Exodus, Above and Beyond

We're in a series on Exodus 1-15 called the Great Escape: Breaking Free from the Things That Keep You Enslaved.

When you're teaching through a book with a firm date to start your next series, you have to pick and choose what you're going to cover which is sometimes hard since it is all inspired and has meaning.

Two people in my congegration noticed I skipped over this little gem in Exdous 4:24-26 (Thanks for being in your Bible, Jeff Lynn and Sheila Whitworth!)

Exodus 4:24-31

24At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him. 25But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. 26So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)

Then in verse 27-31, it goes right back to the story of Moses and Aaron getting together with the Israelites (above).

So, what are verse 24-26 about? I actually thought about preaching it as one of the messages, but it didn't quite fit with the theme of Breaking Free as well as everything else does.

First, since the passage (3 verses) doesn't have a whole lot of detail., most of the commentaries I read "supposed" a little of the situation.

Basically, ever since Genesis 17:10-14 God had told Abraham for all males who believed in God to be circumcised.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary summarizes the point of this passage best:

In his years in Midian Moses had neglected to obey God’s command (cf. Gen. 17:10) to circumcise one (or both?) of his sons. So God was about to kill Moses, perhaps by causing him to be gravely ill. Zipporah reluctantly circumcised her son with flint and then God healed His prophet. Her touching Moses’ feet with the son’s foreskin was possibly a symbolic act of substitution, in which obedience was seen as replacing disobedience. Zipporah called Moses a bridegroom of blood. The meaning of this phrase is unknown, but some say it was used in a derogatory way to suggest that she did not favor the rite. (Yet she did it to save her husband’s life.) Others propose that she saw in the act a sort of redemption by which the blood of the youngster restored Moses to the Lord and also to her as a new bridegroom.

At this time Zipporah and the sons may have returned to Jethro (18:2-3). Moses’ sudden illness was a warning that he must obey God wholly and fulfill his mission.

Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck, Roy B. ; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL : Victor Books, 1983-c1985, S. 1:115

Had I preached it, the point would have been: We must get right with God if we want to do His work.

Psalm 19: General & Special Revelation

Psalm 19 is beautiful.

The Heavens declare the glory of God (Hebrew El – a generic word, much like our English usage of the word God)

Creation points to the majesty and power of the painter of everything we see, but it doesn’t tell us his character.

But the Law (v. 7–14), reveals Yahweh.

Yahweh’s law: revives the soul (v. 7), makes the simple wise (v. 8), and gives joy to the heart (v. 9).

I especially like verse 13–14:

“Keep your servant from willful sins; may they not rule over me.” and

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

Psalm 18: Praise for Deliverance

(Part of my series of commenting on the Psalms)

David is grateful to God for delivering him from Saul.

Great verses:

1 I love you, O Lord, my strength

2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer…

28 You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning, my God turns my darkness into light.  With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.

That’s a great thought:  with my God, I can leap over any wall.

 

Wow, I just read Ps 18 in Eugene Peterson’s The Message

Here’s a sample:

Psalm 18:1-6 (The Message)
^{1 I love you, God— you make me strong. 2 God is bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. My God—the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout. 3 I sing to God, the Praise-Lofty, and find myself safe and saved. 4 The hangman’s noose was tight at my throat; devil waters rushed over me. 5 Hell’s ropes cinched me tight; death traps barred every exit. 6 A hostile world! I call to God, I cry to God to help me. From his palace he hears my call; my cry brings me right into his presence— a private audience!}

Great words for today.

Psalm 17: Oh, to be a man like that!

Psalm 17 struck me this morning.

David makes bold statements I long to be true of me.

Take verse 3 — “though you (God) probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, YOU WILL FIND NOTHING; (for) I have resolved that my mouth will not sin.

Wow, the certainty of that statement in a prayer to God reflects a man who’s examined his own heart closely and knows there is nothing between himself and God.

The context (see v. 9–12) suggests this is written while David was on the run from Saul (17 years of running!)

And yet, this prayer reflects a complete confidence that God will deliver.

How I want such confidence in God from a pure heart!

Psalm 17 (NIV)
^{1 A prayer of David.
Hear, O Lord, my righteous plea; listen to my cry. Give ear to my prayer— it does not rise from deceitful lips.
2 May my vindication come from you; may your eyes see what is right.
3 Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that my mouth will not sin.
4 As for the deeds of men— by the word of your lips I have kept myself from the ways of the violent.
5 My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not slipped.
6 I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer.
7 Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes.
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings
9 from the wicked who assail me, from my mortal enemies who surround me.
10 They close up their callous hearts, and their mouths speak with arrogance.
11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me, with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like a lion hungry for prey, like a great lion crouching in cover.
13 Rise up, O Lord, confront them, bring them down; rescue me from the wicked by your sword.
14 O Lord, by your hand save me from such men, from men of this world whose reward is in this life. You still the hunger of those you cherish; their sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children.
15 And I—in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.}

Exodus Notes

Passover – Jewish Independence Day

Plagues of Egypt

I’m researching for my current series on Exodus…Here’s a list of the Ten Plagues God unleashed on Egypt…

The plagues as they appear in the Bible are:

1. (Exodus 7:14-25) rivers and other water sources turned to blood ('Dam')
2. (Exodus 7:26-8:11) reptiles (commonly believed to be frogs) ('Tsfardeia')
3. (Exodus 8:12-15) lice ('Kinim')
4. (Exodus 8:16-28) Either flies, wild animals or beetles ('Arov')
5. (Exodus 9:1-7) disease on livestock ('Dever')
6. (Exodus 9:8-12) unhealable boils ('Shkhin')
7. (Exodus 9:13-35) hail mixed with fire ('Barad')
8. (Exodus 10:1-20) locusts ('Arbeh')
9. (Exodus 10:21-29) darkness ('Choshech')
10. (Exodus 11:1-12:36) death of the firstborn ('Makat Bechorot')

Plagues of Egypt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.