Exodus

You’re Not Alone

You’re Not Alone

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Have you ever felt completely alone on this journey of life? Have you ever been overwhelmed by the challenges surrounding you? If so, there’s a lesson we can learn from the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness.

The Israelites were, as you will recall, descendants of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, whom God renamed Israel after they wrestled by the Jabbok brook. The Amalekites were the descendants of Amalek, the grandson of Esau, who was Israel’s brother and also a grandson of Abraham. It had been approximately 440 years since the families of Esau and Israel had last met.

Put to the Test

Put to the Test

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Every student knows that once you have been given instruction, you will be given an opportunity to apply that instruction or demonstrate how well you have retained it by putting it to the test. Those tests come in a variety of forms.

  • There are pop quizzes—a few short questions placed before you unexpectedly to test your grasp of an idea, principle, or fact soon after it has been presented to you.

  • There are tests—periodic exams given at the conclusion of a defined period of teaching, i.e. weekly, end-of-chapter, etc.

  • And, there are exams, including the mother of all exams—the final exam—through which you are tested on instruction you have received over an extended period, i.e. a semester or academic year.

The teachers i always appreciated the most were the ones that forewarned…

Sign Me Up For One of Those Staffs

Sign Me Up For One of Those Staffs

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i don’t know about you, but if i’m getting ready to head out into the wilderness, i want one of those shepherd’s staffs like Moses had when he was leading the Israelites. From the very first day at the burning bush, God had demonstrated His power through that staff. He had turned it into a snake. He had turned the water of the Nile River into blood with it. God had Moses outstretch it to part the waters of the Red Sea, and He had him strike a rock with it to bring forth water. Then God used it to ensure a victory in the battle with the Amalekites. Sign me up for one of those staffs!

Wouldn’t you like to have a staff that you could use to turn the tide of every trial you encounter? Every time you encounter an obstacle, you could pull out the staff. It’s better than any laser weapon ever devised by those science fiction writers. Every obstacle and every enemy would cower at its mere presence. It’s not much to look at, but it packs a powerful punch. As a matter of fact, if you’re going to get one, why not get two and you can pack double the punch. But why stop there, order a truckload. And do you know what you’ve got when you’ve got a truckload of staffs? Yes, that’s right, you’ve got a whole lot of . . . wood!

A “Shur” Way

A “Shur” Way

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My wife and i are currently reading through the Bible in a year together with a group of friends in our faith community. We started midway through September and are now in the Book of Deuteronomy. Since we have spent the last several weeks reading about and discussing the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and their journey through the wilderness, we decided to all get together and watch the movie The Prince of Egypt.

You may recall the movie was produced by Dream Works back in the late 90’s and is an animated portrayal of the first fourteen chapters of the Book of Exodus—following the life of Moses from his birth to his God-appointed task of leading the Israelites out of Egypt. The movie concludes right after the dramatic crossing of the Israelites through the parted Red Sea, as they flee the approaching Egyptian army. Though fictional license is used in the telling of the story, the scene when the people make their journey across the dry sea bed in the path God has provided for their escape inspires thoughts of what the actual experience must have been like for them.

We Can Be Sure

We Can Be Sure

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The wilderness is that place – or more accurately those places – in our lives, where we are outside of our comfort zone. The wilderness is a place that is unfamiliar and, most often, uncomfortable. It is rarely, if ever, our final destination; rather, it is that place through which we must pass in order to get to the other side.

Sometimes we venture out into the wilderness willingly, because we know that the pathway to our desired destination leads through it. It could be the circumstances surrounding a move from one place to another, or the unknowns of moving from one position to another. Though we entered into the wilderness expectantly, and more than likely excitedly, we still encounter the unexpected twists and turns of the wilderness along the way. But more often, we enter into a wilderness involuntarily – either through the onslaught of a severe health issue, the loss of someone near and dear, the unexpected loss of a job, or the like. We didn’t volunteer for this journey, and we don’t like it one bit!

He Still Wanted More

He Still Wanted More

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James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” He wrote that statement knowing our propensity to drift away from God, instead of drawing closer to Him. He warned us that our loyalty is divided between God and the world. i fear that all too often we desire the blessings of God in our lives over the presence of God in our lives.

Moses, on the other hand, made it very clear that he did not want to experience the blessing of God if it came without the presence of God. He had already experienced an intimacy with the Lord God Jehovah that exceeded that which most others, even to this day, have ever experienced on this side of heaven. God had called him His friend - a designation which to that point had only been shared with Abraham. Moses had found favor with God. His actions had demonstrated a heart that desired to seek and serve his Lord. He spoke to God with a confidence and a boldness that also conveyed reverence and awe.

A Beloved Son

A Beloved Son

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How many of us find ourselves traveling through wildernesses in our lives, and are in desperate need of someone to show us the way? We may be alone on the journey, or we may be surrounded by friends or family that are encouraging us along the way – but they don’t really know how to help us. They haven’t traveled that same path before. They don’t know the road markers. And try as they might, they just aren’t able to provide us with what we need. We need someone who has walked that path before us. We need someone who knows the way. We need someone who we can confidently follow.

Several years ago, my wife and i were making a road trip in Germany….

And Out Came This Calf

And Out Came This Calf

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You may recall the account recorded in the Book of Exodus about the day the people of Israel came to Aaron demanding that he make them a god made of gold, while at that very moment Moses was up on Mount Sinai receiving the stone tablets from God Himself. The tablets contained the terms of the Covenant between God and His people etched by His own finger. On a day that their attitudes and actions should have conveyed their allegiance to the One True Living God, they were demanding a lifeless imitation of gold.(1)

Aaron not only bowed to the demands of the people and molded their gold into the shape of a calf, he also declared that they gather for a festival to declare their allegiance to the golden calf. But in the midst of their celebration and feasting, they experienced the severe consequences of their sin from the hand of the God they had blasphemed and disobeyed.

No Matter Where We Are In Our Journey

No Matter Where We Are In Our Journey

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It really doesn’t matter where we are in the journey – at the beginning, the midpoint or the end. God uses it all! As a matter of fact, He assures us that what He begins, He completes – and He ultimately works through all things for our good and His glory – even when we can’t see it, or fathom how that could be the case.

The Israelites had lived in Egypt for 430 years. As a matter of fact, it had been 430 years to the day. If you recall, God led them into Egypt. He sent Joseph, son of Jacob, ahead to prepare for their arrival by using for good that which his brothers had intended for evil. Now, 430 years later, the Lord was leading His people to embark on a journey to the land that He had promised their patriarch Abraham; a journey that would lead through the wilderness.

For centuries they had cried out to God for deliverance.

God, You Left Out A Few Details

God, You Left Out A Few Details

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The day Moses stood before the burning bush, God gave him a promise. He promised that after Moses had brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, he would return to that very same mountain to worship God. God didn’t tell Moses all that he was going to encounter along the way, and that is often true for us as well.

A number of months passed between the day God gave the promise as recorded in Exodus 3, and the day Moses and the people arrived back at the mountain in Exodus 19.(1) During those intervening months, Moses suffered rejection from his wife when the journey first began.(2) He suffered ridicule from the Egyptians when he delivered God’s message.(3) He suffered rebellion from the Israelites almost every step of the way.(4) As a matter of fact, he was subjected to more grumbling, complaining and death threats than anyone before or since has been forced to endure. And God never mentioned any of those details when He gave Moses His promise. God never said, “After you have endured being the object of rejection, ridicule and rebellion, you will return here and worship Me.” God, however, did say, “After you’ve completed the assignment I’ve given you, you will return here and worship Me.”

God didn’t tell Moses all that he was going to encounter along the way….