Exodus 20:1-17 The First and The Last, Particularly

God presented His primary requirements to the Israelites Himself!  My commentary said, "The privilege of freedom brings with it the responsibility to use that freedom wisely for the glory of God and the good of others ... The law was never given as a way of salvation for either Jews or Gentiles ... Salvation is not a reward for good works but the gift of God through faith in Jesus Christ.  The law reveals God's righteousness and demands righteousness, but it can't give righteousness; only Jesus can do that.  The law is a mirror that reveals where you're dirty, but you don't wash your face in the mirror.  Only the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse us from sin."

My commentary also said that the first and tenth commandments deal with what's in the heart, while the other eight focus on outward actions that begin in the heart.  "Covetous people will break all of God's commands in order to satisfy their desires, because at the heart of sin is the sin in the heart.  To covet is to feed inward desires for anything that God says is sinful ... Only God can change our sinful hearts and give us the love we need to obey Him and to care for others."

Father, give me the desires of my heart -- the ones You want me to have.  Take away any others.

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Exodus 19:9-28 God's Otherness

God spoke with Moses personally!  They were at Mt. Sinai, about to receive His words, and God told them that "staying away from the mountain was a matter of life or death, for the presence of God sanctified the mountain ... In a dramatic way, God was teaching the people the distance between a holy God and sinful men and women, as well as the danger of presumptuously rushing into the presence of the Lord ... The structure of Old Testament worship emphasized man's sinfulness and God's otherness ... The emphasis was always 'Keep Your Distance!'  But the New Testament emphasizes the nearness of God, for the Son of God became flesh and came to dwell on earth and His name is Immanuel -- God with us."

Father, I understand much more about Your "otherness" than I once did, and how we don't dare approach You on the basis of our own merits.  Thank You for giving Your Son so that we can draw close to You!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Exodus 19:5-8 Being Set Apart

God was giving the Israelites a life of dignity.  They were no longer slaves to the Egyptians.  "He'd chosen them to be His treasured possession ... That the Jews are God's chosen people doesn't mean they're better than any other nation, only that they're different, set apart by the Lord for His special work," my commentary said.

"Because Israel has these treasures and privileges, they also have a greater responsibility to love and obey God, for 'from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked,' (Luke 12:48)."

"Unfortunately, instead of Israel influencing the nations to worship Jehovah, the nations influenced Israel to worship idols!"

"In 22:31, God said, 'You are to be My holy people,' that is, a people set apart for God, a people who are different."  I wonder how set apart we really are today ... how different from society we are?  Are we living advertisements of the grace and power of God?

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Exodus 19:1-4 Freedom From, Freedom In, and Freedom To

"God had redeemed His people, and was now going to claim them as His own and enter into a covenant relationship with them, just as He promised," my commentary began.

They'd left Egypt and traveled to the mountain of God, just as Moses had told Pharaoh.  Now, though, they were free of Egyptian bondage.  "If freedom doesn't lead to maturity, then we end up imprisoned in a bondage worse than what we had before; a bondage from within and not from without.  It's bad enough to be enslaved by an Egyptian taskmaster, but it's even worse to enslave YOURSELF and become you own taskmaster."

"The image of maturity that God used was that of the eagle, bearing its young on its wings and teaching them the glorious freedom of flight ... At a certain stage in the development of their young, the parent eagles break up the comfortable nest and force the eaglets to fly.  The young birds may not be anxious to leave the security of the nest, but they must learn to fly if they're going to fulfill their purposes in life.  The adult birds stay near the fledglings and, if they fall, carry them on their strong wings until the young birds learn how to use their wings, ride the air currents, and enjoy the abilities God gave them."

"The eaglets illustrate three aspects of freedom:

1)  freedom from (they are out of the nest, which to us is redemption;

2)  freedom in (they are at home in the air, which to us is maturity; and

3)  freedom to (they can fulfill their purpose in life, which to us is ministry."

"True freedom means that we're delivered from doing the bad, we're able to do the good, and we're accomplishing God's will on the earth."

"When we're maturing in the Lord, life becomes a series of open doors that lead to more and more opportunities for responsible freedom.  But if we refuse to let God mature us, life becomes a series of confining iron bars that limit us ... It took one night to take Israel out of Egypt, but forty years to take Egypt out of Israel.  How long is it taking the Lord to get us to fly, or are we nestlings who don't want to be disturbed?"

Can't add anything to that, Father!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Exodus 18 -- Ministry vs Structure

The details aren't given, but it's possible that as Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, he may have sent a messenger to his father-in-law Jethro's house to retrieve his wife and sons for the trip to the Promised Land.  His father-in-aw showed up.  Nothing is said about his wife and sons!

"The nation already had elders (v. 13, 4:29) but they weren't assisting Moses in the day-to-day affairs of the camp ... Jethro knew that Moses' leadership was crucial for the future success of Israel and that any activity that drained his energy or wasted his time was bound to hurt the nation ... No one man could minister personally to 2 million people and last very long.  Even after the new arrangement had been established, Moses had to confess that the work was too much for him."

Jethro suggested a system of counselors for every 10 people, with supervisors for every ten counselors, and so on.  Moses would only handle the cases that made their way through all of the supervisor layers without being resolved.

"Jethro wasn't advising Moses to pass the buck.  No, Moses was to teach the people the regulations, no doubt assisted by chosen rulers, so they could make wise decisions ... Jethro urged Moses to talk to the Lord about the problem and obey whatever God said.  Since Moses did adopt his father-in-law's suggestion, he must have consulted the Lord and gotten God's approval."

"Whenever ministry and structure collide, and ministry is being hindered, God's people must adjust the structure so ministry can grow."

Father, help me to keep watch and to know to move out of the way of any changes You decide to make.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Exodus 17 -- More Tests From The World

"Every new trial they experienced only brought out the worst in them," my commentary said about the Israelites as they set off across the wilderness.  They'd already complained about having no water, and God had provided, so now He was repeating the test.  "Every difficulty God permits us to encounter will become either a test that will make us better or a temptation that can make us worse, and it's our own attitude that determines which it will be," my commentary continued.

Verses 8016 were entitled, "God defeats our enemies," and I read, "The devil is our greatest enemy and he uses the world and the flesh to oppose us.  Just as Israel was delivered from Egypt by the power of God, so God's people today have been delivered 'from this present evil world through the victory of Christ.  We are in the world physically, but not of the world spiritually and therefore must not become conformed to the world."

We are now seated at the right hand of Christ spiritually, while we remain in our bodies physically, attracted by temptations of the flesh, thinking that we are here.  That's an important thing we have to set our minds to.

Father, help me to know and understand and remember this.  Help me to trust You to get me through it all!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Exodus 16 -- When We Are Heartbroken

The Israelites had been gone from Egypt about a month.  Worried about lack of water, they'd grumbled against God in the last chapter and in grace He'd provided for them.  They really hadn't even given Him a chance!  Now in this chapter they do the same thing with food.  They remembered the meals they'd had in Egypt but apparently not the beatings and hard work.  My commentary said, "They said they wished the Lord had killed them in Egypt when they were full rather than in the desert when they were empty!  Little did these Israelites know that they would one day get their request, for the entire older generation would die in the wilderness and never get to the Promised Land."

"God heard their murmurings and His grace met their needs."  He promised they'd have quail that night and 'bread' the next morning.  "By giving them these special provisions, He was also testing them to see if they would believe and obey ... When we hurt, it's a normal response to ask 'Why?' but that is the wrong approach to take.  For one thing, when we ask God that question, we're assuming a superior posture and giving the impression that we're in charge and God is accountable to us.  God is sovereign and doesn't have to explain anything to us unless He wants to.  Asking 'Why?' also assumes that if God did explain His plans and purposes to us, we'd understand everything perfectly and feel better ... Explanations don't heal broken hearts, but promises do, because promises don't depend on faith, and faith puts us in contact with the grace of God."  

Father, please help me to remember this when I'm dealing with a broken heart.  Remind me of Your love and care and Your great knowledge and control over everything happening in my life.  Help me to trust and obey.

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Exodus 15:22-27 Believe And Don't Complain

"Life is a pilgrimage during which we must learn new lessons and fight new battles.  One great victory doesn't settle everything; we need new challenges, new experiences that will help us mature and glorify God," my commentary began.  "Uppermost in the minds of the Israelites wasn't how to please God but 'What shall we eat?' and 'What shall we drink?'

According to Jesus, these questions reveal an anxious heart, not a trusting heart, and this can lead to all kinds of problems.

"But God was testing His people, not because He didn't know their hearts, but because they didn't know their own hearts.  The Lord tests us to encourage spiritual growth and bring out the best in us, but the devil tempts us to bring out the worst in us and to encourage spiritual immaturity ... To tempt God means to deliberately adopt a disobedient posture and dare Him to do anything about it."

"God can solve our problems by changing things, by giving us something else, or by giving us the grace we need to bear with our difficulties and not complain.  The third approach is what produces lasting spiritual growth ... when we experience trials, our complaining is evidence of unbelief, but our obedience is evidence of faith."

Father, I ask that You help me to believe and not complain, that You grow me through my struggles, and that, every now and then, when You know it won't harm me, You change things to give me a break if You see I need it and can benefit from it and give You the glory for it.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Exodus 15:1-21 A Good Start

I need to do what they did here more often:  "Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord."  I love Christian music and love to sing it.  But I do need to sing it to the Lord, not just about Him.  I thought of how I play piano for my parents in their retirement home, and how my dad, even suffering dementia, stands and watches as I play.  I'm not playing for me but for him because it connects us and keeps his memories alive.  In the same way, I want to be singing to God, thanking Him and praising Him and giving Him glory, not just enjoying the songs myself.

Some of the things in Moses' song really gripped me.  Personalizing them, I read:

1)  He has gotten rid of my enemy (Satan)

2)  He give me strength and joy and salvation

3)  He's my God and I'll praise Him and honor Him

4)  He fights for me like a warrior

5)  Even the most capable enemies have been vanquished

6)  Christ, God's right hand, is amazingly strong

7)  His holy anger at unrighteousness is powerful

8)  There are no gods like God.

9)  He is wonderfully holy, amazingly powerful, and a worker of miracles

10)  He keeps His loving promises and leads those He saves, guiding them to His holy place

11)  He paralyzes our enemies until we have passed by

12)  He keeps us with Himself forever

I'd say that's just a good start.  I praise You God!  I'm thankful that You've given me all eternity to finish the job!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Exodus 14 -- Not A Wrong Turn

God had set the Israelites out on one path, then told them to turn around and go back another way.  He didn't do this because He'd changed His mind or made a mistake.  He was making Egypt believe that they were lost and wandering, setting up a final encounter that would cause all of Egypt to know that He is the only God.

When they reached the sea, the angel of the Lord and the pillar of cloud/fire moved between the two groups.  The pillar of fire provided light to the Israelites while the pillar of cloud produced absolute darkness for the Egyptians while the wind blew from the east all night, drying up the exposed seabed, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry ground.  I have often imagined the droplets or molecules of water surrounding all of the soil at the sea bottom hearing God tell them to get out, and I've thought of how each droplet or molecule hurried with everything they had in them to obey God!  

Moses told them to stand still and to be still.  My commentary reminded me here that "faith is not believing in spite of evidence -- that's superstition -- but obeying in spite of consequence."

God even stopped the wheels of the Egyptian chariots from turning before drowning them all when He released the sea.  Egypt would finally know that Jehovah was the Almighty God.

Father, I thank You for teaching me through Josh's adoption that faith is obeying in spite of consequences.  You proved You are God to me during that time, and I'll never forget it!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford