Wisdom 19:18. "For the elements changed places with one another, as on a harp the notes vary the nature of the rhythm, while each note remains the same... ."

This verse is from part of the Exodus story as woven throughout the Book of Wisdom. Solomon has an amazing way of pulling out the wisdom and lessons of Exodus. In Solomon's telling, we can see the relation of the story to all of history - Exodus is a "type" for our lives, for the story of humanity finding its way back to God in this fallen world, and for us eventual coming to the Promised Land, the new heavens and the new earth.

In this verse, close to the end of the book, Solomon is recounting the parting of the Red Sea and how land rose up out of water, land animals found their way into the water, water animals found themselves on land, "[f]ire even in water retained its normal power, and water forgot its fire quenching nature" (Wisdom 19:19-20). As Solomon sees it, the escape from Egypt shows in full force the mighty power of God and how He will use that power to protect and provide for His children. "For the whole creation in its nature was fashioned anew, complying with thy commands, that thy children might be kept unharmed." (Wisdom 19:6).  The last chapter of the book is evocative of creation itself - "land animals were transformed into water creatures, and creatures that swim moved over the land" (Wisdom 19:19); "dry land emerg[ed] where water had stood before" (Wisdom 19:7). Solomon brings us back to the beginning, when God rearranged the elements themselves to bring forth this beautiful earth for His children.

Unfortunately, we fell, and the paradise God intended for us became the place of our slavery to sin, where "[t]he experience of death touched also the righteous" (Wisdom 18:20), but then "a blameless man was quick to act as [our] champion ... he withstood the anger and put an end to the disaster, showing that he was [God's] servant. (Wisdom 18:21), "he conquered the wrath not by strength of body, and not by force of arms, but by his word ... he intervened and held back the wrath and cut off its way to the living." (Wisdom 18:22-23). Humanity has been given a blameless man who did for us what Moses did for the people of Israel, and so much more. He has rescued us from the slavery of sin, He has cut off death's path to the living, we only need follow Him, even as we wander through the desert of this world.  God called Moses to save his people from Egyptian slavery, and God Himself came to save us from the slavery of sin. At the end times, as told In Revelation, we will see God coming again to save his faithful ones once and for all, but He is always with us, always ready to step in and perform miracles even in our own lives.

The verse for today, describing how the elements were in flux, also happened at the beginning of creation as the universe was forming, and it will happen again at the end. Both Isaiah and Revelation tell us of a new heavens and a new earth in our future - the ultimate Promised Land. We won't get there without a lot of "flux," as Revelation also reveals, but it will be so worth it!

The story of Exodus is not just an amazing story of divine intervention that happened in Jewish history, it is one of the iterations of history that tell us our own story. We see that God is always watching over us and will, in the fullness of time, intervene to save us. We also see how He will ultimately lead us to the place we have been promised. And I love how Solomon compares this to God playing a harp, varying the notes of His creation to change the rhythm and bring all of creation into harmony with His Divine Will!