My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

HE WHO STRUCK DOWN GREAT KINGS

Psalm 136:17 to him who struck down great kings, for his steadfast love endures forever;

We are in a psalm this morning that has the constant refrain of “for His steadfast love endures forever”. The psalmist begins with statements of praise toward the Lord, the God of God’s and the Lord of Lords, and transitions to the mighty acts of creation for 6 verses, each act of creation displaying His steadfast love.

Starting in verse nine, the psalmist focuses his description of the steadfast love of God to the nation of Israel, and how He brought the family of Abraham out of slavery and through the Red Sea.

All the previous statements regarding God’s works may be considered positive and generally a blessing. That is until verse 15, where the psalmist speaks of “shaking off”, or overthrowing the Pharoah of Egypt. The psalmist them continues speaking of those who had to be “dealt with” in order to establish and protect His new nation.

Dealing with a nation in our verse speaks of striking down great kings. Remember that when a king is struck down, the people he ruled over fall into turmoil. Sometimes the turmoil is minor, and sometimes it is a major upheaval in the nations life. Consider Egypt. Their history after the exodus was impacted greatly. For those kings that were not compliant with God’s will, they also fell and the people associated with the king suffered.

How can the psalmist claim that God’s steadfast love endures forever, when the action includes secondary impacts that are detrimental to those around the nation?

Two thoughts come to mind.

Those who opposed God and His will suffered due to their refusal to join into the work of God. Many times in the history of Israel we find a foreigner being accepted into the nation of Israel, avoiding judgement and falling under the covenantal blessing of God. Rahab is an example.

Though the psalmist is focusing on the nation of Israel, and how God has acted in the formation and continuation of the nation of Israel, the psalmist takes an interesting turn as the passage closes. The last few verses do not use the term “Israel”, but describes those who…

• were of a low estate,
• were helpless (rescued from foes)
• receive food from Him (gives food to all flesh)

The psalmist spends time narrowing down on the acts of God specifically for the nation of Israel, but finishes with God’s general “steadfast love” for all.

Our selfish “my kingdom” reactions to the will of God may place us on the hurting side of life, but the steadfast love of God endures forever.

HE WHO STRUCK DOWN GREAT KINGS is still on the move throughout the earth, conquering each man’s will, taking out those who oppose His will, and offering forgiveness through manifold and multiple opportunities for those who will be of a low estate, willing to admit their helplessness and receive the good news of a God who STRUCK DOWN GREAT KINGS, even our greatest enemy, death and destruction.

Let us remember the priorities of our God. He is a long term Planner and intermediate impacts along the way (that are surely difficult for our sensitivities), should not consume our perspective.

He is One whose steadfast love endures forever!

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I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

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