The Lord's Distinctions Between Peoples - Ruminating in the Word of God

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/

Impassioning Spirits? - Ruminating in the Word of God

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 11:3,

"The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh's officials and by the people."

We are told the Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the Israelites and Moses. How did the Lord do that? Did the plagues the Lord brought on Egypt through Moses cause the Egyptians to be favorably disposed? In Psalm 105:23-25 we read, "Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob resided as a foreigner in the land of Ham. The Lord made his people very fruitful; he made them too numerous for their foes, whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to conspire against his servants." How did the Lord do that?

We also read in Psalm 105:38, "Egypt was glad when they left, because dread of Israel had fallen on them." I think it easy to see why the dread of Israel had fallen on the Egyptians as we read the accounts of these horrific plagues. However, I can't help but think that the Lord, in addition to an expected response by events, caused people's outlooks and dispositions to shift in a more direct way.

How do we account for Pharaoh's hard heart in not allowing the Israelites to leave Egypt following the horrific plagues? Any other sane person would have driven the Israelites out due to the suffering the plagues brought. The Scriptures tell us the Lord himself hardened his heart.

It appears to me that the Lord at times intervenes in people's hearts to cause them to feel one way or another,  depending on what he determines to accomplish. And, in the examples we can look at, the person does not realize they are being manipulated at the time.

I could be way off base here (and I certainly recognize this of myself), but in Hebrews 1:7 the writer of Hebrews paraphrases Psalm 104:4, "He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire." What exactly is meant by that? The one thought I have is that we, as the human family, do not occupy earth alone. We are not alone here. Jacob had his vision of angels ascending and descending on a stairway that spanned from earth to heaven.

Again, we are not alone here. There are other beings here in our midst that God has made "spirits" and flames of fire. That last phrase "flames of fire" speak to me of passion. I can't help but think angels are on mission as spirits to impassion us at times for God's purposes.

Here is a wild example of this very thing in 1 Kings 22:19-23, "Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. And the Lord said, 'Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?' One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, 'I will entice him.' 'By what means?' the Lord asked. 'I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said. 'You will succeed in enticing him,' said the Lord. 'Go and do it.' So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you."

As I say, I could be way off the mark here. But these passages do mean something. What do they mean to you?

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/

Pharaoh Not Allowed to Free the Israelites - Ruminating in the Word of God

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 10:20,

"But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go."

Following the horrific plague of locusts Pharaoh summoned Moses and confessed his obstinance ("I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you." Verse 16.) in not allowing the Israelites leave Egypt. He asked Moses to pray to "your God" to take away the locusts. Moses did so, the locusts left and the above verse is the next thing we read.

Here are a few observations about this series of plagues and Pharaoh's refusal to allow the Israelites to have their leave of Egypt:

The Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart so he was incapable of allowing the Israelites to leave.

The Lord did not want Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave - which was the point of hardening his heart (until the final plague).

Pharaoh did not have the freedom to exercise his will in the matter. He was being manipulated by God.

At the end of the series of plagues God would finally allow Pharaoh the freedom to let the Israelites leave Egypt. (His heart would still be somewhat hard and following their exit he had his military chase after the Israelites - something that did no go well at all for Pharaoh.) However, until that last plague of death, there was no possibility that Pharaoh would or could allow the Israelites to leave.

Pharaoh was being manipulated by God. God had his purposes and here we find a case where everybody does not always have the freedom to make their own choices.

Do you think that kind of thing might happen in our day (not the plagues - but the ability to make our own choice in some matter)?

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/

The View of God at Work - Ruminating in the Word of God

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 10:1-2,

"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord.'"

How many people do suppose know that God both turned the Egyptians against his own people, and also, at the same time, hardened their hearts to keep them from letting Israel leave?

We read in Psalm 105:23-25, "Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob resided as a foreigner in the land of Ham. The Lord made his people very fruitful; he made them too numerous for their foes, whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to conspire against his servants." Then, as we see in Exodus 10:1-2, the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart so that the Egyptians wouldn't allow the Israelites to go while having Moses demand their leave of Egypt.

The Lord created a "pressure cooker" of a circumstance that accomplished several things. In this passage we read that an outcome would be that generations of Hebrews would recognize that the Lord both performed signs for them and also to know that he was, in fact, the Lord. In Exodus 9:14 we read that the Lord was creating a situation that would result in Egypt understanding that there is simply on one like the Lord in all the earth. In the following verse we read that this pressure cooker was designed that the Lord might have an opportunity to display his power and in Exodus 9:16, that his name "might be proclaimed in all the earth."

The situation the Lord created between the Israelites and Egyptians helps us to understand just how it is that God can and does accomplish many things at one time and how it can be when he works among mankind to accomplish his purposes.

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/

Our Amazing Unique God - Ruminating in the Word of God

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 9:13-14,

"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, "This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me, or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth."'"

The Lord told Moses to say this to Pharaoh prior to bringing the horrific plague of hail that killed people and animals in Egypt that were not under cover. In verses 25-26 we read, "Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree. The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were."

God wanted to communicate that there was no one like him in all the earth. God is a one of a kind. He exists in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, but he is one God, and, there is nothing in all the creation like him. He is unique.

There is no such thing as "you have your God and I have mine." There are no differing definitions of who God is or what he is like. All of that is spelled out in our Bibles. God is unique and there is none other. The psalmist asks the rhetorical question, "The Lord is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?" Psalm 113:4-6. None is like him. He exists in his complete and total uniqueness, in all his splendor and glory!

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/

The Miracle of a Hardened Heart - Ruminating in the Word of God

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 9:6-7,

"And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go."

The hardening of Pharaoh's heart was an astonishing thing. The Lord had Moses tell Pharaoh again to let the Israelites go to worship him. Moses also told Pharaoh that if he refused again this time that the Lord would visit a terrible plague on all the livestock of the field, "horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats." Verse 3. Not only that, Moses told Pharaoh the Lord would do it at a given time. In addition, the Lord would bring this plague only on the Egyptian livestock and not the Israeli's in their midst.

From the verses quoted above, it is simply remarkable the hardening of heart the Lord afflicted Pharaoh with. How could it be possible that any sane person could be confronted like Pharaoh was and still refuse? This truly was a rejection of the reality of what was happening on Pharaoh's part - due to the Lord.

In a fascinating message later in this chapter the Lord had for Pharaoh following another plague (of boils on the people and animals of Egypt), he said, "For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." Verses 15,16. This is a famous quote Paul used in his letter to the Roman church to demonstrate that God makes his own choices in spite of man's desires or efforts, Romans 9:17.

I think one of the miracles missed when reviewing these plagues God sent upon Egypt was the miracle of Pharaoh's hardened heart. It is an account that still has its impact yet today!

And, by the way, don't you have the impression that Pharaoh thought he was arriving at his determinations all on his own? I think there just may be a message here...

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/

Obeying God Wholeheartedly - Ruminating in the Word of God

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 8:25-27,

"Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, 'Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land.' But Moses said, 'That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? We must take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, as he commands us.'"

After the Lord had struck Pharaoh, his officials and all Egypt with a plague of flies, Pharaoh relented to allow the Israelites the freedom to worship the Lord.This plague followed Aaron's staff turning into a snake, a plague of blood over the waters of Egypt, a plague of frogs, and  a plague of gnats.

However, as these increasingly difficult plagues began to have its impact on the hard-hearted Pharaoh, he only relented in allowing the Israelites to worship the Lord his way - by the Israelites worshipping the Lord in the land of Egypt and not in the wilderness as the Lord told Moses and Aaron to demand.

I don't think the reasoning Moses gave Pharaoh as to why they had to go into the wilderness to worship the Lord (because it would make the Israelites detestable to the Egyptians and bring violence from them), was nearly as important as the fact that were Moses to succumb to Pharaoh's requirement they do it his way - by staying in the land to worship - it would be a compromise in yielding to the Lord.

I am reminded that compromising on what the Lord requires just won't do. Just as Moses rejected the notion of only yielding halfway to the Lord, we should do likewise.

When it comes to passages written specifically for us of those things the Lord wants from us, no compromise will do. No halfway, no doing it on our terms.

Consider this passage: "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:12-14. Are we going to tell God, "Well, I'll forgive only those who I think deserve it." Is that good enough?

Should we not take a lesson from this passage in Exodus and understand that the Lord is not interested in our half-hearted obedience to him, but, that we should follow what he asks of us without qualifiers?

What in my life should I be reconsidering in this regard?

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/