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Speaker 1: You're listening to the chapter today Audio Bible. I'm John Stogey,
Speaker 1: and today we're in Psalm one oh six and we'll
Speaker 1: be reading from the New Living Translation. Praise the Lord.
Speaker 1: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His
Speaker 1: faithful love endures forever. Who can list the glorious miracles
Speaker 1: of the Lord. Who can ever praise him enough. There
Speaker 1: is joy for those who deal justly with others and
Speaker 1: always do what is right. Remember me, Lord, when you
Speaker 1: show favor to your people, come near and rescue me.
Speaker 1: Let me share in the prosperity of your chosen ones.
Speaker 1: Let me rejoice in the joy of your peace people.
Speaker 1: Let me praise you with those who are your heritage.
Speaker 1: Like our ancestors, we have sinned, we have done wrong,
Speaker 1: we have acted wickedly. Our ancestors in Egypt were not
Speaker 1: impressed by the Lord's miraculous deeds. They soon forgot his
Speaker 1: many acts of kindness to them. Instead, they rebelled against
Speaker 1: him at the Red Sea. Even so, he saved them
Speaker 1: to defend the honor of his name and to demonstrate
Speaker 1: his mighty power. He commanded the Red Sea to dry up.
Speaker 1: He led Israel across the sea as if it were
Speaker 1: a desert. So he rescued them from their enemies and
Speaker 1: redeemed them from their foes. Then the water returned and
Speaker 1: covered their enemies. Not one of them survived. Then his
Speaker 1: people believed his promises. Then they sang his praise. Yet
Speaker 1: how quickly they forgot what he had done. They wouldn't
Speaker 1: wait for his counsel in the wilderness. Their desires ran wild,
Speaker 1: testing God's patience in that dry wasteland. So he gave
Speaker 1: them what they asked for, but he sent a plague
Speaker 1: along with it. The people in the camp were jealous
Speaker 1: of Moses and envious of Aaron, the Lord's holy priest.
Speaker 1: Because of this, the earth opened up. It swallowed Daithan
Speaker 1: and buried Aboram and the other rebels. Fire fell upon
Speaker 1: their followers. A flame consumed the wicked. The people made
Speaker 1: a caf at Mount Sinai. They bowed before an image
Speaker 1: made of gold. They traded their glorious God for a
Speaker 1: statue of a grass eating bull. They forgot God, their savior,
Speaker 1: who had done such great things in Egypt, such wonderful
Speaker 1: things in the land of Ham, such awesome deeds at
Speaker 1: the Red Sea. So he declared he would destroy them.
Speaker 1: But Moses, his chosen one, stepped between the Lord and
Speaker 1: the people. He begged him to turn from his anger
Speaker 1: and not destroy them. The people refused to enter the
Speaker 1: pleasant land, for they wouldn't believe his promise to care
Speaker 1: for them. Instead, they grumbled in their tents and refused
Speaker 1: to obey the Lord. Therefore he solemnly swore that he
Speaker 1: would kill them in the wilderness, that he would scatter
Speaker 1: their descendants among the nations, exiling them to distant lands.
Speaker 1: Then our ancestors joined in the worship of bail at Payor.
Speaker 1: They even ate sacrifices offered to the dead. They angered
Speaker 1: the Lord with all these things, so a plague broke
Speaker 1: out among them. But Phineas had the courage to intervene
Speaker 1: and the plague was stopped. So he has been regarded
Speaker 1: as a righteous man ever since that time. At Maraba Tiu,
Speaker 1: they angered the Lord, causing Moses serious trouble. They made
Speaker 1: Moses angry, and he spoke foolishly. Israel failed to destroy
Speaker 1: the nations in the land, as the Lord had commanded them. Instead,
Speaker 1: they mingled among the Pagans and adopted their evil customs.
Speaker 1: They worshiped their idols, which led to their downfall. They
Speaker 1: even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons.
Speaker 1: They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and
Speaker 1: daughters by sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan. They
Speaker 1: polluted the land with murder. They defiled themselves by their
Speaker 1: evil deeds, and their love of idols was adultery in
Speaker 1: the Lord's sight. That is why the lord's anger burned
Speaker 1: against his people, and he abhorred his own special possession.
Speaker 1: He handed them over to pagan nations, and they were
Speaker 1: ruled by those who hated them. Their enemies crushed them
Speaker 1: and brought them under their cruel power. Again and again,
Speaker 1: he rescued them, but they chose to rebel against him,
Speaker 1: and they were finally destroyed by their sin. Even so,
Speaker 1: he pitied them in their distress and listened to their cries.
Speaker 1: He remembered his covenant with them and relented because of
Speaker 1: his unfailing love. He even caused their captors to treat
Speaker 1: them with kindness. Save us, o, Lord, our God, gather
Speaker 1: us back from among the nations, so we can thank
Speaker 1: your holy name and rejoice and praise you. Praise the Lord,
Speaker 1: the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting.
Speaker 1: Let all the people say Amen, Praise the Lord. Let's pray. Lord.
Speaker 1: We thank you for your word, and we thank you
Speaker 1: for the privilege of being able to look at this
Speaker 1: portion of scripture today. We thank you, Lord for the
Speaker 1: things that we're reminded of when we take a look
Speaker 1: at this portion of scripture, and as it summarizes many
Speaker 1: of the pivotal events in the nation of Israel, the
Speaker 1: opportunities that they had to walk with You by faith,
Speaker 1: the opportunities that they had to enter into the Promised Land,
Speaker 1: and the ways that it seems that instead of honoring you,
Speaker 1: they chose to honor and worship false deities. And Lord,
Speaker 1: we recognize that we struggle with these sorts of things
Speaker 1: in our generation as well. Lord, it's very easy for
Speaker 1: us to welcome idols into our lives and not even
Speaker 1: realize that we've done so, because we're so used to
Speaker 1: these things, and we let ourselves think that created objects
Speaker 1: or created things have the power to satisfy our soul.
Speaker 1: When your word reveals to us that our souls are
Speaker 1: only ultimately satisfied through a relationship with you, through faith
Speaker 1: in your son Jesus Christ. It's interesting when we look
Speaker 1: at this Psalm and we see that Moses, your chosen ones,
Speaker 1: stepped in between you and your people and begged you
Speaker 1: to turn from your anger and not destroy them. And Lord,
Speaker 1: in that verse we see a picture of what your
Speaker 1: son Jesus Christ has done on our behalf. We deserved
Speaker 1: your wrath, and your word tells us that at one
Speaker 1: point we were objects of your wrath. But because your
Speaker 1: son Jesus Christ took our punishment upon himself, now through
Speaker 1: faith in him, we become objects of your mercy. So
Speaker 1: we're grateful for these realities. We're grateful for these reminders,
Speaker 1: and we're grateful for your love. We commit this day
Speaker 1: to your care, Lord, and we thank you for your
Speaker 1: presence with us in it. We pray this all in
Speaker 1: Jesus's name. Amen.