It had been so long. So long since the promise had been made
to their father, Abraham. So long since their deliverance out of Egypt. And
while God had, indeed, remained faithful to them, they had many times been a
faithless nation, a sinful people. They had turned to idolatry with no hope.
They had oppressed and had been oppressed. Nations had risen up to overtake
them, killing off so many, taking them out of the land God had given and into
foreign land. Though they had returned, it was obvious that things were not the
same as before. The land was not as glorious as it had been in the stories they
had heard from parents and grandparents. Maybe God had forgotten. Or maybe God
had, indeed, remembered, but remembered this side of his children, their
rebellious ways. How could he forget?
Yet, in their suffering and waiting, there were glimmers of
hope.
There were the stories of generations before. It had been a
long time since their exodus, but God had remembered them when they were in
slavery in Egypt. He heard their cries and acted on their behalf. And this was
not a one-time occurrence. In the wilderness as they wandered and lamented, as
they turned to idol worship and he was prepared to destroy them, he remembered
and was faithful, again, in their deliverance. Time after time, though they
were punished for their lack of faith, when they cried out to him, Yahweh
always heard and always acted on their behalf. They heard these stories and
knew them to be true.
They had even experienced God’s great love for them first
hand in their deliverance out of exile. They, themselves, had cried out by the
rivers of Babylon and had now returned to the sweet rivers of Jordan. We hear
echoes of their lifted voices in Psalm 107, “Let the redeemed of the Lord give
thanks to the Lord…for his steadfast love endures forever!” God had not
forgotten, and neither would they.
They knew redemption was coming. They had heard of a
promised Messiah, one who would come to lift the people from the depths. And
though they suffered still, they knew a day was coming, so in their suffering,
they remained hopeful.
Indeed, a day was coming! God had not forgotten.
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