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OKLAHOMA FOOTBALL

GROWING UP IN OKLAHOMA, FOOTBALL WAS A BIG DEAL FOR EVERYONE.

I JUST HAPPENED TO GO TO ONE OF THE TWO HIGH SCHOOLS THAT ENDED UP COMPETING AGAINST EACH OTHER EVERY YEAR IN THE STATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP.

EACH YEAR WE WOULD VASCILATE BACK AND FORTH FROM STADIUM-TO-STADIUM FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME.

I WAS ALWAYS STRUCK AT HOW FRIENDLY EACH STUDENT BODY WAS TOWARDS EACH OTHER UNTIL THAT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL GAME.

AS SOON AS THE "AWAY" TEAM AND THEIR FANS ARRIVED AT THE "HOME" STADIUM, THE HOME TEAM BECAME VERBALLY HOSTILE TOWARDS THE OPPOSING FANS - THEY WANTED NOTHING MORE THAN TO DEMOLISH THE TEAM ON THE FIELD BECAUSE THEY HAD ARRIVED ON OUR TURN AND SET THEMSELVES UP AGAINST US.

SOMETHING SIMILAR IS HAPPENING HERE IN PSALM 48:4-7.

PSALM 48:4-7

THE PSALMIST MAKES THE FOLLOWING LINES A PART OF THEIR SONG:

4 FOR BEHOLD, THE KINGS ASSEMBLED;

    THEY CAME ON TOGETHER.

5 AS SOON AS THEY SAW IT, THEY WERE ASTOUNDED;

    THEY WERE IN PANIC; THEY TOOK TO FLIGHT.

6 TREMBLING TOOK HOLD OF THEM THERE,

    ANGUISH AS OF A WOMAN IN LABOR.

7 BY THE EAST WIND YOU SHATTERED

    THE SHIPS OF TARSHISH.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE A FEW THINGS IN THIS MOMENT.

  1. THE KINGS HAVE COME TO IT - IT IS JERUSALEM, THE CAPITAL OF ISRAEL, AND HOME OF THE TEMPLE
  2. THE KINGS HAVE COME AGAINST IT - THEY AREN'T SEEKING WISDOM, TRADE, OR PEACE
  3. THE KINGS SIMPLY SEE IT AND DECIDE THEY'VE ALREADY HAD ENOUGH
  4. THE KINGS ARE SCATTERED AND SHATTERED ON THE SEA

IT'S WORTH NOTING THAT ALL THROUGHOUT SCRIPTURE, GOD IS IN FACT A FAN OF THE NATIONS COMING TO IT TO SEEK WISDOM, WORSHIP, AND TO LEARN THE WAY.

HOWEVER, ANYONE THAT COMES AGAINST IT GET'S THE WRATH OF PAPA BEAR - THEY GET SCATTERED AND SHATTERED.

SCATTER & SHATTER

I NOTED THIS IN A PREVIOUS POST, AND IT WOULD BE TOO TIME CONSUMING TO RE-TELL THE WHOLE OF IT HERE, BUT IT'S HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT WAS:

  • TRUE FOR THE TEMPLE WAS
  • TRUE OF JERUSALEM WAS
  • TRUE OF ISRAEL WAS
  • TRUE OF GOD'S PEOPLE WAS
  • TRUE OF THE EARLY CHURCHES AND FINALLY WAS
  • TRUE OF HOUSEHOLDS

FOR THE SAKE OF THIS POST, IT WILL BE HELPFUL TO SPEAK OF THIS SONGS CORRELATION TO THE HOME, BECAUSE THE REALITY IS THE HOME IS NOT A LIVING ARRANGEMENT OF ROOMMATES UNDER ONE ROOF THAT SHARE THE LAST NAME. ON THE CONTRARY, THE HOME IS THE "DOMESTIC CHURCH" AND THE PRIMARY PLACE OF INSTRUCTION AND PRAYER. AS A RESULT, THE HOME IS A SMALL TEMPLE AND (IN A SENSE) THE PROMISES OF GOD APPLY.

THIS PSALM APPLIED TO THE HOME BRINGS A FEW THINGS TO MIND.

  1. THE ENEMY, SATAN, SIN HAS SET HIMSELF UP AGAINST YOUR HOUSE.
    • THIS CAN TAKE LOTS OF DIFFERENT FORMS:
      • IDOLATRY/SPIRITUAL - ORIENTING OUR LIVES PRIMARILY TOWARDS SOMETHING OTHER THAN GOD
      • PHYSICAL/HEALTH - SICKNESS AND DISEASE COMING AGAINST YOUR FAMILY
      • MENTAL/RELATIONAL - ANIMOSITY, BITTERNESS, RESENTMENT BETWEEN MEMBERS
      • MATERIAL/FINANCIAL - MAKING YOUR FINANCIAL CONDITION (LOWER, MIDDLE, OR UPPER) SUCH THAT YOU FORGET GOD
  2. THE PSALMIST WOULD SUGGEST THAT THE DOMESTIC CHURCH CAN BE SUCH A PLACE OF PRAYER, WORSHIP, AND INSTRUCTION THAT SIMPLY THE SITE OF THE HOME AND IT'S PRAYING, WORSHIPPING MEMBERS AND COVERING OF GOD WOULD CAUSE THE ENEMIES OF THE HOME TO FLEE.
  3. NOT ONLY WOULD THESE ENEMIES FLEE, BUT THEY WOULD SCATTERED AND SHATTERED AT SEA. PSALM 68:1 BEGINS WITH THE LINE, "LET GOD ARISE, LET HIS ENEMIES BE SCATTERED. LET THEM ALSO THAT HATE HIM FLEE BEFORE HIM."

THIS PSALM INVITES THE SINGER TO REMEMBER THAT GOD DOES NOT TOLERATE ENEMIES (POVERTY, SICKNESS, DISCORD, DISEASE), BUT HAS THE INTENTION TO SCATTER AND SHATTER THEM.

AN ENCOURAGEMENT: ESTABLISH A HOUSE THAT IS SUCH A PLACE THAT GOD DWELLS, THAT SIMPLY THE SITE OF THE HOME CAUSES GOD'S ENEMIES TO BE SCATTERED.