God gives

I am the LORD your God,

who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Psalm 81:10

This verse, situated in Psalm 81, which Asaph wrote as a spiritual history lesson for Israel, emphasizes four important ways God worked among His people. And what God gave to Israel in the Exodus, He also gives through Christ today.

First, God emphasizes PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP. “I am the LORD your God.” The Jews have a unique covenant life with God. He is their God. They are His people. He cares for them in that relationship. He revealed His unique purposes, plans, passion, and position to them as His people. And through His people He sent One Who would save and bless the entire world!

Next, God emphasizes His RESCUE of His people. God brought about their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. God gave them Moses as their leader. God brought about the means for their salvation when it took the Passover’s death angel to bend Pharaoh’s hardened heart to release Israel from bondage. In Christ we are rescued from sin’s slavery now!

God also emphasizes His POWER to His people. He brought them out. He made them His own. He kept them fed and cared for in the wilderness. In the covenant relationship, God’s supernatural power was the highest and greatest display of His constant care of Israel. They simply had to follow. And so it is with Jesus. His power saves us. We must believe and follow.

And finally, God’s PROVISION is emphasized. The command of joyful divine generosity is this: “Open you mouth wide! I’m going to fill it up with the good stuff!” God lived up to His promise of provision, not only in the wilderness, but beyond, in all of Israel’s history. He has kept covenant at His great cost, even when they failed. And His generous grace still pours to believers now, even when we are less than worshipful or obedient. In Jesus we are in relationship, rescued, empowered, and provided all we need for life and godliness by His great and precious promises!