Psalm 75.7 reads: “But it is God who judges. He brings one down, He exalts another.”
On reading these words, my mind goes to two prayers, one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament.
Hannah prayed; “The Lord sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap” (1 Sam 2.7-8).
And Mary prayed; “He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty” (Luke 1.52-53).
It would be possible to conclude that God is capricious. But we know from scripture that this is not true. For He is good. So, when He exalts one and humbles another, it cannot be some divine thrown-of-the-dice, not an act of pure caprice or mean-ness.
We do not always know the ‘why’ of God. Why does He exalt one and humble another? Yet that is to do with His judgment, His drawing of a line, His changing of human circumstances.
We may miss a spiritual truth by seeing only the short-term circumstances. It was Esau who despised his birthright (Gen 25.34). Esau failed to look beyond the immediate circumstances, and his own hunger and weariness after a hard day’s work.
The Psalmist responds to God’ justice by gratitude (Ps 75.1), by praising Him (Ps 75.9). We praise Him for the fact that He is good and unchangeable. The thought of omnipotence without goodness is simply too awful to contemplate.
And, running through the Psalm is a theme of submission. To truly trust God is to submit to His will, whatever the circumstances. And we learn not to fear His justice.

These are the words of Mary to the servants at the wedding in Cana, the place of Jesus’ first miracle (John 2.5).

Mary gave no more explanation. Perhaps she did not know precisely what her son would do.

But this is the constant command to followers of Jesus Christ; “Do whatever He tells you.” Do it without seeking explanation, without asking ‘why?’ That is the way of faith. This is echoed in this incident from C. S. Lewis’ The Silver Chair, “Aslan didn’t tell Pole what would happen. He only told her what to do. That fellow will be the death of us once he’s up, I shouldn’t wonder. But that doesn’t let us off following the signs.”

The Lord Jesus shows an uncompromising firm-ness. He requires much of us. In fact, everything. Matthew records that He made His disciples get into the boat, sending them into a storm (Matt 14.22).

He calls us to a high standard of character and commitment. Jesus passed on to the Twelve, and to us, “everything I have learned” from the Father (John 15.15). And He commanded the Twelve, and us, to make disciples “teaching them to obey everything” (Matt 28.20).

Whilst our obedience might lead to unexpected destinations, we can never say that He has failed us.

We have a lifetime to explore and enjoy Christ’s commands. Meditate on them, discuss them, share them.

In the Old Testament, the Lord God commanded the nation of Israel to keep His words close, on their foreheads, on their doorposts (Deut 11.18-20). The people of God were to reflect the character of God in every aspect of their lives. This is not ‘religion,’ this is a way of life.

There is a very perceptive comment in the first Men in Black film.

Edwards (the junior agent) says; “Why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it.” To which Kay (the senior agent) replies; “A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky animals and you know it.”

Kay makes a valid point. Human beings frequently behave differently alone compared to being in a group. Individually, a person is ‘smart,’ able to consider issues carefully, weighing opportunities and challenges wisely. In a group, he or she ‘follows the group,’ leaving aside common sense, sanity, integrity, honesty, etc.

I find it interesting that, in the Bible, there are incidents where groups of people behave in particular ways. Also, their recollection of certain events is distorted. We are wise to be cautious, and not always take what is said at face value.

In Exodus 16.3, the Israelites, having just left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, complain at the apparent lack of food. They recalled (!) that, in Egypt, “we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted.” This seems unlikely in the extreme. They were slaves and had been slaves for perhaps 100 years (my estimate). They had cried out for years at their desperate suffering. They certainly had not sat around pots of meat.

A little later, in Numbers 11.5, they remembered “the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.” Bizarre. These are foods that give flavour; they did not sustain. Again, it seems scarcely believable that slaves should enjoy such fare! Surely this is a case of unreliable collective memory.

Centuries later, Rehoboam, son of Solomon, was challenged by Jeroboam. Jeroboam argued that Solomon had made the people’s “yoke hard,” and urged Rehoboam to lighten their load.

Was this true? I think not!

Following the reign of King David, Israel had become the dominant nation in the Middle East. Solomon’s reign was largely one of peace, devoid of rebellion. His agents traded profitably with surrounding nations, adding to the wealth secured by David’s military campaigns. The description of Solomon’s wealth is extraordinary. The Queen of Sheba arrived and testified that Solomon’s wealth exceeded the glowing reports she had heard (1 Kings 10). The writer adds that Judah and Israel “lived in safety, every man under his vine and his figtree,“ during the reign of Solomon (1 Kings 4.25). This is a significant statement, prefiguring the glorious future of Israel (see Micah 4.4). This utopian existence was certainly not a heavy yoke of taxation which Jeroboam suggested.

It seems the oratory of Jeroboam, coupled with Rehoboam’s weak leadership, swayed the collective memory of the nation, leading to the rebellion against Rehoboam.

In the New Testament, the Ephesian people, stirred to ecstasy cry out for two hours “Great is Diana Artemis)” (Acts 19.34). The thought of reasonable debate was quickly forgotten.

No, people are not smart!