Category: Exodus

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. 

Exodus 2:1 Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, 

I cannot imagine what this woman is going through. Loving and hiding her child for three months. Then loving him enough and trusting God enough to put him in a papyrus basket lined with pitch and float him down the Nile.

Exodus 2:2 and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. 

Though isn’t that what we are all tasked to do? Raise our babies (literal, metaphorical, educational babies) as best we can and then trust their futures into God’s hands? As a mama and a teacher and a nurturer from way back, that letting go part is HARD, at least for me.

Exodus 2:3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 

God of nurturers, Thank You that You love our children (literal, metaphorical, educational children) more than we are even capable of loving. I know how very much I love my boys. It is almost inconceivable to think that more love exists than is in my heart for them, yet I know You love each of us fiercely, deeply, completely. Thank You. Help us to trust their futures to You. Always. Amen.

Exodus 2:4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 1:19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”

I have always been a rule follower. I have always had faith that rules exist for a reason, even if I don’t fully understand the why. I have always tried to trust the rule makers, those in charge–that they have everyone’s best interest at heart, that the rules are important, necessary, for the whole to run smoothly.

Exodus 1:20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 

I have always been a rule follower, so this line of commentary gave me pause: [God] “won His victory through some courageous individuals who were willing to stand up to the power of Pharaoh and do what was right.” They did not follow the rules. They followed their hearts, God’s heart.

Exodus 1:21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

Precious Savior, Sometimes those making the rules do not have the good of all in their hearts. Sometimes they do not love You and love others. Instead, they love themselves, power, money, fame, etc, etc. I love You, Lord. I want to love like You love, fiercely, deeply, completely. Help me, always, to do what’s right in Your eyes and not the eyes of the world. Help me to love You and love others, always. Amen.

Exodus 1:22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 1:8 Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. 

Joseph ended up in Egypt because of his brothers’ treachery, but Egypt was exactly where the Israelites needed to be in order to grow into a powerful nation. If they had stayed in Canaan, they would have intermarried, and their faith would have been diluted.

Exodus 1:9-10 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”

For centuries, that worked well for all involved, but now there is a new Pharaoh, one who has no knowledge of Joseph, one who is concerned about the number of Israelites in Egypt. However, even with oppression and forced labor, the Israelites continue to grow as a nation.

Exodus 1:11 So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 

Lord of the searching, Thank You that there are sources of commentary to help me understand what I read, to help me think about what I believe to be true. Thank You for this example in Exodus of growth, even when times are tough. Help me, with every word, to draw closer to You, to understand You a little better, to love and trust You even more. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 1:12-13 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly.

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 32:32 But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”

Commentary points out that Moses offers himself as a sacrifice, which is exactly what Jesus does in the New Testament. I overlooked that fact. What I did notice was that Moses, who was livid with Aaron and the Israelites, asked for forgiveness for the people of Israel, “but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”  Why?

Exodus 32:33 The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 

Does he ask to be blotted out if they aren’t forgiven because he is their earthly leader? Because he has spiritual responsibility for them? He was livid about their behavior. He was livid with Aaron. But unlike Aaron, he doesn’t shrug his shoulders and claim ignorance at how they ended up in this mess. What’s going on?

Exodus 32:34 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

Precious Savior, Thank You for this journey through Exodus,  for the questions I’ve asked, for the wisdom I have gained. Thank You for drawing me closer to You, even when I don’t understand. Help me have eyes to see You and ears to hear You and always seek to draw closer to You. Amen.

Exodus 32:35 And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made. 

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 32:28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 

When I read passages like Exodus 27, I am reminded of how incredibly fortunate I am to have Jesus as an intercessor. The Israelites didn’t have that path to God. There was often death destruction (think the flood of Noah’s time) as a path to atone and begin again.

Exodus 32:29 Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”

And the reality is, humans make so many mistakes. We mess up. We think we know better. We try to do better. Yet we are so human, so fleshly, so fallible. I am so thankful that destruction is no longer God’s go-to option for dealing with our mess.

Exodus 32:30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

Precious Savior, Thank You for Your sacrifice for us. Thank You that because of You, we no longer have to face death and destruction when we inevitably mess up. Draw us closer to You with every breath. Amen.

Exodus 32:31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 

Have a blessed day.