One Sunday, my daughter Bella's bible school class studied a portion of scripture in Psalm 78, but Bella wanted to "see what happened....". Knowing there was more to the story, she opened the Bible the minute we got in the car.
Speaking of the Israelites...
10 They did not keep God’s covenant
and refused to live by his instructions.
11 They forgot what he had done—
the great wonders he had shown them,
12 the miracles he did for their ancestors
on the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt.
13 For he divided the sea and led them through,
making the water stand up like walls!
14 In the daytime he led them by a cloud,
and all night by a pillar of fire.
15 He split open the rocks in the wilderness
to give them water, as from a gushing spring.
16 He made streams pour from the rock,
making the waters flow down like a river!
17 Yet they kept on sinning against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They stubbornly tested God in their hearts,
demanding the foods they craved.
19 They even spoke against God himself, saying,
“God can’t give us food in the wilderness.
20 Yes, he can strike a rock so water gushes out,
but he can’t give his people bread and meat.”
21 When the Lord heard them, he was furious.
The fire of his wrath burned against Jacob.
Yes, his anger rose against Israel,
22 for they did not believe God
or trust him to care for them.
23 Yet he commanded the skies to open;
he opened the doors of heaven.
24 He rained down manna for them to eat;
he gave them bread from heaven.
25 They ate the food of angels!
God gave them all they could hold.
I explained what "manna" was. Bella paused at this and sat in quiet contemplation..."Hey, MOM! That is just like 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs', except God made the food come down from heaven!"
She was intrigued by food coming down from Heaven.
I was intrigued by the word "Yet."
As Bella read aloud the 72 verses in this chapter, I kept circling those three letters. Yet.
It's a u-turn word. Whenever you see it...we know the story will change, as if almost unexpectedly, ironically, in spite of and on the contrary to the very facts just presented...
God performed amazing miracles for the people of Israel. He preserved them as His children. His promises for them were abundant. He delivered them. He bought them from the bondage of slavery and called them His chosen people.
What a blessed people.
YET
They sinned against God. Worshiped false idols. Rose their fists in anger to God. Mocked Him and lived how they wanted to live. They FORGOT about Him altogether.
YET
God continued to pour out His Mercy. He continued to show His faithfulness. He continued to shower blessings on them, in spite of their sinful ways.
Although the passage starts out with the Israelites making a U-turn away from God, God makes a U-turn to give them the blessings and show His loving kindness.
...they angrily questioned God's provision in the wilderness.
...YET God split the rocks and gave them ABUNDANT drink like the ocean depths.
...God's heart was full of wrath and anger at their mockery.
...YET God opened the clouds and rained down manna in ABUNDANCE.
...They deceived God, professing to follow Him and turned away.
...YET God, being compassionate, FORGAVE their sins.
...They grieved Him in the desert.
...YET God led them as a shepherd, guiding them to safety.
What a reflection of our own lives this is. We forget God's abundance on us. We forget the depths from which He saved us. We have riches, imperishable, everlasting riches, YET we simply forget and go on our own way.
YET, God reaches with his outstretched arm to rescue, restore, provide, comfort...
And as if that isn't enough, He crowns us with glory and majesty. (Psalms 8)
