S) "8 They said in their heart, 'Let us completely subdue them.'
They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land"
Psalm 74:8 (NASB)
O) This psalm describes the destruction of the temple (which occurred around 580 BC., at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar). This was either written prophetically (by the Asaph of King David's time), or it was written by a contemporary of Jeremiah (or Jeremiah himself, as it mirrors some of Lamentations), and was given to the descendants of Asaph, who ministered by Asaph's name. In either case, the verse above does capture the posture of the Babylonians, as they destroyed nation after nation, displacing the inhabitants, and attempting to strip them of the heritage they had from their homelands (this is seen in greater detail in the book of Daniel). In this particular instance, everything of value was removed from the temple of God in a couple phases, and eventually the temple was destroyed. It would be rebuilt later, after the return from exile, only to be destroyed again ultimately, in 70 AD. This was hundreds of years before we would understand Jesus to be the ultimate propitiation for sins, before understanding that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, as the body of Christ. At the time, the relationship that Israel had with God, revolved around the temple sacrifice, as the only way they could atone for their sins and maintain their relationship with the LORD. Because of the necessity of righteous sacrifices, this was seen as a devastating blow.
A) The gospel changes everything. In the gospel, there are several victorious things happening. First of all, there is the final sacrifice for sins, so no further blood must be shed for us to be made righteous before God the Father. Second, Jesus prophesied that worship would change, as people would no longer need to go on a pilgrimage in order to worship the Father, but God would be worshiped in spirit and in truth, wherever the believer was. This is tied to the third change, which is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus promised to us with His return to Heaven. Now, there is a personal, present, immediate communion with the Spirit of God, wherever the believer is. All of this together brings us to the point of this verse, relative to me today: no one can subdue me. The simplest way to express this, would be to say that the old covenant existed externally from the individual people, but the new covenant exists internally within the individual believer. There are currently, in my world today, large groups of people trying to destroy Christianity. At the very least, there are places in the world today, where persecution is so severe, that they are trying to purge Christianity from their lands. Destroying church buildings is only the beginning. But, even if an oppressor wanted to destroy my body, or the bodies of every believer (as we are corporately the body of Christ, the corporate temple of God, and also individual temples of God), that would only further serve the spread of the gospel, because it would make us like our Lord, who died for righteousness sake. No, this verse above reminds me that the victory I have in Christ is secured on both eternal and temporal levels.
P) Father, thank You for the victory I have in Christ. Let me remember, daily, just how complete the victory is. On the cross, it truly was finished. Everything I need was provided in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of my Savior. You provided everything I could ever need, in that. With what You have already done, I truly have nothing to fear. Jesus already overcame the world, so in Him I have every victory. Be glorified, as I walk boldly in my faith, undefeated. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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