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December 25: Because His mercy is forever!

Psalm 136:13-26:
To Him who divided the Red Sea in two, for His mercy endures forever; and made Israel pass through the midst of it, for His mercy endures forever; but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, for His mercy endures forever; to Him who led His people through the wilderness, for His mercy endures forever; to Him who struck down great kings, for His mercy endures forever; and slew famous kings, for His mercy endures forever— Sihon king of the Amorites, for His mercy endures forever; and Og king of Bashan, for His mercy endures forever— and gave their land as a heritage, for His mercy endures forever; a heritage to Israel His servant, for His mercy endures forever. Who remembered us in our lowly state, for His mercy endures forever;
and rescued us from our enemies, for His mercy endures forever; who gives food to all flesh, for His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever.

Psalm 137:1-6:
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it. For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, and those who plundered us requested mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! If I do not remember you,
let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth— if I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy.


Psalm 136 with its literary style repeats the same phrase several times and makes it different from the others. It is clear that the purpose of this song is to exalt the mercy of the Lord. It is a good method to stimulate the memorization of the Scriptures.
In the first part of the psalm, the writer recognizes the power of God as Creator and Maker of all things, the heavenly stars and everything on earth, in the sky and in the waters.
Then honor the Lord for all the victories that God has given to his people since they left Egypt, the nations and kings defeated in the desert and those they defeated in the promised land. This was important to sing because they wanted their generations not to forget the feats of the Almighty. And it's really that kind of amnesia that had caused them so much pain for having looked down on God and gone after other gods. They turned away from God and suffered dire consequences.

The next psalm, the 137, is a testimony of how badly they were when they suffered the consequences of their rebellion and were taken captive to Babylon. This psalm was written as a memory of the time when they had just arrived as slaves, and the inhabitants of that strange land mocked them, made fun of them to sing those songs for which the Israelites were famous.
The Jews stood out because they were a happy, very artistic people, full of singers, composers, inventors of instruments, choristers who sang in the temple of their God 24 hours a day. They were also architects, engineers and designers, etc.
They were next to a river mourning the loss of their lands, their cities and especially their temple. But they, for millennia, have always maintained their love for Jerusalem, have believed in God's promise and were continually expelled and coming back again. Currently, they continue in the struggle to establish themselves in their land and their capital Israel.

Consider this:
Are you doing something so that your children don't forget the miracles that God has done for you and your family?
Do you tell a story telling those difficult moments and how the Lord listened to you?

Make a list of things or events in which your family has seen the hand of God and in each one end with this phrase: "because His mercy is forever."

I am your friend Eduardo...