Category: “Listening to God” Devotional

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+18

 

Exodus 18 English Standard Version (ESV)

Jethro’s Advice

¹ Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. ² Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her home, ³ along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land”), ⁴ and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). ⁵ Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God. ⁶ And when he sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,” ⁷ Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent.⁸ Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. ⁹ And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.

¹⁰ Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹ Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people.” ¹² And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

 

REFLECTION

• Read this passage, or read the whole chapter if time allows.
• Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came to Sinai to meet Moses. When Moses told him what the Lord had done in Egypt, and how the Lord had saved Israel on their journey to Sinai, Jethro praised God and said, “Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods.”  Sitting with friends or relatives and simply telling what God has done in our lives is still the best way to share the Lord with others.
• Why not start the habit of daily journaling. Just write down what you experience during the day, God’s grace, His presence and what He’s been doing in our life.  Review them weekly.

 

PRAYER

Ask that God will help you to be thankful through the journaling and to be ready to share with others about God.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+17

 

Exodus 17 English Standard Version (ESV)

Water from the Rock

¹ All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ² Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” ³ But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” ⁴ So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” ⁵ And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. ⁶ Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷ And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Israel Defeats Amalek

⁸ Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.⁹ So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” ¹⁰ So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. ¹² But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. ¹³ And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” ¹⁵ And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, ¹⁶ saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

 

REFLECTION

• Read this passage, or read the whole chapter if time allows.
• When Israel entered the territory of vicious Amalekites, there erupted a war. Joshua led the troop to fight while Moses went to the mountain top to appeal to God.  When Moses’s tired and dropped his arms, both Aaron and Hur, standing on either side of Moses, held his arms up to pray.  The Israelites were greatly encouraged to see Joshua before them in the battle field, and Moses above them on the hill.
• We also need to uphold the arms of our spiritual leaders. A word of appreciation or encouragement, a prayer on his/her behalf, a random act of kindness, these will all bring great encouragement and renewal of soul to the leaders.

 

PRAYER

Silent before God, wait for God to bring one or two spiritual leaders into heart.  Have I discerned any fatigue, disappointment, heavy burden in them?  Pray for them, think of a practical way to encourage, comfort and bless them.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+16

 

Exodus 16 English Standard Version (ESV)

Bread from Heaven

¹ They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. ² And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, ³ and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. ⁵ On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” ⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, ⁷ and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” ⁸ And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.”

⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” ¹⁰ And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. ¹¹ And the Lord said to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

¹³ In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. ¹⁴ And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵ When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶ This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” ¹⁷ And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. ¹⁸ But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. ¹⁹ And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” ²⁰ But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. ²¹ Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

 

REFLECTION

• Read the passage aloud. If you prefer, read the whole chapter to get a picture of the complaining that came before this and the obsessive hoarding that came after.  Both give us a picture of the neediness of the Israelites at this time.
• If you were to complain to God right now, what would your complaint be? In what ways, if any, have you been perplexed by God’s response to your complaining? Sometimes we are blind to God’s activity because we are focused on a specific request or expectation of how we want Him to respond.  How might God actually have been responding to your complaints?

 

PRAYER

• Ask God to show you how He has provided you with enough, even though you still might wonder.
• Sit in the quiet and feel God’s “enough-ness” in your body. Where do you feel it?  In arms that are full?  In a quiet mind?  In a stomach that feels full?  In muscles that work well?  If you can really mean it, try delighting in this “enough-ness”.

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+15

 

Exodus 15 English Standard Version (ESV)

 

1 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,

 

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

2 The Lord is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation;

this is my God, and I will praise him,

my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

3 The Lord is a man of war;

the Lord is his name.

 

4 “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,

and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.

5 The floods covered them;

they went down into the depths like a stone.

6 Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,

your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.

7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;

you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.

8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;

the floods stood up in a heap;

the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.

9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,

I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.

I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’

10 You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;

they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

 

11 “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?

Who is like you, majestic in holiness,

awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

12 You stretched out your right hand;

the earth swallowed them.

 

13 “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;

you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.

14 The peoples have heard; they tremble;

pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.

15 Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed;

trembling seizes the leaders of Moab;

all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.

16 Terror and dread fall upon them;

because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,

till your people, O Lord, pass by,

till the people pass by whom you have purchased.

17 You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain,

the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode,

the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.

18 The Lord will reign forever and ever.”

 

REFLECTION

• Read the passage with passion, experiencing this story with emotion. Imagine how you might feel if you had just miraculously escaped certain death or capture?
• The deliverance stimulated Moses to write this song. The song, which reviewed what God had done, was intended as a teaching tool and instrument of praise and worship of God.
• Music can serve us in much the same way. The tune of a familiar hymn, or its words recalled during a difficult day, remind us of God’s presence and His power.

 

PRAYER

Is there a song in your heart?  Choose one of your favorite song about God’s greatness.  Sing this song a few times to praise and worship God.

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+14

 

Exodus 14 English Standard Version (ESV)

 

9 The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

19 Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, 25 clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. 29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

 

REFLECTION

• Read this passage, or read the whole chapter if time allows.
• The wonder at the Red Sea illustrates the fact that salvation consists in what God does, not in what we do. We see and fear and believe (v31), and that’s it.
• This is what we need to be told whenever we find ourselves facing an advancing enemy with our backs against some impassable sea.
• Are you facing some emergency situation right now? /Sing this song slowly and ask God to help you to stand firm and be still (vv13,14) and wait for Him to work.

“God will Make a Way” by Don Moen   www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xRB4rYpb1w

God will make a way where there seems to be no way;
He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for me.
He will be my guide, hold me closely to His side.
With love and strength for each new day, He will make a way, He will make a way.

By a roadway in the wilderness He’ll lead me, and rivers in the desert will I see.
Heaven and earth will fade, but His word will still remain, He will do something new today.

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+13

 

Exodus 13 English Standard Version (ESV)

Consecration of the Firstborn

¹ The Lord said to Moses, ² “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

³ Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. ⁴ Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. ⁵ And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month. ⁶ Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. ⁷ Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. ⁸ You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹ And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.

¹¹ “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, ¹² you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord’s. ¹³ Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. ¹⁴ And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. ¹⁵ For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ¹⁶ It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

 

REFLECTION

• Read this passage, or read the whole chapter if time allows.
• Israel’s celebration of freedom is closely linked with a fresh sense of Israel’s obligation. Because God spared Israel’s firstborn, all future firstborn would belong to Him!
• We are given a freedom won at the cost of Christ’s blood. It is appropriate that, since He gave Himself for us, we should give ourselves to Him.
• When we remember what God has done for us, we are motivated to ask what we can do for God. It is important never to invert this order.  We often try to please God in order to obligate Him to us, as if God might “owe” us for our good behaviour.  Instead we are already obligated to Him for our salvation!  We can express love for the God who saved us, but can never serve as a bribe to win God’s favor.

 

PRAYER

Recount a few things God has done for me.  Dwell on the goodness and generosity of God.  Offer Him a heart-felt thanksgiving.

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+12

 

Exodus 12 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Passover

¹ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ² “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. ³ Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. ⁴ And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. ⁵ Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, ⁶ and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

⁷ “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. ⁸ They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. ⁹ Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. ¹⁰ And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. ¹¹ In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. ¹² For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. ¹³ The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. ……

²¹ Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. ²² Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. ²³ For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.²⁴ You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. ²⁵ And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. ²⁶ And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ ²⁷ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.

²⁸ Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

 

REFLECTION

• Read this passage, or read the whole chapter if time allows.
• In this passage, the Lord “passes over” the houses of the Israelites, thus sparing the lives of the firstborn in their households (vv12-13). Passover is the first of several annual religious festivals ordained by God. Passover is Israel’s celebration of freedom: a yearly reminder of the God who exercised His power to tear a slave people from the grip of oppressive masters.
• However, it’s not enough to think now and then of what God has done for us. We need to set aside regular times to remember.  Celebrating God’s work in and for us is as important now as celebrating Passover was and continues to be for the Jewish people.
• What are the regular celebrations of God’s work that you are observing? How do you celebrate in these occasions?
• Sunday Worship, cell meetings, etc. are examples for such purpose. How do you prepare for such celebration and what attitude do you bring to these occasions?

 

PRAYER

Thank God for freeing you from the grip of sin.  Ask God to remind you to always go to Sunday worship or cell meetings, etc. with a great anticipation to celebrate and give thanks to God for His work in you and everyone else.

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+11

 

Exodus 11 English Standard Version (ESV)

A Final Plague Threatened

¹ The Lord said to Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. ² Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” ³ And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.

⁴ So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, ⁵ and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle.⁶ There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. ⁷ But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ ⁸ And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

¹⁰ Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.

 

REFLECTION

• Read the whole chapter
• In the Biblical world the firstborn son was special. He was expected to guide the family in the next generation, and he was the one through whom the family name would be preserved.  Inheritance laws reflect the importance of the firstborn son:  he received at least twice the portion of the other sons in the family.
• Thus the death of every firstborn in Egypt was a stunning loss. Only this final devastating plague would at last force Pharaoh to release his slaves.
• The plagues on Egypt may be viewed as a series of increasingly painful punishments. If Pharaoh had relented at any stage, he could have avoided the more serious troubles that followed.  Because Pharaoh remained hard, however, the ultimate penalty was finally imposed.
• God’s judgments are often gracious in exactly this way. They become more severe only as we continue to resist Him.  When we sense the disciplining hand of God, it’s wise to surrender immediately.  Otherwise, God might have to strike what is dearest to us before we respond.

 

PRAYER

In what areas are you resisting God right now?  Ask the Holy Spirit to show you.  Pray for a trust and obedience.  Sing this hymn “Trust and Obey” slowly as your prayer today.

1. When we walk with the Lord in the light of his word, what a glory he sheds on our way!
   While we do his good will, he abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey.
2. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share, but our toil he doth richly repay;
   not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross, but is blest if we trust and obey.
3. But we never can prove the delights of his love until all on the altar we lay;
   for the favor he shows, for the joy he bestows, are for them who will trust and obey.
4. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at his feet, or we’ll walk by his side in the way;
   what he says we will do, where he sends we will go; never fear, only trust and obey.

Refrain:

         Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+10

 

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 three times:

Pharaoh	Moses
8:25 sacrifice to your God here in the land. 8:28 you must not go very far.	8:26 That would not be right.…… 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. (Romans 12:1-2)”

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Exodus+9

 

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 places in 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. This is just like the free will to choose God gave to man at creation.  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.

Help me to remain faithful with your grace.
Give me a firmness of heart, so different from my hardness of heart.
Soften my judgementalism, and help me to show greater care for all those in my life
especially those most in need of me today.
May the joy of my redemption spill over into my life so I may be truly called “Christian” — a follower of Yours.