“Moses and Aaron were among His priests, and Samuel was among those who called on His name; they called upon the LORD and He answered them. He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept His testimonies and the statute that He gave them. O LORD our God, You answered them; You were a forgiving God to them, and yet an avenger of their evil deeds” (Psa 99:6-8).
Given the many references to Moses and allusions to Israel’s wilderness wanderings in Psalms 90-106, it would be appropriate to call Book IV the “Book of Moses.” Specifically, Psalms 90-106 draw invaluable lessons about God and His character from Israel’s time with Moses and God’s self-revelation through him.
What is it about God that will inspire all the nations to abandon their gods and worship the God of Israel?
Within Book IV, Psalms 93-100 envision the time of a new exodus in which God will assert His power over all the gods (Psa 95:3; 96:4; 97:9) and come to Zion to rule over Israel and the nations with righteousness and equity (Psa 96:13; 97:8; 98:9; 99:2). Throughout this collection of psalms, the establishment of God’s universal reign is emphasized by the repeated use of the words “peoples” (amim; Psa 96:3, 5, 7, 10, 13; 97:6; 98:9-99:2) and “nations” (Psa 94:10; 96:3, 10; 98:2).
It is within this “new exodus” context that the allusion to God’s forgiveness of Israel in Exodus 34:5-7 (Psa 99:6-8) packs its greatest punch. What is it about God that will inspire all the nations to abandon their gods and worship the God of Israel? It is His amazing grace toward the people of Israel, demonstrated in His forgiveness (“You were a forgiving God to them”). But as Moses understood quite well, and as all who claim that the church is now the true Israel of God need to learn, a God who replaces the very people to whom He swore an everlasting covenant is not the kind of God who would inspire the nations to abandon their gods and come to worship Him!
