There shall be no strange god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. (Psalm 81:9-10) When Israel assembled at the foot of Mount Sinai before the Lord, the first thing He said to them was, “I...

Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! (Psalm 81:8) In the previous devotion, we acknowledged the need to listen to God and the benefit when we do. It is understood that, in listening to His Voice, we have intentions to obey...

Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! (Psalm 81:8) When God spoke from Sinai, all the people heard His Voice and became afraid. In fact, the tradition is that after hearing the first two commands, the people panicked and...

You called in trouble, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder. (Psalm 81:7) This verse is written in such a way that it obviously intends for us to receive this as if the Lord was speaking to us directly, no doubt written under the...

Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, at the full moon, on our solemn feast day. For this is a statute for Israel, a law of the God of Jacob. (Psalm 81:3-4) As we shared in the previous devotion, Jewish tradition believes that the horns of the ram Abraham...

Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, at the full moon, on our solemn feast day. For this is a statute for Israel, a law of the God of Jacob. (Psalm 81:3-4) In the previous devotion we addressed the fact that, as Abraham prepared to present Isaac as a burnt...

Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, at the full moon, on our solemn feast day. For this is a statute for Israel, a law of the God of Jacob. (Psalm 81:3-4) As we begin, it should be noted that there are different types of trumpets mentioned in the Bible. For...

Sing aloud to God our strength; make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob. Raise a song and strike the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the lute. (Psalm 81:1-2) If the previous psalm was composed with the suffering of exile in mind, this psalm expresses the exultation of...

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. Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; look down from heaven and see, and visit this vine and the...

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. (Psalm 80:9) There are many instances in Scripture where Israel is compared to a vine. Isaiah...

Restore us, O God; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved! (Psalm 80:3) As the psalm continues, the theme of exile and prayers for deliverance is recurring. In fact, these same words in the verse above are invoked three different times in this psalm  (Ps...

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth! Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up Your strength, and come and save us! (Psalm 80:1-2) When Jacob blessed Joseph from his deathbed, he...