Saturday, November 30, 2019

Once Fearful, Now Chosen and Secure

Exodus 19:1-25 
1 In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. 2 For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain. 3 And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
    7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.”  So Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
    10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. 11 And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”  14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.”
    16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. 19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. 20 Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
    21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the Lord, and many of them perish. 22 Also let the priests who come near the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them.”  23 But Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it.’ ”. 24 Then the Lord said to him, “Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest He break out against them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.

Three months out of Egypt, the people of God came to mount Sinai, to God’s holy mountain.  When Moses went up to meet God and hear Him speak, He told Moses to remind the people of God’s deliverance as on the wings of an elegant bird like an eagle, sailing out high above the troubles of bondage and carrying them there to Himself.  They were to trust and obey in order to be His special people of kings and priests above all others, a holy nation of God’s chosen people.  Such are God’s people chosen in Christ (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 5:10), an elect nation coming out of every nation, united and made righteous in Him to serve as priests and rule with Him as kings.  God then came to speak to Moses out of a cloud to ensure they understood that it was God and not Moses speaking, much like He speaks through His people now backed by His written and living Word and His Spirit (God Himself) in us as proof of the gospel that others may hear and believe Him.  The people came trembling before that holy mountain, unable to come close or touch it lest they die, but we come near to speak with Him in Christ (Hebrews 12:20-24).  We have an unshakable kingdom (Hebrews 12:28), not a quaking mountain ready to destroy us; we are safe and secure in Him.  Then nobody but Moses and Aaron were permitted to approach God; now we are invited to draw near in full assurance by grace and mercy in His Son!  We have been redeemed, called as His people, made holy, and have communion with our Almighty God and Savior.  Amen. 

Friday, November 29, 2019

Wise Coworkers Ministering God’s Word

Exodus 18:1-27 
1 And Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people—that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, 3 with her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land”) 4 and the name of the other was Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”); 5 and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God. 6 Now he had said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.” 7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him. And they asked each other about their well-being, and they went into the tent. 8 And Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. 9 Then Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the Lord had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. 10 And Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and other sacrifices to offer to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
    13 And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. 14 So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”  15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16 When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”
    17 So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. 18 Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself. 19 Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. 20 And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. 21 Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.”  24 So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 26 So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.  27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way to his own land.
Moses thought he had to do all the work of ministry to God’s people; for every dispute or issue that needed understanding and application of His word, Moses met with each one every day from morning to evening.  His father-in-law saw this and asked him how long that could last, telling Moses it was not right to wear himself out as if only he could so judge the people’s situations.  He suggested that Moses rather first intercede with prayer to God for the problems, then teach everyone the word of God and how to apply it, and finally to select a number of faithful men to take on the workload with him.  These were to be men who fear God, love truth (knowing and living it), and who would not live for personal gain in a position of God’s authority.  Moses would judge the difficult cases after the others handled routine matters.  Moses saw the God-given wisdom and implemented this structure.  We see a similar pattern in the New Testament church built on this foundation with shepherds, elders, and deacon-servants.  God’s house and people are ruled by Him, but using the ones He gifts and calls to the work in various areas of service in His church.  We are not wise to set up one man to do all the work, and will surely fail outside God’s structure to build up each other (Ephesians 4:11-16). 

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Victory in God Alone

Exodus 17:8-16 
8 Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
    14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner; 16 for he said, “Because the Lord has sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

While still in the wilderness, the first enemy (Amalek) came against God’s people.  Moses told his commander Joshua to pick out a few good men to fight them off; he did not rally all of Israel, but trusted that God would have the victory as he stood on the hill holding the symbolic rod of God’s power.  Moses knew that it was not him nor the staff given by God, but God’s work being done with him and that as instruments of the Lord.  As long as they acknowledged the Lord by holding up the rod, victory was certain.  Joshua fought and God defeated Amalek.  This was written as a remembrance in a book, stating that Amalek would be forgotten in heaven for contending against God.  The physical remembrance was an altar Moses built named the Lord is my banner, showing that the battle and victory is in Him (1 Chronicles 29:11), and that was their battle flag for the ongoing war against Amalek and other future enemies of God and His people.  Likewise, we have (1 Corinthians 15:57) victory through our Lord Jesus Christ as a our great God and Savior to bring us safely into eternity.  

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Faith is Contentment, not Contending

Exodus 17:1-7 
1 Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.” So Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?”  3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
    4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!”  5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.”  And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

As Israel journeyed on into the wilderness by God’s command and leading, they camped where there was no water to drink.  What did they do, trust God?  No, they argued with Moses as if they still did not understand that God was merely using him, and it was God Himself who they had a problem with.  Even Moses pointed this out by telling them that they were tempting the Lord by their unfaithfulness and lack of contentment.  The people of God literally questioned and complained about God’s great deliverance from bondage!  This drove Moses to cry out for direction when at his wits end with them and the situation.  God simply pointed him to take the staff used as a sign at the Nile to unbelieving Pharaoh and strike a certain rock in the presence of some elders to bring water out.  To unbelieving Pharaoh, the rod made water undrinkable; to unbelieving Israel, the rod brought a blessing of drinkable water.  His people should have remembered and had faith; instead of contending they should have had contentment. We also should trust God’s word and wait for His gracious supply.  Godliness with contentment is the true gain (1 Timothy 6:6). 

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Always Given Enough for Each Day

Exodus 16:17-36
17 Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. 18 So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one's need. 19 And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.” 20 Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.
    22 And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’ ” 24 So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. 25 Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”
    27 Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. 28 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? 29 See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
    31 And the house of Israel called its name Manna. And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.  32 Then Moses said, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it, to be kept for your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’ ” 33 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 35 And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.


Those who gathered much had nothing left over, and those who gathered little had enough for their need (2 Corinthians 8:13-15), each receiving from God exactly what they needed, just as we are given what we need and therefore can also give exactly what others need of all He provides.  They were not to hoard the manna, but use all they harvested on the day they received it.  We also are not to build bigger barns to store and not use what God gives each day, but use all for His glory in meeting needs of ourselves and others.  Godliness in trusting Him each day with contentment is great gain indeed!  Otherwise, we may find ourselves as these mentioned here whose greed melted away in the exposure of the light of day.  They then gathered up two days worth on the sixth day that they would be able to rest on the seventh and reflect thankfully on God’s provision on that day.  Israel kept a small portion of the honey-tasting manna as a remembrance of God’s supply of bread during their desert journey after their deliverance.  This was to reflect on His grace and care that they might always trust and wait patiently instead of disbelieve and grumble with unwarranted complaints later.  They ended up living on this manna for forty years until they entered their promised land.  We journey toward a heavenly country with trust in our Father’s continuous provision which begins now, lasting from here to eternity.  Let us partake of all with contentment, knowing we receive enough for each day from His almighty and gracious hand. 

Monday, November 25, 2019

What is it? Bread from Heaven

Exodus 16:1-16 
1 And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt. 2 Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. 5 And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”
    6 Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening you shall know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt. 7 And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord; for He hears your complaints against the Lord. But what are we, that you complain against us?” 8 Also Moses said, “This shall be seen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the Lord hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord.”  9 Then Moses spoke to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for He has heard your complaints.’ ” 10 Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
    11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”  13 So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. 14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.  And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one's need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.’ ”
Just two months after leaving Egypt by such a powerful deliverance by God, the people complained they did not have enough to eat, as if slaves were well fed while in bondage.  They wished they were dead instead and blamed Moses as their deliverer, which complaint really was against God.  God told Moses to let them know He would reign down food from on high, some meat and bread from heaven.  He did this to test their hearts (2 Chronicles 16:9, Psalm 7:9, Proverbs 17:3) and see if they would live and walk as He commanded.  He gave specific instructions on gathering just as much daily bread as needed, except that they should gather twice that on the sixth day so that the seventh would be a day of rest from gathering.  They would know His deliverance at night and see his glory in the morning; their complaints against God were illuminated by God’s glory which was shown to them in the cloud above as a reminder of where their sustenance comes from.  They would receive food and know He is the Lord their God.  They ate quail in the evening and the heavenly dew brought manna (“what is it?”) in the morning.  They were reminded to only gather up as much as each one needed, not to be greedy for more nor to distrust God’s future daily provisions.  We likewise should go through each day in worship and trust of our God meeting daily needs while being responsible, but not distrusting God’s daily provision - materially and spiritually.  Remember that Jesus Christ is the bread from heaven we partake of each day (John 6:41, 51). 

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Lessons Bitter and Sweet

Exodus 15:22-27 
22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.  There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, 26 and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”  27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.

After the Lord’s victorious deliverance through the Red Sea, He used Moses to take them into the desert wilderness.  They looked for days to find water (Psalm 63:1), but only found some that was bitter and undrinkable.  The people complained so much that Moses begged the Lord for an answer; God gave him a certain tree to throw into the ware to make it for for drinking.  He turned the bitterness sweet.  God set a test and command before the people that they should listen to Him and obey wholeheartedly to avoid the plagues He gave to the unbelieving Egyptians.  He also reminded them also that He alone is the Lord who can heal them.  They then traveled to a place called Elim, a place of much water like an oasis with palm trees to find rest and water.  There they could stop and reflect in the water on what the deliverance and promises of God meant, and how it should encourage their faith and obedience.  We likewise must reflect on God’s sovereign salvation of our rescue from His wrath on our sin, He who led us in Christ to living waters within us, and live to honor Him in obedience and grace.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Songs of Praise for Salvation

Exodus 15:1-21 
1 Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying: “I will sing to the Lord, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!  2 The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt Him.  3 The Lord is a man of war; The Lord is His name.
    4 Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. 5 The depths have covered them; They sank to the bottom like a stone.  6 “Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces.  7 And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You; You sent forth Your wrath; It consumed them like stubble.  8 And with the blast of Your nostrils The waters were gathered together; The floods stood upright like a heap; The depths congealed in the heart of the sea.  9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, My hand shall destroy them.’  10 You blew with Your wind, The sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
    11 “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?  12 You stretched out Your right hand; The earth swallowed them. 13 You in Your mercy have led forth The people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength To Your holy habitation.
    14 “The people will hear and be afraid; Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia. 15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; The mighty men of Moab, Trembling will take hold of them; All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.  16 Fear and dread will fall on them; By the greatness of Your arm They will be as still as a stone, Till Your people pass over, O Lord, Till the people pass over Whom You have purchased.
    17 You will bring them in and plant them In the mountain of Your inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which You have made For Your own dwelling, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.  18 “The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”
    19 For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
    20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. 21 And Miriam answered them:
    “Sing to the Lord,
    For He has triumphed gloriously!
    The horse and its rider
    He has thrown into the sea!”

Moses and all Israel sang praise in God’s victorious salvation from the enemies of God in the exodus from bondage and passage to freedom through the sea of parted waters!  God became their might and praise in song as they saw the chariots and army of mighty Pharaoh buried under the flood, covered under the depths.  They saw God, the God of their fathers, as their own, and exalted His holy name.  They acknowledged that it was entirely God’s powerful hand that did this, and not their own, that He fought the battle which was against Him because His people suffered.  Who is like Him?  He is truly “glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders.”  He is the only Lord God Almighty, merciful and redemptive, who guides His people to be free forever.  Accounts of this deliverance would echo through the world, engendering fear of this one God in the sight of His people.  The people of promise would certainly inherit all that God promised, living where He called them to go, where He lives.  Then the sister of Moses, Miriam, added to the song of praise as she gathered all the women to rejoice with her of God’s triumph over those set on their destruction, much like the saints will rejoice when God avenges His people’s blood shed from Cain until the final judgement (Revelation 6:10).  We see that God is to be honored to the uttermost part of heaven and praised with ever thankful hearts in song and word and deed for our deliverance from the bondage of sin through Christ Jesus our Savior.  And we will live in our promised land where He is in eternity at the end of the age to continue to sing His praises.  Amen. .

Friday, November 22, 2019

Doubt Nothing for God’s Deliverance

Exodus 14:1-31 
1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’ 4 Then I will harden Pharaoh's heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” And they did so. 5 Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. 7 Also, he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. 8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness. 9 So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.  10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”
    13 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”  15 And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16 But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17 And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”  19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.
    21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.  24 Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. 25 And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”  26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” 27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. 29 But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
    30 So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses.

After God’s people exited Egypt, the Lord again hardened Pharaoh’s heart to cause him to chase down the slaves he allowed to leave him.  The Lord did this to get all honor and praise, especially from the Egyptians when they would see the mighty hand of God for His people.  They would then see and acknowledge who the only Lord God is.  But Israel also needed to see and believe what they could not apart from absolute trust in their Lord as well.  They again doubted and complained, wishing they were still mistreated slaves, but alive; they did not yet believe in God’s deliverance.  Moses told them plainly that they would no longer see the Egyptians after that day who were pursuing them, which obviously meant God would defeat them, so they should be still and patiently wait in faith.  God would continue to fight for His people, but they needed to be reminded of that truth.  Then God revealed the path to salvation through the sea before them which they thought was a barrier to freedom; He would part the water by Moses’ staff and set a strong wind all night to open a way, and they would cross to safety, while the enemy would be overcome by the sea in vain pursuit because God hardened their hearts.  As Israel journeyed across the sea floor with walls of water on each side, the pursuing Egyptians were frustrated by God as He took off their chariot wheels.  Then they were afraid of God as they cried out how He fought for His people.  The people of the Lord crossed, Moses stretched out his hand, and the waters returned.  When daylight came, they saw the sea back to normal with the fleeing enemies buried under its destructive weight.  They were all killed, to the last man, as they saw dead Egyptians washed up on the shore.  But all Israel was saved.  When God’s people saw this great and miraculous deliverance, they feared God and believed Him and His prophet Moses who delivered His message.  We also have the testimony of God’s salvation through His prophets and apostles, and should likewise fear God and trust Him and His promises for eternal deliverance in Christ completely, doubting nothing.  

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Guided by God out of Bondage

Exodus 13:17-22 
17 Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.  19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.”
    20 So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. 21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

God led His people out of bondage, but not straight into war after all they had been through.  He took them away from direct confrontation with the Philistines and went south along the Red Sea instead.  It was a longer route, but it was planned this way for many reasons.  They marched out almost as an army, neatly lined up, with heads held high as they paraded out of the land who held them over four hundred years as slaves.  Moses was certain to take Joseph’s bones with them to bury in the promised land as his people swore (Genesis 50:25), because God had promised to come and bring them back.  Now as they journeyed, the Lord led them in a column of cloud by day and of fire by night to lead and guide their steps.  This column never left them as they marched onward and out of the bondage of Egypt.  We also are led as sons and daughters of God in Christ by His Spirit living in us, not an external cloud or fire.  We too have been led out of sin’s bondage and now march to His command and direction towards conformity to Christ in holiness and love by grace. 

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Deliverance and Remembrance of the Firstborn

Exodus 13:1-16 
1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.” The Feast of Unleavened Bread. 3 And Moses said to the people: “Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. 4 On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. 5 And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month. 6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. 8 And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.’ 9 It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord's law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. 10 You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.
    11 “And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 that you shall set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the Lord's. 13 But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, ‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 It shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

Here dedication of the firstborn of God’s people is a remembrance of His deliverance of the firstborn of Israel in Egypt as those of that nation were not spared because of unbelief and disobedience.  They were to remember that it was God’s hand of strength which delivered them (not Moses nor themselves).  They were also reminded of the promised land He was leading them into as He led them out of bondage.  The bread without softening yeast (leaven) was to be eaten as a reminder of the haste to escape and what was needed to survive on the journey.  Therefore they were to sacrifice the firstborn of their animals to the Lord in the new land, or redeem certain ones.  They were to redeem every firstborn son and make sacrifices to all other sons.  This deliverance was to be on the forefront of their minds.  Likewise we see parallels between this Passover meal and the Lord’s Supper, with the deliverance changed from merely out of bondage of a nation to deliverance from sin’s penalty and bondage.  We remember this ultimate deliverance now.  

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

The Passing Over to be Remembered

Exodus 12:43-51 
43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it. 44 But every man's servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. 45 A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it. 46 In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones. 47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it. 49 One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.”
    50 Thus all the children of Israel did; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. 51 And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies.

The Passover was to be remembered and kept by God’s people, not outsiders.  Though the promise to Abraham and his descendants was to bless all nations, those of other nations first had to join God’s people to partake of the Passover, just as now in Christ the Lord’s Supper is not for unbelievers, but believers; to participate in the remembrance feast, one must first be added to His family.  The sign of joining then was the circumcision of cleansing, but now it is a cleansed heart by God’s Spirit in regeneration and rebirth (Romans 2:28-29, Galatians 6:15, Colossians 2:11).  The principle applies now among God’s people, but circumcision and the Passover are no longer necessary, as we all together are His people in Christ and remember our deliverance from the bondage of sin as Jesus led us all out of it to be His.  So we should all follow this example who have been led out of the bondage of darkness into His marvelous light of freedom and fellowship and not bound by the Law’s remembrances and celebrations (Galatians 5:1-2, Romans 2:28-29, Colossians 2:11, 16-17).  This then is the passing over to be remembered, that we who are sinners justly deserving judgement and condemnation by God’s wrath on our sin have been delivered with the hope of the Firstborn from the dead and Firstfruit of eternal life, Jesus the Christ, our hope of glory! 

Monday, November 18, 2019

Exodus of Deliverance to Worship

Exodus 12:31-42 
31 Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the Lord as you have said. 32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.”  33 And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. 35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
    37 Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. 38 A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.  40 Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It is a night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.

The exodus finally was at hand after the destroyer took the lives of Egypt’s firstborn.  Pharaoh finally let God’s people go to worship, this time allowing them to take everything and everyone without condition, except that Moses bless him also.  The people of Egypt also wanted them gone, for the plagues of judgement had decimated the land and taken their inheritance of the firstborn as well, and they feared for their lives.  God’s people hurriedly took bread without yeast to soften and many riches asked from their Egyptian neighbors, plundering them in return for their bondage for four hundred and thirty years.  It was exactly those number of years to the day since they came into Egypt as welcome guests of Joseph that they left forced labor with Moses as free men and women once more.  Israel as a people had suffered greatly, but also had multiplied even more greatly.  It is interesting to note that the people are called the armies of God now as they are on their way to fight for their promised land.  This night of deliverance became a time throughout time to seriously reflect on His deliverance in remembrance of God’s goodness.  We likewise should always reflect on the gospel of our greater salvation from God’s wrath and the bondage of sin He has delivered us from for eternity!  He allows us to share in His sufferings with a future and a hope of promise which cannot be broken and will just as certainly come to fruition as Israel’s promise to be set free after four hundred years (Genesis 15:13-14, Acts 7:6-7) to serve and worship Him.  We will serve and worship our great God and Savior before His face in the New Jerusalem with no more suffering or sadness, delivered forever in grace and mercy of which this account in Exodus was a mere foreshadowing of a far greater deliverance to worship. 

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Judgement 10: Struck Down or Passed Over?

Exodus 12:21-30
21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ ” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
    29 And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. 30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

After given instructions for the Passover to avoid the firstborn of God’s people being struck down with those holding them sinfully in bondage, the night came for the visitation.  Moses first called the elders to select the Passover lambs for the families, giving details on how to mark their house entrances with the blood of a perfect lamb using branches to strike the wood, much like the nails struck to pierce Jesus’s hands and feet on the wood of the cross giving entrance to the new house in (John 14:2) Paradise.  The destroyer of death would then pass over the judgement on those houses, a reminder of God’s merciful deliverance from spiritual death for sin.  They were to repeat this as a meal every year as a memorial of their deliverance until the new covenant where Christ would pay the price once for all to deliver all His people promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob before them and us.  There is no more need to continue to celebrate God passing over His people in Egypt when the Lamb of God has done it completely and effectively for eternity; the observance here given ‘forever’ to remember is fulfilled in Christ and replaced by the Lord’s Supper in which Jew and Gentile together remember His complete and ultimate deliverance from the bondage to sin.  We who are in Christ should therefore bow our heads in worship now to this deliverance, thankful that it is not us as those of Egypt losing our firstborn, but finding life from the Firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18, Revelation 1:5), in whom we find grace for life.  All lost in the bondage of sin will likewise perish, but all in Christ who have been passed over from death into life (John 5:24, 2 Thessalonians 1:9-10) follow into the resurrection in the end as the Firstborn has done.  We therefore preach this good news of deliverance with the hope that as many are appointed to eternal life will hear to faith by God’s word (Acts 13:48, Romans 10:17). 

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Passover of the Lamb’s Blood and Leaven of Our Sin

Exodus 12:1-20 
1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: “On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. 10 You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 11 And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. 12 “For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. 13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
    14 ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you. 17 So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. 18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ ”

A lamb of a sheep or a goat was to be chosen based on perfection; no sacrifice of lesser offering would be acceptable to God.  It was to be sacrificed as the sun went down in preparation for God to pass over judgement on His people’s sin after going through the fire to prepare it and partake of it.  This was to be the Lord’s Passover, where He would judge Pharaoh and his nation for the bondage put on God’s people.  This execution of judgement was to be an actual execution of the firstborn of all in Egypt, but the blood of the lamb put on the entrance to the houses of Israel from the perfect sacrifice would be the mark to pass over taking lives there.  When God’s avenging angel came in the night, God would see that blood marking them as His and spare them from destruction.  They were also to remove all leaven from their households and bread they ate, for leaven symbolized sin (1 Corinthians 5:8) which they were to avoid in obedience to God and to avoid being cut off from His people.  We likewise see how Christ was the perfect lamb of God without sin, the only effectual sacrifice for the sin of we His sinful and imperfect chosen people.  His blood marks us as His by passing over our destruction with the death He died to kill death for us which we deserve.  He as the firstborn of God (Colossians 1:15, 18, Romans 8:29) risen from the dead, from which we in Him are passed over from eternal judgement and gifted with eternal life through His sacrifice of Himself in our place, our sacrificial Lamb of God who takes away our sin (John 1:29)!  Now we are to remove the leaven of sin from our lives in return for so great a salvation, pleasing and glorifying God in holiness and obedience to Christ in us. 

Friday, November 15, 2019

Warnings Unheeded Will Bring Death

Exodus 11:1-10 
1 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether. 2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold.” 3 And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people. 4 Then Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; 5 and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. 6 Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again. 7 But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.’ 8 And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will go out.” Then he went out from Pharaoh in great anger.
    9 But the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not heed you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10 So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land.


Before the tenth plague of judgement comes upon Pharaoh and Egypt, the warning is given for not hearing and taking heed to God’s word to deliver His people.  The warning is of the last plague of final judgement which will result in the salvation of His chosen people from the bondage of sin, and the destruction of those unrepentant and hard of heart to believe (Romans 2:5).  The assurance is given through Moses to Israel that Pharaoh will certainly let His people go after this last judgement, and tells him to have the people ask riches of the Egyptians before exiting the land.  Moses was looked up to in the land, probably because of the plagues, but also of the story of his upbringing by a previous Pharaoh and once high estate there.  The proclamation is given that the firstborn of all Egypt will be taken; only those of God’s people will not suffer loss.  He told this to the king, then left in anger at the refusal to heed the warnings, and was then reminded by the Lord that the Pharaoh would not listen because God was using him to glorify Himself by the works of His hand against the one created for that purpose.  All these miracles could not change the Pharaoh’s heart, just as those of Christ would not later move deaf ears and blind eyes of the stony hearts of the religious leaders when He walked upon this earth to deliver all whom He would call. We see that God calls who He will and lets others be hardened further in their disbelief and sin.  We thank God for His undeserved mercy in grace to deliver us from sin’s penalty, and therefore call others with the warning of God’s command to believe and repent before His final judgement on the sin of Adam we all are born with. 

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Judgement 9: Darkness for the Blind

Exodus 10:21-29 
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
    24 Then Pharaoh called to Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your little ones also go with you.”  25 But Moses said, “You must also give us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the Lord our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.”
    27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!”  29 So Moses said, “You have spoken well. I will never see your face again.”


For the ninth judgement by plague, the Lord commanded Moses to simply stretch out his hand heavenward, as if God were doing it through him as a visual spokesman.  This time he did not warn Pharaoh as for each coming judgement as before.  Darkness covered the entire country, so dark that it was like being in a cavern far beneath the earth.  Nothing could be seen, and the lack of any light could be felt as it thickly enveloped those stumbling around for three days in the great darkness.  Because nobody could see each other, let alone where they were going, all remained unmoving indoors out of fear and uncertainty.  Yet all of God’s people sat in and moved about in the light in their houses.  Truly the account of this miraculous hand of God would be passed on to the children of Israel as well as the Egyptians!  After three days, Pharaoh summoned Moses and told him to go with all his people, just not the animals, but Moses made it clear they had to take them all to sacrifice the particular ones God would tell them there.  Again God hardened the king’s heart as planned to reveal His glory through His deliverance, and Pharaoh refused to allow them to leave again.  This time he also made it clear Moses would never see him face to face ever again.  Moses validated that as truth and left.  Moses is used to show the blind that they cannot see and give light to His people.  We see here how those lost in darkness and hardened by sin are unable to hear God’s voice, let alone fear Him to trusting obedience.  There is only darkness for the blind.  But those God calls as His sheep hear His voice and follow Him out of the darkness and sin’s enslavement.  Such is the hope we have in Christ.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Judgement 8: Locusts Consuming What’s Left

Exodus 10:1-20 
1 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, 2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son's son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.” 3 So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 4 Or else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5 And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field. 6 They shall fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians—which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’ ” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh.  7 Then Pharaoh's servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?”
    8 So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. Who are the ones that are going?”  9 And Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.”  10 Then he said to them, “The Lord had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you. 11 Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the Lord, for that is what you desired.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.
    12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land—all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them. 15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.
    16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17 Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and entreat the Lord your God, that He may take away from me this death only.” 18 So he went out from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord. 19 And the Lord turned a very strong west wind, which took the locusts away and blew them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.

For the eight time the Lord warns Pharaoh of judgment, this time to consume what little is left on the ground of Egypt.  The Lord first tells Moses that He has hardened both the hearts of Pharaoh and his servants and demonstrating His power in His signs, that Moses may pass on the reminder of His almighty working as their Lord God.  The threat of losing what remained caused the servants of Pharaoh to beg him to let God’s people go to worship Him, but Pharaoh balked when he found out that it would not just be the grown men, but everyone who needed to leave to face their God.  Therefore the plague covered the land and decimated it of all growth, and even filled every house of Egypt with harassing annoyance of throngs of chewing and flying bugs.  This was worse than any swarm of locusts by anyone’s remembrance.  The ruler then in hasty desperation called in Moses and Aaron to call off the assault, claiming he knew he had sinned against them and the Lord their God (not his).  He asked for a one time forgiveness, but that was just to stop the devastation; immediately afterwards his heart was hardened by God again to disobey and not allow or seek freedom.  Even now, men and women will cry out to God for deliverance from terrible situations, yet not from their sin against God in not believing His Son (John 3:18, 12:48, 20:31, 1 John 5:10) and the gospel which delivers from eternal judgement.  In their rejection, God hardens their hearts and they continually seek escape only from the immediate consequences of sin.  They do not see the depth of their sin against Him and refuse to allow others to be delivered from its bondage either.  But God surely calls His people out of bondage to sin in the deliverance to the freedom of Christ! 

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Judgement 7: Hail to the King

Exodus 9:13-35 
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me, 14 for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth. 15 Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. 17 As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go. 18 Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now. 19 Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die.” ’ ”  20 He who feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. 21 But he who did not regard the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.
    22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, 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.” 23 And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 And the hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.
    27 And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time. The Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. 28 Entreat the Lord, that there may be no more mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”  29 So Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the Lord's. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear the Lord God.”  31 Now the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they are late crops.  33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to the Lord; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth. 34 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the Lord had spoken by Moses.

For the seventh judgement on Pharaoh and Egypt, God sent Moses and Aaron first thing in the morning to Pharaoh to tell him that the plagues would be now aimed at his heart that he might acknowledge the Lord God as King over all.  He made it clear that He could have sent disease to wipe out Egypt, but sent these judgement plagues instead to demonstrate His power and sovereign rule as none other.  God said that He had actually raised up Pharaoh for this purpose that God’s name would be magnified in all the earth.  It was not that Pharaoh simply chose to be evil, hard-hearted, and set against God; he was born that way as we all are in sin, and had done what he was made to do as he was left in his sin and rebellion against  his Creator instead of being delivered out of it.  God had a plan to further harden what stony heart was in Pharaoh to use him for this purpose, even as he exalted himself in pride against God’s people in refusing to heed His word.  Therefore, God sent the hail on all Egypt that all might hail Him as Lord and Sovereign King.  It is interesting that He actually gave warning to test the hearts of those wanting to save their animals by believing God, and not just a general condemning statement of the coming judgement.  Those who wisely needed the warning sent their livestock and servants indoors to escape judgement; those who disbelieved disobeyed and suffered the consequences.  Pharaoh appeared to admit his sin in the destruction raining down with hail and lightning, but Moses had already told him that he would still not fear God afterwords.  Pharaoh of course sadly hardened his heart further, just as God said because it was planned, and would not let God’s people go.  The words from Pharaoh and his people should have been, “All hail to the King, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings,” but were instead words of rejection in disbelief and disobedience.  Even now those not sovereignly given to the Son who are not His sheep cannot hear His voice (John 6:65, 10:26-29) and harden themselves further from birth to death.  This is a lesson on God’s sovereign grace to save who He wills and pass over those not changed with a new heart, that His glory may be acknowledged by all.  Every knee will bow to Him, in life or in death (Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10-11).  This is a hard saying, but gives comfort to His chosen people whom He sets free indeed. 

Monday, November 11, 2019

Judgement 6: Boils Bringing Out Rejection’s Pain

Exodus 9:8-12 
8 So the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused boils that break out in sores on man and beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

For the sixth judgement, the Lord told Moses and Aaron to scatter ashes from a smelting or pottery kiln furnace, a device of great heat used often to purify metal or harden a clay pot.  Symbolically, this could be seen as both hardening Pharaoh’s heart as well as getting the dross of sin and rebellion against God to rise visibly to the surface.  This heated dust of ash was cast into the the wind to spread over the land before Pharaoh as witness to God’s judgement, causing painful boils on people and animals.  This is yet another mora miraculous work which only God could do; the magicians were unable even to stand amidst the painful sores covering their bodies to imitate this work of judgement.  Yet God knew Pharaoh and his disbelief, and hardened his heart even further, leaving the testimony to the results of the dross of his sin to linger on him and all Egypt.  The boils brought out the rejection’s pain.  Likewise, God allows adversity on the unrighteous to draw out their sin so they can see it without excuse (Romans 1:20) as it rises to be evident as God has said.  It also demonstrates how God hardens who He wills for His glory, those already hardened in their own sinful rejection of Him (Romans 9:17-18) as well as how He shows mercy on who He chooses, like Israel out of Egypt and the saints in Christ out of bondage to sin. 

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Judgement 5: Death’s Selective Consequences

Exodus 9:1-7 
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 2 For if you refuse to let them go, and still hold them, 3 behold, the hand of the Lord will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep—a very severe pestilence. 4 And the Lord will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.” ’ ” 5 Then the Lord appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” 6 So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died. 7 Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go.

This fifth plague of judgement went from swarms of living flies that reminded Pharaoh and his people of God’s ability to see and reach out His hand everywhere, to reaching only where He chooses to selectively touch and act in judgement.  The Lord told Moses to proclaim to Pharaoh that if he continued not to let Israel serve Him that He would reach down and bring a pestilence on all but His chosen people’s livestock.  None whom God chose would suffer loss, but those not His would reap the consequences of judgement for refusing Him.  He set a day, the next one, and acted as promised.  Even then Pharaoh hardened his heart even further in rejecting the only true God in His people.  We see the parallel in God’s chosen people who will not face the consequences of sin at the final judgement; they will find mercy as promised in Christ’s righteousness to escape eternal death.  Those set against God and His Christ will be hardened further, continuing to reject and facing eternal consequences. God chose who to suffer the just consequences and who to pass over in mercy by grace.  Thanks be to God who shows mercy by grace to call His people out of bondage, protecting them for eternity! 

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Judgement 4: Flies Reminding God’s Omnipresence

Exodus 8:20-32 
20 And the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 21 Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 22 And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. 23 I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be.” ’ ” 24 And the Lord did so. Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies.
    25 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.”  26 And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us? 27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He will command us.”  28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me.”  29 Then Moses said, “Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the Lord, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”
    30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord. 31 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.

The fourth judgement on Egypt for enslaving God’s people was swarms of flies to remind that God is omnipresent, you cannot escape His sight nor His hand.  Again Moses spoke God’s words for release from captivity, and the consequence of defying Him was the swarms of flies which would touch every place the Egyptians went.  The thick swarms of flies were from a word used only here, probably from 'mixture' and 'incessant or involved motion', meaning they were all kinds of flies buzzing incessantly about and even more annoying and present than the gnats or lice of the previous plague.  They were so overwhelmingly annoying that the Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron to let them know that he would agree to let the people of God go outside Egypt to sacrifice to Him, probably out of both fear of more plagues as well as not being able to live or function with flying things everywhere, in the houses and outside.  He asked Moses to intercede for him, and Moses promised to ask God to remove the flies from the land the next day.  But Moses also warned the Pharaoh not to deceive and go back on his word again.  As soon as the prayer for relief from the adversity was answered and the flies left all of Egypt and her citizens, Pharaoh again chose to further harden his heart as God moved him to do so (Romans 9:17-18) because of his sin and rejection of the Creator and Judge of all.  We see how the swarms of flies were not only meant to annoy and cast judgement on Pharaoh and his people, but also to remind them and us that God is everywhere; nobody can hide from Him and His Christ.  Either people will hold to their hard hearts of stone carved into idols of self and be further hardened by God, or they will be broken by the cornerstone falling on them (Luke 20:18) and stop hardening their own hearts further.  God is everywhere and knows everything.  We cannot hide from Him, no matter how annoying our sin is, as it will find us out as the swarms of flies would not give a moment’s rest to Egypt and her king. 

Friday, November 8, 2019

Judgement 3: Laced with Lice

Exodus 8:16-19 
16 So the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’ ” 17 And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
    18 Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So there were lice on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.

The lice mentioned here (כֵּן kēn) are most likely gnats, but the word also refers to lice; what is important is that a swarm of very small and annoying bugs sprung out of the dust of the earth from which man was formed by God (Genesis 2:7).  These gnats filled the land, lacing it with lice or annoying it with gnats; either way, think of a few gnats you may run into, then what it would be like to not be able to escape them flying in your nose, ears, mouth, and eyes wherever you ran to hide.  Such was this plague meant to demonstrate God’s power of creation and command to strike fear into the captors of God’s people.  These gnats swarmed on the animals as well, no doubt causing further irritation with them flailing about.  Pharaoh called his magicians again, but this time they could not imitate even the smallest gnat from dust as God had.  They worked furiously, but could only conclude that this was the finger of God reaching down and touching the earth to make this phenomenon.  Yet still Pharaoh chose to further deny and have his heart hardened by the Lord before his face.  He refused to listen and submit in obedience to God’s word of command.  Even now many remain in their sin of disobedience with hard hearts, and unless called by God, are hardened further by Him in their rejection of His word - both in written and living forms.  Their sin-driven hearts produce deaf ears and blind eyes unless their Creator’s finger reaches down in grace to touch their hearts of stone.  Many are laced with the lice of lies from Eden’s garden as they have chosen the lie and have not been sovereignly chosen to escape by the Spirit’s unveiling of His word of truth.