Tag: Moses

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Deuteronomy 31 Command! 

Choose Life

Moses told the Israelites and Joshua in particular to be “strong and courageous.” Joshua will echo those words as he prepares to take the nation from death to life as they cross the Jordan. That command was for them but it is also for us. What am I facing that I need those words today and every day beyond here. Who can I share this with today as a way of encouragement? 

The Israelites are finally preparing to end this 40 year saga and start a new chapter. Their leader, Moses is 120 years old and as he said, frail. God has said, you shall not cross over but I will show you the land they will see and enter.  As we enter the last chapter of our life, do we have that same encouraging word to those we leave behind and go and join our ancestors in heaven?  Moses tells the nation to choose life! 

What say you? 

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Covenants and Vows

Mark 10 and Matt 19 A covenant is a binding agreement. As God made a covenant with His people, marriage partners covenant together by a vow that this union is for life or until God calls one home. What does that entail? It means what Solomon wrote: “When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. “[Eccl 5:4]

Yet, the religious leaders sought to test Jesus. In both of these chapters, they came to ask if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife. Note: they were speaking as men to men. Women had no rights. They asked him a question, and he questioned them to see by whose authority they were obeying. In doing so, they revealed that their authority was not God but Moses. True, Moses was a prophet called by God and faithful in all God’s house, but God is the builder of the house. Moses was a servant, not the author. [Heb 3:3]. Jesus reminded them that Moses permitted divorce because of the hardness of their heart. It was not God’s plan. Jesus reminded them that as God the Father covenanted with his people for life, they were to covenant in marriage.

Today, many seek to break their covenant marriage, forgetting that their vows have been witnessed by others with the words that honor that agreement. Today, may we remember this wise counsel.

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God is Patient

Focus on the blessings

Exodus 12-15 Short Memories

We remember in Exodus 5:2, Pharaoh had said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by releasing Israel? I do not know the Lord, and I will not release Israel!” After ten plagues, you would have thought he would now know the true God, but Pharaoh is stubborn and resistant. He has lost his firstborn but foolishly thinks he is greater than the God of Israel.

In the meantime, the Israelites have left with riches untold, and God graciously provided an escape route for His people. But as often is the case, like them, we look back, not forward. How often are we blind to the riches that God has given us? The sight of the Egyptian armies scares them; they think there is escaping and begin to murmur. They murmured before when Pharaoh increased their workload and, just like then, so now they say to Moses, didn’t we say leave us alone and let us serve the Egyptians? We have short memories. They and we would rather be like the Prodigal son and serve the pig master than the Mighty God. Yet, God is patient.

We wonder why God is so patient with us. The answer is because of His plan to show Himself strong, and He loves us more than we can understand. Also, the truth of Jer. 29:11 is still true: He has a plan not to harm us but to give us a future filled with hope.

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A Promise Made is a Promise Kept

God is a promise keeper

Exodus 4-6 God takes what is imperfect (in our eyes) and uses it for His glory. He wants us to see that it is His glory, not ours. And so we meet Moses as a shepherd who, like many of us, feels like they have failed in this life. They are not waiting for the wonders of God to be revealed; instead, there is no hope for me, a man of uncircumcised lips. We say I am not worthy, just as Isaiah said, and that is true, but God is the potter, and we are the clay to be molded to be used for His glory. Will we let Him mold us?

God is a promise keeper. He made a promise to Abraham, and now it is time to keep that promise. So, God says: I have established my covenant, I have heard, I have remembered (Does God forget?? Unlike us, God does not forget. Go read Isaiah 49:14-16), I will rescue you; I will redeem you, I will take you as My people. Yet, like Moses, we begin “suppose…suppose” with excuse after excuse. No wonder God gets impatient with us!

Where am I/ are you making excuses today? Time to say: No more Moses! No more excuses. Maybe your last week was a week of excuses, but the calendar is changing this week, and we should too. So use us, Lord, in whatever way You desire that Your promises may be revealed.

Photo Credit: Bryan Goff on Unsplash – Author notes

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Behind the Scenes

God works behind the scenes

Exodus 35-37 God Calls, Gifts, and Anoints

In the tale of the Wizard of Oz, the wizard was orchestrating “behind the scenes” to get the Emerald City just the way he wanted it. God works behind the scenes and we often don’t know who or what is happening. Yet, He is in the business of calling, anointing, and using people for the work of the ministry. Perhaps Bezalel learned how to fashion raw materials back in Egypt as they worked to make beautiful things for Pharaoh. Perhaps they were part of the workforce or one of the Israelite foremen. [Ex. 5]

We may not know who those workers may be just as Moses didn’t know, but then God revealed Bezalel and Aholiab to him. God had been moving in their hearts that they might be prepared. We don’t know about their former lives, but perhaps they were trained in Egypt to prepare beautiful things for Pharaoh. Now God will use those skills and anoint them by the Spirit of God to be artisans, designers, and workers of precious metals for the work of the Tabernacle. God is the one who gifts each person. He gifted the artisans to build the Tabernacle.

Just as God uses His Word to teach, reprove, correct and train us in righteousness [2Tim. 3:16] He also has orchestrated events in our lives so we are being prepared to be useful workers in His kingdom work. You may not see yourself as a Bezalel or Aholiab yet God has been preparing you. Take a moment and ponder what God has been doing in your life and thank Him for the skills you have been given for His work.

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Lessons from Jethro

Truth!

Exodus 18 In the course of time after Moses has been guiding the children of the Exodus, his father-in-law arrives.  He observed and “rejoiced because of all the good that the Lord had done for Israel” [Ex 18:9] In addition, he said; “now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods.” [Ex 18:11] Would others who come to us recognize and say the same.  As Jethro observes Moses’ daily routine, he asks: What are you doing?  You will surely wear yourself out by being judge and jury for all these people.  After listening, Moses heeds his counsel to choose wise men to assist him.  Our judicial system is based on this example that we use even today. 

You can glean much from studying, but sometimes it is the older generation that can offer wise counsel that we had not considered and Jethro has experiential wisdom to guide Moses.  Scripture tells us, “Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old.” [Job 12:12] They are able to give wise counsel from their experiences to help those who are younger make wise decisions and judgments. And again: “But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil.” [Heb 5:14]

Who is your Jethro?  Who are you being a Jethro to?

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Are you Blessed?

 Psalm 1 to 4 “Blessed Men and Women”

God blessed Job; “a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil.” James references Job “Think of how we regard as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance…” [James 5]

Now, as we leave Job behind and move on into the psalms, written over thousand years, we once again read about the blessings God bestows upon those who are righteous, of whom Job is an example. King David, who most likely wrote this first psalm, summarizes what God calls blessed.

These people choose their companions wisely; they revere God by obeying and fearing Him. They feed on God’s Word day and night, delighting in His Law. They see themselves as the Lord’s heritage. In times of peace and war, God is their shield and sustainer, their salvation, and sanctifier.

They are proof of what Moses told the Israelites: teach your children and speak of God in your house, and as you walk along the path of life. Be sure to educate them in the night as well as in the day; if trained early on, he will remain steadfast and immoveable later in life. [Prov 22:6]

If God spoke about you, would He use the word “Blessed?”

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Who is God?

Deut 4 to 6 Know God2apng

Deut 4-6 God is…

The world shouts out: who is God? The world questions: who is God? They might say God is love and He is, but Moses said God is the Lord. He revealed Himself to the pagan Egyptians and to the Israelites as one who is not a man that he should change his mind. He revealed Himself in signs and wonders such as at Baal-Peor where He eradicated from their midst everyone who followed that false god. Moses asked them this question: “what other great nation has a god so near to them like the Lord our God whenever we call on him?” And God is asking us the very same question and to that he asks: Do you know me?

Peter reminded the sojourners just as Moses was reminding the people: “You do not see him now but you believe in him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy.” Even though they did not “see” him they heard his voice saying: “This is the correct way, walk in it,” whether you are heading to the right or the left. [Is 30]And again, if we seek Him, we will find Him; if we seek Him with all our heart and soul.

 

Who is God? He is the Lord God and there is no other besides him. Our obligation: Love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being and all your strength. In this way we affirm we serve Him and only Him.”

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God honors courage and humility

numbers 27 equal righta

Numbers 26 & 27 Louis May Alcott wrote a classic called Little Women, which captivated audiences and still does today. But here in an obscure passage, we read about, not four, but five little women and the problem they faced. As Moses recorded the male inheritances of the children of Israel, he listed the names of men—not women–from 20 yrs. old and up. In the middle, we read: Zelophehad had no sons, only five daughters. He had stood firm against those who had tested the Lord and was found faithful. But, male hierarchy and the law said only males could inherit the land. So these five daughters wondered what happens to our father’s inheritance. What about us? They wanted their faithful father’s legacy to continue.

Bravely, but graciously, these five women entered the men’s arena to seek a change in the rules.  They entered a patriarchal society to claim their father’s inheritance rights, and all eyes rolled! Moses was in a quandary! What do I do? Wisely Moses went straight to God and heard they were right teaching us that God honors courage and humility. These five little women gained the rights to inheritance and preservation of their father’s legacy!  Women of today take heart! You, too, can be wise, tenacious, brave, and courageous.

Zelophehad raised five courageous women, and fathers can do the same today. These five little women sought to honor their deceased father, and God honored their request. These five little women are excellent role models for women today don’t you think?

What are your takeaways from this post?

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Waiting…easy or hard?

Exodus 32 Do you have trouble waiting–especially for God to act, to speak, or “fill in the blank?”

Exodus 32 waiting patiently

Do you become impatient? Do you want to wait, but circumstances take over, and you decide to take matters into your own hands? The Israelites had just said, ‘we will obey.’ Yet when a test came into their lives to wait, their commitment was shallow.  When the people “saw” that Moses still had not returned, they made a decision: Moses’ God wasn’t working on their time table. It won’t be the last time these Israelites have a problem with waiting. They became impatient with Samuel and said you are old and your sons don’t follow, so appoint us a king. King David’s prayer life reveals that he must have had trouble with waiting too, for he wrote three times for God to help him in ‘waiting.’ [Ps 17:14; 37:7, 62:5]

Why do we have a problem with waiting? We misperceive time. The drama of leaving Egypt was still fresh in their minds, and they were anxious to get to the Promised Land, yet God knew that they needed the skill of waiting because time had always been determined for them. Now they were being tested to see if their commitment was real. Sometimes as we wait, we yearn for routine, and we get bored. Without a routine, we get lazy, and we become discontented; we lack a commitment to the cause. Like the Israelites, we do not have perseverance. We think we have the plan all figured out, and we want God to do it ‘now.’ One author put it this way; Waiting reveals the best and the worst in us and also reveals our lack of understanding that God doesn’t work on our time table.

Are you having trouble waiting? Cultivate this skill through prayerful meditation and study.

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