Psalm 136 can be touted as the “The Psalm of Thanks” or the “Thanksgiving Psalm.” It is a Psalm that is rich in content, apropos the character of God and since each verse in the Psalm is suffixed with “For his mercy endures forever”, it is a Psalm that is easy to read and memorize as well.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, giving thanks for the ultimate reason of sending us his only begotten Son, we will be looking at each verse in Psalm 136 and glean out the character of God from these verses, which would be reason enough to be grateful and give thanks to our LORD God.
Today we look at Verses 17 to 20.
To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever: And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever: Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever: And Og the king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever:
We have already seen that God is the smiter of oppressors and rescuer of slaver (verses 10 and 11), the overthrower of rulers and kings (verse 15). In these verses, we also learn that God smote and slew, not just ordinary kings, but great and famous kings, namely two kings – Sihon and Og. Sihon was a famous Amorite king, who had gone after the Moabites and conquered their lands (Numbers 21:26-29), in whom, was no fear of God, for when the people of God, sought to pass through his land, he refused (Numbers 21:21-23). They even built a city named after him (Numbers 21:26). Og was the last of the Rephaites – a giant whose bed is described as being 13 feet long and 6 feet wide (Deuteronomy 3:11).
Points to ponder:
God is more powerful than famous and gigantic kings and he can smite and slay anyone or any issue, despite its colossal nature, if we trust and believe in him. What is the roadblock that is keeping you from reaching the promised land? Who or what is the giant that is standing in your way, coming up against you. Trust in the LORD God, who promised to never leave you nor forsake you, and engage in (spiritual) battle, donning on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18), and see to it yourself – that God who is true to his word and unchanging – is indeed your giant slayer. When Jesus came into the world, he smote the prince of the power of the air (the devil) (Ephesians 2:2) and slew the slayer – death itself (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). Let Jesus be your giant slayer.
Psalm 136:17-20 (KJV)
17 To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:
18 And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:
19 Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever:
20 And Og the king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever:
