Today’s reading is Psalm 34.
Some people don’t like camping. It’s outdoors. It’s in the wild. There are animals. There are snakes. It’s can seem kind of dangerous. “Anyone wanna come a get killed with me or do you wanna get killed looking for me?” But, you know, as Jim Gaffigan also says, until we came up with the house, everyone was camping.
That is exactly where Israel was in the wilderness, camping. In fact, when they moved into their houses in the Promised Land, they had an annual feast to remind them of their 40-year camping trip. It was called The Feast of Booths (or Tabernacles).
So, when David says “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them,” the first thing that should come to our mind is that camping trip. Do you remember essentially how it starts? They travel up to the Red Sea, and then they get hemmed in. They’ve got three potential ways to travel. One way is a rocky, mountainous wilderness through which they could never lead their flocks and children. Another is the Red Sea. Then they look behind them and there’s Pharaoh’s army coming in hot pursuit. They think the jig is up.
But in Exodus 14:19, the angel of God in the form of the cloudy and fiery pillar stood between them and Pharaoh’s army. God parts the waters of the Red Sea and Israel starts to pass through. In 14:24, the angel of God threw the Egyptians into a panic, clogging them down between the walls of water until the Israelites had safely crossed to the other side. Then brought the water down on the army of Egypt, destroying them.
After Sinai and the building of the Lord’s Tabernacle, Israel encamped around the Tent of the Lord. But, really, the Angel of the Lord encamped around Israel.
That is why David feels safe when he takes refuge in the Lord. Because he knows that when the Angel of the Lord encamps around you, no one can hurt you.
Praise the Lord!
Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 34.
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