Advent 11/29/22 Sacred Time

Tuesday, November 29
Psalm 124  (The Message)

If God hadn’t been for us
—all together now, Israel, sing out!—
If God hadn’t been for us
when everyone went against us,
We would have been swallowed alive
by their violent anger,
Swept away by the flood of rage,
drowned in the torrent;
We would have lost our lives
in the wild, raging water.
Oh, blessed be God!
He didn’t go off and leave us.
He didn’t abandon us defenseless,
helpless as a rabbit in a pack of snarling dogs.
We’ve flown free from their fangs,
free of their traps, free as a bird.
Their grip is broken;
we’re free as a bird in flight.
God’s strong name is our help,
the same God who made heaven and earth.

This particular passage is about hope and Israel's narrow escape in the nick of time. In Psalm 124 the people of Israel are in a time of thanksgiving and celebrating a time of hopefulness and their deliverance. This psalm talks about the obstacles and adversities that Israel was going through, and how the Lord delivered them from these adversities. Because of the struggles that the Israelites went through, the passage describes how they strengthened their faith and relationship with the Lord and brought them into a time of thankfulness and hopefulness.

It also describes the anger, rage, might, and strength that enemies of Israel had. Furthermore, it describes Israel's enemies like a pack of snarling dogs, as the people of Israel felt like defenseless rabbits in a time of peril. Israel also rejoiced in the Lord who delivered them from their enemies: in the psalm the Israelites proclaim that "God's strong name is our help, the same God who made heaven and earth" (verse 8).

This passage is a great illustration of believer's faith and relationship with the Lord, spiritual warfare and temptation and salvation. This psalm parallels with Advent, our hope and salvation. As the Lord saved Israel from its enemies, the Lord saved us from the enemy of sin and sent his son to save all mankind, the world, from sin. We hope that this passage helps us all reflect on our hope in Christ and helps us to remember and celebrate his birth during this Advent season!

-The White Family
Greg, Angela, and Julie