January 26th One Year Bible Readings

Exodus 2:11-3:22 ~ Matthew 17:10-27 ~ Psalm 22:1-18 ~ Proverbs 5:7-14
~ Click here to read today's Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~
~ Listen to today's Scripture on OneYearAudioBible.org or DailyAudioBible.com (podcast) ~

Old Testament - Well, I debated posting up this water color of Moses killing the Egyptian from chapter 2 today, but the image probably captures things accurately enough.  We cannot hide from some of the things in the Bible that are not squeaky clean & perfect.  The Bible is not always squeaky clean & perfect in terms of the behaviors of people in the Bible.  Life is not always squeaky clean & perfect.  However God will ultimately make us squeaky clean & perfect - forever.  And in this life God can even redeem Moses after this act:

Please do read up more on this act of Moses' in chapter 2 at bible.org at this link.  At this link you'll see this line: "We dare not seek to defend Moses in the murder of the Egyptian, no matter how cruel he may have been. Moses’ act was in defiance of the authority of Egypt, and it was premeditated murder (“he looked this way and that,” v. 12). While Moses’ method of dealing with this problem was wrong, we can see that his motivation was commendable. Moses sought to defend the oppressed. When he sought to rebuke his Hebrew brother for wrongly mistreating another Hebrew (v. 13), Moses revealed, once again, the disposition of a deliverer."  Moses was 40 years old when he killed the Egyptian.  Moses then escapes to Midian - an area on the eastern side of the Red Sea that was very dry and desolate.  Moses ends up living in Midian for 40 years:

In Chapter 3 today God speaks to Moses through the burning bush!  What I love about this is in verse 4: "When the LORD saw that he had caught Moses' attention..." It seems like Moses probably could have seen this burning bush - and kept going.  He could have somehow walked on by - maybe because he had to get the flocks back home or he was late for dinner or who knows what.  He could have missed the adventure and the calling of his life.  But he doesn't.  He stops.  He investigates.  He has a conversation with God.  God caught his attention.  And I wonder in our lives today, is God trying to catch our attention?  Is God trying to tell us something important?  And are we just passing God by - or will we stop and investigate and have a conversation with God?

Exodus 3:14 is a biggee in today's readings as Moses asks God who he should tell the Hebrews who sent him: "God replied, "I AM WHO I AM. Just tell them, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" I AM WHO I AM  translates into Yahweh in Hebrew.  I read a great little commentary that said when God speaks of himself, he says "I AM".  When we speak of God we should say "He is."  I like that.  He is.  I actually heard a sermon recently about the unchanging nature of God.  He is omniscient.  Omni-present.  Eternal.  He is wisdom.  He cannot learn anything, because He knows everything.  He is.  The Hebrew letters yud, hey, vav, hey (below) -- often depicted in English as YHWH or Yahweh -- spell the ineffable name of God:

Another powerful thing to note is that Jesus uses this same phrase of I AM and nearly gets stoned to death for sharing this truth in the Gospel of John chapter 8 verses 58 & 59: "“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds."  Do you believe that Jesus is? So - when God says I AM! - what is our response?  He is!  :)  I like that.   He is.  A great commentary on the Burning Bush & I AM in Exodus chapter 3 is at bible.org at this link.

New Testament - Today in Matthew chapter 17 verse 20 stood out to me: ""You didn't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I assure you, even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.""  As I think about this verse, I wonder about my own faith.  How much faith do I really have?  Do I have enough faith in Jesus?  And in all of God's promises?  Or - am I hedging my bets?  Do I also place a lot of faith in my own power?  My own skills?  My own "smarts"?   Do I truly have complete faith in Jesus and Jesus alone?  If so, and if it was Jesus' will, do I believe that I could move mountains?  Could you?   I don't think that this idea of not having enough faith means that I need to "try harder" in any way.  I think it means I simply need to depend more - rest more - relax more - give more - to Jesus.  Trust in Jesus.  Trust that his grace is enough...  As a great Chris Tomlin song goes - "All of you is more than Enough, for all of me."  Is Jesus more than enough for you?

Verses 25 & 26 are awesome as Peter is about to ask Jesus about the Temple Tax: "But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, "What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the foreigners they have conquered?" "They tax the foreigners," Peter replied. "Well, then," Jesus said, "the citizens are free!""  Here we see that Jesus is recognizing himself as the King - and his disciples are his citizens who should not have to pay the tax.  But - as to not offend those who did not realize that Jesus was the King, Jesus tells Peter where to find a coin, in the fish's mouth, to pay the tax. 

Psalms - Psalm 22 is an amazing Psalm!  This Psalm is the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament.  Re-read this Psalm again and see if you see parallels to Jesus' crucifixion?  There are a lot in this Psalm.   I'll list a few - Psalm 22:1a was quoted by Jesus on the cross - "My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?"  As we see in Matthew 27:46 - "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”–which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 

Psalm 22 Verse 8: ""Is this the one who relies on the LORD? Then let the LORD save him! If the LORD loves him so much, let the LORD rescue him!"" We see in similar fashion in Matthew 27:42-43: "“He saved others,” they said, “but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

Psalm 22 verses 16 & 17 make me want to cry... "They have pierced my hands and feet. I can count every bone in my body." The piercing of the hands and feet of Jesus are apparent with how the crucifixion took place.  And these Psalm 22 verses are similar to John 19:33-37: "But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”"

And Psalm 22 verse 18: "They divide my clothes among themselves and throw dice for my garments." Compare to John 19:23-24 - "When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. “Let's not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let's decide by lot who will get it.”"

Proverbs - Proverbs chapter 5 verses 12-14 are some sad verses to imagine saying in our lives: ""How I hated discipline! If only I had not demanded my own way! Oh, why didn't I listen to my teachers? Why didn't I pay attention to those who gave me instruction? I have come to the brink of utter ruin, and now I must face public disgrace.""  Do you love or hate discipline?  Do you demand your own way?  Are you listening to your teachers today?  Who are your teachers today?  Who is disciplining you?  For Whom will you not demand your own way?

Worship God:  Based on Psalm 22's look at what Jesus endured for us, it seems appropriate to share Darlene Zscheck & Hillsong United singing "Here I am to Worship" which features the powerful line "I'll never know how much it cost, to see my sin upon that cross:"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eiy3_KRKNaQ

Do you know how much your sin cost?  Click here for the saving cross!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" Exodus 3:14 NIV

Prayer Point: Pray that you would know God truly as the great I AM. Pray that God would be your personal I AM each and every day. Pray that our world would come to know God and Jesus as the only one and true I AM.

Comments from You and Questions of the Day:  I realize that reading Psalm 22 and seeing some of the images I posted up can evoke a lot of emotions.  I am wondering, how often do you meditate upon Jesus' passion and death?  Do you do this just around Good Friday / Resurrection Sunday each year?  Or more often?  How do you meditate upon the Lord's passion and death?  Are passion plays, movies, or books helpful for you to do this?  Or are their other things you read or watch or do?  Do you think we should or should not meditate upon Jesus' passion and death more often than once a year?  Why or why not?  Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings?  Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!

God bless,
Mike

Comments

[Ramona]

Exodus 2:11-3:22

I will probably come back to Mike question/thought of the day this evening, but know I need to address something I’ve just seen in the text, two things, that I’ve never considered before.

Moses, knowing he was adopted, seeing the life he had led as an adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter, and seeing the life of his biological people, chose to identify with slaves although he had not completely thrown off the comforts of being raised in the household of Pharaoh. Got used his act of murder to begin the removal of his identification to the palace and his privilege, He kicked him out of the “boat.” Moses also must have understood or knew his purpose as Israel’s deliver; however, he didn’t have a clue on how that was to be achieved.

I think many of us have some inkling, some vision, of what our purpose is; however, because we don’t know how that is to be fulfilled, we go off and do our own thing and mess up royally. We then don’t set goals (see Jan. 24th) because we are afraid to mess up again. Based on Moses’ story we see that God can have us go at least forty years to get the Egypt out of us although we are out of Egypt.

I also now think that Moses’ reluctance to go back to Egypt and lead his people out was not based on some self-perceived speech impediment, but based on his knowledge that he was a murderer. Even after forty years, people have long memories and I’m sure if someone in the palace committed murder, even if the people around at the time die off, the records would clearly record that even. After all inquiring minds want to know. People love to see the might fall. Hmmm!

Grace and peace,
Ramona

[Raeann]

25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

Jesus gave up everything to SAVE us, a fallen people and world.

[Manny Fernandez]

Something that is often missed by many people because of the chapter divisions is the correlation between Matthew 16 and Matthew 17. In the former passage, Peter makes the astonishing and enlightened declaration of who Christ is and Christ affirms him. In the latter passage, Jesus asks Peter if he really believes what he says. Peter is more worried about paying taxes rather than understanding that the king of all the Universe need not pay taxes. What a wonderful object lesson!

[Alli]

What stood out for me in today's reading is that Moses after killing the Egyptian feared for his life for Pharaoh heard and sought to slay him, hence Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh...now God is sending Moses back to Egypt [back to Pharaoh who sought his life 40 years prior]...I believe that an immense fear would have once again gripped Moses for he asked "11... Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?"

and I love God's response
12And he said, Certainly I will be with thee;" ...God did not respond to Moses question as to whom he was, for who he was was not important...what was important is that God would be with him...hence He could walk in confidence and not fear Pharoah or rejection from the children of Israel ...

Moses then sought to question too who he should say sent him...and again I love God's response ..."14And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM:... I AM hath sent me unto you."

As children of God we must understand that it is not who we are on earth, but whose we are in heaven that is important...for "...God will certainly be with us"...He says "...I will never leave you nor forsake you"

Alli

[John A.]

Exodus 2:11-3:22

In Antiquities of the Jews - Josephus talks about Moses' education in the court of Pharoah. Josephus wrote Moses was an exceedingly quick learner, skilled orator, great military mind for tactics and a natural leader: charasmatic, tall, and beautiful.

http://www.interhack.net/projects/library/antiquities-jews/
======================================================
If Josephus is correct, then Moses time in the court may have instilled in Moses a great deal of pride.

God had a mission for Moses predestined before the beginning of time. While the above qualities would be useful in the wilderness, God first needed a broken humble man that he could conform into the image of Christ. A man that would acknowledge God, let God make the decisions, and be a faithful servant to the Lord's plan. Moses had to be humbled.

Moses knew who his people were, and on his first recorded visit to them - Moses tries to protect them by killing an Egyptian. This did not go over well. Why? I see God's hand behind the reaction. God did not want to use a hot-headed hotshot military guy to lead a revolt of the Jewish people. That is not how God wanted to deal with Pharoah. On top of that Moses wrecklessly murdered a man, and shedding of anyone's innocent blood in the act of murder is a no-no for God. That authority is God's through natural means or through a societal government decision. So Moses had to be scared into fleeing so he could be humbled.
======================================================
Moses and the Burning Bush

Is there anything more humbling to a man who after forty years in Midian was out performing the lowliest job (shepherding a flock) of not Moses' animals but his father-in-laws animals?

Moses was 80, had no assets, and was performing menial tasks for his relative. A far cry from Moses' heyday in Pharoah's court.

NOW, Moses was humble enough. God, the Supreme potter, had smashed the clay vase down, and was ready to build Moses back up to the man Moses needed to be to lead the Exodus, a man in the foreshadowed image of Christ. [note: This rebuilding of Moses was only started here at the burning bush. conforming to the image of Christ is a lifelong work of God in a believer - then and now.] Moses is now a work in progress.

One small problem, Moses was now not only humble but insecure. Moses, at 80, does not really want to go back to Egypt (possibly still facing a murder charge), and lead his own people who had already rejected Moses once 40 years ago.

Moses starts making excuses for not going:

Ex 3:11
But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"

Contrast this with Isaiah's response to the Lord.
Is6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

God had to start instilling some confidence in Moses based on trusting in the Lord. "And God said, "I will be with you."

He gave Moses his name, a sign, the words to say, and assurance that the elders of Israel would listen to Moses and heed God's Words. Pretty strong stuff to fortify Moses.

[John A.]

Matt 17:11-12
Difficulties

"Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. "But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." (NIV)

Quick hit

Which Elijah? How many Elijah's? Is the Lord confusing things in this verse. Many skeptics point to this verse as a contradiction.

Let's look at the verse:
"To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things...." The apostles are asking about the teachers of the Law's reference to Elijah from the prophecy in Mal 4:4-6.

Jesus answered in a complete sentence and says - Yes, that is true. Elijah will come prior to my kingdom (the Second Coming) and he will restore all things.

But wait a minute guys, you are putting the cart before the horse. Quit looking ahead to the kingdom and realize that there is some salvation work that needs to be done first. First, I must come as the sacrificial lamb, then return as the Lion of Judah in the Second coming.

Let's focus on this trip. There is an Elijah prior to this trip that was also foretold. Huh? Where was that?

Luke 1:17
"And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (NIV)

So Jesus is not contradicting or confusing us here:
1) Prior to this trip there was one that came in the spirit and power of Elijah - that was John the Baptist as foretold in Luke by God's angel.
2) Next time around - yes, there will be a literal Elijah who will restore all things - this Elijah will restore the hearts of Israel to the Lord as foretold in Malachai.

[Chris D]

So whom did Zipporah circumcise? Verse 4:20 says Moses took "his wife and sons" [plural sons]. Verse 25 says Zipporah circumcised her son [singular ... at least in the NLT]. And v26 says, "After that, the LORD left him alone," which would seem to indicate that they were now being obedient. So was it Gershom, the first born? Or maybe Eliezer? Or am I missing something?

[Billy Bain]

The 22 Psalm is amazing. I think about Christ on cross. It is almost finished. Most of his followers are not there but the unbelieving Jews are many. Jesus cries out, My God My God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Much the same way we can start singing the first line of a song, all those who know the song continue singing it in their minds. Those Jews who didn't believe that Christ was the messiah must have repeated Psalm 23 in their minds. Then seeing that Jesus was the fulfilment of the prophecy there. At that moment, they had to accept of reject them. I'm sure that some wept and repented. I'm sure that many rationalized the similarity and rejected Him. Looking back, the world has no excuse. Praise to the Lord, the almighty, the King of creation. I love you Jesus!

[Billy Bain]

It should have said:

At that moment, they had to accept OR reject HIM.