Psalm 77:17-18

Psalm 17:17-18

The earth trembled and quaked

These verses seems to speak of another event beyond the crossing of the Red Sea. It refers to the time when the Israelites were leaving the Negev Desert and heading north. The area of Seir, or Edom, is the land of Esau, and it is found in southern Jordan today. Deborah wrote of this in her song, “When you, Lord, went out from Seir, when you marched from the land pf Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water. The mountains quaked before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord, the God of Israel.”Judges 5:4-5. Similar events are described in Psalm 18:7-15 and Psalm 68:7-8.

It's obvious that when God acted on behalf of His people, His intervention was dramatic, for instance, there was thunder and lightning and an earthquake when He came to meet Moses on Mount Sinai. What the writers are all telling us is that when the Lord comes to effect judgement or redemption, the natural world quakes and trembles at His presence. The elements are under His control, but they are also affected by the sin of mankind. Sin has had a corrupting influence throughout the whole of Creation and the heavens are the barrier through which God comes to visit the earth. Satan is the prince of the power of the air, no wonder there are signs as the Almighty One draws near! 

It is the ascension of Jesus, from the depths of the grave, through the air and then through the heavens that tells us that nothing on this planet, or around it, can hold Him. He is God and Paul talks about His “Incomparably great power and mighty strength that was revealed when God raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 1:19-20. Hallelujah!

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