O God, You are awesome from Your sanctuary. The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God! (Psalm 68:35)

Of course, He is the God of Israel; nothing could be more clear in the Old Testament. But we often overlook the obvious and miss its import. As David wrote this psalm he was concerned about God’s “enemies” (Ps 68:1), the disadvantaged people in Israel, the armies who fled before Israel, and various deliverances. Interspersed, he wrote of God’s worthiness to be praised, of God’s protection and deliverance of His people. He spoke of Sinai: “The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness. You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives; You have received gifts among men, even among the rebellious also, that the LORD God may dwell there” (Ps 68:17-18). The apostle Paul quoted this verse in Ephesians 4:8, speaking of God equipping the church with key spiritual gifts. And David invited all to “Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth, Sing praises to the Lord, Selah” (Ps 68:32).

So what’s the big deal about David’s God being the God of Israel? Some in today’s multi-religious culture would say David was limited to his provincial deity and was claiming in an uneducated or uninformed way, “Our God is better than your god. Did he not know that everyone has a right to worship their deity, and that all roads lead to the same god?” Or as one person put it, everyone may drink from a different well, but we are all drinking water.

On the contrary, David asserted that there is only one God, and He is the God of Israel. In other words, the Jew had it right! As Christians, we are not to simply take our seat among the pantheon of religious beliefs. We are not all on different roads leading to the same place. We worship the true God of Israel, who has now revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. This is not a generic god toward whom all are ultimately working. He is the very specific God, who has revealed Himself to us. True, He is the God of all human beings, but as Judaism was the first to clearly present, belief in the God of Israel excludes all other religious belief systems.

A big discussion today surrounds whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God, only differently. But the One we Christians worship (who is the true God) is the God of Israel, who revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. Muslims do not worship this God. The consequences are significant: “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

God of Israel, I worship You and You alone, through Jesus Christ Your Son, for You alone give me strength and power as I face life situations.