Psalm 114 Because God Said So
“When the Israelites escaped from Egypt—when the family of Jacob left that foreign land—the land of Judah became God’s sanctuary, and Israel became his kingdom.
The Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way! The water of the Jordan River turned away. The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs! What’s wrong Red Sea, that made you hurry out of the way? What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away? Why, mountains, did you skip like rams? Why, hills, like Lambs?
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob. He turned the rock into a pool of water; yes, a spring of water flowed from solid rock” (NLT).
Here’s a quick answer to the questions about the Red Sea and the Jordan River moving out of the way, and the mountains and hills skipping—Because God said so! God wanted it that way, and He made it happen that way in order to establish His nation, Israel, in the land of promise, the land He had chosen for them. “Israel became His kingdom,” and it still is His kingdom that He gave to His people, Israel—and so it shall remain forever, whatever man may say.
And on the way, He brought water out of solid rock, He fed them with food from the sky, both manna and quail. He kept their clothes from wearing out. Some may have seen that as a mixed blessing. The clothes never wore out, but they never got a new wardrobe. All this, God provided for forty years. Yet, only two of those who walked out of Egypt walked into the Promised Land. When they were presented with the first opportunity to enter the land, all but two who had been sent into the land to check it out decided not to enter in because the current residents were seen as giants, and even after all God had done for them, they didn’t believe that He would carry them to victory over the giants. The people believed the ten who thought the inhabitants of the Promised Land were too big to defeat, so only Joshua and Caleb walked in.
So, what’s the meaning for me today? When God calls me to do something, and He begins to lead me, I need to follow Him, not just at the beginning, but until He tells me that I have arrived—have completed the task He asked of me. That’s easy for me to say, but it’s harder for me to do. Would I have had the faith of Joshua and Caleb, or would I have shied away, been scared off by the bad reports of men? Do I have the faith and trust today to follow through with God’s assignments, or will I fail the test and see my assignment completed by someone else? My prayer is like that of the father of the son who was tormented by an evil spirit, who said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” (KJV) The translation for me is “I believe for this moment. Please help when I begin to falter.”