And Og the king of Bashan: for His mercy endureth for ever (Psalm 136:20).
The Lord Jesus likely meditated on and sang Psalm 136 during His earthly walk. It praises God for great wonders (v.4)wonders of creation (vs.59), and wonders of redemption and deliverance (vs.1024). Christ, Creator and Redeemer both, certainly could have related to these truths. But how might He have related to Og?
This ancient king apparently was huge. His bed was made of iron . . . nine cubits in length (Deuteronomy 3:11). This is about 13 feet long! It was a great victory for Gods people when this enemy was defeated.
Jesus knew that He had come to confront an enemy much stronger than Og. He met Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:3 ff.) and said of him, No man can enter into a strong mans house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house (Mark 3:27). Jesus knew that He had entered hostile territory (Satans house) with the purpose of binding Satan and delivering people from the power of darkness to His own kingdom (Colossians 1:13).
Jesus, Gods strong hand and stretched out arm (Psalm 136:12), came to confront evil to the core and win. For a time it seemed that Satan was winning. The bed, a sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid (John 19:41), was for Jesusnot Satan. But the second part of our text reminds us of Gods mercy which endures forever.
Gods wrath against evil fell squarely on Christ, but the Psalm reminds us over and over again that His mercy endureth for ever. Justice was met at Calvary, but a few days later the Father raised His Son in mercy from deaths bed. Together, Father and Son impart mercy for ever on the elect, through the agency of the Holy Spirit. PGH