Wonders—Pele

October 9, 2012

by: Rebecca J. Brimmer, International President and CEO

A well-known Scripture from Exodus (or Shemot as the book is called in Hebrew) asks the question, “Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Exod. 15:11). This Scripture is read as part of the Jewish shachrit (morning) and arvit (evening) services every day. Sandwiched between the Shema, a prayer which emphasizes the fact that there is only one God (Deut. 6:4), and the Amida prayer, it is a beautiful description of God.

Exodus 15 includes the Song of Moses, sung immediately following the Children of Israel’s miraculous deliverance at the crossing of the Red Sea. Truly they must have been overwhelmed by the greatness of God’s power. In Jewish worship, verse 18 is closely linked with verse 11: “The LORD shall reign forever and ever.” It seems a logical progression. How could anyone see the wonder-working power of God and His holy nature without recognizing Him as the King?

The word translated “wonders” is pele (פלה, pronounced with an “ph” sound rather than a hard “p” sound) and is found 13 times in Scripture. According to Strong’s Concordance, it means a wonder, a miracle, and an extraordinary hard-to-understand thing. It comes from the root pala (same Hebrew letters but different vowel points), which means to be marvelous, wonderful, surpassing, extraordinary, and to be beyond one’s power. This form of the word appears an additional 71 times in Scripture for a combined total of 84 times.

In the movie Prince of Egypt, there is a beautiful song about miracles. One of the lines of the song says, “There can be miracles when you believe.” In the midst of the English song, suddenly we hear the singers change to Hebrew, singing the words from Exodus 15:11, 13.

Israel’s Wonder-working God

“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt—on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.’” Exod. 9:22 During the time of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, their sojourning in the desert, and their settlement of the Promised Land, God frequently revealed Himself in ways which revealed His superiority over the gods of the day. He defeated the gods of Egypt with 10 plagues, which mirrored the gods Egypt served, clearly showing that He was above any other deity. He opened the sea and allowed the Israelites to cross on dry land. He drowned their enemies as the waters rushed back after His people had crossed over. He thundered from Mount Sinai. He provided food and drink in the wilderness. He gave them shoes that didn’t wear out and routed enemy armies. He healed their diseases. His presence was constantly with them as a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day.

In Genesis 18:14, pele is used to describe God’s plan to bless Sarah and Abraham with a son: “Is [פלה] anything too hard [פלה] for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

As the Children of Israel were preparing to enter the Promised Land, God spoke to Joshua saying, “…Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders [פלה] among you” (Josh. 3:5).

When David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, he sang a song of thanksgiving: “Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works! [פלה]” (1 Chron. 16:8–9).

Those who endure trial and who mourn find the book of Job to be a solace:
“But as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause—Who does great things, and unsearchable, marvelous things [פלה] without number” (Job 5:8–9).

In the Psalms, we find many instances of this word. Psalm 78 recounts many miraculous events in Israel’s history: “…His wonders [פלה] that He had shown them.  Marvelous things [פלה] He did in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan” (Ps 78:11–12).

In Isaiah 9, we have a beautiful description of the Messiah, which we often hear sung at Christmastime: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful [פלה], Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6).

God Still Does Wonders

As Christians, we look at the miracle-working power of Yeshua (Jesus) as a continuing testimony of the power of God. Repeatedly throughout Scripture, God reemphasizes His ability to handle difficult times. We need to remind ourselves that the God of the Bible is still alive. He has not lost power. He is able to deliver His people.

The days we live in are often frightening. The media is full of foreboding and fear-generating rhetoric. Rumors of war dominate the airwaves. Now is the time when people of faith need to get reacquainted with the pele-wonder-working God they serve. The God who was able to deliver the Children of Israel from slavery and oppression is the God of wonders who is able to deliver Israel in the face of threats of annihilation today. The God of wonders is ever present in the midst of whatever crisis you are facing.

To that I say a big hearty eizeh niflah, a modern Hebrew expression from the same root, which could be translated “How amazingly wonderful!”