God's power through wind is used to destroy such ships, so God's Spirit had led to the fall of Jehoshaphat's attackers, the Moabites and Ammonites.
      2. Well, since Jehoshaphat made an alliance with Ahab's successor, Ahaziah, in a business venture of making ships to go to Tarshish, God probably sent a strong east wind where the ships were being built in Ezion-geber to destroy and sink them in judgment, 2 Chron. 20:37 with 1 Kings 22:48!
Lesson: The context and content of Psalm 48 stand as witnesses to God's will that His people have pure alliances! God does not want His people mingling with godless entities in marriage, business, church and personal ties lest they adopt wickedness and stop seeking God as their help!

Application: If we obey God in picking our associations Scripturally, we will enjoy His provisional blessings. If we do not, He will allow conflict and failure to arise in our ungodly alliances!