Month: October 2021

Up to this point, the judgement rolled out in Egypt had been tough.  it was oppressive and a huge inconvenience. Pharaoh was not going to relent, however, so God turned up the heat.  He started killing livestock, crops and making the people sick to prove a point.  The point was simply this is not a contest.  Pharaoh thought He could show God his power, but God was making clear to Pharaoh and the world, He is God! all powerful, all knowing, and always present.  Nothing gets by God, nothing defeats God, and No one has power or dominion over Him.

As the plagues progressed, the Egyptians were growing to loathe Israel and wanted them free so that the country could suffer no more.  God was going to Establish Israel and Himself as a holy and chosen people.  The plagues and statement God was making through Egypt would set the tenor for the people of Israel and the world for ages to come.

We still tell the stories of Israel’s liberation and of Moses.  God used this period to let us all know that He truly is large and in charge.  As the days progress, we cannot forget that God is still in charge.  We must not harden our hearts to His leadership.  What is more, we cannot take likely His continued impact on the world.  It is as sad today to see the world ignore God as Pharaoh did.  They have also hardened their hearts.  What is ahead will be as painful as was the plagues in Egypt.  God will not be mocked, and His plan will be executed with the same precision today as it was during Egypt’s demise.

God Bless You

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 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” ² If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back, ³ the hand of the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats. ⁴ But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.’”

⁵ The Lord set a time and said, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.” ⁶ And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. 

Once God ended the frog fest, Pharaoh said no again.  Next, God sent gnats.  So many gnats that it was unbearable, but Pharaoh, even though magicians could no longer keep up, simply ignored God’s message.  So, God turned up the volume from gnats to flies.  God took it a step farther, Flies for the Egyptians but not the Israelites.
Now there could be no question, Pharaoh either relented or God would systematically ruin Pharaoh and ruin Egypt.

  Moses confronted Pharaoh.  Pharaoh knew He had to choose.  He agreed to let the people leave–but Pharaoh never intended to honor his word.  Pharaoh was going to make sure that God, Moses, the Israelites, and the Egyptians knew he was not afraid of God.  Sadly, God did not care, the Israelites were caring less by the day, The Egyptians, on the other hand were beginning to fear God and Israel, even though they had not raised a hand in anger.

In God’s plan, Moses was establishing God’s omnipotence.  Moses was establishing His authority as the leader, and He was clearly laying out the unquestionable truth that Israel would be leaving–it was only a matter of time.  What Pharaoh had yet to grasp, was that time was short.

We cannot question God’s power and authority in our lives.  He is in charge.  When we follow Him, he will bring us to the place of having a full and meaningful life. If we ignore or reject him, we will see the consequence advance upon us.  At any time, we can repent and return, but until we do, the consequence will only increase, and our lives will not have joy or peace.  We need simply to trust and follow God and avoid the pain of disobedience and independence from God.

God Bless You

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¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground,’ and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats.” ¹⁷ They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats came on people and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats. ¹⁸ But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not.

Since the gnats were on people and animals everywhere, ¹⁹ the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Flies

²⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. ²¹ If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them.

²² “‘But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. ²³ I will make a distinction^[b] between my people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.’”

²⁴ And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials; throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.

²⁵ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land.”

²⁶ But Moses said, “That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? ²⁷ We must take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, as he commands us.”

²⁸ Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”

²⁹ Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord, and tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Only let Pharaoh be sure that he does not act deceitfully again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

³⁰ Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord, ³¹ and the Lord did what Moses asked. The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained. ³² But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.

After a week of no water for the folks in Egypt, God sends Moses and Aaron back to Pharaoh.  This time with frogs.  One can only imagine how gross and disgusting the land must have become,  Frogs literally everywhere.  on the roads in people’s homes , kitchens, and even beds.  I am sure Pharaoh had his share of frogs as well.  But of course, he had people for that.

It must have quickly become obvious that God was not fooling around.  Even though the magicians produced frogs as well, Pharaoh’s concern was not to take issue with how the frogs appeared, but instead how to get them to stop appearing.  The magicians had not figured that one out!  So, Pharaoh comes, hat in hand, and agrees to let the people go and worship if Moses will get rid of the frogs!!!

Interestingly, God comes through–Pharaoh does not!  As Pharaoh will eventually learn, That never ends well.  For God, it builds His credibility with Moses, Israel and even Pharaoh.  It gives Moses the power to show himself as God’s leader, and it starts the transition of taking Israel an asset to Egypt and like the frogs making them a stench to the people of Egypt.

Getting Free was going to be a difficult process.  God was aware of the depth that he would have to go to change the hearts of Israel.  But the Lord carried out the change in an orderly and systematic fashion.  Moses could probably see it, maybe Aaron, but clearly the Pharaoh and the people had a long way to go. 

We, as God’s chosen, also need to recognize the process He takes us through to prepare us for eternity.  God realizes we, as his people, must give up our love for this world much the same way Israel had to give up their love for Egypt.  While the circumstances were difficult, Israel felt at home there.  It would be hard to be and act free and independent.  Our lives are the same. 

We know the world culture.  We are used to the demands the world makes and are comfortable conforming to them.  The transformation into God’s children is a difficult one, but necessary for us to be prepared for an eternity in our Lord’s presence.

Paul said it best in Colossians 3, “Set your hearts and minds on things above, for you have died and your life is now hidden in Christ with God.” We are new creations and as such, we no longer fit into this world and its pattern.  If we will trust and follow the Lord, He will transform us into citizens of Heaven and build into us an eternal perspective that will free us from the slavery of this world’s system.

God Bless You

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

⁸ Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” ⁹ Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” ¹⁰ And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 

God knew that Pharaoh would not listen. So even though he rocked the nation by destroying their water supply and commercial fishing, Pharaoh simply went inside his palace and ignored the plague. His magicians were able to prepare an illusion that looked the same, so this must all be a parlor trick—right? When one refuses to see God’s hand and plan in the world, it simply does not matter how obvious God is—He will be ignored.

 Pharaoh did not want to see or admit he had to submit to God, He was willing to let his people die of thirst rather, than to admit he was beaten. It is that type of pride that always and ultimately leads to the downfall of one that fails to honor God.

 In our lives and our culture, we are faced daily with opportunities to see God at work. When we believe, His works are amazing and frequent. When we refuse, we ignore the Lord and soon can’t see His work that is done before our very eyes—parlor tricks. If we seek God with our hearts, He will reveal His greatness to us. If we pray, He will listen. But, if we ignore Him, soon we will be unable to recognize some amazing things God sends our way, and we will be destroyed by the very things we should amaze us. 

God Bless You

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Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river. Confront him on the bank of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. ¹⁶ Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened. ¹⁷ This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. ¹⁸ The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”

¹⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels^[a] of wood and stone.”

²⁰ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. ²¹ The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.

One of the greatest things about God’s Supremacy is His knowledge of all things, times, and places.  It should have inspired confidence for Moses when God explained the events prior to their unfolding.  God had all things under control.  Still as they were going through it, the people had no confidence in God.  Moses was still learning about God and His plan.  So, when the magicians turned staffs into snakes, it shook Moses’ confidence. Then when Moses staff ae Pharaoh’s magicians, staffs, it was God putting an exclamation point on the end.

God knew these events and plagues were not going to change Pharaoh’s heart. In fact, God’s plan included God making Pharaoh unteachable.  Pharaoh and Egypt would be the warning for the other kingdoms–DO NOT MESS WITH ISRAEL!!!  Moses simply had to deliver the message.  The critical piece was verse 6, “Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them.”  That summary screams volumes.

As His chosen, we simply need to do as the Lord Adonai commands.  We need not get creative or try to help God.  He sees our future as part of His history.  We need to trust God and His leadership He sees where the journey is headed–WE DO NOT!  If we can have faith and follow God to the end, then He will do what is necessary to prepare us and our world for the mission set before us.  That should inspire confidence, bring comfort, and cause us to keep moving forward.  If we will, God will complete His plan.  SO, LET HIM!

God Bless You

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Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. ² 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. ³ But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, ⁴ he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. ⁵ And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

⁶ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. ⁷ Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Snake

⁸ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”

¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. ¹¹ Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: ¹² Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³ Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

Sometimes, it just seems too good to be true.  After a couple centuries of mistreatment, Israel was crying out for deliverance.  Along comes Moses, he tells the people that God heard their cries and sent him to liberate Israel.  They are worshipful, glad, and ready to be free.  Then the hammer drops and not only is their request to leave denied, but then their treatment is made exponentially worse.  THANKS MOSES AND THANKS GOD!!!

After that, Moses confronts God (Bold Move) and God tells Moses not to worry, He will get them released, because His word is good.  The people were not impressed.  All they knew was that prior to Moses entering their lives it was tough.  Now, with His help, life is virtually impossible.  Not how any of us would have scripted the story.

Clearly, God knew there would need to be some faith stretching for Israel to truly become free.  This first event was the beginning.  It was going to become a great deal more difficult and graphic before they were to leave Egypt.  Even then, though; their liberation was only the end of the beginning–as the song says.  God was building a nation of priests. They were to be selfless and sacrificial; these slaves were neither.  

God had no issue with His reputation, He did not need their approval, He needed His people to experience the trials for the liberation to be effective and complete.  Getting away was easy, getting obedient and trusting in God, well that was and is another story. 

In our lives, We ask God to deliver us, to bless us, or to lead us.  He is glad to complete all those requests, however, He asks us simply to consider if he does deliver, bless, and lead us, what is our end goal?  We want events, but God does not simply deliver events; He builds journeys.  

We need to think beyond our desired instant gratification, and begin to pray and seek God’s direction for our journey.  As a 59-year-old, I wish, as a young man, I would have sought God’s leadership in my sanctification (The ongoing process of transformation).  Instead, I jumped from event to event, hoping God would hold on to me and help me across to the next one. What a waste of vision.

Jesus told us in Matthew 6:33, “Seek FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to You.”  Those things included protection, provision, and discernment to know the difference between the temporal world view and an eternal perspective.  Had Israel treasured this next part of God’s plan, they would have been truly free; free from Pharaoh, but more importantly, free from the hold this world has on most human beings. 

It needs to be our prayer to be grateful for what we have, content in our circumstance, and focused on our citizenship in Heaven–where we will spend eternity.

God Bless You

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¹⁹ 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.” ²⁰ When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, ²¹ and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

God Promises Deliverance

²² Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? ²³ Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”

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6 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.”

² God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. ³ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,^[a] but by my name the Lord^[b] I did not make myself fully known to them. ⁴ I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. ⁵ Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.

⁶ “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. ⁷ I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. ⁸ And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”

⁹ Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.

Clearly Pharaoh did not realize what he was stepping into.  Like most Kings, He was all about himself and his Kingdom.  The Israelites were nothing more than a threat to him, and a source of cheap labor.  He did not care in the least how they were handled or how they survived.  As he told the overseers, he simply cared about their production and his reputation.

Now, this upstart, Moses, had arrived demanding Pharaoh’s slaves be released.  Moses was promising them freedom through the power of their God.  Who is their God anyway–Pharaoh had hundreds!  That was the mindset of the King.

Conversely, God’s mindset was that Pharaoh had mistreated His chosen to the point they only feared Pharaoh and his reprisal.  That was behavior Pharaoh would have to pay for.  Further, the Lord would need to show the people that Pharaoh had no authority over them, really.  They were already free.  Pharaoh just did not recognize it.  Finally, God had to show the people that Moses had been prepared to liberate, lead, and bring Israel to safety and to their promised land.

Pharaoh could have sabotaged God’s plan by simply honoring it.  Instead, He was determined to show God who was boss.  Little did the Pharaoh know; he would indeed show the world who was boss.  It would be a lesson that carried through history so that all over the world people would know Adonai was indeed boss.  That would be the hard way.

When given the option, we need to learn from the Lord the easy way.  We need to simply trust and follow God.  We do not need to understand or out guess God.  We need only to allow him to lead and to execute His plan in our lives.  That will save us so much heartache and pain. Trust the Lord.  Follow Him and know that doing so will lead to an eternity of peace and victory as one of His chosen.

 
Conversely, choosing to ignore or defy God has been shown throughout History to not end well.  With that being said,  God still allows each of us to make the choice (Easy or Hard way).  If you ask me, following His plan is better and a heck of a lot more rewarding, JUST SAYIN’

God Bless You

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Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. ¹¹ Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.’” ¹² So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. ¹³ The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” ¹⁴ And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”

¹⁵ Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? ¹⁶ Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”

¹⁷ Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ ¹⁸ Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”

¹⁹ 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.” ²⁰ When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, ²¹ and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

God Promises Deliverance

²² Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? ²³ Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”

Man, to be the leader of a people that had been enslaved for a great deal of time, had to be a difficult and thankless chore.  Moses and Aaron acted as liaison from God to the Israelites and to Pharaoh.  To be frank, after their first attempt to liberate the people, they were not popular with either side.  Moses was not only tasked with Israel’s liberation, but also with their leadership.  God continued to prepare the people, the Egyptians, and Moses.

We have all read intricate mystery novels.  In them, there are often many twists and turns until the climax, when good guy sweeps in and is victorious.  God often operates in men’s lives the very same way.  As people, we are often predisposed to figure out a way to solve God’s issues.  Israel did; they called on God to simply free them from Pharaoh’s oppression, no big deal.  BUT THEN WHAT???

God needed the Israelites to be ready to be a free people. Not only free from their slavery, but also, free to trust and follow Him.  To see that come to pass, God would have to prove His authority, give them a powerful leader, and put fear in the hearts of Israel’s enemies.  That is a great number of twists and turns.   God however, like any great author, knew the plot line before the first word was uttered.  

The Bible shows us that as every Bible hero is developed by God, it is done with careful refining, training, and grace.  Our Lord takes folks where they are and then develops them into the people they have been called to become. 

We too are being refined, prepared, and guided to the ultimate end of God’s story for our lives.  We make missteps, walk through trials and temptation, feel pain and victory.  All the while, God continues to turn the pages to the story of our lives. Then, as we come to the end, we find the Lord gently smiling when we meet the Him in Heaven or in the air.  Either is fine with me!

God Bless You

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Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’”

² Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”

³ Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”

⁴ But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” ⁵ Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.”

⁶ That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: ⁷ “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. ⁸ But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”

¹⁰ Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. ¹¹ Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.’” 

Now that God had prepared Moses it was time to prepare Israel.  God sent Aaron to the wilderness to meet Moses.  It must have been a wonderful reunion.  Moses’ recounting God’s plan to Aaron, Aaron learning of his role in Israel’s liberation.  The discussions of meeting Pharaoh and what God had in store for Egypt and Israel.  The men were now ready to convince Israel… 

When they met with the people, it was clear to the Israelites that God did send Moses and Aaron. It was also clear that they had not been forgotten and God was going to keep His promise and release them from bondage.  Their response was not to hoot and holler and throw a party, no, instead it was to bow down and worship in respect and reverence to their Lord. 

 
When God intervenes in our lives, we must be ready to trust Him and in reverence worship Him.  We also need to recognize that God’s plans for our lives are intricate.  They have many moving parts.  He never rushes to execute his plans because it is more critical to execute the plan properly than it is to do so quickly. Moses and Israel were about to see How much God loved them; and, as His chosen people, how the Lord would vindicate their pain and suffering.

We must never lose hope or faith in God’s plan or His devotion for us.  We cannot get in a hurry to see God act.  We must instead walk in a manner that honors God and shows our faith and reverence.  After that, it is simply a matter of patiently waiting and watching God execute His plan for our lives in His time and in His way.  He will complete His plan for our lives. Jeramiah 29:11. When He does, it will be exceedingly and abundantly better than we could ever imagine. Romans 8:18. 

 
We can never forget, however, that we are in spiritual war.  The enemy will do any and everything to get us to abandon our faith and trust in the Lord.  It is incumbent on us not to lose faith, but instead to seek God and trust Him even more to do exactly what He needs to make His plan work.  If we will, the Lord will straighten our path and bless us beyond our wildest hopes and fantasies.

God Bless You

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²⁷ Now the Lord had said to Aaron, “Go out into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So Aaron went and met Moses at the mountain of God, and he embraced him. ²⁸ Moses then told Aaron everything the Lord had commanded him to say. And he told him about the miraculous signs the Lord had commanded him to perform.

²⁹ Then Moses and Aaron returned to Egypt and called all the elders of Israel together. ³⁰ Aaron told them everything the Lord had told Moses, and Moses performed the miraculous signs as they watched. ³¹ Then the people of Israel were convinced that the Lord had sent Moses and Aaron. When they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.

Moses had a lot to do to go back to Egypt.  He made sure his Father-in-Law was on board and then received his blessing. Moses then met with God and received the Lord’s final instruction.  On the way to Egypt, God was going to kill Moses, since Moses had not circumcised his son.  Moses’ wife then circumcised the son and spared Moses’ life.

When following the Lord, no one ever promised ease or simplicity.  In fact, Jesus promised there would be difficult.  We would experience trials, temptation, and a host of life experiences.  Solomon said it best, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.  Lean not on your own understanding, acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your path straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6.  Moses would be led for the next 40 years.  It would be complex. difficult, and always under the spiritual attacks of an enemy.

God is bigger.  He meets our needs, he provides, protects, and prepares us for all that lies ahead.  We can never underestimate God’s timing or plan.  He loves us and wants nothing more than to give us a full and meaningful life.  He will, as with Moses, prepare, protect, and provide for our needs and mission.  We need only trust God, and allow the Lord to lead in our lives; once we do then we will see God’s plan and experience His peace for our lives.

God Bless You

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Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” ¹⁹ And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” ²⁰ So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. ²² Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, ²³ and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him, go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”

²⁴ At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. ²⁵ Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’^[c] feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” ²⁶ So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.