Psalms 78:40 says, How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! Asaph asked how often did the people of Israel provoke God in the wilderness. As followers of Christ today, we need to make sure that our lack of faith or rebellion against God's law does not provoke Him. Verse forty-one adds, Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. After God had shown them His mighty power and delivered them from Egypt, the people of Israel still wanted to turn back to Egypt, and their lack of faith limited God's ability to work through them. Our lack of faith will never limit God's power, but it will limit what He can do through us. Verse forty-two continues, They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy. The people of Israel, who were called to be God's people, soon forgot what He had done for them when He delivered them. We must never forget what God did for us as Christians when He saved us through the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross. Verse forty-three states, How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan: Asaph then begins to remind the people of the many signs of His power that God showed in Egypt. The only real sign that should matter to us as Christians, though there are signs of God's power and majesty all around, is the sign of God's grace presented on the cross of Jesus Christ. Verse forty-four adds, And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink. Asaph now begins to list the many plagues that God sent on the Egyptians because the pharaoh refused to let the people of Israel leave. He started by referring to God turning their rivers into blood. Even if we are imprisoned for our faith today, God has already secured our everlasting freedom from sin and the powers of this world if we put our faith in Jesus Christ. Verse forty-five continues, He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them. These next few verses are a listing of the plagues God sent against the Egyptians, here speaking of the flies and frogs. Verse forty-six says, He gave also their increase unto the caterpiller, and their labour unto the locust. Then came the plague of the caterpillars and locust destroying their crops. Verse forty-seven adds, He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycomore trees with frost. God then destroyed their vines of the Egyptians with hail and their sycomore trees with frost. God didn't need an army to defeat the Egyptians, but He used the forces of nature to do so. We don't need to look to any power in the world today to defeat God's enemies, because He has already defeated them by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, and we as followers of Christ must never forget that fact. Verse forty-eight continues, He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts. Asaph said God also destroyed the cattle and sheep of Egypt with hail and thunderbolts. Again, forces of nature. Verse forty-nine states, He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them. When the pharaoh still refused to let God's people go, God's anger was cast against him and the people of Egypt, and He sent angels against him and the people of Egypt. The angels were said to be evil angels, but they were not evil in their nature, but their purpose was to punish the people of Egypt for their refusal to obey God. Those who refuse to accept the salvation of Jesus Christ will on day face the anger of God. Verse fifty adds, He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence; Then verse fifty-one continues, And smote all the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham: The final plague of God was the death of the first born children of Egypt, which finally at least temporarily caused the pharaoh to let the people of Israel go, but even then he soon changed his mind. Unless people truly accept the sovereignty of God, they may temporarily give in to His authority, but they will never do so forever. We can only submit to God's authority by accepting salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Verse fifty-two declares, But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. Asaph said God brought His people out of Israel like sheep and led them as His flock. We as Christians are called the sheep of God's pasture, but we too often do not want to see ourselves as a humble sheep. Verse fifty-three adds, And he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. We need to allow God to lead us today and leave the fate of our enemies up to Him. Verse fifty-four continues, And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased. Asaph said that God brought the people of Israel to the promised land, which He had purchased for them. God brings those who put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord to the promised land,which He purchased for us as Christians by the blood of Christ on the cross. Verse fifty-five concludes, He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents. Just as God cast out the enemies of Israel then, He has cast out all of our enemies from the promised land of heaven for the followers of Christ.
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