Wednesday: Defender and Deliverer
Daily Lesson for Wednesday 24th of January 2024
Read 1 Corinthians 10:1-4. How does Paul describe the Exodus story? What spiritual lesson does he seek to teach with it?
Read Psalms 114:1-8. How is the divine deliverance of the people of Israel from Egypt poetically described here?
What a poetic depiction of God’s marvelous deliverance of His children from the bondage of Egypt is given in Psalms 114:1-8. All through the Old Testament, and even in the New, the deliverance from Egypt was seen as a symbol of God’s power to save His people. Paul in these verses in 1 Corinthians does just that, seeing the whole true story as a metaphor, a symbol of salvation in Jesus Christ.
Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com
Psalms 114:1-8 also depicts divine deliverance through God’s sovereignty as the Creator over the powers of nature, which was how He saved His people in the Exodus. The sea, the river Jordan, and the mountains and hills poetically represent the natural and human powers opposing the Israelites on their way to the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 1:44, Joshua 3:14-17). God, though, is sovereign over all of them.
In fact, for many of God’s children in all times and in all places, the way to the heavenly Jerusalem is fraught with danger. The Psalms encourage them to look beyond the hills and toward the Creator of heaven and earth (Psalms 121:1).
The spirit of Psalms 114:1-8 is captured by Jesus’ calming of the sea storm and His proclamation that the church has nothing to fear because He has overcome the world (Matthew 8:23-27, John 16:33).
The Lord’s great deeds on behalf of His people should inspire the whole earth to tremble at His presence (Psalms 114:7). The trembling should be understood as acknowledging and worshiping rather than as being terrified (Psalms 96:9, Psalms 99:1). With God on their side, believers have nothing to fear.
What are some of the spiritual dangers we face as believers, and how can we learn to lean on the Lord’s power to protect us from succumbing to these dangers that are as real for us now as they were for the psalmist?
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The Message puts it this way:
And despite the visible presence of the Lord, the Israelites grizzled and complained, they made graven images, they got sick of wonder food, they rebelled and refused to be led into the promised land. What was wrong with these people? They were probably just like us.
Isaiah said:
Sheep are profoundly stupid. I can remember opening a gate to a beautiful paddock full of their favourite grass and clover, but they would stamp their feet and jump into the creek or get caught in the blackberry thorns rather than be led into their pasture.
You can work out the comparison.
The worst thing that can happen to someone is when faith either fades away or does not exist. Without faith, nothing makes sense. Why would I be too worried about anything? Money, possessions, pleasure, trips, human knowledge, art (including music), studies, family, human love, sex? Because all these things disappear with time, they make no sense when there is no purpose. But faith can make all the difference; faith in a God of love, in a God Who wants us to recover eternal happiness, Who died to give us a new chance after our fall, and Who has a mission for everyone who believes in Him.
The Lord is Our refuge. We all go astray at times because we don’t understand God. We must read the scriptures more and more to understand His guiding and leading. When we understand and know His voice, we can follow. We will trust and understand. I am a dumb sheep. I have walked in my own path thinking I was doing what I was supposed to do. The Lord showed me that I was walking in man’s path, not God’s. We know and understand the path of man. God’s path is narrow and different. It doesn’t look the way we think it does.
I agree with SonyaC. I am at fault sometimes when I don’t exercise my Faith in Jesus. I get overwhelmed with day to day situations in my life. Don’t get me wrong I believe in the plan of Jesus for my life and also Him. But sometimes life can throw you a curveball. Please pray my faith in Jesus. Thank you
Sheila; you are in my prayers 🙏 as well as all that love the Lord.
May we all hold on to His promises and follow Him
We all need each other
God still delivers and defends us today just like He did with ancient Israel. He delivers us from our enemies. He takes us out of the bondages of sin. He leads us in the path of righteousness. He calms our storms. He moves our mountains. He stretches His hands over our seas. He allows His Sun to shine on us. He leads us to safety. He carries us when we are weak. He provides spiritual water and food.
Our God makes a way even when it seems impossible or impassable.
Psalms and songs were given to us to strengthen our faith as well as to praise God.
One I learned while working with youth:
"I will lift my eyes
To the hills and their Creator
Who made both heaven and earth.
For He watches me,
Never sleeps, no, never slumbers
He's ever over me.
As I come and I go,
I am safe for I know,
That His care is sufficient for me.
Winter warmth
And light,
And a shady place in summer,
He's ever over me "
Our Redeemer and Friend,never should we plan or even think of going away from This Loving God.
Be blessed everyone for sharing your thoughts today
I see Psalm 114:1-8 not only speaking to the power of God. It is also a wonderful depiction of God’s faithfulness toward Abraham and His promise to make his descendants the nation in which He would reveal Himself first before going on to bless the whole world – 114:1-2.
How many years had passed since this 'new' God made a promise to Abram? God knew, but Abram believed! God rewarded Abram's willingness to leave the old behind and embrace His promise, though not yet formed, as if it was so. Abram followed his new God by faith, as did Moses, and as we did when we left behind the old to embracing the new Life of faith.
I was curious about the number of Abram's direct descendants. 'Not counting his son’ wives, they numbered sixty-six people. With the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family, which went to Egypt, were seventy in all. It is estimated that over a million people were led out of Egypt.' (Google)
God’s Plan to be mankind's Defender and Deliverer never changes! As every minute of every busy day passes to the next, we should always remember that God’s plan to save mankind is ever unfolding.
Life's difficulties and challenges might cause us to take our eyes of the promise that our God always fulfills His promises for His people, though we should always remember that it is He who set in motion the plan to lead us home - Ecclesiastes 3:1; Psalm 27:14; Isaiah 30:15; Peter 3:8; Acts 1:7.
As the lesson says, ' The Lord's great deeds on behalf of His people should inspire the whole earth to tremble at His presence'. What a wonderful promise.