Blessing
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the counting of the Omer.
Barukh atah, A-donai E-loheinu, Melekh Ha-ʿolam, asher qid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu ʿal S’firat Ha-ʿomer.
Count
Today is twenty days, which is two weeks and six days of the Omer.
Meditation
Exodus 3:16-18
16 “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 18 “The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’
Devotional
Moses told the Israelites the God of their ancestors had seen their plight and had planned to save them from their Egyptian oppressors. In turn, they would tell the king of Egypt. God was clearly conveying His will and His intention to free His people. But it was important for the Israelites to know and to be convinced that God was going to act on their behalf. Years of slavery snd suffering would have no doubt created doubt among the people. Remember the Hebrews who interrogated Moses whom they feared would slay them as their taskmaster. God appeared in the person of Moses to act on their behalf. They need only to believe. In what situations do you need to learn to trust God to do what seems impossible? Even in our moments of doubt and discouragement God has already begun to act on your behalf and to handle your situations.