Psalm 23:1-3
"The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake."
The Psalms have always been a source of great peace and comfort to the man or woman of God. But in addition to blessing and comfort, there is a definite prophetic element to the book.
Long before the time of Jesus, Jewish rabbis realized that Psalms was prophetic of world events. But there was something there that they couldn't quite touch because those events had not yet happened. The fulfillment of many things in the Psalms occurred when Jesus walked on earth. Others were meant for future generations, particularly, the generation just prior to His return. That's us, Church! We are the last generation.
Psalms first and foremost is prophetic of our Messiah like these verses below:
Psalms 22:1 "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning."
Psalms 22:6-7 "But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head..."
Jesus suffered and died 2,000 years ago yet David, incrediblly, wrote this Psalm more than 1,000 years earlier. He describes in excruciating detail what Jesus suffered that day, almost as if he was the one suffering. He probably realized he was speaking prophetically of the Messiah though he most likely didn't have the full revelation. But we sure do. His words speak VOLUMES to us!
Psalm 22 ends with these words: "HE HAS DONE THIS," literally, "IT IS FINISHED." This was Jesus' last cry from the cross just before he said, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." AMAZING!
The fact that the first and last lines of this Psalm are recorded as being spoken by Jesus on the cross indicates that He quoted the entire Psalm as He hung between heaven and earth. If He found comfort and strength from the Psalms in His darkest hour, then that is their main purpose. It is not primarily for the purpose of prophesying world events. But there are hints here and there of things that happened not only in Jesus' day but in ours as well.
The very next Psalm, 23, begins "The LORD IS my Shepherd, I shall not want..." He can now become our Shepherd because of what He accomplished in Psalm 22, in the past. That's why we, in the present, can expect Him to take care of us now.
"He MAKES me lie down in green pastures." Jesus has to MAKE ME lie down. I don't even know how to relax. "HE leadeth me beside still waters. HE restoreth my soul." HE DOES EVERYTHING!
But then..."yea though I walk..."
Uh oh, now "I walk." Now I go my own way and get into trouble. Even so, HE is still with me. He never leaves me. HIS ROD AND HIS STAFF COMFORT ME. All these promises are for us TODAY!
To summarize: Psalm 22 talks about Jesus passion in the past, Psalm 23 is for us today and Psalm 24 is our future. They're a timeline! Isn't God so cool!?
The books of the Bible are not arranged in order of chronology, otherwise Job would be first. Go to your table of contents and count. You'll see that the Holy Spirit has placed Psalms as the 19th book. This is no accident. There's a hint placed here for us pointing to events which occurred during the last century, the 1900's, and continuing up to the present day.
Following are some of the historical events of the last century as compared to the corresponding Psalm. These are just the highlights, you understand, as there are far too many to mention them all. See what you think.
It is worthy of note that everything that happens in the world today is because of the smallest nation of them all: Israel. All of world history revolves around that tiny nation. Let's see if the 19th book bears that out.
Following the line of thinking above, Psalm 42 would correspond to 1942. Remember what was happening at that time? WWll was raging. God's people, the Jews, were being destroyed in German concentration camps which were were in full swing. This Psalm talks about their sufferings.
"Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?" This is not a triumphant cry but one of utter despair.
(Yom HaShoah ve-laG'vurah: Holocaust and Heroes {Remembrance} Day)
No wonder Jesus wept so vehemently as He entered Jerusalem. His heart was literally breaking because He saw the holocaust; He saw what His people would suffer.
He loved them so much! All He wanted to do was gather them under His wings and protect them; but they would not allow it. Their leaders even went so far as to declare to Pilate "Let His blood be on us and on our children." On them and their children it was. This caused the 2,000 years of wandering and all their sufferings.
Because they refused to come under His wings of protection He had to leave them alone. He wanted to protect them but they didn't want Him. You see, God is a great respecter of your free choice. He won't force His protection on anyone.
Jesus died for ALL of us: Jew and Gentile. If you don't accept His payment for your sins, you are on the wrong side of His death and legally guilty of the blood of the Lord. Because the Jews rejected Him, they were on the wrong side and He was unable to protect them.
This crying out continues in Psalm 43 where we read: "Vindicate me, O God, And plead my cause against an ungodly nation."
Nation here is singular. What nation was that? Germany.
"Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!"
Again, man is singular. What man was that? Hitler.
Only in the early 40s do you find phrases like these. Though the persecution started much earlier in 1938, it wasn't until the early 40s that the German machine, headed by Hitler, rounded up the Jewish people. 6 million of them were cut off. That was fully 2/3 of their number worldwide! It happened just like Zachariah prophesied. (See Zachariah 13:8)
In Psalm 45, however, the tone changes dramatically from despair to triumph! No cries of despair out or pleading for help here:
"My heart is overflowing with a good theme."
WWll was over!
Further on there is even a hint of the atomic bombs. God calls them arrows: "Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies; The peoples fall under You."
In August of 1945, the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Two weeks later, on Nagasaki. Two very sad events after which WWll came to a very abrupt halt.
Look what it says near the end of Psalm 46: "Come, behold the works of the Lord , Who HAS MADE DESOLATIONS in the earth. HE MAKES WARS CEASE TO THE END OF THE EARTH; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire." Psalms 46:8-9
WWll literally involved the entire world, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Germany to Japan as well as the United States of America. In 1946 the world was beginning to recover as peace was restored. But here and there you can certainly see DESOLATIONS in the earth, especially in Japan. The atomic bombs left terrible destruction in their wake.
This phrase, "HE MAKES WARS CEASE TO THE END OF THE EARTH," appears nowhere else but here in Psalm 46. AMAZING! Our Bible is so accurate.
BUT.....Though 2/3 were cut off, the 1/3 returned! Their children came back and the nation of Israel was born soon after, fulfilling many Bible prophecies:
Zechariah 13:8-9 “And it shall come to pass in all the land,” Says the LORD, “ That TWO-THIRDS in it shall be cut off and die, But one –third shall be left in it: I will bring the one –third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. THEY WILL CALL ON MY NAME, AND I WILL ANSWER THEM. I will say, ‘This is My people’; And each one will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’ ”
On May 14th 1948 THE MOST AWESOME EVENT of monumental kairós (prophetic) proportions happened: The United Nations voted to give the Jews a homeland, much to their own surprise as well as most of the world. The Jewish people came back to their land after 2,000 years of exile!
President Harry Truman was the first world leader to recognize Israel as a state against the advice of his entire cabinet. Many of his staff threatened to resign if he endorsed the new nation.
He told his staff that he wanted three days in seclusion to consider the matter. What he did during those three days would not be known for 50 years.
We now know what he did during that time. He secluded himself in order to read the Bible! He read about King Cyrus who had helped the Jews return from Babylon to their homeland in 536 B.C. He wanted to be the second King Cyrus for the Jewish people, the "king" who helped them to return to their homeland after 2,000 years of wandering!
Jesus also said they would come back as a nation in this passage below:
“Now learn this parable from the FIG TREE: When its branch has already become tender and PUTS FORTH LEAVES, you know that SUMMER IS NEAR. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, THIS GENERATION WILL BY NO MEANS PASS AWAY TILL ALL THESE THINGS TAKE PLACE." Matthew 24:32-34
(Jewish people return to their homeland)
The fig tree is always a picture of Israel. It blossomed in 1948 when Israel came back as a nation. The generation that witnessed their return would be the last generation before Jesus comes to take back control over the earth. That's us!
Many people who witnessed this momentous event are now in their 70's and 80's
In alignment with their return, Psalm 48 sounds like a glorious celebration!
Psalm 48:1 "Great is the Lord , and greatly to be praised In the CITY of our God, In His HOLY MOUNTAIN." Aha! The Jews have a city!
"Beautiful in elevation, The joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, The city of the great King. God is in her palaces; He is known as her refuge." Psalm 48:2-3
Sounds like they're back in their land, doesn't it?
"WALK ABOUT ZION, And go all around her. COUNT HER TOWERS; Mark well her bulwarks; Consider her palaces; That you may tell it to the generation following. For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide Even to death." Psalm 48:12-14
Woohoo! They are home at last!
Further on it says "For behold, the kings assembled, They passed by together. They saw it, and so they marveled; They were troubled, they hastened away. Fear took hold of them there, And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs..." Psalm 48:4-6
"The king's of the earth" sounds like The United Nations, doesn't it? Not all voted in favor of Israel, of course, but enough of their number did. And, to the astonishment of the entire world, the Jews at last had a place to call home. They came back to their own land long ago promised to them by God.
Many of the UN members were deeply troubled, even frightened, at the formation of a Jewish state. It's beginning was definitely like that of a woman giving birth.
Less than 24 hours later the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, who heretofore had no desire whatsoever to posses the mosquito-ridden, malaria-infested wasteland that was Palestine, invaded. Though they were the rightful owners of the land, their neighbors bore an ancient hatred instigated and fueled by the devil himself. He hates Israel and hates the Jews because from them came the Dragon Slayer Who defeated him; The Lion of the tribe of Judah! JESUS IS HIS NAME!!!
These nations rose up in (un)holy anger, bound and determined to wipe the newly-formed state off the face of the earth. They had all the weapons and war machines they needed to bomb Israel into oblivion. But.......they failed MISERABLY!
What they didn't bargain for was Divine intervention. Just like Zachariah said, His people did call on Him and HE ANSWERED!!
There are no lack of stories about inexplicable things that happened to the would-be invaders: Damaging hail storms that sprang up out of nowhere; missles that either hit nothing, mysteriously changed course or simply failed to detonate.
Pilots from America came to the rescue unbidden. They got word that Israel was being attacked by five Arab nations with no way to defend herself. They responded to the call and came to their rescue at their own expense.
The Israelis had purchased a hodgepodge of old planes left over from the war. These pilots flew into Israel at night and assembled them from spare parts, hoping to be able to make them fly.....and fly they did!
They went to work on them, volunteering their time and expertise. Then they flew missions on behalf of Israel and were able to repulse their enemies on every side.
You can imagine the shock and surprise of their Arab adversaries as planes from the direction of the nation they thought didn't have an airforce bombed their planes on the tarmack!
David Bengurion called them "the finger of God."
Many of their enemies reported seeing this sight:
Yep. You guessed it: Armies of warrior Angels!
Others reported that their troops were unable to fire their weapons because their arms were paralysed!
These and many other stories did not come from the Israelis but from the other side.
As you can well imagine, their enemies were terrified, many surrendering without a shot being fired. They shouted "Salam, salam!" peace in Arabic. Afterward, many voiced a great respect for this powerful God that was obviously protecting His people.
Just prior to the Israel's return to their land, in the Spring of 1947, a Bedouin boy was looking for his lost goat in the barren Judaen desert near the Dead Sea. He heard it bleating in a cave somewhere.
Now, there are a lot of caves in this region and it is very dangerous for you to go into them. There are so many that if you get in trouble, it's nearly impossible for anyone to find and help you. So, the boy threw some stones into a cave as a precaution. He heard a crack as one of them hit what sounded like an earthen jar. Thinking he had stumbled upon some ancient treasure, he climbed into the cave and guess what he discovered? The Dead Sea scrolls!
This has been called THE MOST IMPORTANT HISTORICAL FIND OF ALL TIME!
Scholars soon began pouring over them.
Of particular interest was the scroll of Isaiah written on sheepskin 2,000 years earlier, from the time of Jesus. Incredibly, they found it to be WORD FOR WORD ACCURATE with our modern-day copies of the book! Ten caves in all were eventually discovered!
Who allowed this discovery? Our God, that's Who! They could be preserved for all that time because the Dead Sea area, the lowest place on planet earth, is very dry. Hardly any rain falls there, less than one inch per year.
This is all God's wisdom. He's assuring us that if His word is that accurate, YOU CAN TRUST HIM.....NOW! If He says His word is life and health to all our flesh, IT IS! If He says He will protect you from every evil and His angels guard you, IT IS SO.
How curious that this discovery happened just before the state of Israel was born because in Psalm 49 it says, “Hear this, all peoples; Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, Both low and high, Rich and poor together. My mouth shall speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding. I WILL INCLINE MY EAR TO A PROVERB; I WILL DISCLOSE MY DARK SAYING ON THE HARP.”
Psalms 49:1-4
David was the main psalmist and he played the psalms on his HARP. Hebrew is not only a form of picture writing, like Chinese but each of the 22 letters is also a musical note. Very cool! David's harp had 22 strings. He could quite literally play the psalms on his harp by knowing which note corresponded to which letter.
From 1949 on, God began to reveal His "DARK SAYINGS" to the Jewish people. More of their number have found Y'Shuah as their Messiah THAN EVER BEFORE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD.
Lest anyone still be a bit skeptical or think this is all just coincidence, let's check out some other events and see if they line up.
According to the rabbis, Psalm 67 is a priestly prayer. In order to pray this prayer the temple must be there. Remember what happened in 1967? The 6-day war. It was 6 days in the 6th month of the 6th decade.
When all the dust settled, the Jewish people got back Jerusalem INCLUDING THE WESTERN WALL OF THEIR ANCIENT TEMPLE! Amazing! The last time Israel conquered anything in 6 days was all the way back when Joshua led them as they conquered Jericho!
After both the events of 1948 and 1967 where God restored something back to Israel, there were great moves of God in the Church. The fig tree--Israel--is always blessed first and afterward the vine--the Church. Fig tree and vine move together.
In the 1950's there was an outpouring of God's spirit on the Church. They called it "the voice of healing." It was so easy to get healed back then! Then in the 1970's there was the Charismatic movement. Great revivals, people being saved and great growth in the Church.
Now, let's jump to Psalm 80 which says, “You have brought "A VINE" out of Egypt; You have cast out the nations, and planted it. You prepared room for it, And caused it to take deep root, And it filled the land. The hills were covered with its shadow, And the mighty cedars with its boughs. She sent out her boughs to the Sea, And her branches to the River.”
Psalms 80:8-11
Vine here is singular. To whom is it referring? The Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat. What happened in 1980?
President Sadat and IsraelI Prime Minister, Menachem Begin, signed a peace treaty with each other and Egypt became Israel's first ever SINCERE Arab ally. Never before had an Arab nation made peace with Israel.
In the Psalm above, God speaks of a "vine out of Egypt." Egypt usually typifies the world; but in this instance, there is a "vine," a singular vine coming out of Egypt, of all places!
Then, this vine was destroyed:
“Why have You broken down her hedges, So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit? The boar out of the woods uproots it, And the wild beast of the field devours it.”
Psalms 80:12-13
(President Anwar Sadat assassinated)
The year after making peace with Israel, President Sadat was watching a parade commemorating the 6-day war when terrorists drove by and sprayed a hail of bullets in his direction. He was hit seven times and died that very day.
God calls them "the boar" out of the woods destroyed this vine and the "wild beasts" devoured it.
He paid for that peace with his life.
Why was Egypt so anxious to sign a peace treaty with Israel in the first place? Seven years earlier in1973 during the Yom Kippur war, the Egyptian Army ran into several "issues" when they tried to attack Israel, suffering heavy casualties.
This is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar year, the Day of Atonement. No one was out in the streets because they were all in their synagogues. There was no one home watching television, there was no radio communication, there was nothing and no one to warn of an imminent attack.
There are many stories about what happened to the Egyptians. One of their top generals stopped his troops' advance because he saw a huge arm extending down from the clouds and holding up a hand, indicating they must stop. They were terrified, of course, so they stopped. Their stop was just long enough to give the Israelis time to gather their forces and retaliate.
Some of their trucks were poised on the mountains of Israel and would have successfully caught them by surprise had it not been for hail stones that pelted their trucks and armaments, crippling their equipment! They came out of a clear, blue sky, seemingly out of nowhere!
So what do you think? Is God's hand on Israel or what?
Does God keep His promises and protect His people! YOU BETCHA!!!
But He's also thinking about His Church. He left all this in His word for us to find so we would have greater and greater assurance that He is totally in control of us, our future and this world. We can rest assured that all is going according to HIS plan but most importantly that His word is TRUE. It is ACCURATE. IT IS TRUSTWORTHY.
There is SO MUCH MORE to tell but I think this article is long enough. Isn't it wonderful to know how much we are loved and protected by our Daddy! How exciting it is to watch God's word and look at events of today as Bible prophecies unfold before our very eyes.
Like Israel, WE ARE NOT AFRAID. Psalm 91 assures us that "a thousand shall fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you," child of God. Daddy is watching.
It's plain to see that there are blessings upon blessings upon blessings for us and our Jewish "relatives" especially in this, THE 19TH BOOK.
