We are getting very close to the Law being given, beginning with the 10 Commandments, at Mount Sinai. In this chapter the people are warned to keep their distance, they sanctify themselves for three days and Moses is called up the mountain with Aaron to meet God.
Exodus 19
In the third month, on the same day of the month the children of Israel had gone forth out of the land of Egypt, they came into the wilderness of Sinai.
Continue readingThis is a short chapter and is pretty straightforward. Jethro has heard about Moses and all that the LORD has done to Egypt and for Israel. He comes out to the wilderness to meet Moses and brings Zipporah and their two sons, reuniting the family. When Jethro sees how Moses sits all day every day hearing disputing and ruling between the people, he counsels him to delegate that responsibility.
Exodus 18
Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.
Continue readingWater from the rock. Joshua leads Israel to defeat Amalek.
Exodus 17
The whole congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
Continue readingCrossing the Red Sea is a pivotal moment in the history of Israel similar to Passover for this generation. Passover is marked by an annual feast but this dramatic event is something of a final death blow for the armies of Egypt. It demonstrates not only to Egypt but the surrounding nations the power of God, the God of Israel, and for a time causes the people to fear God, trust God, and his servant Moses.
Exodus 14
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
Continue readingBecause the first born in all of Egypt died on the night of the Passover, all first males must be dedicated to the LORD. Moses explains that the feast of unleavened bread is to be keep each year during the first month. He stresses the importance of teaching these things to future generations so they never forget what God has done.
Exodus 13
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Continue readingExodus 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 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 reading
The Bronze Serpent
4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. Numbers 21:4-9
So if you were bitten by a fiery serpent, all you had to do was look at the bronze serpent set on the pole in order to live and not die. We are not told how obedient Israel was in this matter but we can safely assume that some people did just that while others failed to believe it would make any difference… and died anyway. Like I say, we don’t know that for certain but we are given many, many examples of incomplete obedience. Now consider the parales: the fiery serpents represent sin. Because of our sin nature from birth we are all “bitten” by it and will die. All one must do to live is look in faith to the Lamb of God lifted up on the tree at Calvary. Look up and live, it’s as simple as that. And just in case it were possible to miss the symbolism of this Old Testament story, consider these words of Jesus:
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:14-15
The Master's Table 