The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth, and strips the forests bare; and in His temple everyone says, “Glory!” (Psalm 29:8-9)

In these verses, David continues describing the might and majesty of God’s voice. In the previous devotion, we shared that the sound of God’s voice breaks the power of the earth’s mighty ones; as a flame of fire, His voice consumes everything that is in opposition to His will. Similarly, the voice of the LORD causes the vast desolate wilderness to shake — but more literally, travail. The Hebrew word יחל yachel means “to writhe, convulse or travail” as a woman in labor. That I find to be interesting in light of the next statement — “The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth.”

On one hand, the voice of the LORD causes His Creation to shake and travail, as if in pain; at the same time, the same voice can bring forth life in the most fragile members of His Creation. The same voice that spoke forests into existence at the beginning can also strip the forests bare so that nothing is left. The two sides of this same coin bring to mind the description of the LORD as a consuming fire. Consider — in His Presence, the everlasting hills will melt like wax (Psalm 97:5); at the same time, the same consuming fire can speak to Moses from a bush that is not consumed. It seems that the different outcome is based on whether we receive or resist.

The writer of Hebrews hints at this scenario when he says that, in the last days, the voice of the LORD will “shake not only the earth, but also heaven” in order to remove “those things that are being shaken … that the things which cannot be shaken may remain…. For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:26-29). The same voice will remove anything or anyone that is not worthy to stand; at the same time, His voice will sustain and support those things which are worthy to remain. As the writer of Hebrews noted, we are part of a kingdom that cannot be shaken. The Kingdom of God will never falter but will always stand, meaning that those who are part of His House will be standing whenever everything else is crumbling into dust. This brings us to our concluding thought for today as expressed in the words of David who said, that everyone who is in His temple will say, “Glory!”

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill 

Become a Premium Partner

or make a one time gift below.