Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. – Exodus 14:15

Today's Scripture Reading (November 14, 2024): Exodus 14

It's story time. I admit that I love stories. Many years ago, I was at a conference, and I heard the story of an unnamed woman. This woman was waiting at her local airport for her flight. She had gone through security, and now she was just waiting for the announcement that her flight was beginning its boarding procedure. Sitting in the same area of the airport was an older man in a wheelchair who was also being prepared to board the plane. He was being brought to the front of the line so that he could board first. The man wore pajamas with spilled food on them, and his long hair was a tangled mess. The unkempt look both brought the attention of others in the area and their attempts at ignoring the man. The man just sat there staring into space. The lady was a Christian, and she felt God was asking her to go and comb the man's hair.

I can imagine the conversation taking place between this woman and her God. Are you kidding me? Here in this place? What would people think? God, I can't do that! The airport was crowded and she tried to ignore God's prodding, but God kept on pushing and making the ask. Finally, she gave in, moved over to the older man, and softly asked him if she could comb his hair. Unfortunately, the man was also hard of hearing. God was not going to make this easy.

So, in this crowded airport, she found herself shouting at this man in the wheelchair, "Can I brush your hair?" The man replied, yes. To which the lady had to respond, "I don't have a brush. Do you have a brush?"

The man pointed to a bag stuffed under his wheelchair, and she reached in, pulled out a brush, and softly, just like she had for her daughters many times before, started to untangle the man's hair. As she worked on his hair, she continued to talk to the man and found out that he was being flown to see his wife, who was in another hospital and wasn't expected to live. As she was standing, wondering if she should carry out the plan that God already had in mind, he was sitting in the chair thinking that he was going to see the love of his life one last time, and he looked like an absolute mess.

God tells Moses. Why aren't you moving? Why are you sitting there crying out to me? God isn't trying to say that prayer, or crying out to God, is wrong, but that prayer involves listening. Prayer is a two-way street. Too often, we treat prayer as something we do to get God to see our side. But we are wrong. Prayer involves speaking to God but also listening to God; it involves God changing us so that we are willing to go and brush a stranger's hair.

We don't listen, let me rephrase, I don't listen; at least, not enough. I have my agenda and my wish list. Too often, my prayers are filled with my voice, not God's. We pray like prayer is supposed to be me bending God's will to ours. We even ask the question. Does God change his mind? And if he doesn't, the next question we ask is, "What good is prayer?"

Prayer is always a conversation. Prayer is not me telling God what is on my wish list and then sitting back to find out what God will do. Prayer involves listening and action. We don't serve a God who is simply a symbol in our lives. We serve a God who continuously tries to communicate with us and shape us so that we can be his hands and feet on the earth; so that we will even be willing to brush a stranger's hair.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 15

Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal. – Exodus 13:2

Today's Scripture Reading (November 13, 2024): Exodus 13

During my senior year in high school, I spent the last class of the day doing "Work Experience." For me, that meant working for a veterinarian. It was probably one of the more unusual work experience projects of which I have heard. I had moved from an urban city to a rural town a year earlier. The learning curve of rural life was already high, but it was about to escalate. Working for a veterinarian, I spent long hours going out to farms and ranches in the area. I was only supposed to be working for the duration of that last period of school, but when you were out doing house calls with the vet, you didn't come back to the town until he did. Sometimes, that meant that you didn't get home until around midnight.

I did many things I had never done before during that school semester. And I admit that I was way out of my comfort zone; after all, I was really still a city boy. I had to learn things that someone who had grown up in the area knew from childhood.

One of the most challenging times began in the dead of winter. It was calving season, and in the area in which I was living, the calving season ran from January to March. It was cold and miserable; complications for the cattle seemed to be high, and so was the mortality rate. I asked the vet I worked with one day why calving season started so early. His response was blunt. Starting the calving season in January was risky, but the rewards were also great. The calves that were born in January, early in calving season, had the most brutal beginning to their lives, but those that survived this beginning were also strong and would be worth the most money when the cattle went to market later in the year. A higher percentage of the calves born later in the season would survive, but they would also bring in significantly less money. And so, every calf we worked to save in January was important and well worth our effort to the rancher.

As a result, we went out into the fields in January during freezing weather to save newborn calves and their mothers. Some cows were stuck in the middle of the fields and couldn't be brought into a place of shelter from the elements until we had taken care of whatever the problem might have been.

After the plague of the firstborn had moved through Egypt, killing the firstborn sons of the Egyptians and their animals, God demanded that Israel consecrate the firstborn to him. The word consecrate could mean sacrifice or simply to consider them to belong to God. In practice, this consecration has taken different forms throughout the Bible. The animals were most often sacrificed, even though the firstborn would have been worth more than any of the animals born later. Firstborn sons were considered to belong to God or bought back (redeemed) through the sacrifice of another animal.

However, in some cases, these sons were actually given to God. An example of this would be the Prophet Samuel. The firstborn of his mother, Hannah, she literally gave her child to God.

After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, "Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord." And he worshiped the Lord there (1 Samuel 1:24-28).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 14

The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. – Exodus 12:13

Today's Scripture Reading (November 12, 2024): Exodus 12

Sometimes, a song lyric sticks with me better than anything else. It also can trigger me. Let me explain. A few months ago, a friend decided to send me a message via group text. The message was simple; it was just one word: "Hello." You have to understand that my mind works differently. So, I replied to the text with a little longer message. My reply was, "How are you? Have you been alright through all those lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely nights?" And then there was silence. I recognize that I am old, and I started to worry that my friends didn't get the reference. And, in fact, they didn't. They didn't listen to much Electric Light Orchestra when they were younger. But the one-word message had sent me down a rabbit hole of music. For the rest of the afternoon, all I had in my mind was an old song by the Electric Light Orchestra. As I make grammatical corrections to this post, it is a few days later, and I am heading down the same ELO rabbit hole.  

Hello, how are you?
Have you been alright through all those lonely, lonely, lonely,
Lonely nights? That's what I'd say.
I'd tell you everything if you'd pick up that telephone.

Going down a music rabbit hole happens to me a lot. There is another song that comes back to me when I read specific passages in the Bible, including this one. It is a song I first heard sung by Steve Bell. It is called "Here by the Water." The lyric that keeps returning to me is from the song's second verse.

I know it was stormy.

I hope it was for me a learning

Blood on the road wasn't mine, though

Someone that I know has walked here before.

I love the lyrics because I know the truth about it. The blood on the road is not mine; it comes from the nail-pierced feet of the one who came before me.

Exodus tells us that the blood of the lamb that was slaughtered was placed around the doorframe on that terrible night in Egypt. The blood that would be placed on the doorframes of the houses in the time to come wasn't theirs; it belonged to the Passover lamb, the one that was killed and eaten in that Passover supper.

You may not know the song, but you can understand the truth. The blood on the doorframes in Egypt or our figurative road is not ours. It belongs to the one who died on our behalf. We are saved because someone else died in our stead.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 13

But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.' Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. – Exodus 11:7

Today's Scripture Reading (November 11, 2024): Exodus 11

The story is called "The Adventure of Silver Blaze." It is a short story published in 1892 and written by Arthur Conan Doyle. For most of us fans of Sherlock Holmes, "The Adventure of Silver Blaze" is really the case of the dog that didn't bark. Arthur Conan Doyle said "The Adventure of Silver Blaze" was one of his favorite Sherlock Holmes stories. The story centers around the disappearance of the racehorse "Silver Blaze" and the murder of the horse's trainer. The mystery of the theft turns around the curious incident of the dog at nighttime. The surprise in this curious incident is that the dog didn't do anything, which is Holmes's point. If the dog didn't even bark, then he must have known the intruder and have been comfortable with the presence of the one who committed the murder. It is a theme that has been used several times in various fictitious works since its inclusion in "The Adventure of Silver Blaze." The dog who didn't bark shrunk the pool of possible offenders and was the critical clue that pointed the detective toward the guilty party.

According to the story in Exodus, this would be the night when the firstborn of Egypt would die. It meant that from the firstborn of the Pharaoh right down to the firstborn of the slaves, and even the firstborn of the animals was condemned to death. It was a night that a wail went up in Egypt. There was much pain in this African nation on this night. Tears were shed because the future of the country had been compromised. It was a time that was bereft of hope because that is what our children symbolize; they are our hope for a future.

That is, hope had disappeared in Egypt except for the place where the children of Israel lived. Within the Israelite community, there were no tears. No pain was experienced in the middle of the night. On this night, the dogs in Israel didn't even bark. Because nothing happened there that would cause pain. There was no discomfort among the Israelites, not on this night. The nation was in an uproar, except for the part of the nation where Israel lived. The neighborhood of Israel existed in such a sense of peace on this night that even the dogs were quiet. That is amazing. I live in an average neighborhood, and almost every night, I hear some of the dogs in my area start barking at someone. But in the community of Israel on this night, peace reigned.

Moses tells us that, on this night, anyone who even took a cursory glance at Egypt and the neighborhood of Israel would know that there is a difference between the nation and this one neighborhood. Dogs were barking all through the nation, but among the homes of Israel, the dogs were quiet. If you have ears, you will hear the difference. I love how Walter Kaiser describes this night in his commentary on Exodus. "An unprecedented outpouring of grief would follow, but among the Israelites there would be such tranquility on that evening that no dog would have occasion to bark" (Walter C. Kaiser, Exodus, The Expositor's Bible Commentary Volume 2). Maybe this is the first occurrence of the curious incident of the dog at nighttime. Sherlock would have noticed this and understood the importance of this night when the dogs didn't bark.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 12

Pharaoh's officials said to him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?" – Exodus 10:7

Today's Scripture Reading (November 10, 2024): Exodus 10

Richard II (1367-1400) ascended to the throne of England when he was only ten years old. As a child, various advisors and counsellors made decisions for him during the first part of his reign. But, beginning with the Peasant's Revolt in 1381, the now fourteen-year-old King started to emerge, placing his stamp on his reign. It might have been that the children of England empowered Richard as they saw someone their own age, and thus sharing their worldview, on the throne of the nation. The first years of Richard went reasonably well. But trouble was on the horizon.

That trouble seemed to arrive as Richard stopped trusting his advisors. Disagreeing with their advice, Richard became a Tyrant who made his own decisions. He had his perceived enemies rounded up and executed or exiled in the latter portion of his reign. As a result, his list of enemies multiplied as the King grew older.

Contemporary historians argue about the mental state of Richard II, with some arguing that the King was bipolar and others saying he had a narcissistic personality. Still, others maintain that none of this is true; Richard simply believed in the throne's power and his ability to do whatever he wanted to do, something that would not have been unusual during this era of history.

But the result of the King's behavior is something else about which historians argue. We know that Richard believed in his absolute power and that there was no need, now that he was of age, for him to listen to his advisors. But Richard's behavior became so offensive to Parliament that Richard was deposed in 1399. At first, his successor, Henry Bolingbroke, who reigned as Henry V, agreed to let Richard live. The two were first cousins and had been childhood friends. But it soon became apparent that as long as he lived, Richard would provide a figurehead to those who wanted to restore him to the throne. It also seems that Henry couldn't give the order to have Richard killed. As a result, Richard II died in captivity of neglect and starvation less than a year after his removal from the English throne. Henry V had a much healthier relationship with Parliament, and observers have to wonder if Richard's story would have been much different if he had built a better relationship with Parliament and his advisors. Maybe he would have been a much better ruler if his pride hadn't gotten in the way and he had been able to take into account the advice of his counselors.

It is something that could definitely be said about Pharaoh in the days of Moses. The ruler's advisors and officials saw something to which Pharaoh's pride had blinded him. The cost was mounting, and if all the slaves needed was time for worship, maybe it was time to give in. But that was something Pharaoh couldn't do, and his lack of perspective was starting to cost the empire dearly.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 11

Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go. – Exodus 9:7

Today's Scripture Reading (November 9, 2024): Exodus 9

I live in an area where the Earth is very flat. So maybe it shouldn't be surprising that on one of the main highways out of the city, there is a sign that advertises the local chapter of the "Flat Earth Society." Maybe when you live on the Great Plains of North America, it is easier to believe in a flat earth rather than living in areas that have hills and trees or mountains, and you just can't see very far in the distance in the first place. On the plains, it sometimes seems that you can see forever. I once heard someone describe the road between two cities that lie not far to the east of where I live. They described the road as going straight for about an hour, then it turns and travels through a valley before it turns again on the way out of the valley and continues straight for another couple of hours. I heard the description and heard someone say, "I know that road, and that is exactly how it goes."

I have had conversations with flat earthers, and let me say that they have never convinced me that this is what they believe, but if you ask them why these Flat Earthers believe that the Earth is flat, they will often point to the verdict of your senses. If you go to places like the Great Plains, it feels like you can see forever, and you don't see the curve of the Earth. It seems easy to believe that maybe the Earth really is flat.

However, you must overcome some indications that the Earth just might be some kind of a sphere. Some of the evidence is just what we can see in our planetary neighborhood. Our naked eyes show that both the moon and the sun are spherical. Not only that, but if we use a telescope, we find that Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune are all spheres. In fact, if the Earth is flat, it is the only body in the known galaxy that is not spherical.

Flat Earthers would defend that idea of a flat earth in a universe of spheres by arguing that the Earth is different because we are at the center of the Universe. Everything else revolves around us, just as it was created to do. One Flat Earther has even told me about an experiment where an airplane went up with a level on board, and as far as the plane flew, the level never moved off of center, proving that the Earth is flat. As far as I know, these believers have never explained how a plane or boat can circumnavigate the Earth, even taking vastly different routes.

However, as I said, I am not convinced that Flat Earthers really believe the Earth is flat. There is so much evidence to the contrary, and the reality is that we as a race have believed that the Earth was a sphere for longer than we sometimes think.

Pharaoh did not believe in Israel's God. At least, that is his public testimony. And yet, he investigated the situation after the night the animals of Egypt died. What he found was that the animals of the Egyptians had been killed, but that not one animal of the Israelites had passed away. Israel's animals remained healthy. Pharaoh had enough belief to at least investigate the claims of Moses and Aaron. At the same time, he said He didn't believe but was hoping against hope that he could find another logical explanation for what had happened. But it was becoming hard to disregard the prophetic message of Moses and Aaron, almost as hard as believing in a Flat Earth in a neighborhood of globes.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 10

The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile." – Exodus 8:11

Today's Scripture Reading (November 8, 2024): Exodus 8

One of the strange news stories from the last decade is the danger our steaks and hamburgers hold for our environment. Yes, it is about the methane produced by the burps and farts of our bovine companions, the cow. Welcome to the strange world that is emerging all around us. The problem is that few of us are willing to trade our steaks for a good salad or a bowl of beans (not to mention the methane that the beans might produce in us). I live in a meat-eating world. Yes, I know several vegetarians and vegans, but I know more meat eaters. A while back, I met with a vegan, or maybe I should call him a prisoner of the vegan culture, and all he wanted was to go for a nice juicy burger without his wife finding out. What she didn't know, he could enjoy. I have to admit that I enjoyed our lunch much more than I expected when I thought we would eat at the local vegan hotspot.

But if we are going to solve global warming, one of the things we need to do is figure out how to change the problem of cow farts without getting rid of the cow. I have some automotive enthusiasts in my circle of influence who insist that we need to work on our bovine problem before we work on our car problem. After all, cow methane equals the annual emissions of 24 million automobiles, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. But the reality is that fixing our environment probably means addressing both problems, not just one of them. The problem is that it is very unlikely that we will be willing to go without either our beef or our cars.

Egypt had a similar problem. The people of Egypt worshiped the goddess Heqet, who was often pictured as a woman with the head of a frog. The problem was that the frog was sacred because it was a part of Heqet, and because the frog was plentiful, it reproduced rapidly and was understood to be residents of two worlds, living as parts of the water world and as land creatures.

And because frogs were sacred, they could not be killed. As a result, Pharaoh had a big problem. He needed to get rid of the frogs without destroying them. That is the solution that Moses offered to the Pharaoh. He is willing not to destroy the frogs but to move them from the houses and the palace back to the area surrounding the Nile, where the frogs would typically live. The frogs would still exist, and yet they would not cause the problem they were currently causing in the nation. It would have been the perfect solution if only the Pharaoh had allowed the people of Israel to go and worship in the wilderness.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 9

You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. – Exodus 7:2

Today's Scripture Reading (November 7, 2024): Exodus 7

As God speaks to Moses and Aaron, one of the first things he needs to do is to focus their attention on the future. The focus of Moses and Aaron couldn't be allowed to take a nostalgic turn to what used to be; their focus had to be firmly on what God was going to do in Egypt. The King James Version in the Book of Proverbs says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18). In the NIV, the word vision is translated as "revelation." Both terms are future-oriented and precisely what Israel needed; the people needed to be sold a vision of what the future could look like if they were brave enough to step into it. Providing this vision would become the main task of Moses and Aaron. The brothers had to be men of the future.

One of Satan's favorite tricks is to keep the Christian Community focused on the past. Whether it is the sins we have committed or our successes, both will handicap what God wants to do in the future. We are being called to a specific vision of the future, a future that God sponsors. Let the past rest; it is gone, and we can do nothing about it. But the future has yet to be written. Could you imagine Moses coming home after the first day of plagues and saying, "Ah yes, the Nile River was turned to blood. That will give them pause to think about what they are doing. That was a success. There is no need for us to go any further." But that would not have been a commitment to the future that God had in mind.

One day, Jesus was traveling in Samaria when he met up with a Samaritan woman. Jesus had sent the disciples off to get some food, and he was sitting alone by a well when this woman came up to draw some water for her family. Jesus was focused on the future as he talked to the woman, but she was focused on the past. One of the first things that she said to Jesus was, "I am a Samaritan; you are a Jew. How could you ask me for water?" Her comments are focused on the past relationship between Israel and Samaria and not on the plan Jesus was introducing for the future, where Israel and Samaria would exist as equals. The Apostle Paul would later write, "You are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). Jesus's reply is that if the woman knew who was asking her for water, she would ask him for Living Water. Jesus's comment looks toward the future. The woman questions Jesus: Is your water greater than Jacob's water? The question and the reference to Jacob focuses on the past. Jesus's response is if you drink my water, you will never thirst again, focusing on the future. The give-and-take continues with the same focus; her questions focus on the past, while Jesus's responses focus on the future.

The conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman echoes God's conversation with Moses and Aaron. Moses came to God discouraged by the rejection of both his ancient past in Egypt and his more recent past in the wilderness. In response, God points to his ministry partner, Aaron, and the future, instructing Moses to "Go because everything is under control." It isn't your failures in the past that matters; it is the future that I want t

We still can't change what is past, but God invites us to leave the past and step into his future. Despite whatever you see, God still controls what is yet to come.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 8

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country." – Exodus 6:1

Today's Scripture Reading (November 6, 2024): Exodus 6

It is often hard to see the end when you are in the middle of the story. During the twentieth century, civilization went through several huge events, from two world wars to the tearing down of the Iron Curtain, a barrier that essentially divided the West from the East. I have admitted that having lived through the era of division and the terror of the conflict with the Soviet Union, I saw no possibility of returning to a reunited Germany or of the breakup of the Soviet Union into Russia and the various individual nations that existed in the Russian orbit. I couldn't see how the city of Berlin could ever be reunited when they had spent more than four decades growing in different directions. I couldn't see the end of the story, and yet, that chapter of world history did draw to a close, and the things I couldn't imagine would happen took place.

After the Soviet Union dissolved and the various nations began to exert their distinct personalities, I couldn't imagine the day when a Russian leader would once again try to get the band back together. And yet, that seems to be what is happening as I write these words in 2024. There have been many other times when I couldn't even guess what the end of the story would look like. I guess I am not much of a prophet.

As we read these words in the story of Moses at the beginning of the Israelite Exodus, we need to recognize that the hero of the story is discouraged. Back in the 70s, Alice Cooper sang about a vision of the singer in Hell. At the end of the dream, Cooper sings a beautiful song called "Wake Me Gently." In the song, he returns from Hell and sees his body lying in his bedroom. And he sings these words;

I look so lifeless on this bed.
Laid out on satin sheets
This dream's a novel
That I don't dare complete
No happy ending read.

I think the hero's dead (Alice Cooper, Dick Wagner, Bob Ezrin).

I can imagine that this is precisely where Moses finds himself. Not only is he underwhelmed by God, but the prophet is very impressed by the magicians who serve the Pharaoh. At this moment, Moses has to wonder if he made a mistake in coming in from the wilderness to undertake this mission in Egypt. He likely sees not only the demise of the children of Israel but of himself as well. Moses can't even imagine a happy ending to the story. Yet, God declares that he is not done. He still has some tricks up his sleeve. God declares to Moses that you might not be able to see the end of the story, but I can. Not only will Israel escape Egypt, but you will also go with the Pharaoh's blessing. Pharaoh will drive you out of Egypt. You just need to remain faithful.

We might not be able to see the end of the story, but God isn't done with us either. We just need to remain faithful and let God write the next chapter of our story.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 7

The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, "You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day." – Exodus 5:19

Today's Scripture Reading (November 5, 2024): Exodus 5

A friend tells a story about the company he works for and their hiring of workers. Like most companies that want to maximize their bottom line, they have decided to hire two workers who have never spent any time in the field rather than one experienced worker who knows what needs to be done. The idea was that maybe they could get two workers for the price of one or perhaps just a bit more money than they would have to spend on one experienced worker. The problem was that the workers they hired couldn't do the job and often didn't have the experience even to know the next steps. As a result, the company spent more money but got less production. Deadlines were missed, and customer orders were delayed. What looked like a good deal cost the company significantly.

The overseers of the slaves have been told to stop giving the slaves straw for the production of bricks. Straw was an essential part of Egyptian brickmaking. An acid inside the straw was released as the bricks baked in the sun, making them stronger than bricks made without straw. The lack of straw supplied to the slaves was not the Pharaoh's mistaken belief that straw was not necessary for brickmaking but a penalty for Moses and Aaron's suggestion that the slaves be given a long weekend to go out into the desert to worship their God. Pharaoh decided the best way to handle the request was to make life miserable for Israelite workers, giving the slaves less time to spend on such requests.

But the overseers understood a different reality. The effect of the Pharaoh's instructions was that either the slaves would miss their quota of the number of bricks produced or that they would create an inferior product by using less, or even no, straw. And the blame for that lack would lay heavy on the shoulders of the overseers.

However, the inability of the slaves to make their quotas may even play into the Pharaoh's plan. The Pharaoh was worried about the number of Israelites, believing that if these foreign workers were organized, they might prove to be a threat to the Egyptians. If the slaves couldn't make their quotas, nothing was stopping the Egyptian leader from killing off some of the more troublesome slaves or rabble-rousers like Moses and Aaron as an example to the rest of the Israelites.

Of course, that would mean even fewer bricks, but that seems to be something that the Pharaoh appears to be willing to put up with.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 6

The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. – Exodus 4:21

Today's Scripture Reading (November 4, 2024): Exodus 4

A fictional story tells the tale of Jesus's arrival in heaven after his time on earth was finished. If you can imagine the group of disciples who were standing around watching Jesus disappear into the clouds, maybe you can imagine a group of angels gathering around Jesus as he reappears at his heavenly home. Jesus explained to the angels how he had lived among the people, sharing his teachings, expressing his love, and then dying on a cross to atone for humanity's sin. Then, he returned to life and declared that a new Kingdom was at hand. 

According to the imaginative tale, when he had finished telling the story of his time on earth, Michael, the archangel, asked the Lord, "What happens now?" In my mind, I have this image of Michael as a military general among the company of angels. So, when the angels come marching into our spiritual battles, I always see Michael in the lead. He is big and strong and not someone with whom I would want to pick an argument.

I can imagine Michael thinking about the new Kingdom in military terms. In the forefront of his mind, Michael would have wondered what he needed to do now. Michael would worry about how he needed to prepare his troops. He might have said, "Jesus, I am at your command. Tell me what you need me to do." In the fictional story, Jesus answers Michael with these words. "I have left a handful of faithful men and women. They will tell the story! They will express my love! They will spread my Kingdom!"

"But what if they fail?" Michael might ask, "What then will be our plan?"

Jesus answers Michael by saying, "There is no other plan!"

I often want to ask the same question when I read this strange little story about Moses. Israel is in bondage, but God has heard their cries all the way up in heaven. God remembered his promise, the one that he had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And this God, creator of the entire universe, the omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent One, has condescended and limited himself to one little bush in a moment in time so that he can talk to an escaped convict who happens to be hiding out in the hills as a shepherd.

And this God puts a call on this convict's life. He tells him of all the wonderful things that He will do through him, including setting a whole people of slaves free. He argues that through this escaped convict, a nation and, more importantly, a community of God who will bless the entire world will develop.

But God has placed his power inside of the man. And if the man is going to win against the forces that are raised against him, he will have to depend on the God who has set the task in front of him. There will be setbacks, and the journey won't be easy, but this convict decides to continue to follow God's plan. He has committed himself to continuing the journey.

Too often, I wonder if we have lost this lesson from the life of Moses. We see the opposition and setbacks and think that God has left us, when in reality, he is still there, still guiding us, and the victory is still ahead. I often need to remember Moses when I see the obstacles before me. I still need to know that the path might be challenging, but God is with me, and his strength is working through me. And the same is true for you. Decide today to go and be a Moses in your world.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 5

Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" – Exodus 3:13

Today's Scripture Reading (November 3, 2024): Exodus 3

What is your name? Where did it come from? My name is Garry. The name is my dad's middle name. One of the strange facts about my name is the spelling. The two r's in my name are a little unusual. When I was born, the belief was that there were two rs in my dad's name, but an examination of his birth certificate years after I was born revealed that dad only has one r in his middle name. He had been spelling his name wrong for decades, but it was just his middle name. There is also a story that my name was supposed to be David Garry, but there was already a David Mullen in the family, so I became Garry David instead. The funny part of this end of the story of my name is that I don't think I have been in the same room with David Mullen for over six decades. So, the two of us sharing the name probably wouldn't have mattered.  

A couple of decades ago, there was a TV show about a bar that advertised where everybody knows your name. The show was "Cheers" (1982-1993), and I have always thought that the church should be like that fictional bar because it feels so good to walk into a place and be called by name. I used to frequent a restaurant near where I worked (it closed a few years ago), and they knew me by name. I was greeted with a smile whenever I arrived, and the waitress would bring my Diet Coke before I placed my order. I remember meeting a friend there a few years back. I got there a little early, and the waitress showed me to a seat. I told her I was waiting for someone, and she gave me a paper to read while I waited. When my friend showed up, he asked me, "Do you come here often?" I asked, "Why?" My friend answered, "Because the waitress asked me when I came in if I was here to see Pastor Garry."

Moses asks for the name of God, and God answers, "I Am Who I Am." I am Yahweh or Jehovah. Later, we would expand on that name. We have multiplied the names of God. We sometimes call him Jehovah Jirah, which means "God the provider," Jehovah Nissi, which means "God is Your banner," or Jehovah Shalom meaning "God is your peace." We call him Jehovah Shammah, meaning "God who is there," and Jehovah Tzidkenu, meaning "God is Righteousness." God has been called by humans many things. He is Elohim (God), Adonai (Lord), and El Shaddai (God Almighty). But when God speaks of himself, it is Yahweh or Jehovah, "I Am Who I Am."

Moses needs to know who God is, and God responds, I Am the one who will take my people out of their situation in Egypt. Moses, I Am the one you need right now. Biblical Scholars tell us that the word used here has no tense. It is just as proper to say, "I was who I was," or "I will be who I will be," as to say, "I am who I am." This is God's name. It's the only one that you really need to know.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 4

Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. – Exodus 2:12

Today's Scripture Reading (November 2, 2024): Exodus 2

We often try hard to live in two worlds. Sometimes, we try hard to keep our Monday-to-Saturday and Sunday worlds in different sections of our lives. That means our dress, language, and even our mindset are often different.

Moses would have understood our effort. For almost the entirety of his life, he has existed as a man of two worlds. In one, he was important, part of the ruling family of Egypt. But there was another reality. Moses was also the son of enslaved people. His parents were less than nothing in Egypt. Those two realities continually waged a war inside of Moses.

Then, things change abruptly. Suddenly, Moses no longer had the luxury of being able to live in these two worlds. He had to choose. Unfortunately, the sinful part of the story of Moses was that he chose a path of violence. Moses chose the path that involved killing an Egyptian. Sometimes, I wonder how history might have been different if Moses had decided to do something else. What was it that God had planned for Moses? Was Moses supposed to kill the Egyptian? I admit that I am unsure I know the answer to that question.

I love what-if stories, and this tale provides us with a great one. What if Moses had not killed the Egyptian? How would history have played itself out? There are enough similarities between the story of Joseph (sold into Egypt through the hurtful act of his brothers) and Moses (lovingly hidden in Egypt by parents who had run out of choices) to think that maybe Moses could have been raised to power and could have changed the nature of Israel in the same way that Joseph had saved Israel by saving Egypt.

However, Moses's violent act took away that possibility. There was a terrible change of worldview. In one act, Moses went from being a member of the Royal family of Egypt and the only Hebrew of power to being an outcast, discarded, and unwanted. He went from having royal privileges to being wanted as a fugitive and marked for death by the people in power.

As we talk about the road, this is the moment that I think is possibly the most critical moment in the story; it is the place where we may identify more with Moses than at any other moment. It is the moment that Moses messed up, and God began the redemption process. Maybe we need to ask what happens when sin interrupts God? How can God use me when I have (fill in the blank)? Part of the problem is that we go from a place where our worldview says that if it is going to be, it is going to be me to a place where we recognize that there is nothing we can do. Our actions have made everything we have hoped for impossible. Now, nothing is left except escape and making the best of a bad situation.

Moses had already taken this road. He had traveled from a place where he was a part of a powerful family but also held a concern for the people of his heritage to a place where he was alone and defeated, and there was no one left in his life who could help him.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 3

The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive." – Exodus 1:19

Today's Scripture Reading (November 1, 2024): Exodus 1

As Christians, we are called to be different. Too often, the Christian Church has misunderstood that instruction. We have interpreted that to mean that we dress differently, listen to different music, or point to some superficial way that we should be distinct. But the truth is that we have very little biblical support for that idea. The difference in the Christian is not superficial but rather at the core of our being.

I graduated High School from a rural school. I still remember my graduation class; there were just over fifty of us. Every person with whom I graduated, I knew. In the graduation picture, you can see all of us—the girls dressed in their best dresses and most of the guys in rented tuxes. I was one of the two holdouts who didn't wear a tux. My parents bought me a new suit for graduation, so I had it on. Bill, the other holdout, wore a pair of clean jeans and a checkered shirt.

Bill was different in everything that he did. When we were told to run laps in gym class, Bill would run them but often preferred to skip them in the opposite direction of everyone else. I have no idea why, but Bill chose to be different in almost every way. And I know it is sometimes hard to see, but it feels like we have taken our idea of distinctness from Bill. 

The problem is that there is to be a qualitative difference in how we act. It isn't in the words we say; it isn't in our mode of dress or our tastes; it is a difference that extends from someplace deep inside of us. The Bible says that they will know we are Christians by our love and how we treat others, even when they mistreat us. It is a difference that was modeled for us on the cross. It isn't an outer change but an inner one that makes you different and distinct from the world.

For the mothers in Egypt, a fierce love for their kids made them different. The midwives who had been ordered to kill the boys found that they just couldn't do it. And when they were asked why, they just told their handlers that the women were tough; they weren't like the Egyptian women. They were tough and gave birth before the midwives even got there. They didn't need the help that the midwives were ordered to provide.

It is a toughness that the Christian Church is supposed to display. I often say everyone is welcome in the Church, but that isn't really true. The Church needs tough people whose hearts break for the people around them, and no one can convince them that these people are not worthy of the Church's love, a love that changes everything. We may look the same, listen to the same music, watch the same movies, and be products of the same culture. But we are distinct because we hurt for people that we haven't met yet. We even hurt for people who have damaged us. We love with a mother's fierce love for this world because that is what God has placed inside us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 2

… taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days. – Genesis 50:3

Today's Scripture Reading (October 31, 2024): Genesis 50

Diana, Princess of Wales, died on August 31, 1997. I remember the moment the announcement was made on the television channel I happened to be watching. I admit that I was stunned. The event was so unexpected. The images of her car careening down a French road with the Paparazzi close on their tail were unbelievable. That this was the end of the People's Princess seemed implausible. Indeed, there must have been a mistake. This couldn't be the end.

If the surprise was palpable in my home, I can't imagine the shock that shook the Royal family as the news reached them. It must have been a nightmare. Most of what we know about this time is basically just rumors. But, it seems that there was no plan for how to deal with Diana's death. There was no reason that one should have been devised; she was young and healthy.

Additionally, Diana was no longer part of the Royal Family after her divorce from Prince Charles. The Family might have guessed what would happen if Diana died, but they hadn't. They seemed to have to be continually reminded that Diana wasn't just Charles's ex-wife, but she was the mother of the future King of the United Kingdom, William. And so, the Royal Family stumbled from one mistake to the next, only making various decisions after the people demanded a response. One telling rumor was that the plan for Diana's funeral had actually been formulated for Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. It was easier to modify that plan than to develop a new one. In the process, Royal customs had to fall to the wayside, if only because the people's esteem for their princess was higher than the esteem they held for the Royal Family. Even though she was no longer part of the Royal Family, the People's Princess would be treated like a Royal. It may have been a hard road for the Family, but the people made it a necessary path for the country to travel.

Jacob had died. He was a nobody. Jacob was just a foreign farmer whose way of life would have been despised by the Egyptian people and their leaders alike. And yet, the Egyptian officials took forty days to embalm him properly. And all of Egypt mourned his passing for seventy days, just two days short of time spent mourning a Royal family member. Experts have taken this as proof of the level of respect Egypt had for Jacob. But I wonder if we have that right. While Diana possessed the respect of the people, which went beyond that of the Royal Family, I think maybe that was not true of Jacob. The embalming and mourning period that the nation spent on Jacob might have actually been an indication of the respect the nation held for Jacob's son, Joseph. The nation mourned because Joseph mourned. And Joseph was so loved and respected in Egypt that the country could do nothing else but mourn with him.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 1