Psalm 81:6-7

Psalm 81:6-7

In your distress you called

The Israelites in Egypt were oppressed by forced labour and their slave masters worked them ruthlessly, partly because the Egyptians dreaded them! The Hebrew slaves were made to produce bricks and mortar and transport these to building sites for construction projects like the cities of Pithom and Rameses. In addition, the slaves were the agricultural workers, managing the fields in the harsh sun and being treated no better than animals. And yet their numbers kept growing! These verses describe the physical toll on the shoulders of the slaves and on their hands as they carried heavy baskets backwards and forwards. 

No wonder they cried out to God, the God of their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who heard and answered and who spoke from the cloud that accompanied the people on their exodus out of Egypt. The God who blew with His breath and turned the Red Sea back with a strong east wind and who later blew again and drowned the Egyptian military in the midst of the Sea. 

At Meribah the people were tested, they argued and quarrelled as to whether God was with them or not, for they had no water. It was here, of course, that Moses was told to strike the rock and water poured out. I wonder if things deliberately go wrong in our lives at times, just to test us, to see who we are trusting in? Hardships, unwelcome as they are, can be great tools to help us in our journey of faith. 

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