Exodus 9 – “I Have Sinned This Time.”

The Fifth Plague – Diseased Livestock – Once again, God told Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him that the Lord God of the Hebrews said, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.” He was also to tell Pharaoh that if he refused to let them go and continued to hold them, that the Lord would have a very strong pestilence to come upon their cattle in the field, the donkeys, camels, oxen and the sheep. The Lord would differentiate between the livestock of Israel and the Egyptian livestock, so that none of the Israelites’ livestock would die from the diseases. Then He set the appointed time of “tomorrow” to bring this plague on the land. Obviously, Pharaoh didn’t let them go, because the next day all of the Egyptian livestock died, but none of the livestock of the Israelites died. Pharaoh sent (men to check), and just as God said it would happen, Egyptian livestock was dead and the livestock for the Israelites was still alive. As usual, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he didn’t let the people go.

The Sixth Plague – Boils – The Lord told Moses and Aaron to take handfuls of ashes from a furnace and Moses was to scatter the ashes toward heaven in front of Pharaoh. The ashes would become fine dust in all of Egypt and would cause boils to break out in sores on man and beast throughout Egypt. They did just as God had instructed them and the boils broke out just as God said. God is always true to His Word. Since all of the livestock died of disease earlier, I’m guessing the beasts were other animals in Egypt, perhaps wildlife. Verse 11 states that the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, since they were on them and all of the Egyptians. We learned in Exodus 8:18, that the magicians couldn’t bring forth lice. Since they are now mentioned in Verse 11 of Chapter 9, I wonder if they still tried to copy the plagues in between the lice and the boils, but were unsuccessful. The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and of course, he didn’t listen to them, just as God said.

Sidetrack – Since Moses could throw up ashes in front of Pharaoh and all of Egypt broke out in boils, I wondered about the size of Egypt. So, I googled. Egypt is 1.5 times bigger than Texas. I don’t know if it’s always been that big from Biblical times or not. However, this also shows God’s mighty power. Also, as I think about the Covid pandemic, the world was in a tailspin with all of the mass media coverage. I wonder how the Egyptians felt throughout the land with plague after plague coming upon them. They didn’t have mass communications then, so those throughout the land, especially those in remote areas, probably were clueless about the reason they were suffering from all of the plagues.

The Seventh Plague – Hail – God told Moses again to rise early the next morning and go tell Pharaoh that the Lord God of the Hebrews said, “Let My People go, that they may serve Me.” God’s message remains the same. Is there a message that God’s been sending to you and you haven’t been obedient yet? This time God said that He would send all His plagues to Pharaoh’s very heart, on his servants and on his people so that he would know that there is none like Him in all the earth. God also said that if He had stretched out His hand and struck Pharaoh and his people with pestilence, they would have been cut off from the earth, but He spared them so that He may show His power and that His name may be declared in all the earth. Since Pharaoh had exalted himself against God’s people and wouldn’t let them go, God said that tomorrow about that same time Moses was there with Pharaoh, He would cause very heavy hail to rain down on Egypt in such a manner never seen before since its founding. God (in His great mercy) sent them a warning that they should gather their livestock and all that was in the field and bring them home because the hail was going to fall on every man and animal. Any out in the field were going to die. So, now I wonder how much time passed from the diseased livestock (plague 5) and this 7th plague (new livestock?). Those who feared God among Pharaoh’s servants, had their servants and livestock flee to the houses. Those who did not regard the word of the Lord, left their servants and livestock in the fields. In almost every walk of life, there will be some obedient people and some disobedient people despite the warnings. The Lord told Moses to stretch out his hand toward heaven so that the hail would fall in Egypt on man, beast, and every herb of the field. So Moses stretched his rod toward heaven and God sent thunder, hail and fire darted to the ground in Egypt. The hail mingled with fire was so severe that nothing like it had ever been seen in Egypt since it became a nation. The hail struck throughout the land on all out in the fields – man, beasts, herbs and broke every tree. Only in Goshen, where the Israelites lived, there wasn’t any hail. Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time.” So, Pharaoh thinks that this is the only time he has sinned? This is the 7th plague and only now he thinks he has sinned. Anytime, we’re disobedient to God, we have sinned. Even partial obedience is still disobedience. Pharaoh also said, “The Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked.” Finally, Pharaoh made a true statement! He asked Moses to entreat the Lord to make the thunder and the hail stop. He said that it was enough and that he would let the people go. Moses told him that as soon as he leaves the city, that he would spread out his hands to the Lord and the thunder and hail would stop. Then he would know that the earth belongs to the Lord. Moses told Pharaoh that he knew that he and his servants still would not fear the Lord God. The flax and barley crops were struck by the hail because the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud, but the wheat and the spelt (a species of the wheat family, Google, of course) were not struck because they are late crops. Moses did what he said he would do when he was outside the city and the thunder and hail stopped. When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail and thunder stopped, he sinned even more and hardened his heart – not only him, but his servants too. Of course, he didn’t let the children of Israel go, just as the Lord told Moses.

To God Be The Glory!

The next stop is Exodus 10.

The Lord told Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him again that He said, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.” Has God ever sent you the same message over and over again, that you have ignored? If Pharaoh refused to let them go then God would smite all the territory with frogs. Frogs would come out of the river in abundance and go into all of their houses (servants included), into their bedrooms, beds, ovens and kneading bowls. God told Moses to tell Aaron to stretch out his hand with his rod over the streams, rivers and ponds to cause frogs to come upon the land of Egypt (Second Plague) . So, obviously Pharaoh refused to let the people go because Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt and the frogs came and covered the land. The magicians did the same with their tricks and brought up frogs on the land as well. They made the problem worse! You would think Pharaoh would be upset with the magicians. Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron to ask the Lord to take away the frogs from him and the Egyptians and he would let the people go so that they may sacrifice to Him. Moses gave Pharaoh the honor of choosing when he would intercede on his behalf and on the behalf of the people to destroy the frogs from their houses, so that the frogs remained only in the river. Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow.” What?! Frogs here, frogs there, frogs, frogs, everywhere and Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow”? Why not right at that moment? Moses agreed and said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.” He said that the frogs would depart from them and their houses. They would remain in the river only. Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh. Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs that He brought upon Pharaoh. God honored Moses prayer and the frogs died out of the houses, courtyards and fields. They gathered them in heaps and the land stank. The land just finished stinking because of the bloody waters and now it’s stinking because of the dead frogs. When Pharaoh saw the relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen, just as the Lord said.

The Third Plague – God told Moses to tell Aaron to stretch out his rod and strike the dust of the land, so that it would become lice throughout the land. The magicians tried to bring forth lice, but they could not. Since the magicians just made matters worse, God in His mercy did not allow them to bring forth lice. Lice was on man and beast. The magicians told Pharaoh that this was the “finger of God.” Pharaoh’s heart grew harder and again, he did not listen.

The Fourth Plague – The Lord told Moses to get up early the next morning and meet Pharaoh as he came out to the water. Moses was to tell Pharaoh again that the Lord said, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.” This time if he didn’t let them go, God was going to send swarms of flies on Pharaoh, his servants, his people and into their houses. The Egyptians’ houses would be full of swarms of flies and also on the ground on which they stood. The Lord said that in that day, He would set apart the land of Goshen, where His people lived, so that no swarms of flies would go there. This would be so that Pharaoh would know that He is the Lord in the midst of the land. So now, why is the distinction made regarding the land of Goshen when it came to the plague of the swarms of flies? So, I googled. One source indicated that since swarms of flies could travel anywhere, God wanted Pharaoh to know that He could control where the flies went. The bloody waters, the frogs and the lice were readily contained, but for Pharaoh to see that flies were contained so that the swarms could not go to Goshen, Pharaoh would have to know that only the Lord is that powerful. God said that He would make a difference between His people and Pharaoh’s people. The flies came the next day. I noticed that Aaron was not told to use his rod for the swarms of flies. The Lord did just as He said and swarms of flies were throughout Egypt and the land was spoiled because of them. Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and told them to go and sacrifice in the land (meaning, the land of Goshen, not allowing them to leave to go into the wilderness as God commanded). Pharaoh’s heart was very hardened to think he could modify what God had ordained His people to do. Have you or anyone you know tried to modify what God said, to satisfy yourself or someone else rather than God? Moses said it wouldn’t be right for them to sacrifice in the land because the Egyptians detested their sacrifices to the Lord and they would even stone them for doing so. He said that they needed to go three days’ journey into the wilderness to sacrifice as the Lord commanded. Pharaoh said that he would let the people go to sacrifice to God in the wilderness, but they shouldn’t go very far away. Pharaoh still isn’t getting it, that God is in control. Pharaoh again asked Moses to intercede for him. Moses agreed to entreat the Lord so that the swarms of flies would depart on the next day (tomorrow). When Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow” for the frogs, that seemed to set the precedent. He told Pharaoh not to deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to God. Moses left Pharaoh. When he prayed, God removed the swarms of flies from the land of Egypt. Not one remained. Pharaoh, once again, hardened his heart and would not let the people go.

Next Stop? Exodus 9

To God Be The Glory!

Scripture for March 26th

Exodus 23:26 – No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. (NKJV)

God told Moses that he will see what He will do to Pharaoh, king of Egypt. . God said that Pharaoh will let the people go and he will drive them out of the land with a strong hand. One Google source said that “with a strong hand” means under compulsion. So, Pharaoh will let the people go and drive them out under compulsion, God’s compulsion; God’s mighty hand. I realize that this is somewhat different in context, but have you ever felt compelled by God to do something? God said to Moses, “I am the Lord.” He said that He appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty, but they did not know Him by His name Lord. So, I wondered about the distinction in the names for God. Yes, I googled. God Almighty is El Shaddai which means “The God Who Is More Than Enough.” Most commentaries refer to “Lord” as Jehovah and the meaning of “one having power and authority over others.” Then there are many commentaries that speculate on the part of Verse 3 that states “…but by My name Lord I was not known to them.” The reason is in Genesis 15:6-8, “Lord” is used in the conversation between God and Abram. So, for the sake of not causing any confusion, I will not comment on all of the different opinions. God tells Moses how He established His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to give them the land of Canaan, in which they were strangers. Because God heard the groans of the children of Israel under Egyptian bondage, He remembered His covenant. So, God told Moses to tell the children of Israel that He is the Lord; He will bring them out of Egyptian bondage and that He would redeem them with an outstretched arm and great judgments. He said that He would take them as His people and He will be their God. Then they will know that He is the Lord their God who brought them out of Egyptian bondage. God promised to take them to the land He swore to their forefathers and it will be a heritage to them. Then He says again, “I am the Lord.”

Moses told the children of Israel all that God had said, but they did not want to hear it because of all of the anguish of spirit and cruel bondage. This seems like it would be the most likely reaction even in today’s world.

God told Moses to go tell Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go. Moses told God that the people would not listen so, why would Pharaoh listen, since he is of uncircumcised lips. Here Moses goes again using his inability to speak well as an excuse. This is typical human nature where we may use the same old excuses to try not to carry out a task. God gave Moses and Aaron a command for the children of Israel and Pharaoh to take the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. God completely ignored Moses.

Verses 14 through 25 give the lineage of Moses and Aaron.

Reuben (Israel’s first born son) – His sons were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi.

Simeon (Israel’s second born son) – His sons were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar and Shaul (the son of a Canaanite woman)

Levi – (Israel’s third born son) – His sons were Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Levi lived to be 137 years old.

Gershon’s sons were Libni and Shimi

Kohath’s sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, Uzziel. Kohath lived to be 133 years old.

Merari’s sons were Mahli and Mushi.

Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon. She gave birth to Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

Korah’s sons were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These are the Korahites.

Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel and she gave birth to Phinehas.

Verse 26 specifies that this is the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord spoke telling them to bring the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies. Verse 27 also specifies that these are the same Moses and Aaron who told Pharaoh to let the people leave Egypt. This sounds like God doesn’t want it to get twisted, that it’s not any other Aaron and Moses, but these two. They were specifically called by God for His purpose.

It so happened that on the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, again He said “I am the Lord.” He told Moses that they should say all that He has told them to say to Pharaoh. Again, Moses said that he was an unskilled speaker and why would Pharaoh listen to him. Moses is still using the same old excuses. God already ignored him previously, so he hasn’t learned yet.

Our next stop is Exodus 7.

To God Be The Glory!

Scripture Dates

Genesis 3:12 – Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

Moses and Aaron went and told Pharaoh that the Lord God of Israel said, “Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.” Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.” Pharaoh is being mighty cocky! Do you know anyone that brazen when it comes to their attitude about God? When Pharaoh said, “I do not know the Lord….” he was 100 percent correct! They told Pharaoh that the God of the Hebrews met with them. They asked for him to let them go three days’ journey in the desert so they could sacrifice to the Lord or He might cause pestilence or the sword to come upon them. This seems to be a hint of things to come. Pharaoh didn’t consider that if God would cause pestilence or the sword to be upon His people, that he (Pharaoh) too, could be punished for not letting them go. The king of Egypt accused Moses and Aaron of taking the people away from their labor and told them to get back to work. Pharaoh saw that there were a lot of people and they were being idle. He told the taskmasters and their officers not to give the people straw to make brick, but to make them get the straw for themselves. They were to still meet their same daily quotas. The taskmasters were not to reduce the quotas at all. Pharaoh seems to be mocking the people by saying they are idle in crying out to go sacrifice to God. Pharaoh said to put more work on the men and make them labor in it. He also said in so many words that Moses and Aaron were lying. So the taskmasters and their officers did what Pharaoh said and told the people that they were not going to give them straw. They were to get the straw wherever they could find it and the workload would not be reduced. The people scattered throughout Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. The taskmasters told them to hurry and meet their daily quota as when there was straw. The taskmasters would beat the officers of the children of Israel asking them “Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?” One Google source explained that the taskmasters were Egyptians appointed by Pharaoh and the officers were Israelites chosen to be over their own people. The officers of the children of Israel went to Pharaoh and cried out asking, “Why are you dealing thus with your servants?” They explained that no straw is given to them, yet the taskmasters say, “Make brick! They said that they are beaten, but the fault lies with Pharaoh’s people. Pharaoh’s response was that they were extremely idle and that’s why they wanted to go and sacrifice to the Lord. Pharaoh told them to get back to work and no straw would be given to them, yet they still were expected to make the brick quota. The officers realized that they were in trouble when they were told that they couldn’t reduce any bricks from their daily quota. Have you ever been on a job that really kept you busy within itself and then you were given a special project to complete by a certain deadline while still doing your regular tasks and meeting those deadlines? I guess this where we get the saying of being worked like a Hebrew slave. How about, having a problem that you’ve prayed about and when God stepped in, the situation got a lot worse before it got better? How did you feel about that? Did you continue to trust God?

The officers of the children of Israel left Pharaoh and met with Moses and Aaron who were waiting for them. They said to Moses and Aaron, “Let the Lord look on you and judge…” They said that they were now detestable in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, so much so that they put a sword in his hand to kill them. Basically, they were saying that the Egyptians would oppress them even more now, possibly to the point of death.

Moses went back to the Lord and asked Him why did He bring this trouble on the people. He asked God, “Why is it You have sent me?” Moses told God that since he went to Pharaoh in His name, he has done evil to the people. He told God that He has not delivered His people at all. How quickly Moses forgot! God already told him that Pharaoh was not going to let them go initially.

We’re off to Exodus 6 next week.

To God Be The Glory!

Scriptures for March 5th

Genesis 3:5 – For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (NKJV)

After God told Moses in Exodus 3 that the Israelites would believe him, he said to God in the beginning of Exodus 4, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.'” God asked Moses about the object in his hand. Moses told Him that it was a rod. God told Moses to throw the rod down on the ground. So he did, and it became a serpent and Moses quickly jumped back away from it (like the majority of us would have done). God told Moses to reach out and grab the serpent by the tail and when he did, the serpent once again, became a rod. Would you have been brave enough to pick up the serpent by the tail, especially at God’s direction? Is there something that God is telling you to do and you have not done it yet because you are too afraid? This was the first sign to make the people believe that the Lord God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob appeared to Moses. God told Moses to put his hand inside his shirt and he did so. When he removed his hand, it was leprous, like snow. God told him to put the hand back inside his shirt and again he did so. When he removed it this time, his hand was restored to normal like his other flesh. God gave him the second sign so if they didn’t believe the first one, then they might believe the second one. Then God said that if they don’t believe those two signs, He told Moses to take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water will become blood on the dry land. Of course, these signs are for Moses, because God already knew what was going to happen. Actually, Moses knew too because God already told him.

Moses then said to the Lord that he couldn’t speak well; that he was slow of speech. Excuses, excuses – Moses’ speech problem didn’t seem to be an issue when he was getting involved in other people’s business in Exodus 2. God asked Moses, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord?” God told Moses to go therefore, and that He would be with his mouth and teach him what he should say. This still wasn’t enough for Moses because he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.” Really, Moses? Have you ever passed up a God-given opportunity because of fear? God got angry with Moses and said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well.” God told Moses to look because Aaron was coming out to meet him and he was going to be happy to see him. God instructed Moses to tell Aaron everything and that He would be with his mouth and with Aaron’s mouth. Aaron would be Moses’ spokesman to the people and Moses would be as God speaking directly to him. Moses was instructed to take the rod to use to do the signs.

Moses goes to his father-in-law, Jethro, and requests permission to go back to Egypt to check on his brethren there to see if they are still alive. Jethro tells him to “Go in peace.” While Moses is still in Midian, God tells him to return to Egypt because all the men who wanted to kill him are dead. Moses put his wife and sons on a donkey and returned to Egypt with the rod of God in his hand. God told Moses to do all of the wonders He showed him in front of Pharaoh when he gets back to Egypt. However, God told him that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not let the people go. God told Moses to tell Pharaoh, “Israel is My son, My firstborn.” So, what is God saying here? Yes, I googled. Many sources said that this is referring to Israel as a nation being adopted by God as His “chosen people”. This has no reflection on the fact that Jesus is God’s firstborn as referenced in Hebrews 1:6 . Jesus and Israel are firstborns in different senses of the word. Another source stated that this was language that Pharaoh would understand in regards to how dear Israel was to God. Moses was to also tell Pharaoh that if he would not let Israel go so that they could serve God, He would kill his (Pharaoh’s) firstborn.

In Verse 24, on the way to Egypt, when they had set up camp, God sought to kill Moses because he did not keep the covenant of circumcising his son. Some Google sources state that Moses may not have circumcised his son due to a dispute with his Midian wife, Zipporah. When Zipporah saw that God was going to kill Moses because of the matter, she took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and threw it at Moses’ feet saying “Surely you are a husband of blood to me!” God let Moses live. Zipporah repeated to Moses, “You are a husband of blood!” – because of the circumcision. Zipporah definitely was not happy about having her son circumcised, but had to do it to spare Moses life from God’s wrath.

God told Aaron to go into the wilderness to meet Moses. He obediently went and met him on the mountain of God and greeted him with a kiss. Verse 27 appears to be the mandate for Aaron to go meet Moses which actually occurred in Verse 14. We first see the meeting of Moses and Aaron, then Moses’ actions after the meeting. In Verse 27, we see how God orchestrated it all. Knowing that Moses was going to have excuse after excuse not to do as commanded, God already prepared Aaron to be on the way. For example, in a movie, we may see the major car pile-up accident at the beginning, then we see each person’s story line that caused them to be in the place of the accident at that appointed time. Verse 28, in which Moses tells Aaron all that God has told and shown him, is the fulfillment of Verse 15.

Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered all the elders of the children of Israel together. Aaron spoke the words to them, that God spoke to Moses and demonstrated the signs in front of the people. The people believed. When they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel and looked upon their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.

Do you know the task or purpose God has appointed for you? If so, how far along are you in doing what God has commanded you to do? Are you saying, “Lord, give me a sign”?

https://youtu.be/U8U_gR58eJU (Lord, Give Me A Sign by DMX)

Or, are you trusting God and fulfilling the call on your life?

We are off to Exodus 5 next week.

To God Be the Glory!

Scripture Date – February 26th

Genesis 32:26 – And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” (NKJV)

Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the back of the desert and ended up at Horeb, the mountain of God. The Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. He looked and saw that the bush was burning, but it was not being consumed. Moses’ curiosity got the best of him and he decided to go towards the bush to see why it was not consumed by the fire. From what we’ve seen of Moses’ character in Exodus 2, we can’t be surprised that he went to check out the burning bush. However, a bush on fire, but not being consumed would have peaked the curiosity of most of us. When the Lord saw that Moses was curious about the burning bush, God called him by name from the midst of the bush. Moses answered, “Here I am.” Verse two says it was the Angel of the Lord whereas Verse four says “God”. So, I googled. Some sources say it was an Angel speaking on God’s behalf and others say that it was God, Himself. The subsequent Bible verses say “the Lord” or “God”. The bottom line is that only God could cause an intense fire of a bush and the bush isn’t destroyed by the fire. God told him not to come any closer and to take off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. Then God told Moses that He is the God of his father – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look upon God. God acknowledged to Moses that He saw the oppression of the Hebrews and that He heard their cry because of the Egyptian taskmasters. God said that He knew their sorrows. God told Moses that He came down to deliver the Hebrews out of the hand of the Egyptians and to take them to the land flowing with milk and honey. He was taking them to the land of the “ites” as I call them – the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.

God repeats that He heard the cry of the children of Israel and that He has seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them. God tells Moses that He is sending him to Pharaoh so that he can bring His people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. Moses says to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” Has God ever given you a task (calling on your life) that you didn’t feel qualified to do? God promised to be with Moses. The sign to Moses that God sent him will be that when he has brought the people out of Egypt, he would serve God on that very mountain. Moses was to tell the people “The God of your fathers has sent me to you.” Then Moses asked God what was he to tell the children of Israel when they ask him, “What is His name?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” God told Moses to tell the children of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.” He elaborated even more by saying, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord 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, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ Moses was instructed to go and gather the elders of Israel together and tell them that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob appeared to him, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt.” Moses was also to tell them that God will bring them out of the affliction of Egypt to the land flowing with milk and honey, the land of the “ites”. Then the elders would heed to what Moses said. Afterwards Moses and the elders of Israel should go to the king of Egypt and tell him that the Lord God of the Hebrews met with them and they should ask for permission to go three days’ journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to Him. God told Moses that the king of Egypt would not let them go, not even by a mighty hand. Then God said that He would stretch out His hand and strike Egypt with all His wonders in its midst; after that the king would let them go. God also promised to give the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians so that when they left, they would not be leaving empty-handed. Every woman was to ask of her neighbor for articles of silver, gold and clothing. They should put them on their sons and daughters. They were to plunder the Egyptians. God basically told Moses what was going to happen. Sometimes God reveals to us what the outcome of the charge He has given us will be and sometimes we have to just go in faith knowing God is with us. Are you willing to still go and trust God when He reveals that you will face opposition in fulfilling His call on your life?

We’re stopping at Exodus 4 next.

To God Be The Glory!

Scripture Date – February 19th

Genesis 2:19 – Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.

A man of the house of Levi, married a daughter of Levi. Levi is the third son of Jacob and Leah. These two members of the house of Levi are very closely blood related, which we will discover as we continue our journey. The woman had a baby boy. When she saw that he was a beautiful child she hid him for three months. In Exodus 1, we learned that the king wanted the baby boys killed when they were born. Also, keep in mind that the houses in the Biblical days were not like our houses (big or small) now. So, she was more than likely hiding him in plain sight somehow. When the mother could no longer hide her son, she made a water-proof “baby carrier” of bulrushes daubed with asphalt and pitch. She put the baby in it and laid it in the reeds by the bank of the river. The baby’s older sister stood afar off to see what would become of him.

Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the river to bathe. Her maidens walked along the riverside and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent a maid to get it. When she opened the ark, she saw the child and he began to cry. Pharaoh’s daughter had compassion on him as she realized that he was one of the Hebrew’s children. The baby’s sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter if she should get a nurse for him from the Hebrew women so that she may nurse the child for her. Pharaoh’s daughter told her to do so and the sister went and got the baby’s mother. The mother was told to take the child and nurse him and she would get paid for it. So the woman took the child and nursed him. Wow! Look at God! Not only was the baby hidden for three months, but now the baby’s mother is being paid to nurse her own child! Has God ever turned a situation that seemed very dismal in your life around so much so that all you could say is “Wow, look at God!”? The child grew and the mother took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son (Biblical adoption). She named him Moses, because she said that she drew him out of the water. Obviously, Pharaoh must have been fine with this “adoption”.

One day after Moses was grown he went out and looked at the burdens his brethren bore. This indicates that Moses knew he was adopted and was, in fact, a Hebrew. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. When Moses figured nobody could see him, he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. So, not minding his business, Moses has now become a murderer and tried to cover up the crime. When Moses went out on the second day, he saw two Hebrew men fighting. Not minding his own business again, Moses asked the one who started the fight why he was hitting the other man. The man responded asking “Who made you prince and judge over us?” Then he asked Moses if he was going to kill him like he killed the Egyptian. So, Moses was afraid as he realized that he didn’t get away with murder after all. When Pharaoh heard about it, he sought to kill Moses. I’m guessing this is still Moses’ adoptive grandfather since he still appears to be living in royalty. So, Moses fled to the land of Midian and sat down by a well. Now Moses is a fugitive. Sometimes intervening in a situation that probably should not be your concern, can be beneficial to you and the parties involved, especially if someone is being abused. However, oftentimes, minding your own business could be the best route to take, especially when you were not asked to intervene.

The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water from the well to water their father’s flock. Shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses intervened on their behalf and helped them. He watered their flock. When his daughters got back earlier than usual, their father, Reuel, questioned them. They told him that an Egyptian delivered them from the hands of the shepherds and he also drew water for the flock. So he asked where the man was and why did they leave him. He told them to get him, so that they may eat together. Moses was content to live with them and Reuel gave his daughter, Zipporah, to be his wife. This was a profitable intervention for Moses. Moses and Zipporah has a son whom they named Gershom, because Moses said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”

As time went on, the king of Egypt died. The children of Israel groaned because of their bondage and cried. God heard their cries because of the bondage and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God looked upon the children of Israel and acknowledged them. Have you ever cried out to God and He heard and acknowledged your cries because of your distress?

Our next stop is Exodus 3.

To God Be The Glory!

Scripture Date – February 12th

Genesis 2:12 – And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there.

Exodus 1 starts out listing the names of Israel’s eleven sons that traveled with him to Egypt. Eleven sons are listed because Joseph was already in Egypt. There were seventy persons who were Jacob’s direct descendants. Eventually, Joseph, his brothers and all of that generation died. However, the children of Israel were being fruitful and multiplying abundantly. They were growing mightily and the land was filled with them.

Egypt had a new king who did not know Joseph. Even though this king didn’t know Joseph personally, one would think that he would have known of Joseph and the history of God using him to save the land of Egypt and surrounding regions during the severe famine. Even if that part of history wasn’t passed down through the generations, this new king must have been informed about how the children of Israel came to be in Egypt. Maybe, rather than saying, “How Quickly They Forgot”, it should be “How Quickly They Ignored”. I can imagine also, that the children of Israel also passed along the history throughout their generations of how they ended up in Egypt. Preserving history as far as keeping a record of the events is important. However, all aspects of history and all those a part of it, should not be honored, especially the negative aspects. Is there any aspect of your family history that has been passed down throughout the generations? Are there family issues that have occurred in the past that “everybody” knows about, but they are kept “hush hush”? One part of history that we should never forget or ignore, is the Birth, Life, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Forgetting or ignoring this important part of history will lead to eternal damnation! The king noticed that the children of Israel were becoming numerous and mightier than the Egyptians. He suggested to his people that they deal shrewdly with the children of Israel because they will continue to multiply and in the event of war, they may join Egypt’s enemies, fight against them and depart from the land. Have you ever been the object of someone’s plan to destroy you because of God’s blessings in your life and they consider you to be a perceived threat? Well, if you are a Born Again Christian, the answer is “YES”! Satan is always planning and plotting to destroy you! Taskmasters were set over the children of Israel to afflict them with heavy burdens and they built the storage cities of Pithom and Raamses. The more they were afflicted, the more they reproduced and grew. The Egyptians were in dread of the children of Israel. Has God ever repeatedly blessed you despite all of the enemies attacks? The Egyptians continually made the lives of the children of Israel bitter with hard labor in making mortar, brick and working in the field. They made the children of Israel work rigorously.

The king of Egypt told two Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to kill the babies if they were males, but if they were females, to let them live. The midwives feared God and did not do as they were commanded and they let the baby boys live. Who would you rather obey – God or man? The king called the midwives before him and asked why were they being disobedient and letting the boy babies live. The midwives claimed that the Hebrew women were different from the Egyptian women in childbirth. They said that the Hebrew women were more lively and gave birth before they got to them. God dealt with well the midwives and the people continued to grow and become mighty. Because the midwives feared God, He blessed them with households. The Jewish Women’s Archive (https://jwa.org) states that these midwives were Hebrews because their names are Jewish names rather than Egyptian names. Since the nation was growing so rapidly, there must have been more than two midwives. The Jewish Women’s Archive states that these two women may have been singled out because they feared God and they may have also been the midwives for the king’s harems. This would also explain how they could compare the Hebrew women to the Egyptian women in childbirth in a believable manner to the king. Then the king said for every son who was born to be thrown into the river, but every daughter should be kept alive.

Our next stop is Exodus 2.

To God Be The Glory!

Scripture Date – February 5th

Genesis 2:5 – before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground;