Yet

by Sal Huckel

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Yet he commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven,
and he rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them the grain of heaven (Psalm 78:23,24).

Read Psalm 78:23–29

‘Yet’. Today’s lectionary reading starts with this small, three-letter word directing us to what goes before, in order to get the full sense from our passage. We need to look to the beginning of this Psalm to understand today’s reading.

Psalm 78 is headed: ‘Tell the coming generation’. Today’s passage actually comes from the second longest psalm in the Bible, which tells of God’s miraculous provision of food to the Israelites in the desert. So, why the ‘yet’?

In order to marvel fully at our amazing God and his provision for the Israelites, and of course for us – we need to understand the context here. This psalm exhorts us to teach the story to future generations and recounts the story of God’s people from Jacob onwards, and Israel’s history. Pastors and households alike must tell the accounts of the wonders of God’s work to our children to be passed on. When we learn of the miraculous food that rained down on the Israelites in abundance, we marvel at the works of the Lord. When we investigate the ‘yet’, we realise this: the Israelites time after time tested God, sinned against him, forgot his miracles and complained about him some more. ‘Yet’.

Read today’s section of Psalm 78 and be in awe of our amazing God. Put it in context and worship even more our forgiving, loving God, who removes our sins from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). Worship God the Father, whom Jesus shows us is like the father welcoming back his prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32). Worship Jesus the Son, who while we were still sinners, died for us (Romans 5:8 is one example of many).

What can we learn from this psalm? Just as in our previous readings in Acts, where the history was recounted up until the time of Jesus’ death and resurrection in the testimonies and teachings of the apostles, we too need to take note of this history. We must note the inability of humankind to keep God’s law – and the saving grace we have in the gospel. We will make mistakes, like the Israelites, time after time. God forgives us over and over again. ‘Tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders he has done’ (Psalm 78:4).

Father God, you are the creator of the universe: almighty and everlasting, forgiving and loving. Through the power of your Holy Spirit help me to live daily in my baptism, to come to you for forgiveness, and to tell of your mighty acts and deeds to the next generations. May we remember our history and learn from it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Sal is married to Pastor Matthew Huckel and they live in Victoria with their six children. Music, theology, literature and languages are passions the family share and explore together. Sal loves writing, speaking and walking to the beach at every opportunity.

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