Based on Psalm 106:1-22 (New King James Version)
“Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can declare all His praise? Blessed are those who keep justice, and he who does righteousness at all times! Remember me, O Lord, with the favor You have toward Your people. Oh, visit me with Your salvation, that I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, that I may glory with Your inheritance. We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; they did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, but rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea. Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake, that He might make His mighty power known. He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up; so He led them through the depths, as through the wilderness. He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. The waters covered their enemies; there was not one of them left. Then they believed His words; they sang His praise. They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the desert. And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul. When they envied Moses in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the Lord, the earth opened up and swallowed Dathan, and covered the faction of Abiram. A fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked. They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped the molded image. Thus they changed their glory into the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their Savior, Who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, awesome things by the Red Sea.”
It is truly incredible all the things God does! It is not possible for us to be able to count everything the Lord does, from the smallest and the invisible to the greatest and cosmic. If we tried to meditate on them, we would not have enough time or the ability to be able to count the things we can understand. There are things that we know, but there is too much that we ignore as well. How should we be able to know God and what He does? By His works. All of them surround us and we are also benefitted by all of them individually and intimately. As it is written: “Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” Romans 1:19-20.
What should we also understand? That everything that exists and even our own person would not be able to subsist without the Lord. For example, He makes it rain over the just and the unjust. But, even much more than rain, we see the following: “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” Colossians 1:16-17. Let us think for a little bit what God has done. God made everything. Everything that exists is not a product of an accident as so-called science teaches today. The infinite of the universe and everything that is in it exists because God has made it and allows for it to continue being so. And if we see what God did for His people Israel, we will see that God did miracles to free them from the hands of Pharaoh, great and incredible works. But what did Israel do? In response to the Lord’s grace, Israel soon forgot His works, and did not wait for His counsel. They lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tested God in the desert. And not only that, but they also made for themselves a calf, and they bowed down and worshipped this molded image. They changed their glory for an image of an ox that eats grass. In summary, they forgot about God. After being freed from 400 years of slavery, of abuse, and of death, that’s how they rewarded God for His great works and the grace He showed them. They were not ready for God neither during those 400 years, nor after. What a shame, no?
Now, we can try to judge Israel for the evil they did back then, but today, we do the same or even worse with God. How so? We were created and made the same way God made them. We have also repaid the good that God has done for all of humanity with evil, because God has done much more for us than the great works He did to free His people. This is what God did: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Who else has done what God has done for us? Let us weigh things. Was it Israel’s excessive lusts what freed them from the hand of Pharaoh? No, it was God. So, why did they give themselves over to them like if they owed them something? Is it our sinful desires that came down from heaven for us? No. It was the Son of God. So then, why do we give ourselves over to these desires in such a way like if our lives depended on them? Was it the golden calf that freed the Israel from Pharaoh’s army? No, it was the hand of God Almighty. Why then worship it as if it were that that did the work? Now, was money, or our power, or our degrees and successes, or even our loved ones that died for us on the cross so that we could have forgiveness of sins and eternal life? No, it was God who gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, so that He could die on the cross for all our sins. So then, why does all of that have more value before our eyes and we dedicate ourselves more to that than to God, to the One we owe everything to? Are you starting to understand?
Let us put ourselves for a moment in God’s position, if it were possible. How would you feel if you did everything possible for a person, immeasurable things, and that this person even depends daily on you, and this person not only doesn’t pay attention to you, but also, they ignore and doubt everything you do, and even worse, that this person gives more credit to someone or something else that has nothing to do with anything, and even more, they prefer to look and honor something or someone that only looks to do evil to them? That is what Israel did and that is what we do today. People look for, and honor, and worship, and dedicate themselves more to things or people that have nothing to do with their physical wellbeing, and even far less, with their spiritual wellbeing. Everything God has done (and continues doing daily), is either doubted, or despised, or ignored, and we look more for things or beings that are far more inferior or even bad for us. Does this have any logic? Sin will never be logical, nor just. That is why all injustice is sin, and God is dealt a lot of injustice, both the unbeliever as well as those that say that follow Him treat God very unjustly.
So then, what will you do with all of this? Will you come to understand that you owe God everything good and eternal, and start treating more justly, or will you continue being part of the large group of people that treat God unjustly? Lord bless! John