And they went from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.
Psalm 105 looks back over Israel's history to prove that God keeps His word. This verse catches the chosen family at its earliest stage: promised a land, owning none of it, and moving on again — so how could that promise stand?
The promise of a land and this wandering look like a contradiction. One writer explains how both were true at once.
God promised the land to Israel at a time when, judged by nature, it would look impossible to fulfil. The people who received the promise were few in number and strangers in the land. All the same, they were under the constant care of the Lord. They went from one nation to another and from kingdom to kingdom, but God let no one wrong them without coming under His reproof.
The psalm could have pointed Israel back to Sinai and Moses. It does not. It reaches further back.
Israel is called to remember the covenant God made with Abraham — not Moses, and not the conditional promises given to the people through him. That covenant was unconditional: an everlasting covenant to give the land to his seed. Israel is reminded of the way God preserved those heirs of promise when they went from nation to nation.
Another writer names what this passage leaves out.
This is a covenant of pure grace, God's faithfulness to His promises. The covenant of Sinai was different: it rested on the people's responsibility... We do not find a single word about Israel's oppression by the nations as a result of their disobedience. It is all free grace in this passage.
The wandering was not always noble. Twice Abraham's own faith gave way, and twice God still stepped in.
Even when the sons of Israel were wanderers, going from one nation to another, the preserving mercy of God was with them. It delivered them from any possibility of oppression, and even reproved kings for their sake (v. 14). This happened with Abraham, when his faith lost its energy and he denied his proper relationship to his wife (Gen. 12:17-20), and a second time as well (Gen. 20:2-3)... God showed special care for them despite their own weakness and failure.
Another writer reads the same rescue as God making Himself known.
God shows that He will not let anyone touch His people on earth without consequence. He would show Himself careful of those He owned in this way. This made Him known in connection with His people, and it was of the utmost importance.
Their moving was not only something done to them. They chose it, and God tied His own name to them.
He was not ashamed to say, "I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob." Why? Because they gave up the world. They were not mindful of the country they had come out of at the call of God, but sought a heavenly one. They had no home here. They lived in tents, confessing that they were strangers on the earth. Abraham's relatives in Syria had houses; Abraham had none, and neither had Isaac or Jacob.
Another writer sets what God did then against what He allows now.
Psalm 105:13-15 makes plain what the Lord felt of old. His chosen ones went from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, and "He allowed no one to oppress them; He rebuked kings on their account, saying, Touch not My anointed ones, do My prophets no harm." Now He may let any or all men do them wrong. For the present He may rebuke neither kings, nor subjects, nor servants, when they scorn His anointed and do His servants all the harm they can. Another day He will repay each one according to his works. But what does He feel now?
- Few — God promised the land while the heirs were a small band of strangers in it. Nothing in their size or standing explains what followed.
- Covenant — Their safety rested on God's unconditional promise to Abraham, not on the terms of Sinai. That is why the psalm looks past Moses to Abraham.
- Kept — God preserved them as they wandered, even when their own faith failed. By guarding them He made Himself known: no one could touch His own without consequence.
- Homeless by choice — They had no house anywhere and called themselves strangers on the earth. God was not ashamed to call Himself their God.
- Now — Then God rebuked kings for His people's sake. Now He may let men do them wrong, and He will repay each one on another day.
He suffered no man to oppress them, and reproved kings for their sakes,
Psalm 105 looks back to Israel's most fragile days. Abraham's family had no land and no army, and they moved between kingdoms that could have crushed them. This verse says they survived because God warned kings off. Why did He do it, and does He still?
This verse sits in a passage about God's covenant with Abraham. One writer notes what that passage leaves out.
This is a covenant of pure grace. It rests on God's faithfulness to His promises. It stands in contrast to the covenant made at Sinai, which rested on the people's responsibility. The passage ends with these words: "He allowed no one to oppress them; He rebuked kings on their account, saying, 'Touch not My anointed ones, do My prophets no harm!'" There is not one word here about the nations oppressing Israel because they disobeyed. All is free grace in this passage.
The "them" of the verse were not a nation yet. They were a small group in a land God had promised them but had not yet given them.
Verse 9 speaks of Abraham and Isaac; verse 10 of Jacob; verses 12-15 how God protected the weak handful of his people, strangers in the land that was the lot of their inheritance. Apart from His protection they would have been destroyed again and again.
The psalm does not name the kings. One writer points to two moments when Abraham's own faith had slipped.
Even when the sons of Israel were wanderers, moving from one nation to another, God's preserving mercy was with them. It kept them safe from any chance of oppression, and even rebuked kings for their sake (v. 14). That is what happened with Abraham when his faith lost its strength and he denied that Sarah was his wife (Gen. 12:17-20), and a second time as well (Gen. 20:2-3). Abraham was a prophet of God, as were others among his descendants. God showed them special care despite their own weakness and failure.
In Egypt God protected Abraham and struck Pharaoh's house. Yet He also let Pharaoh rebuke His own servant.
"But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife." What wonderful grace to Abraham! God always delights to quiet His people's fears as well as to answer their faith. He covered His servant, who had gone wrong, with the shield of His powerful protection. Abraham's life and Sarah's purity were both kept safe behind that shield, which nothing could pierce. Meanwhile the household of Egypt's king felt the heavy blow of the LORD's righteous punishment... Abraham had clearly left himself open in all of this. So although God protects him, He still lets Pharaoh rebuke him. It is good to see this. When a man of God steps off the path of faith and honest living, he lays himself open to the men of this world. Had Abraham stayed in Canaan, Pharaoh would never have rebuked him in Egypt.
One writer asks what God was showing when He stepped in against a king.
In the case of Abraham and Abimelech, this was God's care over a man He had called out to walk before Him. "He rebuked kings on their account, saying, 'Touch not My anointed ones, do My prophets no harm!'" Ps. 105:14-15. God cares for those He calls to walk before Him. Gen. 20:3. Abimelech had used his power as a ruler to seize a member of Abraham's family, and he had no right to do it. God shows that He will not let His people on earth be touched without consequence. He would show Himself careful of those He owned in this way. By this He made Himself known as the God of His people, and this was of the greatest importance.
Back then God stepped in openly. One writer says it does not always look like that today.
Now He may let any or all people do them wrong. For the present He may rebuke no one — not kings, not their subjects, not the lowest workers — when they scorn His anointed and do His servants all the harm they can. Another day He will repay each one according to his works. But what does He feel now?
- Kept by covenant. God kept His promise to Abraham. That promise, not Israel's obedience, is why no one could oppress them.
- Kept though few. They were a weak handful of strangers in a land not yet theirs. Without His protection, enemies would have destroyed them again and again.
- Kept while failing. God rebuked two kings at moments when Abraham's own faith had given way. He covered a servant who had gone wrong.
- Kept, but not flattered. God shielded Abraham from Pharaoh. Then He let Pharaoh rebuke him. Protection is not approval.
- Kept for His name. God guarded those He owned, and by it made Himself known. Commentators note that today He may let His servants be wronged, and settle the account on another day.
[Saying,] Touch not mine anointed ones, and do my prophets no harm.
God is speaking about a small group of wandering families. He does not address them. He warns the kings whose lands they crossed. Two questions follow. Who are these "anointed" and "prophets," and does the warning still stand over God's people today?
The verse looks back to Abraham and the wandering family that came from him. One writer explains why God gives such men the title of prophet:
Again, let us take the patriarchs, whom Scripture plainly calls prophets… The same principle explains their claim to this title. They were the interpreters of the mind of God at that time. God "called out" these men because a new and terrible evil had come into the world — idolatry. We never read of it before the days of Abraham.
God had promised a whole land to a handful of people who owned none of it.
God promised the land to Israel at a time when, to human eyes, it looked impossible to keep. The people who received the promise were few in number and strangers in the land. Still, they were under the constant care of the Lord. They went from one nation to another and from kingdom to kingdom, but no one wronged them without coming under God's rebuke.
Their safety did not rest on what they deserved. One writer sets this promise beside the covenant made later at Sinai:
This is a covenant of pure grace. It rests on God's faithfulness to His promises. The covenant of Sinai was different: it rested on the people's responsibility… We do not find a single word here about the nations oppressing Israel because Israel disobeyed. All is free grace in this passage.
God may have a quarrel of His own with how His child is living. It does not stop Him defending that child:
This is how God acts. He may have many a private dispute with His child about the way he lives. But the moment the enemy brings a case against him, the Lord always pleads His servant's cause. "Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!" "He who touches you touches the apple of My eye."
Another writer adds what God made known by acting this way:
God shows that no one may touch His people on earth and go unpunished. He would show Himself careful of those He owned in this way. By this He became known in connection with His people, and that was of the greatest importance.
A thousand years later the same word still stood over kings:
Jeroboam had forgotten, or ignored, a rebuke God gave to kings almost a thousand years before. It said: "Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!" (Ps. 105:14-15).
People quote this verse to stop others from speaking up about evil. One writer answers:
I have heard this passage quoted: "Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!" (Ps. 105:15.)… I hardly need to say that this twists Scripture. I may seek to walk apart from evil. I may seek to stir the conscience about it where the evil is plain. Or, failing that, I may separate myself from it. None of this does harm to any of the Lord's "prophets." It is the very opposite — it is a blessing to them all. God did not address these words to the Lord's people. He addressed them to the nations, as the context will show. That is another reason why they do not apply.
Does the fence still stand today? One writer says God often lets the wrong go for now:
Now He may let any or all men do them wrong. For the present He may rebuke no one: not kings, not subjects, not servants. They may despise His anointed and do His servants all the harm they can. Another day He will repay each one according to his works.
- Called — the "prophets" here are the patriarchs. God called them out to hold His mind before a world sliding into idol worship.
- Covered — they were few and owned no land, and it made no difference. Their safety rested on a covenant of pure grace, not on anything they deserved.
- Claimed — God may disapprove of how His child lives and still plead his cause the moment an enemy attacks.
- Corrected — God spoke these words to the nations, not to His own people. Naming plain evil harms none of the Lord's "prophets."
- Coming — today He may let men harm His servants and say nothing. Another day He will repay each person according to his works.