Psalm 106:32-48

32 At Meribah, too, they angered the Lord, causing Moses serious trouble.
33 They made Moses angry, and he spoke foolishly.
34 Israel failed to destroy the nations in the land, as the Lord had commanded them.
35 Instead, they mingled among the pagans and adopted their evil customs.
36 They worshiped their idols, which led to their downfall.
37 They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons.
38 They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters. By sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan, they polluted the land with murder.
39 They defiled themselves by their evil deeds, and their love of idols was adultery in the Lord’s sight.
40 That is why the Lord’s anger burned against his people, and he abhorred his own special possession.
41 He handed them over to pagan nations, and they were ruled by those who hated them.
42 Their enemies crushed them and brought them under their cruel power.
43 Again and again he rescued them, but they chose to rebel against him, and they were finally destroyed by their sin.
44 Even so, he pitied them in their distress and listened to their cries.
45 He remembered his covenant with them and relented because of his unfailing love.
46 He even caused their captors to treat them with kindness.
47 Save us, O Lord our God! Gather us back from among the nations,
so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you.
48 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting! Let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord!

This has been a difficult, but valuable psalm. On the one hand, we are reminded of God's faithfulness in spite of our sin. On the other hand we are reminded of the consequences of our sin here and now. It's kind of hard to get our minds around a God who can punish and forgive at the same time.

These are two sides of the same coin. Since it is our nature to stray, God is very forgiving. That's side one of the coin. Since the natural consequence of forgetting God is to begin worshipping other gods...God instituted a spiritual law that makes disobedience painful. The pain is intended as a "wake up" call to remind us that we have forgotten God. If we pay attention...it prevents us from sliding into idol worship. That's side two of the coin.

In today's passage David says "they mingled among the pagans and adopted their evil customs. They worshiped their idols, which led to their downfall. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons. They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters. By sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan, they polluted the land with murder." Once we forget God, there is almost to limit to how far we can slide into debauchery. But really...do we honestly believe a nation of good people could have that kind of blood on their hands? Can we spell "a-b-o-r-t-i-o-n?

We call it "serving the god of personal rights." We go to extreme lengths to worship at that altar.

This is what happens when we forget God. Emmanuel Kant reminds us that "right is right" and "wrong is wrong." The most dangerous thing we can do is change our convictions about right and wrong just to soothe our disobedient conscience. When we do so, eventually we forget the original standard and quickly have no idea what is right or wrong. When that happens there is almost no chance we can recover.

Sounds a lot like our culture. Think about all the things we take for granted today...that were serious sins a generation ago. "That is why the Lord’s anger burned against his people, and he abhorred his own special possession." We have to remember God. It's what keeps us out of sin.

And as always..." he pitied them in their distress and listened to their cries...Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting! Let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord!" No matter how bad it gets...no matter how far we have slidden...if we let our distress remind us of God's deliverance we will call out to Him...and He will answer.

Do we serve a great God...or what!

I know we are stubborn people. You know how far you've slipped. My only question is...how much pain can you endure before you finally yell "uncle?"

Live boldly out there today...