God Delivers and Protects....International Sunday School Lesson for November 21, 2010

^{Psalm 91:1-6, 9-16}

¹ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
   will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
   my God, in whom I trust.”

 ³ Surely he will save you
   from the fowler’s snare
   and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
   and under his wings you will find refuge;
   his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
   nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
   nor the plague that destroys at midday.
⁹ If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
   and you make the Most High your dwelling,
¹⁰ no harm will overtake you,
   no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
   to guard you in all your ways;
¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
   so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
   you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
 ¹⁴ “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
   I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him;
   I will be with him in trouble,
   I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
   and show him my salvation.”

When last we met to discuss the scripture for last week’s International Sunday School Lesson we talked about Psalm 90 and the prayer of Moses concerning his people, the people of Israel. 

In that psalm we saw the mortality of man; to put it bluntly we saw death.

There was no salvation in sight for these people who continually had rebelled against God but rather there was punishment.

Punishment is for the guilty and God says He will not leave the guilty unpunished, but here in today’s psalm there is no punishment or death but rather the complete opposite is found for those who call on the name of the Lord.

At first glance, this psalm might be taken as simply poetic, and it is beautiful to read for the imagery that comes in to one’s mind.

For me, I see lofty crags and an eagle’s nest, with a powerful eagle sheltering it’s young beneath its wings, an imposing and formidable guardian should anyone ever dare approach.

The poetic part of this is so strong and beautiful that we might just wax away about this beauty and fail to see the difference between last week and this week.

Last week was really quite sad when we saw the weight that was upon Moses when we read Psalm 90.  Moses must have sent up thousands of prayers over the course of 40 years, but we know that this one would not change the course this time for the people of Israel, God had had enough, He had reached the limit of His patience with them and all that were over the age of 20, with only a couple exceptions, were to die in the desert and would never see the Promised Land.

Today we have the opposite.  What is in sight here are not stiff-necked people but those who bow down to God.  The result is that their dwelling is with God.  Instead of distrust we see trust.  Instead of scorpion stings we see eagle’s wings.

We see sheltering, guarding, lifting, protecting all available to those who call on Him.

The devil in his tempting or testing of Jesus rather foolishly quoted a portion of this vary psalm when he took Jesus to the highest point on the temple and said, “Throw yourself down.  For it is written:  He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”  But of course Jesus answered him, “It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Have you ever put God to the test?  Or how about when you have made the Most High your dwelling, have you been delivered inexplicably from some peril?  I have, ask me about it some time!

What do you think is the difference from the people that are in sight here when you compare the people of last week’s Psalm 90 and this week’s Psalm 91?

Yes, the latter takes refuge in the Lord and clearly the former did not.  But why did they not?  Look at what the people of Israel had to go with.  They had their deliverance from bondage that occurred through clearly visible great wonders that God used against Pharaoh and Egypt.  Imagine witnessing the plagues, the manna, the quail, the water from the rock, the defeating of nations, the pillars of cloud and fire, the parting of the sea, the sights and sounds on Mount Sinai; none of these were enough. 

I do not know why they didn’t have it, but the difference that I see between the people of Psalm 90 and Psalm 91 is that the Israelites despite all that they saw did not have faith.

Why is it that some can see God’s miracles and it isn’t enough for them but some can simply hear of God’s miracles and that is enough?  In other words, why do some have faith and others not?

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

The people of Israel saw all the things I mentioned and had no choice but to believe but yet they did not have faith.

If they did not have faith, I ask you to ponder this question, why did He choose them?

For Discussion:

1. Consider life’s worst moments for those who do not dwell in His shelter.
2. Look at other scripture that references wings especially Matthew 23:37.
3. Have you or has anyone that you know experienced verse 11?
4. Discuss faith.
5. Consider the question of why God chose Israel.

Next week the International Sunday School Lesson for November 28, 2010 will look at Psalm 139:1-6, 13-16, 23-24