Just DO It

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”

— John 13:34

Have you ever stopped to consider how many artisan skills God gave to Bezalel in Exodus 35-38? 

He cut and planed the wood. He engraved stone and wood. He spun the wool and created intricate curtains. He hammered the gold into designs. He applied self-fashioned gold sheets around wood. He fashioned the ark of the covenant with the mercy seat atop of it. He created the altars and the water stand where the priests cleansed themselves before entering the temple. He crafted the gold rings to hang the curtains. 

All this Bezalel and Oholiab did by God giving them the skill. They shared this knowledge to individuals to help make parts of the tent of meeting. 

Since God gives those abilities, there’s no way we can’t love our brethren. It’s doable because Jesus gives us the ability since He poured His love into us when we believed in Him. It’s there, trust it is, then step out in faith and put it into action. That brother or sister might not be easily lovable today, but God loved you when you rebelled against him in your sins. Since He could do that, it’s not impossible to be gracious and love the brother or sister who is not easy to like today. 

Like anything God tells us to do, JUST DO IT.

Obedience will change you.

Walk like an Egyptian?

 

”But the magicians of Egypt did the same things by their magic arts. So, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.“ Exodus 7:22 BSB

We are like Pharaoh who believed he was in control and defied God’s command. He called his magicians and showed he could do what Moses said God would do to him (and his citizens). He felt he did not need God because he could do and have whatever he wanted. He was stubborn and rebelled against God.

How often do we tell ourselves, and then God, “I can get what I want, so why do I need God or need to call on Him? See all I have provided for myself with the job I found. I don’t need God.” We are being stubborn when we say this aloud or within our minds. We forget God gave us the mental and physical capacity to have that job. He led us to that job. God provided the goods that we buy with the money from the job He gave us. We rebel against Him and steal His glory by saying these things and acting this way. This is sinful. 

Will we turn to God before extreme measures happen to change our focus from ourselves to God? Will it take a major incident like the “dying-of-firstborns” (like God did with Pharaoh) for us to recognize God as supreme and recognize our need of and reliance on Him? We must remember, too, that our stubbornness and rebellion affect people around us.

I pray today that I never again consider who I am, what I have, and what I think to be more important and have supremacy over who God is, what He’s done, and the love He gives. What will you pray—confession and submission to God—or will you turn away from Him again

The Cup

 

“And He (Jesus) was saying, ‘Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me, yet not what I will, but what You will.’” (Mark 14:36 [NASB])

 Jesus approached His final Passover. He and His disciples walked to Jerusalem to take part in the festivities and remembrances that week. The Jews recalled the times when I AM (Yahweh God) provided food for them in the wilderness. They remembered when the Spirit of God went from home to home and from one animal stall to another, killing the first-born of each species. Moses told the Jews to put the blood of a sacrificial lamb on their door frame to protect them from God’s judgment. The Spirit bypassed obedient Hebrews when exacting God’s vengeance against Egypt. During that night the Jews prepared for the journey they would begin the next day. They packed their belongings and asked their Egyptian neighbors for their gold, silver, and other assets. During this night, they made unleavened bread for the journey. Jesus traveled to Jerusalem like obedient Jews did to celebrate the Passover and the exodus from Egypt.

 Jesus and His disciples obediently journeyed to Jerusalem to thank God. They prepared and ate a meal together. Jesus knew, though His disciples did not understand fully, that His time had come. Soon He would be arrested and handed over to the Jewish religious leaders and Roman leaders. The purpose for His life on earth had arrived. The purpose for Jesus’ birth as a man was to provide a once-for-all perfect sacrifice for humanity’s sins. For this reason, He purposefully walked to Jerusalem.

 After Jesus celebrated the Passover and began giving its new meaning of the “Lord’s Supper,” He and His disciples walked to the Mount of Olives, where they often prayed and He taught them. During this time, Judas Iscariot prepared to betray Jesus. He took thirty pieces of silver from the Jewish religious leaders and sought a time to betray Jesus. Jesus knew who would betray Him. He realized, because He is 100% divine, He would be given into the hands of men who would crucify Him. The Son, like the Father, knows all things. That He knew His disciple would betray Him weighed heavily on His heart. As the Son of Man (100% God and 100% man), Jesus understood He would experience the pain of being nailed to a cross, having His side pierced by a spear, and gasping for breath. As a man, Jesus probably felt trepidation and needed strength to finish His purpose on earth. His human mind and heart possibly dreaded what He understood must be done. This gives new depth of meaning to John 3:16. God (Father, Son, and Spirit) loves us so much that He willingly sent His Son to earth in the form of a man to die the death of judgment for our each of our sins. Jesus, God with us, came to us and for us, willingly and knowingly living on earth as a man to die a slow death of asphyxiation for each person. He did this so whoever believes in Him as the Son of God, the Messiah, will have eternal life and forgiveness of sins.

 Jesus said in Mark 14, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me, yet not what I will, but what You will.” Jesus called out, “Daddy!” That speaks of a close relationship with the Father. He then states fact; God is Sovereign and can do anything. Anything, like keeping one from death and from the hands of angry, evil, and scared men. Anything, like making a way for His created and rebellious humans to have an eternal relationship with Him. God is the source of all power. Jesus knows the Godhead is all-powerful. He also knows no other way was available to provide redemption from sins. A sin sacrifice was required, and it could not be just anything. This sin sacrifice had to be perfect, without blemish or stain from sin. The only sinless being is the Godhead-Father, Son, and Spirit. God provided the perfect sacrifice through the death of the Son of Man and Son of God, Jesus the Messiah. With this understanding, Jesus made His final statement in this verse. He said, “Not what I will, but what You will.” The humanity of Jesus submitted to the perfect, divine will of the Godhead. He willingly walked to the cross to be crucified, pierced, and to suffocate so humanity could be saved from their sins and death.

 The Father did not leave Jesus to walk to His mortal death alone. In Luke 22:43, Luke tells us, “An angel from heaven appeared to Him (Jesus) and strengthened Him.” The Father realized the mortal flesh was weary and frightened but determined to do His will because of His overabundant love for each person. Luke continued in verse forty-four by saying, “And being in anguish, He (Jesus) prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” [NIV] Jesus prayed for the strength to walk to His death. He prayed for each person to believe in Him. Jesus prayed so fervently that sweat became profuse, like a river of blood flowing from an arterial vein. The angel encouraged, strengthened, and upheld Him for the purpose for which He humbly gave up His place on the throne in heaven. Jesus’ decision was deliberate before He left heaven, while He walked and taught on earth, and as He prepared for Judas’ betrayal, the Jewish religious leaders’ antagonism and unbelief, and Pontius Pilate’s handwashing. This One who died for the sins of each person was betrayed, mocked, tormented, and found unworthy for a governor to be held accountable.

 Considering what Jesus did and said in Mark 14:36 and Luke 22:43, are any of us ever willing to make these statements to God? Have any of us lived out God’s purpose this determinedly? Have we made a genuine sacrifice of ourselves to God’s plans and purposes? With Jesus as our model, I realize few people make this ultimate stand for God. This purpose in life requires a total surrender of heart and will to God’s plans. Jesus understood this profound surrender. To give oneself in total surrender to God means giving the right to oneself-one’s whole heart, mind, body, and spirit-to obey God in His purposes to save every person before he or she mortally dies.

 Just as Abba gave strength to Jesus to walk the road to Calvary, He gives us the strength to walk according to His plans. Those plans may be to help someone with food, offer shelter for someone without a home, or donate to a charitable organization. It may also mean leaving home and country to live where most people have not heard about Jesus and walk with them telling them about Him. Walking with unbelievers often means being willing to sacrifice our lives. The key to each of these tasks and others God asks of believers is God, not us. God created. He sacrificed and redeems. God cleanses. He calls and strengthens. Then, God walks with those who willingly offer to Him what He asks of them. God gives each person what she or he needs to live abundantly in a loving, growing, and eternal relationship with Him.

Jesus didn’t ask for a kiss, but Judas gave it.

He asks us to believe in Him; He paid the price.

 Are you willing to give your all-heart, soul, body, and spirit-to God? He will give you the strength and everything you need to follow Him. All things are possible with God.

Treasured

 

Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the earth is Mine. (Exodus 19:5 [Amplified Bible, Classic edition]) 

    People read this verse and often wonder what an odd word choice God used to speak about people. In today’s understanding, “peculiar” means odd. In the Hebrew language, this word does not mean that. It comes from the word segullah meaning to earn and to acquire. This adjective describes something or someone valuable by which the owner acquired or earned through his or her own exertions. The owner worked for it; he gave something for it. With this understanding of that definition, it might seem unusual for God to say He exerted Himself to possess the people about whom He spoke. 

    Consider these people and through what they went. These people were the Hebrews, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To these men, God promised descendants greater than the stars of the sky and the sand of the earth. When God spoke to the Israelites through Moses, He called them His “peculiar possession.” In considering the definition of “peculiar” as the Israelites understood it, we realize He meant He exerted Himself to acquire or earn the deliverance of the Israelites to be His own people. This statement takes the hearers and readers to what God did in the Israelites’ lives.

    What did God do before He made this statement? He reminded them of this in Exodus 19:4, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to Myself.” God reminded the Israelites and us about what He did to the Egyptians. He caused the crashing of the Red Sea waves to swallow the bodies of Pharaoh and his army. God dried a passage across the Red Sea bed by which Israelites could escape from Pharaoh. His action for them was like eagles’ wings that bore them to safety. God revealed Himself again to the Israelites as I AM, the one and only God, the almighty One and only One whom they should worship.

    With verse five, God spoke to the Israelites using a conditional statement. “If you will obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession.” He gave the Israelites a choice to be His people. When God created humanity, He made them in His image. He gave them the freedom to choose things for themselves. This means people can choose their own way or the best way, God’s ways. Sin occurs when a person chooses contrary to God’s will. Sin, which separates people from God, is the reason humanity needed salvation from the time God created them. With this conditional statement in Exodus 19:5, God, because of His love, allowed the Israelites to exercise their freewill to choose Him for their God or to go their own way. If they chose God, they would obey Him and be faithful to their covenant with Him and He would make them His peculiar possession. Being God’s possession means anything they needed-safety, provisions, shelter, deliverance, redemption, etc.-God would provide. A covenant is a two-way promise by each party to the other party. God chose the Israelites for His own to show His glory to other people and nations. God wanted to be in a relationship with humanity when He created Adam and Eve. At that point, He provided a way for them to receive cleansing from their sins, so they could be holy (see Genesis 3). God did this because He wants a relationship with each person. God’s faithfulness to His covenant with humanity began at creation. His bringing the Israelites out of Egypt continued to show His faithfulness to the promise He gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Just as He gave these patriarchs a promise, and they believed in and worshiped Him, He gave the descendants of these patriarchs the choice to covenant with Him. God chose them to be His peculiar people. He gave them the option of joining with Him in covenant. Would the Israelites be faithful to Him by obeying and keeping their promise that He would be their only God?

    One last statement by God in this covenant needs understanding. He said if they kept their covenant with Him, He would do more than provide for and protect them. God said the Israelites would be a kingdom of priests to Him (Exodus 19:6). That may seem like an odd phrase and a big goal to set before any person. Still, we should realize one thing; the calling and ability to be priests for God comes from God. If the Israelites would stay faithful to their covenant with Him, He would be for and do for them what they needed. What did the Israelites need in Exodus 10? Continued deliverance. These two words take us back to the Hebrew word segullah. In its first usage in the Old Testament, in Exodus 15:16, this word meant God purchased them. God said it again in Deuteronomy 7:6 when He told the Israelites they were holy and set-apart to the Lord. The Lord is the one who makes a person holy and set apart. Nothing a person can do gives them deliverance from the stain of sins in his or her heart, mind, and spirit. No one can make themselves holy. In Exodus 19:6, God’s exertion of Himself for the deliverance of the Israelites is what made them holy. In the New Testament, the meaning stays the same, God delivering/redeeming people. The Greek word for redeeming is lutroo. Titus wrote in Titus 2:14, “God gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” Peter stated the same in 1 Peter 2:9, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light” [NIV]. Deliverance (segullah in Old Testament) and redemption (lutroo in New Testament) mean essentially the same thing, as these verses show. God delivers and redeems people from the sins and people who make them captives. He makes them holy and His peculiar/special possession. God’s faithfulness to His covenant with people spans from creation into eternity. In looking at the past, we notice people proved faithless to their covenant with Him. God has always been faithful to people.

    These three verses hold the nuggets of truth about God and His relationship with humanity. The nuggets are three-fold. First, God makes Himself known to people in several ways, through creation, Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, the testimony of other Christians, the Bible, the Holy Spirit, and biblical teaching and preaching. God wants each person to know Him and has made Himself known to people. The second nugget is God gives people the choice and opportunity to covenant with Him. He calls people to come to Him, to make them holy and call His children. Jesus said in Matthew 7 people should ask, seek, and knock, then they will receive, find God, and have His door opened to them. Romans 10:13 states, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Peter said, in 1 Peter 1:15, that the Holy One calls people to Himself. Psalm 55:16 says those who call upon God will receive His salvation. Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 1:2, people answer God’s call to them. God said, in Isaiah 65:24, before people call to Him, He will heed and answer them. Many more passages in the Bible speak about God calling to people. He calls them to come to Him and be in a relationship with Him. The third nugget of truth in Exodus 19: 4-6 is that when people covenant with Him through the new covenant Jesus provides, God makes them holy and part of His “peculiar people”. He redeems them and makes them His own. Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:7 that Jesus gives redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of sins. He wrote in Galatians 1:4 that Jesus gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this evil age. In Hebrews 9:15, the writer says, “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” In Isaiah 44:22, God said He swept away the offense of the Israelites and told them to return to Him because He redeemed them.

    God did not choose only the Israelites to be His peculiar people. He chooses each person He created. He wants to deliver and redeem each person. John said Jesus came to save anyone who would believe in Him in John 3:16. 2 Peter 3:9 states, God does not want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 1 Timothy 2:4 says, God wants everyone to receive salvation. The new covenant, given through the death and resurrection of Jesus, is God’s never-ending and perfect covenant offered to people. The Israelites often proved themselves unfaithful to their covenants with God in the Old Testament. With the passing of time and because of God’s mercy, some Israelites returned to their covenant with Him. Still, without the perfect sacrifice for sins, each of them became stained again with their sins. The legal requirement was to offer another imperfect sacrifice to atone for their sins. Jesus, being the perfect sacrifice, need never sacrifice for the sins of humanity again. The holiness of the sinless Son of God gave the perfect sacrifice for humanity’s sins. People need never offer another sacrifice once he or she repents and confesses of his or her sins and trusts in Jesus for salvation.

    The covenants in the Bible have the same basic format. God makes Himself known to people. He gives them a choice to join with Him in covenant-to worship and serve only Him. God provides everything a person needs for life and makes him or her His peculiar (acquired and treasured) possession. With the Old Testament covenants, God acquired the people as His possession by His delivering them from servitude and difficulty. He showed His covenant faithfulness to them. In the New Testament, God acquired believers as His treasured possession through the greatest cost, the crucifixion and resurrection of His Son, Jesus.

    God gives each person the opportunity to recognize Him, turn to and choose Him, and receive salvation through Jesus, be made holy by Him, and be His child (His “peculiar people”). Today, He has shown Himself to you. Will you recognize Him? Will you turn to Him, repent of your sins, and confess Jesus as the Son of God who died for your sins? Once you recognize, repent, and confess Jesus as God’s Son and your Savior, God will make you one of His peculiar people, His treasured child. 

You no longer have to be odd.

You can become treasured. 

The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what he promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 [AMPC])

I AM, the Eternal Victor

We each come to a point in our lives, actually many points in our lives, when we must decide if we will let our circumstances get us “down.” For some people, death seems to take them “down.” Others face illness or a diagnosis they didn’t expect, and that gets them “down.” Possibly losing a job or not getting a promotion will cause a person to be “down.” For other people, not finding a spouse or being childless can make a person feel “down.”

A whole host of things in life confront us and we get to decide how they will affect us. Notice I said, “We get to decide how they will affect us.” That doesn’t mean I am immune to feeling trampled by life because of illness, death, dark thoughts, lack of family or love, or any of thousands of other non-happy things in life. It means at this place in my life, at least for today, I can say my situation has not made me feel “down.” For me to admit that is a major step in my faith journey. Yes, I have been through difficult times without feeling pummeled before, but they were few. Still, the times of feeling “down” because of circumstances are becoming farther apart. As I pondered that today, I have come to conclusions.

God has been busy teaching me the last year or two that circumstances don’t define Him, but He defines circumstances. This year, He began teaching me more, and I am just at the start of this learning experience. God is teaching me about Himself as He revealed Himself to the people of the Old Testament using the Hebrew word anoki, meaning “I am.”

Any of us who has ever read about Moses and the burning bush thinks, “I know this one!” But maybe you don’t. The I AM God who spoke to Moses does not come from the Hebrew word anoki, but is significant. As I’ve said, I have only begun to study where God says anoki and have finished reading through Genesis. Each time God said anoki in the six instances in Genesis, He revealed something about Himself, about His nature, how we can relate to Him, and how He helps us because of that particular characteristic or nature.

To Abraham in Genesis 15:1, God said, “I am your shield.” He meant He is and would be Abraham’s King, Protector, and faith. Abraham could draw faith from God, the Source of faith, and could rely on God to protect and provide for him. He would also be able to go on the defense or offense in obedience to God because God is His King and Protector. God gives Abraham his shield to do battle for Him and to protect him from harm in a defensive battle just as Paul taught in Ephesians 6 with the armor of God.

To Abimelech in Genesis 20:6, God said, “I know you and I kept you.” God knew Abimelech, his heart as well as his actions and thoughts. He knew Abimelech better than Abimelech knew himself. God is all-knowing and all-powerful. He kept Abimelech from sinning against Him, Abraham, Sarah, and himself even when he didn’t realize what he had thought to do would be a sin. God is as close as our next breath and is transcendent knowing the big picture and able to keep things from happening. He protects us from ourselves and from harm by other people. Remember, Abimelech told Abraham what God revealed to him and so Abraham learned, too, that God is all-knowing and the one who is all-powerful and can keep people from sinning.

To Isaac in Genesis 26:24, God reiterated His revelation of Himself to Abraham, Isaac’s father. He reminded Isaac He is with him by saying He is his father’s God-the King, Protector, source of faith, faithful One, all-knowing, and all-powerful. He adds to this promise for Isaac what He didn’t tell Abraham. God told Isaac not to fear. Lack of fear is assumed when God is immanent. Immanence means God is always with you; He is near. Still, sometimes we people need to hear “do not fear.” Isaac needed to hear that. The king of the Philistines, because Isaac’s people and possessions had become large, asked him to leave their land. They filled in the wells Isaac’s men dug. As Isaac’s people moved on, the herdsmen of the Philistines kept fighting over the wells Isaac’s people dug so that Isaac kept having to move on and felt threatened. Then one night, God met with Isaac and told him, “Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and will multiply your descendants, for the sake of my servant Abraham.” When faced with enemies or bad situations over and over, sometimes we need to hear God’s reassurance we need not fear. God is faithful to His promises, and He has it all under control. He is faithful, loving, protector, keeper, all-knowing, all-powerful, and the God of Abraham, your father. Who can be afraid when confronted with this nature of God?

To Jacob in Genesis 28:15, God reminded him He is immanent, protector, and faithful. At this point in his life, Jacob was afraid. As the second-born son, he had just been part of the trickery to steal the birthright of the firstborn son from his twin brother, Esau. Esau had a fiery temper and Jacob was afraid. His father, Isaac, told him not to marry a woman from among the Canaanites, but to return to Paddan-aram, the birth home of his grandfather, Abraham. To get there, he would likely cross territory in which Esau lived. God calmed Jacob with a vision of a ladder that reached from the ground to heaven with angels descending and ascending on it. At the top of the ladder God stood and told Jacob, “I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” All the lessons Abraham and Isaac taught Jacob and Esau about God and His nature, God reiterated in this dream. He added another element to His faithfulness. God’s faithfulness to Abraham and Isaac, and His covenant with them meant He must provide for the bodily needs of Jacob and Abraham’s other descendants. Besides protecting, God would feed, clothe, give water, and provide a wife for him. He would bring him to the land He promised his fathers before him. God said He would not leave him until He had done what He promised. This statement was the prelude to God’s statement to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 3:16 when He told them He would not leave them or forsake them.

With Genesis 35:11 and 46:3-4, God reminded Jacob He is almighty; nothing can thwart His plans or purposes. He commanded Jacob to be fruitful and multiply. God promised from him nations and kings would come. Even though hard times would fall on them, God could still make a great nation come from Jacob. He said He was immanent to Jacob and would protect Him and His offspring, provide for them, and would remain faithful to His covenant to him and his fathers. Even though Jacob and his descendants would walk through the valley (Egypt), God would surely be with them. He invested greater immediacy with this latter set of verses to give Jacob greater courage and conviction to go to a foreign land, walk through an unknown place, and have faith in Him.

For each of these men, as for most people of Bible times, continual verbal retelling of history relayed history from one generation to the next. It was an oral society, not a literate society. Abraham relayed to Isaac and his descendants who God is, what He promised to him, and how He intervened in his life. Isaac, Jacob, and each descendant afterwards carried on this oral tradition. Sometimes God reminded the next generation who He is with another anoki statement. Sometimes He revealed something new about Himself to the person to whom He spoke.

Why does God reveal Himself and His nature to people? Because He wants us to seek Him with all our hearts and find Him. God wants to have a relationship with us. He wants to be our faith, Protector, King, Provider, Keeper, Blesser. He wants us to know Him immanently and to know He is transcendent. God wants us to trust Him. He wants us to know Him. That’s yada knowing, experiential knowing so we know Him with our heart, soul, and mind. God wants us to realize at all times-before, during, and after difficult times-He is with us, knows us, protects us, strengthens us, loves us, keeps us, blesses us, and is all-powerful.

God revealed Himself with the anoki statements, the “I am” statements, in the Old Testament. He revealed His nature and by doing that He revealed to our finite minds how we can understand and relate to Him. More important than these “I am” statements and our holding on to this God of love, protection, omniscience, and omnipotence, is the God Moses first came to know. Moses encountered Elohim God the first time in the burning bush and God commissioned him to go to Egypt to bring His people out of slavery there to His Promised Land. He asked Elohim, “And who shall I say sent me?” (Exodus 3:13) God told Moses to tell them, “I AM WHO I AM. That is what you are to say to the Israelites. I AM has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:14) This statement by God of who He is carries more weight than any of the anoki statements. God’s description of Himself includes and goes beyond all the characteristics He reveals to people. I AM is the One Who was, is, and always will be. Understand this. I AM is eternal!

With this understanding that God is before, during, and after time, we gain a new, fresher, and more accurate perception of our particular situations, our troubles, the things that make us feel “down.” Keeping our eyes on God eternal-almighty, all-knowing, faithful, Protector, Provider, Lover of our souls, King, faith, Blesser, Covenanter, immanent, transcendent, Savior-changes our perspective. If our God is for us, who can be against us. (Romans 8:31) Better yet, with our God for us, nothing can beat us. Whether we are sick or well, rich or poor, smart or not, big or small, old or young, God is the same. Circumstances do not define God; He defines them. When Elohim is your God, nothing can defeat you. God already has won the victory. Because of this, you can face difficult days without being “down.” You are not defeated because God has won the victory for you.

“Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear NO evil, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff comfort me.  Thou preparest a table for me in the presence of my enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Psalm 23 is not a death song. It is a victory song.

Lord, so often I fall prey to the victim mindset. Forgive me for giving up on myself and You. Forgive me for mentally allowing my situation to define You. Nothing defines You. Help me to remember You define my circumstances. Help me not to give up or get “down,” but to give praise and testimony for You, I AM, what You have done and what You will do. Help me keep my eyes on You in faith. I am trusting You in my situation today. Amen.

Promises and Oppportunities - Deuteronomy 1-3

Deuteronomy 1-3

            Deuteronomy is a book written by Moses to call God’s people back to faithful service. The name Deuteronomy for the fifth book of the Old Testament comes from the Greeks naming it Deuteronomion, which means the second law or second statement. That does not mean God gave a new set of laws to the Israelites, but instead a restating of the original laws given. These laws came from God to Moses and the Israelites after they left Egypt. In Deuteronomy, Moses reapplied them to the people facing new circumstances after the rebelling generation died. Because these laws are restated and reapplied, theologians often call this a book of revival. Deuteronomy is a book of revival in that it calls the people to remember, reflect, and rededicate themselves to God and His will. The book has three parts - three sermons by Moses to the Israelites and the telling of Moses’ death. The three sermons highlight four themes – 1) God’s faithfulness and sovereignty, 2) The relevance of God’s laws for everyday life, 3) God’s blessing for faithfulness and judgment on faithlessness, and 4) Moses’ encouragement of the people to choose life. Most historians and theologians assume the writer of Deuteronomy is Moses, especially since Jesus mentioned it in Matthew 19:8 and Paul mentioned it in Romans 10:19. Of course, another person wrote the end of Deuteronomy about the death of Moses. The best estimate of the date of the book’s writing is around 1400 BC.

            These first three chapters remind us of Yahweh God’s choosing Israel as His people and God’s presence with them. Because of Israel being God’s chosen people, God established a covenant with them by which they were to live in faithfulness to Him. This covenant is called the Ten Commandments. God chose Israel and His adopted children of today to be part of what He is doing in the world. We must each choose if we will listen to and heed God - be faithful or rebel. This reflects upon our obedience to His Law and Himself. God expects His people to follow His leadership as He opens opportunities of service. How we respond to God determines our faithfulness or faithlessness and whether we will receive reward or judgment from God.

            In chapter one, Moses spoke to the Israelites in the Arabah, the desert, on the east side of the Jordon River. He told them God was sending them to the Amorites, their neighbors, the people in the Negev, the Canaanites and to the people in Lebanon, as far as the Euphrates River (vs. 7)  Moses reminded them of God’s promise to their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He reminded them of their journey from Egypt, from the setting up of their governance (vs. 13-17) to their routing of the Amorites forty years later. Moses continued reminding them in the following verses of chapter one. When they arrived the first time at the hill country of the Amorites and God told them He had given that land to them, the Israelites trembled in fear. They chose to send spies into the land who returned saying, “It is good land that the Lord our God is about to give us” (vs. 25-26). Still they would not enter the land because of fear. The Israelites rebelled against the command of God though Moses encouraged them to be brave and strong in the Lord (vs. 26, 29-30). Moses reminded them of the times Yahweh God carried them throughout their exodus journey – as a father carries his child. God went before them in fire by night and cloud by day to show them the way (vs. 33). God became angry at the Israelites and swore an oath that none of that generation would see the Promised Land, except Caleb and Joshua (vs. 35-36). Even Moses would not see it because of God’s anger towards the Israelites (vs. 37). God did promise that the weak of that day would inherit and possess the land and that He condemned the others to wander in the wilderness for forty years (vs. 39-40). Only upon receiving God’s judgment did the Israelites act and try to fight the Amorites. They failed. God even warned them He was not with them in their attempt. Moses reminded them of this failure, their resultant tears, and the many days they remained in Kadesh Barnea (vs. 441-46). After the Israelites circled Mount Seir many days, the Lord told them to turn north. God was preparing the Israelites to take the Promised Land, to obey His voice and commands (2:1-3). Moses wanted them to remember God’s faithfulness to them and to His covenant. He wanted them to remember their rebellion and resultant failure. Only when the Israelites were defeated did they recognize their sin. How often do we not recognize our rebellion/sin until we are defeated? If we would remember God, His sovereignty and omniscience, His all-encompassing knowledge, then we would think twice about rebelling against His plans. God’s plans ultimately occur whether we follow Him or rebel. How much more pleasant it would be if we followed Him from the beginning.

            From chapter two through chapter three, God explained His plans to Moses for the taking of the Promised Land to give to His people, the Israelites. He told them to pass through the land of Esau, their brother, which is Edom, but do not to provoke them because they will be afraid of the number of Israelites (2:4-5). God gave the Edomites their land as a possession. He told the Israelites to buy their food and water from the Edomites. God told them to remember how He had been with them those forty years in the desert and they needed nothing. He provided everything they needed. As they approached Moab, God told them to do the same thing there as in Edom because He gave the descendents of Lot (the Moabites/Ammonites) their land as a possession (2:9, 19). (Remember Moab was the son of Lot’s daughter who caused Lot to become drunk and then lay with him.) As an aside, Moses recounted to the Israelites that God destroyed the giants from the land of Edom and Moab so Esau’s and Moab’s descendents could have the land as their possession (2:10-12, 20-23). We see that once the Israelites crossed the Arnon River, God gave the Promised Land to His people.

            The first lands to be conquered were on the eastern side of the Jordan River. The people who lived there at that time were the Amorites. We need to understand who the Amorites were to understand why God told them to kill all the people – men, women, and children. The Amorites, from about 2500BC (1200 years before the exodus), were the inhabitants of the larger part of Mesopotamia and Syria with their capital in Harran. Harran was near Ur, the place from where Abraham began his journey following God and the land of Shem, Noah’s son. About 2300 BC, the Amorites conquered and occupied northern Babylonia making Babylon their capital. This established their dynasty. Because the Amorites had a plan to conquer their inhabited lands, they determined to intermarry with the residents of those lands making the land truly their own. Many historians trace the Amorites back to Samu/Shem. In probability, Shem’s people lived in Ur and the Amorites intermarried with them. The Amorite dynasty included the lands of current day Iraq, Iran, Syria, Canaan, part of Turkey, and part of Egypt. Closer to the time of the exodus, the Hittites invaded Babylonia and the Amorite dynasty ended. The Amorite kingdom continued to exist to the time of the Israelite invasion of the Promised Land. Their kingdom is mentioned in the Egyptian records and the cuneiform of Tell el-Amarna Letters.[i]  As the time of the exodus continued to get closer, the Egyptians came into power and conquered Canaan, ending the government of Canaan by the Amorites. The Amorites still ruled eastward to Babylonia and south to the Arnon River. They became a vassal state of Egypt. Later, almost at the time of the exodus, the Libyans and people of the Aegean invaded the Egyptians, who had to withdraw their garrisons from southern Canaan cities. The Philistines took over southern Canaan and blocked the way from Egypt to rule north Canaan. At this time then, the Amorites overran the old Egyptian provinces on the east side of the Jordan River. Chieftain Og possessed Bashan, the upper part of the east Canaan lands while Chieftain Sihon conquered the northern part of Moab. Sihon aimed to take southern Moab then the Israelites’ conquest stopped him. With the fall of Sihon and Og, the Amorite kingdom disappeared.

            This political map was what the Israelites encountered when they began their push into the Promised Land. The Israelites may have feared the Amorites, known for their gigantism, but they learned in their forty years of wandering to trust and follow God. Their forty years of wandering was a time of dissension, rebellion, and sadness as Numbers tells us. In Deuteronomy 2, God was about to restore lost opportunities to a new generation, one that was willing to trust Him. The reluctance of the earlier generation and God’s judgment warned these new Israelites and warns us. When God leads, we must follow with faith. When opportunity to serve God arises, we should take it.

The military men and their generation from the first time God told them to enter Canaan, except Joshua and Caleb, died during their forty-year wandering. The first generation did not take the opportunity God gave them to see the Promised Land. By the time God told the Israelites a second time to enter Canaan, they stood at the border before Sihon’s land. The Israelites crossed into Edom from Kadesh Barnea and to Moab over the Zered River. As the Israelites sat at the border, Moses recalled to them twice, in verses fourteen and fifteen, what occurred to the earlier generation who rebelled and did not follow God into the Promised Land. Their fear kept them from entering and their faithlessness sealed their future to die in outside of God’s Promised Land. God always fulfills His promises. His will ultimately prevails. The Israelites of the next generation proved they were courageous enough to take advantage of this great opportunity – God was on their side so who could prevail against them. God showed them the Arnon Valley from Moab. He told them His plan to give the lands of Sihon to them. God said He would put the fear of the Israelites into the hearts of the Amorites (vs. 24-31).

            As He did for their journey through Edom and Moab, God told Moses to send messengers to King Sihon asking permission to travel in his land. God worked in Sihon’s heart. Sihon hardened his heart against the Israelites. God wanted Sihon to fight the Israelites so He could give Sihon’s land to the Israelites by conquering it (vs. 31). The Israelites trusted God’s promise that He would care for them. Their military men died in the wandering. At this point, only God could give the victory for the Israelites. Sihon called war on the Israelites and they battled at Jahaz. In the end, the Israelites won the battle. They killed all the people. Moses gave the glory to God in verse thirty-three when he said, “The Lord our God delivered him (Sihon) over to us and we defeated him with his sons and all his people.” Part of the Promised Land now belonged to the Israelites. In chapter three, we find the Israelites approached King Og the same way. A messenger went from the Israelites asking for passage through Og’s land. Og refused and determined to fight the Israelites. The Argob, Og’s kingdom, contained sixty fortified cities and many smaller towns. The Israelites killed all the people in Og’s kingdom and the Israelites took the cities and towns. We must see first that God determined the outcome of the battle before the first attack (3:3). God promised the victory and received the credit for the victory (vs. 2-3). Moses made sure the people recognized God as their victor in these battles. He reminded them by proclaiming the victory as God’s own. The Israelites continued success came from their continued faithfulness.

 I must make a point at this place in our study. Many people throughout history say God is a killing God and they refer back to the taking of Canaan for the Israelites. We need to go back to Deuteronomy 20:16-18. God told them to kill all the people when taking over the land so they would not bow to the gods of Canaan. Moses said it this way,

Only in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes. But you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that they may not teach you to do according to all their detestable things which they have done for their gods, so that you would sin against the LORD your God. [NASB]

In Genesis 15:16, the Amorites are evil, so their destruction was God’s judgment upon them. Destroying the city’s inhabitants was not normal for Israelite warfare in the Bible. The time of God giving them His Promised Land was unique and crucial. The conquering of the lands from other nations was a fulfilling of God’s promise to Abraham and judgment upon the people of the other nations for worshipping false gods.

            After Og’s defeat, Moses distributed the land on the east side of the Jordan River to two and a half tribes - Reuben, Manasseh, and Gad. The men of these two and one half tribes pledged an oath to battle with the rest of the Israelites until the Israelites conquered all of the Promised Land, after which they could return to the east side to plant, shepherd, and be with their wives and children (3:12-20). Before the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, God told Moses he would not enter the Promised Land because he did not quell the rebellion of the Israelites when they did not enter the Promised Land forty years prior. He did tell Moses Joshua would lead them into Canaan. Moses charged Joshua not to fear the people and to remember God was the One fighting for them (vs. 21-22, 28). After Moses pleaded with God an additional time to let him cross into Canaan, God’s anger rose and He commanded Moses never to speak of it again (vs. 26). He did allow Moses to see the land from the top of Mount Pisgah/Mount Nebo, near the valley opposite Beth-Peor where the Israelites encamped.

            You may be wondering what this story has to do with us. How does God’s working in 1400 BC have anything to do with today? We need to consider a few things. God’s will ultimately prevails. He gave a promise to Abraham many generations before the exodus of the Israelites. God always fulfills His promises. I think of a time when I attended church during my university years. One day while listening to the preacher, I felt God calling me to serve Him. I gave my life to serve Him on that day when I was twenty-one years old. God promised to provide what I needed. God did not whisk me away at once to a foreign country. He did remind me that He called me several times during the next years. I continued my studies and graduated. God provided a good job, house, and car for me. I was happy and settled into adult life. Nine months after I bought the house, God called me again, this time to seminary - one-step closer to ministry. Now, twenty-seven years later, I can say I have been serving in full-time ministry to Him for the last fourteen and one-half years. God’s promise to use me for His service is fulfilled. He has always provided what we needed. God’s will prevailed. He is persistent and perfect. God’s purpose will occur.

Maybe you feel you missed an opportunity to do what God asked you to do, like the first Israelites of the exodus as they faced God’s gift of the Promised Land. Maybe fear kept you from doing what God asked the first time - fear of moving to a new city or job. You can return to God, recognize His will, and give Him your life to do what He wants. God will take you for His purposes whenever you give your life to Him. Remember, we each have responded to some of God’s challenges with fear and disobedience. These three chapters of Deuteronomy remind us that God has a wonderful way of giving us fresh opportunities. When we are ready to follow God no matter what He asks of us, He is ready to use us for His purposes. We each can redeem the past by seeing the opportunities God puts before us and claiming God’s promise, just as the second generation of Israelites did. Our faithfulness to God has a cumulative effect. The more often our decisions reflect God’s will, the easier it will be to follow when God calls us to something next time and the more we will discover blessings in our lives. We might not see the blessings immediately, but God works in His own way and time. He rewards faithfulness. He just asks that we trust Him, stay faithful, and act with courage.

            Life brings changes and challenges. These changes and opportunities are chances to serve, walk, and learn with God, not just to receive things from Him. When we see them as opportunities, we will start to see God’s hand leading. We can enjoy being a part of what God is doing around us. How, then, can we be more responsive to God in our surroundings and circumstances? Consider these:

1. Do not let past failures decide your worth in serving God. We each miss some of God’s opportunities. Accept God’s offer and take the opportunity to walk with Him.
2. Look at changes as times for exploring new ways to serve and work with God.
3. Determine where God is leading by reading the Bible, praying, meditating on His Word, listening to sermons and Sunday School lessons, and talking with other Christians.
4. Trust that God will give you what you need to do His will and follow His plans. The Israelites trusted Him and He gave them courage. We demonstrate trust by being willing to go into areas we have never been. God does not back out on His plans and leave a person stranded. He is faithful to His children and His promises. God promises He will be with us wherever He leads us (Deuteronomy 31:6, 8: Joshua 1:9; Hebrews 13:5).

God gave the Israelites a new opportunity to trust Him and claim His promises. This second time facing the Promised Land, they trusted Him and He gave them the land He promised. What has God been saying to you lately? Do you need to step out in faith and trust to follow Him in a new opportunity? Remember, God is always faithful and He loves you. He will never fail you.

Trust Him.

Step out in Faith in God.

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[i]         A. H. Sayce. W. B. Eerdmanns Publishing, 1939. Amorites from http://www.internationalstandardbible.com/A/amorites.html (accessed July 21, 2014).

Lessons from God through a Father-in-Law

Exodus 18:7-24

7 Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. 8 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 befallen them on the journey, and how the LORD had delivered them. 9 Jethro rejoiced over all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, in delivering them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 So Jethro said, "Blessed be the LORD who delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 "Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods; indeed, it was proven when they dealt proudly against the people." 12 Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses' father-in-law before God. 13 It came about the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood about Moses from the morning until the evening. 14 Now when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, "What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?" 15 Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16 "When they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws." 17 Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you are doing is not good. 18 "You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. 19 "Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You be the people's representative before God, and you bring the disputes to God, 20 then teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do. 21 "Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. 22 "Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor dispute they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23 "If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their place in peace." 24 So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said.  

            In our previous study, we encountered Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law. Jewish history says Jethro was a priest of many gods. Other historians say Jethro was a priest of the LORD (Yahweh/Yehovah) since he was from the line of Midian, Abraham’s son. We will not know exactly whom Jethro worshipped before Exodus 18:9-10. Verse 11 invites us to believe that Jethro was not a priest of Yahweh before since he was now convinced “Yahweh is greater than all the gods.” What we do know is that from verse 10 Jethro worshipped the Yahweh of the Hebrews. Let us now look at this passage closer.

            The Hebrews left Egypt a few days or weeks before Exodus 18. They learned the LORD cared enough for them that He provided food (manna) and water. Yahweh also provided a pillar of fire before them and a cloud behind them. In chapter 18, we meet them at the “mountain of God,” Mount Sinai/Horeb. The Hebrews were in the Sinai Peninsula. They were in the area where Moses shepherded Jethro’s sheep before and where Moses met the LORD in the burning bush (Exodus 3).

As the Hebrews and Moses camped there, Jethro sent word to Moses saying he would soon arrive at the camp with Moses’ wife and sons. In our day, that might not have been a meeting to look forward to since Moses put his wife aside, basically, divorced her. Yet, we find in this chapter Moses greeted Jethro with honor and love. He bowed down to and kissed Jethro. Moses humbled himself before his father-in-law and, thus, recognized Jethro’s superiority. Readers of the Bible read of these actions also occurring with Joseph and his brothers and parents in Genesis 37:7, 10; 42:6, 9; and 43:26, 28. It occurred when Laban met Jacob (Genesis 29:13), Esau met Jacob (Genesis 33:4), and Aaron met Moses (Exodus 4:7). Bowing and kissing a person in greeting showed respect, humility, and love in their culture. Before retiring to their tents, Moses and Jethro asked each other of their welfare. This word “welfare” comes from the Greek word “shalowm,” meaning completeness in number, safety, and soundness of body, welfare, health, and prosperity. It included peace within themselves, with others, and with God (their relationship with God).

In verse 8, Moses told Jethro all God did for the Hebrews. Yehovah (the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible) proved His might and majesty to Pharaoh and his advisers by sending plagues and killing first born children (Exodus 4:23, 7:4-5) for Israel’s sake. Moses told Jethro of the hardship – toil, distress, and weariness – they encountered on the journey. He told him how Yehovah delivered them, how He rescued and saved them. (Moses and Nehemiah recounted these stories for the Israelites for generations to come in Numbers 20:4 and Nehemiah 9:32.) Moses told Jethro how the people sang praises to Yehovah (Exodus 15) declaring God’s power and His creating terror in their enemies. During and after Moses relayed these stories about Yahweh to him, Jethro realized the size of this powerful and compassionate God. We find this to be the case in verses 9 and 10.

Jethro rejoiced over the goodness of the Lord for what He did to and for Israel. Jethro took notice of what God did and rejoiced over all the goodness the Lord did for Israel. God brought Israel from the Egyptian army, provided food and water, and loved the people. Jethro recounted God’s goodness to the people. He also blessed the Lord. The word “bless” in the Hebrew means to bless and kneel, which means to praise and pay homage to someone. Jethro praised and paid homage to Yahweh because He delivered them from a foreign land, slave drivers, and oppression.

Jethro kept declaring God’s goodness and blessing Him; he declared the “LORD greater than all other gods” (vs. 11). God showed His goodness and love. He also showed His power and greater knowledge when He dealt with those who “dealt proudly against the people.” Pharaoh (who declared himself a god), his magicians, under-rulers, and priests could not explain away what they thought was magic by Moses. God proved their pride in knowing all things as ignorance and folly. They could not do what God did and could not explain it. When Pharaoh made life harder for the Hebrews, God did not stop proving to them in even greater capacity that He is God almighty. God dealt with the leaders and showed them His strength and majesty. God could not be ignored and must be praised. Since Jethro acknowledged that other cultures and, possibly, he worshipped other gods and since he declared the God of the Israelites more powerful and majestic, this said much to his people – his family, tribe, and culture – as well as to the Israelites. Yehovah is the greatest who overshadows all other gods as if they are no gods at all. There are no other gods, which Yehovah proved.

What occurred next, in chapter 12, reminds us of Melchizadek, the priest to whom Abraham gave a tithe in Genesis 14. Remember, the time of Jethro and Moses occurred before the Ten Commandments and before God set aside a tribe of Israel to be priests for Him. Jethro took burnt offering and sacrifices for God and ate a meal with Aaron and the elders of Israel before God. Look at this carefully. The “burnt offering” in Hebrew is “olah” which means a whole burnt offering not meant as a sacrifice, but solely for God. Jethro gave it as a devotional offering to God to honor Him. This offering also signified complete surrender to God’s service. Jethro signified his complete submission to God’s will. Jethro cast aside all other gods to recognize and serve the one true God. The term “sacrifice” used in this verse comes from the Hebrew word “zebach.” A zebach sacrifice was an offering of peace as thanks to God. People offered it freely, often after making a vow to God. This sacrifice had nothing to do with sin. Jethro declared God’s goodness and greatness then burned an offering for God’s honor and gave a sacrifice to make a vow to God offering himself in submission to Him. Jethro’s priesthood according to the order of Melchizadek arose from this action. He offered himself and a sacrifice to honor God and place himself in God’s will for His service.

The remaining verses of this study give glimpses into how societies and cultures arrived at their form of government. Jethro saw Moses at work the following day. He saw Moses judge disputes between the Israelites, as well as, lead them by teaching everything Yahweh told to him. In essence, Moses was legislator and judiciary. He proclaimed God’s words, taught them God’s ways, and judged their disputes (vs. 16). “Judge” in the Hebrew meant to govern, vindicate, punish, and decide controversy. This kept him very busy. Verse 13 says, “The people stood about Moses from morning until evening.” Moses spent the productive hours of the day judging between people. When Jethro saw this, he asked Moses, “What is this thing you are doing for the people? Why do you do it alone?” Historians figure the Israelites numbered over one million, 600,000 men plus women and children. Jethro cared for Moses’ health, concerned that he would become worn out (“nabel” means to be made senseless and foolish) by the task of being the sole leader for so many people (vs. 18). He, being older and more experienced, imparted wisdom to his humble and loved son-in-law.

Jethro counseled Moses by suggesting a seemingly commonplace method. His advice appears to be common knowledge to us in the 21^st century, yet, for Moses, it came as a new idea. Did Moses ignore Jethro’s advice? We do not read that occurring. Instead, we read that Jethro advised Moses to be the representative before God for the people and bring the big disputes before God. Moses discussed matters with God that affected all the people. In essence, Moses listened to God, brought disputes before Him, and then taught the Israelites God’s rules, laws, and statutes. Moses had a relationship with God. He recognized God’s voice. Moses approached God humbly and in submission. He obeyed God. They knew each other already and how their relationship worked. Jethro continued his counsel. He told Moses to select men from all the people who feared God, were truthful, and hated dishonest gain. These selected men were to lead groups of people - thousands, hundreds, and tens. Jethro said they were to lead and judge the people in every minor dispute (vs. 22) so that it would be less of a burden for Moses to bear. By doing this, Moses would be less worn out, justice would be meted out quicker, and Moses could focus more on God and His plan for the Israelites. This brings to mind the old adage, “Many hands make light work.” This passage also reminds me of the New Testament parable of the talents. The master gave to each servant a trusted sum of money in the amount he thought the servant could manage (Matthew 25:14-30). In the end, the master’s impression of each man proved correct.

In Exodus 18, Moses would have to decide which men could rule the larger numbers and which the smaller numbers of people. These kinds of decisions are made best with wisdom, insight, and experience with people. One other factor shows itself here. By choosing leaders for smaller groups, leaders train people to become leaders. If Moses did all the work himself, he would be worn out and others would not have been trained to lead. What would have happened when Moses died if he had not appointed and trained other leaders?

This concept of training future leaders is worthy of note today. This story is not only about governments; it is about training others to become future leaders. The leader whom God appoints must stay in a living relationship with Him. He must know God’s heart, His plan, and His laws. This leader must also share these things with other potential leaders and, with God’s guidance, using His principles, appoint and train new leaders to lead God’s people to go out and bring people to Him.

Jethro gave Moses a life lesson so that he would not become worn out. He also gave a lesson we can apply today and tomorrow. Being a child of God means we follow God and tell the world about Him. In that going, we are teaching and growing others; therefore, we are training others to go out to preach and teach, to be leaders. To do this, we must have a living relationship with Yahweh. We must know Him, His plan, His heart, and His laws. This makes us humble and submission servants of God’s going into the world preaching, teaching, and training others to be humble and submissive to the one true, great, and good God. This is what Jethro proclaimed after hearing what Yehovah did for the Hebrews. Today we proclaim this and the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Messiah to redeem and save the world.

Moses listened to Jethro. He heard God’s lesson for himself through His father-in-law’s wise teaching. Moses was an obedient child of God. He recognized God’s voice and the humility required of him. He obeyed. He learned. He led and taught. At what part in this process are you? Have you stopped to hear and recognize God’s voice? Have you listened to and obeyed Him? Have you learned from Him? Maybe you are in the stage of preaching and teaching. Are you training others to lead? Moses learned much from Jethro that day, all God-appointed learning. What is God teaching you today?

Holy Ground

Exodus 3:1-9

1 Now, Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. 3 So, Moses said, "I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up." 4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." 5 Then He said, "Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." 6 He said also, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7 The LORD said, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. 8 So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 9 Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.”

I began reading the book of Exodus this week. At the beginning of Exodus, Moses, the writer, introduced himself as the son of a Hebrew woman and raised by the Egyptian princess to be a prince of Egypt. This story is very familiar to Jews and Christians. The story is a very strong example of the power and love of God. From a young age, Jews and Christians teach their children this history. This week, I delved deeper into the story. There are several things we should acknowledge and understand, things Moses learned, which we need to learn today. The main question, though, for this story is - Will we recognize God and what He sets apart for His purposes?

Before we study this passage in depth, remember that Moses was a Hebrew from the tribe of Levi. His mother laid him in the Nile River in a woven wicker basket coated with tar to save him. The Pharaoh mandated at that time that midwives kill male Hebrew babies because of the increasing number of Hebrews in Egypt. God had a plan for Moses and led him in his basket to the arms of the bathing Egyptian princess. While he was nursing from a wet nurse, who happened to be his biological mother, he learned of his Hebrew heritage. Once weaned, Moses was educated as an Egyptian. For forty years, Moses lived as an Egyptian, until one day he saw a slave driver beating a Hebrew worker. This enraged Moses and he killed the slave driver. Moses fled for his life and arrived in Midian. He traveled about 10,750 miles (6,719km) to arrive in the current lower Saudi Arabia. He traveled from Egypt on the Nile across the Sinai Peninsula then across the Gulf of Aqaba to a land inhabited by the descendents of Abraham’s son, Midian. Moses arrived at a well there and met seven daughters of the priest Reuel (Jethro) whom he defended from the shepherds. Jethro was not a priest of Yahweh when Moses met him. Jewish tradition says Jethro worshipped many idols before he believed. He offered a benediction to Yahweh in Exodus 18:9-10; this is when we recognize his acceptance of Yahweh as the true God. From Jethro’s daughters, Moses chose Zipporah to be his wife and for forty years, Moses tended Jethro’s sheep.

After Moses shepherded Jethro’s sheep for forty years, he saw a bush burning, but it was not consumed. This captured his attention. Where was Moses when he saw this burning bush? He was in the Sinai Peninsula, the west side of the wilderness as verse 1 says. Why he traveled so far from where Jethro normally kept his sheep we do not know. We do know Moses encountered God on Horeb, another name for Mount Sinai. What the writer of Exodus (Moses) told his readers is that an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush. God chose to use a weak, small thing, a thorn bush, instead of something grand, such as a cedar. He chose to use a shepherd and humbled man, Moses, instead of a trained leader of the Hebrews, like a priest. We need to realize, too, that in the Bible, people often recognize God as a fire, consider the pillar of fire that led the Israelites. The Old Testament identifies the “angel of the LORD” with God in many passages.

Moses said in the passage that YAHWEH God appeared to him in the fire. Moses turned from his path and went to examine this unconsumed burning bush, and that is where God called to him. Here is where my enquiring mind began to dig deeper. How did Moses understand it was the LORD speaking? How did Moses recognize the voice of the LORD? In retrospect, by the time Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch), he had a history with Yahweh and could recognize His hand out of hindsight. The question remains though, how did Moses recognize God’s voice when he was trained and had lived as an Egyptian for forty years and then lived with a priest of false gods for forty years? My answer, from personal experience, is when a thought or idea comes to your mind that is not in your line of thinking at the time or in your inclination, and is not contrary to the laws of God, you should consider it to be from God. Jewish teaching, Midrash, says when the voice you hear is like your father’s or mother’s voice – authoritative, calming, giving confidence, and giving hope – you hear God’s voice. Jewish teachers teach this to their students. The teaching makes sense, too, when you think about it. Moses understood God was speaking to him.

The remaining verses in this passage show us how else Moses realize God was speaking to him. Upon following his instinct, Moses turned aside to examine the bush. God told him not to come near the bush and to take off his shoes because the ground he was standing on was holy. He identified Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, too. God taught Moses three things here. Humankind cannot be too near God for His glory is too great for a sinful human to bear. When in the presence of God, you are on holy (set apart) ground. He is Yahweh, the One his mother spoke of to him when he was a toddler. Moses surely was overawed and humbled. The God whom his mother spoke of was speaking to him, one who had not followed Yahweh. His immediate reaction must have been to humble himself in the manner he understood from his days as a receiver of reverence, hiding his face and bowing low to the ground. Moses could have chosen to hear God calling him, but chosen not to acknowledge Him. Many people do that today. They realize God wants to lead them in their moral and life choices, but they choose not to recognize God’s glory and power and, instead, follow their own plans. Moses’ curiosity led him to the bush. His recognition of a voice not from himself led him to follow God. His humility led him to acknowledge God’s majesty and obey. Moses spirit spoke to him to recognize, acknowledge, and obey God. God’s presence set the place apart as holy. He called Moses for His purposes. From this point, God set Moses apart as His instrument of power, freedom, guidance, and provision.

Let's take a closer look at this encounter between Moses and Yahweh. Let's consider God's command for Moses to remove his sandals. This was a common custom in the Middle East and Asia at the time and continues today in places. It is a sign of reverence and respect for the persons of the house. With respect to God, this action is a token of respect and submission. Removing one’s sandals is the expression of inward reverence through outward behavior. By taking off one’s sandals before entering a holy place or holy ground, it keeps the dirtiness of non-holy ground from the holy and sanctified place. God taught Moses to prepare himself to be in His presence. We must understand, too, that the ground was no more holy than any other until God chose to meet with Moses at that moment in time at that place. The ground was holy because of God’s presence. Any place can be holy. God can meet people anywhere. The question is - are we prepared to acknowledge God anywhere and anytime. What would it take us to be in that position?

Moses learned quite a bit that day. He learned how God’s voice sounded. Moses learned how to approach God. He learned that anywhere God is He makes holy. Moses learned God uses the humble and weak to show His power and majesty. He learned God had a plan for Him. Moses learned to adjust his life to follow God’s plan.

We should learn the same three lessons - 1) recognizing the voice of God, 2) knowing that where God is is holy ground, and 3) knowing how to approach God.  We should be prepared at all times to be in God's presence, hear His voice, and obey Him. How do we do that? We should always recognize our sinful, finite, powerless selves. We should be humble, confessing our sins and need for God, and looking always to see where God is at work, seeking Him. If we keep an attitude of humility and realize God is near and may at any time reveal Himself and His will to us, we will be able to recognize, hear, and obey Him.

Do you need to adjust something in your life to hear God speak to you? Are you too self-focused and busy to see and hear God? Is God trying to get your attention? When He has our attention and we are listening, we are on holy ground. To be in a relationship with God, we each must attend to Him, by recognizing, listening, and heeding Him.

Be prepared for God to speak to you. Be humble and recognize God’s voice. Give reverence to Him and listen to Him. Be ready to obey what God tells you, even if just to “remove your sandals.”

God can make any place holy ground.

Are you willing to recognize Him and what He sets apart for His purposes?