TOKONAKI SANUALI 31, 2026

‘EKISOTO 39-40; ‘EFESO 1:15-23

By grace we are not just accepted into God's family, but the glory of his presence dwells in and among us.

Koe’uhi ko ‘Ene kelesi, ‘oku ‘ikai ngata pe ‘i hono tali kitautolu ki he famili ‘o e ‘Otua, ka ko e langilangi ‘o Hono fōtunga ‘oku nofo’ia kitautolu pea ‘oku ‘i hotau lotolotonga.

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys. (Ex. 40:34-38)

Reread that opening passage and let your heart be filled with the wonder that is captured here. Here is one of the most magnificent moments of divine grace in all of the Old Testament. We must never let words like these pass quickly through our minds as we move on to the next thing. This moment has been captured by God and written into his book so that today you and I would be stopped by it and left in awe. This has been retained for us in order to rescue us, change us, and produce in us a heart captured by a life shaped by God's glory.

It is hard for me to find words that properly express the wonder of this moment in God's redemptive narrative. The children of Israel have already proven themselves to be sinful, complaining, rebellious, and doubt-filled people. They have doubted God's presence and power, and they have questioned his wisdom. Shockingly, they have already erected an idol, giving this lifeless image credit for what only God, in his rescuing mercy, could have done (Ex. 32:1-6). Yet God had a plan for his people: out of them the Messiah would come. That plan depended on the Lord's constant presence with them. The Israelites were included in God's plan not because they had done things to deserve it, but because in his sovereign mercy he had chosen to place his love on them. It is humbling to understand and confess that what we need most in life and death we have no ability to earn or deserve. God with us, in us, and for us is always the result of one thing: grace.

The cloud and the fire were physical, visible symbols of God's presence with his people. The cloud and fire pictured that Israel had been sanctified by God. What do I mean by this? God had set Israel apart from every nation on earth for his will and his glory. These visible symbols were to remind them again and again that they were the children of God. If you're God's child, his presence and glory have descended on you not because of what you've done, but because of what Jesus has done for you. God's glory resting on you means not only that he is with you, but that you belong to him, set apart for his purpose and his glory.

 FALAITE SANUALI 30, 2026

‘EKISOTO 36-38; KOLOSE 3:12-17

God not only kindly and generously gives us great gifts, but he also works in our hearts so that we would offer those gifts back to him.

‘Oku ‘ikai ngata pe ‘i hono foaki lototō ‘e he ‘Otua kiate kitautolu ha ngaahi tufakanga lelei mo lahi, ka ‘oku Ne toe ngaue ‘i hotau loto ke tau toe foaki ‘a e ngaahi tufa ko iaa kiate Ia.

I greatly value my second career (or maybe it should be called a very serious hobby). As a painter, my art is very important to me, and I spend a lot of my time thinking about the painting I am working on at the moment. It's important for me to always keep in mind that this gift I have to create beauty on a large white canvas does not belong to me. If God is the Creator (and the Bible declares that he is), then he is the rightful and sole owner of my gifts. It's humbling to understand that I am not the owner; I am simply the resident manager.

When I am in my studio, I am very aware that the particular artistic gift I am exercising there belongs to my Lord. He is the source of anyone's ability to create art of any kind, and he is the one who decides to give a gift to a particular person. As Romans 11:36 says, "From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen." I did not create my artistic abilities, and those abilities don't continue because of my power. Those gifts don't belong to me, and they have not been given for my glory.

In the Bible's description of the design and construction of the tabernacle, that house where the Lord would dwell with his people, the curtain is pulled back and we are given a glimpse of where human gifts come from and why they exist. God wants his house to be artfully designed, and if that is to happen, there must be artists to execute that design, as he gives specific gifts to specific men to do that work. "Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work" (Ex. 36:2).

We should notice two things in this verse about God's involvement in the giftedness of these men. First, we are told that God put skill in these men's minds. What an incredible statement of the power and presence of God. He has the power to place human ability, skill, and giftedness wherever he wishes. This is true not just of the building of the tabernacle, but this is always the case. It makes sense that creative ability comes from the Creator, and if it comes from the Creator, then it belongs to him. But this passage also tells us something else. It tells us that God not only gives gifts, but he stirs up our hearts to use the gifts he has given. So, today, whether you have mechanical ability, the skill to cook a beautiful meal, musical giftedness, carpentry skill, or the ability to make your surroundings beautiful, stop and give thanks to the owner and giver of your gifts.

 TU’APULELULU SANUALI 29, 2026

‘EKISOTO 33-35; 1 PITA 1:13-21

The present and future hope and security of the people of God is found in one thing: the presence of the Lord.

Ko e ‘amanaki mo e pau’ia ‘a e kakai ‘a e ‘Otua, ‘i he ‘aho ni mo e kaha’u, ‘oku makatu’unga ‘i he me’a ‘e taha: ko e fōtunga ‘o e ‘Otua.

Moses had the theology of his identity and security right. There was much that Moses didn't know that we now know as the children of God because we have access to the complete Scriptures. Yet, in the following conversation with his Lord, Moses reveals that he knows something of profound and life-shaping significance:

And he said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." And he said to him, 'If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?" (Ex. 33:14-16).

Before I unpack Moses's insight, let me ask you a few questions.

Where in life do you look for identity?

Where do you look for hope and rest of heart?

What makes you feel secure?

What makes you feel distinctly known or cared for?

Moses understands that there is no hope for Israel and no reason for Israel to travel further if God doesn't go with them. And he also understands that what makes Israel distinct is not their national or ethnic identity, but the fact that they are the people with whom God has chosen to dwell. As a nation, the single thing that makes Israel distinct from every nation on earth is the presence of the Lord. It is the Lord who picked Israel out from the mass of human nations, set his love on them, blessed them with his covenant promises, protected them from extinction, delivered them from slavery, provided for their physical needs, dwelt with them in his tabernacle, blessed them with the promised land, and from them would provide the long-awaited Messiah. The people of Israel could not have done one of these things for themselves.

So it is with each one of us. Our security is not found in the size of our house, how much we are respected by others, the power of our position, the amount of money we have, our family history, our human leaders, the number of our personal gifts, or our strength, wisdom, or righteousness. Our future hope does not depend on the quality of our education or the wisdom of the choices we have made. It is humbling to confess that no matter how wise and successful we are, our hope and security rest on this: God has placed his love on us and, because he has, he is with us in glory and grace forever. He will go with us wherever we go and will do for us what we have no power to do for ourselves-not because we deserve it, but because he is generous in love and mercy. It really is true that he is everything we need.

 PULELULU SANUALI 28, 2026

‘EKISOTO 30-32; SENESI 1:1-31

God created artists, poets, composers, and preachers and endowed them with incredible gifts, so that his glory would be seen and our lives would be changed.

    Na’e fakatupu ‘e he ‘Otua ‘a e kau taukei ‘i he ‘aati, kau punake fa’u          hiva, kau malanga pea Ne fakanaunau ‘akinautolu ‘aki ha ngaahi        taleniti faufaua, koe’uhi ke e’a ai hono langilangi pea ke liliu ai ‘etau mo’ui.

Besides being a pastor and an author, I am a painter. I have a studio a few blocks

down from where we live, that is one of my favorite places on earth. Consequently, the following passage is one of my favorite Old Testament gems:

The LORD said to Moses, "See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do." (Ex. 31:1-11)

God gave specific people specific artistic gifts so that his tabernacle would reflect his glory, that is, the glory of his holiness and the wonder of his mercy. God did this because he knew that he had created people with a glory orientation. Human beings love glorious things. So our lives will be captured and controlled by his glorious glory or the glory of some created thing. God loves us enough to give people the ability to create things that reflect his glory, so that we would be drawn to love, worship, and serve him above anything else.

But God's giving of artistic gifts is not limited to his tabernacle. All forms of artistic and communicative creativity have been given by God, not just for our pleasure but for a higher purpose. Since God is a spirit and cannot be seen with our physical eyes, he gives people the ability to display his glory in what they create, so that we would "see" him and surrender the awe of our hearts to him. His purpose is not just that we would enjoy the pleasure of artistic expression or respect the artist, but also that we would be given eyes to see the great artist and would give ourselves to him. God, the author of beauty, gives people the ability to create what is beautiful so that we would be drawn to gaze upon his beauty and, as we do, be rescued by his grace. So, enjoy the art around you, but as you do, may your heart run to the artist behind the art.

 TUSITE SANUALI 27, 2026

‘EKISOTO 28-29; LOMA 12:1-2 

In this life there are many important things to know, but nothing is more important and life-changing than the knowledge of God.

‘I he mo’ui ko eni, ‘oku lahi ‘a e ngaahi me’a mahu’inga ke tau ‘ilo ki ai, ka ‘oku ‘ikai ha me’a ‘e toe mahulu hake mo liliu mo’ui ka ko e ‘ilo ‘o e ‘Otua.

I remember the wonder in his voice and in his eyes as he told me about his days spent at camp. He had spent a week at a Christian camp where he was encouraged to see God's created world in new and engaging ways. He had just looked through a microscope at the tiny little creatures that live in a pond. These little creatures were invisible to the eye as he simply stood and looked over the pond. He was amazed that there was a whole world underwater that most of us never even realize exists. That microscope revealed a universe of wonderful and amazing things that you could spend the rest of your life studying and seeking to understand.

Such it is with God's world. Everywhere you look is another little "universe" of sights, sounds, and beings. The study of each of these little universes could leave with volumes of knowledge. It can be a bit overwhelming to think that in God's world there is no end to knowing. You and I will never know enough; we will never be able to say, "I know everything." This is why we must understand what is important to know and what is not. You and I have a limited amount of time and limited mental capacity, so what we commit ourselves to know is significant and life-shaping.

This is why it is important to pay careful attention to the words of Exodus 29:45-46: "I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God." Not only do these words capture the amazing grace of God's choosing to dwell among his people, a stunning reality they could never earn or deserve, but they reveal why he chose to do this. When reading these verses, you and I should pause for a moment and consider the significance of the words "And they shall know that I am the LORD their God." God says, "I am going to dwell with my people so that they will know me."

If God is the Creator of everything that exists, if he is the Lord and Ruler of all that happens, and if he holds his created world together by his powerful hand, then there is nothing more important than to know him. There is no proper knowledge of anything in this world that does not begin with knowing God. But there is more in these verses. God says, "I don't just want you to know me; I want you to know what I have done for you. I am your Redeemer. I placed my love on you, I redeemed you from slavery, I provided for you, and I have given you my law."

God has now made us the temple where he dwells, so that we would remember his redeeming grace and follow him with joy.

 MONITE SANUALI 26, 2026

‘EKISOTO 25-27; SELEMAIA 31:31-39

True and lasting hope is found in these words: "I will dwell in the midst of my people."

Ko e ‘amanaki mo’oni mo tolongaa ‘oku ma’u ia ‘i he kupu’i lea ko eni: “Te u nofo ‘i honau lotolotonga.”

There are a myriad of websites and media series dedicated to home decorating. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we are all very particular about how we want our home to look. Some of us take the look of our houses seriously and invest time and money to get them to look like our dreams. Others are more casual about our surroundings. Some of us place a high value on neat and clean; others find a bit of a mess more comfortable. But all of us somehow, someway express our personalities and our values by the way we design and keep our surroundings. That's why, when you are in someone else's home, it doesn't quite feel like home to you.

In Exodus 25 and the chapters following, we find directions for constructing and decorating a most important house: the house of the Lord. Read these amazing words carefully: "Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it" (Ex. 25:8-9). You should be filled with wonder as you read these words. How could it be that the great Creator, the Sovereign King, the Holy One of Israel would ever desire to dwell among these sinful, complaining, and often rebellious people? Here again we are confronted with a major theme in the biblical story. God pours out his love on his people not because of what is in them, but because of what is in him. Nothing argues more strongly for the amazing and undeserved nature of God's grace than God's commanding his people to make a tabernacle so that he could dwell with his people. The hope of Israel was to be found in one place and one place alone: the Lord of glory and grace who lived among them.

But there is more. I don't know if you noticed it or not, but God not only said he would dwell among his people, but he also communicated that he was quite particular about how his house would be built, furnished, and decorated. He wanted his house to communicate who he was and what he valued. God wanted his tabernacle to communicate two things: his unapproachable holiness and the mercy of his forgiveness. This means the tabernacle is itself a prophecy, There would be another place where God's unapproachable holiness and his forgiving mercy would meet: the cross of Jesus Christ. Here in God's mercy plan, the perfectly holy Lamb would die, so that we would become the children of God and so that he would come and dwell with us. A holy God, dwelling among his not-yet perfectly holy children, is our hope today too. What amazing mercy that by grace we have become the house of the Lord.

 SAPATE SANUALI 25, 2026

‘EKISOTO 22-24; MA’AKE 2:23-28

We worship and serve a God who knows our limits and, because he does, he has called us to a Sabbath of rest.

‘Oku tau lotu mo tauhi ki ha ‘Otua ‘oku Ne afio’i hotau ngata’angaa, pea ‘i he tu’unga ko iaa, ‘oku ne ui kitautolu ki ha mālōlō faka-Sapate.

The institution of the Sabbath is not so much a duty to be obeyed but rather a gracious provision from a God who made us and knows us. God created us with limits. If you remember back to the account of creation, the only being in that account that is without limits of any kind is the Creator. We have limits of time, energy, gifts, and wisdom. Think with me about the limits of time, which, by God's plan, structure your life. You will never get thirty hours in a day. You will never be given ten days in a week. You will never experience a forty-day month. And you will never be blessed with a 450-day year. In his infinite wisdom, God has established boundaries of time for us. There is nothing beyond those boundaries. There is no more time to be had. This side of eternity, we all live within the time boundaries that the Creator has set for us.

We also have significant physical limits. You and I are simply not in possession of unlimited physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual energy. Getting tired is a universal human experience. We all know what it's like to feel physically exhausted. We all know what it's like to be mentally and emotionally spent. We all have had moments when we would like to keep going, but we just don't have the strength. So God, in the glory of his wisdom and love, ordained the Sabbath. "Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed" (Ex. 23:12).

The call to Sabbath is meant to humble us by reminding us of our limits. The call to Sabbath is a gift to us, reminding us that our Lord understands us and does not call us to live beyond the limits he has set for us. The Sabbath is a freedom, reminding us that rest is different from the sin of laziness. But the call to Sabbath is deeper and more profound than physical rest. It is a call to spiritual rest. Sabbath reminds us that we were not created to be independent. We were designed to be dependent on our Creator. We were made to find our strength and completion in him. The Sabbath was given by God not just so that we would rest, but so that we would rest in him. Human independence and self-sufficiency is a delusion. It is never a pathway to life. It is rather a road to destruction and death.

Admitting your need, owning your limits, and running to the one who is an endless fountain of new life and renewed strength is where life is to be found. Sabbath is God's gift to us. It welcomes us to step away from our labors and remember who we are and who he is, so that in submission and rest we may once again find life and strength in him.

 TOKONAKI SANUALI 24, 2026

‘EKISOTO 19-21; SEMISI 1:22-25

God's commandments are not a means of earning his favor but a gift of grace to those upon whom his favor already rests.

Ko e ngaahi fekau ‘a e ‘Otua, ‘oku ‘ikai ko ha founga ke ke ngaue’i ‘a e tokanga ‘ofa mai ‘a e ‘Otua, ka ko ha me’a’ofa ‘o ‘Ene kelesi kiate kinautolu ‘oku nau ‘osi ma’u ‘a e tokanga ‘ofa ‘a ‘Ene ‘Afio.  

It is vitally important to understand that God's law is wonderful and important, and that you and I cannot obey our way into relationship with God. If you and I had both the desire and the ability to perfectly keep God's law, then the entire redemptive narrative and its core message of grace would not have been necessary. Or if the law of God had the power to rescue and transform our hearts and breathe new life into us, then the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus would not have been necessary. The righteousness that God requires is impossible for us to achieve by our determination to keep his commands. God's law does a wonderful job of exposing our sin and is a beautiful guide for our daily living, but it is powerless to save us from ourselves and make us acceptable to our Creator.

Exodus 19 is an example of how God's gift of careful recorded biblical history is so helpful for us. Think with me for a moment about when God's law was originally given. Think about that moment when God led his recently freed children to the base of Mount Sinai. They were there to receive God's magnificently wise law because he had already set his love on them and had already redeemed them from slavery. God now gave them his law, not so that through it they would become his, but because they already were his. His law was a gift of grace to them.

Does that last sentence confuse you? God knew that the children of his love had no idea how to live, so in his law he gave them a structure for their daily living. In submission to his law they would thrive in peace and harmony. God also knew that they would be exposed to all kinds of temptations as they lived among the pagan nations of Palestine, so his law would provide protective boundaries to them. But there is more. God knew that his children were designed by him to be worshipers, that they would either worship him or surrender their hearts to idols. So at the foundation and core of his law is a call to worship him and him alone. In his law is guidance and protection, given so they might live at peace with him and with one another.

God's law was given to Israel not so they could somehow earn his love, but because he already loved them and had moved to redeem them from slavery by unleashing his sovereign power.

It's humbling to admit that we, like the children of Israel, have no power or ability whatsoever to earn our way into eternal communion with God. It is humbling to know that our most righteous moments fall woefully short of his holy standard. It is humbling to confess that we have no hope apart from his grace. But it is wonderful to remember that Jesus perfectly kept the law as our substitute and that, by grace, in him we stand before God righteous and accepted by him forever. What we could not earn, Jesus earned for us. Now that's grace!

 FALAITE SANUALI 23, 2026

‘EKISOTO 16-18; SIONE 6:32-35

The physical food that God provides for us is a visual picture and reminder of how he feeds us spiritually with the nutrients of his grace.

Ko e me’atokoni faka-matelie ‘oku tokonaki ‘e he ‘Otua ma’a kitautolu, ko ha fakatātā mo ha fakamanatu ‘o ‘Ene fafanga fakalaumalie kitautolu ‘aki ‘a e ngaahi ivi ‘o ‘Ene kelesi.

I love to cook. I love how God has not ordained to sustain us with a daily green pill but delights in blessing us with the pleasure of an almost endless variety of fruits, vegetables, and meats. I love the variety of tastes, textures, and smells. I love the world of spices, each adding another interesting layer of taste to whatever food they are applied to. I love taking what God has provided and building a delicious meal and then displaying it in a beautiful way on the plate. Food represents God's generosity and love. It reminds us that God wants us to thrive and to enjoy and, because we do, to worship the one who has lavished such goodness on us.

We live across from a food market with about one hundred and twenty vendors. As I walk through the market, I am often blown away by what I see and smell. It almost melts my brain that all of these wonderful things came out of the mind of God. It reminds me that he is glorious in creative power and gloriously generous in love. He still feeds me with good food, even in my spiritual amnesia moments.

Exodus 16 gives us an example of the extent of God's commitment to supply his children with the physical food that they need and of the awesome power he has to provide it. The people of Israel, now in the wilderness, are in a state of panic. They are wondering where they are going to get food to eat, and they are grumbling to Moses that it would have been better for them to die in Egypt because at least there they had enjoyed plenty of good food. God hears their grumbling and responds: "Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them.

whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily" (Ex. 16:4-5). Imagine the magnificence of this provision. Imagine bread appearing on the ground every day like dew. What an incredible picture of providing grace, even for people who are faithless and discontented. Here are people who keep wishing they could go back to their slavery, when they have been set free by God's liberating grace and are being provided for by his generous love. They are enjoying this bounty not because they have earned it or deserve it, but because they are his chosen children.

This moment is a finger pointing to God's ultimate provision of bread. Jesus is the bread sent down from heaven (John 6:32-35). In him alone our spiritual hunger is satisfied. He alone can give life and strength to our souls. With gratitude we remember that in him we are fed, not because we've earned it but because we are the chosen objects of his faithful and generous grace.

 TU’APULELULU SANUALI 22, 2026

‘EKISOTO 13-15; SIONE 15:1-11

Embedded in things that are unexpected and hard are the wisdom and grace of our sovereign Savior.

‘Oku fufū ‘i he ngaahi me’a ta’e’amanekina mo faingata’a ‘a e poto mo e kelesi ‘a hotau Fakamo’ui Aoniu.

I have to admit that I entered ministry quite full of myself. I had done well in seminary, graduating with honors and winning several academic prizes. I was ready to take on the world for the gospel. What I thought was confidence in God's word and the power of the gospel was really pride and self-reliance. Luella and I left seminary, connected with a good church, and began to work with a ministry that provided housing and a place to investigate Christianity. This was our first place of ministry. As a young married couple, we had several young men living with us. Some were fresh out of prison, others were with us simply because they had lost their way. This was not the congregation I thought I would have after all my training. None of our guys were interested in asking the questions that I felt so totally prepared to answer.

One evening one man, who had no education beyond fifth grade, said to me, "Paul, if you don't quit talking the lawyer talk to me, I'm gonna quit talking to you." Lawyer talk meant using big, esoteric words. That evening I sat on the edge of my bed and said to my Lord, "Why would you put me here to minister to these guys? I have no idea how to get through to them. I don't understand them, and I don't know how to help them see what they truly need." I didn't understand that God had put me in this place with these particular people not just for them, but for me. He was bringing me to the end of myself. He was working to replace my pride and fear and discouragement with trust in him. I was where I was because of God's wisdom and grace.

This is why God chose to plant Israel between the Red Sea and the approaching Egyptian army (Ex. 14). The children of Israel were on a short route to the land of the Philistines, but God in wisdom and grace knew that his children were not ready for the battles they would encounter there. God knew they might panic and run back to the bondage of Egypt. So, God led them to the shores of the Red Sea. Contrary to how it might have appeared to them (and to us), God was not punishing or abandoning his people, but he was acting with the grace of a wise and loving Father. He would demonstrate his power and glory by parting those sea waters, providing both deliverance for Israel and defeat of Egypt. His plan for his people was to defeat both pride and fear and instill in them an unshakable confidence in their Redeemer God. No hard thing for the people of God is outside of his wise and gracious rule.

God takes us to hard places not to do things to us, but to do things for and in us. Today, be thankful that these hard moments, in his hands, are tools of rescuing and renewing grace.

 PULELULU SANUALI 21, 2026

‘EKISOTO 10-12; FAKAHA 5:6-14

The radical, unexpected nature of the biblical story is that the hope for the Israelites in Egypt and our hope today rest on the shoulders of a Lamb.

Ko e natula makehe mo ta’e’amanekina ‘o e talanoa ‘a e Tohitapu, ‘a eni, ko e ‘amanaki ‘o ‘Isileli ‘i he’enau nofo ‘isipite mo kitautolu ‘i he ‘aho ni, ‘oku hilifaki ki he uma ‘o ha Lami.

It is a major understatement when the Bible says that God's ways aren't like our ways and his thoughts aren't like our thoughts (Isa. 55:8). No human being, no matter how brilliant, insightful, or experienced, would have been able to write the grand biblical story. The way God chooses to work and the instruments he chooses to use surprise us again and again. The apostle Paul expresses it this way: "God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God" (1 Cor. 1:27-29). God intentionally does things in a way that defies human understanding, explanation, and credit-taking. He works in ways that cause us to step back and say, "Only God could have done this," and in saying this, humbly run to him for the help that he alone is able to give.

Such is the story of the final emancipation of God's chosen children from Egypt. Despite Pharaoh's resistance in the face of the terror of the plagues, God would not grow weary, and he would not turn his back on those who were the object of his covenant promises. He would deliver. No one would stand in the way of the divine and holy will of the King of kings and Lord of lords, not even the most powerful ruler on earth. But the way the people would be freed could never have been anticipated by any Israelite. By God's wise and holy plan, the Israelites would be saved from slaughter and emancipated from their bondage by the blood of a lamb. That blood, sprinkled on the doorpost of an Israelite house, meant that God would pass over that house. God chose a lowly but spotless lamb to provide both salvation from death and liberation to a new life for his covenant children (Ex. 12:3-7).

Our hope, too, rests on the shoulders of a Lamb. Jesus didn't come as a conquering general, to throw down the kingdoms of men. No, he came to be a sacrificial Lamb. He, too, was a Lamb without blemish, who would be sacrificed for the salvation and liberation of all who believe in him. By the power of his shed blood, we are delivered from our bondage to sin and death and liberated to a new life of freedom as the children of God. We never could have written this story. We never would have anticipated that death would be the portal to life, that God would send a Lamb to do what kings, queens, and generals could never do. Now, that's a radical story, but it's very, very good news.