Perhaps one of the most misused Bible verses today, Psalm 105:15 has been twisted by many to manipulate and gain perceived "immunity." I'm pretty sure you've heard this verse:
"Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm."
Have you ever wondered what that verse meant? If you have, then let me share something to you.
Wrong teachings
Sadly, the ones who often misuse this verse are ministers. Why? Because they think it makes them and their preaching 'untouchable' - in other words, the flock should never challenge anything the 'man of God' preaches or does.
Sadly, these brothers, though beloved, can forget that we are all accountable to God and we are not to lord over anyone He has assigned under our care (see 1 Peter 5:3).
Worse, believers who fall for this teaching end up idolizing such ministers. They believe that the minister is always right and that he should never be questioned. The follower then passes the wrong belief on to another unsuspecting person.
The Lord Jesus spoke about blind leaders and blind followers very clearly. In Luke 6:39 we read Him saying, "Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?"
Both the leader and the follower, if they follow a twisted or wrong interpretation of Psalm 105:15, will end up falling: the leader to the sin of pride, and the follower to the sin of idolatry.
What it really means
For us to understand what Psalm 105:15 means, we have to read it in context. Psalm 105 is actually a psalm written by David, remembering God's promise to Abraham, and thus God's people.
We know that, according to the Old Testament, God promised Abraham that He would make him the father of many nations. The Bible records that God's promise to Abraham became true in the form of Isaac, who had Jacob, from whom the nation of Israel came.
We read in Exodus and other books how Israel became a slave in Egypt, how God delivered them from slavery, and how He led them to the promised land - the same land He promised to Abraham. Their journey was marked with many challenges and trials, but the Lord was with them as He promised.
Here's where Psalm 105:7-15 comes in:
"He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. He remembers His covenant forever, the word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac, and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan as the allotment of your inheritance,"
"When they were few in number, indeed very few, and strangers in it. When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people, He permitted no one to do them wrong; Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes, saying, "Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.""
From this very passage we read that when God spoke of His "anointed ones" and His "prophets," that no one must ever touch them and no one should do them harm, He was referring to His people. He was in no way specifying a single minister or Christian. He meant everyone that belonged to Him.
With these words He meant to tell everyone that He doesn't want anybody touching or harming all of His children, not just a small group of "special" Christians. He was protecting each and every person who is called by His name, who believes in Him and follows Him.
And so, dear friends, realize that you are important to God as much as any minister is. While we are all equal in His sight, He gives us leaders who will look after us. Let's love them and see ourselves not as as inferior to them but as brothers in Christ, walking side-by-side in the Lord.
