Tag Archives: Exodus

Exodus 16, Psalms 70-71

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In Exodus 16 we’re first introduced to the manna that fed Israel throughout their time in the wilderness.  An amazing miracle every day, especially on the 6th day when the manna lasted for two days.  Yet the Israelites get sick of it later on, grumbling for meat instead.

It’s easy to have that same attitude as the Israelites, in our lives today.  We can dismiss their mistakes as those of a faithless generation, but when we look in that mirror at our true face, we have many of the same problems.

That feeling of inadequacy when our phone or computer is out of date, for example.  Contentment in this age of consumerism is difficult to achieve. It’s natural to covet what we don’t have – there’s a reason covetousness was identified in the Law of Moses as being a problem.  Paul says “Godliness with contentment is great gain”.  I find the practical application of this concept to be a difficult one, and I suspect I’m not alone in this.  Fortunately, the Bible is full of examples of people that struggled with their own tendencies towards sin, so we know our generation is not alone in the problems that it experiences.

The Psalms are helpful in putting things into perspective.  David writes “In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame! In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me, and save me! Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.”

Whatever our struggles, God is a strong foundation in which we can trust, turn to in times of difficulty, content in the knowledge that He will always listen.

Exodus 15, Psalms 69, Mark 3

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The song of Moses reminded Israel of the great deliverance they’d had from the Egyptians.  Very similar themes to many of David’s psalms.

  • “The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him”
  • “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them.”
  • “The Lord will reign forever and ever.”

The ideas of praise and thankfulness are rarely translated into our modern life.  We experience so few moments where there is some monumental event to be thankful about.  So instead we need to find ways of identifying small victories, or events in which we can retrospectively see some form of guidance.

With nothing to be happy or praise God about, it’s easy to end up much like David in today’s Psalm.  “Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.”  The cares of this life, all its troubles and vanities, can easily become overwhelming.  David’s answer to that feeling is prayer.  “My prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.“

Prayer will almost certainly never produce immediate results.  For me, part of the power of prayer is that, for those few short minutes, I’m thinking of someone or something other than myself.  Whether it’s just the mighty power of God, or prayer for others in need, it results in outward-focused thoughts.  I sometimes wonder what Jesus spent all night praying about, all those times.  I think it’s fair to assume that he spent a considerable amount of time praying for the needs of others.

Jesus’ selfless personality is highlighted in today’s Mark reading. “And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him”;  “Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat”; “And a crowd was sitting around him“.  Jesus is constantly attending to the needs of others, even at the expense of his natural needs.

Exodus 13-14, Psalms 68

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It’s so easy for us to condemn the Israelites for their lack of faith, for making the same mistakes over and over again, even in the face of clear evidence that God was with them.  The Israelites were deliberately put into a situation in which their faith would be tried

“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt. But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea.”

We know that God does the same to us, so that our “faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  It’s a development process, one that I think we give up on too easily.  Whatever the situation in our life, God will work with us to develop us into people that reflect His character.  “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

David summarises this idea neatly when he wrote “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah. Our God is a God of salvation”.  God will help us, each and very day, if we rely on Him.  He is a God of salvation, not punishment.  The Israelites largely failed to realise this, viewing God only as a ruler intent on punishing.  Let’s learn from their mistake, and “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord”

Exodus 5-6, Psalms 58-59, Romans 10-11

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It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking God is not listening to our prayers, or that He isn’t answering them soon enough.  But then we read Exodus 6 and realise that the Israelites waited hundreds of years to be delivered from the Egyptians.

“God spoke to Moses and said to him, I am the Lord.  I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them.  I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan…I have remembered my covenant.  Say therefore to the people of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians,”

We don’t really know why God waited so long to deliver the Israelites, but He did keep His promise, and they were delivered.

By contrast, many of David’s prayers were answered quite quickly. Psalm 59 was written in reference to a time when Saul sent men to watch David’s house, so that they could kill him (at least, if the superscription is to be believed).  David prays

“Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me; deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men.”

And indeed he was delivered. For this reason David writes

“I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.”

I think the main point to get out of this is that God does answer prayers, but on His own timescale.  Meanwhile, it is up to us to rely on God, and trust that He knows best.  The ways of God are far above our ways, as Paul records

“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?  Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.”

Exodus 1-2, Psalms 53-55, Romans 7-8

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Today’s readings talk about hope.  In Exodus, the midwives feared God, and disobeyed Pharaoh by not killing the newborn males.  They had hope that Israel would be delivered from the Egyptians, and chose to risk their lives in order to serve God

In the Psalms, David writes about events in a difficult time in his life. He had been betrayed by a close friend, yet David doesn’t abandon his trust in God. “But I call to God, and the Lord will save me…he hears my voice. He redeems my soul in safety”.  And later, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved”.  Despite all the trouble in his life, David doesn’t abandon his trust in God.  I think it actually strengthens his trust in God, because he has no one else to turn to.  “I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good. For he has delivered me from every trouble”.  David had hope that God would take care of him, provided that David trusted and relied upon God.

We have that same hope, as Paul writes “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”  God isn’t half-hearted about helping us towards salvation.  He allowed His own son to be sacrificed so that we could be saved.  So we have an incredible hope of salvation, knowing that God is for us, and we can rely on Him in times of difficulty.

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”