◄ What Does Psalm 81:10 Mean? ►

"I, the LORD, am your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

Psalm 81:10(NASB)

Picture courtesy of Moody Publishers

Verse of the Day

When God chose Israel to be His people, He made a covenant with them. He promised great blessings if they were true to His Word, obeyed His commands, and remained faithful to the God Who brought them out of Egyptian slavery. However, He also warned of the consequences of disobedience and unbelief. He forewarned of the afflictions that would follow if they wandered after foreign gods and backslid into apostasy.

God gave them the Law, the feasts, the priesthood, and the tabernacle, to remind them of the special privileges of being His chosen nation. One of the annual feast days they were to celebrate was the Feast of Trumpets which not only reminded them of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, but of His promise to provide bountifully for their daily needs and satisfy them with good things.

God is not a hard task-master but a good and gracious Provider, and in this Psalm, the people of Israel were called to rejoice in the God of their salvation and to sing for joy to the Lord Who is their strength. They were encouraged to shout joyfully to the God of Jacob, as they blew the trumpet to celebrate the annual feast at the time of the new moon, and they celebrated the feasts of the Lord with timbrels and dancing.

In this verse, the people are reminded of who they are and what God has promised to do for them: "I am the LORD, am your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it." God had proved His power many times in Egypt, as plague after plague fell upon their cruel slave-masters. And as Israel set out on their journey to the Promised Land, the Lord tested their faithfulness along the way.

The same God Who clothed the lilies of the valley and fed the wild birds, guaranteed his people blessings in abundance. All God wanted from His people was that they continued to heed His Word, trust His promises, obey His commands, and walk worthy of the privilege they enjoyed as His covenant nation. They were not to lust after the false god's of Egypt nor walk in the counsel of their own imagination.

History not only illustrates God's long-suffering mercy towards His people but also records Israel's ongoing infidelity and their incredible fall into apostasy, for we read: "But My people did not listen to My voice. Israel did not obey Me - so I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices."

There are so many lessons we can learn from Israel's failure and so many reasons to rejoice in the God of our salvation. Just as He brought Israel up from the land of Egypt, so He has redeemed us from the slave-market of sin, lifted us out of the miry clay, and pardoned all our iniquities.

Just as He promised to bless His people Israel and fill their mouths with good things, so He has given us all we need for life and godliness. He has clothed us in the righteousness of Christ and has promised to come again to take us to be with Himself.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word and the truths it contains. Thank You for rescuing me from the slave-market of sin and for Your many precious promises of provision, which are all 'yes' and 'amen' in Christ Jesus my Saviour. Thank You that You are the same, yesterday, today, and forever, and that Your Word is truth and can never fail. I pray that I may not make the same mistakes as Your people, Israel, but learn every lesson You would teach me. And help me to trust in Your Word as I look for the any-day return of Jesus. This I ask in His precious name, AMEN.