Let not God speak with us, lest we die

Moses had gone up the mountain, where the Lord had given the ten commandments among thunderings, lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When they saw it, the people trembled. And they told Moses “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Exodus 20:1-19). Moses had brought the people out to meet with God, and the sound of the trumpet had been very loud, the smoke had gone up like a furnace, and the mountain itself had trembled (19:16-18). All this had, to coin a phrase, put the fear of God into the people, and in a sense who could blame them. But in fact what they were doing was choosing rules over relationship. And the problem, if we do that, is that it is His rules, not ours. And the people were saying not only will we listen, but we will obey, for this is the force of the Hebrew word listen.

We can still choose rules over relationship, but we need to realize it is His rules, and that there needs to be perfect obedience. “For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend on one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). Good luck with that! There is none of this “He will balance my good works with my bad,” or “I'm a good person.” For “there is none good but God,” and “we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Matthew 19:17; Romans 3:23). God does not want to improve us, He wants to kill us “for he who has died to sin, is alive to God” (Romans 6:11, 13). In fact Christ “died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:15).

But was it really necessary to scare the living daylights out of the people? Well, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). And since our propensity is to go astray (Isaiah 63:6), the Lord in His wisdom uses both the carrot and the stick to wake us up and bring us to our senses. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10), and I for one want to be clothed in His righteousness on that day (Isaiah 61:10; Philippians 3:9). But in any case, I will choose relationship over rules I cannot possibly obey any day. I need to fear, but I need to let His perfect love case it out (1 John 4:18).

Father, thank You that You cursed the earth for my sake (Genesis 3:17 NKJV). You twerked reality so that poor choices produce bad consequences (Galatians 6:7). And it was the consequences of my poor choices, and my inability to keep the law that showed me my need of You. Thank You Lord. Thank You that You are no celestial Scrooge, but that at Your right hand are pleasures for ever more. I know Lord that in this world I will have trouble, but I thank You too, that You have overcome the world in Jesus Name Amen

When my father and my mother forsake me ...

... Then the LORD will take care of me. We are continuing this morning with gleanings from Psalm 27. David has just reminded the Lord that he (David) always responds positively to God's invitation to seek His face. Nevertheless David still implores God to not leave him nor forsake him (verses 8,9). But then clearly receiving assurance that He will not, David can declare with this morning verse (10), that even in the midst of what is perhaps the most devastating or rejections (mother and father), there is one who loves him and will take care of him. Probably there is no one reading this blog who has not suffered some level of rejection, and once again the Scriptures point us to the God who is the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3), as the one who will help us to deal with our pain.

There is no indication in Scripture that David's mother and father forsook him, but he certainly received his share of rejection through Saul, for example, or from his son Absalom, who raised an army to overthrow David's throne. But there is one Jesus, whose mother and brothers turned against Him, thinking He was out of His mind (Mark 3:21). The Scripture tell that “We do not have a high priest who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmity, but was at all points tested as we are, but without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). In particular, He knows what you are going through this morning and he understands, He really does, and He is able to comfort and strengthen you.

But getting back to David, after choosing to trust God in the midst of his pain he ask the Lord to “Teach me Your way, and lead me in a smooth path” (verse 11). He is asking God to lead him, to show him how to navigate through his trials, and he knows this is often about waiting on God. His hope however is in God “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living” (verse 13). He then instructs us to wait on the Lord in our trials, knowing that through them He will strengthen our hearts (verse 14).

Father, I want to thank You this morning that it is true that when I was forsaken, You took care of me, and You have promised to never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5). I have to confess Lord, that waiting is hard. But every time I have wanted to give up, You have done something to keep me trusting that I will indeed see Your goodness in the here and now. And I thank You in advance Father for the fulfillment of Your promises in Jesus Name Amen

One thing I have desired ... That will I seek - That I may dwell ...

This morning's quote from Psalm 27:4 reveals King David's stance as a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22). He desires one thing above all else to be a seeker after God and to dwell in His presence. David did not get there through smooth sailing, but rather by putting his trust in God at all times he experienced God's faithfulness, provision and protection. The Lord, David tells us,  is his light and his deliverer. The Hebrew word translated deliver has the sense of being saved in battle, being victorious.  Indeed David tells us that when his enemies came up against him they stumbled and fell (verse 2). Through this he learned not to not let his heart fear “even though and army encamp against him" (verse 3). It is this experience that leads him to declare that the one thing he desires is to seek and to dwell in His presence.

But what does it mean that seeking and dwelling is the one thing David seeks, and how did he learn not to let his heart fear? The first commandment come to mind to love God with all of our heart soul and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5). In other words it is all about a passionate relationship with God  that holds no bars, no barrier. When David fails, as we all do, he cries out to God to teach him truth in the inward parts (Psalm 51:6), and the Word is his meditation day and night (Psalm 1:2). This is surely what he means when he says the Lord is his light (verse 1). Further more David does not display what today is called the rugged North American individualism. He does not do things in his own strength, for the Lord is not only David's light, He is the strength of his life (verse 1 again). Like a little child, David is totally dependent on God!

But how does he teach his heart not to fear? It is about both trust and experience. In particular David learnt to keep his heart with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23). It starts with looking back on previous deliverance “when the wicked came to “eat his flesh they stumbled and fell" (verse 2). So David refused to allow the negative thought and emotions that dwelling on fear brings. But he also knows that it is not just about stopping those thoughts, but rather replacing them by pressing into God by seeking Him single-mindedly. This is the one thing he desires.

Father, thank You for the example, and challenge of David's life. David tells us he desired to seek and dwell, indicating that he did not always do it. He needed Your help, and so do we Lord. So we come to You again this morning asking You to help us do our part in making You our refuge and our strength, and for You to be the first thing we turn to in difficulties and temptations. And we  will  give You the honour and glory in Jesus Name Amen

Lift up your rod..... over the sea and divide it

The Egyptian army was pursuing the children of Israel and with the Red sea before them and mountains on either side they were trapped. So Moses does as God commands, the sea is divided,  and the children of Israel cross on try land. The Egyptians pursue and are drown as God closed the sea over them (Exodus 13, 14). Secular Biblical scholars, along many others, tend to dispute anything in the Bible that is miraculous, seeking to explain it all away. The Red sea, for example, is said to be the reed sea, a body of water just a few inches deep. Though how the whole of the Egyptian army drown in just a few inches of water,  is not explained. Mount Sinai,  one stop on the journey wilderness wandering,  the place where the ten commandments would later be given (Exodus 19, 20), is said to be in Egypt (and is in fact designates as a tourist attraction). If true this would mean they did not need to cross the Red sea at all. But the Bible tells us that Mount Sinai is in Arabia (Galatians 4:25). Well, you get the point.

The controversial figure Ron Wyatt spent 22 years of his life looking for sites described in the Bible. One of the more convincing ones, is his location of the Red sea crossing. Wyatt found a very large beach (five miles long) at Nuweiba. And it certainly fits the bill as the place where Moses lifted His rod, it being hemmed in by Mountains with a single rout to the beach. There are matching granite columns “of Solomon” on either side of the Red sea at this point. Inscribed on these columns are the words “Mizram (Egypt), death, water, pharaoh, Edom, Yahweh, and Solomon.   Solomon's sea port was at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba at Eilat (I Kings 9:26) and it is no stretch to believe that he was “very familiar with the Red Sea crossing site, as it was in his neighbourhood” (quote from Wyatt). Wyatt locates the name “Nuwayba' al Muzayyinah” at this exact spot,  on an Arabic map, and tells that it means “Waters of Moses Opening." So at the very least, the ancients believed this was the place. But Wyatt has more.

In particular, and I quote ”The crossing path is about a quarter to a half mile wide and is on a gradual slope down to the bottom of the Red Sea,  and then up to the Saudi beach.  On either side of this path are the depths of the Red Sea, the Eilat Deep and the Aragonese Deep, each 3000 and 5000 feet deep respectively.” But most convincing of all are the pictures taken of “coral shaped chariot wheels fixed to axels standing at attention on the seabed.” These were found on both sides of the alleged crossing. He adds  “There are numerous chariot wheels, plus human and horse bones at the crossing site. Crossing” (see https://bible7evidence.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-red-sea-crossing-ron-wyatt.html).

Father, one of the advantages of being old,  is that you get to see multiple supposed explanations of disbelieved Biblical events and sites, being overturned,  and the Bible account verified. But Father if the Jesus rose from the dead,  then as Your Word says “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). Thank You Lord that I don't need to throw away my mind in order to believe. Thank You Lord for the evidence of faith (Hebrews 11:1). We believe help our unbelief in Jesus Name Amen

When I see the blood I will pass over you

One of the things about reading through the Bible in a year is that you get to revisit the important therms of the Bible in a systematic way. This morning's quote from Exodus 12:23 reminded me of the centrality of the blood in redemption and deliverance. The angel of death was about to strike all the firstborn of Egypt, and the Lord had told the children of Israel to slay a lamb and “strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood” (verse 22), and when the angel saw the blood he would pass over that household and “not allow the destroyer to come into your houses.” It is worthy of note that the parents did the striking, but the whole household would be saved (see Joshua 24:15d). This passage is perhaps the clearest initial picture of forgiveness of sins, deliverance and salvation through blood sacrifice. Things in the Old Testament are said to be a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ (Colossians 2:17).

Isaiah tells us the inconvenient truth that “all we like sheep have gone astray,” and Jesus identifying with us as sheep was “led as a lamb to the slaughter,” and the Lord was in effect laying “on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6,7). The same chapter tells us “He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors,” and in doing so “bore the sin of many” (verse 12). The Name “Jesus” does not appear in this Chapter of course, but in case we are left in any doubt John the Baptist seeing Jesus exclaims “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Also when the Ethiopian eunuch inquires who Isaiah 53 is speaking about, we read that Philip preached unto him Jesus (Acts 8:34, 35).

The sacrificial system of ancient Israel was part of the shadow of things that were to come. The idea is of substitution for sin. The sacrifices of sheep and goats and bulls and lambs foreshadowed the reality of Christ's atoning sacrifice of our sin. It is through His sacrifice that the sins of those who trust in Him for salvation are made holy (justified). That it was shadow and not realty is spoken of clearly in Hebrews. “It is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin (10:4), however “Without the shedding of blood there is not forgiveness of sins” (9:22). And “Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). It is a divine exchange, He took on our sin, and gave us His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Father, it is by these tender mercies of Your that Paul admonishes us to present ourselves as living sacrifices, and suggests that this is the only reasonable response to all that You have done (Romans 12:1 NKJV). And so Lord I present myself to You again this morning Lord to use me as You will for Your Kingdom and I will give You all the honour, glory and praise in Jesus Name Amen

Tell your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt

Two things stood out to me in this morning's readings, the first,  in the title,  from Exodus 10:2.  The second “Let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed” (Psalm 25:2, 3).  The context of the first is towards the end of the plagues of Egypt.  The Lord was telling Moses that one of the reasons He was doing these things,  was so that Israel would have something of the wonderful works of God, to tell their children and their children's children. It is God's nature to deliver His people, and since God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8), then His testimonies are the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:20). In other words,  the testimony of what God has done, is an invitation to believe that He will do it again.

One of the commonalities between what caught my attention this morning,  is deliverance. The first is about delivery from slavery in Egypt, the second of  David from his enemies.   The deliverances are both in the future, and David's petition (let none  who wait on You be ashamed) is not only for all of us who are waiting for deliverance, but also for all who are waiting on God for the fulfillment of His promises.  God is faithful and, thinking again of His nature, we read “eye seen any God besides You, who acts for the one who waits for Him” (Isaiah 64:4). In this instant society,  where there it a pill for every ail, we are not very good at waiting. Our focus tends to be on the bottom line,  the goal at the end of the road.  But God is every bit as interested in the journey, as He is in the deliverance, or  in the fulfillment of His promise.

But what does it mean to wait on Him? Well for one thing, it's not passive. In His waiting David petitions the Lord to “Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation” (verses 4, 5). David sees the waiting as an opportunity to learn God's ways. We too need to see these things as an opportunity to learn and to draw near to God, and so claim His promise that He will draw near to us (James 4:8). Waiting is also about faith, we choose to trust that since He has delivered in the past, He will deliver,  and continue to deliver (2 Corinthians 1:10).  We will not experience deliverance if there is nothing from which we need to be delivered. And so in such times we need to learn to press in,  and to take advantage of all the Lord is wanting to show us and to do in us. Waiting in faith is progressive and experiential,  as we truly come to know in our innermost being,  that He is working all things together for our good.

Father, thank You this morning Lord,  for the many things You have done in my life. Thank You that You lifted me out a a desolate pit, and put a song of praise in my mouth. Lord may my testimony help many to see and fear and put their trust in You (Psalm 40:1-3). And Lord let none reading this blog ever come to shame,   as they wait on You in Jesus Name Amen

The earth is the LORD’S, and all that fills it

As the second part of this verse from Psalm 24:1 makes clear, this includes all “those who dwell therein.” Those who live under a brutal dictatorship know their place well, they know that if they step out of line they are in big trouble. Thankfully God is not a brutal dictator, but rather He is patient and longsuffering with us, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). But let's make no mistake about it, the earth and all that fills it belongs to Him and He has the right to do with it exactly as He pleases. Again I am thankful this morning that our beautiful God is the very essence of love and of all the positive qualities, and more that mankind is capable of exhibiting. But again let's make no mistake about it, our God is a consuming fire to those who ultimately resist Him (Hebrews 12:29). And since in our unregenerate state the imagination of all of our hearts are continually towards evil (Genesis 6:5), then it is only by His Mercy that we are not consumed (Lamentations 3:22).

The Lord made mankind in His image, in His likeness in order that He might have fellowship with us. And throughout the Bible He continually invites us up to fellowship wth Him. In this morning's Psalm He asks “Who may stand in His holy place?” He answers “He who has clean hands and a pure heart” (verse 3b, 4a). One of the purposes of the Old Testament is to demonstrate that without the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit in our lives this is impossible. In fact the Law was there to teach us that it is impossible without Christ and therefore we need to come to Him for salvation (Galatians 3:24). All who will may come, and drink freely from the wells of salvation (Isaiah 12:3). We do need to realize however that when we come we are no longer our own, we are bought with a price, and that we should honour God with our bodies as living sacrifices (1 Corinthians 6:20; Romans 12:1).

Scripture knows nothing of a salvation that allows you to do what you want after you get saved. We are either slaves of sin, or slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:20). And we get to choose! Leaving aside the question of what happens to those who have not heard (but see Genesis 18:25), there is only one way to the Father (John 14:6). It is black and white, if we do not choose Christ, we choose the same side as the brutal dictator, the same side as those who feel they are masters of their fate, captain of their souls. And God will not always strive with man (Genesis 6:3), but rather like Pharaoh who after harden his heart many times God may choose to use you as a vessel of wrath for His purposes. After all, the earth is the LORD’S, and everyone in it!

Father the thought comes to mind that the ox knows its master, but oh so often Your people do not understand what is means that You are God and the earth is Yours and all its fullness. Teach us humility Lord and our proper place in You so that we may honour and glorify You as we aught in Jesus Name Amen