Psalm 105 - History Lesson

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to ALL YOU DADS OUT THERE!

Ladies, hug your fathers and husbands and let them know how much you appreciate them.

by Becky

LINK: Psalm 105

BACKGROUND

Psalm 105 recounts history. It tells of God’s work on behalf of His people and calls them to remember what He has done (v 5), to seek Him (v 4), to rejoice and praise Him for His care of them (v 2-3), to tell others of God’s faithfulness (v 1-2), to call on Him (v 1), and to obey the principles He’s given (v 45). That word “remember” in verse 5 means more than to simply recall what God has done; it means to respond to His marvelous and faithful works with trust and obedience. Right remembering leads to action.

The first fifteen verses of this psalm, along with Psalm 96 and part of Psalm 106, are quoted as being used in worship in 1 Chronicles 16. The medley of psalms was sung to celebrate David’s bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. I think it’s interesting that the Israelites mixed and matched different parts of the Psalms in worship!

REFLECTION

This psalm is jam-packed with specific accounts of God’s faithfulness to His people in their past . It is a call for His people (me!) to respond in trust and obedience, to be as faithful to Him as He is to them.

As I read the psalm I thought about how often I gloss over just what individuals must have thought and wondered as they struggled with life. For instance, Joseph is listed here; it says in v 16 – 17, “He (God) called for a famine on the land of Canaan, cutting off its food supply. Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them – Joseph, who was sold as a slave.” We know the story after the fact and so know the end. But imagine experiencing it! Jacob and his sons didn’t know what their futures held. Jacob knew there was a famine; he watched the grass wither and his animals grow lean. Joseph knew that he’d been betrayed by his brothers and sold as a slave in a foreign country. A slave! Did he even speak the language? Joseph suffered. That suffering tested and proved Joseph’s character.

This psalm takes us through the good times and the bad times in the beginning of the history of the people of God. It makes it clear that God has a plan and that through all the events He remained faithful to His word – to His promises. God miraculously worked so that the Israelites could leave Egypt. But it’s made clear, too, that His plan involves suffering.

As I’ve meditated on this psalm I’ve been led to reflect on my own history. As I’ve looked back, I can see how God has rescued me in times of trouble and trial. I’m not saying that He spared me from trouble and trial, but I am saying that He was with me during them and I can see now how He has used those times of suffering and directed my life through them.

APPLICATION

Look at the verbs in verses 1-5. When is a good time to obey them?

What reason is given for God’s actions on behalf of the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (vv. 7- 10, 42)? How can that reassure us? (See Hebrews 13: 5b, 6, 20-21.)

PRAYER

We praise You, LORD, that You are faithful, that You keep Your promises. We thank you that You have recorded in Your Word examples of Your faithfulness to Your people. I am redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus and I thank You for Your promises to me through Him. Help me to walk by faith and thank You and “search for You and Your strength” and exult in Your name, and obey Your principles.