The Eternal Faithfulness of the LORD
“Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD!
Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His face evermore! Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth, O seed of Abraham His servant, you children of Jacob, His chosen ones!
He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth. He remembers His covenant forever, the word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac, and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the allotment of your inheritance,” when they were few in number, indeed very few, and strangers in it.
When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people, He permitted no one to do them wrong; yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes, saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.” Moreover He called for a famine in the land; He destroyed all the provision of bread. He sent a man before them—Joseph—who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters, he was laid in irons. (Some translations read “the iron entered his soul.”) Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him. The king sent and released him, the ruler of the people let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his possessions, to bind his princes at his pleasure, and teach his elders wisdom. Israel also came into Egypt, and Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham. He increased His people greatly, and made them stronger than their enemies. He turned their heart to hate His people, to deal craftily with His servants.
He sent Moses His servant, and Aaron whom He had chosen. They performed His signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham. He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they did not rebel against His word. He turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish. Their land abounded with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings. He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and lice in all their territory. He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land. He struck their vines also, and their fig trees, and splintered the trees of their territory. He spoke, and locusts came, young locusts without number, and ate up all the vegetation in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground. He also destroyed all the firstborn in their land, the first of all their strength. He also brought them out with silver and gold, and there was none feeble among His tribes.
Egypt was glad when they departed, for the fear of them had fallen upon them. He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light in the night. The people asked, and He brought quail, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it ran in the dry places like a river. For He remembered His holy promise, and Abraham His servant. He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with gladness. He gave them the lands of the Gentiles, and they inherited the labor of the nations, that they might observe His statutes and keep His laws. Praise the LORD!”
At first, we might ask what this psalm can possibly have to do with Christmas? There are no angels, no shepherds, no sign of Joseph and Mary and the baby, and no wise men. Instead, we have a recounting of the story of Joseph, the struggles of the Israelites, and the miracles God performed during all those times. But if Joseph had never gone to Egypt as a slave, his family would never have wound up remaining in Egypt. Moses and Aaron would never have led the Israelites out of Egypt. Israel would never have existed as a nation and Jesus would not have been born in Bethlehem.
Why did God need to establish Israel? Several times, God says in His Word that He chose Israel because it was the most insignificant of people groups. God wanted to demonstrate His power to transform a people into His Image. God gave these people His Word and commandments, outlining His designs for practical holiness. Then God chose these people to be the human family for His Son Jesus.
Sometimes it’s tempting to ignore the Old Testament in favor of the New Testament; however, you can’t carve God up into little pieces like that. God always has had a plan for the human race: redemption and fellowship. That’s why the angels at Bethlehem sang “Glory to God in the highest and peace and good will to men with whom He is well pleased.” Even when Joseph’s brothers were selling him into slavery and even when Joseph was languishing in prison with irons on hands and feet and possibly around his neck, God was at work. When Moses led the Israelites through the wilderness, God guided them and provided for them. God brought Ruth to marry Boaz and become an ancestress of King David, who in turn would become an ancestor of Jesus’ human father Joseph so that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem due to the demands of a Roman census. When Joseph was being dragged off to Egypt, God was already selecting the shepherds who would hear the glorious news and rush off to that stable in Bethlehem.
APPLICATION: “Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD!” What can we gain from this psalm? Christmas is a time for thanking God, worshiping Him, and praising His wonderful works. At Christmas we celebrate God’s gift, Immanuel, “God with us.”
Do you feel God is with you or do you feel God doesn’t care about your existence? Whether or not you feel like it, God is passionately interested in you and everything about you and your life. God is closer to you than your breath. If you were the only person in the world, Jesus would still have come to die for your sins. The fundamental message of Christmas is that God loves us and wants to be with us, despite our failures, despite our sins, despite the ugly parts of our lives. God is offering us the gift of eternal life, but we can choose to receive that gift or to refuse it. The choice is yours. Choose wisely.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, let everyone who reads these words accept Your great Gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus. Amen.
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