OCTOBER 17 * BIBLE STUDY LESSON 7

God Provides Refuge

Bible Background • PSALM 46:1-7
Printed Text • PSALM 46:1-7 l Devotional Reading • HEBREWS 6:13-20

AIM FOR CHANGE

By the end of the lesson, we will: IDENTIFY ways that God is a present help in times of
trouble; FEEL COMFORTED in knowing that God provides refuge in times of trouble;
and SHARE experiences where God has provided refuge in trying times.

IN FOCUS
It was the worst time in Kim's life. Her dad had just died of cancer, and she had moved
her mom into her home with her family so they could care for her. Her mom was very
sweet, but she needed so much care. Kim was glad her husband and her daughter were so
helpful.
Kim was completing her doctorate, which meant she was gathering data for the all-
important dissertation. On top of that, her stay-at-home job had suddenly become one in
which she had to drive 36 miles each way into another state every day. But the worst thing
of all was her boss. Every time he called a meeting, he seemed to delight in making Kim
cry in front of all her coworkers.
Every morning, as Kim opened her Bible, she would cry out to the Lord and ask Him to
take her home. Things were that bad. She knew that suicide was not an option for a
Christian, but this time in her life was unbearable. It was only by the grace of God that
she held on.
Have you experienced God as your refuge and strength in a time of great trouble? Often
you cannot feel His presence at the time, but looking back over the experience, you can see
how He sustained you.

KEEP IN MIND
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).
Focal Verses
Psalm 46:1 God is our
refuge and strength, a very
present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the
earth be removed, and though the mountains
be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though the waters thereof roar and be
troubled, though the mountains shake with
the swelling thereof. Selah.
4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall
make glad the city of God, the holy place of the
tabernacles of the most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be
moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were
moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God
of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
Tke People, Places, and. Times
King David, the Musician. Although we do
not have the musical notes for the psalms,
they were written to be sung. Many of the
psalms were written by or for King David,
and thus we can see his ear for the rhythm of
Hebrew poetry. We also learn from Scripture
that David organized the Levites into choirs.
Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kohath,
andMerari. From each of these three clans,
David organized a choir. The title of today's
psalm tells us that it was composed to be sung
by the choir selected from the sons of Korah,
who were descended from the Kohath clan.
The Choir Director. The superscription
to this psalm also directs it to the music
director. This could mean that the director was
supposed to add this psalm to the collection of
music for the worship services. Or it may mean
that this part was to be sung or spoken by him
as the congregation responded with "Amen,"
"Praise the Lord," or "Hallelujah." The call-
and-response type of worship music
Background
There is very little in Scripture to help us
understand the background of this particular
psalm. Several psalms are ascribed to the family
guild of Korah: Psalms 42-49; 84; 85; and 87.
Today's psalm is included in that group. This
does not mean that the psalm was composed
by a committee, but that each one was probably
the work of an individual in the group.
During the reign of King Hezekiah, there
was much religious reform and organization. It
was also a time to bring together various sources
of history to compile written records under the
inspiration of the Lord, which became part of
our Bible. Many psalms are believed to have
been compiled, edited, and composed in this
era. Psalm 46 may have been written during
Hezekiah's reign to celebrate the great victory
of God's people over Sennacherib, but that
is only a conjecture. The wonderful story of
Hezekiah's prayer and the victory of the Lord
are recorded in 2 Kings 18:17-19:36.
At-A-Glance
1. God's Protection in the Worst of Times
(Psalm 46:1-3)
2. God Provides a River of Blessings in His City
(w. 4-5)
3. God Is Our Fortress (w. 6-7)
In Depth
1. God's Protection in the Worst of Times
(Psalm 46:1-3)
God has never promised us that life would
be easy. The writer of this psalm tells us that
we do not need to fear even if the earth itself
falls into the sea. Verses 2 and 3 speak of things
that would be like a nightmare to the Israelites.
The Israelites were not accomplished sailors.
Even when King Solomon sent ships on sailing
expeditions from the Gulf of Aqaba down the
eastern coast of Africa, it was in ships provided
by and manned by King Hiram of Tyre (1 Kings
9:26-28). Time spent at sea held the potential
for great uncertainty.
The people also had reason to be afraid
of earthquakes. Earthquakes are common in
Israel. If you have lived through even a minor
earthquake, you know the unsettling feeling
of having the earth move under your feet. A
major earthquake is devastating. Both Amos
and Zechariah mention an earthquake during
the reign of King Uzziah (Amos 1:1; Zechariah
14:5). But even if we have not experienced an
earthquake or even if we enjoy sailing and going
on cruises, the descriptions in Psalm 46:2-3 are
very frightening. Verse 2 portrays the entire
earth—all of the dry land—shaken up and
tossed into the midst of the sea or ocean. Verse
3 goes on with the description. An enormous
storm on the sea is roaring with waves pitching
everything to and fro. The mountains, which
are usually pictured as enormous hunks of
stability, are shaking.
This psalm is written in the plural; it is
written from the perspective of not just an
individual, but the whole nation of Israel. The
entire existence of Israel may be in jeopardy.
So what happens in such a time of great
turmoil and danger? We back up to verse 1 and
see that in spite of all these troubles, God is our
refuge and strength. He is always there with us
to help us in times of trouble. He may not take
us out of our difficulties, but He is there with
us, protecting us and helping us.
Verse 2 says that this has a great effect upon
us. In spite of all the problems that we may be
in the midst of, we have no need to fear. Our
courage is not based upon our own ability to
find solutions to our problems, but our courage
is based upon the character of God. He is the
Creator and Sustainer of our universe and all
the universes beyond. Surely, our God has the
strength to help us in all our troubles.
2. God Provides a River of Blessings in His
City (w. 4-5)
Most of the great cities of ancient times had
rivers. Even most modern cities were built on
the banks of a river or a sea. But Jerusalem, the
city of God, had no river. Instead, Jerusalem
had the river of God, a metaphor for God's
blessings continually flowing to His people.
The Middle East has much wilderness and
desert, so people understand the importance
of water. Without water, nothing will grow, and
without crops, the people will starve.
Most people today throw around the word
"blessings" without any real understanding of
the biblical meaning of the word. When God
blesses us, He gives us inner peace and joy
which are not dependent upon our outward
circumstances. The peace comes from our
relationship with Him. We are not saddled
down with sin and guilt because He has forgiven
us, washed us clean through the death of Jesus
on the Cross, and has given us the power to live
godly lives.
This river in the city of God is mentioned
several times in Scripture. Ezekiel had a vision
of a new temple in Jerusalem with a river
flowing from it '(Ezekiel 47:1). Revelation
describes the New Jerusalem with a river
flowing from the throne of God (Revelation
22:1). The New Jerusalem will have no temple
because God Himself will be there.
Jesus offered the Samaritan woman
everlasting water, water that would be gushing
up inside into eternal life (John 4:13-15). Later,
Jesus invited people to come to Him and drink
of that living water, which is the Holy Spirit. So
when we receive Jesus, we have God Himself
living within us. God's presence in us brings us
this true inner gladness. The circumstances of
our lives do not make us dried up and bitter;
we are continually being moisturized by the
Holy Spirit.
In Psalm 46:5, we read about God helping
us early in the day. At dawn, the enemies of
Israel were most likely to attack. Perhaps they
had been sneaking up during the night. They
were ready to begin the war as soon as the sun
came up. But in Psalm 121:4, we read that "he Discuss the Meaning
that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor 1. God promises to help us and be with us in
sleep." And elsewhere we read that God gives times of trouble. Why doesn't H£ just remove
His loved ones sleep (Psalm 127:2). Psalm 46:5 us from our problems? Why does He allow us
tells us that we can rest at night because God isto go through times of suffering?
right there with us; problems may be brewing, 2. The psalmist sings of a river whose streams
but God is taking care of things for us as we make the city of God glad. For those of us who
sleep soundly on our pillows. We don't need to have received the Lord Jesus as Savior, we no
lie awake worrying about the "what ifs." longer have to go to the temple in Jerusalem
to be in His presence. Jesus has come into our
3. God Is Our Fortress (w. 6-7) hearts, and His living water is within us. How
Verse, 6 describes a world in turmoil, not does this water give us gladness?
unlike today. We may often feel helpless to do
anything about wars, corruption, the economy, Lesson in Our Society
and the things going on in other parts of the Today's psalm talks about natural disasters
world. But no matter how world leaders may and nations at war—things that are often in
rant and rave, God is so powerful that if He the news today. Some people are afraid to read
even speaks, His voice can melt the earth. the news or watch it on TV because it is so
World leaders may think they are in charge, but unsettling. A better approach is to be in prayer
in reality our Lord is in charge. as we read our papers or watch the news. As
Verse 7 is the chorus; it's repeated in verse we read about devastating tsunamis or other
11. Imagine the soloist or the choir singing tragedies, we can pray that Christians will be
verses 1 through 6; the congregation sings involved in relief work and that this disaster
verse 7. Then the soloist or choir takes up will cause people to turn to Christ.
singing verses 8 through 10 and everyone joins
together singing the chorus again in verse 11.
Make It Happen
"The LORD of hosts" has also been translated
Spend some time discussing times of
as "The LORD of Heaven's Armies" (NLT).
great trouble in your lives and how the Lord
The Lord Almighty is with us, and He can call
helped you. Share prayer requests for current
all of His angels to fight for us.
problems. Pray for class members who are in
Finally, the verse returns to the main theme
the midst of troubles right now.
of our psalm: God is our refuge. A refuge is a
place to hide, a place to be safe. Verse 5 tells
us that God will help us early in the morning. Follow the Spirit
This is a good time to open our Bibles and What God wants me to do:
pray—when we first wake up. We can hide out
in quietness with our Lord before the busyness
of the day enters our lives.

Search the Scriptures Remember Your Thoughts

1. What can we expect God to do for us when Special insights I have learned:
we are in the midst of trouble (Psalm 46:1)?
2. What sort of natural disasters does the
psalmist say we need not fear (w. 2-3)?
 Say It Correctly Daily Bible Readings
Ezekiel. ee-ZEE-kyl, -kee-el.
Hezekiah. heh-zuh-KY-uh. M: Our Strong Yet Gentle God
Kohath. KOH-hath. Isaiah 40:6-11
Levite. LEE-vite. T: Our Faithful God
Merari. muh-RAIR-i. Deuteronomy 7:7-11
W: Our Comforting God
2 Corinthians 1:3-7
T: Our Rescuing God
2 Corinthians 1:8-l 1
F: God Before and After Us
Isaiah 52:7-12
S: God's Provision for the Needy
Psalm 68:4-10
S: God's Help in Times of Trouble
Psalm 46:1-7

NOTES