Tag: Moses

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Honoring Family Matters.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“So Moses went back home to Jethro, his father-in-law. “Please let me return to my relatives in Egypt,” Moses said. “I don’t even know if they are still alive.” “Go in peace,” Jethro replied.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭4‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A lot had transpired in a chapter and a half of Exodus, God won as well Moses won in many ways. Moses had no idea what the next 40 years would look like for him! Who really does know what will happen when you say “yes” to God’s will?

Remember what Moses’ day started like in Exodus 3? “Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian.” Jethro, or Reuel, was a well known, well established non-Israelite priest, a descendant of Abraham through Keturah. Jethro had taken in a fugitive, allowed him to marry his daughter and trusted Moses to care for his flock, becoming a vital part of the family business. Moses at forty, had found a new family. And, it’s likely that Moses brought God’s blessing for Jethro taking him in and helping rebuild his identity.

After negotiating with God for likely the whole day, Moses returns with the decision that he will obey God and must leave Midian and go back to Egypt. But before he does so, he meets with his father-in-law. Moses asks Jethro for permission to leave. He honored Jethro in his ask! Moses had not only become an integral part of family, giving Jethro two grandsons, Gershom and Eliezer, he had also become invaluable to the family business. Letting Moses go must have been difficult on the whole tribe. It must have been a difficult plea of reality, because he had become such a big part of family. Moses tells Jethro, I must go back to see my relatives (not knowing if they were even alive anymore).

Moses does not tell Jethro at this point, at least, “God spoke to me and I must obey!” Wouldn’t that sound like a better reason for leaving? Jethro, being a highly wise and religious man, would have understood Moses’ dilemma. But Moses chooses to tell him he had to return to his birth family. I just think it is significant that Moses records what had happened before he met with God and what happened after. Moses left Jethro one day and came back a much different man. Jethro releases Moses with a blessing, “Go in peace.”

The Bible is open and honest about the family dynamics throughout God’s grand story. Moses’ story is key in showing us the tragedy of a forced abandonment as a baby. Also a view into being raised by a foster family. Then, being received and accepted into a kind of adopted family – even as a grown man. And finally, Moses recognizing how to honor both his father-in-law and willingness to go back to reconnect with his birth family. God even reassures Moses on the trip back home, “the Lord said to him, “Return to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you have died.” Studying Moses’ family struggles and structure is fascinating and becomes very much a big part of the leader that God called him to be!

Prayer

​Dad,
I think about all that Moses went through to become the man you would use to lead Your people out of 400 years of slavery and head towards the land of promise that would be theirs. The land of Israel today is just as contested and controversial as it was in ancient history. And, the Jewish people, are still prominently involved in Your story. I am so thankful that you have included the raw truth of family struggles and redemption. It gives me hope for all those, like me, who have been adopted twice. Once as a child and again as your son!

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Trying to escape a calling.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?” Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied. “Throw it down on the ground,” the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Moses is the classic example of trying to dodge a clear, direct order from God. In Exodus chapter 3, God says, “Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

“I am sending you,” and “you must,” is pretty straightforward. Moses, having a common, self-reflecting moment, asks God the BIG question. “Who am I?” Wow. That’s a really good question to ask under normal circumstances!

We now live in a saturated milieu of self awareness – it’s expected that one knows their own faults and failures and are also well aware of their ability to harm others. Not everyone is there yet, but the expectation is culturally common. Comments like, “I didn’t know I was a bad mother”, or “I didn’t know I was an alcoholic, are met with suspicious surprise with little sympathy. The underlying idea is “you should have known, everyone else did!”

Did Moses know he had deep traumatic issues that grew into a hair-pin justice trigger, causing him to often snap with rage? Was he aware that his speech impediment was likely caused by his perceived abandonment and identity crisis? Moses question went far deeper than just a question of calling or capability, it hit a nerve of apparent failure to be the kind of man everyone expected him to be. “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?” Exodus‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬.

God patiently addressed his question, but doesn’t tell Moses who Moses is or what he will become. God just says, “I will be with you.” Anyone who has struggled with mother or father abandonment issues knows how difficult it is to trust anyone! In Moses’ case, he wasn’t abandoned, because he was supposed to have been murdered by drowning him in the Nile. Moses’ mother, Jochebed, hid him for 3 months, then saved his life by life-rafting him down the river.

In a second volley of trying to get God to just move on and leave him alone, Moses asked God, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” Which is interesting because God already told him who He was, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” causing Moses to pause and reflect on his extraordinary heritage. Moses’ father was Amram, but it’s unclear if Moses ever had a meaningful relationship with him. Moses was a rejected foster son in Pharaoh’s family. Moses boldly asks for God’s name and in that tender moment God tells Moses His personal, intimate name – “Yahweh,” God says.

Yet, even after God tells Moses He will go with him and allow Moses to use God’s personal credentials in an audience with the Pharaoh, Moses is still not convinced – he truly believes God is choosing the wrong man for the job! First it’s I’m not qualified, then it’s no one knows me, now it’s – what if they don’t believe me. Moses questions his convince-ability.

It is here that God allows Moses to have a crutch, a literal shtick, a physical object lesson to carry with him to boost his confidence – the humble shepherd’s staff that becomes a symbol of supernatural power! Moses continued beg God to choose someone else, even reminding Him of his speech impediment. Moses, was not able to get God to completely let him off the hook, but was happy that God allowed his brother Aaron to step in and be the spokesperson.

Prayer

​Dad,
What a journey to convince Moses not only of who he was – a leader, but who he would become, a great patriarch and hero in Your grand story, It seems as though Moses did grow to be a man of great faith, but always carried some of his sorrows and frustrations of his early life as a Jewish foster son in the house of Pharaoh. I see many folk’s trying to escape their calling, even when You assure them that You be will them and use them in the Kingdom of God. Thank you for your patience with all of us!

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Hello, my name is…

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” God replied to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Of course this total scene out of Exodus 3 is a spectacular moment on so many levels. The miraculous meeting between God and Moses out in the middle of nowhere. This actual, physical conversation with God and Moses. Abram also had a conversation with God, 430 years earlier. But unlike Moses, God introduced himself to Abram with one of His attributes, El Shaddai, God Almighty, not a personal name.

God enlists Moses to go before Pharoah and lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses, never forgetting the authority structures of his past life, not only wants to know who he is speaking to, he also wants the Pharaoh to know who he is working for. As an emissary, it would be proper to tell the Pharaoh who he represents. And, when the Israelites demand to know who is speaking on their behalf, Moses would also tell them.

It isn’t unusual for Moses to think, that the Pharaoh or the leaders of the Israelites would have no idea who Moses was at all. “But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”” “God answered, “I will be with you.’” Moses reply still sounds legit. It doesn’t sound dodgy or disrespectful! Okay, so Moses tells the Israelite leaders, “The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,” like some kind of clandestine code phrase. Moses says to God… they still will ask, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?””

Moses is standing barefooted, in front of a supernatural, unconsumed fiery bush, and is having a conversation with THE creator of all things, THE God of gods. And God is so patient with him!

But then, God speaks His name to Moses. God speaks His personal, intimate name for the first time in recorded human history. Granted, we see God’s title and personal name show up in Genesis 2:4, “LORD God” (elohim Yhvh). But this is God introducing Himself and letting Moses know who He is and by what authority He sends Moses in to go before Pharaoh and speak on behalf of His people. What a powerful, beautiful moment.

God says, “this is me, I AM eternal.” Of course we know that Moses needed much more convincing, but God was allowing Himself to be known by Moses and gets really close to knowing the God who walks with man, not in the garden of beauty and perfection, but the desert of desolation and brokenness!

God began a conversation with Moses that would last for 40 years. And it was so unique and precious that God personally buried Moses when he died! “The LORD buried him in a valley near Beth-peor in Moab, but to this day no one knows the exact place.” Deuteronomy 34:6. It is so exciting to think of this kind of life NOW and LATER with God. Now, because of Jesus, we can directly talk to our Abba Father through the Holy Spirit. But later, in a new heaven and new earth, with resurrected brand new bodies, we will walk and talk with Yahweh. As it was in the beginning, it will be in the end that lasts forever!

Prayer

​Dad,
I absolutely love talking with you (and listening too)! To know you, to love you, as well as being known and loved by you is beyond words. I really like the intimacy found in your relationship with well known Bible characters because it shows both who You are as well as who we are. I can’t wait to catch up with each and every one of those moments with those who lived their life ages ago and see Your glory in their lives one day in heaven. Thank you for your loving mercy that allows me to be your son.

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Supernatural Curiosities.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it. ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Moses is out doing his thing, taking his father-in-laws flock far out into the wilderness. A dry, desolate desert. Moses had left the modern lifestyle of the big city, to now live as a nomadic. The desert has some unique advantages to focus and settle the soul. It’s quiet. Blissfully, deafeningly quiet. The other one is that you can see for miles.

An angel of the Lord, a theophany (Jesus showing up in the Old Testament). showed up in a blazing fire. Fires in the desert are not unusual, but this one was unique. This fire burned in a bush but did not consume it. I like to think that fire was an excellent way to get the attention of a man because there’s a little bit of a pyro in all of us! I love what happened next. Moses thought this strange phenomenon was amazing. But more than that, it made him talk to himself saying, “WHY?” Why isn’t the bush being consumed? It was more than amazement, it was CURIOSITY! Oh the things we see but don’t understand. Many are peaked by curiosity but don’t pursue it. Moses wanted to investigate it further – he had to get a closer look.

We learn that as Moses approached the bush, a voice comes out of it, calling his name along with a warning. The voice says, STOP, take off your sandals because you’re on holy ground. What follows is a one-of-a-kind interaction between God and Moses. The day had come when God would reveal Moses’s purpose in life. Moses would never be the same. This reminds me that God is always at work, always looking for someone who will see, be curious and investigate. God is always looking to share His purposes with us and for us. Moses wasn’t unique in this, but it’s encouraging to know that he came from a slave family, foster-cared and raised by Pharaoh’s daughter. He was educated and learned from the most advanced culture of its time. Moses also had major anger/justice issues that caught up with him when he murdered an Egyptian officer for mistreating an Israelite. All this ended by getting him exiled out of Egypt. He was 40 years old when he fled from Egypt and spent another 40 years in Midian before encountering God at the burning bush. The number 40 appears frequently throughout the Bible, often associated with periods of trial, testing, and preparation.

This major turning point in the desert started with God getting his attention and letting his curiosity drive him to discover what this supernatural moment would mean. I more strongly believe in providence and no longer see anything as coincidence. I also more quickly realize when God has something for me in everyday amazing moments.

Prayer

​Dad,
I see you working in so many ways that used to escape me. I was too busy, too self absorbed or just too stressed. I am thankful you still amaze us. And, I am so thankful you created us to be curious and open to learning from you.

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Kicking God.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The Israelite foremen could see that they were in serious trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce the number of bricks you make each day.” As they left Pharaoh’s court, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who were waiting outside for them. The foremen said to them, “May the Lord judge and punish you for making us stink before Pharaoh and his officials. You have put a sword into their hands, an excuse to kill us!” Then Moses went back to the Lord and protested, “Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!” Exodus‬ ‭5‬:‭19‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The opening scene of Moses and Aaron finally getting an audience with the Pharaoh, is filled with dictatorial vibrato. It’s a lot like trying to go and see the great and powerful Oz! Moses and Aaron deliver the words to Pharaoh and he scoffs at their request saying, “And who is the Lord? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.” We know the story, so when we read that we think, “oh, arrogant man, you will soon know God and his ambassadors VERY well.”

Moses tells Pharaoh something I had never seen before, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they declared. “So let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness so we can offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. If we don’t, he will kill us with a plague or with the sword.” What? God would kill them? I don’t remember God saying that He would kill his own people? The Pharaoh doesn’t lay a hand on Moses or Aaron, but he does lay out a plan to make things even more miserable for the people slaving to build his kingdom.

“Pharaoh replied, “Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their tasks? Get back to work!” Then Pharaoh does what most narcissistic rulers do – he takes his anger out on the people Moses Aaron (and God) care about, declaring “No straw for you – find it yourselves!” Pharaoh directs Israelite foreman’s to quit providing straw for the bricks but still demand the same quota of the final product. Obviously, the Egyptian directors had a well working supply chain of getting straw to the Jewish foreman. Without the supply chain, the work slowed and thus so did the quota of bricks necessary to keep the massive building projects moving forward and on schedule. Really, this would have been a minor problem to the Pharaoh, just slowing down the completion of his own legacy. Egyptians Pharaoh’s, believing themselves to be gods, were obsessed with two things, the memory of their greatness and the amount of statues and buildings dedicated to their glory. This request to put a pause on the work just cut into the Pharaoh’s enormous ego. Pride started a chain reaction of blind stubbornness that would lead to tremendous loss, eventually the lives of all the firstborn males (both human and animal) in his entire kingdom. In this scene, where the Israelite foremen realized that Moses and Aaron had made the Pharaoh angry, they took their anger out on the two ambassadors God had sent to negotiate the Israelites’ freedom, saying, “you make us stink before Pharaoh!” Moses only option is to go to his own source of who he believes is the problem – he blames God for making things worse, not better!

This whole very long story is not about Pharaoh and his self-determined stubbornness to believe his own false narrative of being a god. It is not about the 400 years of enslavement of the nation of Israel, cementing a dark multigenerational slave mentality in the people. And, it’s not even about Moses’ story of going from a convicted murderer to a global leader of the nation of Israel, about two million people. The story is about God’s glory and the redemption of humanity shown through the full scope of what sin has done and what it will do without the savior – Jesus.

Pharaoh kicks the foremen. The foremen kick Moses. And, Moses tries to kick God – blaming Him for ever starting this. But God will not be kicked by our human frustration and little understanding of His ways. God tells Moses, “you ain’t seen nothing yet!” “Then the Lord told Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. When he feels the force of my strong hand, he will let the people go. In fact, he will force them to leave his land!” Exodus‬ ‭6‬:‭1.

Prayer

Dad,
Oh how little we see and understand of your ways! We may be able to look back and figure it out, but knowing your ways in the midst of suffering or frustration of current events takes enormous trust and faith. My first response is to look for immediate cause and effect! Who did this to me and why? I just can’t seem to see things from your perspective. So I must trust you. I must have faith that sees with different eyes and insight. As I piece together your grand plan, I begin to understand that you’ve got all things under control and that all of your ways are true, just and right. That your mercy and love are dedicated to our good, not our destruction. You give us every chance to kneel and submit to you! And in that moment and only in the moment will we find true life to the fullest. Thank You, Oh God.

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Ancient beggar’s prayer.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

O Lord, come back to us! How long will you delay? Take pity on your servants! Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good. Let us, your servants, see you work again; let our children see your glory. And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful. Psalms‬ ‭90‬:‭13‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A prayer of Moses, Psalm 90 is the oldest Psalm in the book of Psalms, written around 1440 BC. This Psalm declares how big God is and compares it to how fragile is the nature of our humanity – “dust that’s swept away.” But in these last verses Moses seems to beg God to visit once again.

Moses had seen a lot of pain and plenty of dark seasons in his day. Not just his palace to pauper demise, but his epic rise to challenge his former origin story, speaking for God and demanding the release of God’s people. Then to pastor a grumbling, bitter people for 40 years, wandering in the desert he was once banished to. For him to see so much misery mixed with miracles in this chaotic mashup is palpable. Oh, but once you’ve been in God’s presence and then lack it, it leaves a yearning, a vacuum. This is why Moses begs! And, not just himself, but also for “our children,” he writes.

I feel this tension, this dynamic dystopia even today. After having seen God move in spectacular ways, pouring out His Spirit and transforming the lives of those He touches, then it was over. We tried to keep pretending that God’s presence was still here, moving through the models of church growth, prosperity, seeker sensitive, politically motivational and attractional methods. As if we were trying to convince ourselves that the Church was thriving, even conquering the evils of government and culture. We all know that we’ve just been wandering in the desert, aching for God to move among us once again. Stacked up against us has been the next gen response of “church hurt,” deconstruction or, exiting their faith to synchrotize a self-made religion that suites them better. I deeply feel this ancient prayer of Moses, who only saw the promised land, but was prevented from entering it. “Let us, your servants, see you work again; let our children see your glory.” I also believe that God will once again pour out his Spirit on all flesh in the last days. I want to be reunion ready!

Prayer

​Dad,
I’m reminded of the words to the song, “Same God.” “I’m calling on the God of Moses. The one who opened up the ocean. I need You now to do the same thing for me. O God, my God, I need You. O God, my God, I need You now, How I need You now. O Rock, O Rock of ages, I’m standing on Your faithfulness.” Let our children see Your glory! Amen.

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Remember Meribah & Massah.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness. For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw everything I did. For forty years I was angry with them, and I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’ So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’ ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭95‬:‭8‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David writes this Psalm and it is put into the book of Psalms towards the end of his life. The Psalm starts with a burst of praise, a crescendo of thanksgiving, ”Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him.” Yet, it ends with this warning, to remember Meribah & Massah.

What happened in these places that was so egregious, that God took an oath to not allow the eldest into the promised land. Maybe there’s a hint in the phrase, “Rock of our salvation?” Meribah was the final straw of hard-hearted, contentiousness with the elders who were freed from Egypt, but their souls were still enslaved with bitterness. Gotquestions.org writes, “The incident at the waters of Meribah Kadesh is recorded in Numbers 20. Nearing the end of their forty years of wandering, the Israelites came to the Desert of Zin. There was no water, and the community turned against Moses and Aaron.”

The people held Moses & Aaron responsible for their lack of water in the desert. And, once again Moses & Aaron went to the Lord with the complaint/request. God told Moses & Aaron to gather the people at a rock in Meribah (which means strife or contention). God told Moses to speak to the rock, but apparently Moses had reached his limit of patience. The anger of his youth rallied and raised its ugly head. Moses took the staff of God and smacked the rock saying, “Listen, you rebels, must WE bring you water out of this rock?” (Numbers‬ ‭20‬:‭10‬). Uh oh. You can hear the exasperation in Moses’ words.

Water came out and the people were once again satisfied, but God took notice that Moses and Aaron (God held Aaron responsible as well) were disobedient to God’s command. “…the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them. The other place at the rock of Horeb, is found in Exodus 17:1-7, this time God had told Moses to strike the rock. Both times, the people were grumbling, and threatening towards Moses. In Horeb, God called the place, Massah (nasah), to test or quarrel with God. Is there a proper way to wrestle with the Almighty? Jacob did so and God displaced his hip so his limp would remind Jacob of a moment in the ring with His creator.

Here, the people also struggled with God with contempt, blame and bitterness. What strikes me is that David in this Psalm writes about these specific, named places where humans contentiously strived with God and clearly lost! God was also angry at them! They wandered in the desert, going in circles for forty years. And they never made it to the promised land. But neither did Moses, nor Aaron, their leaders.

The people who start with you on a faith journey, may not end with you. And if leaders aren’t careful, we might not see the promise of God fulfilled either! Remember your own places like Meribah & Massah, where we strived with God. Remember to be patient, humble and most of all obedient if we want to see the promises of God come to pass.

Prayer

Dad,
Is grumbling and complaining just a byproduct of aging? I used to think it was funny to see an old man or old woman just muttering muffled rants as they went about their life. Now, I don’t think it’s so funny. I don’t want to be a whiner, a complainer or finish my life spewing bitterness! Help me God to fight the disease of Meribah & Massah! Help me watch my attitude and my words. Help me hold my tongue and slow my witty words that are not godly. Deliver me from the bitter-soul syndrome that seems to come with seeing too much, experiencing too much pain and suffering around me. Help me have the necessary faith to see Your promises fulfilled. Amen.

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Obedience out of love or fear?

Reading Time: 4 minutes

So Moses returned from the mountain and called together the elders of the people and told them everything the Lord had commanded him. And all the people responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.” So Moses brought the people’s answer back to the Lord. Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, Moses, so the people themselves can hear me when I speak with you. Then they will always trust you.” Moses told the Lord what the people had said. Exodus‬ ‭19‬:‭7‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

These Exodus passages are a great place to think about our human nature, especially when it comes to doing what is right or wrong – obedience to the law or rules for living or doing whatever we please.

Let’s face the facts, the nation of Israel, the chosen people of God, had faced the most intense, supernatural occurrences over several weeks, maybe months, known as the plagues. But, whether the ten plagues lasted forty days or three months, we can be guaranteed that the entire group of Egyptians and Jews went through a living nightmare of horrors. If that wasn’t enough, the mind-blowing phenomenon of a narrow escape across the Red Sea, then a pillar of fire by night and a massive cloud by day led the nation to this holy place called Mount Sinai! It could be said that it was either a glorious or traumatizing set of events. And Moses was at the center of all of it – God’s chosen stutterer, turned super leader in a very brief time.

When Moses came down from the holy mountain and told the people what God had spoken to him, it’s not surprising that they responded together, “we will do everything the Lord has commanded.” They were probably still terrified of Moses’ God. The Bible is very open about the fact that the people DID NOT obey… at least for long. Let’s set aside the fact that God told Moses, the visual, audible show of a cloud with booming noises coming out of it was for a specific reason – so the people would TRUST Moses. Ok, great. But these passages help me ask the question, did the people obey out of fear or love? And, how effective is obedience out of fear verses obedience out of love? You could argue the point that Israel loved God and loved pleasing God. But I offer this, I believe they were re-establishing a relationship with God that had been abandoned since Jacob and his son Joseph led the nation. Heaven had been silent for several hundred years! I don’t think they knew God all that well.

Is obedience out of fear effective? Of course it is! Is obedience out of fear expedient? Yeah, it works pretty quick. Just watch what happens when a Highway Patrol vehicle pulls onto the highway. The speed limit instant becomes every driver’s best friend. But does obedience through fear engage an enduring change of both behavior and heart? Is it not true that love takes longer, but is far more successful for a lifetime of obedience? Ask any Dad, “would you rather your children fear you or love you?” Ah, that’s tricky isn’t it? Fearing your Father for the right reasons, like the ultimate goals of safety, security and delayed success for your future – is a good fear! Ask a Dad if they “would rather their children respect them or love them?” Good Dads, great Dads want BOTH. Why? It’s the best outcome for the child’s sake!

I am not advocating that fear has no place in our obedience to God, it’s just that our relationship must mature to a point where love becomes the primary motivation to do what is right. That’s why God says he prefers obedience over sacrifice. Sacrifice can be faked, obedience can’t. Even, if one doesn’t obey for the right reason, it is still beneficial. Do you know how often I hear my friends express gratitude for their strict parents? Parents that held the line, set the boundaries and corrected their children when they disobeyed. They held those boundaries until the child became an adult – understanding the necessity for rules and even fear-based compliance. I don’t know if you’ve noticed that children and/or youth make some really stupid, even life-threatening mistakes. Some of these “mistakes” have horrible, life-altering consequences – that are permanent.

Shouldn’t maturity and a growth in our understanding of God, drive us to be obedient more out of love than fear? In surrendering to the discipline, the correction of the Holy Spirit, I am yielding – more out of love for God these days, and less out of fear.

Prayer

Dad,
It has certainly not been easy to be raised in more or less, a fatherless home environment. I rarely felt safe, rarely felt loved, valued or protected by a good, loving father figure. That lack of discipline made it much harder to do what is right for the right reason. You know my sense of right and wrong was based on getting caught or getting away with something! It was not helpful at all as a young man. But when I was learning to be obedient and even disciplined out of your love it was both amazing and extremely difficult. Thank you for your long, enduring patience with me. Thank you for your grace still today. You are such a good Father to me and I am eternally grateful.

Posted on

Joseph knew.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear to do this. He said, “God will certainly come to help you. When he does, you must take my bones with you from this place.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭13‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Joseph lived a very long and productive life! He held his viceroy position in Egypt for 80 years and lived to 110 years old. But he knew Egypt wasn’t his final resting place. Moses records, ““Soon I will die,” Joseph told his brothers, “but God will surely come to help you and lead you out of this land of Egypt. He will bring you back to the land he solemnly promised to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath, and he said, “When God comes to help you and lead you back, you must take my bones with you.”

“So Joseph died at the age of 110. The Egyptians embalmed him, and his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭50‬:‭24‬-‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬. Jewish historians tell us the Egyptians, at the time of Joseph’s death, ALSO knew that the Jews would not stay in their land forever. However, they did not want Joseph’s family to take their beloved leader out of Egypt, when the people would finally leave.

To guarantee the Jews could NOT honor Joseph’s solemn request, one of the stories is the Egyptians put Joseph’s body in lead casket and sunk his remains in the deepest part of the Nile river. Even more mysteriously wild is the story that Moses went to one of Joseph’s long-living nieces, Serach, and asked her where they had sunk the casket. Moses, supposedly went to the edge of the riverbank and called out, “Joseph, Joseph – present yourself or release us from our oath!” Of corse this is all in Jewish folklore and not in the Bible at all. But it is fascinating to think that both the Egyptians and Joseph knew Israel would be moving on.

Jewish history tells us that it was 139 years later that Joseph’s bones would be taken with them and be buried in an odd, full-circle, final resting place. In Joshua 24:32, it is recorded that they bought a piece of land in Shechem, “The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought along with them when they left Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the plot of land Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor for 100 pieces of silver. This land was located in the territory allotted to the descendants of Joseph.” Why is that so strange? The Jewish Talmud says, “It was from Shechem that they [the brothers] stole him, and it was to Shechem that he was returned.” And continues, “Remember that when Joseph was sold as a slave by his own brothers and taken away from his dear father, it was in Shechem. Bringing him back to this site was an act of closure and historical justice.”

Are you kidding me? That’s so amazing! What’s the takeaway in all this? God is really into keeping His word and the level of detail spanning thousands of years is unfathomable! Everything, and I mean everything, is not just for a specific reason, it is also accurately timed and supernaturally placed to defy the possibility of anything being a coincidence. Everything God does is providentially perfect. The sooner we wrap our brains around that the faster we understand how critical it is that we not only trust God but in total faith believe Him at every second of every day.

Prayer

Dad,
Wow. Just wow. I am always so impressed by the level of detail and perfection that you carry out your will and your ways! No wonder Isaiah said your thoughts and your ways are so far above ours! It is so amazing to see this truth in history, yet so difficult for me to see them in both the present and the future. How can I doubt when there is such consistent evidence of your patient faithfulness in all of our human history? I have faith, but I always seem to need more when facing a dilemma or decision. Thank you for your grace as I grow in that faith.

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That death would pass over.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight. They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal.” Exodus‬ ‭12‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Like a scene right out of modern day horror movies, God tells His people, in these very ancient days, how to avoid the Angel of Death.

This one night, the Angel would makes its way through about 5 million people. Egypt’s population at the time was about 3 million and Israel had about 2 million. That’s a little more than the population of Los Angeles. Imagine the terror of a cataclysmic event sweeping from the foothills to the Orange Curtain when only and every and first born male (animals included), young or old, would be killed. This makes the Final Destination franchise look like a Saturday morning cartoon comparatively.

It is estimated that at least a half a million people did not wake up the next day. Lesson to be learned, don’t mess with God. When God asks a world leader to let his people go and warns them multiple times, showing them unfathomable miraculous power to carry out His plans – DO IT. Alternatively, when God warns His own to prepare (in great detail) and avoid death – DO IT. Both secular and sacred were adequately warned and given time to decide. Both secular and sacred would either heed and be spared or stubbornly deny and die. It was likely that some Egyptians close to the Israelites, listened and also participated in putting the Angel avoiding marks on their doorposts!

Is God cruel or our we just that stubborn? God is not cruel, but He is just, and always right. Here’s the overarching lesson for humankind. This absolutely true story stands as a global warning for all time.

Surprisingly Egypt as a country survived and still exists today, probably as a reminder to all of earth’s inhabitants. Is Egypt the superpower it was then? Does it still host a Pharaoh, who is the most powerful man in the entire region? No and no. It’s a very poor, broken country still plagued by death. Now, right alongside the wonders of ancient pyramids and the grand, but filthy Nile River there is danger, corruption and millions in slavery to its own poverty. God, in human flesh, actually lived in the country for a few years as and infant, yet still the secular, political powers that be will NOT bend a knee to the creator.

However, amidst the rancid smells of refuse and feces, under the oppressive rule of Islam (90%), there is a small but growing redeemed people of God in the country. The country no longer needs a death angel to remind them of their demise. Every single day poverty and disease does that. Thankfully things are improving for the ancient country of Egypt. One difficult data point – infant mortality, was peaking at 385 deaths per thousand births in 1955. Now, since 2020 that number has been lowered to only 20 deaths per a thousand births. One of the coolest opportunities to be a part of is our own SoCal Assemblies of God “Gateway Project.” One of the efforts in that project is to bring clean water via a simple water filter to the poorest parts of the nation. Clean water equals health!

Prayer

Dad,
So remarkable that one man, one ancient ruler could make a decision to try to annihilate an entire race by murdering their children. One child, through the disobedient intervention of his mother not only survived, but was raised by the same maniac who ordered his death. And that same child grew up to challenge the next ruler of that nation to set your people, Israel, free. And in that place of power, this new Pharaoh would make the decision that would cost the death of a half a million of his own people. What a stunning turn of events in history! Today, death still comes for all of us at some point. And today, like ancient days, you have provided a way of escape through Jesus. Thank you for the sign that hangs above my life and my family. We have the marks of Jesus telling the final death to passover, allowing us to live with you forever.