1 Chronicles 23:30
“. . . to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at evening; . . .”
The Levites were the tribe appointed to serve around the Tabernacle and later, the Temple. Here, we are reminded of their duties. Webster defines duty as “assigned service, obligation or required activity.” Their duty included beginning and ending each day with worship. They were to stand before the Lord, and the people, and offer thankful praise to God.
We understand the covenant has changed. We no long offer goats and bulls at an altar erected to God. The cross has completed the need for sacrifice. Although the covenant has changed, God hasn’t. He is still deserving of thankful praise. It would do us well to begin and end each day expressing worship to the Lord. Sometimes praise is difficult because we are facing a particularly trying time. What is important to keep in mind is, God is still God. Whether we are facing good times or bad, God remains full of love, mercy and grace, and ever desires to comfort, strengthen and encourage.
Elsewhere, David would write, “why are you downcast o my soul, hope in God.” Instead of being weighed down with things that you cannot change, turn your attention to the one who can do all things, and begin to celebrate His greatness and glory.
Pastor Jim
It is not always the longest, or even the most creative works, that become the most well known. I am not a poet, and cannot speak to the artistic side of things, but I doubt whether any poem is as well known as “Roses are red and violets are blue…” Sometimes, the simplicity of things is exactly what is most needed. In a songbook filled with some of the most elaborate and beautiful expressions of praise, we find a simple song, consisting of only two short verses. It is the brevity of this song that magnifies its content. We find the Psalmist emphasizing two things that make God worthy of the praise of all the nations. He states, God is kind, and His word is true.
David learned it is possible to have a great desire to do something, that is not the will of God. His heart burned within him to build a more permanent structure to house the Ark, and to provide a place for sacrifice. He prayed, sought godly counsel, and went forward with his plans, only to find out later, God had other plans for his life, and for the completion of the task. There are some important lessons we can glean from this story.
I remember being in a cultural anthropology class in college, when the professor said, “the Bible says man was created in the image of God, but I believe God was created in the image of man.” While I totally disagree with his rejection of Biblical truth, I do agree, that man has been creating gods in his image since the beginning of time. We like to pretend we are a more evolved and sophisticated race than our ancestors, but the reality is, mankind has not changed. We are still creating gods in our image. Whenever we pick and choose verses we like, and reject the ones that make us uncomfortable, we are creating God in our own image. The Psalmist speaks of the folly of that, when he declares;
Proverbs are brief popular sayings that give advice about how people should live. A very popular modern proverb states that “the ends justify the means.” In other words, how something is done is not nearly as important as getting it done. We might even say, “there is more than one way to skin a cat” (although, I personally have no desire for a skinned cat). There may be many cases where the ends justify the means, but David found, as it relates to worship and serving the Lord, the method is as important as the activity.
God created us as social beings; pwe need the companionship of one another. Knowing that being together is a necessary part of healthy development and spiritual growth, God established seven feasts that took place during three different seasons of the Jewish calendar year. During these feasts the children of Israel were to journey together to the city of Jerusalem. The journey itself became a time of celebration. The closer they came to the city, the more they would celebrate. As they hiked up the hills where Jerusalem sat, they would sing a series of psalms, now known as the Psalms of Ascent. Upon arriving, the feasts consisted of corporate gatherings, sacrifices, teachings, worship and eating. Like the festive times in our calendar year, I am sure these were the highlight of the year for the people.
What an interesting phrase, “the service of song.” The word service is a translation of the Hebrew word “Yad”, meaning hand. The idea implies they were putting their hands to the task of serving the Lord with music. When I think of service, I usually think of some sort of labor. Lifting, carrying, working, and sweating are all words that come to mind when I consider service. However, here we are reminded, service can be as simple and as sweet as offering a song.
Paul declared, all Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable. Every page of God’s Word has a purpose in the life of the believer. However, there are certain passages that have greater meaning to each of us, because of the impact they have had upon our lives. This is a particularly important text to me.
After choosing His people, God established laws to govern their behavior. There were moral laws and social laws, as well as ceremonial laws. All of which, when followed, would serve to benefit the individual, as well as the nation.
Jehoshaphat made the same mistake we all make, he made a decision without first consulting the will of God. His decision seemed, on the surface, to be a wise one. The king of Moab was threatening Israel, and if not stopped, it would not be long before he was a threat to Judah. It seemed, joining forces with Israel to attack Moab was the right thing to do. Soon it became apparent, the Lord was not behind their endeavor. After seven days of travel through the desert, the armies arrived, only to find the waters had dried up. In the heat of the desert, they found themselves seven days away from water. Without a miracle, the armies would perish before ever stepping onto the battlefield.
Jim Gallagher 