Chapter 15
Something New
One morning, after reading a few chapters in the Bible and having a season of prayer, I sat down and opened my Bible, and said, “Dear Lord, I want You to show me something new in my Bible today; I want to see something that I never saw before in this Book.” And the Lord impressed me that He would give me something new. So my mind was directed to turn to the Book of Genesis and look at the first word in the Bible, and as I sat there and looked at it, it seemed so strange that a word with only two letters in it should start a book so great and grand and glorious as the Bible. It was the word in
I thought, That is not new, because I have known that word all the time. But the Lord directed my mind to look at the last word in the Book of Genesis, and the last word was the word Egypt, and He had me put the two words together and it read, In Egypt. I said, “I thank Thee, Lord, for I didn’t know that the last word was Egypt.” Then I remembered that God’s people started in Eden and landed in Egypt.
But just then the Lord directed my mind to turn and look at the first word in the Book of Exodus, and it stood out so large and beautiful — the word now. He then directed my mind to the last word of the Book of Exodus, and it was the word “journey,” and then my mind was directed to these four words, and they stood out before me like letters of fire — In Egypt now journey. And I said, “Lord, I thank Thee once more for something new.”
Then He directed my mind to look at the first word in the Book of Leviticus, and it was the word and. And I turned and looked at the last word of this book, and it was the words mount Sinai; then He had me put it all together, and it read, In Egypt now journey and go to mount Sinai, for there the Lord was to give them the law.
He then had me to turn and look at the first word in the Book of Numbers, and it was the word and, but I looked at the last word in the Book of Numbers, and it was the word Jericho. Then the Lord directed my mind to put these words together and read it, and there it stood before me so beautiful — “In Egypt now journey and go to mount Sinai and receive the law; cross Jordan and take Jericho.”
But the Lord was not quite through with this wonderful discovery that He had revealed to me, so He directed my mind to the first word in the Book of Deuteronomy, and to my surprise I found this word, these; and I turned and looked at the last word of that book, and found the word Israel, and then I remembered it was these Israelites that were to make that wonderful journey from the land of Egypt to the land of Canaan.
Then I said, “Lord, I thank Thee for something new.” And then I remembered that not only the Israelites, but that the world itself, had left the Garden of Eden and had wandered into the dark land of Egyptian bondage. But thank the Lord, as truly as He led Israel out of Egypt into Canaan, He is able today to lead every sinner from the land of bondage into the land of perfect rest.