Exodus 8-10, Get a Clue!

Posted on by

Exodus chapters 8-10 is a continuation of God’s judgement against Pharaoh and Egypt for not letting the Israelites go. Like I said yesterday, you would think Pharaoh would get a clue! But no, his heart was hardened each time. This just goes to show how far gone Pharaoh really was not to be effected by these plagues! God was doing serious things to get his attention.

Is God doing crazy things in your life so you would get a clue? Are you getting it? Sometimes we need a wake-up call and sometimes its not pretty. Why don’t we all save ourselves the trouble and listen to God the first time!!

This is written in the book of Jeremiah. It is so much like the times we live in that its scary.

Jeremiah 7:23-24 (New International Version)
23 but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. 24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.

Oh let us not go backward, but forward towards our God and towards the abundant life we have when we love and obey Him!

Exodus 5-7, Crazy Things

Posted on by

The book of Exodus is a great example of how God can do any ol’ thing He wants to. There are some example of the crazy, unimaginable things that God did to Pharaoh in the first several chapters of Exodus.

Talk to Moses with a burning bush that doesn’t burn to a crisp
Turn a staff into a serpent
Make Moses’ hand leprous and then heal it again
Turn the whole Nile river water to blood-yikes!
Many more to come in the following chapters!

Now, this was all done to get either Moses’ attention or to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. You have to admit that God is very creative, we most certainly saw this in Genesis. But, Exodus just shows us that God can use His very creation to do whatever He pleases with it.

This got me thinking about how we don’t always think about how creative our LORD is and we most always put God in a box. Part of it is that we have human, finite brains that, in reality, can’t truly comprehend the awesomeness of God. The other part of it is, that maybe we just don’t believe that God can do crazy things! We just don’t think to ask Him for these things because it doesn’t occur to us that He actually can do the impossible.

As we see in Exodus 7, Pharaoh learned his lesson of not believing Moses when he said the LORD would turn the water into blood. Actually the upcoming chapters describe many of these incidents. You would think the Pharaoh would get a clue after the blood incident.

The key here is that it says Pharaoh’s heart was hardened(Exodus 7:13) Often times, when our heart is hardened to believing God, our mind is shut off to believing that God can do the unimaginable. The heart is the culprit-if it is not in the right place, you WILL miss out on seeing and experiencing amazing things of God.

Don’t let your heart be hardened. The world around us is a tough place, it is easy to get caught up in it and find yourself cynical. Don’t fall into that trap. God wants nothing more than to show you His greatness and to have you praise Him for it. Open your heart, then your mind to see what kind of crazy things He has in store.

LIVE IT OUT! application:
Make a list of things you have seen in your own life or the lives of others that just amaze you at God’s power. Let this be a reminder on the days that your heart is hardened and you just don’t feel like believing.

Exodus 1-4, Four Words

Posted on by

The book of Exodus marks a new chapter for the Israelites. They have spent many years as slaves to the Egyptians and God has chosen Moses to lead them out of Egypt and into the Promise Land of Caanan. Chapter 3 holds a very important phrase that carries us through the whole Bible:

I AM WHO I AM
Four simple words on the surface, yet they are overflowing with significance to Israel and to us as well.

This phrase is, at the most basic level, is God’s way of describing Himself. Because this is such a rich, deep topic, I don’t feel adequate to expound on this on my own. Check out what the famed theologian, Matthew Henry has to say about this. (This excerpt come from the LifeWay online Bible-the abridged version of Matthew Henry’s commentary)

A name that denotes what he is in himself, I AM THAT I AM. This explains his name Jehovah, and signifies, 1. That he is self-existent: he has his being of himself. 2. That he is eternal and unchangeable, and always the same, yesterday, to-day, and for ever. 3. That he is incomprehensible; we cannot by searching find him out: this name checks all bold and curious inquiries concerning God. 4. That he is faithful and true to all his promises, unchangeable in his word as well as in his nature; let Israel know this, I AM hath sent me unto you. I am, and there is none else besides me. All else have their being from God, and are wholly dependent upon him. Also, here is a name that denotes what God is to his people. The Lord God of your fathers sent me unto you. Moses must revive among them the religion of their fathers, which was almost lost; and then they might expect the speedy performance of the promises made unto their fathers.

Did you catch point number one? God is self existent. Have you ever really thought about this fact? Our God is above all. He is in and of Himself; no one or no thing existed before God. This means that He is the creator of all things because God was in existence before all things. Pretty deep…
Because of this, we all are dependant on Him whether we like it or not; whether we acknowledge it or not. Because we were created by God, there is no way that we are independent of Him. The implications of this are huge! Every breath we take, every beat of our heart, every cell in our body is because of God. Once we really wrap our mind around this fact, we can’t help but be humbled and acknowledge that we need God. Let me say that again, WE NEED GOD!! Not just for our physical being, but for our emotional and spiritual being.

Are you the type that thinks that you don’t need anyone to help you in this world? Think again. This type of thought process just keeps you from enjoying God’s power, grace, goodness and love in your life. Surely you wouldn’t want to miss out on that!

LIVE IT OUT! application:
Reread the Matthew Henry commentary. What description of I AM stands out and means the most to you? Take time to pray to your I AM and let God know that you acknowledge His ultimate greatness and that you want to know more and more of who He is.