THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: Living By Faith In God

CV. Trusting God With Our Frailties

(Psalm 105:1-45)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

Several recent news stories have highlighted issues that seem too big for us to handle with our human frailties:

(1) Two stories told of very oppressive issues: (a) Ellen Spiegel of ctmirror.org reported in her story, “State session ends without climate action-again” (Republican-American, May 11, 2024, p. 1A), that the Connecticut legislature again failed to pass climate legislation, and that “Representative Christine Palm, D-Chester, vice-chair of the Environment Committee . . . said the young people she worked with on the legislation are enraged about climate change.” (Ibid.) God in Genesis 8:22 promised to keep the earth’s climate habitable for mankind as long as the earth exists, so the real disconnect with reality occurs with those who are furious over the failure for climate legislation to be passed! However, the fury of those who fear that the world is soon doomed due to fossil fuel use can seem far too difficult to handle! (b) Another story by Peter Parisi, “Weaponization of the Secret Service” (Ibid., p. 6A) told of President “Biden’s Department of Homeland Security” denying “five requests for Secret Service protection from independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. . . . but” that also Representative “Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.” who “chaired the kangaroo court Jan. 6 committee is proposing to strip Trump of his Secret Service detail if he were convicted in any of the politically motivated trials he’s facing . . . Thompson knows . . . that if any of Trump’s trials . . . were to end in a prison sentence and he had no Secret Service protection behind bars, he would have a target on his back by other inmates.” The Left seems willing to secure President Biden’s reelection by risking even the assassinations of his political foes, making us like a banana republic, what can seem too difficult to handle!

(2) Livelihood needs are becoming unusually intense for many people: (a) Megan Henney’s story, “Credit card debt poised to smash another record high” (Fox News, May 14, 2024; msn.com) reported, “(C)redit card debt hit a new record during the three-month period from January to March” due mainly to inflation: “Grocery prices are up 21% from the start of 2021, while shelter costs are up 20.4% . . . Energy prices . . . are up 32.8%. Americans are paying on average $784 more each month compared with the same time two years ago and $1,069 more compared to three years ago . . .” (b) In addition, Ben Werschul’s story, “Social Security just passed Medicare as the government’s most pressing insolvency risk” (May 11, 2024; finance.yahoo.com) reported that “Social Security’s key reserve is projected to run low . . . in just nine years’ time. By 2033 . . . the program may only be able to pay out 79% of benefits to seniors unless lawmaker’s act.” With Congress’ bent for gridlock and many legislators focused only on reelection, one can only guess about the future financial welfare of millions of people who rely on Social Security!

Need: So, we ask, “How can we handle oppression and livelihood needs that are too big for us with our frailties?”

I. Psalm 105:1-7 called for God’s people to remember His great deliverances of Israel regarding humanly overwhelming oppression and livelihood needs to direct His people to keep on relying on Him.

II. As motivation to heed this call, Psalm 105:8-45 recalled God’s marvelous record of meeting such needs for Israel from the time of Abraham down to Israel’s settlement in the Promised Land of Canaan:

A. The psalmist recalled how God had kept His Abrahamic Covenant with Israel’s forefathers when they were few in number and had wandered from nation to nation in the Gentile world, Psalm 105:8-13.

B. God had not let the Gentiles oppress Israel’s forefathers, and He even rebuked kings to guard them from harm, Psalm 105:14-15. He did this with Pharaoh in Egypt (Gen. 12:10-20), with Abimelech in Gerar (Gen. 20:1-18), with Laban, Jacob’s relative (Gen. 31:4-13) and He put the dread of Jacob’s kin on the Canaanites to keep them from taking vengeance on Jacob for the slaughter of the Shechemites by Jacob’s sons (Gen. 34:30-35:5)

C. Psalm 105:25-36 recalled God’s use of the plagues in Egypt to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage.

D. The Lord’s record of livelihood provisions for His vulnerable people is noted in Psalm 105:16-24, 37-44:

1. God provided Jacob’s descendants a leader in Jacob’s son Joseph to preserve Jacob’s family in Egypt during a great famine so that Jacob’s family might grow into a nation in Egypt, Psalm 105:16-24.

2. When the Lord delivered Israel from Egypt, He caused the Egyptians to give the people of Israel silver and gold so that they plundered their Egyptian overlords, Psalm 105:37 with Exodus 12:35-36 NIV.

3. God then gave Israel respect from the Egyptians, allowing Israel to leave Egypt peacefully, Psalm 105:38.

4. The Lord provided physical protection for Israel in the wilderness wandering with the cloud as a covering from the hot sun by day and a pillar of fire by night to provide night light, Psalm 105:39.

5. God gave Israel quail, a delicacy in her era (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Ex. 16:13), and then fed her manna for forty years when she traveled in the wilderness (Psalm 105:40; Exodus 16:13, 35).

6. The Lord supernaturally provided drinking water from a rock for Israel in the desert, Psalm 105:41-42.

7. God even brought Israel out of Egypt with emotional health, for she was then full of joy, Psalm 105:43.

8. After Israel had crossed the wilderness, the Lord gave Israel the Promised Land that had belonged to Gentile nations, and Israel inherited the houses and cultivated farms that Gentiles had toiled to develop and construct so that the people of Israel did not have to work to develop their economy, Psalm 105:44. That way, the people of Israel could focus on simply living in the land and obeying God’s laws, Psalm 105:45.

Lesson: The psalmist encouraged the people of Israel to keep honoring and relying on the Lord due to His great record of delivering Israel from oppression and livelihood needs that were overwhelming for her, beginning with the forefathers and continuing to His provision of the Promised Land.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) Based on God’s record of meeting His frail people’s needs regarding oppression and livelihood issues in Old Testament history, may we believers in Christ today rely on Him to meet our needs regarding oppression and livelihood issues beyond our ability to handle so we can do His will.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and provide additional guidance . . .)

Though the Lord wants us to look to Him to address what needs we find to be overwhelming, Scripture informs us of steps we should take in wisely facing the issues of concern mentioned in our introduction (as follows):

(1) On facing intense anger by people who believe in climate catastrophism, anger that is unfounded in light of God’s Genesis 8:22 promise to give mankind a stable climate throughout earth’s history, (a) Proverbs 19:11 calls us to overlook offensive anger and gently relate to infuriated people, and Proverbs 15:1 calls us to turn away the wrath of such people by giving them a soft answer. (b) Such a soft answer might be to relate how the “National Review . . . last year” reported that “‘(i)n 2018 . . . Harvard University professor James Anderson’” warned “‘that ‘climate change will wipe out all humanity unless we stop using fossil fuels over the next five years.’ Five years later . . . that did not occur . . . Anderson had also predicted in 2018 that ‘there will be no floating ice remaining (in the Arctic Ocean) by 2022’ unless the U. S. and the rest of the world enacted his vision of environmental protection. That never happened, and the ice remains.’” (“Climate inaction makes sense,” Ibid., Republican-American, May 15, 2024, p. 6A)

(2) On the Left’s bent to avoid providing Secret Service protection for President Biden’s political competitors, (a) Proverbs 28:2 claims that even a “common man” (‘adam, Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 1189; Robert B. Girdlestone, Syns. of the O. T., 1973, p. 45-50) with understanding and knowledge can maintain order when a country is rebellious and it has many rulers who strive against each other. We at the grassroots level can maintain order in our circle of influence regardless what occurs in our national politics if we heed Scripture for understanding and knowledge. (b) In addition, Proverbs 28:4 claims that those who obey Scripture resist the wicked, so to resist evil leaders, we can heed Scripture!

(3) On livelihood needs, Proverbs offers timeless advice for all occasions: (a) We must have a good morality – being righteous (Pr. 13:21, 25), teachable (Pr. 13:18), gaining in knowledge (Pr. 20:16) and wisdom to handle wealth as we gain it (Pr. 17:16). (b) We must take steps to obtain ample income – picking a sensible career (Pr. 27:23-27), planning (Pr. 21:5), saving (Pr. 21:20), tolerating some investing costs in order to profit (Pr. 14:4), avoiding debt (Pr. 22:7, 26-27), not indulging in pleasures (Pr. 21:17) but not being stingy (Pr. 28:22, 25). (c) On the job, we must have a good work ethic – being attentive (Pr. 6:9-11), opportunistic, self-motivating (Pr. 6:6-8), completing our tasks (Pr. 12:27), being persistent (Pr. 30:25), focused (Pr. 10:4; 12:24) and working hard (Pr. 21:25-26).

(4) In general, Proverbs 30:24-28 ESV describes how four animals with frailties are programmed by God to offset their frailties for success, all to instruct us: (a) Ants cannot carry much at-a-time nor adequately move in winter, so throughout the summer harvests, they pick up what little food they can carry and take it to their storage, constantly repeating this effort to store up food for all year. (b) Rock badgers cannot fight off predators, so they live in rocks for safety. (c) Locusts have no king, but they cooperate with one another to be organized into functioning as a great army. (d) Lizards can be caught by the hand, but they offset such vulnerability to risk by opportunistically gaining access even to king’s palaces. (e) God thus wants us to offset our frailties by wise, practical efforts, and if He meets the needs of lowly, frail animals, He will surely provide for us amid our frailties. (Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 971)

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. May we recall God’s Old Testament record of meeting His frail people’s needs regarding oppression and livelihood issues as encouragement that He will meet our needs today as we rely on Him.