Bible Gateway link Chapter 14
Verse 14 reads, "the LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."
I think we all have a story that can show a time where the Lord will fight for you! I spent ten years banging my head trying to climb the corporate ladder. I took the classes, made the luncheons, and played the game well. For all of my trying there always seemed to be a stumbling block. I never did make it to the top of the ladder, I was well on the way, and was fairly sure I was playing the game well enough to win. For no good reason, I ditched it all and moved to Austin. Even now I could not tell you exactly what I had on my mind, other than it "seemed like a good idea" My wife will tell you that I went crazy for a short period of time! Looking at where I am now, there is little doubt that the Lord gave me one of those gentle shoves that change the direction of your life forever. He had the answer, and it was not even a question I was asking at the time. Had that unexplained change of heart not happened I would not be writing this to you today. There is little doubt that I would still be stuck in the same rut banging my head against the same wall, so sure that I was on the right track. The Lord is always fighting for us, we need to talk less, and be silent more!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Exodus 13
Bible Gateway link Chapter 13
This was not two different pillars, but one and the same. smoke by day, and fiery at night. Anyone that had seen fire during the day knows that the smoke can be so dense as to obscure the flames, while at night the flame comes through the smoke very clearly. The reason that I point out it is one and the same is because God never left them in the wilderness. He was with them at all times. God has always been with his people, just as he is with us today....everyday.
Yes I think we can all say that we might feel like we are wandering lost sometimes, and we all would love to have something as visible as a column of smoke out in front of us to show us the path! There are days that it might seem as we are in utter darkness, but take heart we are not. The Lord has replace the column of fiery smoke with the Holy spirit, it dwells in each of us, and guides us daily. As it reads in John 14: 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Peace,
Brian
This was not two different pillars, but one and the same. smoke by day, and fiery at night. Anyone that had seen fire during the day knows that the smoke can be so dense as to obscure the flames, while at night the flame comes through the smoke very clearly. The reason that I point out it is one and the same is because God never left them in the wilderness. He was with them at all times. God has always been with his people, just as he is with us today....everyday.
Yes I think we can all say that we might feel like we are wandering lost sometimes, and we all would love to have something as visible as a column of smoke out in front of us to show us the path! There are days that it might seem as we are in utter darkness, but take heart we are not. The Lord has replace the column of fiery smoke with the Holy spirit, it dwells in each of us, and guides us daily. As it reads in John 14: 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Peace,
Brian
Exodus 12
Bible Gateway link Chapter 12
There are many things that symbolize Christ. Here are the two that stand out for me. Let's just start with the Lamb itself. Christ is often referred to as the Lamb of God in the New Testament. Then of course the condition of the lamb. Not a blemish, spotless. I do not know if you have ever searched for a lamb that is spotless, but since reading the Bible, it is something I look for every time I am around a herd. (yes, I am a little bit of a redneck, so I see cattle, goats, sheep, and horses more often than others). It is hard to come by an animal without a blemish.....but every now and then one comes along.....Christ is our lamb without a blemish, he was spotless of sin, something that none of us will ever attain, and when reflecting on Christ as a spotless lamb it paints a clear picture of just how precious, unique, and perfect Christ is. Then we have the command that the lamb be a year old, and male. Well the male is obvious, but the lamb being a year shows that God did not want a young lamb, he wanted a lamb at it's best. Here again like Christ. Christ was sacrificed in the prime of his life, not as a child, not as a man in his twilight years, but as a man at his prime, just like a year old lamb.
Of course the blood of the lamb will deliver the Israelites form the angel of death, just as the blood of the lamb which is Jesus Christ will deliver us from our sins. The blood was to be sprinkled on to the sides and the top of the door. This would be the outward sign for the angel of death to pass over the house. This also to me indicates how we should live our lives in Christ. Our actions and our habits should be our outwards sign of our faith in the blood of Christ. I think this is one of the biggest challenges we face in our daily lives. It is easy to love the Lord on the inside, but letting it shine is the challenge! I like the way Henry puts it in his commentary "there is a back way to hell, but no back way into heaven." We have to go through the front gates, and it is my prayer that we will be identified a mile away by our actions!
Just as the Lord said in verse 13 "And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you" may we all find a way in our life to model our outward sign of Christ.
Peace,
Brian
There are many things that symbolize Christ. Here are the two that stand out for me. Let's just start with the Lamb itself. Christ is often referred to as the Lamb of God in the New Testament. Then of course the condition of the lamb. Not a blemish, spotless. I do not know if you have ever searched for a lamb that is spotless, but since reading the Bible, it is something I look for every time I am around a herd. (yes, I am a little bit of a redneck, so I see cattle, goats, sheep, and horses more often than others). It is hard to come by an animal without a blemish.....but every now and then one comes along.....Christ is our lamb without a blemish, he was spotless of sin, something that none of us will ever attain, and when reflecting on Christ as a spotless lamb it paints a clear picture of just how precious, unique, and perfect Christ is. Then we have the command that the lamb be a year old, and male. Well the male is obvious, but the lamb being a year shows that God did not want a young lamb, he wanted a lamb at it's best. Here again like Christ. Christ was sacrificed in the prime of his life, not as a child, not as a man in his twilight years, but as a man at his prime, just like a year old lamb.
Of course the blood of the lamb will deliver the Israelites form the angel of death, just as the blood of the lamb which is Jesus Christ will deliver us from our sins. The blood was to be sprinkled on to the sides and the top of the door. This would be the outward sign for the angel of death to pass over the house. This also to me indicates how we should live our lives in Christ. Our actions and our habits should be our outwards sign of our faith in the blood of Christ. I think this is one of the biggest challenges we face in our daily lives. It is easy to love the Lord on the inside, but letting it shine is the challenge! I like the way Henry puts it in his commentary "there is a back way to hell, but no back way into heaven." We have to go through the front gates, and it is my prayer that we will be identified a mile away by our actions!
Just as the Lord said in verse 13 "And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you" may we all find a way in our life to model our outward sign of Christ.
Peace,
Brian
Exodus 11
Bible Gateway link Chapter 11
The Lord is going to kill the first born of the land of Egypt. This plague will not go away, or will it be taken back. This one is for "keeps". AS I have said before hard hearts take require hard signs. God has given Pharaoh nine opportunities to bend, but Pharaoh's heart has remained hard. Each plague has been a little worse than the last. At this point there is nothing left to impact. Crops, animals, water, light, comfort. It has all been taken away, but this last show of God's might will be the striking blow. The Lord knows this of course and informs Moses that not only will Pharaoh let you go, but when I am done, Pharaoh is going to drive you away for good.
The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. The first born will be killed. THE FIRST BORN. think about that, every house has at least one first born, but what happened if the Father and Mother of the house were first born from there house? No matter, once the Lord was done, there would be a lot of death in the land of Egypt. Here again though I think this shows the Lord even at the height of his impatience (if I can use that term) He still shows compassion. yes there is relevance to the first born being killed, and I will get it to that over the next couple of days (well Monday, I am out for a few days), my point right now still is that the Lord did not kill everyone. HE could have, but he did not.
Pharaoh's heart might have remained hard, but his people's hearts were changing. the Israelites were finding favor among the Egyptians. I have to say, it just goes to show you, the everyday people usually get it well before the people in power do........HUMmmmm I guess some things never change.
Peace,
Brian
The Lord is going to kill the first born of the land of Egypt. This plague will not go away, or will it be taken back. This one is for "keeps". AS I have said before hard hearts take require hard signs. God has given Pharaoh nine opportunities to bend, but Pharaoh's heart has remained hard. Each plague has been a little worse than the last. At this point there is nothing left to impact. Crops, animals, water, light, comfort. It has all been taken away, but this last show of God's might will be the striking blow. The Lord knows this of course and informs Moses that not only will Pharaoh let you go, but when I am done, Pharaoh is going to drive you away for good.
The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. The first born will be killed. THE FIRST BORN. think about that, every house has at least one first born, but what happened if the Father and Mother of the house were first born from there house? No matter, once the Lord was done, there would be a lot of death in the land of Egypt. Here again though I think this shows the Lord even at the height of his impatience (if I can use that term) He still shows compassion. yes there is relevance to the first born being killed, and I will get it to that over the next couple of days (well Monday, I am out for a few days), my point right now still is that the Lord did not kill everyone. HE could have, but he did not.
Pharaoh's heart might have remained hard, but his people's hearts were changing. the Israelites were finding favor among the Egyptians. I have to say, it just goes to show you, the everyday people usually get it well before the people in power do........HUMmmmm I guess some things never change.
Peace,
Brian
Exodus 10
Bible Gateway link Chapter 10
Goshen had light....without God = nothing with God = everything.
This chapter can be summed up by saying, glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth.
The Lord finally just lays it on the table for Pharaoh in verse three "how long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?" more to the point when will you realize that even the highest earthly kings will have to humble themselves to the Lord? God does not care about our position in life, we are all the same....equal in the eyes of God. To borrow a line from Bob Dylan "you're gonna have to serve somebody" No matter your station in life you choose daily just who you will serve. That answer is often decide by how willing you are to humble yourself before God.
In Pharaoh we see the typical man drunk with power. He is not just letting his world crash around him. Pharaoh is letting his city fall to ruin over his foolish pride. Even with his advisors begging, his pride will not allow him to submit.....poor Pharaoh, he still thinks he might be in control! It is no surprise that while Egypt is in darkness, Goshen is in light. Egypt lost its fields, and it's livestock, yet Goshen still has theirs. It is quite easy to see that with God in your life everything is available. The Israelites, even though they are slaves to the Pharaoh, have a better life than Egypt. No matter your station in life, with God your life is complete, without him, you have nothing.
As you read through these plagues it is important to recognize the magnitude of them. It is not just a hail storm, it is hail larger than had ever been seen, it was not a swarm of flies, or locusts; it turned the sky dark, it covered the face of the land. The one that drives it home for me is the darkness, darkness that can be felt, pitch darkness. Have you ever found yourself in that type of darkness? I was in a cavern once, the lights were turned off while we were deep in the earth. It was pitch dark. You could not see your hand if it was an inch in front of your face. I could not imagine living in that for three days. I was in it for less than 3 min. and that was well long enough. Despair, loneliness, fear, a general feeling of being totally lost, with no hope. Those are the feelings of the Godless. That is the feeling of being in pitch darkness. Those emotions sum up the spiritual state of Pharaoh. Pride can hold many feelings at bay, it can also destroy you a little bit each day, until one day you wake up and see Pharaoh in the mirror. We all bend a knee to God for one reason or another, it is my hope that we all do it for His glory, in our humbleness is where we find His strength.
Peace,
Brian
Goshen had light....without God = nothing with God = everything.
This chapter can be summed up by saying, glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth.
The Lord finally just lays it on the table for Pharaoh in verse three "how long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?" more to the point when will you realize that even the highest earthly kings will have to humble themselves to the Lord? God does not care about our position in life, we are all the same....equal in the eyes of God. To borrow a line from Bob Dylan "you're gonna have to serve somebody" No matter your station in life you choose daily just who you will serve. That answer is often decide by how willing you are to humble yourself before God.
In Pharaoh we see the typical man drunk with power. He is not just letting his world crash around him. Pharaoh is letting his city fall to ruin over his foolish pride. Even with his advisors begging, his pride will not allow him to submit.....poor Pharaoh, he still thinks he might be in control! It is no surprise that while Egypt is in darkness, Goshen is in light. Egypt lost its fields, and it's livestock, yet Goshen still has theirs. It is quite easy to see that with God in your life everything is available. The Israelites, even though they are slaves to the Pharaoh, have a better life than Egypt. No matter your station in life, with God your life is complete, without him, you have nothing.
As you read through these plagues it is important to recognize the magnitude of them. It is not just a hail storm, it is hail larger than had ever been seen, it was not a swarm of flies, or locusts; it turned the sky dark, it covered the face of the land. The one that drives it home for me is the darkness, darkness that can be felt, pitch darkness. Have you ever found yourself in that type of darkness? I was in a cavern once, the lights were turned off while we were deep in the earth. It was pitch dark. You could not see your hand if it was an inch in front of your face. I could not imagine living in that for three days. I was in it for less than 3 min. and that was well long enough. Despair, loneliness, fear, a general feeling of being totally lost, with no hope. Those are the feelings of the Godless. That is the feeling of being in pitch darkness. Those emotions sum up the spiritual state of Pharaoh. Pride can hold many feelings at bay, it can also destroy you a little bit each day, until one day you wake up and see Pharaoh in the mirror. We all bend a knee to God for one reason or another, it is my hope that we all do it for His glory, in our humbleness is where we find His strength.
Peace,
Brian
Exodus 9
Bible Gateway link Chapter 9
For what reason did God say he allowed the Pharaoh and the Egyptians to remain?
God allowed the Egyptians to remain so that they might witness his power, and recognize God as the supreme all powerful God. God allowed them to live so that he might be glorified. If you remember, this is really how the whole showdown with Pharaoh started. God, through Moses and Aaron, instructed Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out and worship Him. In short he was saying let my people come glorify me, and all will be right with the world. However Pharaoh's heart was hardened, so God sent the plagues.
Now the plagues are often used by people to show an example of the wrath of God. People use it to show how God was a spiteful, and vengeful God. I think that mind set falls well short of the mark. Pharaoh's heart was hardened, the text reads that God hardened his heart in some verses, in others it simply says his heart hardened, and in verse 34 of this chapter it reads that he sinned and again hardened his heart. There lies the root of the problem. Did God harden Pharaoh's heart, or did he simply allow it allow it? I believe the question here is moot, for in the end verse 34 sums it up, Pharaoh sinned again and hardened his heart. One thing gets overlooked often in this story......freewill. Does God not allow our hearts to become hardened? If you think about it, we can all come up with a time that our hearts have hardened against something or someone. It is our choice how we deal with that. Just as it was Pharaoh's choice how to handle his hardship. Since the beginning of time, God has never removed a persons free will from them. The text does not read that God made Pharaoh go against him, nor does it read that God commanded Pharaoh to refuse to listen. Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and time and time again Pharaoh chose to turn his back on the will of God.
I believe if anything this actually shows a compassionate God. As God himself said, he could have struck the Egyptians down. That would have been the easy thing to do. However God used the opportunity to to give everyone a choice. HE used it as a way to show his power as the one God. God wants to be glorified, he wants us to acknowledge him as our God.....THE God, really that is all he asks for. Do not mistake this for vanity. God does not need us, he is not dependant on us, there is nothing that we can do for God that He cannot do for Himself, but there is nothing that we can do without him. Yet He serves us, He protects us, and this shows him to be a loving God, for all he asks in return is for us to acknowledge him, for us to glorify him in our thoughts, in our actions, in our words, and in our hearts..
Now it always seems to be asked why the plagues, they were so sever, they brought so much misery, if God is a loving God then why all of the wrath? First, hardened hearts require hard signs. If the Lord had produced a sky full of rainbows this too would have shown God's greatness, but it would not do much to soften hearts, would some believe yes, but most, no. If he had sent flocks of doves with olive branches in their beaks, and had he commanded all pain in the world to cease, here again some would turn but most would not. People love their sin, they love their lives, Sadly it often takes threatening that life to make them look at things differently. Second, had God not used the opportunities like this to show his power, to show the love of his people through his wrath, then I believe that we would not have been as receptive to the Prince of Peace when he came in to the world (many to this day do not accept him). God does not make mistakes, he has had his plan in place well before he created us. We however tend to have hard hearts, and hard heads. We accept God through Love today, because we know fully of his strength and power. While it is my hope that we all can see the full measure of God's love for us, it is by overcoming the tests that harden our hearts that we can fully appreciate it, and glorify Him.
Peace,
Brian
For what reason did God say he allowed the Pharaoh and the Egyptians to remain?
God allowed the Egyptians to remain so that they might witness his power, and recognize God as the supreme all powerful God. God allowed them to live so that he might be glorified. If you remember, this is really how the whole showdown with Pharaoh started. God, through Moses and Aaron, instructed Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out and worship Him. In short he was saying let my people come glorify me, and all will be right with the world. However Pharaoh's heart was hardened, so God sent the plagues.
Now the plagues are often used by people to show an example of the wrath of God. People use it to show how God was a spiteful, and vengeful God. I think that mind set falls well short of the mark. Pharaoh's heart was hardened, the text reads that God hardened his heart in some verses, in others it simply says his heart hardened, and in verse 34 of this chapter it reads that he sinned and again hardened his heart. There lies the root of the problem. Did God harden Pharaoh's heart, or did he simply allow it allow it? I believe the question here is moot, for in the end verse 34 sums it up, Pharaoh sinned again and hardened his heart. One thing gets overlooked often in this story......freewill. Does God not allow our hearts to become hardened? If you think about it, we can all come up with a time that our hearts have hardened against something or someone. It is our choice how we deal with that. Just as it was Pharaoh's choice how to handle his hardship. Since the beginning of time, God has never removed a persons free will from them. The text does not read that God made Pharaoh go against him, nor does it read that God commanded Pharaoh to refuse to listen. Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and time and time again Pharaoh chose to turn his back on the will of God.
I believe if anything this actually shows a compassionate God. As God himself said, he could have struck the Egyptians down. That would have been the easy thing to do. However God used the opportunity to to give everyone a choice. HE used it as a way to show his power as the one God. God wants to be glorified, he wants us to acknowledge him as our God.....THE God, really that is all he asks for. Do not mistake this for vanity. God does not need us, he is not dependant on us, there is nothing that we can do for God that He cannot do for Himself, but there is nothing that we can do without him. Yet He serves us, He protects us, and this shows him to be a loving God, for all he asks in return is for us to acknowledge him, for us to glorify him in our thoughts, in our actions, in our words, and in our hearts..
Now it always seems to be asked why the plagues, they were so sever, they brought so much misery, if God is a loving God then why all of the wrath? First, hardened hearts require hard signs. If the Lord had produced a sky full of rainbows this too would have shown God's greatness, but it would not do much to soften hearts, would some believe yes, but most, no. If he had sent flocks of doves with olive branches in their beaks, and had he commanded all pain in the world to cease, here again some would turn but most would not. People love their sin, they love their lives, Sadly it often takes threatening that life to make them look at things differently. Second, had God not used the opportunities like this to show his power, to show the love of his people through his wrath, then I believe that we would not have been as receptive to the Prince of Peace when he came in to the world (many to this day do not accept him). God does not make mistakes, he has had his plan in place well before he created us. We however tend to have hard hearts, and hard heads. We accept God through Love today, because we know fully of his strength and power. While it is my hope that we all can see the full measure of God's love for us, it is by overcoming the tests that harden our hearts that we can fully appreciate it, and glorify Him.
Peace,
Brian
Exodus 8
Bible Gateway link Chapter 8
Each time the Lord showed mercy, and the Pharaoh was relieved of the burden of the plague; the pharaoh's heart was hardened and he did not let the Israelites leave. Many people read this and think you know what? "After the frogs, I would have thrown in the towel." If we are honest about it at some point in our lives we really would have acted just like the Pharaoh. Some might still act the same way today. While it is easy to ask for the Lord's help when we are burdened, as soon as the cloud is lifted many will return to what they know, the same broken lost life they were leading before the hardship arose. When another hardship comes up, they fall back in line, and submit to the Lord, yet as soon as the pressure subsides so does the submission. The easiest thing to do is the thing you know best, for many people that means turning away from God, and to a material life of comfort and acceptance by the world. Pharaoh acted just as the Lord knew he would, and just as the world expected him to, loving yourself, and the world you have created will always blind you to the love the Lord has to offer.
Pharaoh, just like many people today loves their lives more than the Lord (if they recognize the Lord at all). Christ spoke directly about this John Chapter 12:25 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. I pray that we all can see through the smoke and mirrors of today's world. They expect certain attitudes, and actions from us to solidify our place among society. May we all strive to fulfill God's will for the Glory of his name, and not bend to the will of society. I think it will go a long way in keeping the frogs and flies out of our lives..
Peace,
Brian
Each time the Lord showed mercy, and the Pharaoh was relieved of the burden of the plague; the pharaoh's heart was hardened and he did not let the Israelites leave. Many people read this and think you know what? "After the frogs, I would have thrown in the towel." If we are honest about it at some point in our lives we really would have acted just like the Pharaoh. Some might still act the same way today. While it is easy to ask for the Lord's help when we are burdened, as soon as the cloud is lifted many will return to what they know, the same broken lost life they were leading before the hardship arose. When another hardship comes up, they fall back in line, and submit to the Lord, yet as soon as the pressure subsides so does the submission. The easiest thing to do is the thing you know best, for many people that means turning away from God, and to a material life of comfort and acceptance by the world. Pharaoh acted just as the Lord knew he would, and just as the world expected him to, loving yourself, and the world you have created will always blind you to the love the Lord has to offer.
Pharaoh, just like many people today loves their lives more than the Lord (if they recognize the Lord at all). Christ spoke directly about this John Chapter 12:25 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. I pray that we all can see through the smoke and mirrors of today's world. They expect certain attitudes, and actions from us to solidify our place among society. May we all strive to fulfill God's will for the Glory of his name, and not bend to the will of society. I think it will go a long way in keeping the frogs and flies out of our lives..
Peace,
Brian
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