Today’s scripture: Psalm 114 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (John Seksay):
“When Israel went out from Egypt, / The house of Jacob from a people of strange language, / Judah became God’s sanctuary, / Israel [God’s] dominion” (verses 1, 2).
Here again I find myself at a part of the Bible that I have not experienced very much. Psalm 114 seems a piece of something larger, and indeed it is. In Jewish tradition, it is part of a series of adjacent psalms on a related theme sung or recited on appropriate Jewish holidays. In some Christian traditions, it is also done in some of the liturgical cycles of the church year. But by itself, it doesn’t come up often in regular Bible study.
As I read through it, I can see how it would link to the psalms before and after, each being a reflection on part of the Exodus, a remembrance of how the Jewish nation came into being out of Egypt. Its purpose is to remember that journey, with praise for the blessings received.
Indeed, the greatest blessing was the journey itself. It gave a tribe of servants in Egypt a separate identity, a separate history, a unique focus on their purpose in the world. It was a difficult journey with an amazing consequence! From that band of wanderers, there eventually sprang both the Jewish and Christian faiths, right up to their current expressions. This is what the song is about, how something fixed and confined became a flowing tide of faith as believers accepted God’s direction for them.
“Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, / At the presence of the God of Jacob, / Who turns the rock into a pool of water, / The flint into a spring of water” (verses 7, 8).
Thought for the day: Lord, this story is my reminder that God’s power has no boundaries. Where God’s will is honored, all forms of transformation are possible! Help me remain faithful to the journey, today and every day.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.