A Work in Progress….

Exodus 7:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. 

I am thankful that the Lord seems to have abundant patience.  As much as I want to thump Moses for STILL trying to weasel out of the assignment, I also recognize in myself the many times I’ve acted similarly.

Exodus 7:2 You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. 

I find myself in my personal relationships with other people trying to figure out where the line is, the line between loving like Jesus, with abundant grace, and enabling the other person in their intractability.

Exodus 7:3-4 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. 

Precious Savior, You tell me that my place is not to judge, yet not judging is so much harder than it should be. Forgive me and help me to love and encourage your people without being an enabler for their bad habits. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 7:5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 6:26 It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.” 

We have just finished two days worth of genealogy for Aaron and Moses that shows that God was with them before, during, and after their captivity in Egypt. “It was to this Aaron and Moses” – the ones who have just been established as God’s people – “to whom the Lord said….” And still, Moses hesitates. He comes up with excuses for why he is not the right person.

Exodus 6:27 They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt—this same Moses and Aaron.

Now, on one hand, I want to shake Moses by the shoulders and tell him to get a grip. God has assured him multiple times that He is with him, yet Moses flounders. On the other hand, I want to pull Moses into a hug and tell him that God has been with him this entire time, even that first disastrous attempt, He’s been growing him and molding him, and now Moses is ready.

Exodus 6:28-29 Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, he said to him, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”

Precious Savior, Thank You for the compassion that You cultivated within my heart. Help me to show this compassion to all that I encounter, including myself. Help me to see others and myself as You see us and to love as You love. Amen.

Exodus 6:30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 6:21-22 The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg and Zikri. The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan and Sithri.

Since we are presented with still more names in today’s scripture and my normal commentary barely mentions this extended genealogy, I decided to do a little digging. On the surface, this genealogy of the families of Moses and Aaron seems an utter non-sequitur. It seems to be a list of names inserted into the middle of a different narrative. Why?

Exodus 6:23 Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

I came across a video this morning that says that this genealogy is a reminder from God to us, the readers, that God has been with this family from the very beginning, through their captivity in Egypt, all the way to their freedom from Egypt. This video posits that the genealogy is a reminder to the reader that God keeps His promises and wants a relationship with His people.

Exodus 6:24 The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans.

Precious Savior, I don’t think random genealogies are inserted in scripture for no reason. Thank You for putting this video on my radar this morning, for giving me a possible explanation to ponder. Thank You for the reminder that You are with me, always, even when I don’t understand. Amen.

Exodus 6:25 Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the Levite families, clan by clan.

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 6:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”

I believe that there is a time in every person’s life where they learn that God is who He says He is. Prior to that time, God is the God of their ancestors, the God that the believer has heard about since childhood but never actually seen in person.

Exodus 6:2-3 God also said to Moses, “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 fully known to them. 

For me, that time involved great loss and great sorrow. It involved stomping around my backyard, screaming at God in anger, fear, pain. There was no lightning bolt, no magic wand, no sudden revelations, just the slow, sure knowledge that God loves me fiercely, that He’s big enough to handle my anger, pain, and fear, that He is making a way in my wilderness, even when I cannot yet perceive it.

Exodus 6:4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for knowing our hearts, for loving us fiercely, completely, even when we are afraid or in pain. Thank You for being with us in the darkness, for holding us, loving us, making a way for us, even if we cannot yet perceive it. Thank You for keeping Your promises. Amen.

Exodus 6:5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 5:10-11 Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.’ ” 

So many emotions are tumbling around in my head with today’s scripture (and the rest of the scripture for this chapter), but chief among them is anger: anger at the unfairness of the way Pharaoh is treating the Israelites, anger at the unfairness of the expectations here, anger that Moses’s request–given because the Lord’s literally talked to him through a burning bush–has landed the Israelites in this situation.

Exodus 5:12 So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw.  

And I’m not going to lie–there’s a little bit of anger, of disbelief, of incredulity at God, too: Why would You have Moses act in a way that would hurt Your beloved children? I just do not understand.

Exodus 5:13 The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.”

Precious Savior, Thank You that You are big enough to handle all of my emotions, that You love me enough that I can come to You, be honest with You–even with my anger–so I can move past it. Thank You that I know in my gut there are things I simply do not understand at work here because what I know of You is that You are a loving, compassionate, merciful God. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 5:14 And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”

Have a blessed day.