In today’s reading of Tyndale’s OYCSB (with featured content written by the CBT team),
- God redeemed the Hebrews from their slavery in Egypt. Now in the wilderness after experiencing God’s authority and power over the most powerful nation on the earth and its false gods, God wants His covenant people to know His character. As the story of Scripture is told from the beginning, God desires to deprogram His people from all they learned in Egypt. He tells them the story of redemptive history that brings them to Mount Sinai.
- God makes Himself known. He wants all image-bearers to know His character. He also wants all people to know our brokenness. Although we are made in His image so that we may know Him and live in relationship with Him, mankind from the beginning rejected His kingship.
- God desires to be known as Creator. Only Creator God may command things that do not exist to exist. Only Creator God may possess preeminent authority, power, and wisdom.
- As Creator, God desires all image-bearers to know His redemptive work. Paul said to the church in Ephesus:
Ephesians 1:4 (NLT)
4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
- The beginning of the story teaches us to believe rightly about God and ourselves. Our redemption was designed and planned before anything was made. For the Hebrews at Mt. Sinai, the story of the beginning reveals a good God who’s word is true—a God who has been administering the eras in order to redeem the brokenness that resulted from man’s sin. For us today, the story of the beginning is glorious in light of the end of the story, which God has made known in Christ.
Let’s dive into today’s reading!
