Psalm 114: Passover and the Story of Creation

Verse 8: He turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water.

The poet confesses the Exodus of Israel as a miracle. The poet compares the event of the nation's Exodus to water bursting from a rock. The sea, mountains, and rivers that always overwhelmed the poet were amazed by the work of God. The poet and his companions established a festival. It was Passover.

They wanted to remember the work of God through generations. The things that even nature did not know about God's work all happened for Israel. Israel encompasses not just a specific region's country but all of humanity. Editors of the Bible and Paul realized this long ago. Theologians named Paul's recognition as Adam-Christ-Typology. Adam and Christ represent humanity, not only in sin but also in forgiveness. The horizon of recognition gradually widens, and now Adam and Christ represent the entire creation.

This makes the story of creation even more meaningful. The story of creation reveals the height, width, and depth of God's salvation more than the beginning of the universe. That is why the editors(the enlightened) confessed their faith by placing the story of creation at the very beginning of Genesis. The Passover targeted by Psalm 114 is included in the creation event. In other words, Psalm 114 is a prequel to Genesis 1. If Psalm 114 is a hymn commemorating Passover, Genesis 1 is a huge hymn encompassing such smaller hymns. If we can start with a Passover commemoration hymn and sing to the creation hymn, it can only be a grateful thing.