“The Lord answered Moses, ‘See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. You must say whatever I command you; then Aaron your brother must declare it to Pharaoh so that he will let the Israelites go from his land. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. Pharaoh will not listen to you, but I Will put my hand into Egypt and bring the military divisions of my people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the Israelites from among them.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)
There are some folks who just like to fly by the seat of their pants. Most, though, are much more comfortable having some sort of a plan. And, the bigger the task, the more detailed the plan should be. In the case of Moses and the Israelites, they were getting ready to undertake the biggest task they could imagine. They were going to take on the most powerful man in the world and eliminate his source of slave labor. And, their initial attempt to get started had not gone well. Fortunately, God had a plan. He lays that plan out here one more time in step-by-step detail. Let’s talk through what we see here.
This week we wrapped up our journey through the beautiful story of Ruth. We got to hear from one last character in the story who gave us a bit of a bird’s eye view of the whole thing. This allowed us to see that what would have been experienced by the people in the story as nothing more than ordinary life working itself out ordinarily was really God’s accomplishing His extraordinary plans through ordinary means. God does this through the Scriptures and He is still in the same business today in our own lives. Let’s marvel at all of this together. Thanks for reading and sharing.
A Story of Serendipity
Have you ever experienced something that was perfectly serendipitous? It was one of those moments when everything just fell into place like you wanted. Everything worked so perfectly that it almost seemed like someone else was pulling the strings. Sometimes we’re aware of that kind of thing happening in a moment, but more often we don’t see it until we look back with the clear vision of hindsight. I can point to a few different circumstances like that in my own life including the ones surrounding the time I first met my lovely bride. If we lived in a world that was perfectly fair, I would never have gotten the chance to even meet her. Thankfully, we don’t live in that world. We live in a world presided over by a God who is just and good and righteous and who has incredible plans for us that He works out in ways that are delightful, surprising, and which often feel very serendipitous.
For the last three weeks, in a series called, “A Love Story,” we have been together experiencing a story that has just that sort of serendipitous feel to it. And I say, “experiencing,” not, “telling,” because that’s the better word for it. Each week we have encountered the next part of the story of Ruth through the eyes of one of the characters who were in it. We started with Naomi and her realization that even when things are bitter, God is still with us. From there, we rejoiced with Ruth in the fact that when we are picking up the pieces, God won’t leave us alone. Just last week we marveled with Boaz in the truth that risks of faith are rewarded with gifts of life. It all works out to some pretty incredible truth from a tiny, little story.
This morning, as we wrap up our journey and Ruth’s story, we are going to experience things from yet one more perspective. We are also going to answer the question you may have wondered about as to why the series is called, “A Love Story.” The big idea of each part of the story so far has been good, but it hasn’t had anything to do with a love story. Before we leave this morning, my hope is that you will have a much better understanding of just why this love story is so powerful. This week, we are going to be in the final chapter of Ruth’s story. If you have a copy of the Scriptures handy, find your way to Ruth 4. Follow along as we take one last dive into the story to see how the ways God works that seem perfectly serendipitous can really serve to reveal the good plans He was patiently unfolding all along.
Last week, we took a look at the incredible story of Elijah facing off against the prophets of Baal on the top of Mount Carmel from 1 Kings 18. That is one of my favorite stories in the entire Old Testament. What we came away with was a reminder that God sometimes acts in powerful ways, along with the exhortation to keep an eye out for His activity in our lives and the lives of the people around us. This week, we are taking a step forward to finish the story by looking at what happened next. The outcome of that incredible mountaintop experience isn’t what we might have expected it to be. Dive in with me, and let’s see what any of this has to do with our lives.
Now What?
If you’ll indulge me just a bit, as we are coming up quickly on the one year anniversary of a truly historical event, I thought we might reminisce on it for a few moments. Forty-eight weeks ago (this being the 49th), a competition was held. This was not your every day, average competition, though. This was a true clash of the titans. Two teams met in pursuit of the same goal and only one of them would walk away a step closer to it than they had been before. The other would go home in frustration and anguish and perhaps even shame depending on how the competition unfolded. If you’ve done your math and are aware of my sporting loyalties, you have perhaps already deduced that this epic competition was none other than last year’s AFC Divisional Championship Game between the Buffalo Bills and my Kansas City Chiefs. Within minutes of the game’s dramatic finish, it was already being heralded as one of the single greatest football games of all time.
The Nexus 