Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob. Raise a song, sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp. Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our festal day. For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. He made it a decree in Joseph, when he went out over the land of Egypt. I hear a voice I had not known: ‘I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket. In distress you called, and I rescued you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Hear, O my people, while I admonish you; O Israel, if you would but listen to me! There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. ‘But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels. O that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! Then I would quickly subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their foes. Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him, and their doom would last for ever. I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.’ (Psalm 81, NRSV)
I answered your plea and then you turned your back on me!
God here says He answered the plea of His people for help and then they stopped listening to Him!
They got what they wanted and then turned their backs on Him.
Have we ever done this? Treat God like a magic cosmic vending machine?
God gave us free will and frequently lets us hang ourselves on the noose we create with it. The Psalmist tells us that He turned them over to their stubborn hearts and let them follow their own council.
But only if we would listen to Him and walk in the paths that He has set before us, because He would take care of those who come against us and feed us with the riches and most wonderful foods!
So listen to God and allow the hope of His promises be your life rather than trusting in your own council!
aSacredRebel 