Who Provides for Whom

Scripture: And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies. I declare to you that the Lord will build a house for you. 1 Chronicles 17:9-10

Observation: David wants to build the Lord a temple, and in a vision the prophet Nathan gets the message to tell David not to do it. However, the Lord's logic is amazing. It is often taught that David is not to do this because he has been a king of war, and thus it will be his son - a king who lives completely in peace - who must do it. That is an oversimplification of the message. What the Lord actually says is that ... he is in the process of building David a 'house'.

Yes, eventually the temple will be built by Solomon. However, the Lord is very unconcerned about that, pointing out that he has never asked for a permanent location. Instead, his ark - and the place where humans go to pay honor to him - has been kept in tents and homes. Certainly this is because the Lord is not in a single place, or represented by one object, but is everywhere and not represented by any object. However, the message to David has a larger implication. The Lord cares most about those who love him and worship him, and the Lord provides for them, they do not provide for him.

Application: This is kind of an obvious thought when we think about it, but also so amazing profound. We do not and cannot take care of the Lord. I cannot give him anything, provide for him, or otherwise do something to fulfill his needs. The Lord flat-out doesn't need. Instead, the Lord gives me everything ... my home, my family, my health, my very life and all that is in it.

What a humbling thought to know that, in truth, the almighty God of the universe spends time providing for me, while making it clear I can do nothing for him. The Lord provides! I do not provide for the Lord.

Of course, I can worship and honor him. I can thank him. I can pray and draw closer to him. I can do earthly work that he is sponsoring and directing that benefits mankind and spreads the gospel message of Jesus so others may learn of God. The Lord doesn't need me to do these things, but he allows me to, and he expects them as a sign of my belief and faith. So these I must do every day. I can provide the Lord with ... me, my time, and my attention. He provides me with everything.

Prayer: Lord, I know you are my provider. I thank you for your reminder of this today, that I can truly give you nothing except me. Amen.

Ascribe to the Lord

Scripture:
Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come before him.
1 Chronicles 16:28-29

Observation: This chapter records the words to a song that was introduced on the day the ark was moved into Jerusalem, and it says David appointed his song leader to "give praise to the Lord in this manner", which seems to indicate that David himself wrote the song. It includes the line very common in modern worship songs "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his love endures forever" (v34). While it addresses other common themes - praise, worship, thanks, remembrance - these two verses in the middle use a word not common in psalms for worship songs ... ascribe.

This song instructs us that, part of giving glory and praise and worship and thanks to the Lord is ... to properly acknowledge what we are glorifying and praising and worshiping and thanking him for in the first place. We are to ascribe to the Lord the great things that he has done. These are acts that originate from his own glory and strength. We give the Lord credit for doing these things, and in so doing we declare his name.

In other words, we are to publicly declare that it is the Lord - not random luck, a function of nature, evolutionary process, or personal hard work - that has done the great things of this world. We are to do so with a very intentional alignment between the Lord, Yahweh, to these great works, and not allow anyone to misinterpret them as the function of a random or generic 'god'. And everyone, not just jews but all families and nations, are to do this.

Application: This is a wonderful addition to the idea of praise and worship, which is that our declarations about the greatness of God are NOT just about some general greatness, nor about some general almighty deity. We praise Yahweh, Jehovah, the Great I Am; He is the one and only true God, creator of heaven and earth, and it is by his hand alone that all things exist, and he is worthy of all worship and honor and glory and praise and thanks.

So often, we hear much more general statements from people who somehow rationalize the idea that they recognize there must be some 'higher power' that does things, but they won't name that power. It takes on nebulous forms, or gets washed in the water of pseudo-science, or gets listed under the category of 'god' but without an understanding of who that truly is.

I know who God truly is. There is only one. He is the creator father of us all, the God of Abraham, who sent his only son Jesus to redeem mankind. To him be all honor, and glory, and power forever.

Prayer: Lord, I do ascribe all great things to you, and all small things. My blessings and my life are the smallest, the most miniscule, yet somehow you are in all control of even this. Thank you, Lord. Amen.