Giving Thanks to the LORD for His Everlasting Love…
Psalm 136 begins “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” As the psalm progresses there is this refrain “for His lovingkindness is everlasting,” in other words, “His love endures forever.” What wonderful words to sing. In this song, the psalmist looks to his own history and sees the love of God being demonstrated from one event to another. God delivered His people from Egyptian slavery, parted the Red Sea, fought for them in desert battles, and brought them to their promise land, proving “His lovingkindness is everlasting.” We can give thanks to God because His love endures forever.
The everlasting love of God is also demonstrated throughout the whole of Israel’s history. Vishal Mangalwadi, in his lectures entitled “Must the Sun Set on the West,” shares of his struggles reading through the Old Testament, from Genesis to Chronicles, but one day he had an epiphany that the books being read offered a glimpse in Jewish history from God’s perspective. He came to this realization because the Old Testament could not make sense if it were written from a different perspective. It could not be a court history, because the kings who ruled were typically depicted as evil, so the kings did not commission the writing of the Old Testament. (Even David, a good and great king, did not escape the recording of embarrassing moments, like the sin with Bathsheba, not to mention the census that incurred the wrath of God.) It could not be a religious history from the point of view of the priest, because they were depicted as so corrupt and sinful that God resolved to destroy their temple and send the sinful people into captivity. It could not be a subaltern history depicting the struggle of the common Jews against the ruling elite and priestly elite, for the history books condemn the general population as “stiff necked,” “foolish,” “rebellious,” “wicked,” “immoral,” “idolaters,” “adulterers,” etc. It could not even be the work of prophets, who were known for condemning people-the old “shape up or ship out” message-because these books tell us the majority of the prophets were false prophets, and the good ones were the losers, who could not save their nation, their people, or themselves. Good prophets were ultimately beaten, thrown into cisterns, and murdered. Genesis to Chronicles is declaring to be God’s interpretation of Jewish history.
The Old Testament certainly demonstrates that God is patient with people, and gives them ample time to turn from their sin, and He never cast out those who repent.
The Old Testament then teaches us that God made a covenant to bless Abraham and his descendants and through them all the nations would be blessed. If God spoke to Abraham, and He keeps His promise, then the Old Testament offers blessings to all people, whether ancient Israelites, or the peoples from every tribe, tongue, and nation. Whatever epoch of time one lives, the Word of the Lord can be a blessing to them.
God’s Word never comes back void to those whom place their trust in it. People are transformed by the message of the Scriptures and they can become a blessing to the world. It was the early Christian church that put a stop to the infanticide that plagued the Roman Empire. Their morals on sex and marriage provided social stability to the world around them. They elevated the status of women as equals with men. Their faith in God spiritually revolutionized their totals lives so that they would contribute to society orphanages, shelters, hospitals, schools, science, representative democracy, the Protestant work ethic (or Christian work ethic), and the abolition of slavery. Christians have even made great contributions to art, architecture, and music. Word of God is more to be desired than gold, it is more precious than silver, and sweeter than the honeycomb. For this reason, we can sing the LORD is good and His love endures forever!
The everlasting love of God is also demonstrated throughout the whole of Israel’s history. Vishal Mangalwadi, in his lectures entitled “Must the Sun Set on the West,” shares of his struggles reading through the Old Testament, from Genesis to Chronicles, but one day he had an epiphany that the books being read offered a glimpse in Jewish history from God’s perspective. He came to this realization because the Old Testament could not make sense if it were written from a different perspective. It could not be a court history, because the kings who ruled were typically depicted as evil, so the kings did not commission the writing of the Old Testament. (Even David, a good and great king, did not escape the recording of embarrassing moments, like the sin with Bathsheba, not to mention the census that incurred the wrath of God.) It could not be a religious history from the point of view of the priest, because they were depicted as so corrupt and sinful that God resolved to destroy their temple and send the sinful people into captivity. It could not be a subaltern history depicting the struggle of the common Jews against the ruling elite and priestly elite, for the history books condemn the general population as “stiff necked,” “foolish,” “rebellious,” “wicked,” “immoral,” “idolaters,” “adulterers,” etc. It could not even be the work of prophets, who were known for condemning people-the old “shape up or ship out” message-because these books tell us the majority of the prophets were false prophets, and the good ones were the losers, who could not save their nation, their people, or themselves. Good prophets were ultimately beaten, thrown into cisterns, and murdered. Genesis to Chronicles is declaring to be God’s interpretation of Jewish history.
The Old Testament certainly demonstrates that God is patient with people, and gives them ample time to turn from their sin, and He never cast out those who repent.
The Old Testament then teaches us that God made a covenant to bless Abraham and his descendants and through them all the nations would be blessed. If God spoke to Abraham, and He keeps His promise, then the Old Testament offers blessings to all people, whether ancient Israelites, or the peoples from every tribe, tongue, and nation. Whatever epoch of time one lives, the Word of the Lord can be a blessing to them.
God’s Word never comes back void to those whom place their trust in it. People are transformed by the message of the Scriptures and they can become a blessing to the world. It was the early Christian church that put a stop to the infanticide that plagued the Roman Empire. Their morals on sex and marriage provided social stability to the world around them. They elevated the status of women as equals with men. Their faith in God spiritually revolutionized their totals lives so that they would contribute to society orphanages, shelters, hospitals, schools, science, representative democracy, the Protestant work ethic (or Christian work ethic), and the abolition of slavery. Christians have even made great contributions to art, architecture, and music. Word of God is more to be desired than gold, it is more precious than silver, and sweeter than the honeycomb. For this reason, we can sing the LORD is good and His love endures forever!
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