I am Nothing, without God Blog

Exodus 17-18

4/8/2019

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For a third time the Israelites complain and test God about being taken out of Egypt just to die. This time it was about water. Despite all they had seen the Lord do, they hardened their hearts like Pharaoh. Psalm 95:7-9 says that is what they did.
God had Moses strike a rock for water to flow from. In 1 Corinthians 10:4, Paul says, "...For they drank from the Spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ." Meaning that Christ in spiritual form was with the Israelites throughout their journey.
I think the reason God had Moses strike the rock was to symbolize Christ being "struck"(crucified and resurrected) and then living water being able to flow to all that believe in Him. In John 7:37-39, it speaks on rivers of living water but they couldn't flow till Jesus was glorified. In Numbers 20, for a second time the people are quarreling about water and this time Moses is told to speak to the rock. I think it was to represent that after Jesus was glorified all we have to do to get the living water is to ask for it. That could be part of the reason why Moses got severely punished for striking the rock instead of speaking to it like instructed to do.
Joshua is mentioned for the first time in verse 17:9. He is asked to gather men to go fight and without hesitation he does just that. He had faith in God which despite what others saw and said later he remains faith to God. This is why later God will choose him to succeed Moses and lead Israel into the promised land.
For the battle, as long as Moses held the staff of God up the Israelites prevailed. This shows that when we trust God and let Him be over our lives and what we go through we will prevail.
When Moses grew weary it showed the importance of relationships that we can't do life alone. There will be times that we are weakened, having people in your life that will hold you up to God will help get you through the battle.
In Chapter 18, it has Jethro, Moses's father in law, bringing back Moses's wife and children back to him. It saying the meaning of the kids names again seems that having his kids back are a reminder to Moses that he was a sojourner and that God has been his help. God knew what was ahead and wanted to encourage him.
Jethro heard all that had happened and said, "Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods" (v11) and then does a burnt offering to the Lord. Here is someone that didn't experience the events but after hearing of them showed more faith than some that experienced it first hand.
Jethro sees Moses taken on a larger burden than he should be and gives him the advice to share the load. As a leader it is essential to learn when and what to delegate, so no one becomes weary and burnt out.

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Exodus 16

4/5/2019

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Chapter 16 the Israelites despite all that God has done for them already, start complaining that they will starve to death. They still don't fully trust God. If they had they could have inquired instead of grumbling to the Lord about their food situation. How often are we the same way? God does all these things for us yet, when the next problem/issue arrises we start grumbling about it. Thankfully we all have a loving and caring God that provides for us and will never leave or forsake us.
Verse 16:18 "...whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack..." God provides for our needs. Paul quotes this verse in 2 Corinthians 8:15 encouraging giving generously so all needs are met. If they had an abundance that could help those that were lacking otherwise, then why not help instead of hoarding the good gifts God provided. It would in turn encourage those on the receiving end to do the same when they have the means to fulfill a need.
On the sixth day of the week they were told to gather twice as much so they would have a day of rest. It set a precedent for when they were out of the wilderness and had to do more labor. Our bodies and souls need rest to function properly. The sabbath is a day to let our physical bodies recover and our souls to get replenished.

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Exodus 14-15

3/22/2019

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In chapter 14 the story of the parting of the Red Sea happens. It's an example of how powerful God is yes, but it's also another example of how quick people seem to forget that fact. God had just did all these plaques, allowed the Israelites to plunder the Egyptians, and lead them through the wilderness with pillars of cloud and fire, yet now they see pharaoh and his army they don't believe God will save them. How often do we act the same way? God gets us through a difficult situation and we are all like "Praise God!" then the next circumstance happens and we are like "Oh no! We are so screwed!" We need to instead think God you got me through the other situation. I am trusting you to lead me through what is happening now, no matter what things may look like in the natural!
The song of Moses in chapter 15 celebrates what God just did at the Red Sea and in verses 13-18 speak on how in this moment the Israelites believe that God will get them through all the other nations and take them to the promised land. If they stayed confident in that truth their journey may not have been so rough and they would have gotten to live in the promised land. Let's learn from them and not forget where God has taken us from and hold onto the promises He has given us to where we are going.
15:27 "Then they came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water." This verse being so specific about how many springs and trees made me think there had be a reason. With guidance from the Holy Spirit and some research this is what I came up with. In the Old Testament, the twelve springs stand fo the twelve tribes of Israel. Seventy trees represent two things. First, in Genesis 46:27 it states that seventy was the amount of people from Jacob's home to go to Egypt. The second is in Numbers 11:16 the Lord has Moses select seventy men to be Elders over Israel. In the New Testament, Jesus had twelve apostles that in Luke 9 he sends out with nothing materialistic only the clothes on them and they were to proclaim the Gospel and heal those they encountered. Then a chapter later in Luke 10 Jesus sends out seventy (some manuscripts say seventy two) more with just clothes they had on also to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal. These seem to fit with the fact in Exodus 15:26 God says, "I am the Lord, your healer."

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Exodus 13

2/20/2019

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Chapter 13 talks about the practices the Israelites needed to do in remembrance of what God did for them and for them to pass it on to their kids. If we don't teach the next generation the goodness of the Lord we are doing an injustice to God and them.
I think it's awesome that the wishes of Joesph having his bones taken out the Egypt were fulfilled. He had faith in God's promised land for the Israelites. Passing on Joesph's wishes was a sign of the peoples hope and faith that God would fill the promise also.
Pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night had to be an amazing site to see. The pillar never departed from the people. It was a physical representation of the fact that God will never leave or forsake you!
If He puts you in a situation you can believe He has an exit strategy already planned out. Just like with putting the Israelites in Egypt there was a plan for them coming out of it. Trust in the fact that He sees all from the beginning to the end and that He is a good God that wants the best for you!

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Exodus 11-12

2/18/2019

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With the final plaque warning Moses starts wit the beginning phrase he had been using "Thus says the Lord". However, he never says "let my people go" during his speech like he had before. It shows that finality of this plaque. After this one was done the people would be leaving without a doubt.
The Passover was so significant that their calendar was changed to make the month it happened the first month of the year. Just like the passover lamb is a foreshadow of Jesus, I believe having the calendar change is also a foreshadow of Jesus also since the system of years ends up as BC "Before Christ" and AD "anon domini, which means "in the year of our Lord".
Blood is a symbol of life, without it no-one can live. The blood from the blemish free lamb was a sign for the people to show they were God's children. It also was a protection for them that the plague/judgement being brought down on Egypt. Just like the blood of Jesus (who was also unblemished) protects His children that believe in Him from the wrath of God! It keeps them alive as it kept the firstborn of Israel alive.
Chapter 12 verse 12 continues to reveal to all that He is "I am Lord" the only true Lord of all could execute judgement of all of Egypt: man, beast and their gods.
The final plaque happens, all of Egypt awakes to the death that has happens and cries out. Pharaoh finally tells the Israelites to leave and take what they had been asking for. He ends it with asking to be blessed. I feel in that moment he realized that God really was the true Lord of all.
The Israelites plundered the Egyptians by asking for the silver, gold and clothing with God's favor they receive it. This fulfilled God's original promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:4 and God's promise to Moses in Exodus 3:22.
Six hundred thousand men that number not including women and children left on foot. God really blessed and multiplied His people since it started with only 70 people when the sons of Jacob and their families went to Egypt.

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Exodus 10

2/8/2019

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The eighth plaque connects plaques 7-9 all together. It is finishing what the seventh plaque started by destroying all the plant life that the hail left. "Covering the face of the land" is a prelude to the darkness of the eighth plaque.
God reminds Moses that all that is happening isn't just to punish Egypt but to reveal who He was the one and only true Lord over all. God could have just told Moses to gather the people to leave and the Pharaoh couldn't have done anything to stop them. But He wanted to show what He was capable of and start to reveal His redemption plan for us thru Jesus.
The ninth plaque being a darkness so strong it could be felt for 3 full days. Yes, it was a warning to the death that was about to happen. I feel like it's more than that too. It's a warning to us now of what it would be like without the light of God in our lives. I know when it's really dark fear tries to take it's hold most. You hear things more, like every sound is amplified. Darkness feels less safe. We need the Light of Jesus shining in your lives to guide us from the darkness and save us. Three days of darkness had to be nearly unbearable, without Jesus as your Savior you face an eternity of darkness.

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Exodus 8 & 9

1/3/2019

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Chapters 8 and 9 go over six more plagues that the Lord does to show His power over everything and that He is Yahweh.
The magicians were again able to copy a plague (frogs) but weren't able to reverse it. Only God could do that. The third plague they couldn't even copy what was happening. They admitted it was "the finger of God." By the sixth plague the magicians couldn't even stand in front of Moses because of the boils.
God has Moses warn Pharaoh about the first two plagues but gives no warning about the third, which starts a pattern. He warns for the fourth and fifth but not the sixth, He warns for the seventh and eighth but not the ninth. He gives one last warning with the 10th final plague.
If I were an Egyptian I would be very unhappy with the Pharaoh cause they were the ones really being tortured by the plaques and having to clean up after them also.
With the seventh plague: hail, God gave a way for the people to avoid being hurt by it. There were people that began to recognize who God was and feared Him so they did as instructed and were spared from the damage.
Pharaoh's heart was hardened by God at times but there were times he hardened his own heart and influenced those around him to do the same. Chapter 9 verse 34 "But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. We need to be careful about letting circumstances and the people around us to cause us to harden our hearts. I have been guilty of doing it. I remember in my preteens/early teens time that after being so generous (example: giving others my lunch money so they had food and I would go without) and sweet to people and getting walked over repeatedly that my heart became hardened. I became me centered and screw the world mind set. It took its toll on me and I really didn't like who I had became. It would take years for me to really seek God and give Him what I had been holding on to for Him to melt away the hard coats on my heart.
During the sequence of the plagues you can see Moses maturing into the role God called him to do. After a few plagues, he was doing and saying things himself instead of having Aaron.

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Exodus 7

1/2/2019

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Chapter 7 starts the signs and wonders to show not just Pharaoh but all of Egypt and the Israelites who the Lord really was...Yahweh.
The magicians of Egypt were able to duplicate what Aaron did with the staff turning it into a serpent and then also turning water to blood by their secret arts. It doesn't say how that worked exactly but I don't believe it was good. It wasn't as powerful or controlled either. Their staffs got eaten by Aaron's and they couldn't change the blood back to water.

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Exodus 5-6

1/1/2019

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Chapter 5 ends with Moses asking why the Lord did evil to His people. The Lord didn't do evil first off, Pharaoh did. Secondly, the Lord warned Moses that there would be resistance before Pharaoh would let them go.
How often do we want to just skip all the work and hard stuff to get to the good? It's during the process that the change happens and our character and faith grows. A seed doesn't instantly produce fruit. It has to go thru the process of growing first. No matter how painful it can be at times.
Chapter 6 I feel like God is trying to remind Moses that it is Him (God) that will actually be the one doing everything and they need to trust Him as Lord. I say this because of all the first person statements such as I will bring you out...I will deliver you...and I will redeem you.
Chapter 6 verse 9 says "but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit." Sometimes in our brokenness it's hard to hear positive and believe it will get better. God is so awesome though and doesn't leave or forsake us in our brokenness. Instead He stays with us and continues His plan of restoring and redeeming what was broken. He turns everything bad to work for His goodness!

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Exodus 4

11/7/2018

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While Moses brings up some legit points about people not believing him and such, it also feels to me in a way that he was trying to find a way no to do it. I mean God is like this is what I want you to do and I will be with you making it happen. Moses is all they won't believe me and I don't talk good. We have to believe that if God has called us to do something He will equip us to do it! It's easy to get in the flesh and make excuses not to do what God has told you but doing things through faith that He asks you to is so much more rewarding.
Running away when the staff turned into a snake is a natural response. God tested Moses's faith though by having him grab it by the tail. If you ever dealt with snakes you know you want to get control over the head so it can't bite you.
It irritated God a little bit that Moses didn't have the faith to trust God completely to equip him to do what he was called to do, but He meet him where he was. Allowing Moses's brother Aaron to speak for him.
Verses 24-26 had me confused for a moment cause they seemed out of place. Reading the study notes it made more sense. While God was remembering the covenant and fulfilling it, His people had to remember and follow the conditions of it also. One condition was that the sons needed to be circumcised. Moses's son was not so the Lord was going to have to kill him. Moses's wife I believe being lead by God, preformed a circumcision on him. The reason I believe she was lead by God is I don't think he wanted to really kill the boy but He had to keep His word and follow the covenant. I believe God doesn't want any to parish which is why He give us multiple chances for us to follow Him. Also that's why He meets you were you are and forgives all, so there are no excuses of why you can't be saved.
Chapter 4 ends with the Israelites worshiping God because they believed He would save them. They weren't out of the situation yet, but worshipped anyways. We need to worship God in the middle of our circumstances knowing that He is a faithful God that will get us through anything that comes against us.

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Exodus 17-18

Exodus 16

Exodus 14-15

Exodus 13

Exodus 11-12

Exodus 10

Exodus 8 & 9

Exodus 7

Exodus 5-6

Exodus 4

Stephanie

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