Psalm 78:41, "Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel."
Psalm 78 is:
An Historical Psalm.
An Instructional Psalm.
This Psalm draws spiritual lessons from the history of Israel. We can gain valuable insights from Israel's past about living for the Lord in our present lives. By examining Israel's triumphs and defeats, we can learn how to achieve victory in our Christian lives today.
Psalm 78 is a historical psalm that recounts Israel's repeated failures and God's continued faithfulness.
The psalm highlights several key failures of Israel, including:
They forgot God's works. (Psalm 78:11-12, 42-43)
They fought the Lord in rebellion and provoked Him. (Psalm 78:8, 40, 56)
Their flesh tempted God with lust. (Psalm 78:18, 41, 56)
They foolishly turned to Idolatry. (Psalm 78:58)
They forsook God's Covenant. (Psalm 78:10, 37)
They fussed and complained. (Psalm 78:19-22)
They refused to learn from the past (Psalm 78:32-33)
They fled and turned back in battle (Psalm 78:9)
Despite all these failures, the psalm emphasizes God's mercy and His patience. (Psalm 78:38-39)
Observe in verse 41 where Asaph, the author of this psalm, mentions that they "limited God." The term "limit" means "to put a boundary around; to enclose; to restrict." This highlights two significant truths found throughout Scripture:
God wants to do great things in and through his people. God wants to bless His people.
It is possible for us, as God's people to "limit" what God can and will do for and through us.
How can someone limit God? It's certainly not due to our lack of wealth, health, talents, abilities, social status, or intelligence. There are many ways we might limit God; here are five of them.
By not trusting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. Matthew 23:37, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." Our Lord wanted to save, protect and provide for the people of Israel, but they would not. Our Lord does not want anyone to die in their sins unforgiven, He wants everyone to come to repentance and trust Him as their personal Savior. Eternal life is a gift, God's forgiveness of our sins is a gift and a new life in Christ is a gift of God given only to those who humble themselves, acknowledge themselves as sinners and trust Jesus Christ as Savior. Some theologians talks about "limited atonement," however, the only thing that "limits" God's atonement is our refusal to receive it by faith in Christ.
By harboring pride in our hearts. James 4:6, "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." 1 Peter 5:5, "...and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Exalting ourselves in pride, looking down on others, and demeaning or condemning them limits God's grace in our lives. Pride is undoubtedly the most destructive attitude a Christian can possess. It limits God and traps me within my own selfishness.
Lack of prayer. James 4:2, "Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not." God desires to give us many things and act on our behalf, but our lack of prayer limits what God can and will do. The primary reason prayers go unanswered is because they are not prayed. We have not because we ask not. Prayerlessness limits God.
Selfish prayers. James 4:3, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." Again, we miss many good things God has for us in answer to prayer because of selfish attitudes and selfish prayers.
Unbelief. Hebrews 3:19, "So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." A whole generation of Israelites did not enter the promised land and died in the wilderness due to their unbelief. Their unwillingness to trust God and follow His leadership limited God's promise to them and resulted in horrific loss. Matthew 13:58, "And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief." Here again, unbelief limited our Lord and prevented his people from experiencing His power and miracles.
God's power is limitless, and nothing we do can restrict it. However, our actions and attitudes can limit how God works in our lives and on our behalf.
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