1500.) Exodus 19

The mountain traditionally assumed to be Mount Sinai, known locally as Jebel Musa.

Exodus 19   (NRSV)

The Israelites Reach Mount Sinai

On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai. ²They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness;

It took them three months of trusting God to get to this place, but they finally arrived. They saw God’s deliverance from Egypt, received His guidance on the way to go, saw His glorious victory at the Red Sea, received God’s miraculous gifts of food and water, and they saw a prayerful victory won over the Amalekites.

Israel stayed in the Wilderness of Sinai until Numbers 10. More than 57 chapters of Scripture are devoted to what happened to Israel in the year they camped at Mount Sinai.

The word conventionally translated ‘wilderness’ is not a sandy desert, but grazing country, not settled by man.

–David Guzik

Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

I offer this interesting idea for you to consider: 

There is good reason to believe that the traditional site of Mount Sinai –- on the Sinai Peninsula -– is not the correct location of the mountain where all this came to pass.

According to Exodus 2:15, 3:1, and 3:12 this mountain was in the region of Midian, which was on the east side of the Gulf of Aqaba, east of the Sinai Peninsula. The ancient land of Midian is in the modern nation of Saudi Arabia.

In Galatians 4:25, the Apostle Paul clearly described Mount Sinai as being in Arabia. Though some claim that this can also be understood as extending to the Sinai Peninsula, this isn’t the normal understanding of where Arabia is, either in the modern or the ancient understanding.

There is significant evidence – both historic and archaeological -– to associate the Arabian mountain Jebel al-Lawz with the site of Mount Sinai.

–David Guzik

Certain scholars reject that hypothesis, but it is a tantalizing proposition and you are welcome to investigate it for yourself!

³Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: ⁴You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

Bald Eagle soaring, in flight against snow capped mountains of Kachemak Bay State Park, Homer, Alaska. Photo by Carl Donohue.

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Music:

HERE  is “On Eagle’s Wings”  written in 1979 by Michael Joncas, a Roman Catholic priest.

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⁵Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, ⁶but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”

1 Peter 2:5 (New Living Translation)

And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple.  What’s more, you are his holy priests.Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.

⁷So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. ⁸The people all answered as one: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.” Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.

⁹Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so trust you ever after.”

The People Consecrated

When Moses had told the words of the people to the Lord, ¹⁰the Lord said to Moses: “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes ¹¹and prepare for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

Meeting with God requires preparation.  God is awesome and perfectly holy.  When the children of Israel were to meet with Him, God commanded them first to take two full days to prepare.  Once the people were ready, however, God spoke to them with thunder and lightning, with smoke and fire and the sound of loud trumpets.  It was through this encounter that God revealed such marvelous truths as the Ten Commandments, establishing the standard by which God expected His people to live.

You cannot spend day after day in the world without its affecting your mind and will and heart.  It doesn’t take long to become disoriented to the ways of God.  The world has a dulling effect on your spiritual sensibilities.  God established the Sabbath so His people could take an entire day to refocus on Him and His will for them after spending six days in the world.

How do you prepare for your times of worship?  What fills your mind the night before?  Often the last thing you put into your mind at night is still on your mind the next morning.  Genuine worship requires spiritual preparation.  Your experience of worship reflect your spiritual preparation.  Prepare yourself now for your next encounter with God.

–Henry T. Blackaby

¹²You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death. ¹³No hand shall touch them, but they shall be stoned or shot with arrows; whether animal or human being, they shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they may go up on the mountain.”

¹⁴So Moses went down from the mountain to the people. He consecrated the people, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵And he said to the people, “Prepare for the third day; do not go near a woman.”

¹⁶On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain, and a blast of a trumpet so loud that all the people who were in the camp trembled. ¹⁷Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended upon it in fire; the smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln, while the whole mountain shook violently.

Psalm 104:31-32 (New International Version)

May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works-

he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

¹⁹As the blast of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses would speak and God would answer him in thunder.

Mark 9:7 (New Living Translation)

Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.”

²⁰When the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain, the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

View from Mt. Sinai. Photograph by Stephan Edelbroich.

²¹Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to the Lord to look; otherwise many of them will perish. ²²Even the priests who approach the Lord must consecrate themselves or the Lord will break out against them.”

²³Moses said to the Lord, “The people are not permitted to come up to Mount Sinai; for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and keep it holy.’“

²⁴The Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you; but do not let either the priests or the people break through to come up to the Lord; otherwise he will break out against them.”

²⁵So Moses went down to the people and told them.

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Mount Sinai.   http://www.st-katherine.net/images/pgsMusa01.jpg

Donohue.   http://www.skolaiimages.com/stock/albums/eagles/baldeagle_a_049.jpg

smoke on mountain.   http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/17076469.jpg

Edelbroich.   http://www.photo-exhibits.com/africa/egypt_photos/images/sinai_mt-sinai_view_col.jpg

1499.) Exodus 18

“Jethro Advises Moses” copper engraving by Dutch artist Caspar Luiken, 1712

Exodus 18  (NRSV)

Jethro’s Advice

Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.

²After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro took her back, ³along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been an alien in a foreign land”), ⁴and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”).

⁵Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came into the wilderness where Moses was encamped at the mountain of God, bringing Moses’ sons and wife to him. ⁶He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you, with your wife and her two sons.”

⁷Moses went out to meet his father-in-law; he bowed down and kissed him; each asked after the other’s welfare, and they went into the tent. ⁸Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had beset them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them.

Psalm 105:37-43 (New Living Translation)

The Lord brought his people out of Egypt, loaded with silver and gold;
and not one among the tribes of Israel even stumbled.
Egypt was glad when they were gone,
for they feared them greatly.
The Lord spread a cloud above them as a covering
and gave them a great fire to light the darkness.
They asked for meat, and he sent them quail;
he satisfied their hunger with manna—bread from heaven.
He split open a rock, and water gushed out
to form a river through the dry wasteland.
For he remembered his sacred promise
to his servant Abraham.
So he brought his people out of Egypt with joy,
his chosen ones with rejoicing.

⁹Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in delivering them from the Egyptians. ¹⁰Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh. ¹¹Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because he delivered the people from the Egyptians, when they dealt arrogantly with them.” ¹²And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.

“Jethro and Moses” watercolor by James Tissot, 1900

¹³The next day Moses sat as judge for the people, while the people stood around him from morning until evening. ¹⁴When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?”

¹⁵Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. ¹⁶When they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make known to them the statutes and instructions of God.”

¹⁷Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. ¹⁹Now listen to me. I will give you counsel, and God be with you! You should represent the people before God, and you should bring their cases before God; ²⁰teach them the statutes and instructions and make known to them the way they are to go and the things they are to do.

Reflection:

Jethro told Moses to focus on the two important things that only Moses could do: he should pray (speak to God on behalf of the people) and teach (show them how to live before God).

In the early church, the apostles came to a similar conclusion.  They decided not to undertake tasks that others could do, in order to do what only they could do:  “We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word“ — Acts 6:3-4 (my emphasis).

Are you spending your time on the things that only you can do?  Can you delegate some of your responsibilities to others, to free yourself to spend more time in prayer and in the Word of God?

²¹You should also look for able men among all the people, men who fear God, are trustworthy, and hate dishonest gain; set such men over them as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²²Let them sit as judges for the people at all times; let them bring every important case to you, but decide every minor case themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. ²³If you do this, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people will go to their home in peace.”

²⁴So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said.

Proverbs 16:20 (New International Version)

Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers,
and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.

²⁵Moses chose able men from all Israel and appointed them as heads over the people, as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. ²⁶And they judged the people at all times; hard cases they brought to Moses, but any minor case they decided themselves.

This was good for Moses. He could focus on the most important things and not be overwhelmed and overstressed by many smaller tasks.

This was good for the leaders Moses chose. Capable men were given real responsibility and had the opportunity to serve God’s people in meaningful ways and further God’s work.

This was good for the congregation. Prayed for and taught by Moses, they were able to settle more things themselves. When they did need a dispute settled, they received quicker attention and better attention from the delegated leaders than from Moses himself.

–David Guzik

²⁷Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went off to his own country.

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Music:

HERE  Jessica Wise sings (so beautifully) “Blest Be the Tie that Binds.”  “We share our mutual woes, our mutual burdens share . . . “

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Luiken.   http://www.pitts.emory.edu/woodcuts/1712BiblA/00002350.jpg

advice and support.   http://www.gambleaware.co.uk/img/ctas/support-advice.jpg

Tissot.    http://uploads2.wikipaintings.org/images/james-tissot/jethro-and-moses-as-in-exodus-18-1900.jpg

advice note.   http://blog.atrinternational.com/Portals/128828/images/advice.jpg

judge.   http://www.chabad.org/media/images/66/xuar666327.jpg

1498.) Exodus 17

Water flowing over the rocks at Cape Breton National Park in Nova Scotia, Canada

Exodus 17   (NRSV)

Water from the Rock

From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ²The people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?”

³But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?”

⁴So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he’ll take and shield thee;
thou wilt find a solace there.

⁵The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. ⁶I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

1 Corinthians 10:1-4 (Amplified Bible)

For I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, that our forefathers were all under and protected by the cloud [in which God’s Presence went before them], and every one of them passed safely through the [Red] Sea,

And each one of them [allowed himself also] to be baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea [they were thus brought under obligation to the Law, to Moses, and to the covenant, consecrated and set apart to the service of God];

And all [of them] ate the same spiritual (supernaturally given) food,

And they all drank the same spiritual (supernaturally given) drink. For they drank from a spiritual Rock which followed them [produced by the sole power of God Himself without natural instrumentality], and the Rock was Christ.

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Music:

HERE  is a throwback! — Burl Ives sings “Cool Water.”

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Art:

“Moses brings forth water out of the rock”  by Filippino Lippi, c. 1500 (National Gallery, London).  Click  HERE .

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Amalek Attacks Israel and Is Defeated

⁸Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. ⁹Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men for us and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”

¹⁰So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

Jewish tradition is that Hur was the husband of Moses and Aaron’s sister, Miriam.

¹¹Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. ¹²But Moses’ hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the sun set. ¹³And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the sword.

¹⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a reminder in a book and recite it in the hearing of Joshua: I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”

¹⁵And Moses built an altar and called it, The Lord is my banner. ¹⁶He said, “A hand upon the banner of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Psalm 20:5 (New International Version)

We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Rock Falls.   http://www.canada-photos.com/data/media/11/rock-waterfall_387.jpg

water bottle.   http://onwardstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/water_bottle-300×300.jpg

Joe McKeever cartoon.  http://www.joemckeever.com/images/toons/exodus/cExodus-17-12.jpg

1497.) Exodus 16

“Gathering of Manna” by Nicolas Poussin, 1640’s (The Louvre, Paris)

Exodus 16   (NRSV)

Bread from Heaven

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Music:

“Bread of Heaven” — also known as “Guide Me, O, Thou Great Jehovah” — is a great hymn for the church, dating from the 1740’s, from Wales.  HERE  is true encouragement!

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The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from Elim; and Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. ²The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. ³The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day.

Well, this is surprising!  Bread does not usually rain down from the sky!  But this reminds us that God may provide from resources that we never knew existed.  Sometimes He provides from familiar resources, and other times from wonderfully unexpected resources.

In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. ⁵On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.”

⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, ⁷and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?” ⁸And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.”

We think our complaints are reasonable, certainly harmless.  Is that truly so?

Acts 5:3-4 (New Living Translation)

Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself.  The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!”

⁹Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’“

¹⁰And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.

¹¹The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ¹²“I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’“

A Valley quail in California, photographed by Tim Bentz

¹³In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. ¹⁴When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.

Psalm 105:40 (New International Version)

They asked, and he brought them quail,
and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.

Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.’“

¹⁷The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. ¹⁸But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed.

“The Israelites gathering Manna” by Ercole de’ Roberti, 1490’s (National Gallery, London)

¹⁹And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over until morning.”

²⁰But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul. And Moses was angry with them.

²¹Morning by morning they gathered it, as much as each needed;

Work hard to maintain a sense of your entire dependence upon the Lord’s good will and pleasure for the continuance of your richest enjoyments. Never try to live on the old manna, nor seek to find help in Egypt. All must come from Jesus or you are undone forever. Old anointings will not suffice to impart unction to your spirit; your head must have fresh oil poured upon it from the golden horn of the sanctuary, or it will cease from its glory.

Today you may be upon the summit of the mount of God, but He who has put you there must keep you there or you will sink far more speedily than you imagine. Your mountain only stands firm when He settles it in its place; if He hides His face, you will soon be troubled. If the Savior should see fit, there is not a window through which you see the light of heaven that He could not darken in an instant. Joshua bade the sun stand still, but Jesus can shroud it in total darkness. He can withdraw the joy of your heart, the light of your eyes, and the strength of your life; in His hand your comforts lie, and at His will they can depart from you.

Our Lord is determined that we shall feel and recognize this hourly dependence, for He only permits us to pray for “daily bread,” and only promises that our strength will be equal to our days. Is it not best for us that it should be so, that we may often repair to His throne and constantly be reminded of His love?

Oh, how rich the grace that supplies us so continually and does not refrain itself because of our ingratitude! The golden shower never ceases; the cloud of blessing tarries evermore above our dwelling. O Lord Jesus, we would bow at Your feet, conscious of our utter inability to do anything without You, and in every favor that we are privileged to receive, we would adore Your blessed name and acknowledge Your unexhausted love.

–Charles Haddon Spurgeon / Alistair Begg

but when the sun grew hot, it melted. ²²On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers apiece. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, ²³he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord; bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.’“

²⁴So they put it aside until morning, as Moses commanded them; and it did not become foul, and there were no worms in it. ²⁵Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. ²⁶Six days you shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is a sabbath, there will be none.”

The implication is that the weekly Sabbath was normally kept by Israel before Sinai.  The Sabbath ordinance in the Ten Commandments was a codification of Sabbath observance, not its inauguration.  (The Reformation Bible)

²⁷On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, and they found none. ²⁸The Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and instructions? ²⁹See! The Lord has given you the sabbath, therefore on the sixth day he gives you food for two days; each of you stay where you are; do not leave your place on the seventh day.” ³⁰So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹The house of Israel called it manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

“Manna from Heaven” by Jonathan Kania

Psalm 78:23-25 (New International Version)

Yet he gave a command to the skies above
and opened the doors of the heavens;

he rained down manna for the people to eat,
he gave them the grain of heaven.

Men ate the bread of angels;
he sent them all the food they could eat.

John 6:47-51 (The Message)

“I’m telling you the most solemn and sober truth now: Whoever believes in me has real life, eternal life. I am the Bread of Life. Your ancestors ate the manna bread in the desert and died. But now here is Bread that truly comes down out of heaven. Anyone eating this Bread will not die, ever. I am the Bread—living Bread!—who came down out of heaven. Anyone who eats this Bread will live—and forever! The Bread that I present to the world so that it can eat and live is myself, this flesh-and-blood self.”

³²Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, in order that they may see the food with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’“

³³And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord, to be kept throughout your generations.”

³⁴As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the covenant, for safekeeping. ³⁵The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a habitable land; they ate manna, until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. ³⁶An omer is a tenth of an ephah.

Reflection:

How do you eat the “true bread from heaven”?  Here are some ways to consider:

• believe in Jesus, who said “I am the bread of life,” and obey Him
• take  Holy Communion / the Lord’s Supper
• read and meditate on the Word of God
  
• praise God in  friendship and conversation with other believers
• pray for the hunger of the world to be satisfied in God’s will and purposes
  

Reader Steve added these:

• read and meditate on the Word of God in Scripture 

• meditate on the preaching of the Word in worship

Do you have other suggestions?  Share them with us — click on “Leave a Comment” below!

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Poussin.   http://www.abcgallery.com/P/poussin/poussin39.html

Bentz.    http://i1.treknature.com/photos/93/quail5-16-04e.jpg

Roberti.   http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=NG1217

daily bread.    http://media.salemwebnetwork.com/ecards/scripture-cards/daily-bread-550×320.jpg

Kania.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/57453-manna-from-heaven-jonathan-kania.jpg

1496.) Exodus 15

“Praises” by Mike Bennett

Exodus 15   (NRSV)

The Song of Moses

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

“I will sing to the Lord,
for he has triumphed gloriously;
horse and rider
he has thrown into the sea.
²The Lord is my strength and my might,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
³The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.
⁴“Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
he cast into the sea;
his picked officers
were sunk in the Red Sea.
⁵The floods covered them;
they went down into the depths like a stone.

“Notice, the song is all of God; there is not a word about Moses. Read this song through, and neither Moses, nor Aaron, nor Miriam are in it: God is all in all.”

–Charles Haddon Spurgeon

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Music:

HERE  is a song from Vacation Bible School!  “Pharaoh, Pharaoh” with clips from the Charlton Heston-Yul Brynner movie classic, The Ten Commandments, 1956.

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^6″Your right hand, O Lord,
glorious in power—
your right hand, O Lord,
shattered the enemy.

This idea of the right hand is used in the Scriptures more than fifty times, including these passages:

• Psalm 45:4: God’s right hand teaches us

• Psalm 48:10: God’s right hand is full of righteousness

• Psalm 77:10: Remembrance of the years of the right hand of the Most High

• Psalm 110:1: The Father invites the Son to sit at His right hand

• Habakkuk 2:16: The cup of God’s judgment is held in His right hand

• Ephesians 1:20: Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father

–David Guzik

⁷In the greatness of your majesty
you overthrew your adversaries;
you sent out your fury,
it consumed them like stubble.
⁸At the blast of your nostrils
the waters piled up,
the floods stood up in a heap;
the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.

Psalm 78:13 (New International Version)

He divided the sea and led them through;
he made the water stand firm like a wall.

^9″The enemy said,
‘I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil,
my desire shall have its fill of them.
I will draw my sword,
my hand shall destroy them.’
¹⁰You blew with your wind,
the sea covered them;
they sank like lead
in the mighty waters.

¹¹“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like you,
majestic in holiness,
awesome in splendor,
doing wonders?
¹²You stretched out your right hand,
the earth swallowed them.

¹³“In your steadfast love you led
the people whom you redeemed;
you guided them by your strength
to your holy abode.

Psalm 77:20 (New International Version)

You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

¹⁴The peoples heard, they trembled;
pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
¹⁵Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed;
trembling seized the leaders of Moab;
all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.
¹⁶Terror and dread fell upon them;
by the might of your arm,
they became still as a stone
until your people, O Lord, passed by,
until the people whom you acquired passed by.
¹⁷You brought them in and planted them
on the mountain of your own possession,
the place, O Lord, that you made your abode,
the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established. ^1
8The Lord will reign
forever and ever.”

Revelation 15:2-4 (New International Version)

And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb:
“Great and marvelous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the ages.
Who will not fear you, O Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

¹⁹When the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his chariot drivers went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them; but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

The Song of Miriam

²⁰Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. ²¹And Miriam sang to them:

“Sing to the Lord,
for he has triumphed gloriously;
horse and rider
he has thrown into the sea.”

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Music:

HERE  is “Miriam’s Song” written and performed by Debbie Friedman, who was an aluma of Highland Park High School in St. Paul, MN, and a faculty member at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s School of Sacred Music in New York.

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Bitter Water Made Sweet

²²Then Moses ordered Israel to set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. ²³When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah. ²⁴And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”

²⁵He cried out to the Lord; and the Lord showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

Reflection:

Even true believers, in seasons of sharp trial, will be tempted to fret, distrust, and murmur. But in every trial we should cast our care upon the Lord, and pour out our hearts before him. We shall then find that a submissive will, a peaceful conscience, and the comforts of the Holy Ghost, will render the bitterest trial tolerable, yea, pleasant. Moses did what the people had neglected to do; he cried unto the Lord. And God provided graciously for them. He directed Moses to a tree which he cast into the waters, when, at once, they were made sweet. Some make this tree typical of the cross of Christ, which sweetens the bitter waters of affliction to all the faithful, and enables them to rejoice in tribulation.

–from Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible, written in 1706

What bitterness might there be in your life?  Could the wood of the cross of Christ help change the bitter to sweet?  The promise is this:  “We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him ” (Romans 8:28, CEV).

There the Lord made for them a statute and an ordinance and there he put them to the test. ²⁶He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.”

Exodus 15:26 (The Message)

“I am God your healer.”

Luke 8:47-48 (New Living Translation)

When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

²⁷Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; and they camped there by the water.

photograph of Elim, 2005

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Bennett.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/15-bennett-praises4.jpg?w=450

tambourine.   http://www.judaica-mall.com/products/19917m.jpg

cross in the water.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/ex15-the_healing_of_the_water.jpg

Elim.  http://www.greatcommission.com/egypt/459.jpg

1495.) Exodus 14

“Crossing the Red Sea–Rays of Light” by Yoram Raanan, 2002

Exodus 14   (NRSV)

Crossing the Red Sea

Controversy abounds: the Red Sea or the Sea of Reeds? Where did they cross? When did it happen?  Who knows? It is a fact, however, that the Red Sea today has some of the best diving in the world. With around 1000 species of fish and 150 species of coral, the Red Sea is rich in marine life.

Then the Lord said to Moses: ²Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall camp opposite it, by the sea. ³Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has closed in on them.’ ⁴I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, so that I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so.

⁵When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the minds of Pharaoh and his officials were changed toward the people, and they said, “What have we done, letting Israel leave our service?” ⁶So he had his chariot made ready, and took his army with him; ⁷he took six hundred picked chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. ⁸The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out boldly. ⁹The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his chariot drivers and his army; they overtook them camped by the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

Pharaoh’s overtaking the apparently helpless Israelites camping by the sea and shut in between the two is probably the origin of the popular idiom for a terrible dilemma:  “Between the devil (Pharaoh) and the deep blue (Red!) sea.”

–William MacDonald

¹⁰As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord. ¹¹They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? ¹²Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

Psalm 106:7-12 (New International Version)

When our fathers were in Egypt,
they gave no thought to your miracles;
they did not remember your many kindnesses,
and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.

Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
to make his mighty power known.

He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
he led them through the depths as through a desert.

He saved them from the hand of the foe;
from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.

The waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them survived.

Then they believed his promises
and sang his praise.

¹³But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. ¹⁴The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.”

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (New American Standard Bible)

We are persecuted, but not forsaken.

Moses told the people of Israel to stop. This is often the Lord’s direction to the believer in a time of crisis. Despair will cast you down, keeping you from standing. Fear will tell you to retreat. Impatience will tell you to do something now. Presumption will tell you to jump into the Red Sea before it is parted. Yet as God told Israel He often tells us — to simply stand still and hold our peace as He reveals His plan.

–David Guzik

¹⁵Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. ¹⁶But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers. ¹⁸And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.”

¹⁹The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. ²⁰It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.

²¹Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea.

Where, exactly?

Other passages (such as Exodus 13:18 and 15:14) identify this body of water as the Red Sea.  The Hebrew phrase for Red Sea is yam suph, which clearly means “Reed Sea.”  Scholars and archeologists have attempted for years to positively identify this body of water.

Much recent research has proposed an alternative route for the Exodus of Israel from Egypt, one that sets Mount Sinai in the Arabian Peninsula instead of the Sinai Peninsula.  This alternative route puts the crossing at the Red Sea’s Gulf of Aqaba.  Crossings have been suggested at the northern tip (at Ezion Geber), in the middle (at Nuweiba Beach), or at the southern end (at the Straits of Tiran).

–David Guzik

from Rebecca:  I myself am no expert in this field, but if you are interested in where the crossing took place, I suggest you research it!  There is a lot of information and opinion out there!

The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. ²²The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

Psalm 77:16-20 (English Standard Version)

When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
your arrows flashed on every side.
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
Your way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.

You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

The Ratner Museum, Bethesda, Maryland

²³The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. ²⁴At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. ²⁵He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

The Pursuers Drowned

²⁶Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.” ²⁷So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. ²⁸The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained.

The Ratner Museum, Bethesda, Maryland

²⁹But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

³⁰Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Hebrews 11:29 (Contemporary English Version)

Because of their faith, the people walked through the Red Sea on dry land. But when the Egyptians tried to do it, they were drowned.

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Music:

HERE  is “O, Mary, Don’t You Weep No More”  sung by Bruce Springsteen.  He’s not called “The Boss” for nothing!  And the band — well, listen for yourself!

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Resources:

Bruce Feiler: Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land through the Five Books of Moses (Book II, Chapter 3 “A Wall of Water”).

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Raanan.  https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/14-raanan-crossing.jpg?w=450

Red Sea diving.   http://www.eastcoastdiverllc.com/egypt3.jpg

map of alternate route for Red Sea crossing.    http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/images/map2.gif

Ratner – Opening.   http://ratnermuseum.com/?page=exodus#

Ratner – Closes.  http://ratnermuseum.com/?page=exodus#

cartoon.   http://www.reverendfun.com/?date=20001018

 

1494.) Exodus 13

illustration of Exodus 13:21, by Kevin Ohlin

Exodus 13

The Lord said to Moses: ²Consecrate to me all the firstborn; whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelites, of human beings and animals, is mine.

from the commentators:

“Consecrate could either mean ‘sacrifice’ or merely ‘consider as belonging to God’. Instances of both meanings could be found in the Pentateuch.” 

“Not that the rest were exempt, but the first-born were, like the Sabbath day and the first ears of corn, a pledge of the dedication of the whole nation.”

The Festival of Unleavened Bread

³Moses said to the people, “Remember this day on which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, because the Lord brought you out from there by strength of hand; no leavened bread shall be eaten. ⁴Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. ⁵When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this observance in this month. ⁶Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a festival to the Lord. ⁷Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen in your possession, and no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory. ⁸You shall tell your child on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹It shall serve for you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the teaching of the Lord may be on your lips; for with a strong hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰You shall keep this ordinance at its proper time from year to year.

The Consecration of the Firstborn

“The time came for Mary and Joseph to do what the Law of Moses says a mother is supposed to do after her baby is born. They took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem and presented him to the Lord.” Luke 2:22 (Contemporary English Version)

¹¹“When the Lord has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your ancestors, and has given it to you, ¹²you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your livestock that are males shall be the Lord’s. ¹³But every firstborn donkey you shall redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. Every firstborn male among your children you shall redeem.

¹⁴When in the future your child asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall answer, ‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. ¹⁵When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborn to the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord every male that first opens the womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ¹⁶It shall serve as a sign on your hand and as an emblem on your forehead that by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

The Pillars of Cloud and Fire

¹⁷When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God thought, “If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.”

The coastal route (the Via Maris, known as “the way of the sea”) was the shortest and most common way to go from Egypt to Canaan. Yet it was also the road where Egypt’s military outposts were. God knew the people of Israel were not ready to face this yet, so He led them a different way.

¹⁸So God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea.

Reflection:

“God led the people by the roundabout way . . .”

And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.
–Matthew 2:12

Do you cheerfully follow the Lord even when the way seems winding and uncertain?  God is a faithful guide!

The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt prepared for battle.

¹⁹And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, “God will surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here.”

Hebrews 11:22 (New Living Translation)

It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.

²⁰They set out from Succoth, and camped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. ²¹The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. ²²Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

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Music:

HERE  is “We Are Marching in the Light of God” to give you a little get up and go!

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Ohlin.   http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/51414/609464/exodus%2013-21_905.jpg

matzo.    http://restoringtheway.org/RTW/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/matza.jpg

Presentation of Jesus.  http://www.holyhillcross.com/PRESENTATION%20IN%20THE%20TEMPLE.jpg

pillars of cloud and fire.   http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/kirby-vision/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2010/01/Pillar-of-Cloud-Pillar-of-Fire_Isaacb2.jpg

1493.) Exodus 12:31 – 51

“The Exodus” by contemporary French artist Macha Chmakoff

Exodus 12:31–51   (NRSV)

³¹Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron in the night, and said, “Rise up, go away from my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord, as you said. ³²Take your flocks and your herds, as you said, and be gone. And bring a blessing on me too!”

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Music:

Theme song (instrumental)  by Ernest Gold from the 1960 movie Exodus,  HERE  arranged by Henry Mancini.  Ernest Gold won Song of the Year at the 1961 Grammy Awards for this song; it is the only instrumental song to receive that award to date.

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The Exodus: From Rameses to Succoth

by Philip Ratner (The Ratner Museum, Bethesda, Maryland)

³³The Egyptians urged the people to hasten their departure from the land, for they said, “We shall all be dead.” ³⁴So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls wrapped up in their cloaks on their shoulders. ³⁵The Israelites had done as Moses told them; they had asked the Egyptians for jewelry of silver and gold, and for clothing, ³⁶and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. And so they plundered the Egyptians.

The Egyptians were only too happy to give their wealth to the Israelites and be rid of them.  For the Hebrews, it was only just recompense for all the labor they had given to Pharaoh.  It provided them with equipment for the journey and materials for the service of God.

–William MacDonald

³⁷The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. ³⁸A mixed crowd also went up with them, and livestock in great numbers, both flocks and herds.

³⁹They baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt; it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

⁴⁰The time that the Israelites had lived in Egypt was four hundred thirty years. ⁴¹At the end of four hundred thirty years, on that very day, all the companies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. ⁴²That was for the Lord a night of vigil, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. That same night is a vigil to be kept for the Lord by all the Israelites throughout their generations.

Directions for the Passover

⁴³The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: This is the ordinance for the passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, ⁴⁴but any slave who has been purchased may eat of it after he has been circumcised; ⁴⁵no bound or hired servant may eat of it.

⁴⁶It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the animal outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. ⁴⁷The whole congregation of Israel shall celebrate it.

⁴⁸If an alien who resides with you wants to celebrate the passover to the Lord, all his males shall be circumcised; then he may draw near to celebrate it; he shall be regarded as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it; ⁴⁹there shall be one law for the native and for the alien who resides among you.

⁵⁰All the Israelites did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹That very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, company by company.

The Supper that Jesus instituted on the night he was betrayed was a new Passover meal. Or we might say that the Passover was the Old Testament Lord’s Supper.

The reason the Lord instituted the Passover was so that people of Israel would always remember and proclaim their redemption from Egypt:

This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. (Exodus 12:14)

And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” (Exodus 12:25-27)

The Lord’s Supper was instituted for the same reason:

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

OT Israel looked back to the Exodus through the Passover meal. NT Israel (that’s us) looks back to the cross and resurrection of Jesus through the Lord’s Supper.

As often as we eat this new Passover meal we remember a greater exodus: “for he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin.” (Colossians 1:13)

–Jon Bloom

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Chmakoff.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/12-chmakoff-exodus.jpg?w=450

Ratner.   http://www.ratnermuseum.com/includes/images/photos/bible/bible-24.jpg

Matzoh t-shirt.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/12take_out_food-shirt-p.jpg?w=450

Passover and star.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/passover-star-of-david1.jpg?w=450

bread and wine.   http://www.holycrossorlando.org/media/1/bible_communion.gif

1492.) Exodus 12:1-30

“The Passover Lamb” by contemporary American bronze sculptor C. Malcolm Powers

Exodus 12:1-30

The First Passover Instituted

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: ²“This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. ³Tell the whole congregation of Israel

the whole congregation — “This is the first occurrence in the Pentateuch of what was to become a technical term, describing Israel in its religious sense…and which underlies the New Testament use of ekklesia, ‘church’.”

–Biblical commentator R. Alan Cole

that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. ⁴If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbour in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it.

The rabbis later determined that there should be at least ten people for each Passover lamb, and not more than twenty.

⁵Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ⁶You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. ⁷They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. ⁸They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ⁹Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. ¹⁰You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. ¹¹This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord.

“Passover Meal” by Marc Chagall, 1956

^12″For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgements: I am the Lord. ¹³The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Reflection:

Leviticus 17:11 (Contemporary English Version)

Life is in the blood, and I have given you the blood of animals to sacrifice in place of your own.

Hebrews 9:22 (Contemporary English Version)

The Law says that almost everything must be sprinkled with blood, and no sins can be forgiven unless blood is offered.

1 Peter 1:18-19 (Contemporary English Version)

You were rescued  from the useless way of life that you learned from your ancestors. But you know that you were not rescued by such things as silver or gold that don’t last forever. You were rescued by the precious blood of Christ, that spotless and innocent lamb.

Thank you, Lord, for salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

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Music:

HERE — “What can wash away my sin?  Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

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14 “This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance. ¹⁵Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day shall be cut off from Israel. ¹⁶On the first day you shall hold a solemn assembly, and on the seventh day a solemn assembly; no work shall be done on those days; only what everyone must eat, that alone may be prepared by you.

Matzoh is a cracker-like flatbread made of plain white flour and water — no yeast or leavening.

^17″You shall observe the festival of unleavened bread, for on this very day I brought your companies out of the land of Egypt: you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a perpetual ordinance. ¹⁸In the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day, you shall eat unleavened bread. ¹⁹For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether an alien or a native of the land. ²⁰You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your settlements you shall eat unleavened bread.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8 (Contemporary English Version)

Stop being proud! Don’t you know how a little yeast can spread through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast! Then you will be like fresh bread made without yeast, and that is what you are. Our Passover lamb is Christ, who has already been sacrificed. So don’t celebrate the festival by being evil and sinful, which is like serving bread made with yeast. Be pure and truthful and celebrate by using bread made without yeast.

21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, ‘Go, select lambs for your families, and slaughter the passover lamb. ²²Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood in the basin. None of you shall go outside the door of your house until morning. ²³For the Lord will pass through to strike down the Egyptians; when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over that door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down.

^24″You shall observe this rite as a perpetual ordinance for you and your children. ²⁵When you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this observance. ²⁶And when your children ask you, “What do you mean by this observance?”

In Jewish Passover celebrations today, the youngest child asks the ritual question, and the father then recites the story of the Exodus.  (The Reformation Bible)

²⁷you shall say, “It is the passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.”’ And the people bowed down and worshipped.

28 The Israelites went and did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

“And there was a great cry in Egypt” by Arthur Hacker, 1897

29 At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. ³⁰Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his officials and all the Egyptians; and there was a loud cry in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.

Psalm 105:36 (New International Version)

Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of all their manhood.

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Art:

“The Death of the Pharaoh’s First-Born Son”  by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1872 (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam).  Too large and detailed to place on the blog.  Click  HERE.
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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Powers.   http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mmpowrs/images/200_8.jpg

Chagall.   http://uploads4.wikipaintings.org/images/marc-chagall/the-israelites-are-eating-the-passover-lamb-1931.jpg

Jesus’ blood.  http://bloodshed4us.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/jesus-blood1.jpg

matzoh.   http://farm1.static.flickr.com/50/127502681_e967f10cfe_o.jpg

Hacker.   http://www.revradiotowerofsong.org/images/525_great_cry_egypt.jpg

Egyptian boy.   http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2767/4293572191_bd6c67555c_z.jpg?zz=1

1491.) Exodus 11

Exodus 11  (NRSV)

Warning of the Final Plague

The Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go from here; indeed, when he lets you go, he will drive you away. ²Tell the people that every man is to ask his neighbor and every woman is to ask her neighbor for objects of silver and gold.” ³The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians.

This is how the slaves of Israel received their “back wages” from their time of slavery, and how they did not leave Egypt empty-handed.

–David Guzik

Moreover, Moses himself was a man of great importance in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s officials and in the sight of the people.

Hebrews 11 implies very strongly that when Moses made his choice for Christ, for the Messiah, for being the deliverer of Israel, he made it in exchange for actually being Pharaoh of Egypt.  Hebrews 11:24-26 reads: “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.” It implies very strongly there that what Moses gave up was the “treasures of Egypt.”

Pharaoh owned Egypt. You’ll recall during the famine in Joseph’s day the Egyptians came to Joseph and gave him all their money to buy grain. Then they gave him all their possessions to buy grain. Then, when they had run out of money, they gave their bodies to buy grain. When Joseph got through, therefore, Pharaoh owned all of Egypt, body, soul and spirit. Only the priests were exempt.

So this passage in Hebrews 11 makes the point that, when Moses was confronted by God at 40 years of age, he made a very serious choice. He probably would have been Pharaoh, and the implication is that he gave up all Egypt for the “reproach of Christ.”

–Robert H. Roe

⁴Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: About midnight I will go out through Egypt. ⁵Every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the female slave who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the livestock. ⁶Then there will be a loud cry throughout the whole land of Egypt, such as has never been or will ever be again. ⁷But not a dog shall growl at any of the Israelites—not at people, not at animals—so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

“The Lord hath put a difference between those who are his people and those who are not. There are many distinctions among men which will one day be blotted out; but permit me to remind you at the outset that this is an eternal distinction.”

–Charles Haddon Spurgeon

⁸Then all these officials of yours shall come down to me, and bow low to me, saying, ‘Leave us, you and all the people who follow you.’ After that I will leave.” And in hot anger he left Pharaoh.

⁹The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, in order that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh; but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.

I would like to shake my head at the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart and marvel at how he could be so unable to see the truth that is so clearly before him.  But when I consider my own situation, I cannot.  How often have I,  like Pharaoh, ignored God, over and over again, insisting that I see things clearly and that I am right?  Father, forgive.

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Music:

HERE  is a song of submission to the Lord, from Don Moen — “Lord, I offer my life to you.”

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

10th Plague.   http://www.wyndstar.co.uk/images/art-plague10.png

Romans 10.   http://www.idccsa.org/uploads/7/6/9/2/7692910/5317302_orig.jpg