Come on now!
Let’s say a big Thank You to Yahweh.
And make it loud,
So people stop what they’re doing
And take notice.
Break out in song,
Singing his praises,
Composing melodies of his marvels.
Let his glory spill into you.
Let your heart fill up
And overflow with joy
As you seek Yahweh.
Yes, be on the lookout for Yahweh
And the fingerprints of his saving hand.
Long to look him in the eye.
Carve these into your memory:
The amazing, saving miracles he did for us
And the commandments he gave us.
They turn Abraham descendants
Into God’s servant-partners.
They turn Jacob’s kin
Into God’s chosen people.
Yahweh is our God.
He’s written his commandments
Into the fabric of the universe.
He has carved his covenant into his memory.
His promise will echo for eons.
The covenant was cut with Abraham,
Sworn to Isaac,
Confirmed with Jacob.
An unbreakable bond,
A perpetual promise,
This covenant with Israel:
“I’ll give you Canaan.
It’s your inheritance.”
Those patriarchs were a motley crew,
A paltry few,
Nobodies,
Drifters,
Bouncing from town to town.
But God protected them from ambitious rulers,
Saying,
“Don’t you dare harm my anointed ones.
Don’t mess with my prophets.”
The story continues with a famine,
God bringing hunger on the land.
He sent an invasion force:
One man,
Joseph, all by himself,
Sold as a slave.
The shackles blistered his ankles.
He wore a collar of iron.
He’d been promised greatness,
But Yahweh was testing his character.
Eventually, Pharaoh called for him,
Egypt’s ruler set him free,
Making him master of the royal household,
Chief financial officer of the palace,
Mentor to the royal family,
Top advisor in the land.
That is how Israel moved to Egypt,
Jacob’s kids finding a home in Ham’s land.
Once there, they had a baby boom.
Yahweh made them a vast people,
Too numerous for the unhappy locals,
Who grew bitter toward God’s people
And plotted against his servant-partners.
So, God send Moses, his servant-partner,
And Aaron,
Both purposefully picked.
They did amazing things in Ham’s land,
Like signs pointing to God.
One was darkness,
A thick blackness covered the land,
Just as it covered their Egyptian rebel hearts.
Another was water turned to blood,
Killing the fish.
Another was frogs,
Filling the land,
Finding their ways into Pharaoh’s own bedroom.
Another was flies.
He spoke and they swarmed,
Clouds of gnats filling the air.
Another was hail.
Instead of rain, frozen rocks and lightning,
Tearing apart grape vines and fig trees
And every other type of fruit tree.
Another was locusts.
Grasshopper armies came at his command,
Devouring every green thing,
Every type of vegetable.
Finally, the firstborn.
With one swift swipe,
The strength of the land was crushed.
But Israel escaped with loads of loot.
And as God brought them out,
Not a single person so much as tripped on a rock.
The Egyptians were happy to see them go,
Wanting nothing to do with these bad luck Israelites.
God provided a cloud canopy
And a fire nightlight.
They asked for food,
He gave them quail.
He cracked a rock,
Out came water,
A river right there in the desert.
Carved into God’s memory was a sacred promise
Made with Abraham, his servant-partner.
So, God brought out his people.
And these chosen ones
Burst into shouts and songs,
Exuberant with joy.
He gave them an inheritance:
Land others had prepared.
Their side of the covenant?
Sticking to what he said,
Obeying his laws.
Come on now!
Join in one big
Hallelujah!