Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+010

 

Exodus 10 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Eighth Plague: Locusts

¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, ² and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.”

³ So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. ⁴ For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, ⁵ and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, ⁶ and they shall fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh. ….

⁷ Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” ⁸ So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?” ⁹ Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.” ¹⁰ But he said to them, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind. ¹¹ No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

²¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” ²² So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. ²³ They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived.²⁴ Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” ²⁵ But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. ²⁶ Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” ²⁷ But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. ²⁸ Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” ²⁹ Moses said, “As you say! I will not see your face again.”

 

REFLECTION

• Read this passage, or read the whole chapter if time allows.
• Pharaoh negotiated with Moses four times:

Pharaoh	Moses
8:25 sacrifice to your God here in the land.	8:26 That would not be right.……
8:28 you must not go very far.	8:27  three-day journey into the desert ……
10:11 only the men go	10:9 go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds.
10:24 only leave your flocks and herds behind.	10:25 have sacrifices and burnt offerings

• Pharaoh wanted God’s people to compromise. The world is constantly tempting and enticing us to compromise what God has called us to do.  The road to freedom is to bring all we have and offer it to God as our offering of thanksgiving.  Daily we can simply, completely and faithfully offer ourselves to God.

 

PRAYER

Lord, because of all You have done for me, I present my body and all I have to You as a living sacrifice for this day. I want to be transformed by the renewing of my mind, affirming that Your will for me is good and acceptable and perfect. (cf. Romans 12:1-2)

 

HYMN

Living Sacrifice – youtu.be/XwmUBqXo-Gs

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+009

 

Exodus 9 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Seventh Plague: Hail

¹³ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. ¹⁴ For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. ¹⁵ For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. ¹⁶ But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. ¹⁷ You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. ¹⁸ Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. ¹⁹ Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.”’” ²⁰ Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, ²¹ but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field.

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.” ²³ Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. ²⁴ There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. ²⁵ The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. ²⁶ Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.

²⁷ Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. ²⁸ Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” ²⁹ Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. ³⁰ But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.” ³¹ (The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. ³² But the wheat and the emmer were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.) ³³ So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth. 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. ³⁵ So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.

 

REFLECTION

• If time permits, read through the whole chapter once. Then re-read the selected portion above.
• In a number of places in the Book of Exodus the emphasis is on Pharaoh’s choosing to harden his heart and persist in refusing to release the Hebrew people from slavery. There are just as many places or more (e.g. 10:20, 10:27) where it says that God hardens Pharaoh’s heart.  Why would God do this?
• In fact, it is Pharaoh’s own decision that he refused to obey God’s command. When God created human, He gave us the right and ability to choose freely. Therefore, God hardens Pharaoh’s heart by giving Pharaoh the choice and ability to harden his own heart or to soften it to obey God.  This is a route that Pharaoh himself decided to take, regardless of what God did or did not do.
• Sometimes we persist in a certain direction that we sense, again and again, is not wise, and sometimes we have no choice left at all. We are swallowed up in the way we have taken and no longer know how to want out of it.  It consumes us.

 

PRAYER

Do you feel trapped in certain situation and couldn’t get out?  Or do you know someone in this situation?  Pray for the softening of hardened heart.

 

HYMN

Soften My Heart – youtu.be/oYFfVKjkzmA

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+008

 

Exodus 8 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Second Plague: Frogs

¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. ² But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs. ³ The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. ⁴ The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”’”  ⁵  And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt!’” ⁶ So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷ But the magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

⁸ Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”⁹ Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” ¹⁰ And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹ The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.” ¹² So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord about the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh. ¹³ And the Lord did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. ¹⁴ And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. ¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

The Third Plague: Gnats

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’” ¹⁷ And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. ¹⁸ The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. ¹⁹ Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

 

REFLECTION

• If time permits, read through the whole chapter once. Then re-read the selected portion above.
• When Moses showed Pharaoh the authenticating signs God had given him, Egyptian magicians duplicated them. The confrontation between Moses and Egypt’s magicians was a true test of supernatural resources.
• “This is the finger of God!”(v19) This expression refers to something that is obviously marked as coming from God.  The magicians of Egypt were in fierce competition with Moses, yet when they failed, they were quick to acknowledge the source of Moses’ power.   We may hear it from enemies, atheists, or people of other faiths.  Yet when they admit, grudgingly or otherwise, that God is up to something in our lives, the encouragement ought to mean so much more to us.  It is the last we would expect them to say.

 

PRAYER

Write down some words or phrases that describe the power, strength and glory of God.  Use these words to worship and praise the Lord.

 

HYMN

Such An Awesome God – youtu.be/L_M3lOmSM1w

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+007

 

Exodus 7 English Standard Version (ESV)

Moses and Aaron Before Pharaoh

¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. ² You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. ³ But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, ⁴ Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. ⁵ The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.” ⁶ Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them. ⁷ Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’” ¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. ¹¹ Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. ¹² For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³ Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

 

REFLECTION

• Read the passage. For a better picture read the whole chapter.
• God appointed Moses to be His representative to speak to Pharaoh. As weak as Moses felt he was, especially in leadership and eloquent speech, his obedience to God has put him in the position of deity. “I have made you like God to Pharaoh.”  (v1)   He has a strength and a substance and an authority he never possessed before, even if he didn’t see it.
• When we stumble after God in our humility and simplicity of heart, we often have words and thoughts that were not available to us before. Therefore, when we act in obedience, we no longer act as individuals, but it is God who at work in us to will and act according to His good purpose (Phil. 2:13).  To others it may seem like we are not ourselves.
• When has God asked you to do something beyond our natural abilities? Did you obey God?  How was the task accomplished?
• Do you obey God humbly and simply? Or do you have too many agenda and couldn’t follow God single-mindedly?  Talk with God about this.

 

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, there is still a lot of impurities in my life. As Your child, I often rebel against You, which hinders You from exercising Your power through my unworthy life. You are the omnipotent God. You can purify me and shape me into a vessel suitable for You, but You do not force me. You want me to be willing to let go of everything I hold on to personally, and experience this miracle of life being broken, refined, and reshaped by You. I know it’s hard, but it’s the only way my life can be transformed into Your glory. Please let me not be as hard-hearted as Pharaoh, let me come to you with a humble, simple, and soft heart, and beg you to shape my life. Amen!

 

HYMN

I Surrender All (All I Am) – youtu.be/x3u51j4W1vk

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+006

 

Exodus 6 English Standard Version (ESV)

God Promises Deliverance

¹ But the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

² God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. ³ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. ⁴ I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. ⁵ Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. ⁶ Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. ⁷ I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ⁸ I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’” ⁹ Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.

¹⁰ So the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land.” ¹² But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” ¹³ But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

 

REFLECTION

• Read this passage slowly aloud.
• The Israelites were exhausted that they’ve had all they can take. For a long time they might have endured and hung on to every promise that came their way. But nothing changed, and finally they reached a point where they could no longer hope.
• It is at such junctures, when people can absolutely do no more, that a divine breakthrough often occurs. When we are most helpless, we are in a position to receive the most help.  God does not chastise us when we become heartsick.  He acts in ways that we were too strong-willed and self-reliant to experience before.
• Why would the Israelites’ cruel slavery life cause them to lose all hope such that they couldn’t even stand listening to God’s promises? Why did God want to liberate them from slavery?

 

PRAYER

Lord, will I be like the Israelites to lose faith in God?  Am I living under certain type of slavery, i.e. money, reputation?  Holy Spirit, illuminate the deepest part of my heart and free me from the slavery that I am in right now.

 

HYMN

Praise You In This Storm – youtu.be/QW6K8Klj3vg

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+005

 

Exodus 5 English Standard Version (ESV)

 Making Bricks Without Straw

¹ Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’” ² But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” ³ Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” ⁴ But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.” ⁵ And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!” ⁶ The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, ⁷ “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.”

¹⁰ So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. ¹¹ Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’” ¹² So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. ¹³ The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.” ¹⁴ And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?”

¹⁵ Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? ¹⁶ No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” ¹⁷ But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ ¹⁸ Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.” ¹⁹ The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, “You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.

 

REFLECTION

• Read the passage. For a better picture read the whole chapter.  Imagine you were there, what would your emotions be?
• Moses and Aaron did as God commanded them. They relayed God’s message to Pharaoh, and the result was totally opposite to what they had hoped.  Pharaoh made the Israelites work harder and treated them more harshly.  The Israelite foremen were savagely beaten by the Egyptian slave drivers.  The foremen then appealed to Pharaoh, but were accused as lazy.  Therefore, they directed all their anger toward Moses.  Moses then turned around the complaint to God that He didn’t really deliver the people.
• Sometimes we might be persecuted for obeying God. Even when God works, we may endure pain, frustration and hardship.  Following God doesn’t guarantee a warm reception from those around us.  Often God’s mission and message make things worse before they get better because His way contrasts sharply with the way of this world.
• Do you suffer right now because of your obedience to God? Are you complaining?  To whom?  About what?

 

PRAYER

As you think of the hardship you are going through, allow the Holy Spirit direct your attention to the millions around the world who are living in dire situations under oppression and exploitation.  Ask God how might you identify with these suffering people and give them help and support?

 

HYMN

Christ Our Hope in Life and Death – youtu.be/OibIi1rz7mw

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+004

 

Exodus 4 English Standard Version (ESV)

Moses Given Powerful Signs

¹ Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” ² The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” ³ And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. ⁴ But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—⁵ “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”⁶ Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. ⁷ Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. ⁸ “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. ⁹ If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”

¹⁰ But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” ¹¹ Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹² Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” ¹³ But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” ¹⁴ Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. ¹⁵ You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. ¹⁶ He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him.¹⁷ And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”

 

REFLECTION

• If time permits, it’s best to read through the whole chapter once. Then re-read the selected portion above.
• Moses had a lot of concerns and worries that caused him to be fearful at the thought of God’s task. Several times, he tried to wriggle out of God’s will.  He told God that he was afraid that the Israelites wouldn’t listen to him; he claimed he didn’t speak well.  Finally Moses decided to just tell the truth – he simply didn’t want to do it.  But God graciously resolved every one of his fears and promised to be with him (Immanuel), and to give miracles and wonders when necessary.
• We are often afraid of making mistakes and become fearful and uneasy at those things God is calling us to do. But Scripture demonstrates to us that it is not, in fact, us who are trying to do things alone, but rather it is God at work in and through us.  All we need is to follow His guidance and to depend on the courage and faith from Him.
• Is there anything God wants you to do that you are hesitating and resisting?

 

PRAYER

Read the passage one more time. Put yourself in Moses’ place, feel his hesitation, identify his lack of confidence.  Acknowledge to God your weaknesses also your self-confidence.  Tell God of this tug-of-war inside.  Wait for God’s response.

 

HYMN

I Will Follow – youtu.be/kgqD_HQQir0

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+003

 

Exodus 3 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Burning Bush

¹ Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. ³ And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” ⁴ When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” ⁵ Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, ⁸ and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁹ And now, behold,the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ¹⁰ Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” ¹² He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

 

REFLECTION

• If time allows, read the whole chapter. Then read the passage for today.
• Moses is shepherding his father-in-law’s sheep. In the distance he saw a bush in flames, but the bush mysteriously didn’t burn up.  He walked closer, perhaps expecting a miracle, only to have a more unique encounter than he ever imagined.  He interacted with the living God.
• What has your experience of God been like? When have you felt like you have heard God speaking to you?
• When God asked Moses to remove his sandals from his feet, God was reminding Moses that where God is, that place becomes holy. In addition, in the ancient near east, a servant takes off his shoes to show deep respect to his master.
• God is holy. What difference does that make in your life and how you think about the Holy Spirit in and with you?
• Moses heard from God when he paid attention. Like Moses, we often encounter God when we pay attention to what’s going on around us.  Find a quiet place and spend a few moments in utter silence, paying attention to those aspects of your life that you often neglect:  people, situations, quiet moments, creation, and so on.  As you do this, look for God to interact with.

 

PRAYER

Ask God to reveal Himself to you today in a fresh way, a way that He has never revealed Himself before.

 

HYMN

Open My Eyes That I May See – youtu.be/B7DKxf3OTmI

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+002

 
Exodus 2 English Standard Version (ESV)
Moses Flees to Midian
¹¹ One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people.¹² He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³ When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” ¹⁴ He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” ¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.

¹⁶ Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. ¹⁷ The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock. ¹⁸ When they came home to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” ¹⁹ They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock.” ²⁰ He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.” ²¹ And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. ²² She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”
God Hears Israel’s Groaning
²³ During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. ²⁴ And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. ²⁵ God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

 

REFLECTION

• If time allows, read the whole chapter. Then read vv11-25 slowly once more.
• Toward the end of the 430 years, God chose Moses to be the leader to deliver His people out of hardship. But, God seemed to take a long time and a convoluted path to shape the soul and destiny of Moses.
• Are you aware of God’s hand in shaping your soul and destiny? What is it?  How are you responding?
• Have a conversation with God. Ask the Holy Spirit to help align your feelings and will with those of God’s.

 

PRAYER

Use the following hymn written by Watchman Nee to have a dialogue with God, and wait for the Holy Spirit to adjust your current feelings and will to God’s will and plan.

 

HYMN

God, You Are Now Arranging My Way – youtu.be/FpPTMRbNgWs

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+001

 
EXODUS
INTRODUCTION

The books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers continue the story of how God formed the nation of Israel to play a special role in his plans for the whole world. When the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, God came to them and worked powerfully through Moses to deliver them. At Mount Sinai, God revealed his laws to Moses, including the Ten Commandments, and confirmed his covenant with the young nation. Israel built a “tabernacle,” or “tent of meeting,” so that God could live among them. The people then traveled through the wilderness to the land of Canaan.

The boundaries between the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers are not sharply drawn. The key structure throughout the books relates to the various places the Israelites stopped on their journey. Each location is noted, and the events at each one are described. The key location is Mount Sinai; the second half of Exodus, all of Leviticus, and the beginning of Numbers describe what took place there. Leviticus specifically contains the laws and regulations the Lord gave to Israel. Numbers reports how the people were organized into a fighting force and moved toward the Promised Land.

Numbers reaches back across Leviticus and Exodus and repeats the phrase that structures Genesis: This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses (Num. 3:1). Appropriately, we hear this phrase for the twelfth time as the twelve tribes are being organized into a nation. Near the end of Numbers the prophet Balaam says to Israel, May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed. This recalls God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis, I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse. These references show that together these books tell a single story of the beginning of God’s redemptive work in the world.

www.bible.com/zh-TW/bible/111/EXO.INTRO1.NIV

 

Exodus 1 English Standard Version (ESV)
Israel Increases Greatly in Egypt
¹ These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: ² Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, ³ Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, ⁴ Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. ⁵ All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt.⁶ Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. ⁷ But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

Pharaoh Oppresses Israel
⁸ Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. ⁹ And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. ¹⁰ Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” ¹¹ Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. ¹² But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. ¹³ So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves ¹⁴ and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.

¹⁵ Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, ¹⁶ “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birth stool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” ¹⁷ But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.¹⁸ So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” ¹⁹ The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” ²⁰ So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. ²¹ And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. ²² Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

 

REFLECTION

• Read this passage slowly. If time allows, read through the whole chapter once before reading the selected portion to gain a better and fuller picture.
• The Israelites spent 430 years in Egypt after Jacob’s family traveled there (as we read in the last chapters of Genesis). Their privileged lives in Goshen have been taken away gradually.  When their exploding population reached a point that it became a threat to the Egyptians, the Pharaoh issued a decree to kill all baby boys at birth.  During this long period of hardship, God appeared to be silent or absent.
• There are times in our lives when God seems to ignore or be unaware of our difficulties. The story of Exodus helps us realize that the sense of God’s absence is part of a greater narrative in which, though we may not be able to see it, God continues to be at work.
• Usually our understanding of God’s salvation includes God’s continual and active protection against sickness, relationship conflicts, unemployment, death, disappointment and failure. Therefore, when we experience “God’s absence” whether it’s a few weeks, months, or years, for most of us, we don’t think of it as “normal”.  But this text, along with numerous others throughout Scripture, argues otherwise.
• Have you had any “God’s absence” experience? What was it?  How did you feel?  Was it resolved?  Recall Joseph’s experience in Genesis 37-50, how would that help you see the “Immanuel” God in your own experience?

 
PRAYER

Tell God your situation right now.  Whether you feel “God’s absent” or “Immanuel”, ask God to help you become aware of Him through a small incident today.

 

HYMN:

Holy Spirit – youtu.be/LaRHOItRfZg