In Psalms chapter seventy-eight Asaph said, “the children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law and forgot his works, and his wonders that he had showed them”, and in chapter seventy-eight and verse twelve of Psalms Asaph said, “marvelous things did he in the sight of their fathers” where we read,
Marvelous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
The verse begins, “Marvelous things did he in the sight of their fathers, ...” Asaph began with the words, “Marvelous things” or “extraordinary and hard to understand miracles and acts of judgment and redemption” “did he” which means “fashioned, accomplished, made and produced he, Jehovah God” “in the sight of their fathers” or “conspicuously within the front and presence of the progenitors, ancestors and forefathers of the people of Ephraim”. Asaph said Jehovah God conspicuously performed extraordinary miracles within the presence of the forefathers of the people.
The verse goes on to say, “... in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.” Asaph continued with the words, “in the land of Egypt” or “within the country, territory, district and region belonging to Egypt whose name means land of the Copts and was a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine and through which the Nile flows”, “in the field” which means “within the cultivated plain opposed to a mountain and the land opposed to the sea” “of Zoan” or “belonging to Zoan whose name means place of departure and was an ancient city of lower Egypt called Tanis by the Greeks. It was located on the eastern bank of the Tanitic branch of the Nile; the capital of the Shepherd dynasty, built seven years after Hebron, existing before Abraham and the dwelling place of the Pharaoh at the time of the exodus”. Asaph recalled how Jehovah God performed his extraordinary miracles within the country of “Egypt” in the ancient city of “Zoan”.
When we mediate upon the words in this verse, we discover how Asaph begins to recall the miracles performed by Jehovah God while the children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt. (We can read more about these miracles in Exodus chapters seven through twelve.) In other words, Asaph was writing about these extraordinary miracles of God so all who read them would be reminded of the power and might of Jehovah God. God desires to have a personal relationship with every person, and He sent His Son Jesus into the world to be crucified for the sins of everyone. When we yield our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and allow us to be a part of His greatest miracle of all – saving and redeeming mankind.
Next time Asaph says, “He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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