We Have Heard

April 10

Deuteronomy 17-18

Psalm 44:1-8

Proverbs 10:28-30

Luke 9:1-17

We Have Heard

“O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have recounted to us the work that You did in their days, in the days of old….For I will not trust in my bow, and my sword will not save me.  But You have saved us from our adversaries, and You have put to shame those who hate us.  O God we have boasted all day long, and we will give thanks to Your name forever.”  Psalm 44:1, 6-8 LSB

A few days ago, we looked at the importance of passing down our faith from generation to generation.  Today’s passage gives us insight into the effect it can have.  The Psalm was written by the sons of Korah.  We know that Korah and most of the members of his immediate family were killed by God for his rebellion against Moses.  Some of his descendants survived and became musicians and gatekeepers in the temple.  Verse one of this Psalm says, “Our fathers have recounted to us the work that You did in their days.”  He is obviously not referring to Korah, but rather his spiritual fathers.  Our responsibility to pass on the faith does not stop with our children and grandchildren, it extends to all the people God places in our lives in our community of faith.  Someone came alongside Korah’s sons and discipled them in faith.  Someone passed down the stories of God’s past deliverance and faithfulness and helped them understand the reliability and steadfastness of their God.  God’s mighty acts in the past were deeply ingrained in their hearts so that they had confidence that He would act on their behalf again.  They were currently experiencing distress and difficulty, but instead of losing hope, they were able to recount the stories they had heard and call on God to intervene in that way again. 

            They were not demonstrating a secondary faith (which I would argue is not true faith).  By this I mean relying on the faith of their parents but never incorporating that faith into their own lives.  We see that a lot today.  There are many people who grew up going to church and had parents who were believers.  They know the Bible stories and believe there is a God but have never placed their faith in Jesus personally.  If asked they would tell you they believe in God, but there is no transformation in their lives.  That kind of faith is not what is evidenced in this Psalm.  The Psalmist declares that he will “not trust in my bow, and my sword will not save me.”  He trusts God and not his own power and strength.  He knows that God is his source of protection and relies on Him to bring deliverance from his enemies.  When we are facing difficulty or a season of hardship, one of the best things we can do is recount to ourselves the times that God has been faithful to us in the past, thank Him for His faithfulness and proclaim our confidence that He will be faithful in our current situation.  Recalling times when we or those we know have struggled and come through gives us an anchor that can hold us firm when the storms are raging.  Someone taught the sons of Korah to do this.  We need to make sure we are passing this habit on to those we are discipling as well.