And sojourners in it…
As long as we are in this current age, there will be a gap between what God has promised and what we see, because some promises are on the other side of things..
Consider Psalm 105, which early on, drops this powerhouse promise.
“He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,” Psalm 105:8 ESV
And then we continue to read the chapter and realize that even with this promise, things get thorny for His people pretty quickly. They still do.
That’s not to say that He does not bless us - most of us can look around and quickly name a dozen things that we would attribute to God’s hand in our lives. It’s just that the fullness of what He promises us isn’t seen in this age.
And at times, what we do see makes us wonder. Note this phrase, spoken over God’s chosen people, the Jews, later in the same chapter.
Psalm 105:12 describes them as “…few in number, of little account, and sojourners in it., wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another….”.
This is not the promise they hoped for - or will eventually see…but that doesn’t mean God was not moving. In this chaotic state of wandering and wondering, God was intervening on their behalf, often behind the scenes.
“…he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account, saying, “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!”” Psalm 105:14-15 ESV
If you look around and think, “We’re few in number and of little account”, don’t stop looking. With God’s promise comes His special attention and protection in ways we don’t even notice. It’s likely the Jews had no idea of the number of kings that were rebuked on their behalf, or the evil that was held back because they were faithful in waiting for the fulness of His promise.
This chapter, which starts with a promise but quickly tapers into misery, ends - like the stories of God do - ends in victory.
“Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold, and there was none among his tribes who stumbled. Egypt was glad when they departed, for dread of them had fallen upon it.” Psalm 105:37-38
The Jews went from promise to misery to departing their captors with riches, and the captors being glad to be rid of them.
