PART 2). ISRAEL'S GRATEFUL RESPONSE TO GOD'S DELIVERANCE REVEALED IN OFFERINGS AND THE FULFILMENT OF VOWS, AND A CALL FOR CONSIDERATION OF GOD'S FAITHFULNESS IN ANSWERING PRAYER (Psalms 66:13-20).
a) Deliverance Having Been Accomplished Each Individual In Israel, Speaking In Unison, (Or The King As The Representative Of His People), Approaches God And Explains How He Will Express His Gratitude Ritually (Psalms 66:13-15).
The change of person from plural to singular (from ‘we/us' to ‘I/me') is vivid and expressive. But there is no reason for seeing it as any other than intended. It expresses the thoughts of each individual worshipper, each speaking individually, but as part of a whole (in the same way as we recite the creed). Alternately it may be seen as the words of the king as he acts in gratitude as mediator for his people. In this sense it would essentially mirror what our Lord Jesus Christ has offered up in the offering up of Himself on our behalf (compare especially Hebrews 10:1-14).
‘I will come into your house with burnt-offerings,
I will pay you my vows,
Which my lips uttered,
And my mouth spoke, when I was in distress.'
The speaker asserts that he will come into God's house with ‘burnt-offerings' (‘whole-offerings'), offerings which would be wholly consumed and not partaken of, being the expression of a full-hearted praise and dedication to God.
Furthermore he would fulfil the vows that he had made at the time of his distress. Whilst death, and worse, had threatened at the hands of the enemy, both the king, and every one of the people, would have felt constrained to make promises to God of full-hearted future obedience if only He delivered them. In their case this would include the offering of a multiplicity of offerings as here, but it would also include promises of loyalty and obedience. Now each is assuring God that those vows would be fulfilled.
We are all good at making promises to God when trouble threatens and we feel dependent on Him. Would that we would all afterwards also say, and mean, that we would fulfil those promises. Sadly, for so many, as the danger recedes, so does the likelihood of our fulfilling our promises. When we consider this Psalm we should ask ourselves afresh, ‘have I truly fulfilled the promises which I made to God when I was in distress?'
‘I will offer to you burnt-offerings of fatlings,
With the sweet smelling (or ‘incense') of rams,
I will offer bullocks with goats. [Selah.'
The multiplicity of offerings suggests either the wide variety of people included under ‘I' as each individual speaks, whilst conscious of others speaking along with him. Along with him these others will offer other different sacrifices. Alternately the ‘I' may be the king, who, as representative of his people, offers a wide range of offerings in gratitude for God's deliverance.
In Psalms 66:13 he had said, ‘I will come to your house with burnt offerings'. Now this idea is expanded on further as the burnt offerings are seen to include:
o The fattest of the lambs (fatlings; the fat was always seen as the best part of the offerings - Genesis 4:4, and regularly).
o The sweet smelling of rams (compare Genesis 8:21 where God smelled the sweet savour of the sacrifices. See also Exodus 29:18).
o The offering of bullocks with he-goats.
Bullocks and rams, and he-goats, were seen as the very best of offerings. Bullocks were the sin offerings required on behalf of priests (Leviticus 4:3) and of the whole people (Leviticus 4:14), and he-goats were required of rulers (Leviticus 4:23; Numbers 7:17 ff.). Rams were a priestly burnt offering (Exodus 29; Leviticus 8:18-22; Leviticus 9:2), but also offered as a burnt offering on behalf of all the people (Leviticus 16:5). Thus the thought here is of the offering of the very best.