Through the Bible in one year - Day 66

Psalm 66:5-6

Come and see what God has done:

he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.

He turned the sea into dry land;

they passed through the river on foot.

This is a preview of what we will be reading in Exodus: this walking across the sea on dry land. As we read through all the scriptures we can see the places where something new is added, and the places where we remind ourselves of what God has done. This reminding is important; for us so we don’t forget, and for those who haven’t seen it first hand, so they can be brought into the story.

This Psalm ends in verse 20 with these words:

Blessed be God,

because he has not rejected my prayer

or removed his steadfast love from me!

Without knowing and reminding ourselves of the things that God has done, we would be unable to join in this thanksgiving. I am grateful to the psalmist for giving us these prayers, so we too can add our thanks to those of others.

This lack of knowledge is what is going to be the downfall of Pharaoh today in our Exodus reading. He is warned by Moses and Aaron of the coming death of all the first born, yet he refuses to listen or to let the Israelites go. Before we get to this plague, we read of a difference; and it is this: the people of Israel must participate; they must act in accord with the Lord’s call. That is, they must mark themselves as his, and in so doing set themselves apart from the coming destruction. There is no sitting this one out or sitting on the fence; they have to declare for the Lord with their actions. This becomes the Passover we have read celebrated throughout the stories in the Chronicles – this is something they should not forget; that is why God tells them to keep this “Passover” for future generations, so they do not forget the Lord’s saving actions on their behalf.

This reading in Ezra is the story of deliverance, again. The people of Israel are freed from bondage, and brought into a land that is their own. It is a good companion to our reading from Exodus, this repetition of God’s saving work.

Finally, when we read today from Paul’s letter to the Romans we read this in verses 23-25:

But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Paul is talking about the regular and continuous intervention of God on our behalf, and of a proper response to it. No, there is nothing we can do to save ourselves, but by God’s grace we are saved none-the-less, through his actions.

Today’s readings: Psalm 66, Exodus 11:1-12:30, Ezra 2, Romans 4