Like the King, We Trust In the Lord

March 3, 2017

Like the King, We Trust In the Lord

For the king trusts in the Lord.

    The unfailing love of the Most High will keep him from stumbling.

Psalm 21:7

In northern Israel, Tel Megiddo overlooks the Jezreel Valley. This place is better known to Christians by its Greek name, Armageddon. In ancient times, Megiddo was an important city-state. Excavations have discovered many layers of ruins, indicating a long period of settlement. Megiddo is strategically located at the hub of trade routes for three civilizations: Europe; Asia and Africa. Israel’s central location made it a prized possession in ancient times and was thus the place of constant battles between competing nations.

Warfare was part of the fabric of life for the Israelites, and much of the Old Testament reflects the imagery of war. Psalm 21 was probably written in anticipation of a battle. At the core of Israel’s national identity was a belief that she had been called to be the people of God. Through her covenant with God, she understood herself to be the Divine Army used by God to execute judgment upon the sinfulness and idolatry of other nations. The two parts of this psalm reflect on God’s affirmation of Israel and God’s judgment of evil.

This psalm is also understood as being fulfilled by Jesus in his epic battle against sin and death. The climax of this battle was on the Cross where Jesus encountered the full wrath of the forces of evil. But God is stronger than evil, and Jesus’ resurrection destroyed the power of evil to bind God’s children with a yoke of sin and death. Hallelujah!

Although the power of evil has been broken, the forces of evil still wage war against God’s people and God’s creation. Unlike Israel, the Christian church does not see herself as the Divine Army used by God to execute judgment upon the sinfulness and idolatry of others. As the followers of Jesus, we look to Jesus, who fulfilled the Old Covenant and ushered in the New Covenant, to show us how to respond to the forces of evil. Having the same mind as Christ (see Philippians 2:5-11), we go into our world armed with  truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the word of God, and prayer (Ephesians 6:12-18). And, like the king in Psalm 21, as long as we keep our trust in the Lord, the unfailing love of the Most High will keep us from stumbling.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.