IT’S ABOUT GOD
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It is natural that our perspectives of life and reality begin with the human view. But one of the significant contributions that reading the Bible offers us and our faith is the recurring nudge to consider our lives, our history, and our world from God’s perspective—as far as possible. This is an important corrective to our assumption that the story is about us when it is always more about God. Notice God’s language in these verses.
They are about Him. His assertions of His identification with and care for His people are the basis for the “Do not be afraids.” Again, the emphasis is similar to Moses’ explanation to the people of Israel why and how God had intervened to rescue them from Egypt: “It was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery” (Deuteronomy 7:8). The power, goodness, and love of God is always the explanation for His intervention in our world and our lives. But there is still another aspect to this: God’s close identification with His people, even in their humiliation. He described “little Israel” as a worm. This was not to mock those enslaved, exiled, and insignificant people but to show His grace, mercy, and power in stooping to rescue them and lift them up. This close connection with humanity would reach its extreme in Jesus’ death when He would be tortured and mocked as “a worm, and not a man” (see Psalm 22:6–8). All the way, the story is about God—His power, His willingness to be weak, and always His love.
