Exodus 1-4

I think the first section of Exodus (Moses’ birth & calling, the battle between God & Pharaoh and the escape from Egypt) might be my favourite section of story-telling / history in the Bible. I love the drama of it! For that reason I’m going to abandon SOAP today and just free-form.

First of all, I love the cheek / courage / ballsiness of the Hebrew women in chapters 1 & 2. The midwives disobey an order to kill male Hebrew babies, and when asked why, they, presumably at risk of losing their lives for disobeying such an order, respond with a slur so cheeky that it just makes you laugh – “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” After that, when Moses’ basket is found and Pharoah’s daughter calls for a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby, Moses’ own mother is employed to do it – and paid! Genius.

I also really like the account of the encounter at the burning bush in chapters 3-4. Considering that Moses probably wrote this originally (and it seems likely, as he was the only human there to see it), he doesn’t write up his part in the whole affair. Moses comes off as pretty cowardly here, finding as many excuses and reasons as he can not to go and rescue his people ; so many, in fact, that God ends up getting angry with him – not for the last time, of course. This all brings Moses int o a very realistic light as a human being, despite the reverence (rightly) accorded him in the Jewish faith subsequently.

And finally, it is great to see that the Israelites knew where to direct their complaints, and where to direct their adoration when He sends someone to lead them out:

^4:29-31 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.

I just find this really encouraging! The first thing they do when they hear they’re going to be saved is worship, not react in cynicism, as the Jews of Jesus’ time did.

 

Genesis 13-16

Scripture:

 Genesis 14:13-16

          “One who had escaped came and reported [Lot’s kidnapping] to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.”

 Observation:

 It is rare that one thinks of Abram (or Abraham, for that matter) as a great military leader or strategist, but here that is exactly what he is. Having parted ways with his nephew Lot, he hears that Lot and his family have been taken captive by certain warring kings, and decides to take matters into his own hands. His family was vitally important to him, causing him to go so far as to organise a minor military campaign against these kings. This surprised me (I am glad to still be surprised by reading the Bible after nearly 25 years of being a Christian!), and made me think about what God put into the father of Israel in terms of characteristics. His descendants, of course, would show a lot of this military capacity later in history.

 Application:

 Sometimes you don’t really discover what God has put into you until it just comes out, until you absolutely have to do something about a situation, and you discover what’s most important to you. Abraham was totally willing to leave all his wealth for the sake of another family member, and saved him in this way. This reminds me of Jesus’ promise about leaving mothers and brothers and whatever you value for his sake (Matt 19:29) – there is a reward for doing this, and Jesus says that it is eternal life. Way better than any money or possessions I might accrue here on earth, which frankly only brings more stress.

 Prayer:

 God, teach me more and more the value of following you, and enable me to put unimportant things aside for your sake.

 

Romans 1-2

Scripture

 

Romans 2:28-29

A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.

 

Observation

 

After having greeted the Romans, and explained how humanity got into an awful mess of sin (basically, through rejecting the idea of God in hearts and minds), Paul begins to write about how the Christians in Rome are to respond to the questions of the law (ie. the Jewish law, the Torah, being the first 5 books of the Bible, which gives the code of conduct by which Jews were supposed to live. This was seen as one of the things that made Judaism unique and gave Jews special access to a relationship with God). There were clearly Jews at that time who lived however they wanted, but relied on the fact that it was their race who had been specially selected to receive the law from God, and that was enough to save them from the sin that entangles everybody (Paul will go on to write in chapter 3 about all people having sinned and fallen short of the glory of God). Paul clearly states in these verses that the law is not enough, nor are the other Jewish rituals – salvation and access to a relationship with God depend on faith in Jesus Christ and the attitude of the heart.

 

Application

 

This is so easily applied to current Christian life. Every denomination has its own rituals and liturgy, be it confirmation, confession, prayers for certain days & times, hymns, praise songs, notices, ten-minute homilies, hour-long sermons (!), or baptism – and is that infant or adult, sprinkling or immersion? Ooh, careful! None of these are intrinsically bad, of course, and some are very good in my opinion. Some have been the source of debate as to their necessity throughout the ages, but I think they are all similar to the Jewish law in Paul’s eyes. There is no way we can rely on any of them for our salvation, if we don’t have faith in God, belief that Jesus was His Son, and subsequently an attitude that reflects his love.

 

Prayer

 

Lord, keep me focussed on you in my Christian life, not in how I am different or the same as other Christians. Jesus, I believe in you and want you to be centre and Lord of my life, and that is the basis of my salvation, and nothing else. 

 

Deuteronomy 20-22

Scripture: 

Dt 20:10-13

When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. When the LORD your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it.

Dt 21:22-23

If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.

Observation

It is interesting to note in the first passage the use of the word ‘when’. There was an expectation that the Lord would be with the Israelites in battle and that he would deliver cities that stood against them into their hands. It does not say ‘if’ – God was promising to be with them.

The second passage links in such a vital way with the New Testament and Jesus’ death on the cross – by being hung on a tree, Jesus suffered the curse of God for us. It is therefore not surprising that Saul and the other Jewish church-persecutors had some difficulty accepting the claims that Jesus WAS in fact the Son of God, and went through the horror of the crucifixion IN ORDER to experience God’s curse for the rest of humanity.

Application

Can we trust God to be with us when we come up against people who would stand against us? Yes, if we’re sure that the position we’re taking is the one that God would have us take. Can we trust Him to keep us safe through adversity? Yes, because He loves His children.

And the second passage just reveals to us exactly what Jesus went through, in more depth – he knew his scriptures, so he knew what this death meant full well. He knew the separation from God that he would have to endure, and he did it for you and for me anyway. That’s something to praise him for!

Prayer

Thank you God that we can totally trust you through times of trouble, when we need to take a stand in your name about something which pits us against other people. Thank you that we can rely on your promise in those times. And praise you Jesus for undergoing the suffering of the cross on our behalf – thank you that you took that step even though you knew exactly what would happen to you.