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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Sunday, 15 June 2025:
Psalm 76:1-3, 11 – In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel. His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them; let all around him bring gifts to him who is to be feared.
Nations are great when God is known by the people and respected by the people as God.
Asaph’s Psalm explains that where God is truly “known,” He is truly worshipped, feared, and obeyed. When speaking to the Pharisees who pursued obedience and religion motivated by pride and self-righteousness, Jesus reiterated this truth — you must not be like the hypocrites [actors]. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward….
To those who would truly honor God as God, Jesus said, “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’” (Matthew 6:5, 9, 10) Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary says that “hallowed” means to “mentally venerate,” and venerate means to revere, adore, esteem, honor or worship. When God is truly hallowed, and honored as KING in the heart, genuine worship and wholehearted obedience is the result.
1 Kings 10 and 2 Chronicles 9 tell of how the Queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon’s greatness, visited him and said this, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the report that I heard.” (2 Chronicles 9:5, 6) Her experience with Solomon seems like a great example for the Christian life. Hearing about Jesus and believing enough to go to him is the first step – “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17; Galatians 3:5) However, our faith blossoms when hearing transitions to experiencing. We are not witnesses to what we have heard, nor witnesses to a philosophy or religion. We are witnesses to what we have seen and experienced first-hand; and we are witnesses to who we know personally and genuinely.
It is the reality of Christ within us that produces fruit and works which will not be destroyed (see 1 Corinthians 3:12). When the queen of Sheba experienced first-hand the truth of Solomon, then she offered him many gifts with a heart similar to what Asaph describes in today’s Psalm – “let all around him bring gifts to him who is to be feared.” In response to the queen’s honoring of him, Solomon “gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked.”
Consider how Solomon’s response to Sheba compares to the words of Jesus in John 15: “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing…. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” Let it be said “In [your heart] God is known; His name is great in [your heart].” John 15:11 — “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
These opening verses celebrate God’s powerful presence in Zion and his victory over Israel’s enemies. The psalmist reminds us that God’s dwelling among his people isn’t just comforting—it is mighty, active, and always working for our deliverance.
Psalm 76:11-12 — Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them; let all around him bring gifts to him who is to be feared, who cuts off the spirit of princes, who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.
The psalmist calls us not only to recognize God’s power, but to respond faithfully with promises fulfilled and hearts surrendered. Those in high places tremble before him; he deserves absolute allegiance.
The nation who obeys God is the nation God blesses. Again, our only hope for America is repentance and revival.
When you must choose between your loyalty to God or government, always remain loyal to God.
Joshua 20:1–3 – Then the Lord said to Joshua, ”Speak to the people of Israel, saying, ’Appoint cities of refuge for you, that the accidental manslayer may flee there… that he may not die by the hand of the avenger of blood before he stands before the congregation.’”
Here God establishes six cities of refuge, places of protection and justice for someone who had accidentally caused death. These cities reveal his compassionate design to protect, evaluate fairly, and offer resolution instead of vengeance.
Joshua 20:4–6 – “And when he flees to one of those cities… they shall take him into the city as one of them… and they shall give him a place to live among them… he shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation… and until the death of the high priest. Then the manslayer may return and come to his own city.”
These verses highlight God’s thoughtful provisions: refuge, fair hearing, and final release tied to the death of the high priest (foreshadowing Christ’s death). Justice and mercy go hand in hand in God’s kingdom.
God’s victories and divine order in Psalm 76 and Joshua 20 converge in a powerful lesson: God is sovereign over both justice and refuge, judgment and mercy. He is both the righteous Judge who shatters the weapons of evil, and the compassionate Protector who provides safe haven and fair hearings for the vulnerable. In His perfect sovereignty over justice and mercy, God reveals His greatest attributes – Omnipotence (all-powerful), Omniscience (all-knowing), Omnibenevolence (supremely good), Holiness, and Love. Only within His will can there be true justice. Only in His power can there be genuine love and true mercy.
- Micah 6:8: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”.
- Psalm 37:27-29: “Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever,”.
- 1 John 4:16 — So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
- Exodus 34:6-7 — The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 15 June 2025: WOD – God calls you to be both just and merciful. In your daily interactions, inspect your heart: do you judge too quickly? Do you withhold forgiveness? Just as God stood as both judge and refuge, seek opportunities to balance truth and grace. Choose one act of tangible compassion today—a sobering conversation, a protective stand for someone misjudged, a prayer or gift of mercy—especially toward someone vulnerable or wrongly accused. Ask God: “Lord, help me reflect your justice and your heart of refuge. Give me strength to represent you well today.”
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 