Psalms 136:10

"the moon and stars to rule by night, for his loving kindness endures forever;"

Key Reflection

In first-century Israel, the psalmist invokes the constancy of God’s divine rule by referencing the moon and stars, which were crucial for navigating time and seasons. The idea is that just as these celestial bodies follow an unchanging pattern night after night, so too does God's loving kindness endure eternally, providing a consistent source of guidance and hope to his people.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

To him that smote Egypt in their first-born -Exodus 12:29. That is, he struck them down, or destroyed them, by his own direct power. For his mercy ... -It was in mercy to his people. It was the means of their deliverance from bondage, for the Egyptians would not otherwise have suffered them to depart. By all the results of their deliverance both to themselves and to mankind, the act was seen to be an act of mercy to the world. It was better for mankind that the Hebrews should be delivered even at this sacrifice than it would have been that they should not be brought into the promised land.

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