Last week, I covered Psalm 96:5 and the idea that the idols of our world are worthless. Brother Luke Walker (I’ve reviewed his books here) has splendidly communicated more fully what we need to understand concerning our use of the world’s goods in his post, A good kind of shame. Here is his post in its entirety.
I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us. Ezra 8:22
Ezra boasted about his God to King Artaxerxes. When it was time for the people to set out on the long journey home, the boast was put to the test. What enemies might they encounter on the way? Would it not be safer to go with a royal escort? Undoubtedly it would be more dangerous to do so! For it would put God’s name in jeopardy in the courts of Babylon, and such a thing is never to be ventured.
It would not be a bad thing to see more of this kind of shame among Christians. Are we even apprehensive, never mind ashamed, to rely on human means before the mighty promises of God? Many ministries are not, it seems, ashamed to do so. This passage isn’t about the question of physical defense as such; it’s about the heart-posture of the Christian. Do we defy all earthly odds when there’s a clear promise of God on our side? That’s the time to open your eyes wide and watch for the miraculous hand of the living God to appear.
So you see, we avoid the idols of the world because they are functionally useless, but in addition to that, even if a worldly idol can be shown to have some immediate, positive, temporary effect—we still ought to be ashamed that we turned to it, at all, rather than wait on the Living God.
If you fell behind on your memorization of Psalm 96, this week is a catch-up week for you. Lord willing, we will dive into verse 6 and beyond shortly.
In part 1 of this series, I challenged anyone reading this to commit to memorizing Psalm 96. I hope if you have not started that endeavor you will start now. If you want my recommended smartphone app for Bible memory: here is a 20% discount code for it.
If you want to hear the sermon I preached from Psalm 96, you can hear it here on my Be A Berean podcast.
See all posts in the Psalm 96 (Yahweh Reigns) series:
Psalm 96: Introduction
Psalm 96:1-2 Sing of His Salvation
Psalm 96:3-5 Worthless Idols
The Shame of Idols
Psalm 96:6-9 The Beauty of Christ
Psalm 96:10 Jesus Reigns!
Psalm 96:10-13 God Will Judge!
Michael Coughlin
Michael Coughlin lives near Columbus, OH, and leads local outreaches to glorify our Lord and reach the lost with the gospel. Michael’s joys are spending time with his dear wife and children, programming computers, and studying and discussing God’s Word. He is a member of Covenant Bible Church.