Addressing Fear

Addressing Fear

Exodus 23: ²⁷ “I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. ²⁸ And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. ²⁹ I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. ³⁰ Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. ³¹ And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. ³² You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. ³³ They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”

 

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GOD continued speaking to Moses. This time HE addressed fear.

 

My Observations:

• GOD knew the people feared the numerous groups of people who inhabited the promise land.
• GOD’s reputation of destroying Sodom and dismantling the Egyptian ways were not enough for the children of Israel.
• GOD would use something small, yet powerful to drive out their enemies, namely hornets.

 

Fear, confusion and hornets would be the weapons GOD would use to drive out the people. HE could have killed those who oppose HIS way, BUT GOD acts graciously. HE allowed them to live, but HE would drive them out. This promise would be forgotten by the children of Israel.

 

When they finally were ready to take the promised land, they would forget that the LORD would do the fighting. We do the same. When something seems large and daunting, we feel GOD cannot handle it. GOD used very small things to address the big things.

 

Strong armies were no match for hornets. HE would drive them out little by little. I believe GOD does the same for you and me. HE drives away the large problem, little by little until it is gone. Then HIS large promise can easily be fulfilled.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about HIS promise?
• Has GOD put you in a situation where you have to depend on HIM clearing the way first?
• Can you address your fear by watching GOD work out the large promise HE made to you?

Addressing Health

Addressing Health

Exodus 23: ²⁵ “So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. ²⁶ No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.

 

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GOD continues to remind Moses about HIS conversation concerning health.

 

My Observations:

• GOD told humans to be fruitful and multiply, so HE promised that HE would take away sickness.
• GOD knew HE would provide a Savior that would be born of a human, so HE would take away miscarriages to fulfill HIS prophecy.
• GOD promised to give an abundant life to those who served the LORD.

 

Serving GOD comes with benefits. HE will bless the food we eat, take away sickness and make us able to be fruitful and multiply. Unfortunately, the children of Israel quickly turned from GOD and we have done the same.

 

Sickness happens and so does miscarriages. People die without having an abundant life. GOD knows what it takes to gain health and HIS protection from ourselves. Satan’s attempt to become GOD by making humans fall into sin would fail if we would just keep GOD’s commands. But it’s hard to do so with a natural desire to go against HIS will.

 

GOD provided comforting words that enable us to get back into alignment with HIM. HE wants us to have food, health, things that flourish and abundant life. Serving GOD means surrendering our thoughts of success and following what HE says would make us successful. HE wants you and me to succeed.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about HIS promises of health?
• Are you serving the LORD to get something from HIM or because you love HIM and HE loves you?
• Have you tried serving GOD with all your heart and not wanting anything in return?

Addressing Struggles with Other Humans

 Addressing Struggles with Other Humans

Exodus 23: ²⁰ “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. ²¹ Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. ²² But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. ²³ For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. ²⁴ You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.

 

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GOD continued speaking to Moses. This time HE mentions the preincarnate JESUS.

 

My Observations:

• GOD mentions that an Angel would or would not pardon transgressions.
• JESUS is the only being given the authority to pardon transgressions.
• JESUS would go before the children of Israel to fight their battles.

 

Humans try to say GOD does not have conditions. HIS love stretches the bounds of sin, so HIS love is unconditional. BUT HIS protection and guidance seem to have conditions. “If you obey HIS voice,” is a condition that would provide the children of Israel protection against those who rebelled against GOD.

 

First it was the people of Canaan who hated GOD and HIS ways. They developed rocks and wood and gold as things to worship. They made sacred pillars that solidified their rebellion against GOD. Everything about the various groups mentioned pointed to a broken relationship with GOD.

 

JESUS would be the Angel who would go before the children of Israel. HE would guide them, but they would still need to be the ones who would drive the rebels out of the promised land. The condition of listening to JESUS was established. Those who rebelled would be cut off. I believe this is the eternal separation from GOD that we could face by not believing in JESUS.

 

The children of Israel would face struggles with other people that JESUS would take care of. All they had to do was obey HIM and not provoke HIM. HE was leading them to a better place. To provoke HIM would be an act of disbelief in HIS guidance.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about the leading of “An Angel?”
• Have you examined yourself to see if you have any ways that may provoke the LORD?
• Do you realize that JESUS wants you to be successful in HIS plan and path?

 

Addressing Celebration of Deliverance

 

Addressing Celebration of Deliverance

Exodus 23: ¹⁴ “Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: ¹⁵ You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty); ¹⁶ and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.

 

¹⁷ “Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God.

¹⁸ “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the fat of My ^[d]sacrifice remain until morning. ¹⁹ The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

 

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GOD continued speaking to Moses. This time HE addressed celebrations.

 

My Observations:

• GOD knew people would forget how HE delivered them out of Egypt so HE instituted celebrating unleavened bread.
• GOD foreshadowed the Pentecost, where JESUS appeared to many people after HIS resurrection, by instituting a feast to remember spring, or new life.
• GOD desired to end the year with a celebration of the best of the harvest.

 

Remembering GOD seems to be very important to HIM. HE knows our sin nature will make us forget what HE does and our relationship with HIM will be viewed as secondary. Unleavened bread is symbolic for no sin. A sinless human could open the scroll. No sin, or no yeast was to be celebrated.

 

The next celebration was symbolic of the resurrection of JESUS. Spring shows new life and GOD made it easy for us to remember HIS SON’s resurrection and appearance to people afterwards.

 

The final celebration was a harvest feast that required the best of the harvest to be brought into the places of worship and sacrificed to GOD and given to people. These harvests were all about food and togetherness while remembering GOD.

 

Stopping work to intentionally remember GOD is a sign of surrender that the people needed to learn. Pharaoh had the people working seven days a week and had created a mindset that rest would cause problems with productivity. This mindset still lingers today as people try to overwork and under trust GOD. Food is needed to sustain life. GOD wanted to show HE is in control of sustaining life.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about the celebrations HE instituted?
• How do you intentionally remember GOD?
• Is there an annual celebration that you can follow or institute to remember GOD’s greatness in your life?

Addressing Replenishment

Addressing Replenishment

Exodus 23: ¹⁰ “Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, ¹¹ but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove. ¹² Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.

 

¹³ “And in all that I have said to you, be circumspect and make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.

 

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GOD continued to speak to Moses. This time HE spoke about rest.

 

My Observations:

• When Adam and Eve caused humans to fall, the conditions of the earth changed and now humans would have to work the soil to help food grow.
• When GOD made the garden of Eden, it did not need rest, but when HE cursed the earth, everything outside of the garden needed rest.
• Every seventh year, provide for the poor and let the soil rest and replenish.

 

Replenishment seemed to be the answer to the curse of GOD. Our temporary bodies and the land needs rest to keep producing. In order to have plenty, rest is needed. GOD was gracious when HE cursed the land. HE could have made it not produce anything and ended humanity right after Adam and Eve. BUT GOD desired humanity to flourish. We need the earth to flourish and it needs rest to do so.

 

But then GOD said something strange. “Make no mention of the name of other gods.” I believe that when humans get into a rhythm or work and rest, we can lose sight of GOD. Even worse, we can assign to a god what should be assigned to the one and only true GOD.

 

By stating that a god provided the food, we are not thanking the true GOD for what HE has done. Some humans want their names mentioned daily or even place their pictures or names everywhere to appear godlike.

 

Our temporary bodies need rest and so do the fields. GOD made a way for us to worship HIM while resting. This is grace.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about replenishment?
• Have you ever thought it was good to work yourself into exhaustion?
• How are you intentionally resting so you can be replenished for GOD’s purpose?

Addressing Integrity

Addressing Integrity

Exodus 23: “You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. ² You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. ³ You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute.

 

⁴ “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. ⁵ If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.

 

⁶ “You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. ⁷ Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked. ⁸ And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.

 

⁹ “Also you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

 

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GOD continued speaking to Moses. This time HE had many things to say about using clear judgment or integrity in matters.

 

My Observations:

• GOD wanted impartial judgment.
• GOD wanted fair treatment, even towards enemies.
• GOD wanted a mindset that treats strangers well.

 

Rumors are unverified stories, gossip, or pieces of information that pass quickly from person to person without proof of whether they are true or false. Moses had a difficult job assigned to him. He had to lead the people into the promised land, and he had to judge disputes along the way.

 

While this set of scripture can be applied universally to you and me, I believe there was a personal meaning for Moses. He had to face poor people who would lie and wealthy people who were getting lied on. He would also face rich people trying to bribe him.

 

GOD was universally addressing integrity. HE wanted to introduce resilience to rumors, lies, bribes and ill feelings towards enemies. GOD’s expectation of HIS people was to be above lies, bribes and hatred. HE still wants this for you and me. HE wants us to have compassion for strangers as we were once strangers.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about HIS view on justice and integrity?
• Do your lips easily spread gossip, rumors or unverified information to feel superior?
• Have you asked yourself, “Am I trying to be superior with unverified information or should I use integrity to please GOD?”

Addressing Plentifulness and Holiness

Addressing Plentifulness and Holiness

Exodus 22: ²⁹ “You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe produce and your juices. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. ³⁰ Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

³¹ “And you shall be holy men to Me: you shall not eat meat torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

 

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GOD continued speaking to Moses. This time HE mentions what to do with the first fruits and the first born and with an animal killed by an animal.

 

My Observations:

• GOD seemed to be addressing a mindset that HE provides plenty and the children of Israel need not hold back on what they considered “the best.”
• GOD knew the children of Israel desired to carry on HIS promise of making Abraham a great nation and HE wanted then to set aside the firstborn male as a sign of acknowledging JESUS.
• GOD set a standard of not eating an animal killed by another animal.

 

This set of rules seem simple on the surface, but are highly symbolic. JESUS is represented in these rules and GOD wanted people to be aware of HIS promise to Abraham. The blood of CHRIST is remembered to this day by drinking the ripe juices.

 

JESUS was the first-born and only SON of GOD. Every firstborn was to be consecrated and given to GOD as a holy representative in the family. Animal sacrifice would become the norm for the children of Israel. The firstborn oxen and sheep would be required to be handled specially.

 

Animals without a spot or blemish would be required to be presented as a sacrifice to the LORD. HE extended this rule to what the people ate. No meat torn by another animal was to be consumed. GOD knew that the people who would eat after an animal would also sacrifice to HIM in a poor fashion.

 

GOD was about to give HIS best, namely JESUS. HE expected to get the best as a symbolic acknowledgement of what HE was doing.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about the rules that portray HIS plentifulness and HIS holiness?
• Have you treated GOD as common or something that is not special?
• Is there a standard that can be raised in your life that represents your relationship with GOD?