” ‘I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket. In distress you called, and I delivered you; 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. Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! I would soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes.’ ” (v6-7a,8-14)
The bulk of this Psalm is a plea written from God (at least from His perspective) to Israel. In it God practically begs Israel to simply listen to Him, so He can bless them.
Unfortunately, as we have done since Genesis 3, God’s own children choose to rebel against Him – we decide to follow what is right in our own eyes, rather than allow God to tell us what is right.
One might ask why God doesn’t deliver/bless us anyway, even when we disobey? Well, what happens when we reward a pet or a child for poor behavior? They continue behaving poorly. Plus, God cannot possibly reward sin – since He is a righteous and holy God His nature is to punish wickedness. He couldn’t possibly bless us for rebellion, it’s against His very nature.
The one and only way God is able to bless people is when they are righteous. People being righteous happened through obedience and atonement (sin offerings) in the OT, and through Jesus’ atonement for our sins followed by our obedience in the NT. There is nowhere in the Bible (to my recollection at least) where God blesses someone for their iniquity (sin), God’s only seems to follow our obedience and His forgiveness.
Father God, please hear our prayer for guidance. We long to obey Your voice, and heed Your words. We wish to follow Your leadership all the days of our lives – not because we want Your blessing, but because we love You for who You are – the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Creator and Sovereign God. We acknowledge we cannot follow You flawlessly, so we also ask for Your grace, mercy and forgiveness when we slip up. Please be patient with us, and help us to remain focused on You. Please help to guard our minds and hearts from the evil one who will try to lead us astray, and please help us to love others as You love us.