As Israel emerged from Egypt, and Jacob's family left a foreign land, Isaiah proclaimed, Judah was His sanctuary and Israel His dominion. Psalm 112:1-2 The sea perceived this and fled, the Jordan turned back. Psalm 112:3 We ought not to view historical accounts merely as past events; rather, they point to the future, revealing that though these miracles unfolded among this nation, the reality of the present was intertwined with the foresight of what was to come. Some elements are presented differently from our understanding, indicating they are not merely recaps of what has previously occurred but foreshadowings of future truths. For instance, we do not read that the Jordan was merely turned back; it stopped at the source of its streams while the people crossed. Furthermore, there is no mention of mountains and hills leaping; this imagery was added. The response indicates, 'The sea saw and fled; the Jordan was driven back; the mountains leapt like rams, and the hills like lambs.' Psalm 113:4 The inquiry follows, 'What ails you, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, why are you driven back?' Psalm 112:5 'Why do you leap, O mountains, like rams? And you, O hills, like lambs?' Psalm 112:6
Let us reflect on the teachings presented here; both the miraculous events and the words invite us to recognize our true identity. If we embrace the grace of God given to us, we are indeed Israel, the descendants of Abraham; the apostle affirms, 'Therefore you are Abraham's seed.' ... No Christian should view themselves as separate from the identity of Israel, as we are joined together with the believing Jews, including the chief apostles. Therefore, our Lord states, 'And I have other sheep not of this fold; I must bring them, that there may be one flock and one Shepherd.' John 10:16 Thus, the Christian community represents Israel and embodies the house of Jacob; for Israel and Jacob are one. However, that large group of Jews, justly criticized for their betrayal, forfeited their birthright for worldly desires, aligning themselves not with Jacob, but with Esau. We are reminded of the deeper significance: the elder shall serve the younger.
Egypt is often seen as a symbol of suffering or oppression, and it represents this worldly existence from which we must spiritually separate ourselves to avoid sharing in unbelief. 2 Corinthians 6:14 Every individual becomes a true citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem only when they have first renounced this world, much as the Israelites could not enter the promised land without departing from Egypt. They did not escape until they were aided divinely; similarly, no person can truly turn away from the worldly life unless supported by the grace of divine mercy. What was once an image is now fulfilled for all faithful believers in the Church's ongoing trials in this current age, as Blessed John notes, in this last time. 1 John 2:18 Listen to the apostle Paul, the teacher of the Gentiles, instructing, 'I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that all our ancestors were under the cloud, all passed through the sea; all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and the sea; all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. However, many of them displeased God and were laid low in the wilderness. These things were for our instruction.' 1 Corinthians 10:1-6 What more could we seek, beloved brethren? This truth is clear, not through human conjecture but through the apostolic declaration, which originates from God and our Lord: for God spoke through them, and though encased in human form, it was God who revealed this truth. Therefore, it is evident from such profound testimony that all those figurative events have now been realized in our salvation; the past foretold the future, and we now observe the present.
Consider what is even more astonishing: the veiled mysteries of the ancient scriptures unfold through those very texts. The prophet Micah tells us, 'In the days of your coming out of Egypt, I will show wonders...' Therefore, in this psalm, although the exceptional prophecy gazes into the future, it seems to recount the past. He states that Judah was His sanctuary; past-tense verbs signify that the sea fled, while the Jordan turned back, and the mountains jumped, and the earth quaked. This language from the past does not obscure our understanding of the future. For even though it was long after the exodus from Egypt and before the present Church era that this was sung, it unmistakably predicts future events, as he proclaims, 'In the days of your departure from the land of Egypt, I will show wonders.' Nations will witness this and be confounded. Here it is expressed again, 'The sea saw and fled;' for if this accounts for historical events, what audacity is it to interpret the 'shall see and be confounded' merely as past happenings? Further down, he directly references our genuine adversaries—our sins—which, like the Egyptians, have been drowned in the sea of our Baptism, signifying that God does not forever withhold His wrath but will revert, have mercy, and cast our transgressions to the depths of the sea.
What does this indicate, beloved? You who recognize yourselves as Israelites through Abraham's lineage, who belong to the house of Jacob and are heirs to the promise, understand that you too have emerged from Egypt, having renounced worldly ways. You have exited a foreign nation by embracing godliness, separating from the blasphemies of the Gentiles. It is not your own language that praises God but rather a foreign tongue that cannot glorify Him, to whom you offer Hallelujah. For Judah has become His sanctuary within you; it is not the external appearance of a Jew nor the physical circumcision that defines one, but rather the inward transformation of the heart. Romans 2:28-29 Examine your hearts to see if faith has purified them, whether your confession has washed you; in you, Judah has become His sanctuary and Israel His dominion. You have received the power to be children of God. John 1:12
However, I urge you not to look back as the Jordan does not return, nor should you perceive anything evil. For the Lord rebukes those who turn their backs toward Him rather than face Him. Jeremiah 2:27 Anyone who forsakes the source of their existence and pivots away from the Creator, like a river flowing into the sea, sinks into the bitterness of this worldly life. It is beneficial for such a one to turn back, allowing the God they turned from to be before their gaze upon returning, so the sea of this world that they initially embraced becomes a memory behind them, thus forgetting the past, they may strive toward what lies ahead. Philippians 3:13 Such a journey proves valuable after genuine conversion...
Tremble, O earth, before the Lord, before the God of Jacob. Psalm 113:7 What does 'before the Lord' signify if not His continual presence, who declared, 'Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Matthew 28:30 The earth trembles; but through negligence, one makes it quake, thereby inviting strength to dwell more fully in the presence of the Lord.
Who transformed solid rock into pools of water, and hard flint into springs? Psalm 113:8 For He has softened Himself, allowing what once appeared rigid to provide sustenance for those who believe in Him, becoming for them a source of water that wells up to eternal life. John 4:14 Before His true nature was revealed, He seemed hard. Thus, those who remarked, 'This is a hard teaching; who can accept it?' John 6:60 were confounded and did not wait for Him to pour forth His Spirit as the Scriptures were unveiled. That rock, which had seemed unyielding, became lakes of water; that rock transformed into living springs as at His resurrection He elucidated to them, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, how Christ must suffer; Luke 24:26-27 and sent the Holy Spirit, who proclaimed, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.' John 7:37
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