That is why the Lord’s anger burned against his people, and he abhorred his own special possession. He handed them over to pagan nations, and they were ruled by those who hated them. Their enemies crushed them and brought them under their cruel power. Again and again he rescued them, but they chose to rebel against him, and they were finally destroyed by their sin. Even so, he pitied them in their distress and listened to their cries. (Psalm 106:40-44)
Let me list off a few of Israel’s disobedient actions is found in Psalm 106, that brought the wrath of God upon them:
- They became envious of God’s chosen leaders.
- They made a graven image, and worshiped it.
- They forgot how God saved them from Egypt, and the miracles He did on their behalf.
- They despised the promised land.
- They do not believe His Word.
- They joined themselves to false God, and offered sacrifices to the dead.
- They served other idols.
- They co-mingled with other nations.
- They even sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.
Now remember, this is just some of the abominable acts done by Israel, just mentioned in ONE Psalm. And that is why He handed them over, to the pagan nations. Yet, even after Israel doing all those things, you read the above few verses, how He rescued them again and again, He pitied them, and heard their cries.
Have you ever felt abandoned; or maybe been suffering some pretty serious consequences of your sins. And you wonder if God will ever hear you again. But even in this dark time in Israel’s history, it says that He listened to their cries. And He will listen to you—He did listen to you. Why? Because Jesus died for your sins. In fact He heard you, long before you even spoke: He paid for you with the precious life blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him for this purpose long before the world began, but now in these final days, He was sent to the earth for all to see. And He did this for you. (1 Peter 1:18-19)
Let me be even more plain, borrowing from the words of the apostle Paul: For I’m convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
Take a line from the psalmist who wrote Psalm 106: Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to Your holy name and glory in Your praise. (v.47) Call upon him. He will hear you, and he will save you.
So we’re driving on our way home after spending the afternoon walking around a modern art gallery, and now we’re talking about buildings. And my daughter says to me that buildings that have no windows have something to hide. (We happened to have been driving by a “business establishment” notorious for that sort of thing.) Then I responded that there are some churches in town that don’t have windows. And she says, “Hmm.” Now I know a couple of churches that fit that description, no windows, because they do lots of productions—you know, “Lights , cameras, action!”
going on the inside. The other thing windows do is let in light, reminding us how important light is to us. And one more thing, they keep us from getting absorbed in our little (or big) box, because we can see what’s going on around us: people passing by who need Jesus; or seeing the trees, or the river, or the mountains clap for joy.