Daily Devotions
Psalms
Psalm 78:37a "Their heart was not steadfast..."
Day 134 – Psalm 78
“Their heart was not steadfast…” Psalm 78:37a
WHAT GOD DESIRES
What does God look for when people come to Him in worship? The following text offers an important insight.
“For their heart was not steadfast with Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.”
Psalm 78:37
1. Two things that are important to God:
a) Steadfastness of the heart.
b) Faithfulness of the heart.
2. “For their heart was not steadfast with Him”
The lack of steadfastness was painfully obvious.
a) Israel welcomed the news that God would deliver them from the Pharaoh (Exodus 4:31).
i) They believed.
ii) They bowed their heads and worshipped.
b) When Pharaoh imposed heavier workloads (Exodus 5).
i) Israel’s leaders remonstrated with Moses.
ii) They were not steadfast in their faith at all (Exodus 5:20-21).
3. “Nor were they faithful in His covenant”
a) God had given them a wonderful covenant at Sinai.
i) The children of Israel promised that they would do all that God had commanded (Exodus 24:3).
ii) Shortly after this, they created a gold calf and worshipped it (Exodus 32).
b) The children of Israel reneged on their declared confession of faith in God.
A MISTAKEN CONCEPT
The proof of all professions of faith must be seen in real life and in real time. If there is no steadfastness, if there is no faithfulness, then even the most brilliantly crafted words of faith would amount to nothing. Israel’s problem ran deeper. The nation did not have a heart that was sincere and steadfast in God. Sadly, the nation thought that all God was concerned about was the practice of religious worship. They gave Him worship, but they did not give Him their heart in worship.