Author: Beth Duncan

Exodus 3:16 “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 

Again, I wonder what Moses was thinking as he heard these words, knowing that he already tried to establish himself as the one to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and was soundly rebuffed. Does it even occur to him that he failed that first time because he was acting under his own power and strength and not God’s?

Exodus 3:17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’

I absolutely get where he might be coming from. He took that first failure as a no. He thought he wasn’t the one to set the Israelites free, so he slunk into the countryside and lived a little life, head down, working hard, doing what needed doing…and growing stronger in the ways God needed him so that he could free the Israelites. But I don’t think he sees this progression.

Exodus 3:18 “The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’ 

Precious Savior, I totally understand if Moses got into his own head when he was rebuffed as the one to lead the Israelites out of Egypt all those years ago. It’s hard to fail that spectacularly and take a chance a second time. Help us, all of us, to get out of Your way, to quit second guessing what You are calling us to, and to act boldly for You. Amen.

Exodus 3:19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him.

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 3:5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 

As I was reading commentary about today’s verses, I was struck by the use of the word “undoubtedly,” a synonym of which is “obviously.” The commenter was stating something he saw as absolutely the case in scripture. I have issues with that on the number of levels.

Exodus 3:6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

And if I’m honest, I think God would take exception to that certainty as well because if we approach His word certain of what it means, what it is telling us, we can’t hear His still small voice whisper to our hearts, and I’ve heard His voice again and again as I struggle with scripture.

Exodus 3:7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 

Lord of the Seeking, Thank You that You meet me in Your word each morning, that You caution me against certainty so that I can seek and ask with my whole heart. Thank You for whispering to my heart time after time, for showing me who You are and who I am to You. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 3:8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 2:13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?”

Did Moses wish he had acted a different way in verse 12? Did he know, almost instantly, that what he did wasn’t the right thing? Was he eaten up with guilt over his actions? Did he judge himself? Berate himself?

Exodus 2:14 The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”

What do you do when you know, almost instantly, that your decision was a poor one? When you would give almost anything to be able to rewind the clock just a little bit, but that’s not possible? What if it is earth shattering? What if it’s just a silly little thing, nothing big in the grand scheme of things, but you can’t let it go?

Exodus 2:15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.

Precious Savior, Some poor decisions leave craters in life while some barely make a dent. Some who make poor decisions are eaten up with guilt and regret while some don’t feel a thing. The reality is that once decisions have been made–good or bad, big or small, they are done. Help us to learn when we need to, to course correct when we should, to not beat ourselves up about things we cannot change. Help us to love ourselves and each other as You love us–fiercely and completely. Amen.

Exodus 2:16 Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock.

Have a blessed day. I love you.

Exodus 2:9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him.

I wonder what Moses was thinking in these verses. He clearly doesn’t feel like he fits with the Egyptians because of his actions on verse 12. But verse 13 will show that he also doesn’t fit with the Israelites, they don’t claim him.

Exodus 2:10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”

I have spent a lot of my life feeling like I don’t fit, I don’t belong, I’m on the outside. How much of that is fact and how much is just my interpretation is up for debate, but the heart that I developed for those who are struggling, who feel they don’t fit, is very real.

Exodus 2:11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.

Lord of the Misfits, Thank You for the rock solid knowledge that I am Yours, that I am loved deeply, fiercely, completely. Thank You for the heart You have given me for those who don’t feel like they fit. Help me to be Your hands and feet and heart. Help me to show them Your deep love. Always. Amen.

Exodus 2:12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

Have a blessed day.