Exodus 7 is exciting stuff. There is a side note in the text about Moses’s age that reminded me to talk about the timeline of his life. Then Moses and Aaron appear before Pharaoh and thrown down. Aaron literally “throws down” his staff and it becomes a serpent. The magicians of Egypt can do the same thing but it’s not as cool as what Aaron’s staff does.
Exodus 7
The Lord said to Moses “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.
Continue readingGod repeats some promises to Moses about his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and explains he has heard the children of Israel’s outcry and will keep his promises. He tells Moses they knew him as God Almighty but he did not tell them his name. Here is a link to a Read the Bible bonus feature on The LORD that I mention in the discussion.
Exodus 6
Then the LORD said to Moses “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh: for by my strong hand he will let them go, and because of my strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”
Continue readingMoses and Aaron appear before Pharaoh and ask him to let them go into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD God. Pharaoh does not let them go but rather increases their work load. The Hebrews are mad at Moses, the Egyptians are mad at Moses, he cries out to God that they are worse off than before; and he has no idea, God is just getting warmed up.
Exodus 5
Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’”
Continue readingMoses raised two objections in Exodus 3 while speaking with God at the burning bush: Who am I that I should appear before Pharaoh and who will I say sent me? There will be two more specific objections and one “but I don’t want to.” Has anyone thought about the question from yesterday: Exactly who is Moses talking to at the burning bush?
Exodus 4
Moses answered and said “But they will not believe me, nor listen to my voice, for they will say ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’”
Continue readingMoses at the burning bush; you have probably heard this story, hopefully you have read the Bible and net just seen the movies. You may have colored pictures of this event in a children’s Sunday School class at some point . Let’s make sure we have read it and not just rely on our head canon. Moses will make a total of five objections after God tells him to appear before Pharaoh and lead his people out of Egypt. We will see the first two in this chapter and get to the others tomorrow.
Below is what I am reading. If you want to know what I look at when preparing to read a chapter of the Bible, it’s the KJV text plus each of these, all at the same time. If you ever want to see a single verse in every English translation there is, Bible Hub is better suited for that.
Continue readingExodus 2 begins with the birth of Moses. Which is a problem since all males born to the Hebrews must be thrown into the Nile by order of Pharaoh. Moses’ mother hides him for three months and then technically – technically – does cast him into the Nile, just after placing him in a little boat she made for him. That alone might not have saved him but getting rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter does the trick.
Exodus 2
A man of the house of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi as his wife.
Continue readingWe are turning a page, literally and figuratively, and beginning the Exodus from Egypt today. The Ten Commandments starring Charleston Heston is a very different movie than DreamWorks The Prince of Egypt. But have you read the book? You’re welcome to join our little book club as we begin the true story of Moses as recorded… by Moses… in the Book of Exodus.
Exodus 1
Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.
Continue reading
It is worth noting when looking at the Ten Commandments that the first four are about God. The second forbids making an image of anything that is in heaven while the fourth forbids using his name in vain. God is concerned about how his name and image are used before giving commands such as not to commit murder, adultery or theft.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” -Exodus 20:4 Continue reading
In Daniel chapter 3, Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego were called to appear before King Nebuchadnezzar. They were charged with not worshiping the gods of Babylon nor bowing down the golden image of Nebuchadnezzar himself. He is willing to give them another chance, and if they will bow down then all will be well. But instead:
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” -Daniel 3:16-18 Continue reading
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24 ESV) I’ve heard that verse a couple of times this weekend, so it was fresh in mind when I started reading the Exodus this morning. Let’s first put it in its proper context.
Nearly half of John’s Gospel deals with the events of the Passion week. The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem is recorded at the beginning of chapter 12, and this verse is spoken by Jesus in reference to his hour having come. A seed must fall into the ground and die just as Jesus must go down into the earth by being placed in the grave. John 12:24 is an illustration of how Jesus must die and be buried in order to rise again with new life. By being obedient to the Father’s will, Jesus will produce much fruit for the Kingdom. God speaks aloud in verse 27 and says that he has gloried Jesus’ name and will glorify it again. Continue reading
The Master's Table 