September 27
Psalm 106:34–48
34 They did not destroy the peoples,
As the LORD commanded them,
35 But they mingled with the nations
And learned their practices,
36 And served their idols,
Which became a snare to them.
37 They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons,
38 And shed innocent blood,
The blood of their sons and their daughters,
Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
And the land was polluted with the blood.
39 Thus they became unclean in their practices,
And played the harlot in their deeds.
40 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against His people
And He abhorred His inheritance.
41 Then He gave them into the hand of the nations,
And those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies also oppressed them,
And they were subdued under their power.
43 Many times He would deliver them;
They, however, were rebellious in their counsel,
And so sank down in their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless He looked upon their distress
When He heard their cry;
45 And He remembered His covenant for their sake,
And relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness.
46 He also made them objects of compassion
In the presence of all their captors.
47 Save us, O LORD our God,
And gather us from among the nations,
To give thanks to Your holy name
And glory in Your praise.
48 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
From everlasting even to everlasting.
And let all the people say,“Amen.”
Praise the Lord!
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The Cost of Mingling
It has been well said that the one thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history. Anyone who has raised children or is trying to help raise grandchildren knows this. Somehow the new generation doesn’t believe that the older generation knows anything.
Psalm 106 certainly bears this out. It is a record of how the people of Israel were blessed and then sinned. God helped them repeatedly, and they repeatedly sinned. We see one cause of their sin in verse 35: “But they mingled with the Gentiles*.” [*or unbelievers]
There’s step one — they started mingling and breaking down the walls of separation. God had warned Israel not to mingle among the nations. They were not to get involved with them, but as verse 35 says, they “learned their works.”
First we mingle with the world, and then we start learning the world’s way of doing things. And before long, Israel “served their idols, which became a snare to them” (v. 36). They mingled, they learned, and they served.
The tragedy is that the families suffered the most. “They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons” (v. 37). Thus, they lost the next generation.
Many Christians today have broken down the walls of separation. They are mingling with and serving the world and are figuratively sacrificing their own children to demons. “Thus they were defiled by their own works, and played the harlot” (v. 39). Israel was married to Jehovah God, but she was unfaithful to her marriage vows. Don’t be defiled by the world. Keep your walk with the LORD holy.
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Sin contaminates. That’s why you need “walls of separation.”
Don’t mingle with the world, for one step of compromise will lead to another.
Keep your heart clean of sin and do not entertain temptations.
Let nothing come between you and your relationship with God.
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From “Prayer, Praise and Promises: A Daily Walk through the Psalms” by Warren W. Wiersbe for Sept. 27