Only God knows why he sometimes answers these prayers in the moment and other times, like with the Hebrews’ enslavement in Egypt, or blacks’ enslavement in the United States, it takes centuries. But the psalmist rests in the truth that God is King for ever and ever and that these wicked nations will perish from the land. God is more powerful than the wicked nations who oppress and enslave and exploit. He was more powerful than Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Rome. And he’s certainly more powerful than the United States and the rest of today’s world powers.
Psalm 9 Devotional – The God of the Oppressed
Oppression and injustice happen when a person or a group of people is deprived, usually by law or by force, of basic and equal rights that are allotted to others. Often oppression and injustice use categories of people to afflict their damages. For example, our country was founded and built on laws that allowed for the brutal killing and enslavement of blacks and Native Americans, with many laws explicitly benefiting white people by name. This is oppression and injustice. Refugees are oppressed by something going on in their home country that they are fleeing from in order to save their lives. This is often religious or ethnic persecution and is often related to wars or guerrilla warfare dangers. The oppressed are the ones under the boot of those with power. We get less comfortable talking about oppression and injustice when we start looking at the vast inequities in the United States between whites and people of color. It’s a lot easier to talk about oppression of biblical times and the distant past, but much more uneasy when it’s right under our nose and we may or may not even be aware of it or acknowledge it.
What does the Bible say about the Sabbath?
What does the Bible say about the Sabbath? Why did God institute the Sabbath on the 7th day of his creation? Was he tired? Did he need a nap after all that creating? Of course not. So why in Genesis 2:2-3 does God rest from all of his work, blessing the day and making it […]
Black Lives Matter Yard Sign Vandalized After 3 Months #BlackLivesMatter
Honestly, I was surprised my Black Lives Matter yard sign made it as long as it did. After three months, it finally met its first round of vandalism. You can see in the photos below that someone decided to write the word All all over the word Black with a permanent marker: Having the […]
4 Essential Points Misunderstood by Whites in the #BlackLivesMatter Movement
I posted somewhat of an emotional rant a few days ago after watching the body camera footage of unarmed black Sam Dubose being shot in the head by white police officer Ray Tensing at point blank range…followed by Tensing blatantly lying to his fellow officers about what happened as a way of trying to make […]
Jesus’ Authority Keeps Us Unshakable When Suffering Comes
I had the opportunity to preach at Trinity Church in Lansing this past Sunday on Romans 8:31-39. Romans 8:31 and Romans 8:37 are home run verses that we love (and I love), but if we’re not careful they can become verses we take out of context and use to formulate a theology that bad things […]