Tag: Psalm 136

His Love Endures Forever

Old Testament: Micah 3 & 4

Poetry: Psalm 136

New Testament: Matthew 22

If you are like me, it is troubling to watch what is happening today over in Israel.  Many lives have been lost in the Israeli Hamas war.  I feel bad for the innocent people who have lost their lives.  Moreover, I am confused about what I want to happen.  Of course, peace is the ultimate goal, but does blood have to be shed to reach that goal?

I wouldn’t necessarily pick such a grim and complex topic for a daily devotion, but I couldn’t help but think about what is happening today when I was reading today’s chapters in Micah, Psalms, and Matthew.  The topics were not all warm and fuzzy, in fact, they were quite violent at times.  I’m not sure what I read helped me frame my view of the war today, but I got a glimpse into the mind of God.  I still have more questions than answers, but I feel I am more prepared to understand why the events will unfold the way they will.

Let’s start with Micah.  When I heard what was happening in Israel, my first thought was that Israel was God’s chosen people and you really don’t want to mess with them if you value your own life.  I already know who wins in the end, and it is Israel.  But then I thought about all the times Israel turned their backs to God and bad things happened to them.  In Micah 3:9-12, it talks about the rulers of Israel who despised justice, distorted what was right, built Zion with bloodshed, and built Jerusalem with wickedness.  They thought that the Lord was among them so no disasters would come upon them.  Instead, because of them, Jerusalem became a heap of rubble.  Does this describe the leaders of Israel today?  Is it possible they are trying again to build up Jerusalem with wickedness and bloodshed?  Are they going against what God wants to happen when innocent people are killed?

Would God, the most loving being there is, be ok with so many people dying in a war?  Strangely enough, the answer to that came in Psalms 136.  The second part of all 26 verses says, “His love endures forever.”  It is a whole chapter that talks about many ways that God loved his people.  It starts out nice enough when it talks about how good He is and how He created great wonders for us, but it gets a bit weird later.  It talks about His love enduring forever because He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, swept Pharoah and his army into the Red Sea, struck down great kings, and killed mighty kings.  It is strange to read a verse that says, “to Him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, His love endures forever.”  I don’t usually consider killing children as a sign of His love enduring forever.  However, it was a sign of His love because he did it to help His chosen people.  He loved the Israelites so much, that He was willing to kill others that were against them.  Is it possible Hamas is being killed because of God’s love for the Israeli’s?

The chapters from Micah and Psalms are sufficient in framing the discussion, but I was surprised to see that even Matthew had a little bit to say about the subject.  The parable of the wedding feast includes the king who was so enraged, he sent his armies to destroy the murderers and set their city on fire.  And the chapter ends with Jesus quoting David who said, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies beneath your feet.”  These two examples in Matthew were not necessarily referring directly to the issue we are talking about today, but I thought it was interesting that God did not rule out violence to solve some of the problems talked about in Matthew.

I already mentioned I don’t have complete clarity about this war today, but in my position, I think that is fine.  I am not the one deciding how much death and destruction will occur and I really don’t think either side would listen to me anyways if I had an opinion.  I care about what is happening, but I am just not directly involved.  I am ok watching what is happening, and I think it will become clear with time how God wants this to play out.  My prayer is for peace, but I will be patient to see how that peace comes about.  Perhaps true peace won’t even occur until a time that Micah talked about in chapter 4 – when Jesus returns.  I will also pray for that day to come soon.

Reflection Questions:

Do you think God is an active participant in this war or is He just watching what is happening?

What is your prayer for this war?

-Rick McClain

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Love that Endures Forever

Thursday July 14, 2022

Psalm 136

            “We got spirit, yes we do, we got spirit, how about you?”

                        “We got spirit, yes we do, we got spirit, how about you?”

            “We got spirit, yes we do, we got spirit, how about you?”

                        “We got spirit, yes we do, we got spirit, how about you?”

That takes me back over 40 years to my high school days.  The cheerleaders out on the sidelines leading the call and response cheer to help get the crowd involved and pumped up to keep the team motivated.

            Call and response is a part of the culture.  In music, particularly jazz and some rock and roll,  the call and response is a form of music with a long history.  One instrument plays a riff, and another answers back.

            Call and response is a big part of African worship.  I once preached a community service with several hundred in attendance including a sizeable contingent of black worshippers who really got into the call and response and kept me, the preacher, energized.

            The call and response is an old form of worship and Psalm 136 is a great example of how call and response was incorporated into the ancient Hebrew worship tradition.  As you look through this great Psalm of praise and worship it’s all about call and response.  One calls out,  “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good” and the other responds right back, “His love endures forever”.  The other calls back, “Give thanks to the God of gods.” And the other responds: “His love endures forever.” And so it goes, call and response, call and response.  It’s an interactive prayer in two voices and it tells a powerful story of Israel’s gratitude to God for his endless love and mercy and faithfulness to his people.

            With each successive call, this Psalm tells the story of God’s greatness.  God is greater than anything else that people worship.  God’s greatness is revealed by his acts of creation. He made the heavens, the lights, the sun and moon and stars, this part of the Psalm shows God’s universal greatness to all people.  Then, the Psalm shifts to how God reveals his greatness particularly to His people, Israel, by recalling the story of the Exodus and how God showed His faithfulness in delivering his people from slavery.

            With each call revealing God’s creative and saving acts there is a response proclaiming the permanence of God’s love.  The Hebrew word, “hesed” is a challenging one to translate.  If you look at various translations of Psalm 136 you will see it translated as love, mercy, steadfast love and faithfulness.  Hesed is a word so full of meaning that it takes a lot of words to try to capture the fullness of it’s meaning.  And that makes sense.  God’s love and mercy and faithfulness are so great and so dependable that it can’t be contained in one simple definition or translation.

            As you go about your day, pay attention to all of the ways that God reveals his love and mercy and faithfulness to you.  Be sure to give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, His love endures forever. 

            As an added bonus, listen to Michael W. Smith rock out on the song: Forever, which is based on this Psalm: https://youtu.be/3lPdtqgouCc

-Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions:

  1.  Choose one element of God’s power or character that is included in the Psalm and think about how God has revealed that to you in your life.
  2. Try writing your own Call and Response Psalm to God.  What parts of God’s story revealed in creation, the Bible and your own life experience would you include in the call?  Which element of God’s character would you magnify in the response?
  3. Do a word study on “Hesed” (Bible Gateway lets you compare multiple translations in parallel – for example, see Psalm 136:1 in various translations).  What would your definition of Hesed sound like?
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