Psalm 114:5-8

Why was it, O sea, that you fled,
O Jordan, that you turned back,
you mountains, that you skipped like rams,
you hills like lambs?
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
who turned the rock into a pool,
the hard rock into springs of water.

“Why, Daddy? Why?” A four-year-old’s favourite question is, “Why?”

And why wouldn’t it be? A four-year-old is living in the age of discovery. Everything is new; everything is calling out to be discovered. Exploration is the activity of the day. And always the question asked is, “Why?”

“Why is the sky blue? Why do girls wear dresses? Why did that egg break? Why?”

Here in Psalm 114, the psalmist has some why questions as well. “Why did the sea flee? Why did the Jordan River turn back? Why did those mountains and hills seem to skip and dance? Why?”

Why, indeed?

The answer of course is because of the jaw-dropping, eye-popping, heart-stopping power of God. God caused the sea to flee. He caused the Jordan to turn back. He caused mountains and hills to skip about and frolic like yearling lambs set free from the stall. What an awesome display!

What an awesome God!

Psalm 114 is all about the overwhelming power of God. It is a grand portrayal of the pivotal event in the Old Testament Scriptures. Here within a few short verses, we catch a panoramic view of God’s might on display, starting with Israel’s escape from Egypt to their arrival in the Promised Land. Our miracle-working God puts on a magnificent show. What an exhibition!

In the preview to this main event, the LORD, the God of Jacob, humiliated the gods of Egypt. The ten plagues devastated the land. The Nile turned to blood. The source of life for the nation became a stench—a source of death. Every plague crippled the pride of Egypt. Each one struck down a ruler of darkness from the nation’s demonic pantheon. The plagues left no doubt as to who was in charge—who was the Lord over Egypt. The LORD God was Lord. Pharaoh and his wizards were powerless before this wonder-working God of Israel.

But the LORD was not finished with the ten plagues. This was only the preliminary round—the warm-up. The main event was still to come.

With Pharaoh’s army in hot pursuit, Moses stretched out his staff, and the sea fled. A path was opened through the deep, and the children of Israel made good their escape. When the army of Pharaoh continued the chase across the seabed, the LORD threw them into confusion.

The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army   of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. (Exodus 14:28-29)

What an awesome display of power! Aside from the miracle of creation, this Old Testament miracle is viewed as the measuring rod—the gold standard—by which all other supernatural events are compared. In the Hebrew Scriptures, this event has no comparison; it is unparalleled. The whole nation saw this. They experienced this supernatural phenomenon. God confounded nature. Water formed a wall. The Almighty suspended what we call normal.

Why was it, O sea, that you fled?

 The immediate answer to this question is simple, yet profound. The sea fled because of the power of God. In exultation Moses boasts,

“Your right hand, O LORD, was majestic in power. Your right hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy. By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood firm like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea. Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (Exodus 15:6, 8, 11).

But why did the miracle-working LORD make the sea flee? Was it simply to display His awe-inspiring power? Was it simply to create a bit of excitement among the million or more mortals, who were eyewitnesses to this divine wonder?

In the Exodus account, the reason for this miraculous intervention is stated very clearly. Here then is the reason for this display of raw power:

That day the LORD saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the great power of the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant. (Exodus 14:30-31)

This power display had one primary purpose. That purpose was salvation. The LORD wanted to save people—His covenant people—from the vicious clutches of oppression and a tyranny. In short, the LORD works wonders so that He can save people—so He can bring them into His Kingdom—so they can escape the sin systems of this world and come under His loving rule.

So why did the sea flee? The LORD sent the sea fleeing so that He could save people.

But from the above passage in Exodus, we can see that this miraculous intervention had two secondary effects. It caused people to stand in awe of the LORD, and it prompted them to put their trust in Him and His servant Moses. Suddenly, the LORD had everyone’s attention. It was impossible to deny the existence of this wonder-working God. Everyone in Israel saw and experienced this fear-prompting miracle. Furthermore, for every Israelite, the message in the miracle was crystal clear. God is all-powerful. And this awe-evoking God truly cares about me. The LORD cares so much that for a brief time, He suspended the laws of nature so that I could walk free.

What an awesome God! What a loving God! Is it any wonder then that the people put their trust in the LORD? They saw His divine character displayed. They were not just witnesses to His power. They were recipients of His love and mercy. God intervened into the affairs of a nation, Egypt, the ancient superpower, to bring them to the point of freedom. Then God intervened into the course of nature. He parted the sea to bring them to full liberty. What a deliverance! What a wonderful God!

“Why was it, O sea, that you fled, O Jordan, that you turned back, you mountains, that you skipped like rams, you hills like lambs?”

On the day of their deliverance, for the common Hebrew the answer to this question would read something like this. “God worked wonders to save me. He made the sea flee just for me. That’s why all this happened!”

That was the testimony of every slave who walked out of Egypt. And that same God works wonders today for the same reason—to save people and to bring them “out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

God works wonders; He works wonders today. But for me, there was a time when this miracle-working power of God was a huge stumbling block. For some people faith seems to come easily or naturally. They read God’s word and readily believe it; they hear the preacher and believe the message he brings. But as a young person, for me just the opposite was true. I was born with the mind of a sceptic. Reading Biblical accounts of miracles did not inspire faith. These stories raised all kinds of questions and doubts. If there was one disciple I could identify with, it was Thomas. We had a similar world view.

So, you say God works miracles. Don’t tell me. Show me. That was my attitude. Though I had read the entire Bible by age eleven, I had a difficult time believing it. It simply did not align with the world as I saw and experienced it. Miracles did not occur in my world. Why should I believe they happened two thousand years ago? That was my line of reasoning in my teen years, and even now I see this as a perfectly logical position for an unbeliever to take.

When I talked to adults or church leaders about this question of miracles, they would brush off my doubts with a blithe remark about how miracles happened back then, in Bible times, but they did not happen anymore. This did nothing to set my sceptic’s mind at ease. If miracles happened then, why didn’t they happen now? If God never changes and if “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), then it logically follows that the supernatural should be happening today, unless of course, the biblical miracles never happened in the first place.

I found myself in a miraculous conundrum. Did they happen, or did they not? Should I believe the Bible or not? I wavered on this question for quite some time. In the end I resolved to believe, not because of evidence, but because of love. I found the love of Christ as displayed on the cross too compelling. It was too overwhelming to walk away from. I decided to believe because I loved the story of His great love. He gripped me at the cross. With nail-pinned hands, he took hold of me. I decided to believe.

In my teen years, the decision was finally made. I would follow Him, but the miraculous conundrum remained. The dispensational position on miracles made no sense to me. Why would miracles take place back then, but not now? Why? Why indeed?

We settle on second best, if our faith rests solely on a decision. Decisions can change. Doubts can assail. The human mind is fickle, easily swayed by this or that argument. Inwardly I longed for a firmer foundation, one based on hard evidence and a rock-solid conviction. There is a substantial difference between believing and knowing. I longed to know God, not just believe in His existence.

Fortunately, we serve a living God, who responds to the cry of our heart. If we seek after Him, He will respond. We have the sure promise of His word on that point.

“‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 29:13-14)

And when we find the LORD, we find the God of power. The LORD responded to Jeremiah’s questioning mind with this statement, “I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27)

Of course, nothing is too hard for the LORD. He can send the sea fleeing. If you are earnest in seeking Him, and you want evidence of his existence, He will supply it. If in humility you seek a demonstration of His power, He is not weak. He will answer. In fact, he longs to fill His disciples with power—power that will strengthen our witness and bring others to salvation. Again, we have Jesus sure promise on that point.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

The miracle working power of God resides in the Holy Spirit, and when as a young man I experienced a personal Pentecost, something very transformational happened inside me. In an instant I moved from believing in God to knowing God. For me the evidence was in, and a rock-solid conviction stood where my uncertain faith had formerly rested. I knew Jesus was alive. He sent His Spirit to affirm my faith.

The wonder-working power of God will do that. Doubters are silenced when God shows up. And yes, miracles have followed. On several occasions, I have experienced divine healing, supernatural guidance, and best of all I have been empowered to be His witness. The miracle of salvation has come to others. And this miracle-working God is not finished yet. What He began in Egypt, He will complete in the Promised Land. As He turned back the Jordan for Israel, He will turn back the Jordan for me as well. He welcomes his people home. He is my provision and my provider for the journey, even as He was for Israel, and He will be for your provision and your provider as well.

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water.

Over the years this bit of earth in human skin has had many occasions to tremble before the presence of the LORD. He is my provision for the journey even when the way is hard. By His Holy Spirit, He turns the barren rock into pools of refreshing. In the desert He is my spring of living water.

Even today Jesus calls out, “‘If a man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from him.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him would later receive.” (John 7:37-39)

Jesus, the miracle worker, calls us to the source of power. Now what about you? What sea lies before you, blocking your way? Does your God still work miracles? Let’s watch that sea flee.

Bringing Life to the Psalms

1. God affirms our faith in Him with signs following. Read Mark 16:14-20. Have you experienced God’s miracle working power in your life? Have you seen it in others? Many believers have a strong faith without experiencing sign and wonders. Yet others will not believe in God unless the miraculous occurs. How do you account for this difference?
2. “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7). How has God manifested the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life?
3. Is your faith decision-based or conviction-based? Are you convinced in your faith, or do you still experience doubts? Remember God loves skeptics too. Have you experienced a transition from believing to knowing? Is this a valid way to look at the faith journey?
4. Reread Psalm 114. What is God saying to you by His Spirit through this psalm?

Today’s post is Chapter 21 from the book Psalms Alive! Connecting Heaven & Earth by David Kitz. To find out more or purchase click here.