Leviticus

 The good news is that we are on to something new. I love the book of Exodus, but to try and write about it was actually more difficult that I thought it would be. To try and figure out what to include and what to skip over was a challenge I just wasn't expecting. So now we move on to the next book in the bible, Leviticus. When I go to read a new book, I like to look in the bible at the description they give. When I look at the book of Leviticus description, the first words I see are "A Continuation of the book of Exodus" That makes me a little nervous. Next, I focus on these words, " Leviticus sets down regulations to preserve the spiritual, moral, and physical purity of the people. Instructions are provided on how to live holy lives through sacrifice and worship". So, if I am reading that correctly, the book of Leviticus is a book about regulations and instructions. I would love to tell you that the description given is just an overview and that the book really isn't completely about that, but I can't. So, what I want to do is list some of the topics that are discussed in the book.

Ceremonially Clean and Unclean Animals

Serious Skin Diseases

Treatment of Contaminated Clothing

Cleansing from Skin Diseases

Bodily Discharges

Prohibitions against Eating Blood

Forbidden Sexual Practices

An Example of Just Punishment

Redemption of Property

Redemption of the Poor and Enslaved

So, after reading those topics you really want to ask yourself the question, why? Why did God give us a book with all of those things in it? I'm sure that someone out there finds reading that kind of stuff amazing, but most of the people I have ever talked to really don't find the book exciting. So, I want to give two opinions on this book. First, God knew what was going on in the world at that time. If God did not come up with rules and regulations for his people to follow, they would end up just like everyone else. This is something that I feel like I am guilty of. I don't think I would call myself a follower, but I do find myself compromising when I didn't even realize it. With movies and music, I especially struggle. If you turn on the radio today, it's filled with music that 25 years ago would have been banned. What was an R-rated movie when I was younger seems to be PG-13 now. One of my struggles over the last month has been that if I take myself away from this blog for any amount of time, it's hard to get going again. Doesn't that mean that when we take ourselves away from Godly things or religious things it's hard to get back to it. For those of you following the reading plan, have you ever missed two days in a row? It's a guilt trip just to get going again. God had to come up with a whole new set of rules because he knew how hard the struggle was. The second reason he gives us this book about regulations and instructions is to tell us about the reward for following them. In chapter 26 the headline says this " Blessings for Obedience".  So, what is the reward for following what God wants? Let's look at Leviticus 26:3-13.

3 “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, 4 I will send you the seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops, and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. 5 Your threshing season will overlap with the grape harvest, and your grape harvest will overlap with the season of planting grain. You will eat your fill and live securely in your own land. 

6 “I will give you peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep with no cause for fear. I will rid the land of wild animals and keep your enemies out of your land. 7 In fact, you will chase down your enemies and slaughter them with your swords. 8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand! All your enemies will fall beneath your sword. 

9 “I will look favorably upon you, making you fertile and multiplying your people. And I will fulfill my covenant with you. 10 You will have such a surplus of crops that you will need to clear out the old grain to make room for the new harvest! 11 I will live among you, and I will not despise you. 12 I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high. 

When I read that I actually get sad. Is that what we could have if we obeyed? God is saying that we will have more food than we need, we will have peace from all of our enemies, and he will live among us. All we have to do is obey! I feel like I need to start each day reading those verses. Everything we could ever need and all we have to do is obey!

Exodus part 4

 When we ended the last post, we were discussing how the Israelites were in awe of God after he helped Moses part the Red Sea. Before we move on to the book of Leviticus, I want to spend some time looking at some of the ways that the Israelites struggled with faith or just following God. Chapter 14 of Exodus was the parting of the Red Sea, chapter 15 starts with the Israelites singing a song of deliverance. But, by the end of chapter 15 we already have an issue, let's look at verses 22-27

Bitter Water at Marah

22 Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur. They traveled in this desert for three days without finding any water. 23 When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”). 

24 Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded. 25 So Moses cried out to the LORD for help, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink. 

It was there at Marah that the LORD set before them the following decree as a standard to test their faithfulness to him. 26 He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you.” 

27 After leaving Marah, the Israelites traveled on to the oasis of Elim, where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees. They camped there beside the water. 

Am I reading that correctly? Did it really just take 3 days before they started to lack faith? The Lord uses this as a learning opportunity, in verse 26 he says to carefully listen and do what is right in his sight, then he will not make you suffer any diseases that the Egyptians had. Then even though they didn't have faith, he led them to the oasis of Elim, where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees. The Lord showed great parenting skills here, the kids were misbehaving, he used it as an opportunity for a lesson and then when he believed that they had listened, he rewarded them. Now, everyone who has even done any babysitting knows that you do something like this hoping that the behavior has been fixed. But, let's look at the start of chapter 16.

Manna and Quail from Heaven

Then the whole community of Israel set out from Elim and journeyed into the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month, one month after leaving the land of Egypt. 2 There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron. 

3 “If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.” 

One month after being in awe they moan that it would have been better to die in Egypt. This is why I love the book of Exodus. I want to argue and complain about how crazy the Israelites are, but I know that this is a reflection of my life. I wonder how many times I have been in awe of something that the Lord did for me only so that less than a month later I would complain that it would be better if my life was over. Maybe I don't go to that extreme, but I am sure that instead I said something about wishing that I could be in completely different circumstances. Why do we not trust God? So, after God fixed the food situation, let's move on to chapter 17.

Water from the Rock

At the LORD’s command, the whole community of Israel left the wilderness of Sin and moved from place to place. Eventually they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink. 2 So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded. 

I can't imagine what this was like for Moses. No matter what he did, or what God did, the people complained. Moses shows some frustration after their complaining this time.

“Quiet!” Moses replied. “Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the LORD?” 

3 But tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?” 

4 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What should I do with these people? They are ready to stone me!” 

I'm glad that Moses went to the Lord with their complaining. Maybe that is something we should do more. When the world around us is complaining, instead of going to someone else and complaining about the complainers, take to the Lord. Here is how the Lord responds.

5 The LORD said to Moses, “Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you. 6 I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.” So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on. 

7 Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD here with us or not?” 

When I read this, I have a few thoughts. First of all, The Lord provided for them AGAIN! Second, I wish that I knew enough about other languages to give fancy names to certain places. When I go to the store, instead of calling it the store, maybe I could call it " The Place of Impulsive Purchases". Then every time I went there, I would have to think about the times that I wasted money on impulsive purchases. All throughout the Old Testament are stories of people complaining about the situation they are in. I think it's so important to read those stories and realize that we are the same way. When we focus so much time complaining about the situation we are in, we can't focus on the lesson we need to take from the situation. Next time we find ourselves in a situation we aren't happy about, we need to stop and pray and ask God what we can learn.

Exodus Part 3

 When I am writing I am usually thinking about a few different things. First, I want to bring attention to a certain area of the bible. Second, I want to give some sort of modern-day perspective to the part of the bible we are looking at. Sometimes I assume that the reader knows a certain amount about that story and so I either skip over something or I don't spend as much time on something. So here we are on part 3 of Exodus and at some point, we have either make this a 10-part series or we have to skim over some things. It's hard to skim over Exodus when my whole purpose is to show the bible through the eyes of God's people. So as a compromise, I want to see if focus on certain things and then just briefly mention others. When we finished part two, Moses was on his way to Egypt. As chapter 5 starts, Moses and his brother Aaron are now ready to talk to Pharoah. Let's see how that first meeting goes. 

Chapter 5

Moses and Aaron Speak to Pharaoh

After this presentation to Israel’s leaders, Moses and Aaron went and spoke to Pharaoh. They told him, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go so they may hold a festival in my honor in the wilderness.” 

2 “Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “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.” 

3 But Aaron and Moses persisted. “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.” 

4 Pharaoh replied, “Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their tasks? Get back to work! 5 Look, there are many of your people in the land, and you are stopping them from their work.” 

A few things are confusing to me when I first read this. In verse three, Moses tells Pharoah that they need to take a three-day journey. I thought this was a rescue mission. In order for us to realize the big picture we have to remember that God said that he would harden Pharoah's heart. In chapter 3:18-22, When Moses is trying to convince God not to send him, this is one of the many responses that God has for Moses.

18 “The elders of Israel will accept your message. Then you and the elders must go to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD, our God.’ 

19 “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand forces him. 20 So I will raise my hand and strike the Egyptians, performing all kinds of miracles among them. Then at last he will let you go. 21 And I will cause the Egyptians to look favorably on you. They will give you gifts when you go so you will not leave empty-handed. 22 Every Israelite woman will ask for articles of silver and gold and fine clothing from her Egyptian neighbors and from the foreign women in their houses. You will dress your sons and daughters with these, stripping the Egyptians of their wealth.” 

Again, in the name of time, I want to look at just how hard-hearted Pharoah was. Let's list the 10 plagues that happened before Pharoah decided to finally let the people go.

1.Water to blood (Chapter 7)

2.Frogs (Chapter 8)

3.Gnats (Chapter 8)

4.Flies (Chapter 8)

5.A plague against livestock (Chapter 9)

6.Boils (Chapter 9)

7.Hail (Chapter 9)

8.Locusts (Chapter 10)

9.Darkness (Chapter 10)

10. Death of the first born (Chapter 11)

This list is all over the place in some ways, Frogs, gnats, flies and locusts all seem annoying and overwhelming to me. Water to blood is both scary and creepy. Boils are painful. Darkness is a way of not only showing power but also taking away something that we always take for granted. Hail is the destruction of what they spent so much time building. All of the time they spent, and God destroyed in a very short time. Now if we look at the plague against the livestock and the death of the first born. Pharoah was so selfish that even after livestock died, he didn't listen. It wasn't until someone died in every single household that he was ready to listen and even that didn't work for very long. 

Now before we move on, I just want to look at something. Let's look at Genesis 46:31:33

31 And Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s entire family, “I will go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘My brothers and my father’s entire family have come to me from the land of Canaan. 32 These men are shepherds, and they raise livestock. They have brought with them their flocks and herds and everything they own.’ ” 

33 Then he said, “When Pharaoh calls for you and asks you about your occupation, 34 you must tell him, ‘We, your servants, have raised livestock all our lives, as our ancestors have always done.’ When you tell him this, he will let you live here in the region of Goshen, for the Egyptians despise shepherds.” 

The reason I want to look at this really quickly is because I want to point out that over 400 years before Moses was going to lead the people out of Egypt God led Joseph's family to Goshen, not to Egypt. The Egyptians despised shepherds and so they didn't want to be around them. They could have been insulted, they could have argued, instead they did what Joseph told them to do. What Joseph told them to do was all a part of God's plan. If you go and read about when the plagues were happening, Goshen did not have the darkness and they also did not have the plague of livestock and of course they did not have the death of the first born. We get so angry when we are left out of something. I believe the kids these days call in FOMO, The fear of missing out. God had a plan and the Israelites listened. Instead of being mad when we feel like we are being separated we need to understand that maybe that is God's will and that he is protecting us from something down the road.

Ok, back to the story. We are now at the point where they Egyptians are getting ready to finally be done with the Israelites. This is what happened right before and during the final plague.

Exodus 12:21-23, 28-30

21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel together and said to them, “Go, pick out a lamb or young goat for each of your families, and slaughter the Passover animal. 22 Drain the blood into a basin. Then take a bundle of hyssop branches and dip it into the blood. Brush the hyssop across the top and sides of the doorframes of your houses. And no one may go out through the door until morning. 23 For the LORD will pass through the land to strike down the Egyptians. But when he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, the LORD will pass over your home. He will not permit his death angel to enter your house and strike you down.

28 So the people of Israel did just as the LORD had commanded through Moses and Aaron. 29 And that night at midnight, the LORD struck down all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn son of the prisoner in the dungeon. Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night, and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died. 

After this, Moses had Pharoah's attention, here is what Pharoah said to Moses in Exodus 12:31-36

Israel’s Exodus from Egypt

31 Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron during the night. “Get out!” he ordered. “Leave my people—and take the rest of the Israelites with you! Go and worship the LORD as you have requested. 32 Take your flocks and herds, as you said, and be gone. Go, but bless me as you leave.” 33 All the Egyptians urged the people of Israel to get out of the land as quickly as possible, for they thought, “We will all die!” 

34 The Israelites took their bread dough before yeast was added. They wrapped their kneading boards in their cloaks and carried them on their shoulders. 35 And the people of Israel did as Moses had instructed; they asked the Egyptians for clothing and articles of silver and gold. 36 The LORD caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the Israelites, and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for. So they stripped the Egyptians of their wealth! 

I worry I am like the Egyptians more often than I want to admit. I wait so long to do what God wants; I end up being stripped of my wealth. 

Now this is a part where I really want to quickly go over, If you grew up in the church or are following in the reading plan, the next part is the parting of the Red Sea. I don't want to completely dismiss it, but I also think it's something that has been spoken of plenty of times. The main thing I want to point out is that this is a post about Moses and it's important to know that the parting of the Red Sea was all God. I will put it here for anyone to read who wants to, this is Exodus 14:15-31.

Escape through the Red Sea

15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! 16 Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground. 17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will charge in after the Israelites. My great glory will be displayed through Pharaoh and his troops, his chariots, and his charioteers. 18 When my glory is displayed through them, all Egypt will see my glory and know that I am the LORD!” 

21 Then Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the LORD opened up a path through the water with a strong east wind. The wind blew all that night, turning the seabed into dry land. 22 So the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on each side! 

23 Then the Egyptians—all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and charioteers—chased them into the middle of the sea. 24 But just before dawn the LORD looked down on the Egyptian army from the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw their forces into total confusion. 25 He twisted their chariot wheels, making their chariots difficult to drive. “Let’s get out of here—away from these Israelites!” the Egyptians shouted. “The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt!” 

26 When all the Israelites had reached the other side, the LORD said to Moses, “Raise your hand over the sea again. Then the waters will rush back and cover the Egyptians and their chariots and charioteers.” 27 So as the sun began to rise, Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the water rushed back into its usual place. The Egyptians tried to escape, but the LORD swept them into the sea. 28 Then the waters returned and covered all the chariots and charioteers—the entire army of Pharaoh. Of all the Egyptians who had chased the Israelites into the sea, not a single one survived. 

29 But the people of Israel had walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, as the water stood up like a wall on both sides. 30 That is how the LORD rescued Israel from the hand of the Egyptians that day. And the Israelites saw the bodies of the Egyptians washed up on the seashore. 31 When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the LORD had unleashed against the Egyptians, they were filled with awe before him. They put their faith in the LORD and in his servant Moses. 

Again, I want the focus to be on God. Moses was a great leader, but the Israelites really struggled with faith. Read verse 31, it says that when they saw the mighty power of the Lord, they were in awe. That tells me that before that they weren't in awe. Everything they had seen up to that point, and they still couldn't understand how powerful God truly was.

Exodus Part 2 Who is Moses?

 For those of us that are a certain age, do you ever think about what it would be like to have a child right now? Obviously having a child no matter what or when is a beautiful thing, and if you are thinking about having a child right now, understand that our church family will be there for you. Or, if you ever need advice someone is there for you. But I do think about what it would be like to raise a child right now. Religion doesn't seem to be a priority to people right now, and it seems like the world is more divided than ever. But this has to be better than when Moses was born right? Let's look at the situation that Moses was born into, this happens in Exodus 1:22.

22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live.”

Let's be honest, Moses was born into a situation that was rougher than a raising a child right now. So how did Moses survive? Here is the story of his birth in Exodus chapter 2:

Chapter 2

The Birth of Moses

About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. 2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. 4 The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him. 

5 Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her. 6 When the princess opened it, she saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This must be one of the Hebrew children,” she said. 

7 Then the baby’s sister approached the princess. “Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” she asked. 

8 “Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby’s mother. 

9 “Take this baby and nurse him for me,” the princess told the baby’s mother. “I will pay you for your help.” So the woman took her baby home and nursed him. 

10 Later, when the boy was older, his mother brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. The princess named him Moses, for she explained, “I lifted him out of the water.” 

I would probably call this miracle number one of Moses life. God was at work already. That's important to think about. So many people think that being born is just luck or that God waits until we are born to see what he has to decide if he can work with us or not. Even before Pharoah had a plan to throw every Hebrew boy into the river, God had a plan to use Moses. That means that before you were even born, God had a plan. Now we are going to find out that we do not need to be perfect or even close to perfect to be used by God.

Moses Escapes to Midian

11 Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. 12 After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand. 

13 The next day, when Moses went out to visit his people again, he saw two Hebrew men fighting. “Why are you beating up your friend?” Moses said to the one who had started the fight. 

14 The man replied, “Who appointed you to be our prince and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?” 

Then Moses was afraid, thinking, “Everyone knows what I did.” 15 And sure enough, Pharaoh heard what had happened, and he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian. 

I'm not sure if anyone knows someone who has murdered someone, but if we did, what would we think of them? When we think about sins that a person can commit, isn't murder not only the first one that we think of, but don't we also believe that it's the worst sin? So now Moses has committed a murder and he is forced to flee. Some of us are so stuck in our ways that the only way we will get up off the couch and move is if we are forced to flee our current situation. So now that Moses has murdered someone, can God still use him? Again, I don't want to be in everyone's business, but don't we consistently believe that if we are guilty of a certain sin that God no longer wants us. Once we believe that God may not want us, most of us stop communicating with God. We believe that he is mad at us and done with us. Not only good spiritual advice but also good marriage advice, if you mess up, admit it, and communicate even more than before. Most of the time we got ourselves into a bad situation because we didn't communicate very well, so how do we solve the issue, start talking and keep talking. 

Up next, we have another interesting situation, when we mess up and we are ready to repent, we get ahead of ourselves. I said sorry, so now I believe that everything is back to normal, and you should 100% trust me and give me everything that I had before and more. God decides that Moses needs time and lots of it. When he fled Egypt, he went to a place called Midian. While in Midian, Moses found a job and a wife. During all of this time something else happens, this is what is says in Exodus 2:23.

23 Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. 24 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act. 

If they had email, text or Facebook during the time of Moses, I think Moses would have read the update on his phone and thought, " Those poor people, I really hope someone goes and helps them". I feel like I do that a lot, I read something, or I hear about it from someone, and I really do hope that someone helps them, but I really don't want it to be me. I worry that if God wants me to really do something he is going to have to do something bold to get my attention. I guess that's what he had to do with Moses also. This is what happens in Exodus chapter 3.

Chapter 3

Moses and the Burning Bush

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. 2 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. 3 “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.” 

4 When the LORD saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” 

“Here I am!” Moses replied. 

5 “Do not come any closer,” the LORD warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God. 

7 Then the LORD told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. 9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

What part do you focus on more if this is you? At first you have a burning bush, then you have an angel of the Lord appear to you, then finally you have God calling you from the middle of the bush. AMAZING! But there is a very big catch. He only got your attention so that he can tell you that you have to go to Egypt to save his people. I really hope that if God came to me in any form I would be willing. I worry that I would argue with God. Between Exodus 3:11 and Exodus 4:13 it says that Moses protested 3 times and pleaded with God twice. This is what it says in verse 13.

13 But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.” 

Now notice what it says in verse 14.

14 Then the LORD became angry with Moses. “All right,” he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you

Remember earlier when we were talking about murderers? Moses was forgiven, he was given a new start. He was given a wife and a son. We would have written him off. We would have talked about him behind his back. God came to him and said, I need you. I want you. Moses protested and pleaded. I wonder how many times I have protested and pleaded with God? I wonder what he wanted me to do. Did God ask me to tell someone at work about him and instead I protested? Did he ask me to give money to a poor person and I pleaded? 

This is how chapter 4 ends.

Moses Returns to Egypt

18 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. 

19 Before Moses left Midian, the LORD said to him, “Return to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you have died.” 

20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to the land of Egypt. In his hand he carried the staff of God. 

21 And the LORD told Moses, “When you arrive back in Egypt, go to Pharaoh and perform all the miracles I have empowered you to do. But I will harden his heart so he will refuse to let the people go. 22 Then you will tell him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son. 23 I commanded you, “Let my son go, so he can worship me.” But since you have refused, I will now kill your firstborn son!’ ” 

24 On the way to Egypt, at a place where Moses and his family had stopped for the night, the LORD confronted him and was about to kill him. 25 But Moses’ wife, Zipporah, took a flint knife and circumcised her son. She touched his feet with the foreskin and said, “Now you are a bridegroom of blood to me.” 26 (When she said “a bridegroom of blood,” she was referring to the circumcision.) After that, the LORD left him alone. 

27 Now the LORD had said to Aaron, “Go out into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So Aaron went and met Moses at the mountain of God, and he embraced him. 28 Moses then told Aaron everything the LORD had commanded him to say. And he told him about the miraculous signs the LORD had commanded him to perform. 

29 Then Moses and Aaron returned to Egypt and called all the elders of Israel together. 30 Aaron told them everything the LORD had told Moses, and Moses performed the miraculous signs as they watched. 31 Then the people of Israel were convinced that the LORD had sent Moses and Aaron. When they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. 

This is just the introduction of Moses; next we will see what a great leader he was and how he led the people out of Egypt. As we finish this post, I pray that we realize how much God has forgiven us. We have done so many little things and we take it for granted that we are forgiven. I also pray that we are ready when God asks us to do something. I don't want to protest any more. I am ready to be someone that God can use. I want the world to know that they are forgiven just like me and that God can rescue them. 

Another question from the comments-Dedication of the first born

 For those of you following a long in the daily reading, an interesting question came in. For the reading on February 5th, the reading from Exodus 13 starts off with this:

Dedication of the Firstborn

Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Dedicate to me every firstborn among the Israelites. The first offspring to be born, of both humans and animals, belongs to me.” 

So, the question that came in was this:

My question is with February fifth. It talks about leaving or giving your 1st born son to God and then you can buy him back. One who is taking care of the kid, and how are you buying him back out?

Great question, in order to answer this question, I have to read your mind a little bit. Because you said, who is taking care of this kid, I have to assume that you are actually referring to a different story and thinking that the same thing applies. Let's look at 1 Samuel 1:9-18

Hannah’s Prayer for a Son

9 Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle. 10 Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the LORD. 11 And she made this vow: “O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the LORD, his hair will never be cut.” 

12 As she was praying to the LORD, Eli watched her. 13 Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. 14 “Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!” 

15 “Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the LORD. 16 Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.” 

17 “In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.” 

18 “Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad. 

I believe this is the story you are thinking of when you hear the words " Dedicate to me every first born".  When Hannah says this, she does actually mean that she will physically give her son to Eli. This is what it says in 1 Samuel 1:24-28.

24 When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine. 25 After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. 26 “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the LORD. 27 I asked the LORD to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. 28 Now I am giving him to the LORD, and he will belong to the LORD his whole life.” And they worshiped the LORD there. 

So in this situation, part of Hannah's prayer was that if God would give her the son she wanted, she would give her child back to God. The situation and the words used are very similar to what is used in the February 5th reading. One key thing I want to point out, in the February 5th reading God is talking to his people. In the story of Hannah, she is talking to God. I point that out because I do think that sometimes we don't realize that God is actually asking from us way less than we think he is. We make it seem like he is asking the impossible of us when he just wants love and attention. So, now that we have hopefully established what you were thinking about during the reading, what is God actually asking for in Exodus 13? Here is where it gets a little tricky. I have looked over many different commentaries and it's hard to define. The main thing that they all agree on is the fact that the Israelites are going through the act of dedicating the first born because during the 10th plague when they were trying to leave Egypt, God sacrificed all of the first-born sons and animals of all of the Egyptians but did touch the first born of the Israelites. As a remembrance of this, they celebrate the Passover, and they dedicate their first born. So, the good news is that they all agree on why they do this. The bad news is that they are not very clear about how they do this. Some say that they give a certain amount of money to the priests, others say that they sacrifice an animal. So, you would actually hand over the first born to the priest and then buy him back with a certain amount of money or a sacrifice of some kind. Others say that you are making the commitment to have your first-born study the word. That way he could lead the next generation in knowing what to do to follow God. Either way, in the end, the parents are still raising their first-born child and they have "bought him back from God" by either giving money or making a sacrifice to God. Hopefully that answers your question, if not please let me know and we can try it again! 

As always, Thank you for the question, and keep more coming!!

Exodus part one

I really believe that if we could see how connected the bible is we would want to dive in more and keep trying to find more and more connections. I bring that up because the combination of how long it has taken me to get back on here and the fact that we read Job in between Genesis and Exodus, you kind of forgot what happened last in the book of Genesis. So, before we can move on to Exodus, I want to take a few moments to show how the books of Genesis and Exodus connect. First, I want to look at Genesis 15:12:15

12 As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him. 13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. 14 But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. 15 (As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.)

Now look at Genesis 50:22-24

The Death of Joseph

22 So Joseph and his brothers and their families continued to live in Egypt. Joseph lived to the age of 110. 23 He lived to see three generations of descendants of his son Ephraim, and he lived to see the birth of the children of Manasseh’s son Makir, whom he claimed as his own. 24 “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.” 

I wanted to start off by looking at those two sets of scripture because I wanted to remind everyone that as the book of Genesis was ending, the people probably thought everything was wonderful. But God had given warning signs to tell everyone that in the end this was not a great situation, and they would be slaves and eventually they would need God to deliver them out of this bad situation.

Now, let's actually move on to the book of Exodus! Let's start off by looking at Exodus 1:6-11.

6 In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation. 7 But their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and grandchildren. In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land. 

8 Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done. 9 He said to his people, “Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. 10 We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country.” 

11 So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king.

I want to point out something really quickly before we get too far. The book starts out mentioning the fact that Joseph has died. Obviously, no one can live forever, but I think sometimes we don't realize what happens when we lose a great leader. We have people in our life that are making a great impact and then when they leave, we aren't prepared for it. Sadly, when some people who are impacting us negatively leave, we mourn far more.

So now the Israelites are all slaves to the Egyptians, the Egyptians are smart enough to realize that if they don't do something, the Israelites will keep getting bigger and possibly one day take over all of Egypt. So, they come up with a great plan, kill all the male babies.

Exodus 1:15-16

15 Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah: 16 “When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.”

And again, God comes through for them:

Exodus 1:17-21

17 But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too. 

18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. “Why have you done this?” he demanded. “Why have you allowed the boys to live?” 

19 “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women,” the midwives replied. “They are more vigorous and have their babies so quickly that we cannot get there in time.” 

20 So God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. 

Knowing what we know about God, we know that he is going to use all of this for his good. He is going to use this situation to bring us the next great leader we need. Again, a lesson that we all need to remember, through tragedy, God always has a plan. Let's continue moving to chapter two of Exodus.

Chapter 2

The Birth of Moses

About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. 2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. 4 The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him. 

5 Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her. 6 When the princess opened it, she saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This must be one of the Hebrew children,” she said. 

7 Then the baby’s sister approached the princess. “Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” she asked. 

8 “Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby’s mother. 

9 “Take this baby and nurse him for me,” the princess told the baby’s mother. “I will pay you for your help.” So the woman took her baby home and nursed him. 

10 Later, when the boy was older, his mother brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. The princess named him Moses, for she explained, “I lifted him out of the water.” 

I want to take a quick break before we continue to talk about Moses in the next post, but I just want to point out something here. The only way that an Israelite male baby would be safe during this time, would be if it had something to do with Pharoah's family. God found a way to put this baby in the only possible safe place. 

We have now been introduced to Moses, and we have seen that Genesis set us up for Exodus. I'm going to take a short break and answer a question that was made in the comments and then I will be back quickly to continue to talk about Moses.

A question from the comments-Who exactly is Laban??

We had a question come up in the comments from one of the posts. I wanted to take a few moments to encourage any and all questions at any time. The question comes from Genesis, we hear so much about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but what about the man Nahor that is mentioned. Here is the question below and then we will go over the answer:

 I know you are in Job right now while we are still in Genesis. My question comes from Genesis 31:52. Laban is making his covenant with Jacob, he mentions Abraham; which we hear a lot of, he also mentions his grandfather Nahor. Who is Nahor and do Laban's people believe in God?

Great question, let's take a look at the very few times that Nahor is mentioned. 

Genesis 11:26

²⁶ After Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran

What we find out from this verse is that Abram, who later becomes Abraham is brothers with Nahor. 

Later on we hear more about Nahor's family, let's look at Genesis chapter 22.

Genesis 22:20-24

²⁰ Soon after this, Abraham heard that Milcah, his brother Nahor’s wife, had borne Nahor eight sons. ²¹ The oldest was named Uz, the next oldest was Buz, followed by Kemuel (the ancestor of the Arameans), ²² Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. ²³ (Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) In addition to these eight sons from Milcah, ²⁴ Nahor had four other children from his concubine Reumah. Their names were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

The key verse here is verse 23, it says that Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Let's look at chapter 24 to see who Rebekah is. 

Chapter 24

A Wife for Isaac

Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. ² One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh. ³ Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. ⁴ Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”

 

⁹ So the servant took an oath by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He swore to follow Abraham’s instructions. ¹⁰ Then he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim. There he went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled. ¹¹ He made the camels kneel beside a well just outside the town. It was evening, and the women were coming out to draw water.

 

¹⁵ Before he had finished praying, he saw a young woman named Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah. ¹⁶ Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be married, but she was still a virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again. ¹⁷ Running over to her, the servant said, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.” 

29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, who ran out to meet the man at the spring.

Ok, so if we have all of this straight, that means that Abraham had a son named Isaac. Isaac married Rebekah, who had a brother named Laban. So that would mean that Jacob made a covenant with his uncle, because Laban was his mom's brother. 

Now to the second part of your question, Do Laban's people believe in God? I am going to yes, just because of the way that Laban's mentions the covenant in Genesis 31:53

51 “See this pile of stones,” Laban continued, “and see this monument I have set between us. 52 They stand between us as witnesses of our vows. I will never pass this pile of stones to harm you, and you must never pass these stones or this monument to harm me. 53 I call on the God of our ancestors—the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of my grandfather Nahor—to serve as a judge between us.” 

Since he recognizes God as the God of Jacob's grandfather and his grandfather, they must have similar beliefs, that is what would make them both respect the boundaries agreed upon.

Great question, I don't have anything to post for next week since we are still in the book of Job, so let's keep the questions coming!