God Is with Us (Psalm 114:2a)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/16/2012 7:38:38 AM

My Worship Time                                                                     Focus:  Psalm 114 PT-2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                      Reference:  Psalm 114:2a

            Message of the verses:  In Today’s SD we will look at the second verse of this wonderful, short psalm that was probably written after the Jews returned from the Babylon captivity.  The psalm is about the Exodus and was probably read before the Passover meal while Psalms 115-118 were read after the Passover meal.  Dr. Wiersbe writes at the end of his introduction ‘the psal is about God and reveals His gracious relationship to His own people.”

            God Is with Us (v. 2a):  “2 Judah became His sanctuary, Israel, His dominion.”  This is the entire verse, but in this section we will just look at the first half.

            When God brought Israel out of Egypt He separated Israel from Egypt, but He also separated Israel unto Himself.  Israel belonged to the Lord as they were His people and His treasure and His inheritance.  Dr. Wiersbe points out that “Judah” and “Israel” refer to the whole nation and not to the two kingdoms that formed after the death of Solomon.  We know that after the tribes conquered the Promised Land that eventually the temple of the Lord was built by Solomon and remained in Jerusalem until the Babylonians destroyed it in 586 BC.  This temple had the presence of the Lord in it, unlike the empty temples of the nations around it.  We see in the book of Ezekiel that the glory of the Lord left the temple before it was destroyed and then the glory of the Lord was presence in the Lord Jesus Christ when He came.  God does not dwell in houses any more as Steven reported to those who were about to kill him in Acts 7:48-49, but God, in the person of the Holy Spirit does dwell in His people today, (1Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19-20; 2Cor. 6:14-18: Eph. 2:19-22).  We also know that Jesus is “Immanuel, God with us.  In Jeremiah 31:31 and following Jeremiah prophesied that God would be with His people in a new way and the author of the Hebrews picked up on this.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  In his commentary on the books of Ruth and Ester Dr. Wiersbe asks a question at the end of one of the chapters “If the Holy Spirit was taken out of the Church in the United States today would it make a big difference in the way we are?  Unfortunately the answer that he gave was no, and this saddens me.  The Holy Spirit is in all believers to help the believer grow in the Lord, to guide them and to help them understand the Bible, the key to our spiritual growth.  I believe that the Holy Spirit guides us into doing the work that was set aside in eternity past by God the Father, and for this God will receive glory from those works we do.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to abide in the Vine and to be available to do the work of the Lord that the Holy Spirit directs me to do for the cause of Christ.

8/16/2012 8:02:37 AM