Myspace Exodus Bible Journal Blogs

Myspace Exodus Bible Journal Blogs The Complete Collection of PERRY ‘CURTIS’ MCCLUSKY http://www.myspace.com/biblejournal

I've created this Myspace “Bible Journal” site as an incentive for me to do some personal Bible study and to clarify my thoughts by putting them into words. A few of my acquaintances imagine that I have some rather uncommon views about God, life, the universe and everything. If that is so, then maybe I have something a little different to contribute. You may not agree with the substance of all of the blogs but hopefully they will be interesting. My goal is to approach the Bible from as simple and fresh perspective as possible, so while working on this project I will try not to refer to other religious literary sources. I am using the New International Version of the Bible because for me it is an easy to read translation. The King James Version and the Revised Standard Version are two other Bible translations I enjoy referring to. In the spirit of taking a personal (and possibly casual) look at the Bible, I plan to comment on texts that catch my interest and skip those that done. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-01-08 Change is Inevitable. Exodus 1: 6-10 “Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them. Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. "Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country." (NIV) No matter what our situation, things will not stay the same forever…good or bad. It did not matter how impressive Joseph’s performance was as a leader in Egypt, it was forgotten. This new generation of the Children of Israel (the children of Jacob) was judged by a new generation of Egyptians and politically things begin to change for the worse. As children most of us felt some sort of security under the watchfulness of our parent(s), but we become adults, moved out of the house and that security was gone. As parents, most of us experienced receiving love from our young children, but then they turn into teenagers and for many of us (for awhile) that loving experience is sorely missed. As youth and young adults most of us experience fairly good health, but as we get older our bodies begin to fail. Change is as inevitable as the weather and since we live in a sinful environment, most of that weather is going to be defective. I’ve heard it said that how happy a person is depends upon how adaptable he or she is to change. May God grant us all flexibility. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-02-08

It’s All Their Fault! Exodus 1: 11-14 “So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.” (NIV) The Egyptians were worried about the Israelites swift growing population. It looks to me as if the Pharaoh thought that by simply subjugating the Israelites, their population growth would not be a problem. The fact is that God was going to make a great nation out of the descendants of Israel (Jacob) and nothing was going to hinder His plans. The Egyptian’s worries about the Israelites becoming enemies only became worse when they made slaves out of them. Generally enslavement doesn’t endear the slaves to their masters. The more worried Egypt got, the more ruthlessly the treated the Israelites. The more you mistreat someone, the more afraid of him or her you’d better be. In fact, the Egyptians were creating their own monster. Like the Egyptians, we “make mountains out of mole hills.” We are our own worst enemy because we most likely than not create our enemies. This is not always the case, but even then we have a tendency enflame an already difficult situation. People tend to embrace what I’ve termed “Increasing Returns” states, “If you hurt me, then I will in return hurt you worse.” Let me guarantee you that the person who points their finger at another and claims, “It is ‘all’ their fault!” is not looking at their own motives and actions very closely. Myspace Bible Journal: 06-03-08 You Shall not Murder. Exodus 1: 19-21 “The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, "When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live." The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?" The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive." So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.” (NIV) Since simply subjugating the Israelites didn’t control their population growth, Pharaoh then took a more direct approach. He ordered the Hebrew midwives to murder all the baby boys they helped deliver. The story makes it clear that the motive behind their not co-operating with Pharaoh’s orders was that they wished to follow God’s will instead. Because the midwives honored God and did not murder the baby boys indicates that the Law of God was not completely forgotten while the Children of Israel (Jacob) lived in Egypt. In this case I am referring to the sixth commandment, “Your shall not murder.” (Exodus 20: 13). Here is another example of the Law of God existing in some form before the time of Moses. God even blessed the midwives because of their bravery and religious comment.

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-04-08 A Desperate Plan. Exodus 2: 1-5 “Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. Then Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it.” (NIV) When her baby got too big or noisy to hide, what was its mother to do? If she could not bring herself to turn the baby over to the Egyptian authorities to be killed or kill her baby herself, then pretty much her only option was to abandon the baby. Another question one must ask is “Why place the baby in a basket in the river Nile?” One answer could be that she did not wish any hungry animals to get it if she abandoned the baby on land. Over all, the baby was probably safer left floating on the water. By placing the basket in the reeds insured that the basket would not drift out into the river’s current and be swept away. Why did she place her baby in this particular spot and leave the baby’s sister to keep an eye on him? Most likely the mother knew this spot was where the wealthy and influential Egyptian women came to bath. She probably was placing her hopes upon the chance that an Egyptian woman (even Pharaoh’s daughter) would happen upon her baby and have pity. If the women were powerful enough and compassionate enough, the woman would protect the baby and care for it. The mother left her daughter there to report back to her if her plan was successful and to intervene in on the baby’s behalf if possible. Adult women generally respond to children with more sympathy then with other adults. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-05-08 A Sympathetic Heart. Exodus 2: 5-10 “Then Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. "This is one of the Hebrew babies," she said. Then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?" "Yes, go," she answered. And the girl went and got the baby's mother. Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you." So the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, "I drew him out of the water." (NIV) Apparently as Pharaoh’s daughter and her attendants were traveling along the riverbank to the area where she was going to bathe, she came across the basket floating in the reeds. I would think it was the baby’s crying that drew her attention to the spot. The whole situation and how it unfolded, had to of endeared the baby to Pharaoh’s daughter.

I think it is interesting that in the end the mother got paid for caring for her own child. Yet considering way the event unfolded, it is hard not to believe that Pharaoh’s daughter didn’t suspect the truth. I’d bet considering that this was Pharaoh’s daughter, she didn’t take the boy away from his mother until he was weaned plus potty trained. Personally from a guy’s viewpoint, kids aren’t much fun until they are potty trained, can walk, and can tell you where it hurts. Pharaoh’s daughter was not callous to what was going on with Egypt’s attempt to control the Israelite’s population growth. I believe as we all grow up we become ‘unknowingly’ callous to negative social situations in our respective societies (even within our immediate families). I believe this process (a deception) is a something that Satan works very hard at. As I see it, only God can open our eyes, soften our hearts and return us to the caring people we were when we were younger. Myspace Bible Journal: 06-06-08 Doing Good Deeds. Exodus 2:11-14 “One day, after Moses had grown up…He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?" The man said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and thought, "What I did must have become known." (NIV) I’ll give Moses the benefit of the doubt and consider that he thought that the Egyptian was going to beat the Hebrew slave to death. His killing the Egyptian taskmaster did not go unnoticed and no good deed goes unpunished. Although he was also a Hebrew, he was also a member of the royal family and lived a privileged life. These two factors alone were enough to make many of the Hebrews feel bitter towards him. This day Moses found out that when you attempt to correct somebody who is in the wrong, they well resent it and lash out at you. They will use anything to ‘turn the tables’, point out your flaws and try to shut you up. It was fortunate that Moses tried to break up the fight between the two Hebrews because through this he became aware that his murder of the Egyptian was becoming common knowledge. His secret was out and trouble was probably not far behind. In general, when you do a good deed (not that this murder was one) don’t expect everyone to admire you for it. We live in a sinful environment and people are just plan unappreciative. Do your good deed because it is the right thing to do because most likely that will be the only satisfaction you will receive. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-07-08 What is Worth Sacrificing? Exodus 2: 11-17 “One day, after Moses had grown up…He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand…When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well. Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father's flock. Some shepherds

came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock.” (NIV) One must pick and choose their fights. If we are not wise and cautious, we can sacrifice our influence, friendships, marriages, jobs and ministries over a stand that was only minor and insignificant. It is possible that Moses could have done more good defending the Hebrews by protecting his position in the Egyptian court and working from inside the country’s political framework. Instead Moses did something rash and sacrificed it all. Apparently while in Egypt, Moses got fed up with seeing so much abuse of the Hebrew people in Egypt because when he arrived in Midian he intervened and stopped the abuse happening to the seven women at the well. I think that Moses was just plain tired with injustice and wasn’t going to abide it anymore. Blame it on the recklessness of youth. There was a difference between these two stands that Moses took. In Egypt if things went wrong he’d have to take on the whole Egyptian government. On the other hand in Midian if things went poorly he’d probably only have to deal with the families of the offending shepherds. The question is, “Where do you draw the line and what is worth sacrificing?” It is not as easy of question as it seems because we are dealing with compromise and we can compromise ourselves into perdition. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-08-08 Are We Impressive? Exodus 2: 18-21 “When the girls returned to Reuel their father, he asked them, "Why have you returned so early today?" They answered, "An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock." "And where is he?" he asked his daughters. "Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat." Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.” (NIV) I am sure that when Reuel heard the story about how his daughters (and flocks) were rescued from mistreatment, he was thinking, “Now here is a man to have around the house and be part of the family!” Reuel was thinking, “This guy has got to be good husband material…and also good for the family business! I must meet this man!” This story reminds me of the first time my father saw my ‘now’ wife, he jabbed me in the ribs with his elbow and said, “Don’t get rid of her!” My dad was impressed with her and my mother was also. Are we impressive? Do we have a good nature? Do we have a good character? people desire to have us around or are we a big social pain in the neck?

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Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-09-08 At the Bottom of the Social Ladder. Exodus 2: 22 “Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, "I have become an alien in a foreign land." (NIV)

No only had Moses become an alien in a foreign land, but his whole new life in that land was foreign to him. Considering the daughter of Pharaoh adopted him, he grew up in a very affluent environment. He grew up in one of the top ten most well to do families in the whole world. Any change in his life style would be a step down. I can understand why Moses named his child as he did. He must have been feeling pretty dejected and depressed around that time. Moses went from living a royal pampered life to that of a shepherd. Becoming a shepherd was about as far down the social ladder as Moses could go. You see Moses was raised as an Egyptian and “all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.” (Gen. 46:34). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-10-08 Bad Things happen to Good People. Exodus 2: 23-25 “During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.” (NIV) God’s chosen people were enslaved and that is definitely not a grand situation to be in. A lot of people fall into the trap of believing that if bad things happen to us then that is proof that God doesn’t love us. Others will go so far at to claim that since bad things happen to us therefore there is no God at all. It is true that God is in control but it is also true that God does not control us. He neither controls the good or the evil people who populate this world. God has given us the freedom of choice. Love is a choice as well as rebellion, hate and selfishness. Let us not blame God for Satan’s doings. God does love us and is concerned for us. None of us live under the best of situations. The poor go without but neither are the rich happy. The enslaved do not have their freedom, yet the free are enslaved to their sinful selfish destructive desires. As far as death goes, both the healthy and the sick are eventually going to die. We all can not escape our sinful environment, yet as with the Israelites in Egypt we too can see light at the end of the tunnel. God keeps His promises. Similar to the Israelites’ Promised Land, we as Christians are promised eternal life through our intimate relationship with God. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-11-08 Encountering God. Exodus 3: 1-6 “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law…the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight--why the bush does not burn up."…God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face,

because he was afraid to look at God.” (NIV) I can think of many examples of how God has gotten people’s attention. Some times we seek God’s sheltering presence out of fear. Other times we are initially attracted to Him because we stumble across evidence of His great love. God grabbed Moses’ attention through curiosity. One way of looking at this encounter is that an angel was there to attract Moses’ attention and God was also there to talk to him. It could be that if God exposed Moses to His presence, it would have been too overpowering. As it was, once Moses realized who was addressing him, he was afraid to look. Possibly the presence of the angel was used to spare Moses some trauma. How prepared are we to encounter the God Almighty? One day we shall come face to face with God. Our preparation for that encounter should start as soon as possible. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-12-08 Eviction. Exodus 3: 7-9 “The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey--the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.” (NIV) One would question why God would be giving the land belonging to other nations away to the Israelites. God was evicting these nations from their land because of their great wickedness. Apparently God could have had the descendants of Abraham move into this country earlier but the Amorites were not wicked enough yet to evict them (Gen. 15:16). These nations were so bad now that they ‘all’ were a danger to their surrounding neighbors. I guess these nations made Egypt look pretty nice place. I wonder if the citizens of those countries realized just how wicked their societies had become. Have we as Christians knowingly or unknowingly adopted some of the lifestyles of the society that we live in? Are these adopted lifestyles that spiritually healthy for us or are they leading us away from our connection with God? Are we becoming a danger to those around us? Are we safe to take to Heaven? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-13-08 There is Light at the End of the Tunnel. Exodus 3: 10-12 “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain." (NIV)

God promised Moses that he would live through the task that God gave him and return to worship Him. It was kind of like saying, “If you succeed in this impossible job and get back here, you will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am with you because without My assistance you won’t make it.” It would be similar to asking a surgeon how good he is and his reply being, “You’ll know when I see you in the ‘recovery’ room.” As rebellious people we cry to God, “How can I be sure I can get out of my selfdestructive ways?” God replies, “You will worship Me in Heaven.” Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-14-08 Who do You Worship? Exodus 3:13-15 “Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, `What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: `I AM has sent me to you.' " God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, `The LORD, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” (NIV) Moses had a legitimate question. The Israelites would want to know which religious presumption and God Moses represented. Since Moses could be viewed as being from ‘out of town’, he could be a follower of any old religious belief. “I AM” is an understandable name for God. It is like saying, “I exist. I am here. I have no beginning and I have no end!” “I AM” is a pretty emphatic statement. In the New International Version of the Bible has a footnote that states that the Hebrew word for ‘LORD’ sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for ‘I AM’. One could suggest that God was saying, “My regal presence is here!” Although God answered Moses question, He gave Moses an easier way to identify Himself to the Israelites by telling them that He was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That way there was not mistaking who He was or which God he was. How do we today identify the God we worship? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-15-08 Egypt or God. Exodus 3: 16-22 "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, `The LORD… appeared to me and said…I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into…a land flowing with milk and honey.'…Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, `The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.' But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. "And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed…you will plunder the Egyptians." (NIV)

God knew that Pharaoh would not even let the Israelites to out into the desert to sacrifice to their God let alone free them to leave for good. I think Pharaoh understood that if he let them leave that the Israelites would never come back because of their mistreatment and their enslavement. God gave the Israelites an incentive to wish to leave their Egyptian masters. God told them that they were going to “a land flowing with milk and honey” plus they would be leaving rich. This was more of an encouragement than a bribe. Many people will stay in an abusive situation because they do not know what their future will be like out of that abusive environment. All of our lives can be improved by relying upon God or by relying upon Him completely. What is your “land of milk and honey”? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-16-08 Woo and Wow. Exodus 4: 1-5 “Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me…?" Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied. The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the LORD said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. "This," said the LORD, "is so that they may believe that the LORD…has appeared to you." (NIV) It looks like Moses had faith in God but he was unsure of the Israelite’s faith in his message. Moses’ question, “What if they do not believe me?” I think was another way of asking God, “What is your backup plan?” I believe God always has backup plans. He has “Plan A” for our lives and if we blow that proposal then He has “Plan B, C, D, etc.” We are all working with God probably around “Plan Q”. I am sure that God has several routes to get us where He desires us to be. It is interesting that producing a miracle was “Plan B”. I think God would rather ‘woo’ us then ‘wow’ us. Wooing seems more personal and on a relationship level. Wowing seems more theatrical, entertaining and distant. I believe God prefers woo to the wow. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-17-08 Two More Squeamish Miracles. Exodus 4: 6-9 “Then the LORD said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, like snow. "Now put it back into your cloak," he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. Then the LORD said, "If they do not believe you or pay attention…take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground." (NIV) These two miracles were given to Moses if the first miracle did not impress the Israelites. One would think that if the first miracle did not get their attention

than maybe producing Leprosy or blood would. Common squeamish things like snakes, dreaded diseases and blood catch a normal person’s attention. Remember these miracles were backup plans. God would rather quietly reason with us then scare us into listening. It is either that mankind is pretty dull or that we like a good scare. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-18-08 Hardships, Illnesses and Anger. Exodus 4: 10-17 “Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent…I am slow of speech and tongue." The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite…He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him…" (NIV) My comments below offer various perspectives and no clear position or answers. Why does God claim to Moses that it is He that causes people to be unable to speak, hear or see? There are various perspectives one can look at. No doubt God has the ability to cause these conditions in mankind and probably has for certain reasons. On the other hand we know that Satan is also responsible for the hardships and the illnesses that befall us (as in the first two chapters of the book of Job). Also we bring hardships and illnesses upon ourselves as a consequence of our own actions. Smoke cigarettes and you may get lung cancer. Play football enough and you risk knee, arm and back injuries. Another perspective on this statement is that God is using a common human believe to prove His point even though it is not accurate. People tend to blame God for everything. There is also the outlook that if God allows something to happen, it is ultimately His responsibility. My last perspective on this is, as with human sin, God takes responsibility for our condition even though it is not His doing or fault. Although Moses may truly not have been too eloquent a speaker, I believe that he is now starting to make excuses for not going on his mission to Egypt. God goes to ‘Plan B’ and lets Moses off the hook and lets his brother be his spokesman. God is not as ‘hard nosed’ as He seems. It says that God got angry with Moses. I am sure that there is Godly righteous anger, but I must also take into consideration that the writer of this account may have attributed to God a more common human reaction to excuses. God also may have seemed angry to Moses, but Moses was mistaken. Let us remember that most human anger (in my opinion) is based on selfishness and God is ‘not’ selfish. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-19-08 The Diplomatic Christian. Exodus 4: 18 “Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, "Let me go back to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive." Jethro said, "Go, and I wish you well." (NIV)

Even though God had told Moses to go to Egypt, Moses went to his father-in-law and asked his permission to leave. It could be that the culture in that area demanded it. Moses was part of the family, working in the family business and to some degree the family was depending upon him. It was proper for Moses to ask and it was proper for his father-in-law to let him go. Yes I understand that it doesn’t always work out that easily. Not all Christians (old or new) are so diplomatic when it comes to doing God’s will. When they realize that something needs to be changed in their life, they quickly evolve into something the rest of the family is not used to. Many do not forewarn their loved ones nor help them cope with the new changes. First the family members are puzzled and shocked at the Christian’s changes then many times they become angry and bitter towards the Christian and even God. This problem can develop in Christian families too, since all Christians do not believe nor act the same. Do we follow God’s lead? Yes! Yet let us do it in a way that is easy on our loved ones. Don’t we wish to leave a positive impression on them so that sometime in the near future they will wish to follow God as we are? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-20-08 Working Temporarily on Limited Information. Exodus 4: 19, 20 “Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead." So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.” (NIV) No doubt Moses was apprehensive about returning to Egypt. God had reassured Moses that He would be with him and on top of that, gave Moses three miracles to perform. Yet one would think that Moses’ main reason for being apprehensive about returning to Egypt was that he feared for his life. Moses fled Egypt because Pharaoh had tried to kill Moses and I am sure Moses was afraid that there was still a ‘price on his head’. I find it interesting that God reassured Moses that nobody in Egypt now wanted to kill him only after Moses had committed himself to go back to Egypt. Once Moses requested permission from his father-in-law to travel back to Egypt, he would have looked pretty stupid then to turn around and not go. God probably told Moses that he was not a ‘wanted man’ in Egypt so that he would feel save in bringing his family with him. Without God’s reassurance Moses may have left his wife and sons behind. If that had been the case, his family would have missed out on viewing all the wonders that God preformed while Moses was in Egypt. I am sure that these were events that God wished for Moses’ family to witness. I am sure that it was a faith building experience for them. I am sure that God doesn’t always reveal all the details to us today when He inspires us to follow His will. Our characters don’t seem to grow too quickly when we are being ‘babied’ in life. Facing a challenge, not knowing the results, trusting in God and then succeeding makes us better apt to place our future in God’s hands for the next challenge. By not making life in this sinful environment easy for us God is helping us develop into the people we truly wish to be.

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-21-08 A Hardened Heart and Protective Father. Exodus 4: 21-23 “The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. Then say to Pharaoh, `This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, "Let my son go, so he may worship me." But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.' " (NIV) The question comes up, “Was God mean hearted when He ‘hardened’ Pharaoh’s heart so that bad things would happen to Pharaoh and to all Egypt?” This ‘could’ be another case where the meaning of the writer of the book of Exodus is not clearly understood or it is a case where the writer did not completely understand God’s character. For instance we find in Exodus 7:13 where Pharaoh’s heart became hardened and in Exodus 8:15 where it is recorded that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. This text is a good example as to why mankind needs to study the Bible as a whole to ascertain who God is. Personally I believe that Pharaoh created his own faults himself. As I see it, imperfect humans, who were inspired by God, wrote the Bible and not God Himself. Who God is and what He is up to is explained by our own kind, people who have had unique experiences with Him, which should make God easier for us to understand. I rest assured that God has overlooked the assemblage of the Bible to such an extent that His message to mankind is preserved adequately enough for us to understand accurately that which He wishes. By the way, I believe that God views you and I as His firstborn children also. As fathers were protective over their first born sons, so is God protective over you and me. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-22-08 A Deadly Compromise. Exodus 4: 24-26 “At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses' feet with it. "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me," she said. So the LORD let him alone. (At that time she said "bridegroom of blood," referring to circumcision.)” (NIV) Apparently Moses’ son was not circumcised as he was suppose to be. Considering the circumstances of the story, I take it that when it came time for her son to be circumcised Zipporah refused to have it done. Since Moses was to be the leader of God’s nation, this was an important thing that needed to be done before the family got to Egypt. He and Zipporah needed to set an example. I take it that God was saying to Zipporah, “I’m firm about My stand on circumcision. Either you loose your son’s foreskin or you loose your husband! I clear?”

Am

When we marry we are placing our spiritual lives and future in our spouses hands. If they refuse to follow God’s will for the family and we compromise, we loose. Either God is our God or our spouse is our God. We must choose. It is that simple.

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-23-08 Family Reunion. Exodus 4: 27, 28 “The LORD said to Aaron, "Go into the desert to meet Moses." So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. Then Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and also about all the miraculous signs he had commanded him to perform.” (NIV) I wonder just how well Moses and Aaron knew each other? Was Moses able to keep in touch with his real family while he was being raised with his adopted royal adopted family? Did Moses have time to say goodbye to his real family before he fled Egypt? How did Aaron react to God contacting him? Did Aaron even know if Moses was alive before God told him to go meet Moses? “You want be to go meet who? You mean my brother is alive?” It had to have been an interesting family reunion when the two brothers met again. I can see Aaron’s shocked reaction to Moses’ story, “God wants us to do WHAT?” Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-24-08 God is not Unconcerned or Distracted. Exodus 4:29-31 “Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.” (NIV) It must not have been an ‘easy sell’ for Moses and Aaron because the story states that they believed ‘after’ he preformed the signs. This suggests that these elders of the Israelites did not readily take Moses and Aaron at their word (see Ex. 4:1-9). The record shows that it was not a result of the signs (miracles) that the elders of the Israelites bowed down and worshiped God but when they understood that God was aware of their difficult situation. I wonder if they thought that God had forgotten about them or didn’t care anymore? As God was ‘concerned’ about the Israelites and their misery, He is also concerned bout each and every one of us individually today. God is aware of our individual situations and concerns. He is not unconcerned or distracted. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-25-08 Discouraging Others and Holding Them Back. Exodus 5: 1-9 “Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.' " Pharaoh said, "…I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go." Then they said, "…Now let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword." But the king of Egypt said, "Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!"…That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and foremen in charge of the people:

"You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don't reduce the quota…Make the work harder for the men so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies." (NIV) Consider this, do we have more in common with Pharaoh than we have with Moses and Aaron in this story? I wonder if we as spouses, parents, bosses, co-workers, neighbors, friends and church members are doing what Pharaoh was doing, making it difficult on others to follow God’s will? Do we in any way discourage their participation in church activities, conducting family worship, personal bible study, developing a personal ministry, etc.? Are we backsliding Christians, lazy Christians, mediocre Christians or slow Christians trying to hold others back for some reason? Do we ‘not’ want those around us to change for the better and leave us staying the same? Do we mistreat them when they do attempt to change? Who are we in this story Pharaoh or Moses? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-26-08 Pain, Suffering and Death. Exodus 5: 10-21 “Then the slave drivers and the foremen went out and said to the people, "This is what Pharaoh says: `I will not give you any more straw. Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.' " So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw… The Israelite foremen appointed by Pharaoh's slave drivers were beaten and were asked, "Why didn't you meet your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?" Then the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: "Why have you treated your servants this way…" Pharaoh said, "Lazy, that's what you are--lazy! That is why you keep saying, `Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.' Now get to work…" The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble…When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, and they said, "…You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us." (NIV) The foremen were ‘between a rock and a hard place’. They were slaves who were ‘appointed’ to complete a task, which now was impossible. They were looking forward to ‘regular’ beatings for not making their production quotas. These were not spankings, these were beatings. They knew that if this kept up they were facing eventual death because the body can only take so much abuse. They also knew that if something didn’t change, the beatings were not going to stop and the beatings would eventually kill them. Whether we realize it or not, we are in a similar position as Pharaoh’s foremen. We find ourselves in a position where there is no good solution and no way out. No matter how good we have it here on this earth, we find that life is cruel. All of us face pain, suffering (mental and physical) and death. Like the foremen’s beatings, we are powerless to halt it, it is out of our control and there is no one we can approach to stop it. Our only why to ‘survive’ this mess that we are in is through an intimate connection with God. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-27-08 Fix It Now. Exodus 5: 22-6: 1 “Moses returned to the LORD and said, "O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to

Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all." Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country." (NIV)

Like Moses we too go to God complaining, “Look I’ve done what You’ve wanted now why is my life still a mess? It is even worse than when I started!” It’s funny how we spend years creating a situation and we wish God to fix it over night. I like God’s reassurance to Moses. God’s saying, “Don’t worry. Not only is Pharaoh going to let the people go, he will go so far as to actively run you all out of town.” Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-28-08 The Promised Land is Certain. Exodus 6: 2-9 “God also said to Moses, "…say to the Israelites: `I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.' " Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage.” (NIV) Just because the Israelites were discouraged due to their cruel treatment by the Egyptians did not mean that God was not going to save them from their bondage. They were going to their Promised Land. Are we going through discouragement and difficult times? Have we lost sight of the promise that God has promised current Christians today? As with the Israelites of old, Christians today have their “Promised Land.” God has promised us a new life with Him in His home (Heaven). He has promised that He will deal with this sin problem that we are stuck in today. We have eternity to look forward to and compared to that, our suffering in this sinful atmosphere will only seem like a short time. The Second Coming will happen. God will return for us (John 14:3, Acts 1:9-11, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-29-08 Slick Talk and Combative Arguing. Exodus 6: 10-12 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country." But Moses said to the LORD, "If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?" Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.” (NIV) Moses had a couple of good points. His first point was that if his friends would not listen to him then how could he expect his adversary to? His other concern

was that he was not a good debater. He couldn’t think well on his feet. He just didn’t see how he could out talk Pharaoh and make him change his position. Moses was looking at his situation all wrong, he was under the false impression that it was ‘his’ responsibility to change Pharaoh’s mind. Moses forgot that it takes a miracle of God to change the human heart. When it comes to talking about God to other people today, let us remember that all of our slick talk and combative arguing will do little. “A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.” Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-30-08 Being Like God. Exodus 7: 1, 2 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country.” (NIV) Like Moses, I wonder that if in some way we are not like God to our children and our neighbors. As God that taken responsibility for us, I imagine we also have some great responsibility for those around us. We must be as rebellious children and neighbors to God and yet God loves us, treats us with respect and gives us chance after chance to come around to His way of thinking. Are we so with our children and neighbors? Let us like God and love those around us with Godly devotion. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-01-08 You are never too Young or too Old. Exodus 7: 6, 7 “Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD commanded them. Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.” (NIV) Moses was 20 years past the midpoint in his life when God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses lived to be 120 years old (Deuteronomy 34:7). We are never too old to do great things. There are even many people recorded in modern history who have ‘made their mark’ after they had reached retirement age. The reverse is true also. One is never too young to do great things. My favorite living artist became rich and famous while still in elementary school. Today I believe she is in her early twenties. There is no excuse for anyone to believe that they can’t achieve greatness. I’m talking about greatness where it counts, greatness in God’s eyes. Partnered with God the average person can become exceptional. Like many famous artists, Christians may not know just how great of an impact that they have had upon their communities. Their greatness may become apparent after they have died. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-02-08 Words and Miracles. Exodus 7: 8-13 “The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "When Pharaoh says to you, `Perform a miracle,' then say to Aaron, `Take your staff and throw it down before

Pharaoh,' and it will become a snake." So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. Yet Pharaoh's heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.” (NIV) This was the first of three miracles that God gave to Moses because Moses was afraid that he wouldn’t be listened to. Moses believed that message (words) that God gave him would be weak. Moses wanted something more than words and God gave him miracles. God did this knowing full well that people are not really that impressed with miracles. In our story, Pharaoh was not impressed by the miracle. “Wow!” did not change Pharaoh’s mind. I have come across many things in my life that had the “Wow” factor. When I stumbled across them I stood in awe and said to myself, “Wow!” A few of the things that made me go ‘wow’ were cars, music and computers. My first car, my first record and my first computer that I bought I’ve long ago discarded because the “wow” factor they possessed faded. We communicate through words, spoken words, written words and even the words we make through sign language. God communicates to us through words also. Although our actions are critical, our words have so much more potential. In my opinion, the ability to communicate with words may not seem a big thing, yet our words are the most powerful things in our lives. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-03-08 Not Listening and Suffering. Exodus 7: 14-24 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is unyielding…say to him, `The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert. But until now you have not listened. This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.' "…Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood…But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said. Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the river.” (NIV) It doesn’t matter how many wells were dug and it doesn’t matter how quickly they were dug because they couldn’t dig that many that quickly to keep the population from getting very thirsty. Whereas the first miracle was only seen by Pharaoh and a few people around him, this miracle was noticed by all of Egypt. By now all of Egypt would take notice to the struggle between Moses and Pharaoh or better yet between the God of the Israelites and Pharaoh. Pharaoh could have stopped this controversy early but by being hardhearted he increased the suffering of his people. If we are made aware of changes that we need to make in our lives, do we ignore God’s counsel? God is looking out for our best interests so by not paying attention to His caution we only make life worse

for ourselves and also for those around us. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-04-08 Two Small Plagues of Frogs. Exodus 8: 1-6 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, `This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. The frogs will go up on you and your people and all your officials.' " Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, `Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.' " So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land.” (NIV) Twice in my life I’ve experienced a very small plague of frogs and both times the plague didn’t last very long. They were small frogs and they affected about a three to five mile area where I was living in Deer Park, California. Fortunately the house was sealed up tight enough that the cute little things couldn’t get into the house, but they were so thick outside that you couldn’t avoid stepping on them. There was a major intersection a couple a miles away and the road was covered with dead frogs that had gotten run over by the traffic. There were only three houses where my wife and I lived and there wasn’t much of a stink as I recall because not too many frogs were stepped on and killed. I can guarantee that if those frogs had gotten into the house we would have been miserable. Can you imagine squished frogs on the carpet? I would have hated to wake up in the morning and found that I had squished several of the little fellows in bed while I had been asleep. We hate it when a mouse dies in the attic and stinks the house up, can you imagine the stink with frogs dying in other places like the stove, the sofa, the ventilation system, the linen closet, etc.? Of course imagine frog pee and poop everywhere. The Egyptians had to have been miserable! Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-05-08 Breaking Deals with God. Exodus 8: 8-15 “Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the LORD."…After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the LORD about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. And the LORD did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards and in the fields. They were piled into heaps, and the land reeked of them. But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.” (NIV) When the plague of frogs had passed Pharaoh changed his mind and wouldn’t let Moses take the Israelites out to worship God. Let’s not be too hard on Pharaoh because what he did is not uncommon with people today. We make deals with God and commonly break them also. “God do ‘this or that’ and I will change ‘such and such’ in my life!” If we search our past I am sure we can find deals with God that we have carelessly broken and for many of us probably quite a few of them.

My point is that this behavior could erode our relationship with God if we let it continue. This could tempt us to develop bad habits in our lives. We could possible start taking God for granted or marginalize His presence in our life. God could be to us as a picture that we hang on the wall. We are very aware of its presence for several weeks but then after awhile we don’t notice it is there anymore and of course our relationship with God should be the center piece of our life. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-06-08 Acknowledging God’s Power. Exodus 8: 16-19 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, `Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground,' and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats." They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats came upon men and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats. But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. And the gnats were on men and animals. The magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the LORD had said.” (NIV) I’ve had a few negative encounters with gnats. A couple of times I’ve inhaled gnats as I was running and breathing heavily. That was not a pleasant experience. There have also been a couple of times when I’ve had a gnat end up crawling in my ear. It was irritating. Of course we’ve all had to rescue gnats from our soups and drinks. It must have been unpleasant to live with so many gnats. Up until this point Pharaoh’s magicians were able to reproduce God’s acts. Whether it was by sleight of hand or through some alliance with Satan, the magicians were able to do it. This time the magicians were unable to produce gnats on their own and this was the last time they tried to reproduce an act of God. I find it interesting that they finally confessed that there was someone greater than them at work. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-07-08 Not Going to Church. Exodus 8: 20-24 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh…and say to him, `This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies…But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the LORD, am in this land…This miraculous sign will occur tomorrow.' " And the LORD did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh's palace and into the houses of his officials, and throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.” (NIV) This is the first plague that the Israelites did not have to suffer with along with the Egyptians. The Israelites had to put up with thirst while all open water turned to blood, they had to put up with the stink of all the dead frogs and they had to put up with the irritation of the gnats. In my opinion, they got a taste of what it was like to be an Egyptian just in case they too decided along with Pharaoh to reject God’s command. We may ask, “Why would slaves wish to remain in Egypt and not leave to worship God?” There are probably as many reasons as there are people. Christians today

are tempted to do the same thing. After a week of slaving away at making a living, Christians are tempted to keep right on working and not take a break on the Sabbath. There are many Christians each week who choose to mow their lawns, change the oil in their cars or a great many other chores than to go to church and worship God. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-08-08 Stoning. Exodus 8: 25-27 “Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land." But Moses said, "That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the LORD our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? We must take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, as he commands us." (NIV) Apparently death by stoning was a common practice among the Egyptians. Considering the country’s influence, one could imagine that other cultures may have adopted the practice also. There is the possibility that the Egyptians picked it up from someone else, who knows maybe even the Israelites. This is the first mention of stoning in the Bible. So there are two ways of looking at this. Either God adopted a common practice to putting criminals to death and used it in the Law of Moses later on or God had already given the descendants of Abraham laws to live by in which stoning was included and the Egyptians picked it up from them. I must point out that there are several references in the Book of Genesis that suggests some sort of God’s Law was known before the time of Moses. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-09-08 Trusting Sinners. Exodus 8: 28-32 “Pharaoh said, "I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the LORD your God in the desert, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me." Moses answered, "As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the LORD, and tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Only be sure that Pharaoh does not act deceitfully again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the LORD." Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD, and the LORD did what Moses asked: The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained. But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.” (NIV) Moses was suspicious that Pharaoh would break his agreement yet Moses prayed that God would remove the flies anyway and of course Pharaoh did change his mind and not let the Israelites go to worship God. To a certain degree people must put themselves in a position where other people can fail them. If we got to the point where we lived without placing any trust in any one, we would end up locking ourselves in a dark room with a loaded gun…that is not living. Maybe a Christian should ‘expect’ others to fail them but still ‘act on the assumption’ that they will not. People are not perfect, even fellow church members, and that should not “shock” us. With that being said, a Christian should not be stupid. Don’t tell a friend who has been known to have problems with theft, “Here’s a blank check. Would you go to the store and pick me up some

bread?” That is stupid and placing too much temptation in their path. case maybe it would be better to give a recovering thief exact change. should trust people but should do so ‘responsibly’ and wisely. My father always said, “Only lend without because you may never get lose much by showing Pharaoh some being foolish with their time and

In this Christians

to another person as much money as you can live it back.” In Moses and God’s case, they didn’t “good faith”. I don’t think Moses and God were resources.

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-10-08 Causing Suffering. Exodus 9: 1-6 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, `This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: "Let my people go…" If you refuse to let them go...the LORD will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field…But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.' The LORD set a time and said, "Tomorrow the LORD will do this in the land." And the next day the LORD did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. Pharaoh sent men to investigate and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died.” (NIV) Up until this plague, Egypt could recover quite quickly from the effects of each plague. All of those animals dying had to have struck a great blow to the country’s economy. People were going to go hungry and most likely many would die of hunger. Because of Pharaoh’s actions the people under his care were going to suffer. Within wishes of the suffer

the pages of the Bible are found an abundance of information on how God us to conduct our lives. This information is for our own good, yet a lot time people knowingly reject God’s directives and when that happens, we and those around us suffer too.

We create children without the security of a two parent home for them to grow up in. In an effort to look after ourselves first, we lie, cheat and steal. In anger out of personal slights and fear of loss, we murder. We even eat unhealthily producing ill health. The list goes on and on. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-11-08 AIDS and Boils. Exodus 9: 8-12 “Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on men and animals throughout the land." So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on men and animals. The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians. But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses.” (NIV) I have never had a boil but I understand that they are very painful.

In the case

of the Egyptians, as I read it, each individual broke out with multiple boils. I had been Pharaoh, this plague would have broken my resolve.

If

Although I admit that my next comment is not a perfect parallel to the Egyptian’s plague of boils, I believe it is close enough and people will understand. The principle here is that the Egyptians did not follow God’s will and ended up with medical problems. God has asked us not to have sexual relations with anyone other than the person that we are ‘married’ to. People ‘generally’ know this and do it all the time now. It is very sad that the world is suffering with sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS (I believe being the worst of them). If people would follow God’s’ protective will’ in this case, the world would not be dealing with AIDS. People are suffering, people are dying and children are losing their parents. All of this would not be happening is people followed God’s instructions on sex. I for one do not believe that AIDS is a plague from God; we are dealing with it because of people’s stupidity and self-interest (I’m going to do what “I” want to do and I am going to get what I desire now). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-12-08 Fear of the Word of the Lord or Death. Exodus 9: 13-21 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "…confront Pharaoh and say to him, `This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says…You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go. Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt…Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every man and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.' " Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. But those who ignored the word of the LORD left their slaves and livestock in the field.” (NIV) By the time of the hailstorm there is evidence that many of the Egyptians who knew what was going on began to fear the word of the Lord. They began to take the first steps on the path of faith in God, “If the Lord says it than I’d better pay attention because it’ll be important to me!” These Egyptians brought in their slaves and what was left of their animals to protect them from the deadly hailstorm, but many didn’t and many died. How concerned are we about our understanding of “the word of the LORD”? Are we ignorant of what is recorded in the Bible and live a carefree life or do we use the wisdom of the Bible to conduct our lives and live a carefree life? Both lives may appear untroubled but both lives are not on the path to eternal life. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-13-08 Lame Confessions. Exodus 9: 22-35 “…When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground…Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. "This time I have sinned," he said to them. "The LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Pray to the LORD, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don't have to stay any longer."… (The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom. The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.) Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands

toward the LORD; the thunder and hail stopped…So Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had said through Moses.” (NIV) We are a lot like Pharaoh, we confess that we are in the wrong and promise that we will not do ‘such and such’ again but when the crisis is over and the situation has calmed down, we go back to our old ways. The food situation had to of started looking pretty grim now pretty much of all of the fresh meat supply was destroyed by a previous plague and not part of the Egyptian grain harvest was destroyed. I can see where Pharaoh would say anything to make the hail stop. I guess we have to ask ourselves, “Can the people around us depend upon our characters staying the same or do we conveniently adapt our characters to every situation. For example, are we faithful to our spouses until an opportunity arises where we can easily cheat on them? Can we be trusted until our friends accidently leaves cash lying about unguarded? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-14-08 Grabbing our Attention. Exodus 10: 1, 2 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the LORD." (NIV) Apparently God was taking advantage of an existing situation (Israel’s slavery) to entrench into the minds and the hearts of the Israelites that He truly was “the Lord” and not some other imaginary god. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had been living and eventually enslaved in Egypt for a long time and it appears that they were unsure just who God was. Do we really know who God is today? Somehow has God been replaced in our lives. Who or what do we worship? Do we worship our spouses, fiancés, boyfriends or girlfriends? Do we act as if the world revolves around ourselves or money? Do we spend the bulk of your free time in front of the television or our nose in a novel? Who or what would outsiders believe we say our focus in centered upon? Does God have to do something drastic to attract our attention? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-15-08 Listening to Advice. Exodus 10: 3-7 “So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: `…Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow…They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields…' " Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh. Pharaoh's officials said to him, "…Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?" (NIV) Sometimes we get so caught up with a problem, we get so emotionally twisted up in, that we can’t see the solution. We can’t resolved the dilemma. It is called,

“Being too close to the problem.” There are times when we just need a little outside help. We need someone who has a different perspective, who is not involved with the problem, to council us. Pharaoh was use to having all the power and he always go his way. Nobody told Pharaoh what to do or how to do it. Others could make suggestions but at their own risk. Pharaoh couldn’t will this fight. God was more powerful than he was and Pharaoh couldn’t seem to back down and let go of all the power that he had over the Israelite slaves. Pharaoh just couldn’t see that he couldn’t win but his officials could. They saw things much clearer. The officials saw that Pharaoh was destroying Egypt because he would not back down to God and to their credit they told him so. Sometimes the wisest thing we can do is listen to our family and friends when we are ‘too close to a problem’ and they are not. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-16-08 Know Your Opponent’s Position before You start Arguing. Exodus 10: 8-11 “Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. "Go, worship the LORD your God," he said. "But just who will be going?" Moses answered, "We will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the LORD." Pharaoh said, "… No! Have only the men go; and worship the LORD, since that's what you have been asking for." Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh's presence.” (NIV) It’s almost funny but Egypt had gone through seven plagues and it is only now that Pharaoh is interested in the particulars of Moses’ request. Pharaoh has been in a sense arguing with Moses all this time and did not really know the full extent of the argument. I wonder how many times we have come to a conclusion about another person’s request or motive and not really bothered to ask? We are all pretty good about “jumping to conclusions” and such. Let us keep open the lines of communication between us. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-17-08 The Last Straw. Exodus 10: 12-20 “…Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the LORD made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts; they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers…They devoured all that was left after the hail…Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the LORD your God to take this deadly plague away from me."….” (NIV) It is interesting that the land Goshen where the Israelites lived was not spared from the locusts and for good reason. When Israel finally left with their animals, there was nothing left behind for the Egyptians to eat. Soon the Egyptians would be so focused on survival that they would have little time to worry as to where the Israelites may have wandered to.

You could say that this plague for Egypt’s economy was the last ‘straw’. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 06-18-08 Left in the Dark. Exodus 10: 21-29 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt--darkness that can be felt." So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived. Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, "Go, worship the LORD. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind." But Moses said, "You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the LORD our God. Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the LORD our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the LORD." But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he was not willing to let them go. Pharaoh said to Moses, "Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die." "Just as you say," Moses replied, "I will never appear before you again." (NIV) First of all, Pharaoh was given no warning about the plague of darkness or how to avoid it. At this point it was a given that Pharaoh would not capitulate to threats. This darkness must not have been a natural darkness if it was a “darkness that can be felt” and a darkness that spared only the Israelites. I would hazard a guess that it was a claustrophobic darkness and a freighting experience. It is also reasonable to understand why Pharaoh finally wanted all the Israelites to go and leave all their livestock behind. It was a practical decision. This livestock was the only food left in Egypt and in Pharaoh’s thinking, when the Israelites came back from worshiping God, they’d find all of their livestock seized to feed Egypt. In the end it was Pharaoh’s idea to stop the negotiations and not God’s or Moses’. Likewise, we today are the ones a fault when our relationship with God “goes south.” Like Pharaoh, we stop the negotiations in one way or another. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-19-08 Silent Respect. Exodus 11: 1-3 “Now the LORD had said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold."(The LORD made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh's officials and by the people.)” (NIV) The citizens of Egypt people because of all let the Israelites go or they feared them.

and the Egyptian officials were impressed with God and His the plagues that Egypt suffered because Pharaoh would not and worship. They either respected Moses and the Israelites Either way, when the Israelites came and asked for articles

of silver and gold, they received them. Believe it or not there are people out there that you are acquainted with that silently respect you as a Christian and the relationship that you have with God. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-20-08 Hot with Anger. Exodus 11:4-9 “So Moses said, "This is what the LORD says: `About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die…There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt--worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any man or animal.'…All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, `Go, you and all the people who follow you!' After that I will leave." Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh. The LORD had said to Moses, "Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you--so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt." (NIV) Apparently since Pharaoh had previously said that he would not see Moses again, Moses was relaying this warning about the plague of death to Pharaoh through court officials. When Moses left the court angry, I think he was more angry and frustrated that Pharaoh’s refusal to listen would cause so much pain and death upon the citizens of Egypt than the simple fact that Pharaoh would not personally hear his message. From the story I get the feeling that generally all of Egypt wished that their ruler would let the Israelites leave and that it was only Pharaoh’s stubbornness that was continuing to cause so much suffering. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-21-08 I am Special to God. Exodus 12: 1, 2 “The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, "This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year” (NIV). The first month of the calendar of the Children of Israel (the descendents of Jacob) became the month that God freed them from Egyptian slavery. Every time a new year rolled around, they and their descendents would be reminded of the fact that the reason they were free was because God had rescued them. For the Israelite this had to be a very reassuring reminder, “I am special to God!” Modern followers of God, Christians, have a similar event that they can look back on. The crucifixion of God the Son, Jesus, reminds us that we are also free. As long as we are in a relationship with God, we are free from the ultimate results of sin…eternal death. We can look back in loving memory at God’s sacrifice and say to ourselves, “I am special to God!” God loves us. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-22-08 Procrastination.

Exodus 12: 3-6 “Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.” (NIV) The people were to select a lamb, a year old sheep or goat, five days before they were to kill it and eat it. They were to plan ahead to be certain that there were enough people to eat the entire animal. Apparently the reason for selecting the animal early was to insure that they had an appropriate animal and nothing happened to it until it was time for them were to slaughter it. Many people have a tendency to put things off until the last minute. We even do this with God. As with the Israelites selecting a lamb, maybe we also should plan ahead for our encounters with God. For instances, do we leave our Bible study and prayer time until the end of the day? If we do, do we have a tendency to find ourselves with such a full day that in the end we have no time for it? Is it always a rush to go to church? Could we have maybe gone to sleep on time the night before and woken up a little earlier so we would be grumpy with the whole family when we arrived to worship God? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-23-08 Eating on the Run. Exodus 12:1-11 “The LORD said to Moses…each man is to take a lamb for his family, without defect, and Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire--head, legs and inner parts. Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover.” (NIV) The lamb was roasted over an open fire and apparently cooked whole. Even though the whole lamb was to be eaten, provisions were made to burn the remains if any remains were left over. I could see the family coming down with some virus and not being able to eat as much as they planned. As far as the command to eat the meal with bitter herbs, I’m not wild about eating bitter plants. I wonder if they liked the stuff. They were also commanded to eat bread made without yeast. I wonder if that was new to them or if it was a common bread that was eaten that the time in Egypt? They were to eat the meal dressed and ready to travel at a moment’s notice. This meal was to be eaten in a hurry. It was not leisurely eaten around the dinner table. For example, this meal today would be like a family eating a morning breakfast just before starting a family vacation…and they are already running late.

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-24-08 The Sign of Blood. Exodus 12:1-13 “The LORD said to Moses…each man is to take a lamb for his family, without defect, and Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs…On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn…The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” (NIV) Apparently every Israelite family placed the blood on their doorframes because Exodus 11: 6, 7 suggests that they suffered no sorrow over this plague. It would be nice to know if any of the Egyptian families followed these instructions thus sparing their firstborns. The blood was a sign. The blood itself did not save the firstborn children. The blood of the lamb was a sign so for Christians today the blood of the Lamb (Jesus, God the Son) is a sign. We accept the death of God the Son as a sign that God loves us and we have faith that if God loves us He will save us from this sinful mess that we are currently in. The Israelite accepted the blood of the lamb on their doorframes as a sign that God loved them and would save them from the enslavement that they were currently in. Do we live with the blood of God symbolically on the doorframes of our heart? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-25-08 Seven Days of Rest and Worship. Exodus 12: 14-16 "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD--a lasting ordinance. For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses…On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat--that is all you may do.” (NIV) From Passover until seven days after the people were to eat only bread made without yeast. In fact there was not to be any yeast stored in their house during those days. During this period of time they were to treat these days as similar to the Sabbath. They were days of worship and physical rest. One could call this holiday a Sabbath week. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-26-08 Society verses God. Exodus 12:17-20 "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses…Eat

nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread." (NIV) Considering that this was a religious holiday and that it commemorated God rescuing the Israelites from Egypt, the yeast must symbolize something connected with Egypt that is negative. My perspective is that the yeast must represent Egypt’s false religion and/or the society’s negative attitude towards God. It was an ungodly nation that the Israelites were departing from. As yeast drastically affects the bread by making it rise when it is added to its ingredients, so can the society that we live in effect our lives. The Israelites had adopted many facets of the Egyptian way of life that, like the yeast, had to be removed and thrown away. Christians today must also examine their lives, recognize those elements that are condoned by their society but are forbidden by God and removed them from their lives and from their homes. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-27-08 Salvation and Blood. Exodus 12: 21-28 “Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. ..” The Israelites did just what the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron.” (NIV) All of Egypt was affected by this plague, Egyptian and Israelite alike. The first born of each family was saved by the blood of the lamb on the doorframe. The blood on a family’s doorframe was a witness to God, to each family member and to each of the family’s neighbors that they children of God. Each Israelite was not perfect. There was probably not much that separated them from their Egyptian neighbors except the blood of the doorframe. This sacrifice of the Passover lamb, as I see it, looks forward to the sacrifice of God the Son on the cross. One could say that the one thing that separates the today’s Christian from his or her unbelieving neighbor is the blood of the Lamb on the doorframe of his or her heart. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-28-08 Discipline, Protection and Death. Exodus 12:29, 30 “At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.” (NIV) I don’t believe God enjoys killing people or making people suffer. God gave Pharaoh plenty of opportunities to let the Israelites go. If God gave the leader of Egypt no chances or just one or two chances, one could possibly think that God was eager to kill, but God gave Pharaoh ten chances. With these incredible

plagues Pharaoh also didn’t have the excuse, “But I didn’t know that you were being serious!” If one believes that God manipulated Pharaoh and he was unable to let the Israelites go, I still believe that there was a reasonable explanation. The Egyptian nation had done a terrible thing by enslaving the Israelites. Only an example of this magnitude could possibly persuade them to change their ways and not be tempted to enslave another race. Also when news of these events got out, other nations would think twice before capturing the newly freed Israelites and adding them to their labor force. I believe this would have been extremely tempting for other nations and a deterrent was needed. In this case, what God did had to be done. I don’t believe that good parents enjoy punishing their children. I believe it is something that they’d rather not do…but they have to for the children’s education. Mankind tends to be like wayward and rebellious children and God has no real pleasure in doing the things He is forced to do for our own good or what he has to do to evildoers to protect us. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-29-08 Selfishness and Suffering. Exodus 12: 31-33 “During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me." The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. "For otherwise," they said, "we will all die!" (NIV) I find it interesting that with all of Egypt in ruins Pharaoh finally lets the Israelites go to worship God and all he asks is a blessing for just himself. What a self-centered request considering the citizens are encouraging the Israelites to hurry before everyone in the country is dead. Pharaoh should have requested a blessing on his whole country, which had suffered and will suffer much more due to the country’s economic ruin. With all the suffering around us today, it is probably appropriate to ask ourselves, “How deep does our selfishness run?” Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-30-08 Come and Get it. Exodus 12: 31-36 “During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites!”...So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing. The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.” (NIV) It seems to me that when the Israelites realized just how much the Egyptian citizens wished them to leave and just how generous they were because of it, the Israelites took advantage of their generosity and literally plundered the population’s goods.

This plundering had to be done because the Israelites, being slaves, didn’t have the equipment for a long extended camping trip. I doubt that they had the means to plan and pack for the trip in advance so whatever they needed they were going to have to plunder it at this time. I am sure that they took not only what they needed but also what they didn’t need. Personally I believe the Egyptians were afraid to say “No” for fear of another plague. I bet you that there was a lot of useless unneeded items that the Israelites took that were later dropped along the way because they were too cumbersome to carry. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 07-31-08 Tagging Along. Exodus 12: 37-39 “The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. Many other people went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. With the dough they had brought from Egypt, they baked cakes of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.” (NIV) There were well over a million people that left Egypt. I’d bet that when you added them all up you probably got roughly two million total traveling together. Among that group were other non-Israelite men and women. Of course some Egyptians had to be among this group of people, but I’d guess that there were also other nationalities and probably many of them were slaves too. If I were a nonIsraelite slave in Egypt, I’d sure take my chances with the Israelites and their God. None of us are alone in the world. People are watching us. How we conduct our lives can make a difference in the lives of those around us. Other people are watching us. When we arrive in Heaven we will be surprised by the “many other people” who got there because of us. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-01-08 Waiting for Deliverance. Exodus 12: 40, 41 “Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD's divisions left Egypt.” (NIV) I wonder how many years of the 430 the Israelites spent in slavery. I wonder how many people lived and died wishing their lives were better. Today, some of us live pretty comfortable lives and some of us live pretty poor quality lives. Sometimes the quality of life we live is of our choosing (brought on by good decision or bad ones) and sometimes it is not. One thing is for certain, we live in a sinful imperfect world and mankind brought that upon himself and not God. We all can only wait and hope for our deliverance. May we all rely upon God for strength as we endure our trials. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-02-08

God is inclusive and not exclusive. Exodus 12: 43-51 “The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the regulations for the Passover: No foreigner is to eat of it. Any slave you have bought may eat of it after you have circumcised him, but a temporary resident and a hired worker may not eat of it. It must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones. The whole community of Israel must celebrate it. An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the LORD's Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat of it. The same law applies to the native-born and to the alien living among you." All the Israelites did just what the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron. And on that very day the LORD brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.” (NIV) Since there were other people (non-Israelites) who also left Egypt along with the Israelites (the descendants of the 12 sons of Jacob), God made it clear that there was a way that they could also be included in the celebration of the Passover. In short, if a family took up permanent residence with the Israelites and all the males in the family were circumcised then the family could celebrate the Passover. This was the first celebration that God commanded the Israelites to do on a regular basis. Yet a provision was made that, if desired, the whole world could participate in the Passover celebration. Although God had made a deal with Abraham and his descendants to make them a great nation, we find here that God is not being exclusive. Non-descendants of Abraham could be included. God is inclusive and not exclusive, an example that all Christians should maintain awareness of. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-03-08 Ready to Fight. Exodus 13: 17, 18 “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.” (NIV) The Israelites knew that God was giving them a land that was already populated. They expected resistance so when they plundered Egypt before they left, they took implements of battle with them. Just because they had in their possession swords and possible shields and armor, didn’t mean that they were ready for battle. God was going to take His time leading them to the Promised Land. He was going to give them time to prepare themselves for what was to come. Likewise let us not be eager to jump into conflicts that we believe we are ready for. We may not be as ready as we believe. Let’s be patience and let God lead us through life, even if we see shorter paths to reach our goals. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-04-08 Promise Keeping. Exodus 13: 19 “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the

sons of Israel swear an oath. He had said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place." (NIV) Before Joseph died he instructed his relatives to take his remains with them when God made it possible for them to leave Egypt (Gen. 50:25). Joseph’s instructions finally were carried out about four hundred (400) years later. How is that for keeping a promise? How faithful are we on carrying out our word? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-05-08 The Presence of God. Exodus 13: 20-22 “After leaving Succoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.” (NIV) The pillars of cloud were certain that it miraculous plagues. because of the cloud

and was Now and

fire had to have been reassuring to the people. They not a man that had rescued them from Egypt because of the they were still reassured that it as God and not Moses fire that went before them.

Although miracles and direct Devine intervention may not be a common everyday occurrence today, if and when they do happen and we recognize them, they can be reassuring that God is still actively looking out after us. I’ve had mine, how about you? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-06-08 A Reputation. Exodus 14: 1-9 “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth…Pharaoh will think, `The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.' And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So the Israelites did this. When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!"…The Egyptians-all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops--pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.” (NIV) A nation is basically strong in two ways. It is economically strong and it is militarily strong. In my opinion, God was making a reputation for Himself. God nearly ruined Egypt economically by plagues for the Israelites sake. If the rumors spread out through Egypt’s neighboring nations that even Egypt’s vast military couldn’t defeat God then all the nations would think twice about attempting to take the Israelites by force and make them their slaves. When God was finished with the Egyptians, everybody would know that God was the God of the Israelites. This makes me wonder if keeping a low profile about the fact that we are

Christians a good idea. Do our neighbors and the other people around us know for a fact that we are Christians? Do people know that we have a close connection with God? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-07-08 Fear of Death. Exodus 14:10-14 “As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them…They said to Moses, "…What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, `Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." (NIV) The Israelites were afraid to die. Because of that they would have preferred to stay in Egypt and remain slaves. In the end, they believed that the Egyptians were more powerful than God. Of course this was not true. What are we afraid of? What have we become slaves to? Do we feel bound and trapped because our fears? Is there something holding us back from becoming a better person or from becoming a Christian? Let nothing enslave you, even the death. Similar to the Israelites, God has promised today’s Christian his Promised Land, Heaven. Let us be content and fearless for if we are where God wishes us to be than that is the best place for us to be. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-08-08 There is Light at the End of the Tunnel. Exodus 14: 15-20 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "…Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground… The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.” (NIV) The Israelites were “between a rock and a hard place” and had no place to go. They had the sea on one side of them and the mighty Egyptian army on the other side. What looked impossible to the former slaves was a simple for God and He provided a safe solution for them. God parted the sea and blocked the Egyptian army from advancing. For the Christian today, God can also provide safe solutions for our seemingly impossible difficulties. Even if God does not rescue us from our temporary problems in life, He guarantees that He will part the seas of Death for the Christian so he or she may pass through safely to their Promised Land, Heaven. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-09-08

Fearing the Wrong Things. Exodus 14: 21-31 “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea…The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground…The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea…Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen." Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place…The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen…Not one of them survived…And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.” (NIV) God destroyed the entire Egyptian army that was sent out after the Israelites. After that the story records “the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him.” Today many Christians live in fear, probably most of us. We fear a great many things, from major to minor stuff. Maybe Christians have it backwards? Maybe we don’t fear God but fear everything else when we should have it the other way around. We should fear God and then fear nothing else. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-10-08 Praises to God. Exodus 15: 1, 2 "…I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.” (NIV) These are the opening verses of a song that Moses and the Israelites sang to praise God of their deliverance from the Egyptians. If you or I were to write a song today, what words of praise would it contain? Probably most Christians I’ve met keep their praises to God to themselves, I’m like that also. I’m a pretty quiet Christian. I believe that most of us could be more open about our love and admiration for God. On the other hand, I have met some Christians who have shared their gratefulness and love of God to me. I hate to say it but it came out forced or phony. In these cases it seemed to me that they were either putting on a show and there was way too much drama or their words came across as awkward and shallow. Last but not least there are those whose praise to God rings natural and sincere. As they relate their gratitude to God in my presence, they come across as real people who have opened their hearts to me and yet are humble at the same time. Their praise is natural and real. In their presence I don’t feel like a captive audience or awkward. I feel like I am getting to know them better casually as one friend to another. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-11-08 Security in God.

Exodus 15:2-5 “The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name. Pharaoh's chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh's officers are drowned in the Red Sea. The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone.” (NIV) There is a certain amount of security that family. A person has more than just their One can look back deep into their parent’s recall how God had guided and watched over can translate into an individual feeling a

comes with being raised in a Christian experience with God to look back on. lives and their grandparent’s lives to them. All that family history with God lot of security in God.

The biggest threat to their freedom that the Israelites had was the Egyptian Army and in the end all of those heavy implements of war remained at the bottom of the sea lost forever. If we desire to remain in God’s care, spiritually (and many times physically) nothing can harm us. We can walk across this earth knowing full well that we ‘will’ see our Promised Land (Heaven). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-12-09 Protector of the Innocent. Exodus 15:7 “In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like stubble.” (NIV) By reading these song lyrics one could assume that God can be mean and maybe He isn’t as nice as He claims to be. Yet the song was inspired by God freeing and protecting people who were forced to remain slaves. The bottom line is if the Egyptians would have seen the error of their ways and freed their Israelite slaves years before, most likely God would have let them be. If God is love, and He is, then those who oppose him must be motivated by selfishness, hate or something similar. God’s ‘burning anger’ is in reaction to what if being done to innocent victims. I find that those whom God consumes are destroyed to protect the innocent. As I see it, God’s burning anger is generally defensive in nature. If we really wish to experience God’s ‘burning anger’ all we have to do is attempt to influence the innocent to become evil or to oppress those around us mentally or physically. If we continue to live that kind of lifestyle, God will protect the innocent from us. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-13-08 Confronting God. Exodus 15:9-10 "The enemy boasted, `I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.' But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.” (NIV) There were two powers that day. There was the great Egyptian military dead set upon regaining their slaves and punishing them. There was also God, whose plan it was to remove the Israelites from their enslavement. For hundreds of years the

Egyptian government had control over the Israelites, but when God intervened their control was over. We may go along cross paths and in our own ways enough to see a

for years doing what we will unimpeded by anyone, but when we cross purposes with God, things change. Will we be callous enough when that day comes to openly oppose God, or will we be wise golden opportunity to change?

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-14-08 Substitute or God. Exodus 15:11 "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you--majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (NIV) If there were a variety of gods to choose from, what would tempt the Christian to replace God of the Bible with? I am not an expert in world religions or world mythology, but I haven’t come across any better god. Even the secular world has poor substitutes. How much good will the Theory of Evolution do me or how much good will ‘science’ do me? The God of the Bible makes sense to me. He loves us. He is trust worthy. His lifestyle that he offers us makes sense. We can rest assured that He will rescue ‘His children’ from this sinful environment. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-15-08 Redeemed with an Unfailing Love. Exodus 15:13-17 "In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling. The nations will hear and tremble…terror and dread will fall upon them. By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone…until the people you bought pass by. You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance--the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established.” (NIV) In verse 13 the Israelites are referred to as “the people you have redeemed” and in verse 16 that idea is brought out again with “the people you have bought.” For the word “bought” in verse 16 the New International Version suggests the word “created” as an alternate translation for the word “bought”. Other Bible translations use the word “made” which causes no problems. It is understandable that a nation that was made or created by God would be also a nation that He had purchased. These people understood the meaning of something being redeemed or bought by the means of a substitute. They were very familiar with the symbols about sacrifice that promised a coming Redeemer and a promised redemption. They had just celebrated the Passover where they killed the Passover lamb. The lamb symbolically died so that their first born might live. The Israelites came from a heritage of descendents who were familiar with the meaning of the sacrifice: Noah (Gen. 8:20), Abraham (Gen. 22:2, 13), Isaac (Gen. 31:54) and Jacob, who was renamed Israel that the Israelites were named after (Gen. 46:1). Even Moses, the Israelites and Pharaoh were familiar with what sacrificing to God was all about to a certain extent (Ex. 5:1-3).

When the Israelites left Egypt God exchanged nothing for them with Pharaoh. I believe the redemption that we are talking about has to do with Jesus. That they were purchased with a promise, the sacrifice of God the lamb (Jesus) which was yet to come. A promise that was familiar to them through the symbols of sacrifice. Truly we are loved by an “unfailing love” through Jesus’ sacrifice. We are all beloved sons of Abraham and sons of God (Gal. 3:6-18). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-16-08 A Perpetual Ruler. Exodus 15:18 “The LORD will reign for ever and ever." (NIV) It is fitting for the Israelites to finish the lyrics of their song with the thought that their God would reign forever. When the Israelites first entered Egypt they were welcomed and befriended by the ruler, Pharaoh. After that ruler died things changed for them and for many generations the Israelites were made slaves by the following Pharaohs. I am sure that with the death of each Pharaoh they were tempted to hope that the next ruler would be compassionate and return their freedom. No doubt having God as their perpetual ruler was a nice thought. A permanent ruler that could free you, destroy an opposing army and give you free land in which to settle is a ruler that they could feel great security in. With a leader like that the future looked pretty good. Let us not forget that this same God continues to reign over our lives and in fact our futures look pretty good also when we look at the “Big Picture.” Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-17-08 Miriam was a Woman of Influence. Exodus 15:19-21 “When Pharaoh's horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea." (NIV) Moses, Aaron and Miriam were brothers and sister. Levi. God really made use of this family.

They were also descendants of

Moses, as a slave’s baby, ended up being saved from death and raised by Pharaoh’s daughter. Much later Moses ends up being chosen by God to lead the Israelites to freedom and the Promised Land. Aaron, Moses brother, most likely was his older brother since Moses was born under the order for all the Israelite baby boys to be killed at birth. Aaron was designated as Moses’ spokesperson and later was to become the first priest to serve God in the Tabernacle. Miriam was the one who was watching over her baby brother, Moses, when Pharaoh’s daughter found him at the Nile River. By the time Moses returns to free the Israelites, Miriam had already made a name for herself and was known as a

prophetess. Why would God choose Miriam to be a prophetess at this time? One reason could possibility be that because of the death decree on Israelite baby boys, women now made up the bulk of the Israelite population. Because of this, no doubt Miriam had a lot of influence. It would have been an impressive sight watching “all” the women (the majority of the Israelites) with their tambourines dancing together singing their praises to God with Miriam leading them. I wonder what it sounded like. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-18-08 Crybabies. Exodus 15:22-25 “Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?" Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet…” (NIV) A footnote in the New International Bible states that the word “Marah” means bitter. What a dreadful situation to find yourself in, to travel three days in a desert without water and when you do find some it tastes terrible. Besides the nasty taste I wonder if it was also unfit to drink. When I was a much younger reader, in my heart I had a certain degree of reproach for the Israelites’ grumbling in this story. Now that I am older I must confess that I would have been one of the grumblers. Let’s be real, I grumble to my wife about issues that are much less important. I’d bet that even the best of us complain openly or grumble to ourselves from time to time. Does it show a lack of faith in God or in those around us? Yes, it probably does, but I believe that the point of the story is that God is patient with us and loves us. We, on the other hand, have a tendency to say, “If you are going to cry, then I’ll give you something to cry about!” We could probably be a little more understanding with the people around us. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-19-08 Disease and Runny Noses. Exodus 15: 25, 26 “…There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you." (NIV) What diseases do we know that God brought on the Egyptians? The two that are recorded are the plague of boils and the plague of death (maybe the plague of death was heart disease). Considering that these two disease plagues were very recent events, most likely these were what God was referring to. If that is the case than this statement makes sense. As I see it God is saying, “If you do what is right, that which I ask, than I will not have to do anything

drastic to either get your attention or make an example of you in order to get your descendant’s attention.” If God is not referring to these two plagues then we have not reference as to what happened and why. In that case, we should be careful not to manufacture any hard fast opinions since we don’t know the background. For example we could conjure up the notion that God purposely gives us every runny nose we get and that just wouldn’t make much sense. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-20-08 God knows what He is doing. Exodus 15:27 “Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.” (NIV) After the problem with the bitter water at Marah, the Israelites arrived at Elim. Here, instead of one source of water, they find twelve, one for each of the tribes. Whereas at Marah, they were tempted to wonder if God knew what He was doing, now at Elim it looks as though He did. Apparently God did know where He was leading them. Although God has given us a glimpse of the ‘Big Picture’ in the Bible, we are short sighted and in this imperfect world it is difficult for us to see and understand God’s plans for our individual lives. Since we can’t see the future we have to have the faith that He knows where He is leading us and why. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-21-08 Suffering with God or without Him. Exodus 16:1-3 “The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death." (NIV) For two had a half months the Israelites subsisted upon the food that they had brought out of Egypt or what they had gotten hunting or gathering in the desert. It would take only a short while for such a great number of people to kill and eat everything around them in any given area that they would settle in. No doubt they were all getting extremely hungry. The people were afraid, upset and basically said, “We would rather suffer as Egyptian slaves rather than to follow God, suffer and die. In fact we would have preferred dying in the comfort of your own homes then to have followed God out here to die!” In my observation, all of us on this world are going to experience suffering and death. The only question is, are we going to go through it with God’s assistance or not? At least with God we have the promise, similar to the Israelites, of a promised land, Heaven. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-22-08

Bread, Creation Week and the Sabbath. Exodus 16:4, 5 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days." (NIV) When the Israelites started grumbling to Moses about being hungry, God showed up with a solution. He promised to rain bread down from the sky every day except on the seventh day, a day that God had made holy during the creation of the world. From now on until the Israelites occupy their promised land, this constant raining of bread will remind the people of two things every week. 1. God is their provider. 2. God is their Creator, since the holy seventh day was set up at the end of Creation. The concept of a seven day week was not new. Although up to this point not much has been mentioned about it in either the book of Genesis or Exodus, it was referred to offhand in Genesis when Jacob was having some conflict with Laban over Laban’s daughters (Genesis 29:27). Since the weekly cycle was known, God’s holy seventh day was also known. Considering that other laws of God (similar to those given to the Israelites) are referred to throughout Genesis and Exodus up to this point, other details about Sabbath observant on the seventh day of the week must have also been commonly known. If the Sabbath commandment is included as one of the Ten Commandments, it was not just a minor notion of God’s. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-23-08 It is God’s Church that we attend. Exodus 16:6-8 “So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?" Moses also said, "You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD." (NIV) There are times when today’s church members and the Israelites are similar in their grumblings. It is not our church but God’s church. It is not our church leaders but God’s church leaders. Sure there are problems in every church because the leaders are only human. Yet when we encounter a problem at church, do we clearly and openly address the issue in an attempt to correct it or do we grumble which only breeds discontent and division? I fear that sometimes when Christians grumble about their churches today, they are actually grumbling again God. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-24-08 Our Food and Our Secrets. Exodus 16:11-20 “The LORD said to Moses, "I have heard the grumbling of the

Israelites. Tell them, `At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.' “That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?"…Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: `Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.' "… Then Moses said to them, "No one is to keep any of it until morning." However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.” (NIV) When we see how complex our society is today and also how dysfunctional it is, it is amazing that we can keep as many people fed as we do. I believe it is only be the grace of God that this cycle of food continues. The question then is, “Just who grateful are we to God for the food that we eat?” I bet you I know how Moses knew that the people had saved some of the ‘Manna’ until the following day. He knew that they had done it when we woke up in the morning and could smell the stench. Many of us are tempted to believe that we can secretly disobey God and nobody will notice the different. Nine chances out of ten, they will know. People are no good at keeping their secrets hidden. Of course we can’t hide anything from God. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-25-08 A Break from Making a Living and Traveling. Exodus 16:21-30 “Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much--two omers for each person--and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. He said to them, "This is what the LORD commanded: `Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.' " So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it."Eat it today," Moses said, "because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. You will not find any of it on the ground today. Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any." Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. Then the LORD said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day; no one is to go out." So the people rested on the seventh day.” (NIV) The community leaders were very aware of the nasty odor that would develop in the camp if the people again tried to save some of the new special food overnight. So when the people went out on the sixth day to gather up the food and the leaders observed them gathering up more than needed for one day, they were very concerned. The nasty odor must have been a stink that you didn’t forget right away! Moses reassured the leaders that everything was okay and that the people were correct in gathering extra for the Sabbath. Apparently some people went hungry when the seventh day came around. You can imagine the commotion when a lot of the people went out to get something to eat and there was nothing there. Our life is mostly made up of spending our time getting enough money for food and shelter. It is awfully nice of God to give us a

break from that chore and worry every seventh day. God asked the people to stick around their home and enjoy their time off on the Sabbath. This makes sense to me because traveling is a chore, especially if you have children or there is a group of you. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-26-08 A Sample of Manna was stored in the Ark. Exodus 16:31-35 “The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded: `Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.' " So Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the LORD to be kept for the generations to come." As the LORD commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna in front of the Testimony, that it might be kept. The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.” (NIV) I enjoyed the footnote in the New International Version that gave the translation for the word “Manna.” Manna means “What is it?” Since Manna was never seen on Earth before it was needed or after, a sample of it was eventually put in a jar and placed inside the Ark in front of the Ten Commandments (Heb 9:4). The Ten Commandments on the tables of stone were known as the Testimony (Ex 30:18, 34:28). Here a sample was kept as proof to what God had provided the Israelites for food for so long. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-27-08 Pitting Ourselves against God. EX 17:1-3 “The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?" But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?" (NIV) The people were once again upset over the fact that there wasn’t any water to drink. Even though God was miraculously providing them bread every day, by their grumbling and quarreling with Moses, they were showing their lack of trust in God and His motives. Moses had actually done them no wrong and yet they were quarreling with him. Basically Moses replied to them, “I am innocent and do not deserve your anger. Since you are in the wrong, do you really wish for God to intervene?” The people were putting themselves in a dangerous situation. Do we let our emotions get in the way of our good judgment? Do we ‘jump to conclusions’ and quarrel with innocent people? If we do similar kind of actions, then we are placing ourselves on the wrong side of an issue and therefore are also

pitting ourselves (maybe unknowingly) against God. to place ourselves.

That is never a wise position

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-28-08 Testing God. Exodus 17:4-7 “Then Moses cried out to the LORD, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me." The LORD answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?" (NIV) The people were so angry because of their thirst, Moses feared that they were going to stone him. It seemed that the mindset of the people was that if God is with us then He should give us a miracle and provide us with water. Their statement implied a certain amount of disbelieve, doubt that God was really there and doubt that He could (or would) provide for their needs. Would it not have been better for the Israelites to come before God having the faith the He would provide the water they desired? How do we petition God? Do we come before Him in doubt or in faith? A footnote in the New International Version of the Bible indicates that the word “Massah” means “testing.” One other thing, death by stoning must have been a common method of killing a person since this is the second time Moses refers to it in the Book of Exodus. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-29-08 God’s Idea or Moses’ Idea. Exodus 17:8-13 “The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands." So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up--one on one side, one on the other--so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.” (NIV) I would guess that the Amalekites attacked the Israelites because they were trespassing. Other than that reason, the Amalekites may have thought that the Israelites were easy pray and had heard about all the valuables the Israelites had plundered from the Egyptians just before they left. If God had told Moses that the Israelites would win the battle as long as Moses held up the staff of God, then it was possible that God was using Moses as a symbol of faith to both the Amalekites and the Israelites that fought below. Not

only would the Israelites have something encouraging to look at to remind them that God is with them in the battle but after the battle the Amalekites would have a fantastic story to tell their neighboring nations, as to how and why they lost the battle. Other nations would not be so keen on attacking the Israelites after hearing the story. On the other hand, it may be that Moses assumed that they would win the battle because he lifted the staff of God up over the battle. In that case, even though God went ahead and followed through on Moses’ assumption, Moses had not thought the process through. If this was the case than he hadn’t realized just how difficult it would be to keep his hands up all that time. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-30-08 A Scroll of Comfort. Exodus 17:14-16 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. He said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation." (NIV) Apparently the reason why the Israelites fought with the Amalekites and the reason why God promised that eventually their race would be exterminated is because they were killing the Israelite stragglers as the Israelites traveled (Dt 25:17). As the nation of Israel could be comforted by the promise written in the scroll that the Amalekites would eventually become extinct, Christians today can experience that same comfort. Ultimately all who oppose God and His children (Christians) will disappear. They will eventually become followers of God or they will die at the end of time (Rev 20:11-15). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-31-08 Telling about Everything the Lord had done. Exodus 18:1-8 “Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel…After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her and her two sons…Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, together with Moses' sons and wife, came to him in the desert, where he was camped near the mountain of God…So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. Moses told his father-in-law about everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel's sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the LORD had saved them.” (NIV) I assume that Moses’ father-in-law was a priest of God since it doesn’t indicate otherwise. If this is the case then once again there is evidence of an organized religious system that was in place before the system of worship that was given to Moses and the Israelites. It would seem that Moses had sent his family back home while he was still dealing with Pharaoh in Egypt, since he included in his story his dealings with Pharaoh as he and Jethro were catching up.

Today as we give an account of our own ‘hardships’ to our own relatives, do we also include ‘everything the LORD had done’ in our lives? As I see it, God is also actively involved in the Christian’s life today. Myspace Bible Journal Blog:

09-01-08

Proud and Arrogant Citizens. Exodus 18:9-12 “Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the LORD had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. He said, "Praise be to the LORD, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly." Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law in the presence of God.” (NIV) Not only did Jethro condemn Pharaoh for the mistreatment of the Israelites but also Egypt’s citizens. I am sure that there were Egyptians that were not pleased with the enslavement of the Israelites, but they are not mentioned in the story. Maybe they are not mentioned because they did very little on behalf of their slaves. On the other hand, maybe they were the Egyptians that left Egypt along with the Israelites. Can the country in which we live make improvements in how it treats people within and without its borders? How are we as citizens being judged by outsiders? Can we do anything to improve their view of us? What can we do? Do we treat other people arrogantly? Do they see us as being proud, selfimportant, snooty or scornful towards others, no matter who they are? Are we rude or are we a humble citizen? Let me also note that Jethro, a priest, “brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God.” Once again proof that there was a system of worship already in place before “The Law of Moses” and one very similar to it…if not the same identical system. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-02-08 Outside Observers. Exodus 18:13-18 “The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. When his father-inlaw saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?" Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God's will. Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God's decrees and laws." Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.” (NIV) Sometimes an outside observer can see problems that we can’t. When we are in the middle of a situation, at times we don’t have the proper perspective to see problems or clear solutions. Occasionally we are even unaware that we are having

difficulties. We should all not be afraid of seeking advice and we should also be open to listening to unasked for constructive criticism. Be warned, not all advice will be helpful and not all advice will be palatable. Let us be responsible for making our own decisions and not take the easy way out and let others run our lives for us. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-03-08 Delegating Authority. Exodus 18:17-26 “Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone…But select capable men from all the people--men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain--and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times…If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied." Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said…The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.” (NIV) Some people can’t delegate authority, maybe it is can do their job correctly or maybe it is because martyr. A number of us probably have issues with when too much is too much. And last but not least author and control.

because they believe that nobody some have a need to play the trust and others just don’t know some of us just love all the

The truth is that when we eventually get fired, quite or die there is always someone else who will eventually take our place. Let’s make life easier on ourselves (and those around us) and share our burdens with others. There may even those who would volunteer to assist us if we would only let them. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-04-08 A Kingdom of Priests, Now and Then. Exodus 19:3-6 “Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: `You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." (NIV) As a kingdom of priests, the Israelites were to serve who? They were to minister to God’s world. Their whole nation was set aside for God’s use. The Law soon to be given to this nation of priests was meant to be spread throughout the whole world. By adoption Christians today are also from the house of Abraham and Jacob (EPH 1:5, GAL 3:14). We are also to be a kingdom of priests to the world. God will also carry “you on eagles’ wings” as you minister to your friends, your neighbors and your world.

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-05-08 Your Response to God. Exodus 19:7, 8 “So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. The people all responded together, "We will do everything the LORD has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.” (NIV) What is your answer to God? Is it, “I will do everything the Lord has said.”? I fear most of us have an answer that mostly sounds like, “I will do everything the Lord has said, if it is convenient for me.” For some of us, we act like our answer was, “I will do everything the Lord has said, if I really have to.” Last but not least, some Christians act like their answer was, “I will bully everybody else into doing everything the Lord has said.” Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-06-08 Preparing to Meet God. Exodus 19:10-13 “And the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, `Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.' Only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain." (NIV) Probably most Christian church buildings are dedicated to God. The church I attend is. It is a structure that the members enter to worship God. Considering our text today, I wonder if we as Christians are getting too casual about meeting God…to casual in our preparations, our attitude, our dress, our prayers and also in our conversations at church. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-07-08 God is not a Wimp. Exodus 19:16-19 “On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.” (NIV) What image do you recall when you think of God. I believe for the modern Christian most of us think of a living breathing Jesus, maybe the scene of the last supper. Others of us may think of the common image of Jesus on the cross. For the Israelites, God was a thick massive fiery smokey loud cloud that covered a whole mountain. They saw a powerful dangerous God. In their situation alone in

the desert, they needed to be assured that God was powerful and dangerous. Maybe it would be wise for modern Christians to see God as a whole. He is both ‘meek and mild’ and ‘powerful and dangerous’. Our God is both capable of tears (JN 11:17-36) and capable of possibility covering the whole Earth with fire (REV 20:7-21:4). God is not a wimp. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-08-08 Israelite Priests before the Law of Moses. Exodus 19:20-25 The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up and the LORD said to him, "Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the LORD and many of them perish. Even the priests, who approach the LORD, must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them." Moses said to the LORD, "The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, `Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.' " The LORD replied, "Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the LORD, or he will break out against them." So Moses went down to the people and told them.” (NIV) We don’t know much about the life of the Israelites while they were in Egypt. Apparently they still had some religious understanding because Miriam, Moses’ sister, was known as a prophetess (EX 15:20). Also they must have retained some religious system of worship because in these texts priests are mentioned. This makes sense because Moses previously had made the requests to Pharaoh while the Israelites were still in Egypt to let them leave to sacrifice to God (EX 5:3). For all of those people, Moses was going to need quite a few priests to assist him and apparently they were already available. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-09-08 Freedom and Chaos. Exodus 20:1, 2 “And God spoke all these words: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” (NIV) These words are the introduction to the Ten Commandments and God identifies to the Israelites who He is. He is the God that gave them their freedom from Egypt. At first glance it may seem funny that God reminds them of their freedom just before he gives them a list of restrictions but realistically freedom has boundaries. If freedom has no boundaries then it is called chaos and a as I see it chaos is destructive. God promises us freedom within His ‘secure’ boundaries…within His restrictions. On the other hand the type of freedom that Satan entices us with is chaos. Once we are addicted to the freedoms of chaos, we are bound to it like a drug and begin to self-destruct…not only that but we also begin to harm those around us. Freedom has the boundaries of love and chaos is sin for all practical purposes. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-10-08 The First Commandment.

Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me.” (NIV) This is the First Commandment and rightly so because it deals with where our loyalties lay. The word “before” is the key word in this commandment. There are two basic alternatives for the word “before”. The first one is ‘rather than’ and the second is ‘ahead of’. As I see it ‘rather than’ is the primary meaning. You shall have no other gods “rather than” me. God is saying, “I am your sole God!” ‘Ahead of’ is a secondary meaning but shouldn’t be dismissed. You shall have no other gods “ahead of” me. Here God is saying, “I am the priority component in your life!” Together both meanings make a pretty clear statement, “I am your sole God and the priority component in your life!” Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-11-08 The Second Commandment, Part One. Exodus 20:4-6 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (NIV) One definition of an idol is a “worshiped image of a divinity.” I wonder if it is easier for people to worship something they can visually see over something that they can’t. If that is the case, then how can an ‘invisible’ God compete with a ‘visible’ idol or a ‘graven image’ (KJV)? On the other hand some people are just simply attracted to pretty things. Whatever the case, God doesn’t even want us making a graven image of Himself, probable because we might get confused between the object and God, where we eventually see the idol as God. I sure wouldn’t be pleased if one of my daughters made a graven image of me and started paying more attention to it than myself! Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-12-08 The Second Commandment, Part Two. Exodus 20:4-6 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (NIV) Basically God punishes (or disciplines) to protect us, to bring us around to a healthy way of thinking, acting or living. He also punishes to protect the innocent. The question is then why does God punish to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him (those in rebellion)? From my observation here

is a possible answer. When a parent incorporates a specific sin (in this case worshiping idols) one of two things happens (1) it four generations for God to wean the children off of that sin or of four generations God eases up trying to win them back quickly tactics for the ‘long haul’. One thing is for sure, God doesn’t of punishing people.

into their life takes three to (2) after three and changes get a ‘kick’ out

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-13-08 The Second Commandment, Part Three. Exodus 20:4-6 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (NIV) God promises to love those who love Him. I am sure that His loving us for “a thousand generations” is descriptive and not literal or limiting, therefore He is reassuring us that He will love us with an unfailing love. His love is a “jealous” love or we could describe it as a desirous, watchful and protective love. One that is similar to either an adoring parent or an intimate lover. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-14-08 The Second Commandment, Part Four. Exodus 20:4-6 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (NIV) There are two characteristics to those whom God loves. The first is that they love Him back. God loved us before we were even aware of Him. When we become aware of His love, we have the opportunity to respond in the same fashion. We can love him back. One could call this an emotional response, yet love is also more than an emotional response. It is a commitment. For example, I emotionally love my wife, but there are times when my emotional love vaporizes due to misunderstandings between us, yet my commitment of love to her is still there. There is much about God and His decisions that we don’t understand and when our emotional love for Him wanes, our commitment to love Him continues. Besides loving God, secondly we are to keep His commandments. We are to follow God’s will. God has placed boundaries around us so that we can live healthy, happy, loving, carefree lives. He is the architect of life and within the parameters He has set up for us we have freedom and opportunities for personal grow. When we knowingly stray from those boundaries, we find ourselves at odds with God. For example, good parents set times for their child to go to bed. They set this rule for the benefit of the child. If their child gets adequate sleep, he or she will have the energy to get the most out of the following day. The parent knows that without adequate sleep the child will be grumpy, whiney and out of sorts, plus he or she will not have the energy to get the most out of their day. The child’s bedtime is set by the parent out of love for the child and for

the good of the child. God’s laws, rules or will for us are there because He loves us and they are there for our benefit. If we are rebellious we will find that we will miss out on so much of life. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-15-09 The Third Commandment. Exodus 20:7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” (NIV) The King James Version says to “…not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain…” The best example of the vain uses of God’s name or the misuse of it of course is in foul language, cursing and swearing. Actually cussing is just one form of misusing God’s name. Any casual use of using God’s name places us on “shaky ground”. For example, “This car is so safe that, if God were here, He Himself would ride in it!” Another example would be, “This meal is so good and it shows that you are truly the God of the kitchen!” The misuse of the various names of God the Trinity is pretty much accepted in the United States today. In general, if the entrainment industry okays “Oh God!” for family sitcoms, then our nation as a whole goes along with it. I doubt today’s Christian will not walk around wearing a tee shirt displaying God’s name used in a cursing or swearing way. He or she also would not walk around with an audio recording device publicly blaring out for all to hear God’s name used in a cursing or swearing way over and over again. Yet that same Christian will play music or play a movie in their own home for friends and family that contains the use of taking God’s name in vain. Go figure. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-16-08 The Fourth Commandment, Part One. Exodus 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (NIV) We are asked to “remember” the Sabbath day. One must point out the uniqueness of this commandment. It’s the only one that God asks us to remember lest we forget and in the Christian community it is generally the one commandment out of the ten that is forgotten. The majority of Christians worship on Sunday, a tradition which celebrates Jesus’ resurrection, yet it is not the day that God made holy clear back at the beginning of our world, and it is not the day He asks us to remember. God’s day that Christians are to respect is Saturday. Our modern calendars still reflect the creation week with the seventh day, the day God made holy, falling on Saturday. It is amazing that after thousands of years our calendars still reflect the creation week. Although our calendar months and years are determined by the relationship between the Earth, the Moon and the Sun, the weekly cycle reflects the Earths creation by God, ending with the seventh day, Saturday, the Sabbath.

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-17-08 The Fourth Commandment, Part Two. Exodus 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (NIV) Although “the Sabbath was made for man” (MK 2:27) we are not to forget that this is God’s day. We are specifically intended to remember our Creator, God, every seventh day. It was at the end of our (the world’s) creation when God reserved the seventh day for a special purpose, to remember Him and what He had done for us. On this day we celebrate our existence. On this day we revel in God’s love for us. Every Saturday we are in awe of the fact that we have a relationship with the God Almighty. He is ‘my’ God. Wow! Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-18-08 The Fourth Commandment, Part Three. Exodus 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (NIV) The Sabbath is God’s day and during that day (sundown to sundown as in the creation week) we are not to do our work or cause anyone else to work within our sphere of influence. Why do we cease from labor and rest on this day? It is a celebration honoring the fact that God loved us so much that He created us. We rest on the last day of the week because our Creator rested on the last day of the creation week. By resting as our Creator rested we are reminded that we were created in God’s image. We are creative; similar to the God we were formed after. Every Sabbath (Saturday) we ‘rest’ secure in the fact that we are not alone on this planet or in the Universe; we were created by the God Almighty and are His. The Lord is ‘our’ God and honoring the Sabbath hours reinforces that reality. Once a week we stop and realize that we have a relationship with God and Him with us. We have a connection with the Creator of the Universe and can rest in the reassurance that no matter what evil befalls us, God will make sure we are okay in the end. We treat everybody as if they too are Sabbath keepers. We do not cause them to labor because God does not cause us to labor on Sabbath (here again we are find ourselves similar to God). By not causing others to labor or do business on God’s day, we are easing their burden and making their Sabbath a little more like ours. Plus our example may cause others to take notice and see how God is blessing us during the Sabbath hours and in response they may desire to include themselves in honoring God as we do.

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-19-08 The Fifth Commandment. Exodus 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.” (NIV) The likelihood that our parents know us better than anyone else is pretty high and when you add on their life experience, you can be sure that whatever they have to say to us will probably be pretty wise and contain at least ‘some’ added benefit for us. In life we will always have bosses and superiors to answer to. The better we have learned to get to get along with our parents (good or bad) the better we will be able to have a ‘working relationship’ with those reigning over us (good or bad). Parents come in all varieties, good, mediocre, bad and downright evil. People who have had experienced one of the last two types of parents sometimes have a difficult time understanding this commandment. In their cases one attempts to respect the position and not the person similar to a person serving in the military. In the military a soldier respects the rank and not the person. A soldier must obey the orders of a superior as long as those orders are lawful. For example, robbing a bank is an unlawful order and a soldier is “expected” not to obey it. On the other hand, a soldier could be assigned guard duty on an important family holiday and have to obey the order. We should ‘go the extra mile’ to give our parents ‘reasonable’ honor and respect (for our own good). The bottom line is that people who have learned to get along with their parents will probably be happier, wiser and end up living longer. People that work well with their parents are not quite apt to move far away from them or get upset with their superiors, quit their jobs, uproot their families and have to relocate somewhere else. Last but not least, our relationship with God early on in our life tends to be generally similar to our relationship with our parents. Children having difficulties in their relationship with their parents can similarly have difficulties with their relationship with God. This is a tragedy (or can be). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-20-08 The Sixth Commandment. Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.” (NIV) The translation of this verse in the King James Bible says, “Thou shalt not kill.” There is a difference between the words murder and kill. The command not to kill seems all encompassing where as the command not to murder is a little more specific. I like the reason God gave Noah as to why one should not shed the blood of another. We should honor the life of our neighbor because he or she was made in the image of God (Gen. 9:5, 6). When we look into the mirror, when we laugh, when we love, I wonder how many times we ponder on the great gift we have been given to have been made in our Creator’s image.

Killing or murder isn’t normally reasonless. There is generally a motive involved…anger. Jesus counseled us, "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment…” (MT 5:21, 22 NIV) Not only are we to respect and honor our neighbors life but we are to respect and honor our neighbor (friend or foe). God is love (1 JN 4:8) and if we are the children of God then let us fill our hearts with His love so that there will be no room for anger. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 08-21-09 The Seventh Commandment. Exodus 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery.” (NIV) The institution of marriage goes all the way back to creation. After God made man, He made woman. He made them a couple, a matching set, a man and a woman. GE 2:24 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” (NIV) He made them, similar to the Trinity, to be one. Our Creator has given men and women the chance to experience what it is like to be God by becoming bonded with the opposite sex. We are to honor and respect our own marriage and we are to honor and respect the marriage of our neighbor. We to have sexual relations with only one person. This intimacy is reserved for only our spouse. Adultery doesn’t start with the act of sexual relations; it starts with the desire to commit the act. Adultery starts in the heart (the mind). MT 5:27-32 "You have heard that it was said, `Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart…It has been said, `Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.” (NIV) We can commit adultery through lustful thoughts. As the previous text indicates, God frowns upon divorce. From my observation divorce is similar to adultery. Basically with divorce, a person becomes dissatisfied with their mate and prefers another one instead. Divorce is a way to legalize adultery. God wishes us to become bonded with our mate and remain that way. I concede that the issue of divorce is deeper and more complex than the simple statement above. For example, I tend to believe that God is sympatric to those who flee an abusive and dangerous marriage. But for the most part, people would rather follow their lust and selfishness other than their commitment to marriage. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-22-08 The Eighth Commandment. Exodus 20:15 “You shall not steal.” (NIV) The Christian is to respect and honor the property of their neighbors.

A person

invests their time (a portion of their life) to procure what they have. To deceitfully obtain what another person possesses is actually stealing a part of their life from them. What an evil thing to do. There are is a vast variety of ways to steal. Not doing an adequate job for one’s wages is stealing. Denying sufficient compensation for services rendered is a form of thief. Taking credit for another’s work without their permission is not right nor is wasting a persons’ time. Do we borrow knowing we can never repay? Do we mislead people and place them into a position where they go into debt or bankruptcy? We can even steal a person’s friends. Let us be deal fairly with others. In fact, shouldn’t we go the extra mile and be generous with others? Through our honest transactions may others trust us with their goods and with their lives. Christians should be known as a people who are safe to be around on earth for in Heaven I doubt that there will be such things as locks. In the process of robbing others, we in turn rob ourselves of eternal life. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-23-08 The Ninth Commandment. Exodus 20:16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” (NIV) The Christian should be truthful and honest in their words and even in their actions. A person can lie through their ‘body language’ without saying a word. We live in a world of conflict and misunderstanding. In an effort to stop conflict and restore peace, it is necessary to give an accurate account about who did or said what. If the facts are fabricated to gain some advantage, it is done at the sacrifice of someone’s peace of mind. A person who has been lied about they put in a position hazardous position. We place them in a position to be tempted to sin. They can feel hurt or bitter about the injustice, for who knows how long. They in turn may lash out with lies of their own or attempt to exact some kind of evil revenge. Our false testimony could start them down a path to their own damnation. The basic principle, this commandment is based upon, is that we are to be honest in all things. Lying generally is an attempt for someone to take unfair advantage of another and that is hurtful. Honesty is the best policy. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-24-08 The Tenth Commandment. Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (NIV) God wishes us to be satisfied with what we have and not want any of our neighbor’s possessions. This command is addressing yearning for something that we legally shouldn’t have, for instance our neighbor’s spouse. Our neighbor’s spouse is something that we can generally never possess considering on how God views divorce.

This commandment addresses not our actions but our thoughts and desires. Our actions are born from our thoughts and desires. From our desires, that are forbidden, come all sorts of destructive behavior. Desiring our neighbor’s spouse can lead to adultery. Desiring our neighbor’s automobile can lead to stealing. Desiring our neighbor’s position in their employment can lead to lying. This commandment points out that God is concerned about our heart and not just our deeds. God wishes to change within us our attitudes and our characters, if we will only let Him. If these are changed, then the correct actions will naturally follow. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09:25-08 The Fear of God. Exodus 20:18-21 “When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.” (NIV) Some people only see God as the almighty being of smoke and thunder, a God to be afraid of. Other people only see God as the gentle meek and mild Jesus, a God you can be a friend of. God is both almighty and gentle. The God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are both the same. In the Old Testament one can not only see the almighty side of God but also His gentle side. The opposite is also true of the New Testament. God ‘came across strong’ to impress the people that what He had to say was very important and the people should ‘listen up’ and ‘take notice’. In this case God succeeded in getting His point across and the people were afraid, or could I say alert. God’s goal was similar to a parent who has taken their young child on their first camping trip. The parent instills a certain amount of fear into the child so that the child will respect the campfire. The parent knows how dangerous fire is and if the child doesn’t respect the campfire, the child could end up terribly injured or dead. God wanted the Israelites to view sin as fire. Sin is something not to play with because it can injure and destroy. Let us as modern Israelites, Christians, take serious heed as to what God has to say to us. Things such as the Ten Commandments are for our own good. He isn’t trying to be a spoilsport; God is only trying to protect us. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-26-08 Undressed Stones and Nakedness. Exodus 20:22-26 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites this: `You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold. Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. And do not go up to my altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.'”

(NIV) God is touching upon the first and second commandments here, worship only Me and remember, don’t make any idols. Then God goes on to explain how to make and how not to make an altar. The altars that man was to use to sacrifice to God upon were not to be finely crafted pieces of art. The stones that the altar was to be made out of were not to be touched by any kind of stone carving tool. They were to be stones found in their natural state. I wonder if one of the reasons for this was so people would not be tempted to worship the altar instead of God. The altar was not to be placed up high with steps leading up to it. I take it that the men were dressed in robes and God didn’t wish those down below to see up anyone’s robe. Looking up under somebody’s robe would be distracting and lead a person’s thoughts away from God during the sacrifice. Even today a similar distraction can be a problem caused by women, leading out up in front of church, wearing short skirts. This nakedness in regards to being on an elevated platform ‘could’ have a secondary meaning. Men and women in leadership positions can easily let their position of power and control ‘go to their head’. Standing up so high above one peers can make on feel superior and although we may try to hide our superior attitude, we can’t. Generally our attitudes are pretty transparent and standing up high on a pedestal, our superior attitudes are clearly seen by all below us. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-27-08 Debt and Slavery. Exodus 21:2-6 "If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. "But if the servant declares, `I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,' then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.” (NIV) Apparently if a person couldn’t pay his debts, he could be sold for six years as a slave to clear those debts. This provision made it possible for a person not to be in debt for the rest of his life, no matter how much debt he accumulated. If the servant was married, the master had the responsibility to preserve the slave’s marriage. Debt and slavery could not break up a marriage. Considering that this law was set up in a “man’s world”, the rules were different for men and women. Probably this was partially due to the fact that women had very limited options when it came to supporting themselves at that time. If a manservant married a maidservant they became something like second class members of the master’s family. On the seventh year, the manservant could leave, leaving his family under his master’s care or he could petition to remain a servant and remain married. This law does look to infringe on the sanctity of marriage and was probably set up this way to protect it as much as possible under imperfect conditions in an imperfect culture. I suggest that this law (or parts of it) is provisional, yet

the principles that it is based upon is not provisional. These two principles are: a person can’t be enslaved for the rest of their life against their will because of debt and the sanctity of marriage must be protected. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-28-08 Selling Daughters. Exodus 21:7-11 "If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as menservants do. If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.” (NIV) Daughters who are sold to either pay off a debt or into marriage are either to be treated as wives or daughters. They can’t be resold to foreigners as wives or daughters. If her master can’t support her anymore and can’t sell her, he must let her go “free” (most likely back to her family to support her). If the master marries another woman (shame on him!) then he can’t neglect her nor ignore her as his original wife. Women must not have been being treated very well back then for God to give the people this regulation. To put it simply, I don’t see this as God supporting the concept of concubines (secondary wives) or plural marriages, but giving these women some protection despite these kinds of practices. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-29-08 Murder and Accidental Deaths. Exodus 21:12-14 "Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death. However, if he does not do it intentionally, but God lets it happen, he is to flee to a place I will designate. But if a man schemes and kills another man deliberately, take him away from my altar and put him to death.” (NIV) This regulation states if a person initiates an attack on another person and kills him, the attacker shall be put to death. If the person accidently kills someone or kills his attacker in self defense, then that person can flee to an designated area (a city of refuge) and be safe from revenge by friends and relatives of the dead. Also if a person schemes and kills a person in another way other than combat, that person is still to be put to death. For example if the victim was poisoned on purpose. The underlying principles of this regulation is “do not murder” and the innocent must be protected. This regulation is addressing what to do if someone does get killed. Someone who holds little regard for human life is too dangerous to be let walking around freely among the population. Yet on the other hand mercy is dealt out to those who accidently kills someone. Here we find God attempting to protect the innocent and trying to administer mercy in a simple easy to understand law. No law and punishment fits every crime perfectly. God is dealing with imperfect people in an imperfect environment. God would prefer us to be more merciful and forgiving than this. For example God Himself let both Cain and King David live after their murders.

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 09-30-08 Attacking One’s Parents. Exodus 21:15 “Anyone who attacks his father or his mother must be put to death.” (NIV) In general, a son or a daughter who tries to physically harm either one of his or her parents is dangerous. At best the person has little or no self control. Why would one wish to come to blows with a parent anyway? These are the two people who brought the child to life, cared for the child, educated him or her and protected them. Most likely a child would strike out at their ‘well meaning’ parents over discipline and boundaries set up to protect or educate the child. It is the responsibility of the parent to train their children to function well in society. This training starts by learning how to functions well in the family. In the end, if a person will attack their parents, generally they won’t think twice about harming you are me whom they don’t have any connection with. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-01-08 Kidnapping. Exodus 21:16 “Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death.” (NIV) As I see it, kidnapping is a form of depriving a person of a portion of their life that God has given them. The person responsible for the kidnapping also harms the community. The victim’s friends and loved ones are heartbroken for their loss and all the neighbors, for months or years, will be worried if another kidnapping will happen in their community. In the end, many people will live guarded and distrustful lives due to this crime getting less out of life because of it. If the kidnapper sells the victim, then a profit is made off of another person’s misery. Making sin profitable is really throwing one’s own rebellion in God’s face. Apparently if the kidnapper lets the kidnapped victim go before he or she is caught, then the punishment is not death…even though I’m sure they’d be in big trouble. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-02-08 Cursing Our Parents. Exodus 21:17 “Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.” (NIV) If the curses mentioned are swearwords and obscenities that people yell at each other when they are angry, then the text is telling us to respect our parents and not get uncontrollably angry at them. They should not be the objects of our verbal wrath and scorn. This type of verbal attitude generally leads to broken relationships or outright physical assault.

This cursing could be something like a religious curse where the subject is banned or permanently dismissed and the person doing the cursing will have nothing to do with them ever again. This is something very cruel to do to our parents. For instances, they will need our support and watchfulness as they get older…without it they will most likely die sooner. If the curses mentioned are wishing evil on somebody then this too is something seriously we must avoid. There is very little different between desiring evil to someone else and doing evil to them. Matthew 5:27 "You have heard that it was said, `Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (NIV) This is another situation where the principle seems to be, if we don’t treat our parents (the most important people in our lives) well or respect them, then we will have a tendency to mistreat others and disrespect them also or worse. We will be either a harmful influence around others or we will be physically harmful to those around us, since words can lead to actions. One last thing, in my observation, people who have serious issues with their parents also tend to have serious issues with God. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-03-08 No Harm, No Foul. Exodus 21:18-21 "If men quarrel and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist and he does not die but is confined to bed, the one who struck the blow will not be held responsible if the other gets up and walks around outside with his staff; however, he must pay the injured man for the loss of his time and see that he is completely healed. If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property.” (NIV) The overall principle I find in these texts is if in the end there was no permanent harm done then the participants are to call it even and nobody is indebted to the other. The popular saying for this principle today is, “no harm, no foul”. I find it interesting that with the two men quarreling, the example doesn’t state whether the winner or the looser of the fight was in the right or if there was an attacker and a defender. From my observation when two people come to blows, generally both contributed to the disagreement ending in physical blows. In the example of the man punishing his slave, I’d also like to point out that it doesn’t state if the punishment was justified or not. I am hesitant to support the notion of physical punishment, yet on the other hand I’m not willing to rule it out as a final ‘last chance’ option, since we live in an imperfect world and it may end up that at times our only options are all imperfect. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-04-08 We are Responsible for our Neighbor’s Physical Safety. Exodus 21:22-25 “If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth

prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.” (NIV) If there is a fight and a pregnant woman is ‘unintentionally’ struck, gives birth prematurely and the child dies but the woman is unharmed, the man who hit her can be sued by the woman’s husband. I believe that this situation is specifically pointed out as an unintentional death that one could not in any way be killed for, yet because there was a loss of life some monetary compensation was owed the family. If the woman was accidentally killed, the offender was killed also. If she was harmed in some other way then the offender suffered the same loss. We see that when it comes to serious injuries, men and women victims are to be treated the same. Actually I find this regulation pretty progressive, considering the culture…it was a man’s world. Even today in many parts of the world, women are considered second-class citizens or less. Here we find God declaring, “If you accidently kill or injure a man or a woman, you are equally responsible.” I bet that some men, at that time, hearing this were surprised, puzzled or even shocked. Basically we should act responsibly around other people. We should act cautiously so to protect those around us from harm. We are responsible for our neighbor’s physical safety. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-05-08 Lose an Eye, Lose a Tooth, Lose a Servant. Exodus 21:26, 27 "If a man hits a manservant or maidservant in the eye and destroys it, he must let the servant go free to compensate for the eye. And if he knocks out the tooth of a manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free to compensate for the tooth.” (NIV) If a master struck their servant (slave) and in the process they lost an eye or a tooth, the servant’s debt was considered paid and they were free to leave. I would also believe that the rule, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, still applied, so the master would not only loose years of service but also a body part. Personally I don’t believe that the servant is “making out like a bandit” because I place a lot of value on my eyes and teeth. Also if I were a master, I doubt you’d find me beating my servants for fear of permanently injuring them because I’d like to keep my eyes and teeth as long as possible. I think it is clear that God does not want His people to be injured because ultimately we all belong to God and He wants us all in one piece. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-06-08 The Animal’s Owner is Responsible for their Animal’s Dangerous Actions. Exodus 21:28-32 "If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull must be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible. If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the

owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull must be stoned and the owner also must be put to death. However, if payment is demanded of him, he may redeem his life by paying whatever is demanded. This law also applies if the bull gores a son or daughter. If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull must be stoned.” (NIV) An owner of a bull is not responsible the first time it kills a person (adult or child). The offending bull is killed and it may not be eaten, no benefit can be further received from the animal such as making several meals out of it. Once the bull is known as being dangerous, the owner in responsible for any more deaths and is put to death himself if safety precautions are not taken. Here is something interesting, if the family of the dead loved one wishes, they have the option of demanding a payment from the owner of the bull instead of the owner’s life. This payment can be as high as everything the owner has or more. Apparently if he can sell himself into slavery to make the payment, he can save his life. If a known dangerous bull kills a slave, on top of the bull being stoned, the bull’s owner (instead of being put to death) must pay the dead slaves master thirty shekels of sliver. I don’t know how many days’ wages that was worth but I’m sure that at ‘that time’ it was nothing to scoff at. The basic principle of this law is, we are to be responsible neighbors and guard against anything we have control of threatening our neighbor’s life. The owner of an animal can’t claim, “It was my dog’s fault that your child was attacked and killed. It’s not my fault!” Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-07-08 You Break It, You Pay for It. Exodus 21:33 "If a man uncovers a pit or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit must pay for the loss; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his.” (NIV) The basic principle looks clear enough. If I construct something physically dangerous, and my neighbor’s animal dies because of it, I pay the replacement value of the animal. I find this interesting; the person responsible for the death of the animal gets the dead animal. This is maybe a good thing if the animal is eatable. The person gets something for his money. On the other hand, if the animal is uneatable, the person is responsible for disposing of it…which is a big pain. In the case of the pit, the owner of the pit could opt to just cover up the pit with the dead animal in it. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-08-08 Theft and Restitution. EX 22:1-4 "If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep. If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; but if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of bloodshed. A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft. "If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession--whether ox or

donkey or sheep--he must pay back double.” (NIV) In the case of the thief of animals, the guilt party must pay back four to five times the value of what he or she had stolen, if the thief hasn’t the animal anymore, depending upon the animal. If the thief still has the animal, the fine is only double. Of course, if the thief can’t make restitution, he is sold into slavery to pay for the loss. The penalty for this kind of the thief probably giving back more than you have stolen has got to what was stolen was a quality animal, the victim for his loss. One quality animal equals four to

covers two things. First of all, be a deterrent. Secondly, if is assured to get the value back five average animals.

In the process of apprehending the thief, if the victim in the struggle kills the thief, it is okay as long as it was dark. In the dark it is difficult to preserve life when you are defending your property and yourself in the dark. In the light where you can see what you are doing, be careful not to kill the thief. Apparently if a thief is killed in the dark, the survivor doesn’t have to flee to a city of refuge because the thief’s relatives can’t legally take their revenge out of the defender. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-09-08 Shotgun Weddings, if You Play, You Pay. Exodus 22:16, 17 "If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife. If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.” (NIV) This seems pretty simple, having consensual sex equals getting married, and that is of course if the father condones the match. Marriage bells or not, either way the man pays a dowry. As a father, I like this law. If this law was in effect today dating would be a little different. Women would actually get the men that they bed (if that was their intent), men wouldn’t have any commitment excuses and fathers get the last word (under the influence of their wives). If this law was in effect, who would you actually be married to today? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-10-08 Sorcery Condemned. Exodus 22:18 "Do not allow a sorceress to live.” (NIV) The King James’ Version uses the word “witch”. Apparently at this time women were more commonly know to deal in the occult than men. Maybe they were attracted to it by the power and the notoriety, since women seem to be second class citizens. It is also possible that because of the past Egyptian law killing all of the boy babies, there were also many more Israelite women at that time. I see this female term used generically. Even today ‘in my observation’ witches seem to be more public than warlocks. Dealing with the supernatural, spells and other gods were condemned and the people

who practiced these things were condemned to death in this new Israelite nation. This was a nation actively built by God and God had plans for it, therefore this kind of activity and influence was to be snuffed out within its boundaries. If a person really wanted to be a sorceress or a sorcerer they had better move to another country and set up shop there. I don’t believe that God wishes for today’s Christian to hunt down everybody practicing sorcery within their community and kill them. I do believe that sorcery shouldn’t be tolerated within the Christian home (I’m only suggesting eviction here and nothing else). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-11-08 Sex with Animals. Exodus 22:19 "Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal must be put to death.” (NIV) God made mankind in two separate but similar groups, male and female. He intended them to have sexual relations with each other. Having sex with an animal would seem to be defying God on this point. If God is not happy with same sex sexual relations (Romans 1: 26, 27) then it is understandable that He wouldn’t be pleased with humans having sex with animals. Originally in Eden God charged mankind with the responsibility to care for and watch over their animal friends (Genesis 1 26-28) similarly as God cares and watches over us. Could one view having sex with animals a form of abuse, sexual abuse against animals? We are made in the image of God. We are above the animals, mentally and spiritually. They were not blessed with being made in the Creator’s image. It would seem that bonding with animals would be demeaning God’s gift and bringing mankind down to the level of the animals. As I see it, Satan hates mankind because he reflects God image. Satan hates God. I see Satan’s attempts to pervert mankind as an act to erase God’s image from our race. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-12-08 Sacrificing to other gods. Exodus 22:20 "Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the LORD must be destroyed.” (NIV) Considering the first two commandments of the Ten Commandments, not to have any other gods and not to worship idols, this law and punishment should come as no surprise. If it is only through a relationship with God the Creator that saves us then worshiping and sacrificing to another god will not do anything to save us and we will be lost. Having the influence of those who are sacrificing to other gods living within the Israelite community would be a dangerous influence. It would be an influence that would draw members of the community away from God and away from eternal salvation, therefore these people and their influence must be destroyed. If someone wished to sacrifice to any other god, they’d better do it someplace else than in the nation that God Himself was building for a special purpose.

I do not believe that God is advocating that Christians today hunt down individuals who worship and sacrifice to other gods and kill them. I do believe that these individuals and their influences should not be permitted to be in a Christian’s home. The Christian’s home is a place reserved for Godly influence. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-13-08 Foreigners are to be treated well. Exodus 22:21 "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.” (NIV) As slaves the Israelites were mistreated and enslaved in Egypt which was not their home country. It was only by the direct intervention of God that they were set free. Needless to say, they didn’t like their treatment by that foreign country. In this text God is telling foreigners then don’t treat mistreated doesn’t give you Don’t become as mistreating

Israel, “If you didn’t like being treated badly by them badly yourselves. Just because you were the right to mistreat others who are alien to you. as the country I saved you from!”

The world would be a better safer place if we treated people from other countries better. We may not like their politics, we may be competitors economically, we may even be at war with them, but we should treat all citizens from other countries with respect. I don’t always agree with my country’s foreign policies and I shouldn’t expect every foreigner to agree with theirs and punish them for it. My adult neighbor and I may have a bitter disagreement, but does that give me the right to mistreat their children? No! A person of a different race than I am may call me foul names, but that does not give me the right to do the same to the next person I run across that is of the same race as the one who behaved badly. Treating a foreigner was respect doesn’t mean that I am to be stupid. For example, I get along with all of my neighbors and most of my local community, yet I still lock my doors at night, I don’t leave private papers out for all to see and I don’t leave my car unlocked with the keys in the ignition. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-14-08 Widows, Orphans and God’s Wrath. Exodus 22:22-24 "Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.” (NIV) Generally it isn’t a widow’s or orphan’s fault that they find themselves in the situation that they ended up in, living without much means of support. They are innocent, they didn’t cause their condition. The person or persons who supported them died. These two groups of people are pretty defenseless and maybe also naive. Why would a person take advantage of a widow or an orphan? My first answer is greed. These two groups are generally easier to take advantage of than other groups in a society. Greedy people will normally take advantage of any easy

target. My second answer is anger. Some people who are angry at an individual will take out their aggression and revenge on the family members of the person that they are angry at. If the person who they are angry at has died, their wrath could fall upon the surviving members of the family…a widow or an orphan. Why does God threaten to kill? He is forced to be harsh because the innocent need to be protected. The abuse must be stopped even if it means creating other widows and orphans. God would rather not intervene in such a harsh way but evil people give Him no other option. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-16-08 Courteous Christians. Exodus 22:28 "Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.” (NIV) There are variations in the translation of “Do not blaspheme God”. The NIV shares an alternate translation, “Do not revile the judges.” The KJV translates it “Thou shalt no revile the gods”. Apparently all of these could apply. From my understanding, “judges” is the ‘literal’ translation. This makes sense because this law is also including not verbally demeaning the ruler. Today in the U. S. we not only complain about the President but also the Senate, the Congress and the country’s judges. We tend to bulk them all together when we complain that the ‘country’s going to pot’. People of one religious belief (or no religious belief) can be tempted other people’s belief in contempt. For example Atheists who swear and language many times misuse the name of God, Jesus and Holy Spirit. It that this law is asking the Israelites not only to respect their ruler be respectful of other nation’s beliefs and not to “revile the gods”.

to hold use foul could be but also to

The word “judges” is applied many times to God. The use of this word for God makes sense also. God is our judge and He is a plural being (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). In this case the Israelites are asked to respect God, their ultimate ruler and they were also asked to respect their civic ruler. At the time this law was given, their civic ruler would have been Moses. Although I personally prefer the latter explanation I don’t feel threatened if anyone prefers one of the other two translations due to the fact that there is a lot of other references in the rest of the Bible addressing one’s respect to God. Over all, God is asking us to lead respectful lives. as being genuinely courteous.

Christians should be known

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-17-08 Offering Firstborn Sons to God. Exodus 22:29, 30 "Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. You must give me the firstborn of your sons. Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.” (NIV) Overall offerings were given to God for sacrifice (symbolically looking forward to

mankind’s redemption) and to support the Temple (similar to offerings we give today). The interesting part of the text here deals with giving one’s firstborn son to God. People were not sacrificed to God because that human sacrifice was reserved for Jesus, God the Son. A sinner can’t redeem himself or herself, only God has that power and authority as our Creator. If firstborn sons weren’t sacrificed then they were meant to support the temple (similarly today’s churches need many people to keep it running smoothly). The firstborn sons were dedicated to God to serve in the Temple. Since we are technically all God’s children, this was to be looked upon as a privilege. Are we not all members of the family of God anyway? Don’t all family members do their part to support the family? As I understand it, since there were more firstborn sons then there were positions to be filled in Temple service, those not needed were to be redeemed by an offering of money. I find the basic principle for this law still being valid. After Jesus, God the Son, redeemed mankind, there was no more use for the Temple and its symbolic services, so Christian churches developed to take its place. These institutions decided to God still need our offerings to function. Similar to the Temple, churches need our offerings in money and our offerings in personal service. Personally I can’t help but believe that the church and the family would be far better off if we continued to dedicate our firstborn sons for service to God. What a wonderful influence they would be on our communities and on our families, if every eldest son was trained to serve as ministers, evangelists, elders, deacons, teachers, etc. Hopefully all our children are being actively trained to one day take our place in church. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-18-08 Roadkill. Exodus 22:31 "You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs.” (NIV) The Israelites were “holy”. They were dedicated to the service of God. They were not wild animals. If they came across an animal that was already dead, killed and most likely partially eaten by another animal, they were not to eat any of the found meat. Although we are technically animals, God has made us more than animals so we are not to stoop down to this animal behavior. Considering the fact that the Israelites were forbidden to neither eat any meat with the blood still in it nor eat meat from any strangled animal that was another reason to bypass a dead animal. There is no guarantee that all the blood was drained from the animal (as I recall as least some large predatory cats kill their prey by grabbing them by the throat and strangling them). I take it that this was for health reasons. I had a relative several years ago try to butcher a deer that he and a friend had killed hunting. Apparently they botched the job and the meat wasn’t fit to eat. For the modern Christian the basic principle of this law would apply to “roadkill”, dead animals found along side of the road that were hit by traffic. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-19-08

Lying and Lying for Someone Else. Exodus 23:1 “Do not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness.” (NIV) Basically this is saying, “Don’t lie and don’t lie for someone else.” Two of the reasons we lie is to appear better than we are and to get ahead as another’s expense. Lying is damaging because people make decisions on the information that is available to them. Spreading false information leads people to make poor decisions…decisions that they wouldn’t normally make. Poor decisions lead to loss, loss of friends, loss of social and professional position and loss of goods and money. Basically lying is stealing in the long run. A lot of times in business (at our jobs) we are asked to lie, either by our bosses or by our coworkers. Lying for someone else doesn’t somehow make us any less guilty. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-20-08 Public Opinion and Our Judgment. Exodus 23:2, 3 "Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.” (NIV) Most people have a desire to be accepted by those around them. The problem is that the crowd isn’t always right. I believe that history proves that the crowd is very seldom correct. At times I feel uneasy when I am in a large crowd of people because crowds are unpredictable. There is an effect called “crowd mentality” where people tend to do whatever the crowd is doing or they tend to believe that since they are in a crowd they can get away with anything…vandalism, theft or even murder. Crowds can be dangerous. We are not to side with “public opinion” when we don’t know the facts. Defense attorneys sometimes go to great lengths before a trial starts to protect their client against public opinion…trying to keep people off the jury who may have already decided if their client is guilty before the trial has begun…before the law and the facts are presented. It is upsetting to me when a case is ready to go to trial and the media and the public has already tried the person. People ask me if I believe the person is innocent or guilty and I tell them that I don’t know because I haven’t been in the courtroom and I haven’t seen all the evidence. Again, the crowd (public opinion) isn’t always right. Many times we have a tendency to favor the “underdog”. We shouldn’t favor a person just because of their condition…in this text’s case…their economic condition. In a lawsuit, just because a person is poor that doesn’t mean that we should favor their position…whether they are the accuser or the defendant. Public opinion tends to side with the ‘little guy’ or the poor guy when it comes to him or her being in legal combat with some rich family or some large corporation. Let us deal fairly with those around us. people and things that don’t matter. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-21-08 Enemies and Helpfulness.

May our judgment not be influenced by

Exodus 23:4, 5 "If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it.” (NIV) As I understand it, ignoring our enemies and avoiding their presence doesn’t always help your relationship with them. Sometimes the message you are sending them by ignoring them is that you don’t recognize them as a person, that you don’t acknowledge their value to the community, that you don’t believe that they have the right to exist and that they are beneath you (a second class citizen). Isolating your enemies may only reinforce their negative attitude toward you and make them more dangerous. Be kind, considerate and helpful to people that you are in conflict with. Be sure to let your help be that which benefits them and not yourself! Spouses, children, bosses, coworkers and neighbors become our most common enemies. From my own personal experience you’d be surprised how far considerate helpfulness will go to smooth things over with someone who you consider an enemy. If your enemy’s pet wonders off or if his or her truck gets a flat tire and you are able to help (and they are willing to let you) then do so. Consider it an opportunity to demonstrate God’s love. God loves your enemy as well as you, so let’s treat our enemies as God treats us. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-22-08 The Death Sentence and False Charges. Exodus 23:6, 7 "Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.” (NIV) Sometime we view the wealthy as hardworking successful people who deserve the power and life that they have made for themselves. Others of us see them as greedy untrustworthy cheats. The same is true for the poor. Sometimes we view the poor as honest people who have just had bad breaks in life and are to no fault of their own ‘down on their luck’. Other of us sees the poor as lazy ‘good for nothings’ that are leeches on the public. Whatever our predisposed view, both the wealthy and the poor are to be judged without bias. A ‘false charge’ is deceitful. It is a lie and dishonest. It is evil and Godly people are to have nothing to do with it. We don’t like being falsely accused and we shouldn’t put up with it when we know others are (whether we believe they deserve it or not). We are not knowingly to condone an innocent or honest person to be put to death (that situation was only reserved for Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, our Redeemer). When it comes to putting someone to death for a crime they supposedly committed, we should be seriously dedicated to making sure we are not making a mistake in our judgment. It distresses me when I hear people talk so casually about sentencing a person to death. They accumulate a handful of information from various public sources (some questionable) and then offhandedly say, “Oh yes, they did it. They deserve to be killed for that!” It scares me when these people become jurors. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-23-08 Bribes, Blindness and Twisted Words.

Exodus 23:8 "Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.” (NIV) A bribe is money or goods a person gives another to entice them to do something that is generally illegal or dishonest. A person can be paid to “look the other way” to ignore the dishonesty of others. In this way a bribe blinds. A bribe can be paid for a person to lie. In this way a bribe is paid out to twist words. Basically bribes are paid to induce a person not to do what is right or fair. How much is our honesty and trust others have in us worth? Christian is it priceless.

Hopefully for the

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-24-08 Oppression and the Cycle of Bad Behavior. Exodus 23:9 "Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.” (NIV) It is amazing that people perpetuate the environment of a “dog eats dog” world. You would think that if someone was abused by another and didn’t like it that they would make sure that they didn’t to the same to someone else. That is not the case. We have a bad day at work and feel miserable, so what do we do, we come home and make everyone at home miserable. We need to break the cycle of bad behavior and oppression. Let us treat people better than they treat us. If we did that as citizens and as a nation the world would be a better place in which to live. This text echoes the principle found in Luke 6:31 where Jesus said, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (NIV) Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-25-08 Welfare for the Poor and for the Wildlife. Exodus 23:10, 11 "For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.” (NIV) I take it that since this practice was meant to meet the needs of the poor, the farmers rotated which years would be their seventh year so that somewhere there was always a field, a vineyard or a grove at rest where the poor could go to get food. If planned correctly, one out of every seven fields in any one year would be open for the poor. I find it interesting that wild animals were included. The farmers were constrained from running the wild animals off their unused fields. In Eden mankind was to watch over the animals, but since sin entered the world I am sure that generally mankind gave very little thought to the welfare of the wildlife around them. This practice gave the wild animals a better chance for survival. Today we realize the importance of a balance in the wildlife population for the environment’s sake. This practice of letting the wild animals feed would help keep the local environment stable.

This seems like the land was given a Sabbath once every seven years. I’m neither a farmer nor a gardener but as I understand it, farm land can be over worked and this was a simple way to give the land a chance to recuperate. Of course today we have modern methods of keeping the soil in decent shape. For instances crop rotation is one simple method that can be employed. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-26-08 God’s Day of Rest. Exodus 23:12 "Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed.” (NIV) This text is just reminding the people that they need one day off a week so that they may recuperate from the other six days of work. Of course the seventh day of the week is the day that they are supposed to cease from work. It was a day that God made holy at the end of creation (GE 2:2, 3). It was on the seventh day that the people were not to go out and gather Manna because there wouldn’t be any to be found (EX 16:26). It was a special day, this day was a day “of God” or a day “to God” (EX 20:10). I find it fitting that this day of physical rest and recuperation was to be on the ‘day of God’. Many of us have very busy weeks where we get wrapped up in our needs and our goals, but on our day of rest we have a chance to reflect on the fact that we are not the center the universe but God our Creator is. As we find in the Ten Commandments (EX 20), a person was to let no one under their control or under their influence labor on God’s holy day. May we, living in this present age who rest on Saturday, be careful to treat others who do not observe God’s day as if they did. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-27-08 False gods and Household rules. Exodus 23:13 "Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.” (NIV) Everything I was told to do or not do as a child was for my own good whether it was when I went to bed or what I had to eat or even that I had to do my homework for school. The household rules my family set up for me were put there not because they desired control but because they loved me and wanted me to be ‘safe and sound’. God wishes the same for us. He wants us to do everything He has told us so we will become better people and be safe to be around. The King James Version says, “…make no mention of the name of other gods…” The more one talks about false gods or for that matter Satan, the more that they are on our minds and the minds of those that hear us. The mention of various gods’ names can be influential. For example, as an artist I come across information about historical pictures that have been painted years ago depicting various gods of other cultures. When the names of these gods are mentioned there is a certain amount of background information that immediately comes to mind and some of it is very immoral. This information has a certain amount of influence attached to it. Companies know that the more their name is out there in the public (in print, on

television, on radio) the more influence they have on us to buy their product. Advertising works. Let’s not advertise God’s competition. If the invoking mentioned is similar to asking for the assistance of a false God (like an offhand prayer) then I can see that as a ‘slap in to face’ to God. For example let’s say I’m out boating at sea and my boat springs a leak. God would not wish me to say under my breath, “Neptune, save us all!” as I was bailing water or any similar sailor’s saying if there are any. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-28-08 Worship and Pay Attention. Exodus 23:20-26 "See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces. Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.” (NIV) Life would have been so much easier if the Israelites would have ‘paid attention’ to God and ‘worshiped’ Him but we know from the Bible stories that they couldn’t do it. There was so much suffering the nation of Israel would not have had to go through if they would have stayed under the shelter of God’s loving care. I’m not one who believes that being a Christian gives one a pass to avoid all the hardships of life. Bad things will happen to Christians purely because of the fact that we live in a ‘messed up’ world polluted with sin (rebellion against God). Yet on the other hand I can’t help but believe that the Christian’s life would be much easier if we would be serious about our commitment to God. When will we really understand that we are ‘all’ broken people. Children ill equipped to survive in a heartless world, who so easily wonders away from the shelter of home. I fear we are all mentally ill, even the best of us. We don’t do that which we should and when we do, we do it halfheartedly. We are like children who insist on playing in the street dodging the traffic instead of safely playing in our backyards where God has provided so many good things to play with. God forgive us! Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-29-08 God is willing to fight our battles. Exodus 23:20-30 "See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you...I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you

encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.” (NIV) This was very wise of God. He said that if Israel paid attention, listened and did not rebel that ‘He’ would drive the other nations out of the land slowly so that the other nations would maintain the land until it was time for Israel to take possession of it. It looks like that if Israel did what they were suppose to do then they would not have had to go to war to get rid of their neighbors. Has our not listening to God caused our lives to be tougher then they really had to have been? If we have not been so rebellious with God would we have had success in our lives where we now find failure? Although life will not be without its challenges for today’s Christian, I believe that if we closely walk in harmony with God that our lives will be a lot easier and successful in many ways. God is willing to fight our battles if we will only let Him. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-30-08 Ungodly Influences will cause You to Sin. Exodus 23:27-33 "I will send my terror ahead of you…I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way….I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River. I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out before you. Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you." (NIV) God warned the Israelites not to get too intimate with their ungodly neighbors because their influence would cause them to sin (rebel against God). They weren’t to make covenants (contracts, treaties, pledges) with theses ungodly nations or with their false religions. The ungodly citizens of these other nations weren’t even supposed to live within the borders of God’s nation. The basic principle here is, don’t get too friendly with ungodly influences because “they will cause you to sin”. The question today is, “How can Christians today apply this principle to their own lives?” As I see it the Christian home is a small Godly nation unto itself. Within the borders of our homes (whether we are single or married) we should have enough control to make use of this principle. Let us be careful who we work for and who works for us. Let us wisely choose who we will let live with us (roommates, friends or who we choose to marry). For example, we may believe that we are strong enough to resist the bad influences of a non-Christian living in our homes and ‘maybe’ we are truly strong enough, but we can’t guarantee that our children, family and friends will not be badly influenced by them. Let’s not place our loved one’s salvation at risk or our own. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 10-31-08 The Desire to Obey.

Exodus 24:3-7 “When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the LORD has said we will do." Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the LORD. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey." (NIV) The Israelites had good intentions when they promised to obey God. I am sure that the population, for the most part, had visualized their neighbors, their families and their individual selves as being Godly people. They were probably much like many overweight people who have visions of themselves being slim when they start on their next new diet program. Of course we know that these Israelites and the generations that followed after them failed to obey. We shouldn’t be too hard on the Israelites because we also make promises to God and fail to keep them. We can be assured that as God was patient with them He will also be patient with us. God understands our weaknesses and appreciates our desire to obey even thought we fail. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-01-08 The Book and the Blood of the Covenant. Exodus 24:4-8 “Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said…Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey." Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words." (NIV) The Book of the Covenant was made up of what was recorded in chapters 21 to 23 of the Book of Exodus. Basically the Book of the Covenant contained how God expected His people to treat Himself and who God expected His people to treat mankind as a whole (MT 22:34-40). This covenant is an extension of the covenant that God had made to Abraham (EX 2:23-25). This covenant was not the first covenant God had made with mankind. The first covenant God made with mankind was with Noah and his offspring promising that there would never be a worldwide flood again (GE 9:8-17). Personally I believe all of God’s covenants that He has made with mankind stems from Genesis 3: 15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (NIV) God wishes to watch over and save the offspring of Adam of which we are all part. The blood mentioned here represents the ‘sacrifice of Jesus’, God the Son. All the sacrifices to God and the blood it produced looked forward to that event. If we are part of the family of God (the LORD being our God and we being His people) then God can watch over us and ultimately save us from sin (rebellion against God). It is by the death of God the Son that God has the entitlement to take responsibility for those of His family and save them. It is by the blood of the covenant. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-02-08

They saw God and Lived. Exodus 24:9-12 “Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction." (NIV) Apparently Moses and the seventy-three others with him saw God from a distance. They were surprised that they saw God and still lived after the experience. I can understand their amazement because earlier when God spoke to the people and verbally gave them the Ten Commands; the people were so awed by just the voice of God alone that they thought that it would kill them. I take it that the notation that they could eat and drink after or during the experience was an indication that they were still alive and living. This was not the first time that someone saw God and was surprised that they survived the experience. Jacob saw God. Genesis 32:30 “So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared." (NIV) Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-03-08 Joshua and Moses went up on the Mountain of God. Exodus 24:13-18 “Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. He said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them." When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.” (NIV) Moses left his brother Aaron and the rest of the leadership to wait for him and Moses took Joshua with him up the mountain. We tend to forget that Joshua went along. Apparently when God called Moses into the cloud to converse with him Joshua was left alone outside the cloud. I wonder what Joshua felt and thought being up on that mountain so close to God for forty days? Was Joshua delegated to be the camp cook? Did Moses take breaks from speaking with God and exit the cloud to eat, rest and visit with Joshua or did Moses go into the cloud and come out forth days later? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-04-08 God Desires to Dwell with Us. Exodus 25:1-9 “The LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give. These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to

be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.” (NIV) For those of you wondering, a “ephod” is a piece of clothing. linen waistcoat.

It is a sleeveless

The Sanctuary of God was made from offerings. Since an offering was expected from each man, each family when they looked upon the finished structure felt a sense of connection because they all had contributed. Although each man was expected to give, the amount given was left up to the individual. As each member contributes their part to keep their family functioning, they find a sense of belonging and being a part of the family. The same is similar with a church family. Our offerings of money, goods and service give us a sense of belonging and being a part of our local church family and also to God. It is amazing that the people had so many valuables to give. Even though the Israelite slaves “plundered” Egypt when they left (EX 12:33-36, NIV), personally I would have probably dropped most of the useless added weight along the way as I traveled and would have kept only the items of necessity such as camping equipment. Really…out in the desert I’d rather have a canteen then it’s weight in gold to carry around. Although the sanctuary was a place where the people would worship God, I find it interesting that the primary reason for its construction was that God wished to dwell with His people. I believe that my wife is a bit like God. Our daughters live it two different states. If we could afford it my wife would have us buy a home in each state so we could live close to them. As Christians I don’t think we fully understand just how much God is emotionally attached to us fallen rebellious beings. Of all His created creatures we have suffered so much. He so much wishes to be close to us but there is so much that separates us. It is not surprising that when this sin mess is all over God will truly dwell with us. REV 21:1-4 “…I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God…And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (NIV) Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-05-08 Jesus Our Priest and Our Advocate. Exodus 28:15-30 “Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions…There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes…Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the LORD. Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron's heart whenever he enters the presence of the LORD. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the LORD.” (NIV) This item of the Priest’s clothing in interesting. How the Urim and the Thummim indicated God’s answers is not recorded in the Bible, I’ve always kind of imagined they glowed or something similar. I take it that Urim and the Thummim stood for

“yes” and “no”. The fact that the twelve tribes were represented on the breastpiece of making decisions is meaningful. Whether the Priest himself were to ask God a question or a leader were to ask the Priest to ask God a question, the engraved stones were there to remind the person with the question whose welfare the question was to be for. Without a doubt the Israelite Priest represented Jesus (HEB 4:14-16). Jesus represents us as He takes He place among the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). In the mighty decisions and actions of God, we are not overlooked nor forgotten. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-06-08 Signs, Priests and You. Exodus 28:36-38 "Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD. Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban. It will be on Aaron's forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron's forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the LORD.” (NIV) Here again is another obvious example (“he will bear the guilt”) that the priest was a type of Christ ‘Jesus the Lamb of God’. It was Jesus who bore our sins with His sacrifice, when he took responsibility for us and our rebellion (JN 1:29-31). The priest’s turban, a headdress made of lengths of linen, had a sign that read “Holy to the Lord”. It was to remind those who dealt with him and himself that he was set aside for a special purpose, a Godly purpose. All Christians today, men and women, are considered priests (Rev 1:6). If I bought a cap and had “Holy to the Lord” stitched on it in big gold letters, would I act differently when I wore it? Would I be more cautious of what I said, how I treated others and where I went? Does a Christian really need a sign on their head? Can those around us know by the lives that we live that we are ‘holy to the Lord’? If all your friends and neighbors got together to make a sign that represented your life and character, what would it read? Would you be proud to wear it in public? Would the message they placed on your sign be the message you would really wish to be there? Would it read, “Holy to the Lord” or something like it? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-07-08 Sacrifice and Relationship. Exodus 29:38-45 "This is what you are to offer on the altar regularly each day: two lambs a year old. Offer one in the morning and the other at twilight…For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD. There I will meet you and speak to you; there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory.” (NIV)

God said sacrifice here and I will meet you here. A connection is made between the sacrifices and God’s meeting and speaking with Moses and the Israelites. I believe the point can be made that the promise of Jesus’ sacrifice made it possible God to watch over us and have a relationship with us. The regular lamb sacrifices symbolized it. Many times I have taken possession of an item with a signed contract to pay for it later. From Adam and Eve through to the crucifixion of Jesus (God the Son), God claimed the right to intervene in the affairs of mankind, a race that cut it ties with God. Basically God was saying, “I have the right to intervene in their lives because in the future I will take responsibility for them!” For today’s Christian God claims the right to intervene in our lives because He has taken already taken responsibility for mankind and their rebellious tendencies. Through a guilty man, Adam, mankind’s lifeline to his Creator was severed. Through an innocent man, Jesus, mankind’s’ lifeline was reconnected. Satan claimed in Eden that God was a liar and selfish. Through the years God has proven that He is not a liar (He keeps His promises) and that He holds nothing back (the death of God the Son that resulted in God experiencing separation of the Trinity). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-08-08 Atonement Offering and the Census. Exodus 30:11-16 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the LORD a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the LORD. All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the LORD. The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives. Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD, making atonement for your lives." (NIV) Each time a census was to be taken of the Israelite nation, it was to take on spiritual overtones. Even though the census is to find out how many people are living in the nation, it was also to remind the people that they were not just citizens of a nation but children of God. An offering was required of each adult at the time they were counted. This offering was not to go to the government but was given to God for the temple expenses. The symbology seems pretty clear. A price had to be paid to remain a member of God’s people. Similar to the sacrifices, this census offering was pointing to the fact that God ultimately was to “pay the price” for their sins, which eventually happened with the crucifixion of God the Son, Jesus. Whether one was rich or poor, the price God had to pay for them was the same…the experience of crucifixion, death and separation. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-09-08 Sabbath: Part One. Exodus 31:12-17 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, `You must

observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy…” (NIV) For forty days and nights God personally describes to Moses the plans for the Tabernacle, a portable Temple for God. An abbreviated form of this conversation if found in chapters 25-30. God finishes explaining His plans for the Tabernacle by going over Sabbath observance. It would seem logical that one can make the connection between Tabernacle worship and Sabbath observance because of this. It is possible that God is using the plural form of Sabbath here not only because it is a weekly observance but also because there were Sabbath festivals or Sabbath like festivals (for example EX 12:12-20) in which no work was to be done I find it interesting that the day (the seventh day, Saturday) that God made holy way back during the creation of the world is also the day on which we are to remember that God is the one who also makes us holy. Being adopted into the family of God, today’s Christians are also holy (set apart). We are “set apart” from the rest of the world. We are reformed sinners. We are “set apart” to participate with God in the spreading of the Gospel. We are “set apart” to be saved. We are “set apart” as children of God. God wants us to remember “…that I am the LORD, who makes you holy.” Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-10-08 Sabbath: Part Two. Exodus 31:12-17 "…`Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death…” (NIV) Not only is the Sabbath (the seventh day of the week) holy to God but it is to be holy to us. As God set aside the seventh day during the creation week so are we to set aside Saturday each week and not labor. Many of us may not like our jobs or the work we have to accomplish in our homes or on our land but we do enjoy the benefits of our work. We can exchange our pay for items that benefit us like food, cars, homes, hobbies, vacations, etc. We work around the house to improve our living environment so we can enjoy our lives more. Basically work is for us. Although work is a necessary it can also be “me” oriented. God wishes us to take a break from labor and laboring for personal gain. Also God is kind of saying, “You work to support yourselves six days a week so take a break and let Me look after you one day a week (Saturday).” Although death may seem a pretty severe punishment for breaking the Sabbath, at least one could leave and move somewhere else if they didn’t like it. Here was no law against leaving Israel that I know of. A person who deliberately defied this Sabbath regulation was openly defying God and openly influencing others to do the same. The opposite is also true. If we are with a group of people who are going to do something bad, we can leave and not be involved and not let ourselves get sucked into becoming a part of their bad action. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-11-08 Sabbath: Part Three.

Exodus 31:12-17 “…The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever…” (NIV) God said that Sabbath observance was to be “a lasting covenant”. This could mean one of two things. First, that Sabbath observance was the corner stone of the Covenant that God made with the Israelites. Although the Sabbath was ‘included’ with the laws of the Covenant, observing it was a sign that the observer was covered under the Covenant. Second, that Sabbath observance was another covenant in and of itself. Although it was included in the Covenant laws, it also stood alone as a separate covenant. In this perspective, both covenants were in play at the same time, over lapping each other. Personally I prefer the second perspective since since the creation of the world. Either way one be especially important to God. For the today’s into the family of God by God, we must also view day of the week (Saturday) seriously.

the Sabbath had been in existence looks at it, the Sabbath seems to Christian, who has been adopted Sabbath observance on the seventh

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-12-08 Spiritual Dependence upon Mankind instead of God. Exodus 32:1-6 “When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him…” (NIV) It is so easy to fall back into one’s old ways when a crisis hits us. It had been only around forty days since the Israelites had agreed to a Godly way of life (EX 24:3-8), yet when Moses was absent too long and they didn’t know if he was okay or not, they went elsewhere for leadership and this involved spiritual leadership. They placed their reliance and security upon Moses and not God and when Moses was gone too long they started to slip back into their old way of life. Christians do the same thing today. We depend too much on other people for our spiritual guidance and security. Other people shouldn’t be our spiritual anchors. People ’will’ fail us. Even a saintly parent or grandparent will leave us when they die. Sure it is easier to let someone else think for us then to think for ourselves, but at what cost? Ministers, spouses, family members and friends are no substitute for God, in fact they can’t hold up under the pressure we that place upon them. They are not the Almighty. No man or woman can guarantee us such things as happiness, security or fulfillment only God can. The sad thing is that when these people let us down we can easily become spiritually adrift. Let our anchor in life be God. Myspace Bible Journal Blob: 11-13-08 The Golden Calf. Exodus 32:1-6 “When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know

what has happened to him." Aaron answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me." So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD." So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry. (NIV) An alternate translation for the word “gods” is “god”. It is possible that Aaron and the Israelites thought that God looked like a calf, so they ‘could’ have been making an idol in what they believed was God’s image. Whether they were worshipping other gods or breaking the second commandment and making an idol which symbolized God, they were still deciding to follow ‘their own ways’ and not God’s. Making the idol was a group project. The people contributed the gold and Aaron cast the idol. Generally they were all to blame. The people couldn’t defend their actions and claim that Aaron alone was at fault. If you take the position that they were worshiping false gods, which is most likely the case, then what a slap in the face to God when Aaron claimed that the gods represented by the calf were the ones responsible for liberating them from Egypt and slavery. Myspace Bible Journal Blob: 11-14-08 The Influence of just one Person. Exodus 32:1-6 “When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him." Aaron answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me." So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD." So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry. (NIV) Aaron could have stopped the people from making the wrong choice. He could have halted them from sliding back into idolatry. There are three possible answers of why Aaron may have went along with their desires in making an idol. 1. Aaron could have agreed with them. He may have missed the good old days of idolatry and revelry. 2. He may have desired the power that comes with leadership. If he agreed with them and gave them what they desired than they would continue to turn to him for advice and leadership. He could have ended up taking Moses’ place. 3. Aaron was afraid. He could have been afraid to say no to the majority. He could have been afraid of what they might have thought by not going along with the crowd. He may have been afraid for his life. If he didn’t go along with the people they may have decided to kill him and find someone else more controllable.

Can we influence our family, friends and neighbors from making wrong decisions? If we can and we are not, why? Could our motivation be one of the three possibilities listed above? May we be so secure in our relationship with God that we can be a good influence to those around us. God can help us not miss the good old days of sin. He can aid us in overcoming our desire for power. If God is with us, what do we have to be afraid of? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-15-08 God hasn’t abandoned us. Exodus 32:7-14 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, `These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.' "I have seen these people," the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people…” (NIV) The Israelites didn’t know what had happened to Moses that had caused him to be away so long (EX 32:1). Most likely they figured he was dead (they may have thought that God killed him)…what they didn’t realize was that men can come and go but God still remains. God was present even though they were unaware of His presence and couldn’t see Him (or thought that He was still up on the mountain). Even today we rebel against God forgetting that He is present…forgetting that He is right there that He hasn’t left our side. Whatever we do, no matter how secret we believe we are doing it, God sees it. It is like “cheating” on one’s spouse and not realizing that they are present in the room with the other person and us. Although this story casts a poor light on the Israelites (and sinners in general), it does have a positive aspect. God ‘is’ always with us. He hasn’t left, got busy doing something else and abandoned us. So let us live today with the realization and reassurance that God is truly present with us. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-16-08 Our Choices and God’s Plans. Exodus 32:7-14 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "…They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf…"I have seen these people," the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiffnecked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation." But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. "O LORD," he said, "…Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people…" Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.” (NIV) I concede that it is possible that God was not serious about destroying the Israelites and was just testing Moses. God may have wanted Moses to experience feelings of mercy before Moses felt the full force of his own anger (verses19-22). Personally I think that God was very willing to start over in His nation building and rise up another nation through the offspring of Moses. Of course this would have meant the destruction of Moses’ brother and sister. This fact could have weighed heavy in Moses’ request for God’s mercy and Moses choosing a more

difficult path for his life. I would like to point out that there are several ways that God could have destroyed the Israelites. He didn’t have to destroy them with fire coming down out of the heavens. He could have abandoned them and let them slowly selfdestruct through their own actions. Left on their own, the Israelites could have decided to return to Egypt and as a result eventually disappear as a distinct race. I believe that generally God gives us choices and He respects those choices. We choose who we marry, we choose our careers and we choose where we wish to live. I do believe that God has a plan for each of our lives but depending upon our choices He has “Plan A”, “Plan B” and “Plan C”. God is flexible. Although He would prefer Plan A for us, I believe that most Christians sadly settle for Plan W, X or Y. As I understand it, the better our relationship is to God and the closer we are to Him, the better our choices will be and the closer we’ll get to Plan A. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-17-08 Anger and Loss. Exodus 32:15-20 “Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets…When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. And he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.” (NIV) What an appalling thing to do, breaking the two tablets of the Testimony in a fit of anger. On these tablets were written the Ten Commandments (EX 34:27, 28). This first set of tablets were “inscribed by the finger of God” (EX 31:18). When you stop to think about it, these two tables of stone made up the most valuable document ever written. Actually these two items were the most valuable objects ever to exist on our planet because they were actually written by our Creator Himself. To break them in a fit of anger was just plain irresponsible, tragic and insane. What a loss! Let’s face it, 99.99% of all human anger is not “righteous anger” and we’d be better off to avoid it. I don’t see God believing that Moses’ action was “righteous anger” either. When the second set of tablets were made, God made Moses do the writing (EX 34:27, 28). Maybe God figured that if Moses spent the time engraving all the words on the stones, he wouldn’t be so quick to break them. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-18-08 Lies and Fantasy. Exodus 32:19-24 “When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing… And he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it. He said to Aaron, "What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?" "Do not be angry, my lord," Aaron answered. "You know how prone these people are to evil. They said to me, `Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow

Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him.' So I told them, `Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.' Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!" (NIV) Moses “hit the nail on the head” when he said that it was Aaron that “led them into such great sin”. Aaron’s answer was an attempt to place all the blame on the people with “You know how prone these people are to evil”. Of course Aaron’s story went into the realms of fantasy when he lied, claiming that he didn’t create the calf but that the calf came out of the fire on it’s own. Let us be ‘truthful’ with ourselves. We probably have a lot in common with Aaron. How many people have we “led” into sin? How many people in our lifetime have we harmed by our sinful behavior and influence? How many people will never recover because of us? The truth could be eye-opening and humbling. May we pray that we harm no more. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-19-08 The Majority is Not always Correct. Exodus 32: 25-29 “Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, "Whoever is for the LORD, come to me." And all the Levites rallied to him. Then he said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.' " The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. Then Moses said, "You have been set apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day." (NIV) It must have been some rowdy celebration all the people were having. When I read this story I imagine Moses witnessing something between an orgy and a riot with the people acting like drunken animals. Whatever the case, the people must have been acting uncivilized at best. Since only the tribe of Levi sided with Moses (Moses’ relatives) and there were twelve tribes of Israel, that means that only a twelfth of the people sided with Moses and God. We’re talking that within forty days the vast majority of the people rejected God and His representative who freed them from Egyptian slavery. This is pretty bad behavior and backsliding. As I see it, this command for the Levites to go through the camp killing people meant that they were to kill those who they believed were the worst influences among the tribes. Let me assure you that the other tribes most likely fought back…that is unless they were too drunk to defend themselves which could have been the case. Considering the fact that there were about six hundred thousand men (EX 12:37), the three thousand people that were killed that day meant that only a small fraction of the people actually suffered the punishment of death. Here is another example where the majority chose the wrong side. Today, Christians must not base their decisions on what the majority of the people are doing, even within their own churches. If we do we may also find ourselves on the wrong side of an issue opposing God…not a good idea. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-20-08

Sacrifice and Discipline. Exodus 32:30-35 “The next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin." So Moses went back to the LORD and said, "Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin--but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written." The LORD replied to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin." And the LORD struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.” (NIV) The possible atonement that Moses thought that God would accept for the Israelite’s rebellion was to substitute his life for their lives. I would hazard a guess that Moses understood the symbols of the animal sacrifices well enough to understand that the sacrifice of an innocent could save others. I truly believe that Moses was serious in his offer to give his life to save the people. As I see it, the plague that struck the people was a national spanking. Whether the plague was a deadly one or whether it just made the people uncomfortable sick, I don’t know. It is very possible that the plague spread due to the people’s wild rebellious behavior and they were just reaping the consequences of their actions and God withdrawing his protection from plague. Whether the plague was a deadly one to weed out those people having a bad influence on the others or if it was a device to get the people’s attention and make them aware of the seriousness of their actions, I believe that God disciplined them for their ultimate benefit. My parents disciplined me as a child so that I would grow up to be a responsible adult and I believe that God uses discipline for the same reason. Both God and ‘good’ parents discipline because they have to (for the person’s good), not because they get any pleasure out of it. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-21-08 The stiff-necked People and their Ornaments. Exodus 33:1-6 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, `I will give it to your descendants.' I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way." When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn and no one put on any ornaments. For the LORD had said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites, `You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.' " So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.” (NIV) While Moses had destroyed the golden calf, I take it that the majority of the Israelites had not changed much in their way of thinking and was still very resistant to changing their ungodly conduct. Therefore God had to distance Himself from them. Another way of looking at it is that since they were still being “stiff-necked” they were indicating that they honestly didn’t want God around.

There does seem to be some indication in the Bible of people being in danger when Holiness and the unholy come too close together or become to unveiled (for example REV 6:16, 17). On one hand it is through the grace of God that His presence sustains our life yet on the other hand the rebellious can’t survive having God close to them. Apparently God the Son was able to be close to us because of the human qualities He took upon Himself yet He got too close and rebellious mankind killed him. Definitely Godliness and sinfulness don’t mix. I believe that is why, as children in school the bullies tend to pick on the good kids and torment them. The reason the people were commanded to take off their ornaments was either because it represented some connection to false idol worship or because of the jewelry’s connection with self-centeredness (opposed to God-centeredness). Whatever the reason, the jewelry had some connection with the people’s ‘stiffnecked’ ungodly ways. The questions we should ask today are “Are the ornaments we are wearing interfering with our closeness to God and do we care more about our jewelry and our apparent appearance then we do God?” Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-22-08 The LORD spoke with Moses. Exodus 33:7-11 “Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the "tent of meeting." Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.” (NIV) Although God literally speaks with those He chooses for a specific purpose (in Moses’ case to lead the Israelites), I wish to believe that every Christian has the opportunity to experience talking with God and God literally talking back to him or her. Personally I believe that Christians settle for way too less in their relationship with God. On the other hand I must warn you, those who actively desire this kind of close relationship with God will probably experience sever persecution of some kind or another in their lives. As I see it, Joshua desired the same experience of talking with God that Moses experienced. Apparently he would linger at the tent until his services, as Moses’ aide was required. How would our desire for a closer relationship with God manifest itself as it did in Joshua’s life? Would we linger at church? Would we linger at the spot where we pray daily? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-23-08 Negotiating with God and the Results. Exodus 33:12-17 “Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, `Lead these people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, `I know you by name and you have found favor with me.' If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember

that this nation is your people." The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name." (NIV) Moses is requesting God to reconsider His decision not to accompany the Israelites because of their worshiping the golden calf. God had said, “…I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way…" (EX 33:1-6). Moses was requesting a dangerous thing. Apparently if God continued to go with them He would be placed in a position where He would have to be harsher on the Israelites than He would wish to be. In the end God conceded to Moses’ request and continued go with them because of His close friendship with Moses. I’m ‘not sure’ if Moses fully knew what he was asking. I don’t believe God would have dealt so harshly with the Israelites (from then thru the time they fully possessed the land promised to them) had He not been so close to them. I believe this situation is similar to that of a parent’s relationship with them older children. Parents tend to intercede ‘more’ in their children’s lives when their children are living with them at home opposed to when their children are living away from home on their own. Because of Moses’ request for God’s continued “Presence” God took the chance of being misunderstood for generations to come. Today a great many people see God as being a cruel and severe because of the harsh discipline God had to hand out to the Children of Israel and they overlook His willingness to be flexible and work with us (even if our requests aren’t perfect). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-24-08 Show Me Your Glory. Exodus 33:18-23 “Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory." And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen." (NIV) It is amazing that Moses physically saw God and lived. Even though he only saw the backside of God, it must have been an incredible experience. I believe one of the reasons that God has shown Himself to others in vision, other than in person, is to protect them from the bodily harm that could take place when one physically sees Him. I don’t believe mankind fully understands sin completely. We know of its powerful influence on mankind to make us self-centered, rebellious, violent and selfdestructive, yet I doubt that we understand much more than that. What is it about this thing called sin that causes mankind to be physically unable to look into the eyes of God and live? Sin has got to be much more dangerous than we can even imagine and we would do well to listen to God and avoid it.

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-25-08 Responsibility and Intercession. Exodus 34:1-9 “The LORD said to Moses, "Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones…which you broke…Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain…." So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai…Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. "O Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes," he said, "then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiffnecked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance." (NIV) The first set of stone tablets were made by God (EX 24:12) and given to Moses. Since Moses broke the first set, God made Moses not only write the second set out (EX 34:27, 28) but God also had Moses chisel out the second set of stone tablets himself. I wonder how long that took Moses! Pretty much God was teaching Moses a lesson being responsible…if you break something that someone else has made then you are responsible to replace it. When God passed before Moses and said that He was forgiving of “wickedness, rebellion and sin”, Moses was quick to respond and take God up on His word. Because the people had worshiped the golden calf, God had said that He wouldn’t go with them on their journey. Here we find Moses is asking God again to forgive the people and to go with them on their journey to the Promised Land. As the story continues we find that Moses successfully interceded for the people and God did go with them on their journey. Likewise us also intercede for those we know and ask God to help them in their need despite their rebellious sinful natures. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-26-08 The Character of God. Exodus 34:1-9 “The LORD said to Moses, "Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones…which you broke…Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain…." So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai…Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. "O Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes," he said, "then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiffnecked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance." (NIV) As God passed before Moses, He described Himself.

He revealed who He was…His

character. These characteristics are character traits that all Children of God should possess. First off God said He was “compassionate and gracious”. We could all do with a lot more kindheartedness and tolerance towards others. Christians should be as ‘gracious hosts’ to all who come within their sphere of influence, meeting the needs of all that enter our lives. Secondly God stated that He was ‘slow to anger”. How quickly we are annoyed and irritated at those around us. We quickly jump to conclusions before we get all the facts and assume things about people that are incorrect. What we clam is ‘righteous indignation’ is really just self-centeredness. Most people are really just doing the best that they can, considering their opportunities and personal backgrounds. Next God says that He is “abounding in love and faithfulness”. Many of us love others as long as it is convenient. This isn’t really love. This is really using people…getting what we desire until we are done with them. God loves us unconditionally. He won’t dump us just because our relationship with Him becomes a lot of work for Him. As Christians we embarrass God all the time and let Him down yet He still is there for us. God claims that He is “maintaining love to thousands”. He loves all His creation, generation after generation of people. We on the other hand are picky whom we choose to love. We form tight nit groups and clicks and exclude more than we include into our lives. We are prejudice and discriminatory towards those around us. We are guided more by fear and hate then by compassion and love. God is “forgiving” of those who are infected with “wickedness, rebellion and sin”. That includes all of us. Our God is a God of second chances. When we make mistakes and/or fail God, He doesn’t turn His back on us. He doesn’t write us off. No, He says, “Let’s try that again. With My help, if you let me, I am sure you’ll get it right the next time!” Let us do likewise to those around us. God reassures us that He “does not leave the guilty unpunished”. God is fair and just. He is a protector of the innocent. If we are innocent, He is on our side and will not look the other way and side with the bullies of the world. Let us not become like our foes and turn into bullies. God also reassures us that He “punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation”. When the children of the ungodly are trained to embrace the sins of their parents, the sins of the parents are carried on from generation to generation. God reassures the innocent that He will not tire in trying to reform the ways of family oriented sin. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-27-08 Eviction of the Ungodly Nations. Exodus 34:10-14 “Then the LORD said: "I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you. Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name

is Jealous, is a jealous God.” (NIV) This covenant that God is making with Moses and the Israelites is a ‘continuation’ of the covenant that God made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (renamed Israel), in fact God had already gone over the covenant with Moses and the people before. God is pretty much saying to Moses, “Let’s go over the covenant again and make sure that you are clear what is expected of you.” This ‘review’ goes on from verse ten (10) to verse twenty-six (26). All these nations listed were ungodly nations. Israel was not to make any treaties with them. They were not to let them remained in the area. God didn’t want them to exist in the land anymore and be a bad influence on the Israelites. These nations were so ungodly that they didn’t deserve living in their wonderful land when there were those who were more deserving. Actually God waited for the Amorites to fall into complete ungodliness before God ran them out of the land (GE 15:12-16). Apparently there were still some ‘godly’ Amorite families living in the country during the time of Abraham (Abram) and God didn’t want to uproot them from their homes while they were still living. So God waited until the time of Moses to run all the nations out of the Promised Land. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-28-08 Marrying a Non-Christian. Exodus 34:15, 16 "Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.” (NIV) It is pretty clear what God is saying here. If the Israelites start making treaties with the ungodly nations that was previously listed then they will eventually start intermarrying with them and in doing so their ungodly spouses will lead them astray. Who we marry will be the person who will have the most influence over us. If our spouse is not a Christian, the odds are pretty great that we will ‘backslide’ right out of the Church and right out of our relationship with God. Sure there are a lot of exceptions where one spouse is not a Christian and the other is able to remain a Christian. Yet much of the time in those cases the influence of the non-Christian parent will lead many of the children to turn their backs on God and His way of life. In this day and age it is hard enough to keep children active Christians when ‘both’ parent are Christians! Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-29-08 Idols: Metal, Film or Living. Exodus 34:17 "Do not make cast idols.” (NIV) This is a shorten version of the Second Commandment (EX 20:4-6). Idols are not to be made of God or of false gods. God probably brought this point up ‘again’ because idol worship was probably a big temptation for the Israelites considering all those years that they spent under Egypt influence. They had by this time

already failed God once on this point and had made the Golden Calf and worshiped it. I would like to add that Christians today have a tendency to ‘look up to’ and honor (idolize?) a great many people today. Let us make sure that these people, whether they are political leaders, business tycoons or Hollywood stars, do not take our primary focus off of God. God must hold the ‘number one’ position in our lives, even over our spouses, parents and children. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 11-30-08 Leaven and our Past. Exodus 34:17, 18 "Do not make cast idols. Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt.” (NIV) This feast was to yearly reminder Israel, which God freed them from the bondage of the Egyptians. It was not a false god from Egypt. It was not some idol of a false god that one of the other nations worshiped but it was the God that led them out of Egypt, the God that had no idol to represent Him. When the Israelites left Egypt, they left their old life of slavery and idolatry behind. Leaven, an ingredient in several type of bread, represented ungodly influences similar to the ungodly influences of Egypt. “…In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses…” (EX 12:17-20). May we as modern followers of God not be satisfied with anything ungodly in our homes or lives. Let us leave our old non-Christian way of life behind us. May our homes and lives be holy, set aside to God and God alone. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-01-08 Redemption and Sacrifice. Exodus 34: 19, 20 "The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons. No one is to appear before me empty-handed.” (NIV) This redemption is explained in a little more detail in EX 13:13-16. It symbolized that God saved the Israelites from the Egyptians and in the process the firstborn of the Egyptians died. Every firstborn son in Israel realized that he was alive because of this redemption. Here we find redemption and sacrifice tied together. It took the death of the Egyptians’ firstborn sons to save the Israelites form Egyptian bondage. Apparently, like the firstborn donkey, the firstborn son was also redeemed with a lamb. The symbols are very obvious. Jesus, the Messiah our Redeemer the Lamb of God, took our place and was sacrificed to free us from the bondage of sin (rebellion again God). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-02-08

The Sabbath and it’s Importance. Exodus 34:21 "Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.” (NIV) Here is a shortened version of the Sabbath Commandment. Let me quickly point out that the seventh day of the week was set aside as holy way back at Creation, prior to the sin problem. Once again it is just being restated lest it be forgotten among all the other things God has been sharing with the Israelites. The unique point of this text is that it touches upon farming, specifically plowing and harvesting. Although my father was raised on an Iowa farm, I know very little about farming. As I understand it that when it comes time to plow and time to harvest a farmer puts all other obligations aside and plows until the plowing is completed and harvests until the harvesting is completed. Apparently since farming is generally dependent upon the seasons and the weather, when the plowing and the harvesting has to be done, it has to be done now, all else is set aside. Even the children (in my father’s day) were taken out of school to lend a hand during these two important farming events. God is saying that the Sabbath is so important that people are even to place their livelihoods aside to respect the Sabbath hours (from Friday sundown through to Saturday sundown). The Sabbath is clearly an important day to God and mankind. It was important at Creation before sin plagued mankind, it was important as we see during the time this text was written and apparently it will be important when this whole sin problem is resolved and the world is recreated ( ISA 66:23). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-03-08 Your homes that are guaranteed to be waiting for you. Exodus 34:22-24 "Celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign LORD, the God of Israel. I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the LORD your God.” (NIV) What I find interesting in this text about these two feasts is God’s promise to protect the Israelites’ property while they are away celebrating. The displaced nations would be keeping an eye on the Israelites for an opportunity to reoccupy their lost territory. God promised the people that they could safely leave their homes and that others would not occupy their homes and land when they returned from celebrating. In this sinful world life is uncertain. Although Christians may loose their home to others that does not mean that God is not ultimately looking out after them. Our homes that we occupy now are only temporary anyway. Jesus, God the Son, has promised us all new homes when this sin mess is settled. JN 14:1-4 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." (NIV) Like the Israelites, may we also trust God. Christians all have homes that are guaranteed to be waiting for them. May we all spiritually survive this mess to

see them. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-04-08 Yeast, Sin, Sacrifice, Jesus and the Christian. Exodus 34:25 "Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Feast remain until morning.” (NIV) As I understand it, the yeast symbolizes sin and the blood symbolizes Jesus’ (God the Son) sacrifice. Since the Israelites’ sacrifices symbolizes Jesus’ (Lamb of God) sacrifice and since Jesus was sinless, a symbol of sin should not be connected with “the blood of a sacrifice”. The Passover lamb was to be eaten completely, if any of the lamb remained uneaten that night the family was to burn it’s remains (EX 12:1-11). As I see it, this represents the quick death of Jesus on the cross and His burial. Jesus was crucified, died and buried all on Friday before the Sabbath started. A Christian should be sinless. We should not cherish and hold on to any sin in our lives. If we do or if we, in our stupidity, sin we should ask God for forgiveness as soon as we are aware of our offense. A Christian’s baptism represents Jesus’ sinless death (sacrifice) and our new sinless life (RO 6:1-4). May our live not be tainted with the yeast of sin. May others look upon our new lives, see God (God the Son), be drawn to Him and His salvation. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-05-08 It’s Just Wrong! Exodus 34:26 "Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. "Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk." (NIV) What I’d like to comment on is the last part of this text. I don’t know if there is some health reason why one shouldn’t cook a young goat in its mother’s milk but when I stop to think about it…it just doesn’t seem appropriate. Think about it. The poor little goat would have been drinking that milk if it hadn’t gotten itself slaughtered to be eaten. I tell you, when you start reflecting on it…it’s just seems wrong. I don’t understand the implications of this text but I got to tell you that I agree with it deep down in my heart. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-06-08 Do as I say and not as I do! Exodus 34:27, 28 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant--the Ten Commandments.” (NIV) I find the wording “…I have made a covenant with you and with Israel…” interesting in this text. Moses was the leader of Israel at the time. The “words of the covenant -- the

Ten Commandments” applied not only to the people but also to their leader. God was making sure the let Moses know that, as a leader, he was not above the law (the Ten Commandments). The ‘Ten Commandments’ apply to all of us. Leaders are not above the Law. They can’t live a life of ‘Do as I say and not as I do!’ We are all in the same boat. We are all created beings. There is no double standard with God for His people. We are not of a higher caste then our neighbor due to our authority. All of us are leaders. We all have some kind of authority over others in our lives. Some of us have a vast amount of authority and others of us have very little authority. We may have authority over others in our jobs. We may have certain areas of authority over our spouses and our children. Some of our relatives, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers give us authority over their lives by listening and heeding our advice or by stealthy following our example while we are unawares. Let us not think at anytime that whatever authority we have places us above the Law of God. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-07-08 God’s Presence and Moses’ Radiance. Exodus 34:29-35 “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai. When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the LORD's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD. (NIV) There is just so much we don’t understand about God, His physical glory and how sin has affect our ability to physically stand in the presence of God. I took a quick glance through the Bible and it looks like God and Moses had a lot of conversations during Moses’ lifetime. If that is the case then Moses must have appeared radiant most of the time or at least a lot of it. I wonder if Moses had to wear a veil the rest of his life when he went out in public. Hopefully the people became accustomed to the radiance and after awhile Moses was able to set aside the veil. How did Moses’ wife react to the whole glowing thing? That could have been awkward! I bet you that Adam and Eve must have been radiant because of their personal visits with God in Eden. Not a lot is said about Adam and Eve’s relationship with God after they had sinned. I wonder if He was still able to regularly visit with them or did their sinfulness make it difficult for them to stand in His presence? If God couldn’t visit them on a regular basis after sin, I wonder if Adam and Eve thought each other looked odd when the radiance of God’s presence finally wore off? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-08-08

A Sabbath of Rest to the Lord. Exodus 35:1-3 “Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, "These are the things the LORD has commanded you to do: For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death. Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day." (NIV) The Sabbath must hold great importance to both God and man. Moses had been away from the Israelites talking with God for forty days and the first thing that Moses talks about when he assembles the Israelite community together is the Sabbath. After Moses opens his address with the Sabbath then he starts talking about the Tabernacle (Israel’s place of worship to God). In fact the rest of the Book of Exodus is about the Tabernacle. At first glance it seems strange that God would not allow the Israelites to light a fire on the Sabbath but one must realize that lighting a fire back in those days could amount up to a whole lot of work. Today the modern Christian can start cooking with the turn of a kitchen stove knob. If one is on a campout or a picnic practically all one has to do to start a fire is strike a match or flip the switch of a cigarette lighter. I hear that starting a fire by striking a flint and stone together is not easy, also many find starting a fire by rubbing two sticks together is nearly impossible. If I lived back in those days I probably wouldn’t look forward to the work involved in starting a fire on the Sabbath, even if I was pretty talented at it. I am sure that if the Israelites wished a warm meal on the Sabbath, all that they would have to do is keep the campfire embers warm and alive which I understand is not difficult once you get use to it. I could be misinformed on this. I admit that I’m neither a campfire nor a fireplace expert. All in all, I believe that the modern Christian should be careful on what work that they commit themselves to during the Sabbath hours. Sabbath I think many good hearted Sabbath observing Christians still work more than they should on ordinary everyday duties from Friday night to Saturday night. Let us be careful, plan ahead and be prepared for the Sabbath so that it will be a pleasant, happy, stress free day to spend with God, our families and our friends. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-09-08 Too Many Offerings. Exodus 35:4-36:7 “Moses said to the whole Israelite community, "This is what the LORD has commanded: From what you have, take an offering for the LORD. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the LORD an offering of gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood…Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: "No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary." And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.” (NIV) The Children of Israel who came out of Egypt may have had their spiritual faults and weaknesses but at this time their generosity was exemplary. When Moses asked for them to offer up the materials that they had brought out of Egypt to build the Tabernacle, they willingly gave more then was needed and Moses had to ask them to

stop giving. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Christians showed this kind of generosity in their giving at church today? It would be fantastic to hear a church pastor or treasurer make an announcement during church begging for the members to stop giving their offerings because the church finances were doing so well. This week let us ‘willingly’ give of our abundance to the Lord. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-10-08 Personal Ministry. Exodus 35:10-19 "All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the LORD has commanded: the tabernacle with its tent and its covering, clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; the ark with its poles and the atonement cover and the curtain that shields it…" (NIV) All who were skilled in building and making stuff were asked to help build the various parts of the Tabernacle. It is understandable that there were people in the camp that didn’t have the particular skills to join in. It is not that the camp did not need people with other skills. While those who had the appropriate skills were busy building the Tabernacle, others were needed to keep the various functions of the camp going. I’ve spent years feeling awkward serving in areas of Christian Ministry where I had very little skill or interest. It took me a long time to find my niche in Christian Ministry, unfortunately I wallowed in a lot of needless guilt when specific roles or jobs didn’t agree with me. My advice, to those who haven’t found their place yet in personal religious ministry, is to try everything. Don’t be afraid to try something “and” don’t feel guilty if a specific role just doesn’t fit you. In my experience God blessed my efforts even though I was ‘a square peg in a round hole’. One surprising thing I found out is that although I fall flat on my face in certain Church positions, I do enjoy filling in and being a substitute for those positions from time to time. For example, I enjoy researching a topic and speaking publicly on it but I can’t preach sermons week after week. It’s too time consuming and simply wears me out. Pray, be patient, be honest to yourself and to God and eventually you should be able to find a Personal Christian Ministry that is a fairly good match for you. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-11-08 The Tabernacle Setup. Exodus 40:1, 2, 17 “Then the LORD said to Moses: "Set up the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the first month…So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year.” (NIV) The Tabernacle was set up for the first time on the first anniversary of the Israelites leaving Egypt. Considering when they received their instructions on constructing the Tabernacle, they had all the parts and pieces finished for assembly in less then a year’s time.

The Israelites were to celebrate their rescue from Egypt in the first month of their year. During the first seven days of this celebration they were not to do any work (EX 11:14-16). I believe these days were considered ‘Ceremonial Sabbaths’. Considering God asked that the Tabernacle to be set up on the first day of this celebration, I take it working directly for God at this time was condoned. This makes sense because Christians are forbidden by the Forth Commandment to work during the weekly Sabbaths yet it is a very busy day for those leading out in worship, instruction and fellowship. As I understand it Jesus even defended doing good in the name of God on the Sabbath such as healing. With this being said, I still advise the Christian to wisely ponder that which he or she decides to do during the Sabbath hours. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-12-08 The Glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. Exodus 40:33-35 “Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” (NIV) Can the human body be filled with the glory of God? 1 CO 6:19, 20 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (NIV) Moses was tainted with sin and could not enter the Tabernacle while the glory of God filled it. I wonder, can we be so filled with God the Holy Spirit that nothing tainted with sin can enter us or shall I say enter our character? If the presence of God the Spirit abides in us, is it possible that we can be so completely given over to the Holy Spirit that we to like Moses can visually glow (EX 34:29-35)? Well at least it is something to either ponder upon or possibly strive for.