Ok, so I know that we are not progressing through this book in the time format that you may think... but, we are going a little deeper than the author suggests. Our Bible study group has decided to really search through each day and, therefore, we may spend several weeks on one 'day' from the book. So- I hope you enjoy the depth of study that I'm sharing.
Week 3 begins with Exodus. The children of Israel were fruitful and multiplied abundantly- and the land was filled with them. There arose a new king in Egypt who did not know Joseph (Ex 1:8). He said that the Hebrew people are "more and mightier than we", so he ordered the Egyptians to deal with them shrewdly so they wouldn't rise up and fight against them. They put taskmasters over them and forced them to build cities for the Pharaoh (1:11). But, the more they afflicted them, the more they grew- so they made them serve with rigor. Their lives were bitter with hard bondage.
The king asked the Hebrew midwives to kill the male children, but let the daughters live. But, the midwives feared God and saved the male children. They told the kind that the Hebrew women were lively and gave birth before they arrived. God had favor on the midwives and provided households for them (1:18-21).
So Pharaoh commanded every male must be cast into the river. A couple from the tribe of Levi had a beautiful baby boy and she hid him for 3 months (2:2). When she could no longer hide him, she made an ark of bulrushes (marsh plants) and hid the baby in the reeds by the river. His sister, Miriam, stood afar off to keep watch over him. The daughter of Pharaoh found this baby and had compassion on him. Miriam was watching and said that she would find a nurse to nurse him for the baby, so she got the child's mother. Pharaoh 's daughter said that she would pay for her to nurse him (2:9). Children were not weaned until they were 3-5 years old which allowed ample time to train the child about God.
"Maybe in the past you'd had no context for what that meant (the tribe of Levi), but now remember that Levi was one of Jacob's 12 sons and the Levites were the priesthood of the nation of Israel. So instead of just glossing over this and storing it in you 'another part of a verse that doesn't really make sense to me' category, I'm taking the opportunity to remind you that you already have a much better grip of the whole of Scripture that you think you do." (Seamless p64)
When he was weaned, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter who named him Moses and he became her son. When he was grown, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, so he killed him and hid him in the sand (2:11). The next day he saw two Hebrews fighting and when he tried to help, they asked if he was going to kill them like he did the Egyptian. Moses feared this and fled because when Pharaoh heard it, he sought to kill him (2:15). He went to Midian and dwelt there and married a daughter of Jethro, a priest.
The king of Egypt died and the children of Israel cried out because of their bondage. God remembered them and spoke to Moses from a burning bush (3:2-4). He told him to go to Pharaoh and lead his people out to a land that flows with milk and honey. Moses said, 'suppose they won't listen'. God showed him miraculous signs such as his rod turning to a snake and then back to a rod, and his hand becoming leprous and then healed.
God asked Moses, "What is in your hand?" and He used to rod to show His power. God will do the same for us, He will use what is in our hand!
Then, Moses asked God about his speech, for he was uncertain that he could lead the people out. Moses was 'slow of speech', but God said He would teach him what to say. Moses asked God to please send someone else, but God said that he would send Aaron (his brother) who could speak for him.
Moses asked, When the children of Israel ask your name, what shall I say to them? God said, tell them, (3:13-14)
I am that I am
I am your (healer, provider, protector ...)
Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh and do just as God commanded. He refused to let the people go, so God sent 10 plagues on them. The Egyptians worshipped many gods, so the plagues that He sent were specific to those gods. The last plague was the death of the firstborn child. God asked His children to take a lamb without spot or blemish and kill it at twilight. They were to take some of the blood of the lamb and put it on the doorpost of their home. During the night, God would "pass over" the every house marked with the blood and spare that home of the death of the firstborn.
"If you know anything at all about the death of Christ, you'll understand why I have tears in my eyes as I write this next part. ... Jesus, referred to as the "spotless lamb" will be sacrificed on our behalf, His blood protecting us from death." (Seamless, p67)
If you have the blood of Jesus applied to your heart, then you are saved. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. When He came to the earth, He lived a life without sin, so He was the 'spotless' Lamb. Centuries passed with lamb after lamb being sacrificed to make atonement for sin, however, when Jesus died on the cross, no more lambs were needed. God provided the perfect sacrifice.
"For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish,
but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
If you have not accepted Christ as your personal savior and would like to do so, go to
"Surrendering Your Life to Jesus" entry on this blog. Please send a message if you have questions.
No comments:
Post a Comment