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Exodus 4:18-7:13<\/strong><\/span> Exodus chapter 4, verses 24 through 26 probably raised some questions for you today\u2026 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cOn the journey, when Moses and his family had stopped for the night, the LORD confronted Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah, his wife, took a flint knife and circumcised her son\u2026.After that, the LORD left him alone.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>The obvious question being, why was God about to kill Moses?\u00a0 Didn\u2019t God just call Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt?\u00a0 Well, yes he did.\u00a0 Commentaries I read suggest that the primary issue here was an issue of obedience.\u00a0 Moses had not circumcised his son, which was a requirement of God\u2019s covenant with Israel from Genesis chapter 17 \u2013 you\u2019ll recall Abraham and his household all getting circumcised in that 1 day.\u00a0 So, Moses \u2013 and actually Zipporah his wife performed the task of the covenant \u2013 had to circumcise his son before God would let Moses go forward to deliver God\u2019s people out of Egypt.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you like it when the Bible throws in some quick curveballs like this?\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42 Bible.org\u2019s commentary on Exodus chapter 4 is <\/span>at this link<\/span> \u2013 scroll down a bit.\u00a0 Below is an image from the Sistine Chapel of Zipporah and her and Moses\u2019 two sons Gershom and Eliezer:<\/span> I like Exodus chapter 5 verse 1, which builds upon some of our readings in chapter 4: \u201cAfter this presentation to Israel\u2019s leaders, Moses and Aaron went to see Pharaoh.\u201d<\/em> What I like about this is that there was Moses & Aaron going to see Pharaoh \u2013 the 2 of them.\u00a0 This reminds me of Jesus sending out the disciples in pairs.\u00a0 Sometimes in life it seems like we can accomplish more, or stay on task better, if we are partnered with someone else.\u00a0 It\u2019s sometimes tough to do things on our own.\u00a0 I think sometimes we want to make ourselves out to be Lone Rangers \u2013 thinking that we can shoulder the weight of the world on our own.\u00a0 But\u2026 we can\u2019t.\u00a0 First and foremost we need to be in relationship with God through Jesus.\u00a0 Secondly, in relationship with our family.\u00a0 Thirdly, relationship with our community \u2013 as we saw Moses and Aaron spoke with the Hebrew leaders at the end of chapter 4.\u00a0 And then\u2026 we are ready to take on Pharaoh!\u00a0 Then, we are ready to take on the world!\u00a0 Yeah, sure, on rare occasions God will call us to pull off Kingdom tasks on our own \u2013 but\u2026 9 times out of 10, I think you are going to need brothers and sisters in Christ to help you make it.\u00a0 Currently, are you in a community, a church, with brothers and sisters in Christ?\u00a0 Do you know who your Aaron is???\u00a0 Below is a painting by James Tissot of Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh \u2013 <\/span> Exodus Chapter 5 verse 22 starts off our readings today with what seems to be an awfully bold question\u00a0& complaint from Moses to God: \u201cSo Moses went back to the LORD and protested, \u201cWhy have you mistreated your own people like this, Lord?\u00a0 Why did you send me?\u00a0 Since I gave Pharaoh your message, he has been even more brutal to your people. You have not even begun to rescue them!\u201d\u201d<\/em> That first question initially made me wince \u2013 obviously God was not mistreating his own people \u2013 Pharaoh and the foremen were.\u00a0 I don\u2019t fault Moses for this question, since he saw the Israelites suffering so much \u2013 and God didn\u2019t seem to fault Moses either as we see in the beginning of chapter 6 he tells Moses what he is going to do to Pharaoh \u2013 and he doesn\u2019t address Moses question\u00a0& complaint.\u00a0 I think Moses was probably really instead trying to ask God what he gets at in the last sentence \u2013 why haven\u2019t you started your rescue of your people?\u00a0 Then, the second question in verse 22 above takes us back to Moses\u2019 words to God at the burning bush near Midian when God first called Moses to this task \u2013 \u201cwhy me??\u201d\u00a0 This second question kind of made me smile\u2026\u00a0 I guess because I\u2019ve probably asked this question of God a lot of times in my life in various forms \u2013 why are you asking me to do this?\u00a0 Why not pick someone else?\u00a0 Don\u2019t I have enough going on?\u00a0 How am I going to pull this off?\u00a0 Etc. Etc\u2026. Etc\u2026.\u00a0 \u00a0any of these questions sound familiar to you?\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 And yet, even in the midst of this protesting, God is still going to use Moses in a big way for his Kingdom purposes.\u00a0 I pray he will still use me in the midst of my protesting.\u00a0 Do you want God to still use you in the midst of your protesting?\u00a0 What\u2019s your protesting all about?<\/span> At the end of Exodus chapter 6 today we come across a short genealogy \u2013 only 3 of Jacob\/Israel\u2019s son\u2019s are listed \u2013 as the third son, Levi, brings us to Aaron and Moses.\u00a0 I liked coming across this genealogy in today\u2019s readings.\u00a0 It\u2019s kind of a brief interlude in the \u201caction\u201d of the narrative.\u00a0 It\u2019s kind of like God saying to us \u2013 pay attention!\u00a0 These 2 guys, Aaron and Moses were real!\u00a0 Here\u2019s their real genealogy.\u00a0 This is a real factual history.\u00a0 And maybe this genealogy helps remind us of the reality of this book of Exodus before we soon get into the plagues\u2026\u00a0 Below is an image of Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh by an unknown Netherlands or French artist from the mid-16th century \u2013 (image courtesy of metmuseum.org)<\/span> In Exodus chapter 7 we read about Aaron\u2019s staff becoming a snake and the plague of blood.\u00a0 It is interesting that Pharaoh\u2019s wise men & magicians did the same thing as these miracles with their \u201csecret arts.\u201d\u00a0 However, it\u2019s obvious that what the magicians did was not as powerful as what God did \u2013 because God\u2019s snake wins!\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 And, it is indeed ironic that the magicians turning water to blood would really only make matters worse for the Egyptians.\u00a0 I read commentaries that suggested the magicians were either coming up with illusions or potentially tapping into dark \/ demonic forces to make their tricks come to fruition. Check out tons more great info on the nature of the plagues, the magicians tricks, the pattern of the plagues and the point of the plagues in Bob Deffinbaugh\u2019s essay titled \u201cThe Finger of God\u201d<\/strong> at bible.org <\/span>at this link<\/span>.\u00a0 This is worth the read before we dive into all the plagues over the next few days!\u00a0 Below is an image of the plague of blood along the river Nile: <\/span> Worship Video:<\/strong>\u00a0 Today\u2019s readings remind me of the For King and Country song \u201cFix My Eyes:\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
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