My friend Steve Wolf, who manages this blog site and helps me tremendously, read my Journey last week and was reminded of Dayenu, a song/prayer from the Jewish Seder meal at Passover. The Hebrew word means ‘it would have sufficed’ and emphasizes the powerful significance of each one of God’s blessings, alone and apart from each of His other blessings.
If He had brought us out from Egypt,
and had not carried out judgments against them
it would have sufficed!If He had carried out judgments against them,
and not against their idols
it would have sufficed!If He had destroyed their idols,
and had not smitten their first-born
it would have sufficed!If He had smitten their first-born,
and had not given us their wealth
it would have sufficed!If He had given us their wealth,
and had not split the sea for us
it would have sufficed!If He had split the sea for us,
and had not taken us through it on dry land
it would have sufficed!If He had taken us through the sea on dry land,
and had not drowned our oppressors in it
it would have sufficed!If He had drowned our oppressors in it,
and had not supplied our needs in the desert for forty years
it would have sufficed!If He had supplied our needs in the desert for forty years,
and had not fed us the manna
it would have sufficed!If He had fed us the manna,
and had not given us the Sabbath
it would have sufficed!If He had given us the Sabbath,
and had not brought us before Mount Sinai
it would have sufficed!If He had brought us before Mount Sinai,
and had not given us the Torah
it would have sufficed!If He had given us the Torah,
and had not brought us into the land of Israel
it would have sufficed!If He had brought us into the land of Israel,
and not built for us the Holy Temple
it would have sufficed!
Those who put their faith in Jesus as Messiah believe He is our Passover Lamb. He is our Manna from Heaven… the Bread of Life. He is the Lord of the Sabbath and the fulfillment of the Torah. And Jesus is the Cornerstone of the Temple not made with hands, which is His Body, of which we are a part. (see Scripture below)
I once wrote about a tiny license plate I saw on the back of an old bicycle in a small village in Benin, West Africa. I asked my brother the meaning of the French words: JESUS SEUL SUFFIT. Brian translated: JESUS ALONE IS SUFFICIENT. Indeed He is!
And the grace God gives in Christ is sufficient to carry us through every trial and sufficient to empower us to live for Him.
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of His household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the Chief Cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22
“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’” II Corinthians 12:9
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” (ESV) II Corinthians 9:8