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 11:7,
"Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel."
This distinction is huge. All of the first born males of Egypt are going to die. This will include the first born of all cattle as well. However, none of the Israelites will be afflicted by this plague. The Lord is going to discriminate between these two peoples on the basis of race and national origin. How Impolitic! Of course, God always has been - his outlook is different than ours.
Many of those things that are a fascination of mankind these days are not highly thought of by God. Today's society embraces the importance of accepting people with "other lifestyles." God's outlook is different. We today are preoccupied with not offending anyone. God calls homosexuality detestable, Leviticus 18:22, and a shameful lust and error, Romans 1:26-27, and something that can keep one from entering the kingdom of heaven (if not abandoned), 1 Corinthians 6:9. Of course fake "Christians" never read their fake Bibles, so what could you expect?
So, apparently, God is not too concerned about offending some demographic of people when he is afoot accomplishing what he intends to achieve. In this case he is going to achieve Israel's freedom from Egypt in a way that causes a big splash! The story is so remarkable that we still talk about the plagues of Egypt today.
One of the amazing things about God is that he shows up in different colors. He tells us on the one hand he is holy and righteous, dispensing justice, and yet, kind, Jeremiah 9:24. His love is an amazing thing, "When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy." Titus 3:4. Yet, to those who don't respond to his offer of forgiveness, he will toss into a fiery lake of burning sulfur, Revelation 21:8. This will be the biggest distinction he will ever make regarding people. This distinction will not be based on any demography:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world'... Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels'... Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Matthew 25:31-46.
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/
"Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel."
This distinction is huge. All of the first born males of Egypt are going to die. This will include the first born of all cattle as well. However, none of the Israelites will be afflicted by this plague. The Lord is going to discriminate between these two peoples on the basis of race and national origin. How Impolitic! Of course, God always has been - his outlook is different than ours.
Many of those things that are a fascination of mankind these days are not highly thought of by God. Today's society embraces the importance of accepting people with "other lifestyles." God's outlook is different. We today are preoccupied with not offending anyone. God calls homosexuality detestable, Leviticus 18:22, and a shameful lust and error, Romans 1:26-27, and something that can keep one from entering the kingdom of heaven (if not abandoned), 1 Corinthians 6:9. Of course fake "Christians" never read their fake Bibles, so what could you expect?
So, apparently, God is not too concerned about offending some demographic of people when he is afoot accomplishing what he intends to achieve. In this case he is going to achieve Israel's freedom from Egypt in a way that causes a big splash! The story is so remarkable that we still talk about the plagues of Egypt today.
One of the amazing things about God is that he shows up in different colors. He tells us on the one hand he is holy and righteous, dispensing justice, and yet, kind, Jeremiah 9:24. His love is an amazing thing, "When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy." Titus 3:4. Yet, to those who don't respond to his offer of forgiveness, he will toss into a fiery lake of burning sulfur, Revelation 21:8. This will be the biggest distinction he will ever make regarding people. This distinction will not be based on any demography:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world'... Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels'... Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Matthew 25:31-46.
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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