Exodus 1:1-7:7 [A Man Named Moses continued...]

Exodus 5:1-2 

 [1] Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’”

[2] Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go.”

It seems like when we tell people about the Lord who do not know God, they choose not to listen. Like Moses, we should not give up though. We should pray that the Lord opens their ears and softens their hearts so that they can know God. 

Exodus 5:6-9 

 [6] That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: [7] “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. [8] But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ [9] Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”

When the Egyptians follow Pharaoh's directions it is nearly impossible for them to get the work done. They then confront Moses and tell him that it is his fault this is happening to them! So Moses questions the Lord again.

Exodus 5:22-23 

 [22] Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? [23] Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”

Did you ever pray for something and it did not get answered right away? We must realize that God works on his time and not our own. 

So the Lord gave Moses directions once again. He was to speak to his people, but they did not listen. They were too discouraged. How many people have we met that have lost faith in God because they were discouraged when a prayer was not answered or something did not go right in their lives? This is exactly what we are seeing here. 

God then told Moses to go the Pharaoh again with a message.

Exodus 7:1-5 

 [1] Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. [2] You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. [3] But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, [4] he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. [5] And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

So Moses and Aaron did exactly what the Lord had asked of him.  Here we see that God is telling him that he will appear as God to Pharaoh. As Christians, we should be as much like God as we can be. I remember in the sermon I went to last night, the pastor said, "Do not be the best "you" you can be; Be the best imitation of God you can be." 

Philippians 2:5-6 

 [5] In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

 [6] Who, being in very nature[a] God, 

   did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

When other's see our walk and how we are giving, loving, good natured people, they want to be around you. When you can be a people magnet, you can be a better witness to the Lord. After all, isn't being his witness our ultimate calling?

Exodus 1:1-7:7 [A Man Named Moses]

Book: Exodus
Author: Moses
Date written: 1450-1410 B.C.
Where Written: Somewhere in the Sanai Peninsula
Special Features: Exodus relates more miracles than any other  Old Testament book and is noted for containing the ten commandments.

God is always with us, molding us and speaking to us if we are willing to listen. He allows bad things to happen to us so that blessings can come out of them. In the story of Moses we see the Hebrews become enslaved after Joseph's generation passes away. How could the Egyptians forget about all the good Joseph had done? Was it all for nothing? Did he bring his people into Egypt for no reason? Of corse not. God had a plan for these people and a covenant with them that he still had not fulfilled and we know God always keeps his promises. Sometimes we just have to be patient.

It was obvious God had a plan for Moses. After all he spared him. When all the Hebrew baby boys were being tossed into the Nile, Moses was found in the reeds of the river by the Pharaoh's daughter, who then adopted Moses. Not only did God bless Moses but he blessed his family. The Pharaoh's daughter paid his Mother to nurse Mosses until he was old enough and then she gave him back to Pharaoh's daughter.

Now Moses was a reactor. He reacted to the things he saw before him. When he saw a Hebrew being beat by an Egyptian, he killed the Egyptian and hid his body. When he got caught he ran, but God used Moses for the greater Good. God taught Moses how to act instead of react.


Exodus 3:2-5 


[2] There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. [3] So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”


 [4] When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”


   And Moses said, “Here I am.”


 [5] “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

God then tells Moses he is to go to Pharaoh and tell them God sent him.


Exodus 3:12-14 


 [12] And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you[a] will worship God on this mountain.”


 [13] Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”


 [14] God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.[b] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”


This reminds me of that poem:

My Name is I Am
by Helen Mallicoat

I was regretting the past 
And fearing the future. 
Suddenly my Lord was speaking:

“My name is I Am.” He paused. 
I waited. He continued,
When you live in the past 
With its mistakes and regrets, 
It is hard. I am not there, 
My name is not I WAS”.

When you live in the future 
With its problems and fears, 
It is hard. I am not there. 
My name is not I WILL BE.

When you live in this moment, 
It is not hard. I am here. 
My name is I AM. 


Do you live in the moment and trust in God? How strong is your faith? 


We continue into our reading to see God tell Moses to be faithful to him and go to Pharaoh. He tells him that Pharaoh will not let him leave unless there is a powerful force behind him so he will preform many miracles for the people. 


Exodus 4:1 But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?”


At this point God demonstrates what he will do to prove to the Pharaoh that he is the God of the ancestors. He turns his staff into a snake. God then says that he will preform many more miracles and still here is Moses pleading with the Lord not to go. He is fearful he will get tongue tied and not be able to speak.



Exodus 4:11-12 


 [11] Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? [12] Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”


Did God ever use you as a witness? I'm am not good with words myself. Sometimes when I talk it doesn't come out the way it was intended to in my head; However, when ever I witness for the Lord it seems that words flow out of my mouth so perfectly it's as if they did not come from me. This is how I know God IS real! Those words did not come from me, but from him! God is Good!

We will end here and continue onto Exodus 5-7:7 tomorrow! 

Genesis 39-50:26 [Joseph's Egyptian Adventure Continued...]

Ever felt like you were being pressured to sin? In Genesis 39 we see that Joseph was pressured by his master's wife to have sex with her over and over and he did not give in.

Genesis 39:6-9

[6] So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

   Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, [7] and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”

 [8] But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

Joseph knew this was sinful and refused to give in. Potiphar's wife was not going to have it though. She came up behind him, grabbing his cloak, demanding that he sleep with her while he was working. He pulled away leaving her with his cloak and he fled. Potiphar's wife told the servants and her Husband that Joseph had come in to rape her and that he had fled after her screaming and left his cloak. 

If most of us were in this situation, we probably would think it was impossible to deal with and just give in. Joseph remained obedient to his master and to God. We must remember that running from sin is not cowardly by any means and actually takes a lot more discipline then to just give into sin all together.

Genesis 39:19-20

 [19] When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. [20] Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

Now your probably thinking, "Ok so he was obedient, but that led him to jail!" Yes it did lead to jail but God never left his side. Joseph won over the heart of the prison warden who had then put Joseph in charge of all of the other prisoners. The prison warden loved this because with Joseph he did not need to worry about anything. Joseph made things run smoothly.

While in the prison Joseph interpreted two dreams. One of the Pharaoh's chief cup barer and the other of the chief baker. Both dreams came true.

Genesis 40:8  “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.”

   Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”

When Joseph interpreted the dreams he gave the glory and honor to God instead of taking credit himself and making himself look good. This made Joseph a witness to the Lord. One way we can become great witnesses to God is to give God the credit when speaking on behalf of other people's experiences or our own. 

Even though the chief cup barer forgot to tell the Pharaoh about Joseph after the dreams came true, Joseph was later blessed by his actions. When the Pharaoh had dreams that disturbed him and no one could interpret them, the cup barer was reminded of Joseph and the Pharaoh sent for him at once. This was two years later. This reminds us to be patient. Blessings are not always immediate and they do not always make the most sense, but if we trust in God and be patient the blessings will come.

Genesis 41:16  “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

Once again Joseph gives credit to God where credit is needed. 

After God interpreted Pharaoh's dreams through Joseph, he blessed Joseph. He gave Joseph authority over all of Egypt and only Pharaoh had more authority then Joseph. Joseph was given a wife and a new name, Zaphenath-paneah. In it's original language Zaphenath-paneah means, "a revealer of hidden things and an opener of things to come,". As predicted the 7 years of prosperity and 7 years of famine did occur. 

Now let's take a step back. From our last reading we remember that Joseph had a dream which is what made his brothers enraged in jealousy! 

Genesis 37:5-9 

 [5] Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

 [8] His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.

 [9] Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

Now here we are in Genesis 42 and Jacob, Joseph's father sends his brothers to Egypt for grain. When they arrive Joseph recognizes them but they do not recognize him. Joseph tells them that they are spies and that the only way he will believe other wise is if they leave one brother with him and the only way they can retrieve him is if they bring their youngest brother back. Jacob did not want to allow this in fear that he would lose his youngest son, but Judah accepted full responsibility for Benjamin. While Judah did not know what this meant for him he was determined to carry it out. In doing so he developed confidence and character with in himself, just as we do by accepting responsibilities and seeing them through in our own lives. 

When the men arrived with gifts and Benjamin sure enough was with them, Joseph had his men prepare a feast for them and invited them into Joseph's home. They feast. The Egyptians sit at one table because they despise Hebrews and Joseph tells the brother's where to sit. He seats them oldest to youngest to their surprise. 

Joseph then does something that is quite bazar. He fills their sacks with as much grain as they can handle but has his servants place his silver cup in the youngest's sack. Then has one of his servant's catch up with them and ask them why they have stolen this cup. We then see them empty their sacks and there in the Benjamin's sack is the cup and they come before Joseph and plead before him not to take Benjamin as a slave. At this point Joseph could not stand it any more. He ordered his servants to leave and then told his brothers who he was. 

Genesis 45:5-8

[5] And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. [6] For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. [7] But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.[a]

 [8] “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.

Isn't it amazing how God will allow horrible things to happen in our lives that lead to such great things? This is exactly what Joseph is explaining here. This was all in God's plan. Has there ever been a time where great things in your life came out of bad circumstances? 

At this point Joseph tells his brothers to bring his father back to live in Egypt, other wise they will all starve and die from the famine. They are also invited by the Pharaoh himself! 

Jacob did come to Egypt and God made a covenant with Jacob to always be with him and that his family will inherit a great nation.

Not too soon later Jacob passed away and as promised Joseph took his father to be buried in Canaan. After his father died, his brothers grew fearful of Joseph,

[19] But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? (Genesis 50:19)


What a truly forgiving and faithful man. Eventually Joseph died at the age of 110 and he had told his people that God will lead them to the promise land eventually and that they are to take his bones with them when they go.

Imagine if you will, your siblings selling you to slavery. Do you think you could be as forgiving as Joseph? What would you do if you were Joseph? 

Genesis 37:1-36, 39-50:26 [Joseph's Egyptian Adventure]

Jealousy can really make us do the unthinkable sometimes. In Genesis 37 we see the jealous brothers actually plot to kill their brother, Joseph, because he was the more favored of the brothers by their father Jacob. We see that jealousy is binding, leading us to a sinful nature. We also notice in our own lives that if we are dealing with jealousy that we begin to focused on what others have and not on what we can do for the Lord. Think about it. How can we focus on the Lord and blessing him if we are so focused on others and their blessings? Perhaps if we redirect our energy into loving the Lord and getting close to him, we too will be blessed.

Joseph taught us a second lesson here as well. Even though he was filled with a ton of self confidence he was not very sensitive to the feelings of others. Perhaps he should not have shared those dreams with his brothers. It seemed as though the dreams and being favored is what triggered the jealousy of his brothers and came with many consequences later on. Even though we may be excited to share our experiences, ideals and or blessings with others, we sometimes need to take a step back and think about how those words will affect the people we are sharing them with. Is it a touchy subject? Will they think your bragging, even though that is not your intentions? Should I just keep my mouth shut? This is something I work on everyday! I'm hoping to come to a point where I can be completely humble and selfless and use my blessings as testimony in glory of God more so then to give the impression I am bragging or think I am better then any one else.

How about you? Where are you at in your life with Jealousy? How about bragging or giving that impression with out intent?

Genesis 39-50:26 NEXT POST!

Genesis 25:19-34 [Between Brothers]

Miracles happen only through prayer and the grace of God. Rebekah of all people would know this after not being able to conceive. They prayed and prayed and God made her pregnant with twins! 

Genesis 25:22-23

[22] The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD.

 [23] The LORD said to her,

   “Two nations are in your womb,

   and two peoples from within you will be separated;

one people will be stronger than the other,

   and the older will serve the younger.”

The twins names were Esau and Jacob. Now in this part of the bible we see two boys with completely different personalities. We especially see that Esau is lacking in the common sense department so to speak. Esau's decisions were based on what he wanted in the moment and rarely chose things based on long term consequences. In Genesis 25:29-34 we see Esau give his rights as first born up to his brother Jacob over a bowl of soup. If you were to continue reading you would see that he marries a woman outside of his parents' wishes. 

So what about you? Do you find yourself giving into things that may feel good at the moment and may fulfill you at the moment but may have consequences in the long run? If so, as Christians we can obtain a stronger bond and relationship with out Lord and Savior and he will help guide us on a daily basis. The question we should ask ourselves before making a decisions would be "What does God want?". 

Genesis 24:1-67 [Isaac Loves Rebekah]

Here we meet the beautiful Rebekah who is not only beautiful on the outside but beautiful on the inside. When Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac, Rebekah is exactly what he was looking for.


Genesis 24:65-67 011)


[65] and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?”


   “He is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.


 [66] Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. [67] Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

and here is where tradition begins. Sounds like a wedding, doesn't it? The veil is very symbolic in weddings reminding us of when the Temple veil was torn in two when Jesus died on the cross for us. Removing the veil takes away the separation between God and Man. This is similar in Christian marriage because marriage is the picture union between God and the church. It is only through marriage that the couple have full access to one another.

1 Corinthians 7:4  The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife.

Genesis 20:1-22:19 [Abraham's story coninued...]

At this point Isaac had been born from Sarah just as God had promised. Just as many Character's in the book Isaac was given his name for a reason. The name Isaac means laughter which was the reaction of both of his parents when they found out they would become pregnant and have a baby at such an old age. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born.

We also see that Hagar and Ishmael are sent away for the their disrespect for Sarah and Isaac.

The most surprising of all of what we have read in these two Chapters would have to be God's testing of Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son. God did not want Isaac to die, but for Abraham to prove that he loved God and would do anything for him. The purpose of testing in itself is to strengthen ourselves and deepen our relationship with our Lord and Savior. So the question is do you put full trust in God?