The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Exodus 5:21,
"May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."
I can't begin to express how instructive I believe this chapter is for our day among God's people.
The complaint above is the expression of the Israelite overseers who were responsible for brick production produced by the slave labor of the Jews when Pharaoh increased their burden.
In obedience to God, Moses had approached Pharaoh and demanded Pharaoh let the Israelites go for a three day journey into the wilderness to worship God. Pharaoh flatly refused and in response made the work for the Hebrew slaves much more burdensome by requiring them to produce their own straw (which had been previously provided them) for the brick production and still maintain the previous output.
Pharaoh's response was exactly what God told Moses it would be, that God himself would harden Pharaoh's heart. This resulted in the refusal and Pharaoh's retaliation by increasing the workload. God had his purposes for doing this- in ultimately demoralizing the Canaanites prior to the invasion by Israel when they got to the promised land. God was about to begin a most amazing drama that would have an effect on the peoples of Canaan for years.
In hindsight, we can clearly see what God was going to do for the Israelites in redeeming them from their enslavement in Egypt. However, the Israelites did not have the view we have of it today. From one perspective, we might not want to be too harsh on Moses' accusers as they could not see where this was headed. As a result, God's people who were about to be delivered, turned against the very instrument God chose to free the nation (Moses), and called down a curse on him!
I firmly believe that in our day many of God's people just might find themselves turning against the very people God uses in wonderful ways as he brings this age to a close.
Unfortunately, not all of God's people apply themselves to the things of God. Not all of God's people take the time to learn about God and his ways by aggressively pursuing him in his word. Not all of God's people see what God is busy afoot doing in our day. As the Israelites of Moses' day, the focus often is only on how happy we may be at the present time.
In light of this, it appears to me that it would behove those who do apply themselves to the things of God and who might be used by him to expect the kind of thing Moses received from God's people as he followed his orders from God.
Endurance and patience will be of great importance! "We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light." Colossians 1:9-12.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
"May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."
I can't begin to express how instructive I believe this chapter is for our day among God's people.
The complaint above is the expression of the Israelite overseers who were responsible for brick production produced by the slave labor of the Jews when Pharaoh increased their burden.
In obedience to God, Moses had approached Pharaoh and demanded Pharaoh let the Israelites go for a three day journey into the wilderness to worship God. Pharaoh flatly refused and in response made the work for the Hebrew slaves much more burdensome by requiring them to produce their own straw (which had been previously provided them) for the brick production and still maintain the previous output.
Pharaoh's response was exactly what God told Moses it would be, that God himself would harden Pharaoh's heart. This resulted in the refusal and Pharaoh's retaliation by increasing the workload. God had his purposes for doing this- in ultimately demoralizing the Canaanites prior to the invasion by Israel when they got to the promised land. God was about to begin a most amazing drama that would have an effect on the peoples of Canaan for years.
In hindsight, we can clearly see what God was going to do for the Israelites in redeeming them from their enslavement in Egypt. However, the Israelites did not have the view we have of it today. From one perspective, we might not want to be too harsh on Moses' accusers as they could not see where this was headed. As a result, God's people who were about to be delivered, turned against the very instrument God chose to free the nation (Moses), and called down a curse on him!
I firmly believe that in our day many of God's people just might find themselves turning against the very people God uses in wonderful ways as he brings this age to a close.
Unfortunately, not all of God's people apply themselves to the things of God. Not all of God's people take the time to learn about God and his ways by aggressively pursuing him in his word. Not all of God's people see what God is busy afoot doing in our day. As the Israelites of Moses' day, the focus often is only on how happy we may be at the present time.
In light of this, it appears to me that it would behove those who do apply themselves to the things of God and who might be used by him to expect the kind of thing Moses received from God's people as he followed his orders from God.
Endurance and patience will be of great importance! "We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light." Colossians 1:9-12.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
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