Tag: Exodus

Digging in Deeper: Exodus 18:13-18

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“The next day Moses sat down to judge the people, and they stood around Moses from morning until evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw everything he was doing for them he asked, ‘What is this you’re doing for the people? Why are you alone sitting as judge, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?’ Moses replied to his father-in-law, ‘Because the people come to me to inquire of God. Whenever they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I make a decision between one man and another. I teach them God’s statutes and laws.’ ‘What you’re doing is not good,’ Moses’s father-in-law said to him. ‘You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can’t do it alone.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever had someone tell you that you were wrong? Let me be more specific. Have you ever had someone tell you that you were wrong who was in such a position in your life that you were willing to trust their counsel, listen to their perspective, and genuinely consider making changes in light of their observations? One of those life truths that we know is true, but don’t care all that much to think about its being true, and which we certainly don’t want to hear from someone else that it is true is that we don’t do everything right all the time. Because of this, we need people in our lives willing to tell us. Let’s talk today about Moses’ experience with this and how it went.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 18:9-12

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“Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the Lord had done for Israel when he rescued them from the power of the Egyptians. ‘Blessed be the Lord,’ Jethro exclaimed, ‘who rescued you from the power of Egypt and from the power of Pharaoh. He has rescued the people from under the power of Egypt! Now I know that the Lord is greater than all God’s, because he did wonders when the Egyptians acted arrogantly against Israel.’ Then Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in God’s presence.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When God does what He does, it is always with a purpose in mind. We may not always know exactly what that purpose is, though, which can be really frustrating. We want to know the specifics so that we can respond appropriately. Not knowing the specific purpose God has in mind, however, doesn’t mean we don’t know the general one – and there’s always a general one. A conversation Moses has with his father-in-law points us toward this general purpose. Let’s talk about what this is and how we can always make sure we are on board with it.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 18:1-8

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“Moses’s father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about everything that God had done for Moses and for God’s people Israel when the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt. Now Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, along with her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom (because Moses had said, ‘I have been a resident alien in a foreign land’) and the other Eliezer (because he had said, ‘The God of my father was my helper and rescued me from Pharaoh’s sword’). Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, along with Moses’ wife and sons, came to him in the wilderness where he was camped at the mountain of God. He sent word to Moses, ‘I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.’ So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and then kissed him. They asked each other how they had been and went into the tent. Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for israel’s sake, all the hardships that confronted them on the way, and how the Lord rescued them.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

This next part of the story of Israel’s journey to the Promised Land is one of those that feels like it doesn’t really have any point. It’s just story. Yet as we have seen time and again, God often hides deep truth in the context of ‘just stories.’ Some of the truth through chapter 18 is obvious and gets preached a lot. Other parts are more subtle and will require us to sit with the text a little longer. The first part of the chapter takes us through a lot of this second kind. Let’s start here with Moses’ getting some time with his family. Let’s talk about why it mattered for him and why it matters for us.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 17:14-16

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“The Lord then said to Moses, ‘Write this down on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua: I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven.’ And Moses built and altar and named it, ‘The Lord is My Banner.’ He said, ‘Indeed, my hand is lifted up toward the Lord’s throne. The Lord will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever had someone you know do something completely out of character when you were with them? That kind of thing usually catches us totally off guard and leaves us wondering if we know them nearly as well as we thought we did. Walking through the various Old Testament narratives can give us that kind of an experience with God. What we see right here is a good example of this. If you are used to thinking of God as good and gracious and loving and patient and gentle and kind, seeing His response to the Amalekites’ totally unprovoked attack on Israel seems to come straight out of left field. Let’s talk about what’s going on here, and why God might have responded like this.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 17:12-13

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“When Moses’s hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army with the sword.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The writer of Hebrews told his audience of believers that they should not give up on meeting with one another – that is, being the church together. The reason for this command was rooted in their need for one another as they sought to advance God’s kingdom together. The idea that we need help doing God’s work was not a new one. Even relying on God’s power is not something we can manage on our own. Moses experienced that here. Let’s talk about what’s going on here, and why doing God’s work in community is better than trying it on our own.

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