365 Reflections

Exodus 6:23–25 (ESV) Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24 The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the clans of the Korahites. 25 Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took as his wife one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites by their clans.' A strange thing appears in Exodus 6. Right in the middle of the action and just when the story gets really interesting a genealogical record shows up. Why now?  Most Bible readers may be tempted to skip portions of scripture like this. But these passages are there by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to point us to Jesus and inform us how to live.  One of the notable qualities of this genealogy is how incomplete it is. It is far from table of nations from Genesis 11. It is not as relevant as those genealogies of Christ that point back to Adam and...

Exodus 6 contains a short conversation between God and Moses that seems like a rehash of what transpired at the burning bush a few chapters earlier. It has the same statements but there are contextual differences that make it plain: this is a new conversation about an old topic. Exodus 6:10–13 (ESV) So the LORD said to Moses, “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land.” But Moses said to the LORD, “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” 13 But the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt. Moses has been in active ministry now for a few days. They have been hard days. He's been believed and rejected in a matter of moments. The words he speaks to the people are falling on deaf ears. Notice the horrible stature of their hearts in v...

Dips happen. They are inevitable in whatever you put your hand to do. If you're ever going to step out for God, whether it be starting a business, church or class, entering marriage, beginning parenting or the adoption process ... whatever it may be, get ready for some dips. But please note in the dip: You MUST NOT quit. Moses steps up to the plate against this own desires to do what God wants. He approaches Pharaoh ONCE and all hell breaks loose. Pharaoh turns on the Israelites and the Israelites turn on him. Dips are inevitable. And they can prove incredible. The people who give in to the dip often don't realize what is about to happen in their lives! A dip is by definition and temporary event. It comes and goes. Those who press through the dips get to new heights. This is especially true for God's chosen! Moses does what we need to do in the dip. He goes to God and he gets a firm reminder from God about what He is going to do. God starts to talk about Himself an...

Exodus 5:20–23 (ESV)   They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; 21 and they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” 22 Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.” Moses has gone to Pharaoh and nothing but bad has happened. Note that again: Moses has done what God has said exactly... and all that has been produced is Pharaoh's decree to cause more pain to the people of Israel. They will not be forced to make the same quota of bricks per day AND scavenge for their own straw. Herein lies the unseen fact of following the Lord. It usually gets worse at first. The Lord does not make everything alright. He ...

The cowering lowly Moses who ran from the first sign of terror in his life has come storming back into Pharaoh's court and demanded the release of Egypt's most valuable commodity - the slave labor force of the Israelites. Exodus 5:1-3 (ESV) Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold ta feast to me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” What changed Moses from the man we saw at the beginning of chapter three to this man standing before the most powerful man in the world and speaking with such authority? He met with God. Look at Verse 3: ...

Exodus 4:27–31 (ESV)  The LORD said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD with which he had sent him to speak, and all the signs that he had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. 30 Aaron spoke all the words that the LORD had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped. I thought about the brevity in which the Bible describes this moment. Moses meets Aaron, they speak to the elders, the elders see the signs and believe. If we turn back to the beginning of this chapter, we remember that this was one of Moses' excuses for not wanting to go do what God had told him: Exodus 4:1 (ESV) Then Moses ...

Moses is called. Moses is commissioned by God. Moses has met with God. Moses is on his way to fulfill God's grand and glorious purposes. And then something shocking. Exodus 4:24–26 (ESV)  At a lodging place on the way the LORD met him and sought to put him to death. 25 Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26 So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision. This is a hard moment for us to understand. We want to question God here. Why is He one moment commending and commissioning Moses and the next moment about to slay him? It is because your calling in God NEVER trumps your inward response toward God. Moses had not to this point circumcised his son. He knew the importance of this sign. He understood it's implications. He was taught the stories of his people. But in the hustle and bustle of life, Moses neglec...

This post is the continuation of Moses' back and forth with God about why he feels inadequate for the cause he's been called to. Excuse #4: I am not talented enough. Exodus 4:10 (ESV)   But Moses said to the Lord , “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” This is equivalent to the "I don't know enough about God" excuse but for a different reason. Some of us want to spout off to prove ourselves. Others want to show off to prove ourselves. God will need neither.  Isn't that good news? God does not require talented people and therefore, the excuse doesn't work. Here's why: God can make the untalented talented.  Notice God's response: Exodus 4:11 (ESV) Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? The reality is you have the talents you need right now to get st...

I want to take two posts to look at the excuses of Moses when he is called by God to go to Pharaoh. We can understand the apprehension of a man who ran from Egypt in dismay of being caught with literal blood on his hands. So as the excuses begin to flow from Moses' mouth, the answers God gives him are symbolic lessons for any of us who would seek to escape the purpose and plan of God for our lives. Excuse #1: "Who am I?" Exodus 3:11 (ESV) But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” Our tendency is to look at what we bring to the table when God asks us to step up and step out. We want to see the potential in us. The hard truth is God is not Tony Robbins. God's answer to Moses has nothing to do with what Moses brings to the table, it is all about what God brings to the table. "I will be with you" is His answer. Who God is is always enough for whomever God will use. There is no place Go...

Exodus 3:4–8 (ESV) When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them... This passage illustrates the adequate mindset for approaching God. He is to be feared as Moses will find out by taking off his sandals, standing on holy ground and hiding his face. We are to understand our God as a consuming fire even in the New Testament (see Hebrews 12:29). We are to enter into God's presence mindful of the fact that He is...

I can't think of a better way to begin a New Year than with this passage from Exodus. Exodus 3:3–4 (ESV)   And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” I've always been reminded of this little fact in Exodus 3. God shows up in the bush but does not speak to Moses until He sees that Moses turns aside to see what's going on. Moses made a turn that truly changed his world. The word in Hebrew for "turned aside" used twice in this passage means "to depart" and is used of Samson when he did not know the Lord had "departed" from him. It can also be used to infer apostasy which will later happen in Israel's leaders. The evident implication of this word is that of strong and complete redirection of one's attentions and affections. And Moses here redirects his attent...