Tag: Exodus

The Hope of the Passover Fulfilled

OLD TESTAMENT: EXODUS 11-12

POETRY: PSALM 23

NEW TESTAMENT: MATTHEW 21:28-32

One of my favorite movies growing up was Dreamwork’s The Prince of Egypt. I loved the music and the story, though it was slightly embellished for dramatic effect. In the movie, Moses and Rameses are the best of friends in addition to being brothers. As plagues ravage Egypt, Moses and Rameses face off against each other, asking each other “Is this what you wanted?” The Bible never talks about Moses and Rameses being close or caring for one another. But, I do think the movie captures what happened to Egypt. 

Egypt destroyed by the plagues in Dreamwork’s Prince of Egypt

As the Israelites gathered up their belongings after the Passover, they walked through a city in complete ruins, statues falling over and temples broken. God had triumphed over Pharoah and the Egyptian gods, and now the Israelites were on their way to freedom. 

The Passover lamb (another sheep reference) is a preview of both the law and the sacrifices that would be required for our sins and the ultimate fulfillment of the law in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Our Matthew readings for the week show Jesus as he grows nearer to the time of the cross. In fact, Jesus enters Jerusalem in Matthew 20 to celebrate the Passover. 

In Matthew 26:17-30, Jesus celebrates the Passover with his celebrates. He breaks bread with them and then tells them that he will not have the Passover banquet again until the kingdom of heaven (Luke 22:14-18). The wedding banquet of the lamb is the hope that we have in the Kingdom (Revelation 19, Matthew 22) – that are sins are passed over forever, as we are raised up incorruptible in a new heavens and a new earth (1 Cor. 15:52). The Passover was a sign of salvation to the Israelites, a testament that they were to observe for generations to come. We can read about the Passover today and be reminded of what is to come in the kingdom. 

We should want to shout in jubilee, believing in the miracle of God rescuing us from the bondage of sin and shame. 

Matthew 21:28-32 leaves us with a caution. As we look forward to this coming kingdom, we want to be the ones who are faithful to the end. The parable draws a distinction between the brother who said he was going to work and the brother who actually worked. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter how much you talk about Jesus if you don’t actually follow him. You have to leave your life in bondage to sin and go forward to your new life in Freedom. Your life must change. The new focus of your life should be to work for the good of the kingdom of God. 

Psalm 23 ends in this way, 

“You prepare a table before me

    in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

    my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me

    all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

    Forever.”

We see another table set, another banquet, a foreshadowing of the Passover fulfilled, the marriage feast. David trusts completely in God, even in the midst of his enemies. The final words – the sweet hope of David – is to dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The desire of David’s heart is not those green pastures, those quiet waters. The true desire is to be in the presence of God, and the beautiful thing is that being in the presence of God leads to places of beauty and comfort – maybe in this life but definitely in the kingdom. 

May that be the desire of our hearts: To long for the marriage supper of the Lamb. 

~ Cayce Fletcher

Cayce writes about discipleship, productivity, and homemaking at her blog https://amorebeautifullifecollective. You can find her latest post on creating a theme of the year here. You can also listen to A More Beautiful Life Collective Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. How do you think the Israelites felt as they left Egypt? How do you think the Egyptians felt? 
  2. Which brother are you in the parable of the two sons? The worker or the talker? 
  3. What do you hope for most in the coming kingdom? What are you most excited about? 

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Who are you following? 

OLD TESTAMENT: EXODUS 9-10

POETRY: PSALM 23

NEW TESTAMENT: MATTHEW 21:1-27

The showdown between Moses, God, and Pharaoh’s hard heart escalated in our reading today. What God said would come to pass did: Pharaoh continued to harden his heart again and again despite the plagues that came upon Egypt. At one point, the officials said, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?” (Exodus 10:7). We see the same cycle repeated. At first, Pharaoh was completely unyielding. But, as harsher and harsher plagues were brought upon the people, Pharaoh began to consider letting the Israelites go. 

Exodus 9:15-17 says, “For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go.”

Hail rained down and wiped out everything in the fields. Pharaoh finally said, “This time I have sinned. The Lord is right and my people are wrong” (v. 27). It would seem like the plagues could finally stop right? Pharaoh finally humbled himself and was willing to let the people go. After the plague stopped, Pharaoh changed his tune. His heart was hardened, and he refused to let the people go. 

He followed this same cycle of refusing, repenting, hardening his heart, and refusing again with the plague of locusts and darkness. Reading through this story, you might wonder why Pharaoh didn’t see that by hardening his heart, he didn’t gain anything. In fact, he led his nation into ruin with his pride. If he had just let the people go, he would have saved everyone from a lot of pain and suffering. 

It’s interesting to consider that the pharaoh was considered a god by the Egyptian people. Pharaoh is so rash, foolish, and fickle, compared to the God of the Israelites. Pharaoh kept deciding to do something and changed his mind once his feelings changed. Would that be a god you want to follow? 

In Psalm 23, we read about how God, as our shepherd, leads us on right paths. Lysa TerKeurst describes this scene: 

“We might imagine lush green hills like you’d find in Ireland, but David’s reality was the steep, rocky, dry Judean hills. Hills that had to be carefully traveled in order to get to the water and vegetation waiting in the valleys below.

Shepherds leading their flocks also had to be cautious about the timing of their trips. Hard rains could quickly lead to flash floods in a gorge. When a shepherd knew a storm was coming, he wouldn’t allow the sheep to be down in the gorge because they’d drown; instead, he’d wait patiently until the storm passed to lead his flock down to drink. So not only did sheep have to trust where the shepherd was leading them; they had to trust the when of his leading.

The Hebrew word for “paths” in Psalm 23:3 referred to well-worn or deep ruts that were actually good ruts, important because they marked the safest paths. While these paths could be formed by one shepherd over time, it’s more likely they were formed by other shepherds who’d gone before — generations of shepherds wisely walking the same paths. Even today, you can literally look at the hills in Israel and see paths the shepherds have been walking for generations.”

Valley of the Shadow of Death

The showdown in Exodus draws a distinction in leadership, sovereignty, and control between God and the Egyptian gods. The God who proved to be the true God – the one who was the most powerful and in control – was the Israelites’ God. 

The world’s leadership mimics that of Pharaoh’s. Culture is fickle and promotes rash, foolish behavior. If you follow the world’s leading, you will end up being led to destruction. When we follow God, we are walking in the sure and right paths. The paths that don’t lead to danger, but instead lead to life.

Who are you following today? 

~ Cayce Fletcher

Cayce writes about discipleship, productivity, and homemaking at her blog https://amorebeautifullifecollective. You can find her latest post on how to seek the kingdom of God everyday here. You can also listen to A More Beautiful Life Collective Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Describe the differences between Pharaoh and Moses. And, between the Egyptian gods and Yahweh.  
  2. How does it change your understanding of Psalm 23 when you consider the actual terrain of Judah? How does picturing the rocky, steep hillside help you to recognize your need for a shepherd? 
  3. What is the difference between the leadership of God and the leadership of the world? Where does following the leadership of God end? Where does following the leadership of the world end? 

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For His Name’s Sake

OLD TESTAMENT: EXODUS 7-8

POETRY: PSALM 23

NEW TESTAMENT: MATTHEW 20:17-34

Yesterday, we focused on trusting in the faithfulness of God despite the challenges, troubles, and obstacles we face. Moses struggled with that trust and confidence that God would be faithful as he saw the increased oppression of the Israelite people. He asked the question, “Why?” Underlying this why was the sentiment: ‘Why – if you could free your people from this oppression – why wouldn’t you, God?’ 

We often ask God the same question. ‘Why – if you could intervene and alleviate the suffering of the world – why wouldn’t you, God?’ The answer to this question that we read in Exodus may ruffle the feathers of our modern sensibilities, but it does not make it any less true. 

We see a pattern through the story of the Israelites that God foretold what the story of the Israelites would be, including even the suffering they would face. Abraham was told about the 400 years the Israelites would spend in Egypt. The suffering of the people as slaves was foretold. And, Moses was told about the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart which would ultimately lead to the Israelites plundering the Egyptians on their way to freedom and the Promised Land. 

This makes us bristle because, in the modern world, our comfort, safety, and happiness are the greatest good. Nothing else is as important as those things. Honor, virtue, courage, and grace are deemed unworthy if they get in the way of our pursuit of these modern ideals. So, when we read that the Israelites would be forced to endure hardship, slavery, death, and injustice, we just can’t believe it. Why would a good God do this? 

God actually tells us why this happened. In Exodus 7:5, God says, “The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.” God did these things for his name’s sake. The plagues spoke to the glory of God. They demonstrated that ‘God was god, and there is no other’ (Isaiah 45:5). 

The values of comfort, safety, and happiness are not esteemed in the Bible. In fact, the greatest good turns out to be the glory of God, which is exactly what God has brought about with the plagues. His name was made great. 

When we read this emphasis on making God’s name great, we may have some concerns. Some may even say that God is egotistical because he desires for us to glorify him, for us to worship him, and desires to make his name great. 

The basis for greatness and glory can only be found in God. 

When God commands us to worship him foremost in our lives, he is actually establishing boundaries for our worship that will keep us from sin and heartache. When we step outside God’s created order, we fall prey to greed, selfishness, and an endless pursuit of desires and addictions that do not lead to fulfillment or joy. We have a belief in faux modesty in our culture. Though in practice we exalt ourselves daily, we say that don’t. We place that same value of faux modesty on God, and so, we question when God seems to buck against that value. 

John Piper said, “Does my opposition to God’s God-centeredness reveal that my supposed God-centeredness is just a cover for wanting myself at the center, and the use of God to endorse that because he is so centered on me?” 

Who is at the center of your world? Is it God or is it yourself? Is your life’s work to make great the name of God or your own? 

For a more in-depth look at how the plagues depict Yahweh vs. Egyptian gods, read this previous SeekGrowLove post by Sean Finnegan. 

~ Cayce Fletcher

Cayce writes about discipleship, productivity, and homemaking at her blog https://amorebeautifullifecollective. You can find her latest post on prayer here. You can also listen to A More Beautiful Life Collective Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. How did the plagues make God’s name great? 
  2. In Psalm 23, God “guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake” (v. 3). How does guiding us along right paths give glory to God? 
  3. Matthew 20:20-28 tells the story of the mother of Zebedee’s sons coming and asking for Jesus to exalt James and John in the coming kingdom. Jesus responds by stating, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” How does becoming a servant bring glory to God and make his name known? 

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Choosing to Believe in God’s Faithfulness

OLD TESTAMENT: EXODUS 5-6

POETRY: PSALM 23

NEW TESTAMENT: MATTHEW 20:1-16

Moses overcame the excuses we read about in Exodus 3-4. He traveled to Egypt and met Aaron in the wilderness at the mountain of God. Together, they went and told the people. “The people believed, and when they heard that the LORD had paid attention to them and that he had seen their misery, they knelt low and worshipped” (Exodus 4:31). 

I wonder what Moses thought would happen next. He had spoken to the people, and due to the signs Moses had shown them, they believed that God would deliver his people. Did they think it would happen right away? Did they think that Pharoah would just let them go? What did Moses think? Was he prepared for a resounding no? 

Moses went and told Pharaoh to let God’s people go, but Pharaoh responded, “Who is this God that I should listen to him?” Pharaoh’s response was to make the Israelites labor harder. God had told Moses at the burning bush that “the king of Egypt will not allow to go, even under force from a strong hand” (Exodus 3:19). Even so, it seems like Moses begins to doubt that God will do what he said he will do as he sees Pharaoh make the Israelites’ lives even harder. 

The Israelites begin to complain, saying that it would be better if Moses had never come (Exodus 5:19-21). Moses cries out to God, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” (Exodus 5:22-23). Those old insecurities pop up again as Moses repeatedly tells God, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me since I speak with faltering lips?” (Exodus 6:12, 30) 

Moses had the promise of God to fulfill his covenant with Abraham. God said he would deliver the people. But, Moses began to doubt as he looked around at his current circumstances. He tells God, ‘You haven’t even rescued your people at all. You’ve made things worse.” 

We often fall prey to a certain kind of prosperity gospel preaching. We believe that if we work for God and do what he asks, we will see big returns right away. No waiting. No fussing. No pain. No problems. 

This is simply not the way God works. When we act in faith, we know that eventually, we will see a return for what we are working towards. However, that return is not promised to be quick or readily apparent. We work for a lifetime, and with the benefit of time and wisdom, we can look back and see the faithfulness of God. It is a fruit that takes decades not days. A fruit that may not be seen until the Kingdom. 

When Moses didn’t see immediate results, he began to doubt God’s intentions, his power, and his goodness. (Even though he was told that Pharaoh would have a hardened heart!) We have also been told that “in this world, we will have trouble” (John 16:33). How often do we doubt God’s intentions, his power, and his goodness in the face of the trouble of the world? 

We can “take heart” because Jesus has overcome the world!

~ Cayce Fletcher

Cayce writes about discipleship, productivity, and homemaking at her blog https://amorebeautifullifecollective. You can find her latest post on remembering God’s story in our lives here. You can also listen to A More Beautiful Life Collective Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Do you think Moses expected Pharaoh to let the Israelites go right away? Why or why not? 
  2. How do you persevere in your calling in the midst of setbacks and ‘troubles’? What are some practical ways you can stay encouraged to “keep fighting the good fight?”
  3. What is a past example of God’s faithfulness that you can remember when you face troubles in the future? 

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Those Dangerous Excuses

OLD TESTAMENT: EXODUS 3-4

POETRY: PSALM 23

NEW TESTAMENT: MATTHEW 19

My son is fully in his threenager stage of life. Our days go something like this: 

“Jonah, go wash your hands. It’s time for dinner.” 

To which he responds, “Mama, I’ve already told you three [pronounced like tree] times. I’ve already washed my hands, and I’ll eat when I’m done playin’.” 

You can imagine my response to this. Let’s just say I have plenty of opportunities for correction and discipline throughout the day. 

Many times, I can recognize my own voice in what he says. What I say, he repeats in his cute toddler-growing-up way. In the conversation I mentioned before, his main goal was to keep playing, so he was just saying whatever he thought would lead to that outcome. He has a tendency to want to keep doing whatever he is currently doing. So if he’s playing, he wants to keep playing. If he’s at church, he wants to stay at church. If he’s at home, he wants to stay at home. This means starting the next activity involves a lot of excuses as to why he can’t quit what he’s doing and move on to the next thing, even if there are good things in store for him when he does. 

In today’s passages, we read about several excuses given as to why someone couldn’t follow through with what they were asked to do. In each case, the excuses were made because the person didn’t want to leave their comfort zone and change their life. 

In Exodus 3-4, Moses was leaving his flock to go find the lost sheep. On the way, he saw a burning bush. The LORD spoke to him there, calling him to go shepherd the Israelite people as they left Egypt and traveled to the Promised Land of Canaan. Moses gives a series of three excuses. He first asked what he should do if the Egyptians didn’t listen to him – probably thinking that it was a lost cause to go and try to ask the Egyptians to give up their unpaid labor. Then, he says that he is not a good speaker, calling himself “slow of speech and tongue.” Finally, he just comes right out and says, “Lord, please send someone else.” 

To each of these excuses, God responds with a resounding, “Go, I will be with you!” God doesn’t point to what Moses was capable of. Instead, he draws Moses’ attention to what he – God – can do through Moses. For the first excuse, God shows how Moses will be able to do wonders through God’s power. In the case of the second excuse, God points to how he is the creator. He will teach Moses what to say. In the last pleading excuse, God gives a helper to Moses in Aaron to be a mouthpiece for him. 

To each of Moses’ excuses, God gives a clear path forward, showing how he in his might and power will make what he has said come to pass. 

Our passage in Matthew 19 repeats this theme of excuses. The rich young ruler had attempted to live righteously, following the law. Jesus told him that he lacked one thing: He needed to sell his wealth and give to the poor. The rich young ruler went away sad, probably full of excuses. He didn’t want his life to change. 

We have been called ourselves. When we hear the gospel, we must change. When we hear God’s leading in our life, we must act. But, all too often, we are filled with excuses. We don’t want to leave our comfort zone, and we think of a million reasons why this is the case. 

Today, don’t focus on why you think you cannot accomplish something for God, or why you think you cannot move forward in faith. Instead, focus on what God has done and will do for you. Trust that he will lead you to “green pastures” and “quiet waters.”

~ Cayce Fletcher

Cayce writes about discipleship, productivity, and homemaking at her blog https://amorebeautifullifecollective. You can find her latest post on biblical ideas creating an ideal schedule here. You can also listen to A More Beautiful Life Collective Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Moses was asked to go down to Egypt, but he didn’t want to go because he felt inadequate. Have you ever felt inadequate when you have been asked to do something for God? How can you overcome those inadequacies and act in faith? 
  2. What excuses have you given when it comes to following Jesus in faith? 
  3. Psalm 23 focuses on how God, as a good shepherd, leads to good things. What are some good things to which God has led you in your life? 

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In Need of a Shepherd

OLD TESTAMENT: EXODUS 2

POETRY: PSALM 23

NEW TESTAMENT: MATTHEW 18:21-35

The hot, dry desert sun beat down on the reddened backs of the laborers, scars crisscrossing their backs from where the whips had cracked. Generations after generations of Israelites had born and died as outcasts and slaves in Egypt, living as foreigners and aliens in a pagan land. They had been the victims of genocide, their babies torn from their arms and murdered. The only sin the Israelites had done to the Egyptians was existing and multiplying. It was the Egyptians’ fear that caused them to mistreat the Israelites and make their lives bitter. 

Yesterday, we considered how we were like sheep that had gone astray. The theme of sheep and shepherds runs deep throughout the Bible. Abel was the first shepherd and his sacrifice was the one that God preferred. Noah, Abraham, and Isaac all were wealthy with livestock, but the next patriarch who is described primarily as a shepherd is Jacob. He builds his wealth through gathering up the speckled and spotted sheep of Laban. These vast herds of sheep followed his family to Egypt where the Israelites settled in the land of Goshen nestled in the Nile Delta. Shepherds were detestable to the Egyptians at that time. The Nile Delta was actually the best in the land for their family. 

Jacob’s family lived in peace and grew to be a mighty numerous nation. After years and years in the land, the Egyptians turned against them and began to subjugate the Israelites with forced labor. “The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, they cried out, and their cry for help because of the difficult labor ascended to God. God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the Israelites, and God knew” (Exodus 2:23-25). 

The Israelite people needed a shepherd. They needed someone who would come and deliver the people from the misery of their Egyptian enslavement to a better life. During this time, I’m sure that they dealt with doubt. They may even have dealt with unbelief, feeling that nothing would ever change in their lives. 

But, they had the truth of the promise of the covenant of God to fall back on. Abraham was told in Genesis 15:13-16 that his descendants would be foreigners and aliens, enslaved and oppressed, for 400 years. God ended this prophecy by saying, “However, I will judge the nation they serve, and afterward they will go out with many possessions.” 

In Exodus 2, we read that God saw and knew the Israelites’ groaning and misery. At that moment, he was setting in motion a plan to deliver his people and bring to pass the deliverance of them to the promised land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 

That plan would be fulfilled with none other than a shepherd boy (or old man- since Moses was close to 80 at the time). Moses was away finding a lost sheep when he encountered God in the burning bush. A type of our savior, he went to rescue the Israelites and save them from their enslavement. 

Moses would go from being a shepherd in the land of Midian to a shepherd of God’s people. 

~ Cayce Fletcher

Cayce writes about discipleship, productivity, and homemaking at her blog https://amorebeautifullifecollective. You can find her latest post on cultivating good habits here. You can also listen to A More Beautiful Life Collective Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Why are sheep and shepherds such an important and repetitive theme throughout the Bible? What is God trying to teach us about ourselves by using this pattern? 
  2. Abraham was told the prophecy that his people would live in enslavement and oppression through no fault of their own. We read about the effects of this enslavement in our scripture today. How do you make sense of suffering in light of the sovereignty of God?
  3. Read John 10:11-18. In John 10:11,  Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” How is Jesus a good shepherd to us? 

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God’s Face

Job 31-32 and Psalm 79-80

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” “For God so loved the world, he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Verses like these are famous. We’ve all heard them. They receive the bulk of our attention when reading Scripture. If you’re following a reading plan, though, you’ve probably come across some passages that are hard to swallow: “How long, LORD God Almighty, will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?” (Psalm 80:4).

Today, Psalm 80 was on the reading plan. Some may look at Psalm 80 and see a passage about God’s anger, or God’s burning justice. Sometimes it’s difficult to understand these passages. But when I read Psalm 80 (and other passages like it), I don’t see an angry God– I see a hurting person placing their trust in the only One who can help them. 

Look at verses 3, 7, and 19. Did you notice they look almost identical? The author is using a phrase that his audience would know well: “make your face shine upon us.”  During the time of the Exodus, God gave a prayer of blessing directly to the high priest, Aaron, in Numbers 6:24-26: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” It’s clear that the author of Psalm 80 was remembering this famous blessing that God had given them (on a side note, verses 8-11 of Psalm 80 are also about the Exodus. The author was probably remembering all the good things God had done for Israel!).

But what does that mean? When I think about someone’s face “lighting up,” I think of someone smiling with favor and affection. Or maybe I think of Moses, who came down from the mountain, literally shining because he had been in the company of the God of the universe. When I think of God’s face shining down on us, I think of favor, company, and affection. God is looking upon us favorably. He is keeping us company. And he has affection for us. 

Let’s remember, alongside the author of Psalm 80, that things will not always go well for us. Life can be difficult sometimes. It’s not always clear why. But we have a God who has done incredible things in the past, and wants to keep working in our lives. Let’s pray “God, make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.”

-Levi Salyers

Levi is a recent graduate of Atlanta Bible College, current pastoral intern, and last week he received his ministerial license from the Church of God Ministerial Association. Congratulations, Levi! Keep sharing God’s love and wisdom to the world in many ways! Thank you for writing for us today!

Read or listen to today’s Bible reading passages at BibleGateway here – Job 31-32 and Psalm 79-80

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What Moses Teaches Us Today

Heb 11 26

Summary

Thanks for reading along this past week, and I really hope you have benefitted from this.  I know I have enjoyed studying and writing this past week. I just wanted to finish off with a quick summary.

 

The story of the Exodus is a story of a people who had been promised so much from God, but had forgotten him and taken on a culture and pantheon that was inherently sinful.  God then works through Moses to directly attack every sinful aspect of their culture and every false god that his people were following to show them beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and that there are no gods before him.  As they are heading out of Egypt on their way to becoming their own nation with their own land God begins to form their culture around himself in order to help them to stay true to him.

 

So many aspects of the passover point the Israelites towards Jesus in the future and prepares their culture for his coming, but we know that when Jesus did come they did not accept him because they had walked away from the lessons they had learned under Moses.  Similarly Jesus’s message brought a massive change in culture to all those who followed him. People started to live changed lives and loved others truly instead of just following rules because they had to. That is the changed life that we are supposed to live.  Just as the Israelites had to sacrifice the lambs that the Egyptian culture worshiped we need to lay aside the idols in our culture that only bring sin into our lives. Maybe that is social media, or crass tv shows, or sleeping around, or any number of other things that are standard in our culture but can easily consume our lives and become idols.

 

Also just as Moses’ story and the Exodus points towards Christ, Jesus’ points us towards the Kingdom and his second coming.  So unlike the Israelites we need to remember what Jesus taught and live by his teachings so that we will be ready for his return.

 

Revelation 21:1-5

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3  4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes.There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

-Chris Mattison

Revelation 21-2,3

The Passover

exodus 12 13

I had touched very briefly yesterday on the plague of the firstborn and the passover ceremony which spared the lives of those who followed God.  Let’s look at that a bit more today.

 

To prepare the Israelites for the passover they were to have each family take a lamb and slaughter it at twilight and take some of the  blood and put it on the doorframes of their houses and then cook and eat the lamb that night with bitter herbs. They were to also take care of the lamp for a week before they slaughtered it.  This would not be an easy thing to do and the meal would not taste good. This was meant to show the pain and sorrow that sin causes and the blood that is required to wash away sin.

 

Slaughtering the lamb in Egypt would also have taken a lot of faith.  Animals were of great value back then, which is why so many of the Egyptians worshiped them, and most likely many of the Israelites did as well.   Animals were of even greater value as well because of all the plagues that had just wiped out the animals in Egypt. Earlier we had seen that they could not do any sacrifices in the land of Egypt because the Egyptians detested it.  Now they are doing just that. In order to do this the Israelites are sacrificing their material wealth, as well as turning their backs on the Egyptian gods. If they were not able to let go of the wealth or culture then they would have faced the judgment.  He goes on to say,

 

Exodus 12:12-14

12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.

 

The plague of the firstborn was to be the final blow to the Egyptian culture/gods, and with it God is also implementing a lasting holy day in their culture by which they will remember what God has done for them for all generations, and the seder passover dinner is practiced around the world to this day.  The problem with the Israelites in Egypt was that they forgot what God had promised them. God was not going to let them forget again so easily.

 

In the Old Testament there were many festivals and holy days and cultural things that God implemented in the Israelites in order to remind them of his work and power in their past.  Even with these they often forgot and wandered away from God. After Jesus we do not live under these laws and we do not have to follow these feasts and rituals, but we still need to make a permanent change in our lives every time that God acts in our lives.  We need to constantly remind ourselves of what God has done for us. The passover ceremony was designed to make people ask why they would do such a thing so that the Israelites could tell people the story of the Exodus. Similarly our stories of how God has changed our lives are our most powerful tool for spreading the Gospel.

-Chris Mattison

Moses and the Burning Bush

exodus 3 15

After Moses fled Egypt and saved the Midianite women from the jerks at the well he settled down and had children and lived a simple life as a farmer.  Meanwhile the rest of the Israelites were groaning in their captivity in Egypt and their cry rose up to God and he took pity on them (Exodus 2:23-25).  God was then ready to call up Moses out of the wilderness so that he can carry out God’s plan.

 

Exodus 3:10-15

10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’

“This is my name forever,

   the name you shall call me

   from generation to generation.”

 

It is very interesting that Moses had to ask God about his name.  In the eyes of the Israelites God had abandoned them when they were enslaved in Egypt, and they had mostly wandered away from God since then and had taken on the gods of the Egyptians.  It was the mindset of the Israelites that God had forsaken his promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Moses was basically asking if God was wanting to start over in his relationship with the Israelites and form new covenants.  God emphatically states that he is to be known to his people as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, to remind them that those promises still stand, and will stand for eternity. It is helpful to remember God in terms of what he has done for you or your loved ones, which is why God instructs the people to remember him as the God of Abraham so they will remember the stories that have been passed down of God’s faithfulness to their ancestors.

 

We need to be reminded of the fact that God does not change his mind like we do.  God does not forget a promise. Just because things have changed in our lives and we are having doubts doesn’t mean that God is no longer the one who created the foundations of the earth.  If we have sinned, or walked away from God for a time, or had a traumatic event in our lives it doesn’t change the fact that God IS, and that the blood of Jesus can still cover our sins.

-Chris Mattison