18 And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:
19 If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.
20 And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.
21 Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.
God doesn't like it when His people fight one another, and it doesn't matter who was right or wrong, there are consequences!
If two men are fighting, and one beats the other one so bad that he has to be hospitalized, and if the man who is hospitalized doesn't die, the man who beat him has to pay the hospital bills and for his loss of wages that he incurred during the time it took for him to heal.
Obviously, servants are treated differently. One can assume it is because the servant is in debt to the master already. If a servant is killed at the master's hand, then the master should be punished. But, if the servant doesn't die instantly, but remains alive a couple of days, then the master is spending money caring for the servant that he injured. Since the servant "is his money", then the master is freed from punishment at this point, because he has paid the servant back for injuring him, and now the servant can never work off his debt to the master.
Exodus 21:17
“And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.”
Exodus 20:12 tells us that we are to honor our father and mother. This verse tells us what will happen if we don't.
Many of us did not grow up with good parents who had great values and really cared about their children's future. Some were children of drug addicts and prostitutes. Some were born to mothers who were too young and deadbeat dads. Some parents abused their children in horrific ways. None of this is an excuse to curse your parents.
Matthew 5:44 teaches us, from the words of Jesus, "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"
It is a good thing that God sent His son to die on the cross for our sins. Many of us have shaken our fists at our parents and screamed at them that we wished they would die. The rebellious teenage years leave many of us wanting in our godly attitudes.
It also makes us wonder what life must have been like back in the days God gave this commandment. How did parents make their children behave back then? Shouldn't we be following THEIR example?
Exodus 21:16
“And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.”
In today's world, where millions of children are being kidnapped and sold into slavery and used in sweatshops and as sex slaves and servants and for any other reason, this verse deals the consequence that such sin should incur.
12 He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.
13 And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
14 But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.
15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
We have already been told that it is wrong to kill in Exodus 20:13. God has laid out consequences of such actions.
If you kill someone, you must die. Period. But, if you are acting in self defense, the sentence is still death, but God will provide a place of sanctuary for you. If you stay in the place that He has given for you as a sanctuary, you may survive. If you leave that place, the judges can take hold of you to exact punishment for your crime.
This is only good for self defense, not for sneaking up on someone and executing them.
And, you better NOT kill your parents for ANY reason.
God has provided us a sanctuary in the Lord Jesus Christ today. As long as we abide in Him, our sins -- our CRIMES -- are forgiven!
7 And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.
8 If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
9 And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
10 If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
11 And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.
In Biblical days, sons and daughters were treated differently. If a man had children, he had servants for life.
If a man had a son, he had someone to leave his inheritance to. He had hope for the future of his family.
If a man had a daughter, he had a treasure that he could invest in. He could trade her for favors and connections that could benefit his family's future.
At any rate, the patriarch of the family ruled over his progeny. It didn't matter what country he lived in, his family was his to rule over and control. If you want to hurt a man, destroy his family.
Now days, at least here in the United States, things are different. The government has done everything possible to destroy the authority a family has over an individual. This may, at first glance, seem like a good thing in some ways, but is it how God intended it?
In this case, if a man owed a debt and decided to sell his daughter to the person he owed the debt to, then his daughter "belonged" to the person he sold her to for life.
She would be used in any manner a master saw fit to use her. If the master did not get on well with her, the man had the option of buying her back, but the master could not sell her to another nation. If the man did not buy her back, the daughter would have to suffer her fate in the master's hands, and that may not be good. So daughters who were sold into servanthood were taught from an early age to be the best servants they could be for anyone to avoid any future problems for the family.
If a master bought the daughter and then introduced her to his son for a future union, he was responsible to treat her as if she were his own daughter, not a servant that he gave away.
If the master chose to sexually use her, she was then to be treated as his wife. And if he married someone else, he was still to treat her as he would a wife, providing for her and allowing her to raise her children by him.
If a master buys the daughter of a debtor, and he doesn't sell her back to her father, give her to his son, or take to him as a wife, then she is to be set free to survive on her own. This can be a tricky situation for women, who only had one way of surviving back in those days, unless they begged on the streets and were able to somehow buy property of their own, which was mostly impossible.
In our neck of the woods, buying and selling servants is not allowed. So, if we were to edit this to our standard, here is how it would look:
If a man owed a debt but could not work for it, he could offer to let his daughter work out the debt for him.
If an employer accepted that offer, he could not contract her to another employer in order to work out his OWN debt. And, if a man were to somehow come into some money and was able to pay off his debt, she would be free from her contract.
If she and the employer's son fell in love and got married, she would not be under contract any longer, and she would then be a part of the employer's family.
If the employer married her, then he would treat her with the respect any wife deserves.
If the employer was not pleased with the work she was contracted to do, then he could tear up the contract and no one would owe him anything. At any rate, it is up to the employer whether to accept the deal.
Remember, servants aren't slaves. Servants are those who are working to pay off a debt. Or, servanthood can be voluntary.
God calls all of us to serve. We will never be able to pay off the debt that Jesus paid, which is why Jesus paid it.
In this case, God is speaking of those who are working to pay off a debt.
Any debt owed must be given six years work to pay off. In the seventh year, the servant is to be released, nothing owed. Free.
So, if someone is working for you in order to pay off a debt, you must NOT make him work more than six years for it. You must pursue the payment for six years, after that, you need to forgive whatever debt is owed over that and let him have piece of mind.
Exodus 21:
3 If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.
4 If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.
5 And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.
Back then, marriages were assigned. If they weren't assigned, there were traditional steps that had to be taken in order to occur. In this case, if a servant was already married, and he enters into servanthood, then his whole family is entered with him. When he leaves, his whole family leaves with him.
However, if he decides to marry his "boss's" daughter, then he cannot take her away from her family. He is married into that family for life. If he leaves, he leaves on his own. Whatever family he builds with his employer's family, he leaves behind. OR, he can stay and be part of that family for life.
Families are called to serve each other. It is your DUTY to serve your family first and above all!
1 Timothy 5:8
“But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”
In the Bible, there are very few times in which God's people owned slaves. However, there are MANY instances of them having servants.
A man or woman who was a servant was usually so because of a debt that was owed.
Today, if you work for an employer, it is because you are paying off a debt. Bills are forms of debt. If you are employed, then you are a servant.
As a servant - or employee - today, you have the opportunity to start your own business and be the boss, thus working your way out of servitude.
A slave has no hope of ever having freedom unless his master wills it. A slave's sole purpose is obedience, and that includes servitude.
A servant, on the other hand, can buy his freedom. A servant has the freedom to choose his master, in most cases. A servant can rise up to the master's level eventually, whereas a slave will never have such opportunity.
The Bible teaches us to be good servants. It teaches us how to serve God, and how serving man is vital to our service to God.
In Chapter 21 of Exodus, we will be talking about servitude, slavery, and women's roles in society, as well as women's rights in the Old Testament, and how that effects us today.
24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
If you want to get to know God well, all you have to do is read and get to know His laws.
God doesn't like fake. He doesn't like short cuts. And, He clings to morality. Everything is black or white when it comes to God. There is no grey area.
God would rather you go out and find a big rock somewhere and use it to pray on. He doesn't want fancy carved benches, altars made by expensive carpenters that sit in front of the pulpit at churches, or people who vainly climb to the tops of the steps to be seen. He doesn't like anyone to display their nakedness to the world. God created you naked, then covered your shame in the Garden for a reason.
Staying covered and hiding your nakedness means that you are ashamed of your sin. To display and bare all only allows others to see your sin and be influenced by it.
God wants you right where you are -- unedited, unadulterated, untarnished, unchipped, and yes, unworthy. He is the potter. HE wants you to be the clay!
There are a lot more commandment than just the first ten that we all know and love. In these next posts, I will be expounding on them.
This verse, “Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold", seems to mirror the verses in Exodus 20:4-5, God's law #2.
However, upon closer inspection, I believe (I say "I believe" because it is not clearly stated in the Bible and I could be wrong, but I am believing that the Holy Spirit is guiding me here) that this is a warning to believers to keep in mind that God does not need help to be God.
There is nothing you can want, need or ask for that God cannot do by Himself, if He so chooses.
I believe this verse is telling us to trust God entirely.
If we decide to give God "help" by creating "things" to pray to or with, rather than going to the Most High and trusting Him alone with a one on one conversation through Christ Jesus, then we err. It is a sin, and we will be judged accordingly.
The definition of "covet" is to yearn to possess or have (something). It is not a sin to covet. It is a sin to covet something that belongs to someone else. If we did not covet at all, we would have no need to petition God for anything.
You can't want a woman or a man in your life that is already committed to someone else.
You can't want a job that is assigned to someone else.
You can't want someone else's car, home, or anything else.
If you don't have much money, and you meet a rich man, you should not covet his money.
God wants us to appreciate and be content with what God gives us. The more we prove ourselves as good stewards in little, God gives us more. (Luke 16:10) If we can not learn to appreciate what we already have, how can we be trusted to have more?
Exodus 20:16 tells us that we should not bear false witness against our neighbor.
This means, whether you like someone or not, if they have not done you wrong in any way, and someone asks you for a reference of them, then that is what you should tell them. If they were a little late in paying you for a debt owed, but you think they are an awesome person, you should not let your feelings for them dictate your truthful answer.
Too many times, events are dictated by cliquish behavior. When people voice opinions based upon other people they are involved with, the truth gets clouded and the results can be disastrous.
A good example of this is in the political realm. People will vote for their party line regardless of the actions of the individual they are voting for. When you vote for someone, you are bearing witness of what you know about them. The Bible says to be a truthful witness.
Yesterday I was having a discussion with a friend about the Sabbath and I felt a conviction that I have not felt in quite a while.
It was actually refreshing. It was akin to hearing your mother chastise you for leaving your dirty clothes in the hallway.
Some of us actually wish we could hear our mothers chastise us like that again.
I thought God was done talking to me. He hadn't done it in so long. Then, suddenly, I feel this wave of...relief and joy and conviction -- the kind that makes you want to drop to your knees and say, "Thy will be done, Lord. I, your servant, am listening!" that I haven't felt in so long.
My friend asked me, "Are you preaching to me?", to which I answered, "Not since I figured out that that is what I was doing!"
I was in the process of explaining why I honored the Sabbath on Saturdays, even though - in my line of work - the busiest days are on the weekends. But, the conversation took a whole new turn. It was possibly something that both of us needed to hear.
I started talking about how God listens to those who obey Him, and takes care of them. I explained how God has always answered all of my prayers, even when the answer was "No", or "Not right now". Concerning something I had been praying for I told him, "I don't know if the answer is "No", or "Not right now." I just know that the answer is "No" right now, and I should act accordingly.
BAM. There is was. I realized I should listen to myself speak.
I went on to say, "And I am not perfect, and nor do I pretend to be so. I am still stumbling and learning. And what I know and what I do sometimes do not meet." I realized at that moment that I was starting to sound like Paul, when he was speaking in Romans Chapter 7. I finished with, "But I am not going to throw out all of it just because I am not perfect at all of it."
No. God wants me to keep trying. It is in trying that our true intentions of the heart are made manifest.
It was refreshing.
I heard God, at that point say, "Welcome home, Child."
When I was about three years old, I was attending a family reunion at a place that had a swimming pool.
The family gathering was upstairs. The building was made nearly all of glass.
The swimming area had a store in it where anyone could buy snack foods.
My cousin and I were running around chasing each other and we saw the candy bars. My cousin and I both took a few.
The attendent, who was not seen nearby, went and told our parents what we had done.
My mother spanked me right there in front of everyone and made it perfectly clear that stealing would not be tolerated.
I was ashamed. I didn't know I was stealing. I was three years old. And, I was forced to apologize to the attendent in front of everyone and give back the candy, which, thankfully, I hadn't eaten yet.
It was a lesson I learned well.
When we steal, God takes something from us. It might be our peace of mind, or our security, or our relationships...something goes missing from our lives. When we steal, we are robbing someone else of their livelihood. We are robbing someone else of their blessings, and God won't tolerate that.
But, more than that, Romans 6:23 says, "The wages of sin is death". When we sin, we are committing a slow painful suicide. The good news is that Jesus addressed this in John 10:10 when He said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
So, if you are a thief, there is hope. Turn to Jesus as Lord of your life and, as Jesus told the prostitute, "Go and sin no more".
If you are not married to someone, you must practice abstinence. To have sex outside of marriage clouds your decision-making and gives you soul-ties that are not meant for your good. If you have been sinning in this manner, it is never too late to reclaim the purity that God intends for you to have.
Practicing abstinence outside of marriage protects you from a myriad of problems that you do not see coming. When you practice abstinence with intention, it makes you stronger, more focused on the things that are important to God, and helps you grow as a person.
Sex produces endorphins in your brain chemistry, much like drugs do, that lead to addiction of certain behaviors and poor decision making processes.
Any psychologist will tell you that drug addiction causes a stunt in emotional growth, and that when drug addicts stop taking the drugs for a length of time, their emotional growth begins again.
Anyone who has been abstinent for a long period of time who has experienced life on both sides of the sexual behavior barrier will tell you that abstinence has enabled them to see people for who they really are in a much clearer light; that dealing with problem people becomes much easier over time, and that you begin to practice much wiser discernment.
I saw an ad on Facebook about this "bracelet" that could help people become "tuned in to the universe" in such a way that it would help them become successful, and how to acquire one for one's self.
THIS is what God is talking about when He talks about "graven images" and "idols".
That picture of your grandmother that you would kill over if someone broke it? It's an image of a likeness that has become "sacred". God wants to be the only "SACRED" part of your life. Everything else is HIS to give you.
That statue of Buddha you got on your front porch. How many times have you rubbed it's belly for luck? God wants you to understand that the source of your blessings is HIM alone. Not that Buddha statue that you believe holds some power over your "luck".
*** Note: Corrections have been made as to the order of the commandments on this blog
God did not tell us to "choose a day that we want to rest". GOD chose "the seventh day".
Some people rationalize that "Well, as long as you take ONE day, it's okay." It IS okay if you are, with all integrity of your heart, doing it in honor of God. But, for those who KNOW the law and UNDERSTAND IT, it is NOT okay to just take ANY day. At that point, taking ANY day becomes willful disobedience.
God said take the 7th day. Keep it HOLY. REST. And, He even gave the reason for it:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
God has blessings and cursing for those who profane the Sabbath. Read Leviticus 26. Particularly verse 34>
Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.
If you have become convicted and cannot figure a way to honor the Sabbath the way it is stated in these verses, take comfort in the Chapter of Matthew 12, but I BEG you, do not use this to RATIONALIZE that dishonoring the Sabbath is okay.
What does it mean to "honor" your father and mother?
In today's world, there are many children who have been abused and neglected. When they hear this law, they ask God "why should I?", thinking that they are to condone and support what their parents did to them, without any validation of the pain they have been through because of it.
But, while this passage refers to obedience, it is also way deeper than that.
You should treat your parents in a way that is Godly and "upright". That is honor. Regardless of what your parents do to you, you should always be the loving and kind child of God that you are. Your parents didn't choose you.
God did.
He put you where you most needed to be in order to learn what HE wanted you to learn. He put you where you are so that you can best SERVE HIM with what your environment has taught you to be.
Honor God, your Father in Heaven, first. Learn to forgive, to pray for forgiveness, and to do right in spite of it all. Remember that Jesus suffered greatly, and He endured. And, He asks us to follow Him.
Here is a great article on how to Honor your parents:
How many times have you come across people who profess to be Christians, but act totally opposite of Christ-like? THAT is taking the title of Christianity in vain.
Are you a child of God? "Yes, I am a child of God!" Then, why do you encourage the things that God speaks against? Things like abortion, pornography, drugs...
How many times have you "joined the crowd" that belittles God's name or place in society, yet use God's name to uphold your status in the same society?
Sure, using God in a curse-word is vain, also.
According to Bing, the word "vain" means something that is useless, coming to no result, having no meaning, pointless. It can also mean narcissistic in nature. All of those meanings are at work in this one verse.
"With God as my witness, I WILL get revenge!" Vain.
"How dare you! I'm a CHRISTIAN!" Vain
"That God-blessed thing cut my finger!" VAIN.
God's name is HOLY. It should only be used when speaking a truth (God cannot lie). It should only be used in the context of speaking of someone who is pure, unchanging, stable, solid and HONEST.
And, if you call yourself a CHRISTIAN, you should ACT like it!
Here, God introduces Himself, saying, " I [am] the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."
That way you know and understand WHO GOD IS. Where did God bring YOU out of? Was it an abusive relationship? Human slavery? Addiction? Prostitution? Pornography? Just plain meanness and cruelty? Rudeness? Crippling poverty? Sickness?
Everyone has an "Egypt". What was YOURS?
God then describes Himself. He is JEALOUS. He will not tolerate any attempt to replace Him with something in-animate, created by the creation HE established. He did not create the world and give us life and provision just to see us hold it in higher esteem than the ONE who GAVE it to you!
Has anyone ever experienced your parents catching you with a pack of cigarettes when you were younger, which was CLEARLY against their rules? Back in the old days, if a father caught his child with tobacco, he would take that child and give him a whole pack and make him smoke or chew it one after another until the child got sick.
God does that...not just with you, but your CHILDREN. The sin you commit will punish your children, and your grandchildren! God warns of this when He says, "for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me;"
Those "things" cannot fulfill your needs the way God desires to. And, if you continue to "worship" them, God will step back and let you do without what He desires for you to have until you realize the error of your ways. You will be made to WALLOW in the sins you commit, and your children will follow YOUR example!
However, those who, in the integrity of their hearts, and with all their ability, do whatever they can to follow after HIM, and to obey His commandments, He will honor. ("And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.")
Law number ONE: Do not make something besides GOD your GOD!
(This is written as if it is happening THIS YEAR: 2021. I realize it is not yet March. But, if you are planning to observe The Passover correctly, then you need to prepare for it!)
On March 22, each house should take a lamb that is without blemish. However many people who can eat one lamb is covered, so if the house is too little, then he can share with his neighbors.
The lamb can be a sheep or a goat. It has to be less than a year old, and it has to be without any defects.
On March 26, all of the people shall gather together to kill their lambs in the evening time. They should take a hyssop and strike over the door posts with the blood of the lamb (so that the angel of death passes over them). Once you do this, you MUST remain INSIDE your homes until the morning.
They will then roast the lamb over fire. It shall be seasoned with bitter herbs and eaten with unleavened bread.
When you roast the lamb, it must be roasted COMPLETELY with fire. EVERY PART OF ITS BODY MUST BE INTACT as it roasts. Don't cut off the head or gut it.
Do not use water on it at all to baste it or anything else. It must be done with FIRE ONLY.
Your family and neighbors must eat ALL of it! There should be nothing left over in the morning.
You should eat it as if you are in a hurry. And, you should eat it as if you are ready to bug out and run! You should have your clothes on, your shoes on, and anything you need to carry within reach.
From March 26 until April 1, you are to ONLY eat unleavened bread. There should be NO LEAVEN in your houses. And, you should do NO WORK for those 7 days, except the work you need to do in order to eat.
This is to be observed EVERY YEAR, so that when your children and grandchildren ask "Why are we doing this?" You will tell them the story of how God delivered the Israelites from Egypt.
This observance is to be a lesson for the generations to come. It is to be a reminder of who God is and what God can do!
For those who believe in Jesus, remember that HE is the Lamb. He has ALREADY been sacrificed. Any observance of eating lamb and unleavened bread can be a substitution for the killing and roasting of the lamb, as long as you do it in remembrance of what Christ has done for you!
The Passover is STILL to be celebrated. Jesus said nothing about stopping it. Instead, He said, "This do ye in remembrance of ME"
(Luke 22:19)
This week, I have been focusing on Exodus Chapters 5-9 in my daily bible readings.
Moses did as he was told, and went back to Egypt to retrieve God's people. The first thing he had to do was convince the Israelites that God had sent him and what God had sent him to do.
The people were ready to have hope for something, ANYTHING, that would take them out of the bondage that they were in.
After Moses had spoken to the people, the heads of all the houses of Israel went with him to show support as he faced the Pharoah with their petition.
The Pharoah just laughed at them and was angry because the work, which the Israelites did, were stalled to make time for this. He told them to stop wasting their time, and since they had so much time on their hands, he made their work harder for them. He expected them to gather their own tools to do the job they were required to do, and he expected them to meet their quota the same as before.
After a while, the Israelites hated Moses. They blamed him for the fact they were now working twice as hard, and nothing seemed to be done about their plight.
This sounds so similiar to the political atmosphere here in the U.S. today. Anyone who speaks up against the powers that be are demonized and blamed, and their tools are taken from them so that they have to find new methods of survival, communication and ways to get ahead and be heard. And, they either stand beside or blame the one person that was in a place to help them, rather than the cause of the problem, which they had become used to and were familiar with.
So, Moses cried out to God. He asked Him why He had sent him, seeing that the people of Israel, whom he had come for, now hated him for doing what God had told him to do! God assured him that everything was going according to plan, and that he should keep moving forward.
God was about to show out in a mighty way!
He sent all of the plagues to Egypt, one by one. Each plague was worse than the one before it. It came in waves. And, yet, the Pharoah still hardened his heart and refused to let the people go. If he did that, who would do the work? If he did that, who would pay the taxes? Who would feed his people, who knew not how to do anything for themselves, and were too proud to get their hands dirty!
When God sent all the plagues, not one of Israel's property was destroyed. The people of Israel thrived, while the people of Egypt suffered, and yet the Pharoah still hardened his heart.
Sometimes, you can prove that things will work for the better for those who serve the Lord, but even as the proof is there in front of someone, they still will refuse to believe in what can better their lives.
The old addage, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink" was so true for Moses. What was he to do?
There was only one thing left to do. It was the last resort. It was so terrible and horrible that God saved it for last, because He wanted to give every opportunity for someone to turn their hearts right before He took this action.
A revolution was about to take place.
So, when people don't listen to you, when people spit in your face and persecute you for doing what God would find pleasing, and when it seems that even your own people have turned against you because of your faith, understand this: God is working in their lives to bring plagues upon them. Their lives are being made difficult so that they will be forced to repent.
Their reaction to this is to hate God all the more, and in so doing, they will take it out on you.
Do not lose heart. Do not give up. Love them in spite of the pain. Keep moving forward, so they may see what God has in store for those who obey. Keep inviting them to join you on your journey of obedience.
2 Peter 3:9
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
There will come a day when that one last horrible plague will come, and after that, it will be too late.
This week I have focused, in my daily Bible reading, on Exodus 1-4.
Moses was born in a time when genocide was taking place in Egypt. The only good Israelite was a slave, in the eyes of the Egyptians. The Egyptian Pharoah sought to keep the population down by killing all the males as soon as they left their mother's body -- because God had commanded in the beginning to be fruitful and multiply, and the Israilites had become too great a people to control.
Sounds familiar to today, doesn't it? As Christians, we fight for the unborn. Abortion is more rampant in minority populations than in any other area of American society. And, even now, states are enacting laws to kill children at birth who are victims of unwanted pregnancy. In some areas of this nation, abortion was reason enough for sterilization, forcing the mother to never have another pregnancy. This is a sign of the power of a God-less nation.
But, Moses's mother did not want to see her child die; so, she hid him for three months. When she couldn't hide him any longer, and feared for her own life and that of her family, she made the hardest decision any mother could ever make: She had to let him go. She gave him to God to care for. She put him in a small boat made of reeds, a floating basket, and sent him down the river. I assume she was praying that God would save her child by so doing, somehow.
Laws like these not only affect the mother and the child, but the whole family. Miriam, Moses's older sister, followed the basket in earnest, watching to see what the fate of the child would be. She saw the basket get stuck in the reeds, near a popular bathing site, where the Pharoah's daughter just happened to be bathing. And, as small babies do when they are hungry, uncomfortable and frightened, Moses began to cry loud enough for the women to hear him, and it got the attention of the Princess.
She immediately fell in love with the child, and chose to take him in, into her home and adopt him as her own. Miriam saw this as an opportunity, and offered to get him a wet nurse, and the Princess agreed. I'm sure the Princess had no idea that the woman who was nursing the child was actually his mother! Now, folks, THAT is GOD!
So, in a sense, Moses was subjected to the teachings of his own people, while at the same time, he got the best education and positions of leadership among the Egyptians. It was the perfect opportunity for God to do His work. It was the situation God used to train Moses to one day free His people!
When Moses grew, he had compassion for the people he was over as an Egyptian slave driver. When he saw one of the Egyptians officers beating a slave, he killed the officer. He thought he had not been caught, but some the Israelite slaves saw him do it, and Moses feared that his secret would be made known, so he ran into the wilderness.
No one had told anyone of his crime, mind you. It was out of pure fear that he ran. We do that often in our lives when we do something we know is wrong and fear repercussions. How many times have you avoided people or situations because of something you have done that you feared repercussion for? In a sense, you are doing as Moses did, running to the wilderness!
In the wilderness, Moses learned to survive with little or nothing of the life he left behind. He learned that all of the riches in Egypt weren't needed to live a full and glorified life. And, God had miraculously placed him under the teaching of one of Abraham's children's progeny, a Midianite, who's family Moses married into and had children. Moses learned more about God and faith in that wilderness setting than anything he could have learned in Egypt. Folks, THAT is GOD!
Finally, one day, God got Moses's attention as he was out tending the sheep of his father-in-law's herd, in the form of a burning bush. Moses knew it was God, because the bush was not buring up, yet it was on fire. God spoke to him and told him what he wanted him to do; but, Moses did not feel courageous enough or qualified, so he argued his case.
Everyone always has an excuse NOT to take action. There is always something that makes us feel we are not right for the job. Doing what God wanted Moses to do would require Moses to step out of his comfort zone and have faith that God would make a way when there didn't seem to be one. All it takes is that first step.
When Moses told God he was not leadership material, God told him this was what he had been trained to do. When he voiced his concern that the people would only laugh at him, God gave him abilities to make them believe and take him seriously. When Moses said, "but I am not a good public speaker, I can't." God sent Aaron, who was, reminding Moses that it was HE, God, who had created Moses AND his mouth and demanded he get to work doing what He had called Moses to do!
The next time God gives you an opportunity to do something, why not try doing it - instead of making excuses as to why it isn't for you? You might find that it is exactly what God wants for you to fulfill your every need and desire! And, when God calls you to take action, He will put the right people in your life to make it happen, just as God gave Aaron to Moses!
When you are stuck, when you are anxious, alone, imprisoned, persecuted for being who you are, when you are enslaved, in a place of struggle where you see no way out, and when you cry to God because of it, God HEARS you!
Everything in life happens for a reason. We may not know the reason, but we have to trust God's plan. And, we have to pray.
Jesus said that if we pray constantly, and keep petitioning God for our relief, God will hear us, and He WILL act, if only just to shut us up. (Luke Chapter 18)
God heard the cry of His people, and God already had a plan. He had placed Moses in Pharoah's home as a baby to be educated and trained in leadership. Now Moses had fled and went to the wilderness to learn to survive. He had all the qualities God was looking for to lead His people out of Egypt now, and God called Moses to do so.
Moses thought he was unqualified. He was MORE than qualified. God had made sure of it! Sometimes the qualities God sees in us, the qualities He had trained us to have, unbeknownst to us, are the very qualities that God needs in order for us to bring glory to Him!
His people were stuck. And, God called a man who stuttered to do the job. And, because Moses was not a good speaker, God even equipped Moses with someone who could talk for him.
When God sends you to do a job, He gives you the ability to get it done!
So, if you are stuck somewhere in your life, feeling like you are spinning your wheels, feeling as if you have no choice but to give up, look around: God has heard you! Sometimes your "burning bush" is that problem that is right in front of you!
Fear not: God is with you! God would not give you opportunities to better your life if He did not intend for you to use them, no matter how small the opportunity seems.
Get it out of your mind that you have to get right to go to God. THAT is not how it works. You go to God, and HE makes you right!
Come, JUST AS YOU ARE.
He doesn't want RELIGION. He wants RELATIONSHIP. He already KNOWS your deepest darkest dirtiest secrets. He just wants YOU to TALK to Him about it! He wants to TALK TO YOU. He wants you to get to KNOW Him on an intimate bases.
He wants to be your best friend...the one who says, "No, Child, that's not right" or "I am SO proud of you, my child!" And, no matter WHAT He says, He ALWAYS LOVES YOU and FORGIVES YOU IF YOU ASK HIM TO!
