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?

Fifth Commandment – Honor Your Mother and Father

Fifth Commandment – Honor Your Mother and Father

Exodus 20: ¹² “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

 

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GOD spoke to Moses and the children of Israel, giving them the Ten Commandments. The first four were about how to have a healthy relationship with GOD.  HIS next commandment was about having a healthy relationship with parents.

 

My Observations:

• Honor means to hold in the highest esteem.
• GOD seems to be addressing a value system that should include more than self.
• GOD does not leave HIMSELF out; rather, HE mentions longevity in the promised land that HE was about to give them.

 

Up until now, I thought this verse was about long life. That is because I would read the verse and stopped reading at “Your days may be long.” I threw away the part that GOD was concerned with. GOD wants peace.

 

When GOD cursed the earth and destroyed the garden of Eden, humans began to fight one another for territory. Physical and passive fights broke out over the tiniest parcel of land that would produce food. Some people would take their parents land, similarly to the Egyptians stealing their animals. The Egyptian culture of stealing was being addressed by GOD.

 

The promised land seemed to be the closest thing to the garden of Eden. Food would grow in abundance. There would be plenty to eat so no one needed to despise their parents, to inherit their sliver of land. The children of Israel  could have their own part of the promised land.

 

GOD was establishing peace on earth in families so that HE would fulfill HIS prophecy of making Abraham a great nation. Through mothers and fathers, JESUS would eventually be born. GOD wants harmonious families and HE promises longevity in the promised land.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about the commandment to honor parents?
• What is GOD saying to you about your part in making a harmonious family?
• What purpose is GOD giving you in spreading peace and harmony?

In loving memory of Preston and Susie Washington.

A Feast to Remember (Feast of Unleavened Bread)

A Feast to Remember (Feast of Unleavened Bread)

Exodus 13: ³ And Moses said to the people: “Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. ⁴ On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. ⁵ And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that 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 seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. ⁸ And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.’ ⁹ It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.

 

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After speaking to GOD, Moses spoke to the people. “Remember this day” was his statement as they were preparing to exit Egypt. Moses reiterated GOD’s promise and provided instructions to stay away from leaven for a week annually. On the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD.

 

My Observations:

• Humans forget GOD easily.
• GOD’s deliverance requires remembrance.
• GOD keeps HIS promises, no matter how different our expectations of HIM really are.

 

Imagine listening to Moses speak as everyone was packed up and chased out of Egypt. This speech would fill up even the most discouraged person. Moses had no idea how long it would take to get in the promised land. He was simply being obedient.

 

The Feast of Unleavened Bread was supposed to happen annually. I am sure the first year was exciting. But what about the second? How about the nineteenth? What about the thirty ninth celebration without being in the promised land? GOD kept HIS promise while dealing with mindsets.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about what Moses said to the people about the Feast of Unleavened Bread?
• Has GOD promised you something that has not come to fruition?
• Does your expectation of GOD need to be reset because HIS promise for you has not happened yet?

I Swear by MY Name

I Swear by MY Name

Exodus 6: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

 

² And 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 Lord I was not known to them. ⁴ I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. 

 

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Moses went back to see GOD, possibly on Mount Horeb. He told GOD that Pharaoh had turned up the cruelty after he said to Pharaoh, “Let MY people go.” GOD responded to Moses by telling him the promise HE made and restated HIS name.

 

My Observations:

• GIOD told Moses that not only will Pharaoh let the people go, he would force them out.
• GOD restated HIS name “YHWH” meaning Yahweh, meaning “I AM WHO I AM.”
• GOD restated the promise that the land of Canaan would be given to HIS people.

 

Problems with the plan immediately popped up when Pharaoh showed some resistance. GOD told Moses that HE met with generations of people, so Pharaoh cannot outlive HIM. HE also states that HE is GOD and that nothing can stop HIS plan.

 

GOD swore by HIS own name that HIS promise would be kept. Nothing can stop the great I AM. Moses was having a hard time being the spokesperson for GOD. You may feel the same way. BUT GOD promises are never broken. HE is who HE says HE is.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about what HE was going to do with HIS deliverance?
• Has GOD promised you anything and swore by HIS name that it would happen?
• Will you believe in GOD’s promises because HE swore by HIS name that it would happen?

A Change of Scenery

A Change of Scenery

Genesis 11: ³¹ And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. ³² So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.

 

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Grief stricken; Terah may have felt as if he could no longer stay in the land where his son Haran was born. Perhaps there were too many reminders of how life used to be. Terah seemed to be close to Abram and Lot. Nahor seemed to also be close to Terah. He married his niece Milcah, Haran’s daughter, to possibly bring joy to Terah. Now Terah wanted to take care of Lot.

 

Terah moved with Abram, Sarai and Lot to a new place. This was possibly a new beginning. He named the place after his deceased son, Haran. There, they would start over.

 

My Observations:

• Terah learned a lot from the Chaldeans, but did not follow all of their ways.
• Terah seemed to break traditions by having children at an older age and moving away from the land of his ancestors.
• Terah seemed to have suffered a great loss, so he named the territory after his deceased son.

 

Abram seemed to watch his father go through a serious grieving period. Terah’s wife was never mentioned, so she may have died after delivering Haran. When Haran died, it may have been too much. But he was surrounded by his son Abram, his daughter in-law Sarai, and his grandson Lot.

 

Terah seemed to use his talents herding sheep and cattle. He may have taught this talent to Abram and Lot. He may have wanted to make a place where they could live in peace all of their lives. BUT GOD had a different plan for Abram.

 

Challenge

• Why did GOD mention again who surrounded Terah to Moses?
• Have you ever needed a change of scenery?
• Will you consider listening to the LORD so HE can guide you to where HE needs you today?

Nations and People Groups 5 of 6

Nations and People Groups 5 of 6

Genesis 10:¹⁵ Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and Heth; ¹⁶ the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite; ¹⁷ the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite; ¹⁸ the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. Afterward the families of the Canaanites were dispersed. ¹⁹ And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; then as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. ²⁰ These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands and in their nations.

 

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Canaan’s list seems different than the rest. GOD goes into detail about people groups and where they were dispersed. Noah’s curse on Canaan was heard by GOD, Canaan seemed to be an influential leader. He seemed to oppose GOD while seeking power. He may have made his father Ham go into Noah’s tent, mocking nakedness.

 

Ham then had to tell people what he saw. Noah did not curse Ham, rather he cursed Canaan, the source of the problem. After the curse, Canaan may have wanted to ensure it would never come true.

 

My Observations:

• Canaan’s decisions caused him to speak against GOD.
• Some of Canaan’s followers took beliefs into the founding of Sodom and Gomorrah.
• GOD allowed Canaan to lead for a season, but his kingdom fell.

 

Seeking power seems to be a recurring them that is a problem with humans to GOD. HE is the source of life and strength, but HE shows incredible restraint when humans challenge HIM. GOD showed us a different route that came after the flood. HE would listen to people who sought after HIM.

 

Not just anyone could place a curse on people and make GOD agree that it is just. GOD listened to Noah because Noah spent most of his ark building days trying to convince people to follow GOD. Even after Noah’s family was saved, GOD saw the evil in the hearts of those who did not believe in HIS ways.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD go into detail about people groups and locations to Moses?
• Have you ever got mad at GOD because you or someone else was not in power?
• Can you surrender your power to GOD so HIS will be done through you today?