Today we look at the second part of Psalm 106 – verses 16-31. In this section, we read a review of Israelite life “in the camp” (verse 16) during Israel’s wilderness wanderings. Psalm 106 is God’s reminder to us to pay attention to those events in Israel’s experience that He considers important for our learning. We read about how “the earth opened up and swallowed Dathan and his group” (verse 17). We recall from our earlier readings how Korah, Dathan, and Abiram became insolent, envious, and jealous of Moses and rebelled against him (cf., Numbers 16; Psalm 106:16). We are not to envy or grow jealous of other believers. Psalm 106 shows us that an insolent, envious, and jealous spirit produces idolatry (verses 16 and 28). In addition, as we read yesterday, again today we see that “they forgot the God Who saved them and had done great things in Egypt” (verse 21). We wonder, how could they forget God and all His miracles which their eyes had so recently seen? In fact, this Psalm tells us that “they despised the pleasant land, grumbled in their tents, yoked themselves to idolatry, and provoked the LORD to anger” (verses 24-29). These verses serve to show us the depravity that lies in the human heart. They did all these things in the very presence of God! No wonder that God “swore to them with uplifted hand to make them fall in the desert and scatter them throughout the lands” (verses 26-27). But one man – “Phinehas – stood up and intervened,” and for this one man's action, God stopped the plague and credited righteousness to him for endless generations” (verses 30-31). One man’s action spared the destruction of the whole nation.
In Isaiah 17-19 we see Isaiah’s prophetic judgments expressed on Damascus (chapter 17); Cush [the upper Nile region of Egypt and present-day Ethiopia], (chapter 18); and the rest of Egypt (chapter 19). Damascus is representative of Syria, and here we see a coalition of Ephraim [i.e., Israel], Damascus, and the remnant of Aram all linked together against God – Who declares that “Damascus will no longer be a city but a heap of rubble … in that day, the glory of Jacob will fade, and … men will look to their Maker … their strong cities will be like places abandoned … all will be desolation” (verses 1-9). This passage contemplates the end times. In chapter 18, Isaiah turns his attention to the destruction of Ethiopia, and he says that “all the people of the world … will see and hear” the woe that God will bring on "a people tall and smooth-skinned – an aggressive nation of strange speech” (repeated twice in verses 2 and 7). God declares that “their land will be left to the wild animals” (verse 6), yet the Ethiopians will eventually “bring gifts to Mount Zion” (verses 7). Chapter 19 addresses similar judgment on Egypt – the seat of idolatry. Here, we see the product of envy: “Egyptian will fight against Egyptian – brother against brother – neighbor against neighbor, and city against city” (verse 2). But notice this: in the end, God calls the Egyptians “my people; the Assyrians, my handiwork; and Israel – who will be third – my inheritance” (verse 25). This is what God will accomplish in the millennial kingdom.
In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul continues with the theme of envy and jealousy from Psalm 106. He tells us that the source of a jealous spirit is judgment by appearances (verse 7). In reality, things are not always what they appear to be. Envy and jealousy set us up for an unwise comparison to a false standard - measuring and commending ourselves by ourselves (verse 12) - which, Paul advises, “we dare not” do (verse 12). The only “commendation” that matters is God’s “approval” (verse 18). We would do well never to compare ourselves with anything or anyone, for we all have unique gifts and a special place of our own in God’s order – solely on the basis of His mercy. In our Isaiah reading, we saw how God – only by His mercy and His eternal plan – intends to share His care for and attention toward these enemy, Gentile nations like Egypt and Assyria. A day is coming when the “people will look to their Maker - to the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 17:7). In the face of envy, only God can achieve this incredible accomplishment!
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