Sunday, February 2, 2014

Psalm 29:5

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely
Psalm 29:5

5 The voice [qowl] of the LORD [Yahovah] breaketh [shabar] the cedars ['erez]; yea, the LORD [Yahovah] breaketh [shabar] the cedars ['erez] of Lebanon [Labanown].  KJV-Interlinear

5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.  NASB

The cedar trees of Lebanon are often referred to as lofty and grand especially in their size, Psalms 29:5
1 Kings 4:33; 5:6; Ps 92:12; Ezra 3:7.   And here the thunder of Gods voice, is sound and not a reference to the lightning behind the thunder, and when sound can cause a huge tree to collapse or break apart, then that sound is powerful indeed.  And obviously the lightning that caused the sound has to be phenomenal too.

Lightning and thunder are generally accompanied with wind and rain or hail or tornadoes and such other things.  And so it would be easy to understand the destruction that can be caused by a giant storm.  But no such reference is made to the other components of a storm.  This is not even a reference to a storm.  It is only a reference to the voice of God.

And not only is it referred to as dynamic and overwhelming, but it contains inherent destructive power.  Power that nothing can stand before it.

And as mentioned yesterday, there are seven references to Gods voice, molded in the form of thunder.  Just as in Revelation, there are mentioned seven thunders that will occur in the Tribulation, but their exact nature is sealed up and not disclosed.

We can speculate that this might refer to the seven continents being destroyed, or to seven meteors colliding into the world with huge and catastrophic results.  These would certainly be accompanied with noise in the extreme.  But of course any speculation would be only that.  Your imagination can probably picture many possible scenarios, but most likely none of our guesses will be right.

But we also have to interpret the passages as they were intended in the time in which they were written.  And back in Davids day, this type of power of sound was most likely unheard of and therefore intended to put anyone and everyone who might hear of it, in a state of overwhelming awe.

In our current day, we have seen many catastrophes.  We know that sound can break glass if focused correctly and at the right frequency.  But that would be manmade and on a very small scale.

So, when thunder rolls across a vast region and destroys everything in its path, then that should cause everyone to sit up and take notice.  But will it?  No.

When the Tribulation does occur, people will be so detached and disengaged and desensitized to awesome power, that when these things do occur, and when the world is literally coming apart, they will still resist looking to Christ as Lord.  And that is just how far down society will have fallen spiritually, and into evil, thus causing the need for the end of it all.

You and I can look at a storm and be in awe, and it probably does not take much to put us in awe, but there will come a time, when even the power and voice of God will not have any impact on people, except in their destruction.

Even now, people look to false religions and not see their flaws.  How much more will it take to not see any form of truth?