Exodus-The LORD is Israel's Shepherd

After Moses prayed and the plague of scarab beetles (or flies) ended, Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go as he had promised. The LORD instructed Moses to go before Pharaoh once again to advise him of the impending disaster should he fail to heed the word of the LORD to let the Israelites leave Egypt. The LORD promised that Egypt’s livestock on the fields at the appointed time of the plague would die, but He would spare the livestock of the people of Israel. The LORD gave Pharaoh an ultimatum, even setting the time when the disaster would strike so Pharaoh could not attribute the deadly plague to coincidence. He would know, without a doubt, that the LORD GOD of Israel was at work when the plague occurred.

 Pharaoh had tried in vain to compromise with the Israelites. He even suggested that they need not leave Egypt to worship their God; they could worship within the borders of Egypt. However, the Egyptians despised the Israelite shepherds and would have viewed their sacrifices to God as an abomination and an offence (Ex 8:25-28). The Bible does not make it clear why the Egyptians hated the Israelites’ occupation as shepherds, especially since they maintained flocks of their own (Gen 47: 5-6). Various extra-Biblical commentaries and sources state that perhaps the Egyptians hated the Israelite shepherds because they used animals as sacrifices in the worship of the LORD and perhaps certain animals were sacred to the Egyptians. The Egyptians, on the other hand, worshiped Hathor - a cow headed goddess. Hathor was revered as a sky goddess as well the goddess of music, love, childbirth, fertility, and mining. Apis, a bull-deity, was also worshiped in Egypt from approximately 3000BC. The Apis bull, a bull selected from the herd based on specific bodily patterns, was regarded as a symbol of the Pharaoh’s courage, fighting spirit, strength, fertility and virility. The bull was housed in a temple and the Egyptians engaged in elaborate burial ceremonies when it died, mourning for many days as if the Pharaoh himself had died. Great celebrations would commence when the priests found a new Apis bull after much searching and deliberation. Other explanations cite a slow but steady influx of “Hyksos” or foreign rulers (allegedly mistranslated as “shepherd kings” by Josephus the historian). These foreigners were often shepherds who conducted raids on the Egyptians, leading to a growing distrust of shepherds.

 The Egyptians had thus elevated the creatures the LORD had made into gods, which they idolized. The plague that decimated Egypt’s livestock proved to the Egyptians that their gods were mere creations of their own imagination. The LORD is indeed the Creator and Sustainer of all life. The LORD revealed to Pharaoh His sovereignty and omnipotence by the great judgments brought against Egypt and its gods. Yet, even in the judgments, God was revealing His mercy and forbearance to the Egyptians. He patiently consulted with their king to secure the release of His people, when He could have released them immediately by His awesome power. He gave Pharaoh many opportunities to relinquish his power, acknowledge the LORD as the true sovereign and release His people. He also did not destroy all of Egypt’s livestock, but only those that were out in the field (Ex 9:3).   

 Pharaoh, however, remained unimpressed and refused to let the Israelites leave Egypt. He sent a delegation to the land of Goshen, the territory where the Israelites lived, to examine the livestock belonging to the Israelites in order to test whether the LORD’s prediction concerning the plague had indeed occurred as predicted. Some commentators believe that Pharaoh, in his position as slave-master of Israel, did this in order to forcefully assimilate the Israelites’ livestock as his own in order to reduce the losses he suffered from the plague. In so doing, he would have been openly challenging and defying the LORD. However, the LORD was not finished with Pharaoh yet…

 Scripture references: Exodus 9:1-7

 

 

Exodus-The LORD is the Lifeblood and Source

Moses and Aaron appeared before Pharaoh to request the freedom of the people of Israel, as the LORD had commanded them. They performed the initial sign that should have been proof enough to Pharaoh that the LORD had sent them to deliver Israel. However Pharaoh hardened his heart, just as God had predicted, and he refused to let Israel leave Egypt.

It was the LORD’s intention that Egypt, as well as His chosen people Israel, would know that He alone reigned supreme over creation and every god conceived by the heart of mankind. The LORD clearly identified Himself with His chosen people even though they were a nation enslaved by Pharaoh. God wanted to show Pharaoh that His authority was not diminished by the weakened state that Israel found themselves in; His authority was in fact so great that He would deliver His people and show the nations His unmatched authority.

In Ancient Egypt, the Nile River was the source of life and fertility. Its annual flooding resulted in nutrient-rich mineral deposits along its banks, enabling the Egyptians to plant and irrigate their crops to obtain an abundant harvest. The Nile was also the main source of drinking water for the Egyptians and their livestock. Egypt was often described as a “fertile crescent” because of the Nile River. As a result of the Egyptians’ dependence on the Nile, various cults developed and many Egyptians worshipped the Nile god, Hapi. Hapi was depicted as a man with long hair, a protruding belly and the pendulous breasts of an old woman. The large belly and breasts signified the fertility of the Nile, the lifeblood of Egypt. An old Egyptian hymn states that if Hapi were to fail in granting the Egyptians the annual inundation of the Nile, all the gods would fall to the earth and mankind would perish. Hapi was often regarded as the father of the gods. Hatmehyt was fish-goddess of Egypt and was believed to reside in the river.

Pharaoh’s hardened heart resulted in the LORD’s first physical judgment on Egypt. When Aaron struck the Nile with his rod at God’s command, all the water in Egypt turned to blood and the Nile began to stink. The fish in the river died. This signified that the LORD reigned supreme over the Egyptian god of the Nile, Hapi, as well as their fish-goddess, Hatmehyt. Even the water in vessels of wood and stone turned to blood, signifying that this act could not be ascribed to any natural cause. However, because the Egyptians dug along the Nile for drinking water and their magicians were able to perform the same sign, Pharaoh once again hardened his heart and refused to let Israel go. It was significant that the magicians were able only to copy the signs the LORD performed, but not reverse them. The deities of Egypt and Pharaoh himself were powerless. The LORD showed Egypt that He is the lifeblood of mankind. He is the Creator and source of all things, even the Nile River on which they so depended.

 

Scripture references: Exodus 7:14-25

Exodus-Is this really deliverance?

The Israelites were standing on the brink of  deliverance, or so Moses thought. God had promised to deliver them from Egyptian slavery. The message of impending deliverance had been favourably received by the Israelites and an air of expectancy  enveloped the Israelite camp.

In the excitement of it all, Moses and Aaron had forgotten that God had already predicted Pharaoh's reaction in Ex 4:21. Pharaoh would not let the people leave, not until a great display of God’s power would force him to drive them from his land.

Exodus 5:1 calls God the “God of Israel”. He was the God of Israel (formerly Jacob), but now He identifies Himself as the God of Israel, a nation of slaves. Pharaoh's response to Moses and Aaron’s entreaty is one of sheer arrogance. “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover I will not let Israel go.” As far as Pharaoh was concerned, he was the  ruling monarch in Egypt and his peopled revered and worshipped him as the son of god. Why should he submit to a god of a slave nation? After all, if  their God was so powerful, why did He let them become slaves in the first place? Pharaoh made the mistake of identifying Israel with their God. Israel may have been weak, broken down by slavery, but their God remained strong. Pharaoh had forgotten that the reason for their slavery was precisely because their God had blessed and multiplied them exceedingly!

Pharaoh's response to the request for release of the people of Israel was to increase their workload and refuse them assistance to gather supplies to meet their daily quotas.  They were no longer given straw to make bricks, but were dispersed across Egypt to look for their own straw with no commensurate reduction in their work quotas. The leaders of Israel were put to a test; their faith in God was tried and they were found wanting.  The magnificent cities in Egypt were silent testimonies that the Israelites were not lazy; they were being falsely accused by Pharaoh as an excuse for him to increase the intensity of their persecution.  Even Moses and Aaron were told harshly to “go back to work”.

The faith of the Israelite leaders took strain under  Egyptian abuse and they accused Moses and Aaron of “making them stink in the sight of Pharaoh.” Little did they realize that they had always been so in the sight of Pharaoh. It was easy to look with nostalgia at the past, calling it the “good old days” but they were ever really that good?

Deeply troubled, Moses went to God and questioned the reason for His sending him to Pharaoh. The disappointments in his commission did not drive him away from God, but rather made him run to Him for answers and solace.  In our day, there is precious little time to worship God. If we don’t make time, we  often find ourselves overwhelmed by work and the cares of this world, having neglected our daily devotions. As knowledge is increasing, people are scurrying to and fro, just as the prophet Daniel predicted.  Do not let satan use work, cares and the burdens of this life to distract you from worshipping God. It was his method of choice in Exodus, and it is now too. Let the Word of God sink into your heart and don’t let distractions choke it out of you. Deliverance may not be easy, but it is sure because God has promised it.

Scripture refs: Exodus 5, Luke 8:14

Exodus-The Sign of the covenant

In Exodus 4:1-13, Moses debated with God over his suitability for the appointed task of leading Israel out of Egypt. Even after all the wonderful signs God gave him, Moses asked God to send someone else (v13).

The book of Exodus reveals the Lord as a compassionate God,  slow to anger and abundant in mercy, yet not to be taken advantage of  for He is also a consuming fire. The anger of  the Lord was kindled against Moses, yet God did not strike him dead. Instead He assigned Aaron, Moses’ brother to be a helper to him and a spokesman to the nation of Israel (v14-17).

From the time Moses was attracted to the burning bush, God spoke directly to him in a very personal way. It seems confusing then, that the very God who had so mightily commissioned him a little while before would seek to take his life as he made the arduous journey to  Egypt with his family (Ex 4:20-24).

Ex 4:25-26 reveals that it was Zipporah’s quick thinking in circumcising her son that saved  Moses, and appeased the Lord’s anger against him. Moses had been appointed to lead the nation of Israel out of Egypt. As a young boy born to Hebrew parents, he had no doubt been circumcised on the eighth day as was customary. However, being raised in the palace as Pharoah’s adopted son had caused him to be estranged to his own people and he had neglected to circumcise his own son.

Genesis 17:9-14 reveals the significance of the rite of circumcision. It was a sign of the everlasting covenant which God had made with Abraham. Verse 14 reveals that the uncircumcised man-child would be cut off  from his people for not carrying the sign of the covenant. God knew that  the nation of Israel would not accept a leader who would not circumcise his own son, so He made provision for Moses’ son to be circumcised. Moses would have no doubt in his mind regarding his place among the nation of Israel after the circumcision of his son. He no longer had a double identity; he could  no longer play “double-agent.” He  had a singular purpose to surrender to God’s Will and, by the power of  the Almighty, to lead the nation of Israel out of Egyptian slavery.

Circumcision was just the sign of the covenant, a means to an end and not the end in itself. It was an important sign to the nation of Israel, indicating their position as the people of God. It was not circumcision that made  them God’s people, but rather they were circumcised because God had chosen them for His very own. In the same way, God’s people  in this age must have their hearts “circumcised”, always  pliable to His commands. Although salvation is not obtained by obedience, but by acceptance of Christ’s atoning sacrifice, obedience to God’s commands reflects our love for the God who first loved us. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Satan is against the people of God who keep God’s commandments and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Scripture refs: Ex 4:1-26, Rev 12:17, John 14:15, 1 John 5:1-3, James 2:17-26

Exodus: The Beginnings of a Nation

The book of Genesis closes with the  record of Joseph and his family in Egypt due to the famine in Canaan (Ex 1:5). The book of  Exodus opens, not with a family but a nation. God  had already fulfilled the first part of His Promise to Abraham.   God promised Abraham that He would make him a great nation and make his name exceedingly great (Gen 12:2). When faced with doubt and despair concerning who would be his heir, Abraham was commanded by God to look at the stars and try to number them. “So shall your seed be”, God promised (Gen 15:5). Ex 1:7 records the extent of their greatness. The family of 70 had grown into a nation numbering millions because God fulfilled His Promise to Abraham.

However, trouble was on the horizon. Joseph, his father and brothers and all that generation passed away and there came a time when a new king rose to power in Egypt, one who had no remembrance of Joseph. The Bible does not record the length of time that passed before this new Pharoah came to power or the reasons surrounding the Egyptian royal dynasty’s forgetfulness of Joseph’s benevolent rule.  Perhaps, it was because the nation of Israel at its zenith had themselves forgotten how they came to be in Egypt. Maybe they got too comfortable in Egypt, forgetting that their inheritance was not to be in that land, but rather in Canaan. They were a powerful, blessed and great nation but God’s entire Promise was not yet fulfilled. God desired that they should have their own land and that He would be their King, not a Pharoah. Sometimes, God’s Plan for us is different from our own. He  has a better plan and will intervene in mysterious ways to accomplish His Will. Joseph understood that the destiny of his people was not to be in Egypt, favourable though the conditions may have been. In a prophetic utterance before his death, he asked that his bones be carried to Canaan when God visited His people to fulfil the next portion of His Promise to Abraham i.e. their own land! (Gen 50:25-26).

The new Pharoah sought to subjugate the nation of Israel. He saw them not as a great ally, but a potential enemy. He made them slaves in Egypt, building the store cities of Raamses and Pithom. It was Joseph who through God’s wisdom had invented store cities! Pharoah also requested the Israelite midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to kill all infant Hebrew boys and only let the girls live. He sought to weaken Israel, hoping all the older men would die under the harsh conditions of slavery and they would be a nation of women! The midwives however, chose to obey God instead of Pharoah and God honoured them by rewarding them with families and households of their own. Pharoah was on a collision course with God’s Promise and God’s Will for His people and he was fighting a losing battle. Despite the affliction of slavery and the command to kill the infant sons of Israel, Israel blossomed and multiplied under the hand of a gracious God. How ironical that the Bible makes mention of the lowly, God-fearing Hebrew midwives by name but fails to mention the reigning monarch by his name! The lowliest of God’s servants are honoured by Him more than kings (Ex 1:8, 15-21)

Scripture refs: Exodus 1

God has the best plan for your life!

It all started with a nation in obscurity, yet chosen by God. The nation of Israel did not start out as a nation deserving of God’s favour, yet He chose to use this nation to showcase what He could do if they surrendered to Him. (Deut 10:15)

As long as the nation of Israel obeyed God, they were triumphant in battle and had the privilege of being led by God Himself through the pillar of cloud in the day and fire by night. This nation had nothing to boast about. They never chose God; rather it was God who chose them. (Ex 13:21)

God wanted the nation of Israel to be different. They were called to be His own peculiar people, a special people close to His heart. In and through them, all the families of the earth were to be blessed. However, instead of embracing their heritage, they yearned to be like the pagan tribes around them and desired their own king. They rejected the rule of the Majesty of Heaven in favour of an earthly king, slave to like passions as themselves. They wanted a king who would ride triumphantly into battle with them, yet their battles had always been the Lord’s! (1 Sam 8:5-20)

In the same manner we being the church, as spiritual Israel, have been called to be kings and priests to our God and to reign with Him in His kingdom which will never end. However, we find ourselves as pilgrims in this far country of life, and instead of seeking the everlasting City of God, we are distracted by this world and it’s people. We long to be like them more than we long to be like our Saviour. He has created us to shine like lights in a perverse world to show all people His glory, but instead we prefer to blend into the crowds. We claim to value originality, but we evidence a pitiful lack thereof. Our dress, the way we walk and talk, and conduct business is the same as is commonly found in this world. It is not often that others see the difference! (Phil 2:15, Heb 11:13, 1 Pet 2:11)

Why is it that we prefer to crawl when God has designed us to soar with Him? We were not made to be creatures of habit, slaves to sin. We are not meant to sit in church for years and years with nothing to show for it. We were made in the image of God, to triumph over evil. Christ is daily restoring that image in us and we are called to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and to overcome sin through the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit. The time has come to stop “playing church” and start living it out in our lives! We need the deliverance of Christ to manifest in our lives, so that the whole world can see the difference. (Gen 1:27, Col 3)

God has called us to perfection because He is perfect. He has called us to holiness because He is holy. As His people, we must reflect His character. It is a high ideal to strive for, but with Christ all things are possible! Although our righteousness pales in comparison to His, we are called to model our lives on His life and to walk just as He walked if we are to be His true disciples. Put aside selfish, carnal desires and let Christ unravel the puzzle that is your life today! (1 Jn 2:6, Acts 4:13) 

God has the best plan for your life; why don't you surrender to Him today? With God in your corner, there is nothing that life can throw at you that you and Him together can't handle.You can't afford NOT to know Him!

"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." -John 6:37.