Bible Reading Plan | Devotion for the week of November 21, 2021

Weekly reading: Genesis 46-50; Psalm 67-68
Passages referenced: Genesis 3:15; 1 Samuel 18:7; Psalm 50:15; 55:22; 68:18-21; 81:6-7; 138:7; Matthew 11:27-30; John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Ephesians 4:8

David is by far one of my favorite characters in the Bible. He was told at an early age that he would become the next king of Israel, but that didn’t happen right away. David defeated Goliath, became a mighty warrior in his own right, and earned Jonathan’s unwavering friendship. He then experienced multiple attempts on his life by Saul and was chased across and out of the country in order to survive. In time, David became king, but it was not an easy route to get there. During this time and throughout the challenging path as king, David wrote many poems of prayer, praise, grief, and worship.

These poems are scattered throughout the book of Psalms, one of which is Psalm 68. David begins this psalm by worshiping God. He recognizes God as a father to the fatherless, a protector to the widows, a provider for the needy, and more. As this psalm progresses, a foreshadowing Jesus appears, especially in verses 18-21:

You ascended on high, You have lead captive Your captives; 

You have received gifts among men, 

Even among the rebellious also, that the Lord may dwell there.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, 

The God who is our salvation.

God is to us a God of deliverances; 

And to God the Lord belong escapes from death.

Surely God will shatter the head of His enemies, 

The hairy crown of him who goes on in his guilty deeds.

In the book of Ephesians, Paul references verse 18, almost word for word, as he refers to the gift of grace Christ has given us (Ephesians 4:8). He states that Christ died for us, descended into hell, and took on our sins so that we could receive the grace He provides and share that hope with others as we grow and mature in Christ.

In several psalms, we see God bearing our burdens and providing rest, care, and rescuing us from trouble – sometimes even rescuing us from death itself (see Psalm 55:22, Psalm 81:6-7, Psalm 138:7, and Psalm 50:15). As we look at Psalm 68:19-20 through the lens of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, we see that God provides the ultimate gift of salvation. He bears our burdens and sins, granting an undeniable escape from death (see Matthew 11:27-30 and John 3:16).

In Psalm 68:21, David fully believed God would defeat his enemies for him. David witnessed time and time again his enemies fall by the wayside in battle, so much so that people would sing, “Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands.” (1 Samuel 18:7) After winning in battle that often, it would come as no surprise, David would believe that God would shatter the head of His enemies. This verse is a reference to Genesis 3:15, where just after the fall of man, God speaks to the serpent stating his head will be crushed, just as the serpent will strike man’s heel. Thousands of years later, the gospels give an account, summarized in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, of Christ dying on the cross for our sins, laying in a tomb for three days, and then rising again after defeating death once and for all. After knowing and believing God will and has defeated his enemies, it’s no wonder David ends Psalm 68 by worshiping God for His power, majesty, and strength. – Abby Sroufe

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