The seriousness of
thanking the Lord is emphasized throughout the Holy Word. In 1 Chronicles 29:10-14, we read a message
that King David delivered to the nation of Israel, as he gathered materials which
would be used to build the temple in Jerusalem. In this discourse, he explained the
significance of showing thanks to God through, both, our words and actions. He used this message to encourage the people’s
giving of the materials needed to build and maintain the temple. This text is, probably, the clearest expression
of the absolute necessity for the giving of thanks to God.
As we enter into the
Thanksgiving season, let us take time to look at this text and learn more about
the wonderful blessing and necessity it is to say “Therefore O God, We Thank
Thee”
THE SCRIPTURES:
1Chr 29:10-14 (KJV)
10) Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David
said, Blessed [be] thou, LORD God of
Israel our father, for ever and ever.
11) Thine, O LORD, [is] the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory,
and the majesty: for all [that is] in
the heaven and in the earth [is thine];
thine [is] the kingdom, O LORD, and
thou art exalted as head above all.
12) Both riches and honour [come] of thee, and thou reignest over
all; and in thine hand [is] power and
might; and in thine hand [it is] to
make great, and to give strength unto all.
13) Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and
praise thy glorious name.
14) But who [am] I, and what [is] my
people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all
things [come] of thee, and of thine
own have we given thee.
THE STUDY:
Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the
congregation: and David said, Blessed [be]
thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.
David’s message that he is about to deliver is a
message of “blessing” to Jehovah. The
idea of a blessing is a message that produces submission, appreciation and love
on the part of the hearers. This was the
three-fold result of King David’s declaration.
It produced in the nation of Israel a spirit of:
1. submission to the desires of the Lord for their
lives,
2. appreciation for all the wonderful works the
Lord has done on their behalf and
3. love for their Lord as their Creator, King,
Father and Redeemer.
Thine, O LORD, [is] the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory,
and the majesty:
First, David emphasizes several different
attributes of Jehovah that had been on display in His workings among the people
of Israel…
1. greatness
– His superiority over all the gods and
authorities of this world.
2. power
– His strength excels over all the
powerful ones of the natural and spirit world
3. glory
– He is beautiful in the sight of others. He is always just, fair, honest, kind
… the list is endless.
4. victory
– Literally, this Hebrew word of origin is translated “He glitters from
afar”. It is describing the awards and
payments received by ones who have been victorious in battle or athletic
contests. The idea is that He has won so
many victories that, as He carries His awards, He stands out from all others as
He glitters from a long distance away.
5. majesty
– His magnificence of being sets Himself apart from all others. Please notice the first four attributes
taught us He is set apart from all others based upon His abilities and
authority. It is this final description
that declares that His superiority is also based upon His form and
appearance.
for all [that
is] in the heaven and in the earth [is
thine]; thine [is] the kingdom, O
LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.
The result of the five above attributes is that
Jehovah is the possessor (“thine is the kingdom”) and the controller (“thou art
exalted as head above all”) of all creation.
This includes the natural creation (heavenly bodies, earth, plants,
animals, mankind etc.) and the spiritual creation (angels, demons, other
heavenly beings etc.) as well.
Both riches and honour [come] of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand [is] power and might; and in thine hand [it is] to make great, and to give
strength unto all.
Now we read of all the benefits that we receive
from Jehovah…
1. riches – wealth,
material possessions
2. honour –
weight, significance, consideration
3. power –
authority, rulership
4. might –
physical strength, ability
5. to make
great – to cause to excel in any area
6. to give
strength – to conquer, to be victorious
Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and
praise thy glorious name.
After giving a three-fold reason we owe Jehovah our
praise (His person and attributes, His possession and control of all things,
and finally, His blessings and care given to us) David now explains our
indebtedness to “thank” and praise Him.
What is meant by to “thank” Him? Literally this Heb word means to “hold out
the hand”. This helps us to understand
the Biblical concept of the giving of thanks.
Scripturally, when we give thanks we are doing several things…
1. we are
acknowledging our need of Him (much like a baby holds out their hands to their
mother asking to be picked up and carried.)
Scriptural thanksgiving involves in recognition and proclamation of our
great need of Him in every area of our life… “in Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28)
2. we are
pointing the attention to Him (much like a person holds out their hand pointing
to an object that they want others to notice)
Much like John the Baptist directing the attention of His followers to
Christ by saying “Behold the lamb of God
who taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
3. we are
sending out our message of His goodness to us (much like we are handing over an
object to someone else by extending our hand.) This is much like the role of
the Apostle Paul who handed the message of what Christ had done on his behalf
to a lost and dying world. “…I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye
have received,..” (1Cor 15:1)
To summarize the above,
to give thanks to our Lord involves… submitted to His will and motivated by
appreciation and love, we tell others about what He has done for us, and how
badly we need Him in our lives.
What is meant by praising
Him? It carries with it the idea of
causing others to give Him their attention and respect.
The giving of thanks and
praise go hand in hand…. The natural result of giving Him thanks is to give Him
the praise He deserves. When we share
with others His workings and our need of Him we are naturally pointing their
attention and reverence to Him!
But who [am]
I, and what [is] my people, that we
should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things [come] of thee, and of thine own have we
given thee.
Finally, King David recognizes and
proclaims that the ability to thank Him is only through the gracious
intervention of God on our behalf. The capability
to thank and praise the Lord comes only through His intervention. Let me walk us through a bit of this idea.
Without His intervention…
1. If He does not give us our
physical life…. We cannot work in our midst here on earth.
2.
If He does not open our sin blinded eyes… we cannot see, nor understand,
His person and attributes.
3.
If He does not give us a mind capable of understanding … we cannot
recognize His intervention in our lives and His working on our behalf.
4.
If He does not give us a physical voice …. we cannot verbally thank Him
and share Him with others.
The list goes on and on… EVERYTHING
involved with us giving Him thanks is totally dependent upon His enabling us to
do so.
THE SUMMARY:
David presented his case logically by explaining:
1. First, the supremacy of Jehovah that is based
upon His attributes and person (vs 11a)
2. Second, His ownership and control that is a
result of His attributes and person (vs 11b)
3. Third, the recognition that all things flow
by/through Him due to His authority and control (vs 12)
4. Fourth, the logical need to thank Him for His
blessings since they all flow from Him (vs 13)
5. Fifth, the recognition that even the ability to
thank Him comes as an undeserved grace from Him (vs 14)
The conclusion we must come to…. He is a
wonderfully gracious, kind and loving Lord that gives His children the ability
to thank and praise Him for His workings among us. Let’s all be sure that we take advantage of this
wonderful privilege and appreciate all He has done for us and then give thanks
to the Lord by telling others about Him and all he has done for us!
And, finally, just as the Lord blesses us and shows
His love to us continually, let us remember to give Him thanks not just during
the Thanksgiving season but throughout the year.
May The Lord Continue To Bless You As You Seek The Truths Found In His Word.
Please visit the
“Settled In Heaven Ministries” homepage –
My Main Blog
“Settled In Heaven” – http://settledinheaven.wordpress.com
The following are
other places you can find “Settled In Heaven” blog www.settledinheavenblog.blogspot.com
To see this lesson
taught on video please go to my Video Blog at
http://www.youtube.com/settledinheaven
If you have any
questions concerning this blog, or if you have a subject you would like
discussed, please feel free to email me at settledinheaven@gmail.com. I will answer all emails via my blog,
email, or both.
Take A Look At My
Wife’s Artistic/Scriptural Devotion Blog http://alivewithchristart.blogspot.com
Follow my Squidoo
Instructional Lens “Presenting God’s Grace” “The Solemn Obligation To Present
the Doctrines of Grace to the Lost and Saved Alike” http://www.squidoo.com/presenting-gods-grace
May the Lord bless
your study of His Word. Like God’s Word…
may your soul’s salvation and your life’s faithfulness be “Settled in
Heaven.”
No comments:
Post a Comment