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Day 147

Psalm 78:50b "He did not spare their soul from death..."

Day 147 – Psalm 78

“He did not spare their soul from death…” Psalm 78:50b

A CHALLENGING TASK

The psalmist Asaph had a challenging task as he wrote Psalm 78. It was difficult to try and teach the children of Israel about God. They did not seem to be able to fathom God in any great depth. Many hold a simplistic understanding of God.

1. If God is good and compassionate, then He cannot mete out a heavy death sentence.

2. If God can pronounce a death sentence on mankind, then He is not a compassionate God.

GREAT EFFORT

Asaph put in great effort to teach Israel that God can play a dual role without being contradictory.

“He made a path for His anger;
He did not spare their soul from death,
But gave their life over to the plague.”
Psalm 78:50

1. “He made a path for His anger”

a) Can God have righteous anger against sinful mankind?
Yes!
b) Can He express that anger?
Yes! He will make a path for His anger.

2. “He did not spare their soul from death”

a) Did animals die in the plagues of God?
Yes!
b) Did people die in the plagues?
Yes!
c) God gave fair warning to Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
They gave no heed to His word. God did not spare the souls of unrepentant sinners from death.

3. “But gave their life over to the plague”

a) Behind the plagues were the angels of destruction.
b) They did not cause indiscriminate and wanton damage.
c) They spared the land of Goshen from all the plagues (Exodus 9:26).