Category Archives: All Powerful / King of All

All Powerful / King of All, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Father / Yahweh, Guide, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Miracles, Obeying God, Speaking, Through Prophets, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Is “Tolerance” A Virtue?

In the United States and much of the world today there is a worldview that preaches “tolerance” as a virtue. Ironically, the world preaches tolerance for just about any belief except Christianity or Judaism. Jehovah does not share the opinion that tolerance is a virtue, at least in the context of His people honoring false gods and idols and pagan worship practices. He compares that to adultery, which is a very personal and destructive sin.

As we explore Exodus 34, notice that Jehovah is addressing His people. They are called to and expected to obey Him and His ways without compromise and tolerance. This does not, emphasize “not”, mean that we are to go and destroy or persecute everyone else. That is not consistent with other scripture. However, we are not to hold up false beliefs as if they are worthy of recognition and respect and consideration. We are not to consider which of the false beliefs we want to practice as His people. We are to strictly focus on what He commands us to do and not to do.  Jehovah has not changed His opinion on the matter since He spoke to Moses about it. It is still how He feels today.

Exodus 34:10-28

The Covenant Renewed

      10Then God said, “Behold, I am going to make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform miracles which have not been produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people among whom you live will see the working of the LORD, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you.

      11“Be sure to observe what I am commanding you this day: behold, I am going to drive out the Amorite before you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. 12“Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. 13“But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim 14—for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God— 15otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice, 16and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods. 17“You shall make for yourself no molten gods.

      18“You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.

      19“The first offspring from every womb belongs to Me, and all your male livestock, the first offspring from cattle and sheep. 20“You shall redeem with a lamb the first offspring from a donkey; and if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons. None shall appear before Me empty-handed.

      21“You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest. 22“You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. 23“Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. 24“For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no man shall covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the LORD your God.

      25“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread, nor is the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover to be left over until morning.

      26“You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God.
“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

      27Then 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.” 28So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

Interesting thing about a “covenant”… it calls upon both sides to meet certain conditions. God has done, does, and will do mighty things for His people. However, don’t expect Him to treat you as His child if you choose to reject His commands and instructions. When you disregard or outright reject what He calls you to do… you have broken the covenant.

Prayerfully consider… in what areas do you find yourself compromising to accept or even endorse behaviors and attitudes that the world claims are right and appropriate, but God has spoken against in the Bible? Stand for God and stand upon His word. Live as a light to others, even when they reject you for it. That is living as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Ask yourself… Why do we find it so easy to go along with cultural / worldly celebrations, attitudes, and behaviors? Why is it we act like God has not spoken in regards to what and how He would like us to live and worship Him?  Why do we, as God’s people, not completely reject false gods and idols? Why do we not completely reject worldly celebrations and traditions… or at least test them rigorously against God’s word? Why do we accept wrong attitudes, and behaviors as “normal” and “acceptable” instead of deviant and in need of repentance?

Why do we not commonly celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Weeks, Feast of Ingathering and Passover? Why do we not embrace and honor the Sabbath? Why do we not honor God with the first fruits of our finances (though it may not be animals for those of us who are not farmers)? Why do we not stand firm and proud for all of God’s instructions in what is and what is not “sin”, regardless of public opinion?

We should. Be a light for others. Do things the way our Creator instructed. Do them joyfully even through adversity.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Knowing, All Powerful / King of All, Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Father / Yahweh, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Idols / False Gods, Justice / Judgment, Speaking, Through Prophets, Traditions / Holidays, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Do Not Turn Aside From God’s Commands

Most of us who have followed Yahweh for awhile have had the opportunity to see His hand at work in our lives. I have marveled that He takes such an interest in someone so insignificant as me, but nonetheless He does! He loves each of His children. As we get to know Him more closely, we more easily recognize His hand at work in our lives.

We must take heed, however, and not turn away when we feel distant from Him or when we do not feel His presence. At those times, we must continue obeying His commands and His ways, faithfully believing that He is there, even if we do not see His hand at work. Often we can point back to events in our lives where He intervened to encourage us to remember Him. Do not turn from Him.

Consider His people as they left Egypt. Yahweh delivered them from slavery through many mighty miracles. There were ten plagues, parting of the Red Sea, defeat of Pharaoh’s army, God appearing as fire  and smoke to lead them, manna and water miraculously to meet their needs in the dessert. Surely we would think that generation could never turn from God, but they did.

Exodus 32:1-10

The Golden Calf

      1Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 5Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” 6So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

      7Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8“They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” 9The LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. 10“Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.”

I think we can all see clearly that Yahweh was not pleased with His people for making this idol and worshipping it. He was going to destroy them and start over. Let us consider carefully what happened. If we read to quickly we may conclude, as many have, that the Israelites were worshipping an idol of a false god and that is why Yahweh was upset… but this is not the case.

Look closer. Indeed they had created an idol and began to worship it, but in fact they were using the idol to represent Yahweh Himself. Consider the following verses:

“This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 5Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”

In fact, the people were worshipping Yahweh, and He was very upset! Why? Yahweh does not want His people to worship Him in the way that the pagans worship their false gods. It disgusts Him. He wants us to worship Him in the way He tells us.

Deuteronomy 12:30-32

30beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’ 31“You shall not behave thus toward the LORD your God, for every abominable act which the LORD hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

      32“Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.

The Israelites may have been worshipping Yahweh, but they were doing so in like manner to how the Egyptians worshipped their false gods by making idols.

While this may seem like it does not apply today, it certainly does! Yahweh has not changed His opinion on what is good and what is bad. He still does not want us to worship Him with idols or with any of the manners or traditions with which the pagans worship false gods. If we take the time to study our common Christmas and Easter traditions (and other traditions as well), we will certainly find the history of many of these traditions are derived not from God’s word, but from pagan worship practices. Christians have created new meanings for many of these traditions, but they still are derived from pagan worship. Yahweh is not pleased, even if we say it is He whom we are worshipping.

Do not repeat the error of the Israelites, which drew great anger from Yahweh. Instead, learn the history and true origin of the traditions you practice. Reject the ones that are derived from pagan worship. Instead, study and learn the practices and worship that Yahweh instructs us in His word. There is so much to learn!

I feel like I have been on an archaeological dig for a decade to understand and lay down traditions rooted in pagan worship and instead to focus on and adopt practices and traditions that are commanded in God’s word in the Old Testament.

I encourage you to invest time to get to know Yahweh. If He is Lord, then you should take time to learn His ways and reject the ways of the pagan worship… even if done in Yahweh’s name.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Knowing, All Powerful / King of All, Father / Yahweh, Guide, Speaking

If God Calls You, He Already Has A Plan

If Jehovah calls you to do something, no matter how difficult or  intimidating to you, He already has a plan for how you will succeed. You will not have to do it alone. He will be with you. Sometimes, He intervenes directly and supernaturally. Other times, He will provide the support and talents that you need personally and in those around you to be successful. When He instructed Moses in all the detail of the Tabernacle, Jehovah had already created and placed the skilled craftsmen to do the work He commanded.

Exodus 31:1-11

The Skilled Craftsmen

      1Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3“I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, 4to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, 5and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship. 6“And behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you: 7the tent of meeting, and the ark of testimony, and the mercy seat upon it, and all the furniture of the tent, 8the table also and its utensils, and the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, 9the altar of burnt offering also with all its utensils, and the laver and its stand, 10the woven garments as well, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, with which to carry on their priesthood; 11the anointing oil also, and the fragrant incense for the holy place, they are to make them according to all that I have commanded you.”

When God calls us to do something for Him and for His kingdom, we do not have to do it alone. Trust in Him to direct your path and provide you with the resources you need.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Knowing, All Powerful / King of All, Father / Yahweh, Guide, Loving / Kind, Obeying God, Speaking, Through Prophets

Is Jehovah Is Too Busy To Get Into Details?

Our human nature typically feels best when we feel we have control of the details of our lives. It can be tempting to believe that Jehovah is too busy to really care about the details of our life, so we will just make all those decisions on our own. After all, He has a lot to look after, right?  Some even teach that we should pray not to the Father, but to dead people that are labeled saints. Somehow, we are to believe, Jehovah is not able to handle it all and must have the help of dead people for us to pray to? The truth is that we are to pray only to the Father, following the example of Jesus Christ. Never did he support or teach that we should pray to anyone except the Father. Jesus did not even teach that we should ever pray to Him… only in His name to the Father.

Jehovah is quite sufficient on His own to hear all our prayer and be involved in intimate details in our lives. Let us consider an example in Exodus. Several chapters provide painstaking detail of exactly what the Father wanted for His people to do in creating an altar and tabernacle in which He would dwell among them in the wilderness.

Exodus 27

The Bronze Altar

      1“And you shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits. 2“You shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze. 3“You shall make its pails for removing its ashes, and its shovels and its basins and its forks and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze. 4“You shall make for it a grating of network of bronze, and on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. 5“You shall put it beneath, under the ledge of the altar, so that the net will reach halfway up the altar. 6“You shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 7“Its poles shall be inserted into the rings, so that the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8“You shall make it hollow with planks; as it was shown to you in the mountain, so they shall make it.

Court of the Tabernacle

      9“You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side there shall be hangings for the court of fine twisted linen one hundred cubits long for one side; 10and its pillars shall be twenty, with their twenty sockets of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver. 11“Likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings one hundred cubits long, and its twenty pillars with their twenty sockets of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver. 12“For the width of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits with their ten pillars and their ten sockets. 13“The width of the court on the east side shall be fifty cubits. 14“The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits with their three pillars and their three sockets. 15“And for the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits with their three pillars and their three sockets. 16“For the gate of the court there shall be a screen of twenty cubits, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of a weaver, with their four pillars and their four sockets. 17“All the pillars around the court shall be furnished with silver bands with their hooks of silver and their sockets of bronze. 18“The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, and the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits of fine twisted linen, and their sockets of bronze. 19“All the utensils of the tabernacle used in all its service, and all its pegs, and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze.

      20“You shall charge the sons of Israel, that they bring you clear oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually. 21“In the tent of meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the LORD; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout their generations for the sons of Israel.

Next time you are facing difficult decisions, whether great or small, know that you can come prayerfully and humbly before our heavenly Father and ask for His help. He is able and willing to help us even in the small details of our lives. He may be the Creator of all, sustaining all things, but He is also our loving Father who cares very much for His children!

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Father / Yahweh, Hearing from God, Holy, Holy / Set Apart, Prayer, Through Prophets, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Those Who Consecrate Themselves To His Purposes Will Draw Near To Him

Those who come closest to Jehovah are those consecrated to Him… that is to say dedicated and set aside for His use for His purposes. Jehovah reveals to us this truth through scripture as we see examples of those who dedicate themselves fully toward His purposes are often those whom He calls to serve as prophets or missionaries or leaders for His people. In Exodus, Jehovah calls forth Moses and Aaron, who are called to His purpose. He also calls for the priests to consecrate themselves, dedicating themselves to His purposes. The rest of the people remain at a greater distance from Him.

Exodus 19:18-25

The LORD Visits Sinai

      18Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. 19When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. 20The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 21Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through to the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. 22“Also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, or else the LORD will break out against them.” 23Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds about the mountain and consecrate it.’” 24Then the LORD said to him, “Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, or He will break forth upon them.” 25So Moses went down to the people and told them.

Whether we discuss priests and prophets in scripture or those who follow Jehovah today, the principle is the same. Those of us who separate ourselves from the world and dedicate ourselves genuinely and wholeheartedly to our Creator will be allowed to see and experience more of Him. Those who refuse to die to their own desires and the ways of the world but claim to follow Him will remain at a distance from Him.

Prayerfully and humbly pray to Jehovah that He would help you to dedicate yourself to His purposes, surrendering your desires and preferences and living out His instead.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Discerning / Judging, Help / Serve Others, Humility, Pride, Protector / Deliverer, Provider, Teachable, Wise

Listen To Wise Advice And Work With Others

Moses was chosen by Jehovah to lead His people out of slavery in Egypt. After many miracles and a deepening relationship with Jehovah, it would seem easy for Moses to be vulnerable to pride and not be open to the wise council and advice from someone else. However, Moses deserves credit for listening to and following the advice he received from Jethro.

Exodus 18:1

Jethro, Moses’ Father-in-law

      1Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away, 3and her two sons, of whom one was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.” 4The other was named Eliezer, for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

      5Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, at the mount of God. 6He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.” 7Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. 8Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had befallen them on the journey, and how the LORD had delivered them. 9Jethro rejoiced over all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, in delivering them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10So Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD who delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11“Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods; indeed, it was proven when they dealt proudly against the people.” 12Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

      13It came about the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood about Moses from the morning until the evening. 14Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?” 15Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16“When they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

Jethro Counsels Moses

      17Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. 18“You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. 19“Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You be the people’s representative before God, and you bring the disputes to God, 20then teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do. 21“Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. 22“Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor dispute they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23“If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their place in peace.”

      24So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. 26They judged the people at all times; the difficult dispute they would bring to Moses, but every minor dispute they themselves would judge. 27Then Moses bade his father-in-law farewell, and he went his way into his own land.

When Jehovah gives us a responsibility to serve Him, we absolutely want to take it seriously and work hard at doing it right. However, we must be careful that we do not wear ourselves out by taking on too much of the burden on our own. We must learn to listen to wise advice and take it, whether from Jehovah or from man. We have greater and longer lasting impact when we can lean on others who can be trusted and let them help us do our Father’s work.

Are there any situations in your life that are putting a heavy burden on you? It can be work or family or even ministry… as in Moses’ case. Pray for Jehovah to send you help and wisdom on how to do His work most effectively and sustainably.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Protector / Deliverer, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Stop Defining God By How You Would Do Things

I hear many things said today by people who reject Jehovah and even by those who claim to follow Him that reflect a poor understanding of Him. Yes, even many who claim to follow Jehovah through Jesus Christ still do not understand the God they worship. They try to define God based on how they feel comfortable or what the world tells them is right rather than understand God as He has revealed Himself through the Bible.

“I don’t want to believe in a God that would allow pain and suffering in the world.”

“The God I know would not hurt anyone.”

“God is a God of love so that behavior cannot really be sin or why would he make people that way?”

“God would not hurt animals.”

“God would not use the wicked or suffering to bring about His plan.”

The above are all examples of wildly false statements that people use when they do not understand God. If we constantly try to view God through a man made box in which we constrain artificially how we are willing to accept that He interacts with this world, we will continue to drift farther and farther from Him. If we seek Him as revealed through the Bible and through prayer, accepting Him even when we disagree or do not understand, we will draw near to Him and He to us.

Exodus 11

The Last Plague

      1Now the LORD said to Moses, “One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out from here completely. 2“Speak now in the hearing of the people that each man ask from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor for articles of silver and articles of gold.” 3The LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Furthermore, the man Moses himself was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.

      4Moses said, “Thus says the LORD, ‘About midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, 5and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well. 6‘Moreover, there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again. 7‘But against any of the sons of Israel a dog will not even bark, whether against man or beast, that you may understand how the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ 8“All these your servants will come down to me and bow themselves before me, saying, ‘Go out, you and all the people who follow you,’ and after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.

      9Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders will be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh; yet the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go out of his land.

Yes, God not only allowed, but caused the firstborn of all the Egyptians to die. He did not only do this for the ruling Pharoah or the rich and powerful but explicitly even to the lowest slave and the cattle as well. Oh, and He hardened Pharaoh’s heart to get to this point without releasing the Hebrew people so that He could demonstrate signs and wonders. Yes, that was God. No, He was not wrong to do it. His ways are above our ways. Just because we don’t understand it does not mean it is wrong. We must break away from always assuming we are wise and understand the big picture… we do not. God does.

I could spend a lot of time debating why God worked this way and how I process it, but instead, let’s go back to what God said about it.

      9Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders will be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

God wanted to demonstrate an amazing series of wonders so that the Egyptians and the Hebrew people would know that He is God. This establishes a strong and memorable foundation to help His people as they go on their journey out of Egypt and into the wilderness and eventually into the promised land. These wonders are still talked about today as an example of God’s power and deliverance for His people. They also serve as warning to watch how quickly some of His people forget Him and fall away from faith as the times get tough, despite amazing wonders done in His name.

If we are to draw near to God, we must try to understand Him through studying the Bible and not through surface opinions of our own or the world that try to say what He should or should not do. His followers seek Him to understand Him and we follow Him even when we do not understand Him. We do not redefine who we think He should be to make us more comfortable.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Speaking, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Do Not Negotiate With God, But Rather Obey

Be careful in your life that when Jehovah speaks clearly to you, you do not negotiate with Him but rather obey. He is our Lord and all powerful Creator of everything. His wisdom and His plans are beyond our understanding. We have not position or power or wisdom with which to negotiate with Him. We either obey or disobey, and then receive the consequences of our choice.

By the time we read the history through to Exodus 10, Pharaoh has been through a lot. He started by trusting in his magicians to replicate the signs and wonders God provided. This helped him rationalize that God is not very powerful or special and thus could be ignored or dismissed. Then, when his magicians could no longer replicate the signs, Pharaoh would relent under pressure and agree to let the Israelites go, but then change his mind as soon as the threat was no longer in front of him. It was as if he was rationalizing that it never happened or could not be repeated once it had passed. Now in Exodus 10, Pharaoh first tries to negotiate or compromise with God by allowing only the men to go worship, when God demanded all the people and their livestock to go. It must have been difficult for Pharaoh, a mighty king, to submit humbly to Jehovah. Pharaoh had already decided the people must return, so was trying to keep the children and now, in Exodus 10:21-29, the livestock from going away with the people.

Pharaoh’s hard hearted attempts to bargain or negotiate with God fail. God has already stated His demands and will not change His mind for the likes of Pharaoh.

Exodus 10:20-29

 20But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go.

Darkness over the Land

      21Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt.” 22So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. 23They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings. 24Then Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, “Go, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be detained. Even your little ones may go with you.” 25But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice them to the LORD our God. 26“Therefore, our livestock too shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we shall take some of them to serve the LORD our God. And until we arrive there, we ourselves do not know with what we shall serve the LORD.” 27But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. 28Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Beware, do not see my face again, for in the day you see my face you shall die!” 29Moses said, “You are right; I shall never see your face again!”

Be careful that you do not dismiss Pharaoh to easily. We can all be vulnerable to similar patterns of behavior and rationalization. What God tells us to do, we should do and not debate or negotiate. This can apply to His specific will for our lives that He may choose to reveal to us each through prayer or scripture or through other means. It can also apply to His general will, documented so clearly in the Bible. God gave us many instructions to follow to help us know right from wrong and to be set apart from the world clearly to be His people. How many of us though, grow up with a compromised version of which of His rules we are taught we should obey and which we are wrongly taught no longer apply.

Who are we to choose what commandments or instructions we will follow and which we will not? How often I notice that people who claim to follow Him may agree they should not use the Lord’s name in vain, they should honor their parents, not kill, not commit adultery, not steal, not lie, and not covet… but they ignore the Sabbath day, include statues (idols) even in their church and worship, and place many things in priority in their life before God. These things may range from money, lust, sports, job, power, or accepting other false beliefs associated with make believe gods.

God is not pleased when we choose to obey some of what He tells us any more than human parents are pleased when their children obey some of the instructions they are given, but disobey many more. Is a business owner pleased when employees obey half the rules he gives them? Doubtful… he will probably fire those employees. Why then do we expect that we can please God by negotiating or compromising with Him?

Prayerfully examine your own life and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you any areas where you are not fully submitted to God. Also, as you study scripture make note of the instructions God gives His people and test whether or not it still applies and you should be following it today. Pay special attention to the Old Testament passages as many churches today teach wrongly that most of the instruction God gave His people in that time are now obsolete, despite Jesus clearly stating and showing by His life that God’s instruction in the Old Testament is still valid.

To learn more, read Understanding the Law – What Does It Mean For Us Today?

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Knowing, All Powerful / King of All, Can God Use Me?, Courage / Fear, Faith / Trusting God, Hearing from God, Miracles, Obeying God

If God Calls You To A Mission, He Will Help You Complete It

When God calls us to complete a mission, He will often test and grow our faith by challenging us with something outside of our comfort zone. God does this intentionally. It requires no faith if God asks us to go do what we can do on our own. Imagine if God asked us to tie our shoes… does that have any opportunity to bring glory to God? to build our faith? No. It is something we can do by ourselves without God’s help.

When God calls us to a mission that is obviously stretching us beyond our own ability, we must obey and rely on Him to successfully accomplish it. It can be more than a little intimidating, even for those we think of as heroes or legends of faith.

Exodus 3:10-22

The Mission of Moses

      10“Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” 12And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

      13Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘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, and this is My memorial-name to all generations. 16“Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt. 17“So I said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ 18“They will pay heed to what you say; and you with the elders of Israel will come to the king of Egypt and you will say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ 19“But I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion. 20“So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go. 21“I will grant this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty-handed. 22“But every woman shall ask of her neighbor and the woman who lives in her house, articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and you will put them on your sons and daughters. Thus you will plunder the Egyptians.”

Moses is immediately intimidated by the instructions. He humbly questions if he is the right person for God to send.

11But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”

God’s response is to reassure Moses that God will be with him and to give specific instructions. God was not upset or surprised that Moses was fearful.

12And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

God continues to reassure Moses that he will not be alone and also shares specific details about what is to come and how Moses will succeed with God’s help.  God will not always share the details with us before the mission begins, but in the case with Moses it was in deed an imposing mission and God took extra care to encourage Moses.

God will not ask each of us to accomplish such an intimidating mission as He asked Moses… but He does call us to obey His word and at times He still gives His people specific missions to accomplish in His name. We can find comfort in knowing that God will be with us and help us to accomplish what He asks of us so long as we obey Him faithfully. We do not have to complete the mission alone on our own strength.

Do you feel like God has called you to accomplish a specific mission, but are afraid to step out in faith and begin the journey? You are not alone. Even Moses was fearful when God asked Him to take on a mission.  Trust in God and obey.

If you don’t believe you have heard from God for a specific mission, then you can start by focusing on the commands He has provided to all of us who follow Him in His word, the Bible.

Identify one specific task you can undertake immediately (today or this week) that is consistent with God’s word, but you have put off because you are intimidated by it. Ask God for help in prayer and get started! (Hint: You do not need to start by confronting Pharaoh, perhaps something simple like sharing your faith with someone or helping someone.)

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.