Exodus
Exodus 19:1-25 - QT by KC
Exodus 19:16
"And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding Lord; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
God wants to speak to us, but can we handle it? Many people want to hear from God, especially those that believe and put their faith in God, but strangely it seems many of us are not able to. I wonder how some will react when God really does speak to them. In vs. 9 God tells Moses that he will come to the people in a thick cloud and he will speak so the people will listen. His purpose? So the people will believe in Moses when God speaks to Moses. That's interesting. God wants people to believe Moses was chosen by God to lead his people. Maybe the people don't trust that Moses can do the job, maybe they feel he lacks leadership abilities or they have someone else in mind to lead them. Moses will become a legend and one of the greatest leaders God's people ever had. But the people realized this when Moses was about to die. I believe God is angry at his people. He strikes fear in them. Maybe it's because when the people don't trust in Moses, they are not trusting that God chose him, and that means they don't trust in God. God will continue to work with these stubborn faithless people because he has a plan for them. God knows they will be according to vs. 5 A treasure above all people. They will be as God says in vs. 6, A kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. By God's mercy, we the non-Jews, have also become his treasure. Let us trust more in God.
Exodus 18:1-27 - QT by KC
Exodus 18:20-21
"And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover, thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness, and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens;"
In this chapter, we see the beginning of Judges. If Moses would have kept doing what he was doing of the daily grind of presiding over each case from morning to night, it would have been better for the people but it would have worn him out. (vs. 13,18). It takes an outsider, who is not afraid to give his opinion to Moses, Jethro, father-in-law, to see clearly this dangerous flaw. It's possible that others saw the problem, maybe people like Aaron, Joshua, or Hur, but I don't think they knew the solution. Even if they did, it would have been hard to see anyone else except Moses telling people of the statutes of God and his laws (vs. 16). To Jethro, it was simple: find God-fearing men that loves truth & hate covetousness (vs. 21), teach them God ordinances and laws (vs. 20), show them by examples (vs. 20), place them accordingly to judge the many to the few (vs. 21), and let take care of the smaller matter but Moses will still take care of the bigger matters (vs. 22). It was sound counsel that takes trusting in people and trusting in God. People can fail but God doesn't.
Exodus 17:1-16 - QT by KC
Exodus 17:9
"And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand"
The battle against Amalek is different than the battle against the Egyptians. God fought the great and powerful army of Egypt and humbled Pharaoh. The Israelites didn't have to do anything to win that war. God wants the Israelites to fight the Amalek. It was a battle they could win but it will not be easy. we are introduced to Joshua. He is young and already Moses can see he will be a great leader. Joshua will become a leader God uses to fight great battles and defeat enemies. It will be Joshua and not Moses that will lead God's people inside the Promise Land and to take over that land. This battle with the Amalek is interesting because it also takes Moses to win this war. The hands of Moses in vs. 11 had to be held up to win, if not strangely the Amalek began to win. I believe Moses holding up his hands represents those who are praying. They are the Prayer warriors & worship warriors who are interceding for the people to God. They are in spiritual warfare so God will help. Joshua is on the battlefield constantly praying to God for direction as he is facing each of the enemies. God is still fighting this war but he wants people to be involved. That is the same today. God wants all of us to be involved in this constant battle against the dark forces.
Exodus 16:23-36 - QT by KC
Exodus 16:29
"See, for that, the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day."
Sometimes on a Sunday, I feel like eating at Chick-fil-A but then I remember it's always closed on Sundays, I have to admit, I wish it was open on some Sundays, but then again it wouldn't really be Chick-fil-a then. They have committed to God that God will provide been without those Sundays. They are losing a significant amount of money, but then again they are so busy on Saturdays that it more than makes up those Sundays. God instructs His people that the bread from Heaven, manna, that he is providing will be given to them daily but not on the Sabbath day. He instead gives them a double portion the day before. He says in vs. 29 "Let no man go out of his place on the Sabbath day." He doesn't want us to work but rest. It's a time of resting our bodies, our minds, and our souls. It's a time where we plug into God and get recharged. God will provide a double portion or much more when we honor him on Sundays. As you can see Sundays are a gift from God and made for us.
Exodus 16:1-22 - QT by KC
Exodus 16:20
"Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them."
Sometimes you might hear someone say to another "just wait until you have your own kid." What that statement is saying is to wait until that future child becomes just like that person but in a negative way. A child, many times, is a reflection of the parents like it or not. When these Israelites complain about the smallest struggles, they are reflecting what they were taught, more like what was modeled in front of them. This could have been a generation of great faith & strong leaders, but instead, they are known as the great complainers, You could say it's human nature that many of these people kept the manna for the next day even though God told them not to, but what is human nature? I believe it's that instinct that draws us to ourselves, that survival instinct. The reality is, it's a lack of trust in others. They have witnessed many great miracles and it should have caused them to totally trust in God but instead made them more selfish. God will work with these people for 40 years and even then these people are not ready. I believe this is why Moses was the perfect man to lead this stubborn group. It took 80 years for God to mold Moses. Like Moses and these Israelites, God is shaping us so we too can be used for Him. God, I pray we will be easily moldable.
Exodus 15:22-27 - QT by KC
Exodus 15:25
"And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: There he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,"
In the NIV Bible, this verse says "There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test." The Israelites could have all died at the hands of the evil Egyptians, instead, God miraculously rescued them and defeated their enemies, God moved his people from celebration to their first test. They don't find water for three days. By this time they might have little to no water left to drink and we see in vs. 24, they fail this test. They "murmured against Moses" or they were complaining. A better response would have been to simply pray to God. I wonder why they didn't do that. it seems like they were completely relying on Moses to do everything. These people were not to follow Moses but God. It's strange but maybe it's our human nature to put our trust in a person and not God. God does fix the problem with the bitter water but it was up to the people to fix their lives to God. God gave them a ruling and instruction of how they need to live for God. In vs. 26 God tells his people to "diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord... do that which is right in his sight... give ear to his commandment... keep all his statutes." God wants that from us today because He is the Lord that healeth.
Exodus 15:1-21 - QT by KC
Exodus 15:1
"Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea."
What do you do when God delivers you from your enemies? What do you do when God gives you a gift that has tremendous value? Moses and the Israelites were overjoyed and they knew clearly it was God and he alone that gave them a gift of true freedom. They couldn't contain their emotions so they let it out and what came out was singing. it was a beautiful chorus of about a million people with one heart, one mind, one voice giving God all the praise by singing. Singing is interesting because it's really words extended. if you extend your words following the tune to instruments then it sounds even better. Praising comes naturally for any of us if you really think about it. On Christmas when your parents give you something that you really wanted, you can't just stay there but your entire body gets up to give them a big hug, and your mouth moves to say thank you. If that present is beyond what you expected, your body jumps up and down and your mouth might sing a song of thank you. One day, maybe very soon, God will give us a present way beyond our imagination, he will send Jesus to us for the rapture. Our bodies will change to a resurrected body and we will be with him forever. Believe me we will all sing.
Exodus 14:21-31 - QT by KC
Exodus 14:30
"Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore"
How many times have God saved his people? There are too many to count. God is the real hero. the crazy thing is God, the creator of heaven and earth, is not only found in the Bible but is with us today. God takes care of everyone and everything. He looks after small insects even a creature too small to see with our own eyes. He looks after all the planets and stars. Our amazing God can do all this and much more. God's people have been badly mistreated, have been persecuted, have even been put to death by the great Egyptians. God kept a promise to his friend Abraham and made sure to rescue his children. In the movie "Wizard of Oz" everybody celebrates when the wicked witch died. Imagine the celebration when the Israelites saw the powerful Egyptian army dead and washed up on the seashore. The people of Israel are very fortunate that God has chosen them as his people, His children. We will see throughout the Bible how God saves Israel time and time again. Even though Israel is blinded to the truth of salvation through Jesus, God never forgets about them. God will fight for them during the tribulation but then many people of Israel will believe. thank God, he has allowed us to receive salvation.
Exodus 14:1-20 - QT by KC
Exodus 14:19
"And the Angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:"
A cloud, according to our scientists are water drops or ice crystals floating in the sky so in other words, they don't know how a cloud works because it defies the natural rules made by man. A cloud is a good example of something that can't be explained by science. It is something we have to accept as real because we clearly see it. There are many things like the cloud that science doesn't have an answer to. In fact, science in its simplest definition is to understand what's around us, in other words, to understand what God has made. When the Israelites saw the cloud leading them by day and a pillar of fire or a cloud on fire leading them by night, maybe some of them were thinking that it's natural even though they couldn't understand it, but when these clouds went behind the Israelites to be in between them and the Egyptians to protect them, they knew this was unnatural. Science would not explain that. We read in vs. 19 that the cloud was the Angel of God. I wonder if the clouds we see in the sky are really angels looking after us. It's hard to understand this world through science but it's better understood by faith in God. God, our great intelligent designer, I believe made everything with the purpose for Him.
Exodus 13:1-22 - QT by KC
Exodus 13:2
"Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine."
God has rescued His people from the most powerful nation of Egypt. His last plague was taking the lives of all the firstborn of the Egyptians and the cattle's firstborn they owned. It was a great loss for that evil nation but the Egyptians didn't just kill the firstborn of the Israelites but all their male babies. In that comparison, the Egyptians paid a small but costly price for their great destruction to God's people. God tells His people, the Israelites, who He rescued who He greatly multiplied, that He requires all the firstborn male of people & animals to be His. We should all be God's since He is the one that gave us life. He calls His people to set these firstborn males apart and sanctify them. In another word to purify them to be acceptable to God. It's a purification of the mind, body, and soul. They are to live for God and God only. Later in the Bible God sets the tribe of Levi as these sanctified people and will be the tribe of priest. God is calling everyone saved by the blood of Jesus to be sanctified and live only for God. This is not meant to be a burden but a special high calling. It is a great honor & mystery that any of us are chosen by God. He has chosen us and called us to live with a renewed mind transformed by Jesus and not conformed to this world (Rom 12:2).
Exodus 12:29-51 - QT by KC
Exodus 12:30
"And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not on dead."
When someone reads this story, some people might not be happy with God. They might even be angry at God that He killed all the firstborn of the Egyptians both people and cattle. They have a hard time whenever they read of God killing. They might be so upset at God that they stop reading the Bible, stop going to church, and conclude that God is not a loving and caring God as they assume, but an angry God that is heartless. It's strange how they came to this conclusion when these same Egyptians killed all the male babies, thousands, maybe even a million (Exodus 1&2). Whenever God takes action to destroy someone or a nation, He always has a reason, God is holy so He doesn't sin. He is love so His actions are not motivated by hate. He loves justice and pays back to injustice. His actions are much better than ours. God was very patient with Egypt even though they did so many bad things to God's people. When God punished Egypt it was more than fair. In fact, he could have easily destroyed them quickly but spared them so they will prosper again.
Exodus 12:1-28 - QT by KC
Exodus 12:26-27
"And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, what mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, it is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed over houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, When we smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped."
Children are curious and constantly learning. They see adults as people with purpose so they ask questions about why we do what we do. Sadly many of us don't do things with purpose and we do things more out of feeling. I don't believe that is how God wants us to live. We are all privileged to be born in this world with a specific purpose at a specific time period. God tells the Israelites to have an annual Passover celebration to not forget about God's deliverance from the strong grip of Egypt. As they prepare for this festival, kids will be asking why they are doing what they do. First, they will say that God commands it. Then they might talk about the 10 plagues God sent to Egypt. Maybe they'll talk about an unlikely hero, Moses, and how he faced Pharaoh with great fear of him becoming a powerful fearless leader. the kids will understand all these things had a purpose, God's purpose, to give them more faith in God.
Exodus 11:1-10 - QT by KC
Exodus 11:3
"And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people."
For any nation, communist or capitalist, bondage or free, people's opinion matters. The leaders know that in order to accomplish their goals, they have to have the support of the people. In our modern times, the strongest tool is the media. It's not about telling us what is really going on but what someone wants us to know. That kind of deception can only be received if the people stay deceived, but we know it doesn't last. In vs. 3, the Bible says "the Lord gave the people favor." This is a special anointing only God can give. The Egyptians and Pharaoh's servants wanted to make sure they were pleasing God's people. they were not deceived by media, but saw first hand that the Almighty God of Heaven and Earth loved these Israelites. It didn't matter why, but that He did. The Egyptians will give all of their silver and God jewelry to God's people (vs.2). God's people were slaves but later became more powerful than their masters. God moved the people correctly, without deception, and these people of Egypt cried out to Pharaoh to let God's people go. God can move any nation.
Exodus 10:1-29 - QT by KC
Exodus 10:28-29
"And Pharaoh said unto him, get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; For in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die. And Moses said, thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more."
This battle between Pharaoh and Moses is like a man who has gained all of the world to a man who only has God. Pharaoh somehow believes all the power and resources of this world can defeat God. It's silly for us to see this played out in the book of Exodus but if you stop and think about it, the majority of the people thinks in a similar manner. They feel they can learn on the world and it will provide for them and satisfy them. Some people will kill another for a pair of shoes or a loaf of bread. Moses is dependent on God and believes with God all things are possible. Pharaoh's servants in vs. 7 are now begging Pharaoh to let God's people go. Pharaoh still thinks he can negotiate with God but once he hears God only wants complete freedom for all his people and cattle, Pharaoh is angry and makes a command in vs. 28 that he will break. He thinks he is still in control but everyone sees he is losing everything. He says Moses will not see him again or Moses will die but it will Pharaoh who will call Moses and Aaron back in Exodus 12:31 completely defeated, completely humbled, and surrenders to God's demand. Pharaoh's trust in this world failed whereas Moses' trust in God prevailed.
Exodus 9:13-35 - QT by KC
Exodus 9:27
"And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked."
When is an apology not an apology? It's someone that says "I'm sorry" then later does it again. I wonder, for Pharaoh, if it was about God's people and keeping them enslaved or was it his pride and stubbornness not to lose to anyone, even God Almighty. Pharaoh sees that his entire nation is being destroyed by fire burning hail sent by God. He's going to lose everything unless he acts quick. Just like his magicians using tricks to deceive people, he thinks he can trick God by sounding like he is repenting. He says in vs. 27 "I have sinned" "The Lord is righteous" "I and my people are wicked" He's probably thinking he can deceive God and make God do what he wants, just like everyone else he deals with. God does stop the hail but Moses tells Pharaoh in vs. 30 that Pharaoh and his servants does not yet fear the Lord God. It's amazing that God does show mercy each time Pharaoh asks for forgiveness. Our God is a generous and merciful God but He is slow to anger (Psalms 103:8), meaning eventually He will bring His judgement, which is quick. Pharaoh will learn very soon, when God's Judgement is send. Then it is too late.
Exodus 9:1-12 - QT by KC
Exodus 9:11
"And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians."
What does it look like when your enemies are soundly defeated? Egypt was a powerful nation and with the help of Joseph, but it was really God, they became one of the richest nation's in the world. With great resources, Egypt was the envy of the world. Unfortunately, all that got to the heads and hearts for all of the Egyptians, especially Pharaoh. they were once allies, maybe even friends, to God's people, but later became enemies. To the Egyptians, God's people were weak and viewed no higher than animals. Moses, who represented God & His people was weak when he faced Pharaoh & his magicians & wiseman for the first time. They probably mocked & laughed at Moses & Aaron, but 9 miracles later, these magicians in vs. 11 can't even stand before Moses. The enemies of God went from mocking to fearing God & His people. The more fearful they became the stronger Moses became. Pharaoh still refuses freedom for God's people just like God had said but He doesn't see God's people the same. All of Egypt, God's enemies, now sees God as the most powerful God and God's people as special people, maybe in their minds, higher in rank then anyone else.
Exodus 8:20-32 - QT by KC
Exodus 8:22
"And I will sever in that day the Land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth."
The Egyptian god of the flies is Khepri. It is their god of creation. It seems the Egyptians had a god for everything. Our one and only true God will give them so much of Khepri that they will not want it anymore. God sends swarms of flies all over Egypt and said in vs. 24 the flies filled the house of Pharaoh, his servants, and the whole land of Egypt was corrupted by these flies. The land of Goshen where God's people were was protected by God. God made all these gods of Egypt. Whenever we see anything God has made we are to worship the maker, not what is made. Everything has it's purpose. Pharaoh will once again not follow through on letting God's people go just as God said in vs. 32. If this Pharaoh would have repented, humbled himself, and worshipped God the creator, then this would have been a different story. He would have then stopped worshipping these fake gods and saw them as wonderful created beings made by God. He would have turned his country around and become a nation only worshipping God.
Exodus 8:1-19 - QT by KC
Exodus 8:19
"Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, this is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was harden, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said."
"As the Lord had said" Is a language that God already knows exactly what will happen. No one else has this insight except God. God will sometimes gives specific people, like prophets, words, visions, or dreams of the future. When God says it, it will happen. It's not something God forces but he knows our hearts and he knows the events that will come. He knows us better than we know ourselves. God uses Moses and Aaron to bring frogs to Egypt. There were so many uncontrollable strangely aggressive frogs that Pharaoh pleads with Moses to take them away. God honors the request and kills off the frogs but just as God said Pharaoh doesn't hold up to his side. Vs. 15 says, "he hardened his heart". Then God changes dust into lice. In Egypt there's a lot of sand that makes dust so Egypt was covered in lice. Vs. 18 the magician, for the first time, could not produce lice. Maybe God was preventing them. The magicians are very afraid and sees clearly this is from God but Pharaoh doesn't want to hear them. In vs. 19, Pharaoh hardened his heart as the Lord had said. It's time we ask God for his direction because He knows the future.
Exodus 7:14-25 - QT by KC
Exodus 7:17-18
"This saith the Lord, in this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river."
The river was very important to the Egyptians and along with their worship of many gods was the god Hapi. This fake god was an annual flooding of the Nile river. It was very important for this to happen for a rich deposit of good fertile soil and a healthy crop. As you can imagine, because the river was so important for every day live in Egypt, including their drinking water, this river god was very important to the Egyptians. God almighty strikes Pharaoh and Egypt at the river. He turns it into blood that kills the fish and make the river stink. In one shot God took away their source of life. No drinking water from the river, no fish, no crop, and their god Hapi defeated. We also have a god similar to Hapi that is our current source of life. It can be a job, an inheritance, fame, power, parents, connection, or anything that we are depending on to live. If God is not who we worship He can easily tear these things away from us. He can easily tear these things away from us. Let's worship God and the only true God.
Exodus 6:28-7:13 - QT by KC
Exodus 7:1
"And the Lord said unto Moses, see, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet."
God made Moses to be on equal status or higher than Pharaoh. That doesn't sit well with Pharaoh. He believes that he is a special king and an anointed god. This was part of their religion. They worshipped many gods including Pharaoh and that displeased God. All these man made gods were fake but God is real and the only true God. He is to be the only one we worship. God tells Moses in vs. 1 "I have made thee a god to Pharaoh" When Pharaoh sees that Moses command Aaron to cast down the rod & it becomes a snake vs. 9, I believe Pharaoh realized then that Moses is also a king that has the power to give commands. Pharaoh commands his magicians to do the same but he knows it is only an illusion (vs. 11). When Aaron's rod ate up the other snakes, Pharaoh should have realized this is no magic but it's real, (vs.12), yet just like God said Pharaoh would harden his heart. I believe, Pharaoh's wisemen & sorcerers became afraid even in that first miracle because they know fake but that was real. They also realized it was the true God they encountered, the God of the Hebrews they heard so much about. They knew this will not end well for them.
Exodus 6:1-27 - QT by KC
Exodus 6:13
"And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh King of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.""
I can't do it. I won't do it. It's impossible. These words are spoken when we see our lack of abilities compared to the great task given to us, which is way beyond what we ever did before. Moses and Aaron have given up because vs. 9 "the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage." Moses then tells God in vs. 12, "How then shall Pharaoh hear me?" Look at the difference when David looked to the strength in God when facing the Giant in 1 Samuel 17:45, "then said David to the Philistine, thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defiled." God tells Moses in vs. 2 & 3 "I am the Lord" "the name of God Almighty" "My name Jehovah" God tells Moses to tell the children of Israel in vs. 5-7 "I have also heard" "I have remembered my covenant" "I will bring you out" "I will redeem you" "I will take you to me" "I will be to you a God" God is telling Moses, Aaron, and all of His people, it is not through a man with his limited abilities, but through himself that He will redeem his people. God is the one who sent all the plagues on Egypt. God parted the Red Sea. God completely destroyed the Egyptians. God defeated the Giant Goliath.
Exodus 5:1-23 - QT by KC
Exodus 5:2
And Pharaoh said, who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go."
Pharaoh thought very little about God or his people. He doesn't believe in the only try God and even if he believed, he doesn't think God is more powerful than him. Pharaoh and all the Egyptians will clearly see just how powerful God is. God could have easily destroyed Egypt and saved his people all in a blink of an eye. Instead God chose to use people to rescue his people. Moses and Aaron finally have the confidence to talk to Pharaoh but the results only brings more pain for God's people. In vs. 14, we see it has already been two days since Moses and Aaron talked with Pharaoh but nothing has happened, in vs. 21 God's people are already complaining to Moses and, I believe, wants everything to go back as before and essentially demanding that they stop doing what God has commanded. Moses is confused and prays to God. We will see God moving in chapter 6. It seems to me that before God does something big in out lives, it gets harder initially. Because of that we give up, go back to our old ways, and don't see God's blessings. Many of us are stick in Ex.5 but if we move forward with God then we go to Ex. 6 where God moves.
Exodus 4:14-31 - QT by KC
Exodus 4:26
"So he let him go: then she said, a bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision."
This part of the story of Moses is strange but necessary. In vs. 24 it says, "The Lord met him, and sought to kill him." This person was Moses that God was going to kill, but why? Then we see Zipporah, the wife of Moses, quickly take action by circumcising her son. She knew probably because Moses told her God commanded all the males in his household be circumcised. We don't read that command given to Moses, but once again we have to ask the simple question why and why now? In Hebrews 3:1-2 we read that the profession of Moses was a high priest. As a high priest they are set apart to serve God only. In vs. 5 we read that Moses was "faithful in all his house". Circumcision is a sign God commanded Abraham to apply to all of his descendants as "a token of the covenant" (Gen. 17:13). God is showing Moses that he is also a descendant of Abraham and needs to follow the same commandments. It seems like Abraham and Zipporah knew about this but didn't act on it. When God came to destroy Moses, it was Zipporah who took matters into her hand and that worked. Moses understood from that time he needs to take God's commands more seriously to become the chosen high priest God called him to be.
Exodus 4:1-13 - QT by KC
Exodus 4:11-12
"And the Lord said unto him, who hath made man's mouth? Or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say."
God finds his perfect person that's has been trained for 40 years for a specific purpose that only this person is called to do. God is perfect and doesn't make mistakes. When Moses is called by God he is a weak and fearful person. He thinks very little of himself and doesn't think he is the right man for the job. It is not the proud God uses. God can only use someone who can fully depend on God. The more this person gives to God, to lean on God, the more, I believe, God can work through him. God shows Moses amazing miracles yet he still doesn't have the confidence to serve God. Finally vs. 14, God is angry at Moses, yet shows him mercy by sending him Aaron as his helper. Sadly, from my observation, we don't have many like Moses. We many never have anyone like this great servant. Many people are just the opposite and show others how they serve God with amazing talents, but are they called by God? Are they really serving God? Moses served God with trembling fear as should we.
Exodus 3:13-22 - QT by KC
Exodus 3:14
"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."
Moses asked an unusual question to God. Prior to Moses I believe the only one that ask God what is his name was Jacob (Gen 32:29). God tells Jacob why do you ask my name because God is telling him that he already knows God. Moses on the other hand is living in a time where the nation like Egypt wants to get rid of everything about God. They have been heavily influenced by the Egyptian way of life. That is what Joseph was trying to prevent but all that changed with the new Pharaoh. By the way, all part of God's plan to make the people of God want to leave Egypt. This time God tells Moses his name which is "I AM". It seems like a incomplete name. For us we need the next part to define us, such as an occupation. I am an engineer, I am a baker, I am a king, I am a servant, but God doesn't need the third part. God says I AM THAT I AM. He is already complete and only He is God. For us, we are still becoming. In Ex. 4:31, the people believed in Moses & Aaron. They, "Bowed their heads and worshipped" because the great I am will save them.
Exodus 3:1-12 - QT by KC
Exodus 3:11
"And Moses said unto God, who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?"
Moses is now 80 years old. He has come to the conclusion of his life that he is just a common person and will live a common life. He thought that being the Prince of Egypt would qualify him to have the power to set his people free but that failed. He feels that his too old and is now comfortable to live the rest of his life in Midian. It's interesting that it was then that God called Moses. God was finally able to work in Moses' life, when Moses didn't think there was anything left to give God. It took 40 years for God to prepare Moses in the desert. Even though Moses didn't know it, God was breaking him, molding him & building him for this perfect time. Moses will never forget these hard 40 years of training and remained humbly faithful to God speaking & obeying exactly what God told him. He will have to use this training of God that made a stubborn, prideful, hot tempered man that Moses was to a man completely surrendered to God. He will need to apply it to the millions that will come out of Egypt. Some of them will also be similar to the young Moses, but this older Moses will show great love, patience & compassion just as God showed him.
Exodus 2:11-25 - QT by KC
Exodus 2:23
"And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage."
The definition of bondage is slavery or involuntary servitude. God's people were delivered from the severe famine and God used Joseph. God's people stayed in Egypt much longer than needed, over 200 years, but eventually were put in bondage. They could have left much earlier and went back to Canaan, the Promised Land, but didn't. That's just like us. We have opportunities to follow God and go to the promises God intended for us. We are bunded by material wealth that can all be gone quickly yet we stay because of our stubbornness. Then it's too late and force to stay. We get discouraged. We cry out to God. We didn't even recognize God's deliver and kick him out like they did to Moses vs.14. We say, "who made you prince of judge over us?" That who is God and thank God he is not like us. He hears our cries. He sees our pain. He knows we are in bondage and was a plan for freedom. He remembers many people before us who pleased him and were faithful to him. He remembers their prayers for us, even if we don't deserve it. God prepares Moses for 40 years to become Hebrew's Prince & Judge.
Exodus 2:1-10 - QT by KC
Exodus 2:6
"And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, this is one of the Hebrews' children."
The Christian song "God will make away" is a very appropriate song for Moses. God made away when there seem to be no way. The current Pharaoh was very evil and wanted to kill all the Hebrew boy babies (Ex. 1:22) All because of a possible fearful event that the Hebrew will take over their nation (Ex.1:9). This was a very sad time for God's people. It seems like there was a severe punishment if anyone allowed a Hebrew baby boy to survive. The parents of Moses knew they were risking their lives to keep him alive. It's interesting the tiny boat that held 3 month old Moses was called the Ark vs.5. The parents were praying for a miracle and the sister of Moses saw the miracle. I believe God is the only one that can move our hearts and change us. When the daughter of Pharaoh saw this unusual ark she was curious. When she saw the Hebrew baby cry she was moved with compassion vs.6. I believe, right there she decided to not only save Moses but also make him her son. She decided to love him no matter what others said. She had the power to soften her father's heart for this son Hebrew baby boy. God's greater plan & his ways overcame that evil nation, to ultimately save his people completely.
Exodus 1:1-22 - QT by KC
Exodus 1:8-9
"Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we."
God has worked a miracle in the family of Israel. He raised up Joseph to save all 70 of his family vs. 5 and helped them to be, "fruitful and increased abundantly" and, "the land was filled with them." vs. 7. God is always at works and wants the best for his people. Satan is also at work against God and wants the worst for us especially for God's people. Satan works with a new Pharaoh that doesn't know Joseph and how he saved Egypt vs. 8 This Pharaoh is struck with fear of the children of Israel and wants to control them. God brings love & peace but Satan does just the opposite and brings hate & chaos. In a very short time of this new Pharaoh, he has enslaved all of the Israelites, forced them to hard labor, caused the Egyptians to hate the Israelites, and tries to kill all the male Israelite babies (vs. 11-16). Even in those dark times, some of the Egyptian midwives feared God and chose to disobey that evil law to save many babies. Thank God for that because that is how Moses survives & is raised up to bring freedom. God is the master builder & can even work on the building projects when destruction is everywhere.