6. Lightning: A Sign of New Hope Psalm 29:8-9

 Text:  “The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kaddesh.  The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calf, and discovereth the forests; and in His temple doth every one speak of His glory.”

                                                                                                                 Psalm 29:8-9.

Good morning, shook up and remade Christian!  In order to awaken you soul and mine out of the utter darkness and deadly slumber of sin, the Lord had to shake us up and remake us as His new creation in Christ Jesus.  We are, thus, ‘shook up and remade Christians’.  Hallelujah!  Let this reality shake us up a little more today!

“And you hath He quickened (shook up and remade) who were DEAD in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation (entire lifestyle of sin and disobedience) in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature (natural birth) the children of wrath, even as others.  But God Who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved), and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”  (Ephesians 2:1-6)

The Lord God Almighty was compelled to ‘shake up and remake’ the nation of Israel, none so much as at the times they were in and around ‘the wilderness of Kadesh’.

Kadesh, or Kadesh-Barnea, meaning consecrated or holy, was located north of The Sinai Peninsula between the Wilderness of Paran and the Wilderness of Zin. It is first mentioned in The Bible during the time of Abraham, and later, during the Wilderness Journey after the Exodus. The Israelites remained for many years at, and in the vicinity of, Kadesh.  (Wayne Blank)

Verse 8. “The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kaddesh.  Kadesh in Holy Scriptures is often associated with a place of sin and disobedience, where the children of Israel - recently freed from Egypt by the miraculous hand of God - refused to go into the land promised by Him, because of their fears of the people that dwelt there.  They wandered around the wilderness of Kadesh for forty years as a dire consequence of their disobedience and mistrust of God’s Word.  All people above twenty years perished, except for Caleb and Joshua, chosen by God to live and continue on into the Promised Land.  (Numbers 13:25-33)

“And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against Me…your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against Me, doubtless shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun…But as for you, your carcasses, they shall fall in this wilderness.  And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredom, until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness.”  (Numbers 14:26-33)

The children of Israel wandered and were wasted in Kadesh until the voice of the Lord spoke again unto them His Words of Atonement and reconciliation - and just like a sudden thunder and lightning storm, the disobedient were shook up and remade by God’s Sovereign grace, and became obedient servants of Jehovah God once more.

Verse 8.  The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.  Unless the voice of the Lord shakes up the sinful soul, that soul shall never awaken Spiritually and be made fit - by the precious Blood of Christ - to enter the Promised Land of Heaven.  ’Ye must be born again!’  (John 3:3-8)

“But God Who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved), and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”  (Ephesians 2:4-6)  Praise God for His great Salvation through Christ, His Son!

When wandering in the wilderness of sin’s darkness - only the Lord God can bring us true and certain HOPE.  He shakes us up in order to sort us out in holiness and grace.

Verse 9.  “The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve.  Our first parents sought a refuge among the trees but the voice of the Lord soon found them out and made their hearts to tremble.  The Gospel has a like revealing power in dark hearts and bids the soul tremble before the Lord.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, pages 142-143)

“Doth the Lord take care of hinds?  Then certainly He takes care of those that particularly belong to Him.”  (Joseph Caryl 1602-1673)

Verse 9.  “…And in His temple doth every one speak of His glory.  There is far more royal power in the thunder of the Word than in the word of thunder.  This terrifieth only to conviction, but that terrifieth to Salvation.”  (Joseph Caryl 1602-1673)

Thought:  Eternal new hope is heralded by ‘the voice of God…’, and new creatures in Christ are produced for Eternity by its sound.  Ever speak to our hearts, dear Lord God, we beseech Thee.