… to him who divided the Red Sea asunder His love endures forever. – Psalm 136:13

Today's Scripture Reading (October 26, 2022): Psalm 136

In 1983, Canadian rocker Bryan Adams released his hit, "Cuts Like a Knife." Adams admits that he is a world champion mumbler, and as he and his songwriting partner, Jim Vallance, were working through the chord progression for the song, Adams was mumbling through the as-of-yet unwritten lyrics. When they played the track back, Adams remarked that it sounded like he was saying, "cuts like a knife." As a result of the mumbling, they started to go with the lyrics.

A knife can be a useful instrument if something needs to be cut. Or if the item that needs to be split is larger, maybe we need to use an ax or a sword. But if something needs to be divided, there are instruments that can cut things in two. The Bible often uses this idea of "cutting" or "dividing" things in two. And often, the word it uses in these situations is "gazar (gawzar)." In 1 Kings 3:25, it is the word used when Solomon commands that the child be split in two, with half a child given to each of the mothers contesting the baby's parentage. In 2 Kings, the word is used when an order is given to cut down some trees. And in Psalm 136, it is the word that is used when the Psalmist talks about dividing the Red Sea. But the problem is that it seems to be an unusual choice when we are talking about water.

But there is also a reason for the choice that we shouldn't miss. Whenever a covenant was made, it was customary to kill an animal and then have the adherents to the covenant pass between the halves of the calf or whatever the animal was that was sacrificed. Similarly, the Psalmist indicates that God took his sword and cut the water in two. Then he allowed Israel to pass between the halves of the divided sea. Afterward, God stitched the halves of the sea back together and simultaneously swallowed the soldiers of Egypt's Pharaoh. For a moment, God's sword could cut through the water of the Red Sea as if it was a sword or knife cutting through the carcass of a cow, and another covenant was made between Israel and the God who had called them. Israel passed through the divided sections of the Red Sea confirming the covenant, and that covenant, solemnized in this way, was more proof that "His love endures forever."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 8