What is it Going to Take?
Psalm 107:8-9
Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
The Cost of Departure
The children of Israel had rebelled against the Lord and had been taken into captivity. The northern ten tribes were taken captive by Assyria and the two remaining tribes were taken captive by Babylon who also took control of Assyria. Ultimately, the Medes and Persians took over Babylon and Israel was forced to survive in a land that was not theirs. It was not the land for which the faithful longed, because it was not THEIR LAND.
In Ezekiel, over and over the Lord warns Israel of coming destruction because of idolatry. But He also tells the Israelites that when the destruction came, then the people would know that “I am the LORD.” They would realize that the Jehovah or LORD who had originally delivered them from Egypt, the One who had fed them in the wilderness, and the One who had defeated their enemies in war was the One and Only God. What He wanted was their loyalty and worship. He did not want to share that with lifeless worthless idols.
The Blessing of True Restoration
Now in this passage, some of the Israelites are able to return to their land. And when they do, they now understand that Jehovah is God. More than that, Jehovah is THEIR GOD. He blesses those who are faithful to Him and He satisfies.
Application to Believers Today
Why does it take calamity for us to understand who the Lord really is and to understand where blessing is found? While Christians today should be looking for heavenly promises and not earthly promises, the church is so mired in earthly ambitions and concerns that we have become lukewarm. We think we are rich when we are poor. We are blind and don’t know it. The Lord is standing outside the door to His church and is just waiting for someone (anyone) to invite Him into the church. Of course I am describing the conditions of the Laodiceans in Revelation 3:14-22, but we are much like them today.
I have been saved now for 50 years and I have watched the so-called worship of the Lord go from spirit-led to performance-led. Much of our worship seems to see the Lord as an onlooker that we talk about and not as a participant to whom we talk. I have seen preaching go from that which convicts to that which entertains. Our preachers used to be trained by other preachers who believed and practiced the simplicity of the Gospel and in the pattern of the Church as found and taught in the New Testament. Now our preachers must be seminary trained by teachers who do not practice New Testament principles, and in many cases they do not preach a clear “how to be saved” Gospel. I have seen people go from having the Lord and the meetings of the church taking a preeminent place in their lives to barely being able to give the Lord an hour on some Sunday mornings. We have gone from Christ-centered to self-centered. We are told to go to the church of our choice when instead we should be led to a church of the Lord’s choice. What is it going to take to make us realize that we have been turned aside from the manna that the Lord miraculously provides for those who are just passing through this world to the leeks, onions and garlics which taste good (to some people) but which can only be found in Egypt where the people were in bondage?
The people in this Psalm had gotten back to the Lord. They had found out what Ezekiel meant when he said that then they would know that Jehovah was who He claimed to be and that only He can truly satisfy.
My Prayer
We have all been disappointed with the things that we thought would satisfy in this world. My prayer is that we who claim to be the Lord’s and who claim to believe that Jesus is Lord, would all desire to experience the satisfaction that only the Lord can supply. May we long to be filled with His goodness.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of November 17, 2013