Delivered from Afflictions

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. ²⁰ He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken."

Psalm 34:19-20

It occurred to me recently that I have not given the miraculous preservation of the bones of Jesus on the cross just due:  how many times have bones been broken in innocuous or routine ways?  People have broken bones playing games like hide-and-seek and dodgeball!  Others have broken bones while working, accidentally kicking a table or falling down.  God allowed His only begotten Son Jesus to be cruelly tortured and crucified, yet all His bones were preserved.  He was beaten and battered beyond recognition, yet Jesus did not suffer a broken jaw, tooth, orbital bone or rib--because God's word cannot be broken.

John cited this Psalm after witnessing the death of Jesus on the cross and observed the breaking of the legs of the criminals crucified beside Him.  John 19:33-36 reads, "But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. ³⁵ And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. ³⁶ For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken."  It is amazing the human hands have 27 bones in them and the human foot 26 bones, and though the hands of Jesus were pierced by nails not one of them was broken.  God sent His Son as a Saviour to be broken on the cross so all who believe in Him can be made whole.  He was afflicted and broken, yet all His bones were preserved.

This is very encouraging for believers given the context of Psalm 34, a song David penned after God delivered him from the Philistines.  David was afflicted when his father-in-law Saul tried to kill him and pursued him without a cause; he was troubled when he heard of the deaths of the priests at Nob.  He was greatly afraid when the Philistines recognised him as a great warrior of Israel as he went to see king Achish.  "This poor man cried out," David sung speaking of himself, "and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles."  David was afflicted but God delivered him out of all his trouble; Jesus was also afflicted, yet God preserved His bones.  We are greatly comforted to know when we are afflicted God will deliver us too, having been made righteous by grace through faith in Jesus.  Jesus was battered, bloodied and died, yet His intact bones are a testimony of God's faithfulness to keep His word and to deliver us out of every affliction.

When afflicted, let us cry out to the God who hears us as David did.  Then the beginning of Psalm 34:1-4 can be our anthem and testimony as those delivered by our awesome, gracious God:  "I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. ² My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. ³ Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. ⁴ I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears."