You Are Not the Only One

Psalm Chapter 68:15-23

(Unless otherwise cited the scriptures in this devotional are from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. It is not chosen for is veracity, but only because it is a public domain version of scripture.)

For context see: Psalm Chapter 68: 1-6

Deliverance from Mount Sinai to Zion-Noted!

¹⁵ The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; an high hill as the hill of Bashan. “Hill of Bashan”: A mountain across the Jordan to the east. Today we call this hill the “Golan Heights.”  ¹⁶ Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the Lord will dwell in it for ever. Verse 16 implies that there is another hill were of God is actually present and they were jealoous of that hill (Zion/Jerusalem). Why would they be jealous? The God of the Israelites lived there.  The other nations knew about the power of the God of Israel. Power meant a lot to them. They wanted a hill that housed the presence of a powerful God. Zion was the location of God’s temple.  God came to the mount of Zion from the original mountain where he met with his people and Moses – Sinai. Today we are the temple of God. Are  people envious of us? Do they see the power of God living in us? He met us at the foot of the cross that stood on Golgotha. It was a hill not a huge mountain. The stature of Christ waas powerful and high enough for that meeting. ¹⁷ The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.  The chariots of God refer to the Angelic hosts that fought for, and protected, the nation of Israel. That angelic host fights for and protects us today.  God fights our battles for us – but only if we allow him to.¹⁸ Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. 

We serve a God who saves.

¹⁹ Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

David and the people were shouting, Blessed be the Lord, as they took the Ark up to the mountain. Accordingly, they also shouted this phrase of praise because it is thr cry of a people who loved their God.  For a Christian, the biggest benefit of knowing the God of Israel, is the gift of salvation that he afforded to gentile nations through his son Jesus Christ. ²⁰ He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death.  What an amazing prophetic utterance. Only through one person did the title “King over Death” belong. In Romans 8:11  we re “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Finally, mankind can say it has deliverance from eternal death – but only through Christ Jesus. Colossians 2:12 tells that we are “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with [him] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” God, our Lord. controls death and life.

²¹ But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses. Just look at the original promise that God made to Adam in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” “her seed;” theologians believe that this refers to the church. Many of us struggle daily with our thoughts, words, and actions. As we become more attuned with God’s will in our lives we are cognizant of that fact.  So, we ask him to forgive our weaknesses, our sins, and heal our diseases.  He alone knows whether or not we are sincere in that prayer or if we are just using words that “righteous” people use. It never fails to amaze me how much people condemn each other without knowing the heart of the other person.  We don’t have that type of authority over another person’s walk.

²² The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea: ²³ That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same. David is reminding the people that in the same way that the dog licked u p the blood of the enemies of Israel after it crossed the Red Sea.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for being an every present help for your people when they are in trouble. Thank you for the the saving grace of Jesus Christ my Lord. Give me the willingness to never stop serving him becaue he didn’t think trice about giving his life for me.