Psalms is the longest book in the bible with a 150 verses. It is part of the Tanakh. In bibles which only include the New Testament, Psalms is often included. Psalms is mainly a series of poems/songs dedicated primarily to King David – the most revered king of the OT. Psalms is about the utmost respect for God and how God will save you (Jews) if you fear him. What is in this book? What is the nature of Yahweh?
(The following verses are from the New International Version unless stated.)
The Jewish World Order
2:8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your (King David’s) inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” 10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.
19:5 Their voice carries throughout the earth, their words to the end of the world. (Tanakh)
24:1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; 2 for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.
33:5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. 6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. 10 The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.
44:1 We have heard it with our ears, O God; our ancestors have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago. 2 With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our ancestors; you crushed the peoples and made our ancestors flourish. 3 It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.
46:6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.8 Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
47:2 For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth. 3 He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet. 4 He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
47:8 God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. 9 The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.
59:5 You, Lord God Almighty, you who are the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish all the nations; show no mercy to wicked traitors.
59:8 But you laugh at them, Lord; you scoff (mock) at all those nations.
59:13 Then it will be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob (Israel).
82:8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance.
89:29 I will establish his (David’s) line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure.
105:42 For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham. 43 He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy;
44 he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for.
The world to respect the Jews
46:10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
48:10 Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness.
66:4 All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name.”
67:1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—2 so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. 3 May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you. 4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth. 5 May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you. 6 The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us. 7 May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
72:8 May he rule (king Solomon) from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. 9 May the desert tribes bow before him and his enemies lick the dust. 10 May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores bring tribute to him. May the kings of Sheba and Seba present him gifts. 11 May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him.
96:9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. 10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. 11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. 13 Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. (for he is coming to rule the earth – Tanakh) He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.
98:2 The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. 3 He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
98:7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. 8 Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; 9 let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. (for he is coming to rule the earth – Tanakh) He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.
102:15 The nations will fear the name of the Lord, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
138:4 May all the kings of the earth praise you, Lord, when they hear what you have decreed. 5 May they sing of the ways of the Lord, for the glory of the Lord is great.
Ruthlessness against enemies – both towards Israelites (who go against God) and Gentiles alike
3:7 Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
9:3 My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you. 4 For you have upheld my right and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge. 5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name for ever and ever. 6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies, you have uprooted their cities; even the memory of them has perished.
9:19 Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence. 20 Strike them with terror, Lord; let the nations know they are only mortal.
10:16 The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. 17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, 18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.
18:37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. 38 I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. 39 You armed me with strength for battle; you humbled my adversaries before me. 40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes. 41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— to the Lord, but he did not answer. 42 I beat them as fine as windblown dust; I trampled them like mud in the streets. 43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations. People I did not know now serve me, 44 foreigners cower before me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey me. 45 They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds. 46 The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!
21:8 Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies; your right hand will seize your foes. 9 When you appear for battle, you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and his fire will consume them. 10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from mankind. 11 Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed. 12 You will make them turn their backs when you aim at them with drawn bow.
29:5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes Lebanon leap like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox. 7 The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning. 8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
44:4 You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob. 5 Through you we push back our enemies; through your name we trample our foes.
6 I put no trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; 7 but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame. 8 In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever.
53:4 Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on God. 5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread. God scattered the bones of those who attacked you; you put them to shame, for God despised them.
58:6 Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; Lord, tear out the fangs of those lions! 7 Let them vanish like water that flows away; when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short. 8 May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along, like a stillborn child that never sees the sun. 9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns— whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away. 10 The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked. (The righteous man will rejoice when he sees revenge; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked – Tanakh) 11 Then people will say, “Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth.”
68:1 May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him. 2 May you blow them away like smoke— as wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God.
68:14 When the Almighty scattered the kings in the land, it was like snow fallen on Mount Zalmon.
68:21 Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies, the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins. 22 The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan; I will bring them from the depths of the sea, 23 that your feet may wade in the blood of your foes, while the tongues of your dogs have their share.”
69:27 Charge them with crime upon crime; do not let them share in your salvation. 28 May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.
73:27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
83:9 Do to them as you did to Midian, as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon, 10 who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground. 11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12 who said, “Let us take possession of the pasturelands of God.” 13 Make them like tumbleweed, my God, like chaff before the wind. 14 As fire consumes the forest or a flame sets the mountains ablaze, 15 so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm. 16 Cover their faces with shame, Lord, so that they will seek your name.
75:8 In the hand of the Lord is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs.
78:42 They did not remember his power— the day he redeemed them from the oppressor, 43 the day he displayed his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the region of Zoan. 44 He turned their river into blood; they could not drink from their streams. 45 He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them. 46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper, their produce to the locust. 47 He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore-figs with sleet. 48 He gave over their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightning. 49 He unleashed against them his hot anger, his wrath, indignation and hostility— a band of destroying angels. 50 He prepared a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death but gave them over to the plague. 51 He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.
79:5 How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire? 6 Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not call on your name; 7 for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his homeland.
81:13 “If my people would only listen to me, if Israel would only follow my ways, 14 how quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes! 15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.
89:22 The enemy will not get the better of him (David); the wicked will not oppress him. 23 I (God) will crush his foes before him and strike down his adversaries.
92:9 For surely your enemies, Lord, surely your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered.
94:23 He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the Lord our God will destroy them.
97:1 The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice. 2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 3 Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side.
108:13 With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.
110:1 The Lord says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” 2 The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!” 5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. 6 He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
118:10 All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down. 11 They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down. 12 They swarmed around me like bees, but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
135:8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, the firstborn of people and animals. 9 He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants. 10 He struck down many nations and killed mighty kings—11 Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan—12 and he gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to his people Israel.
136:10 to him (God) who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.
11 and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.
12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.
13 to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
His love endures forever.
14 and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.
15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.
137:7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. “Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!” 8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. 9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.
149:6 May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, 7 to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, 9 to carry out the sentence written against them— this is the glory of all his faithful people. Praise the Lord.
Land Theft
111:6 He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations.
136:17 to him who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.
18 and killed mighty kings—
His love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan—
His love endures forever.
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.
22 an inheritance to his servant Israel.
His love endures forever.
Ridiculing idols and foreign gods
135:15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands. 16 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. 17 They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. 18 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
Gentiles to worship Yahweh – the god of the Jews
9:11 Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done.
22:27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, 28 for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive.
33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. 13 From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; 14 from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth—15 he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do. 16 No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. 17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. 18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him
68:31 Envoys will come from Egypt; Cush will submit herself to God. 32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth, sing praise to the Lord, 33 to him who rides across the highest heavens, the ancient heavens, who thunders with mighty voice. 34 Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose power is in the heavens.
113:3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised. 4 The Lord is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens.
Exaggerated fear of enemies
The exaggeration (and lies) of Gentiles is a common theme throughout the entire history of Judaism. We saw the Jewish media exaggerating Hitler and the Holohoax. Now we see them doing the same with the Muslims in the Middle East. We see the Jewish media complaining how everyone is hating the Jews and how everyone wants to get them.
9:13 Lord, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death
25:19 See how numerous are my enemies and how fiercely they hate me!
31:12 I am forgotten as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. 13 For I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side!” They conspire against me and plot to take my life.
35:19 Do not let those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause; do not let those who hate me without reason maliciously wink the eye.
44:15 I live in disgrace all day long, and my face is covered with shame 16 at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me, because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.
69:4 Those who hate me (King David) without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal.
83:2 See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads. 3 With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish. 4 “Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.” 5 With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you—6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites, 7 Byblos, Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre. 8 Even Assyria has joined them to reinforce Lot’s descendants.
143:3 The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in the darkness like those long dead.
144:7 Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hands of foreigners 8 whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful.
Zionism
The roots of Zionism is throughout the OT.
14:7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
53:6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
69:34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and all that move in them, 35 for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then people will settle there and possess it; 36 the children of his servants will inherit it, and those who love his name will dwell there.
78:55 He drove out nations before them and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance; he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.
107:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. 2 Let the redeemed (Israelites) of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, 3 those he gathered from the lands (world), from east and west, from north and south.
129:5 May all who hate Zion be turned back in shame. 6 May they be like grass on the roof, which withers before it can grow;
135:4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession.
147:2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel.
The Fear (and anger) of Yahweh
Anger is Yahweh is throughout. He has no sense of humor and is hard to please.
18:8 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. 9 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. 10 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
52:5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living.
68:7 When you, God, went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, 8 the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.
75:3 When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm.
76:9 In heaven You (God) pronounced sentence; the earth was numbed with fright as God rose to execute judgement, to deliver all the lowly of the earth. (Tanakh)
76:12 He breaks the spirit of rulers; he is feared by the kings of the earth.
90 7 We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation.
90:11 If only we knew the power of your anger! Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.
103:11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; (God will respect you if you fear him and destroy you if you don’t)
104:4 He (God) makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.
114:7 Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, 8 who turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water.
Man is evil
Among the main ideas of the OT is that man is born evil.
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good. 2 God looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. 3 Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
89:47 Remember how fleeting is my life. For what futility you have created all humanity! 48 Who can live and not see death, or who can escape the power of the grave? 49 Lord, where is your former great love, which in your faithfulness you swore to David?
116:10 I trusted in the Lord when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”; 11 in my alarm I said, “Everyone is a liar.” (men are nothing – Tanakh)
Man is nothing
Another closely related idea to the above is that man is nothing compared to Yahweh..
62:9 Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. (Men are mere breath; mortals, illusion; placed on a scale together, they weigh even less than a breath – Tanakh)
94:11 The Lord knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile.
103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
118:8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. 9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.
The power of Yahweh
74:13 It was you (God) who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters. 14 It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert. 15 It was you who opened up springs and streams; you dried up the ever-flowing rivers. 16 The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon. 17 It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.
89:11 The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it. 12 You created the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name. 13 Your arm is endowed with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.
95:3 For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.
97:4 His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. 5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.
107:33 He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground, 34 and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there. 35 He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs; 36 there he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city where they could settle.
Yahweh only god to be worshiped
81:9 You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not worship any god other than me.
96:4 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
97:7 All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols— worship him, all you gods!
97:9 For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
119:72 The law from your (God’s) mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
Covenant with the Israelites
85:1 You, Lord, showed favor to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. 2 You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins. 3 You set aside all your wrath and turned from your fierce anger.
94:14 For the Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.
Punishment for assimilation
The most important theme of the OT is that the Jews are to remain apart from everyone else. They are to be racially pure. One way to guarantee your people to remain pure is to exterminate others and destroy their idols.
106:34 They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord had commanded them, 35 but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs. 36 They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. 36 They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. 37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to false gods. 38 They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood. 39 They defiled themselves by what they did; by their deeds they prostituted themselves.40 Therefore the Lord was angry with his people and abhorred his inheritance. 41 He gave them into the hands of the nations, and their foes ruled over them. 42 Their enemies oppressed them and subjected them to their power. 43 Many times he delivered them, but they were bent on rebellion and they wasted away in their sin. 44 Yet he took note of their distress when he heard their cry; 45 for their sake he remembered his covenant and out of his great love he relented. 46 He caused all who held them captive to show them mercy. 47 Save us, Lord our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.
Psalm 105
This chapter is basically the summary of Joseph in Genesis and his infiltration of the Egyptian ruling class.
16 He called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of food; 17 and he sent a man before them— Joseph, sold as a slave. 18 They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, 19 till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true. 20 The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free. 21 He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed, 22 to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom.
23 Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob resided as a foreigner in the land of Ham. 24 The Lord made his people very fruitful; he made them too numerous for their foes, 25 whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to conspire against his servants. 26 He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen. 27 They performed his signs among them, his wonders in the land of Ham. 28 He sent darkness and made the land dark— for had they not rebelled against his words? 29 He turned their waters into blood, causing their fish to die. 30 Their land teemed with frogs, which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers. 31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and gnats throughout their country. 32 He turned their rain into hail, with lightning throughout their land; 33 he struck down their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their country. 34 He spoke, and the locusts came, grasshoppers without number; 35 they ate up every green thing in their land, ate up the produce of their soil. 36 Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their manhood. 37 He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold, and from among their tribes no one faltered. 38 Egypt was glad when they left, because dread of Israel had fallen on them.
On materialism
One of the few good passages in Psalms. Materialism and self-importance are scorned in Judaism (and rightly so). These are ideas that Gentiles could use.
49:16 Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases; 17 for they will take nothing with them when they die, their splendor will not descend with them. 18 Though while they live they count themselves blessed— and people praise you when you prosper—19 they will join those who have gone before them, who will never again see the light of life. 20 People who have wealth but lack understanding are like the beasts that perish.
73:9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. 10 Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. 11 They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?”12 This is what the wicked are like— always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.
112:5 Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice.
Wealth accumulation
However, wealth accumulation for the benefit of the group is highly respected.
112:3 Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever.
