Exodus – God’s Way Out
We are still in the middle of our government led quarantine. We hear that the virus will get worse before it gets better so we stay home, stay clean to stay safe, and we wait. We long for the day when we can connect with each other face to face. We long for moving about without being bound to our homes. Every day we do not contract the Corona is a good day. We are all a candidate for the disease so we pray that we and our loved ones are “passed over” by this virus.
Because of forced isolation, many are reevaluating their lives, asking for prayer and how to read the Bible more than asking for a sandwich. I am amazed, but not surprised, how God is using this to call all people, lost and disconnected, to come back to Him and BE with him…to be connected to Him intimately and to others who know Him. “Always remember”, says God to Moses, “when I helped you”.
I think this phrase speaks volumes to me today. In the days when we get beyond this terrible virus attack, I pray we will ALWAYS remember when God helped us through it. I pray that we praise Him even now this day as well as the day we are set free from this virus that tried to take over the world, holding us in bondage to our homes. I also pray that our thinking about God, His Son who saved us, will set our minds free right now. For nothing can hold us down or take away our hope, if we truly believe in Jesus and what He did to save us.
We are free from the bondage of sin and the evil that attacks us daily. We are free indeed to love, care, show mercy, walk humbly and extend grace all because of Jesus and in His Name. Amen.
Can I get an amen?!
HOLY PAUSE
What particular freedom of Christ are you grateful for today?
Exodus 13, The Message
1-2 God spoke to Moses, saying, “Consecrate every firstborn to me— the first one to come from the womb among the Israelites, whether person or animal, is mine.”
3 Moses said to the people, “Always remember this day. This is the day when you came out of Egypt from a house of slavery. God brought you out of here with a powerful hand. Don’t eat any raised bread.4-5 “You are leaving in the spring month of Abib. When God brings you into the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which he promised to your fathers to give you, a land lavish with milk and honey, you are to observe this service during this month:
6 “You are to eat unraised bread for seven days; on the seventh day there is a festival celebration to God.
7 “Only unraised bread is to be eaten for seven days. There is not to be a trace of anything fermented—no yeast anywhere.
8 “Tell your child on that day: ‘This is because of what God did for me when I came out of Egypt.’9-10 “The day of observance will be like a sign on your hand, a memorial between your eyes, and the teaching of God in your mouth. It was with a powerful hand that God brought you out of Egypt. Follow these instructions at the set time, year after year after year.
11-13 “When God brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he promised you and your fathers, and turns it over to you, you are to set aside the first birth out of every womb to God. Every first birth from your livestock belongs to God. You can redeem every first birth of a donkey if you want to by substituting a lamb; if you decide not to redeem it, you must break its neck.
13-16 “Redeem every firstborn child among your sons. When the time comes and your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you tell him, ‘God brought us out of Egypt, out of a house of slavery, with a powerful hand. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, God killed every firstborn in Egypt, the firstborn of both humans and animals. That’s why I make a sacrifice for every first male birth from the womb to God and redeem every firstborn son.’ The observance functions like a sign on your hands or a symbol on the middle of your forehead: God brought us out of Egypt with a powerful hand.”
17 It so happened that after Pharaoh released the people, God didn’t lead them by the road through the land of the Philistines, which was the shortest route, for God thought, “If the people encounter war, they’ll change their minds and go back to Egypt.”
18 So God led the people on the wilderness road, looping around to the Red Sea. The Israelites left Egypt in military formation.
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the Israelites solemnly swear to do it, saying, “God will surely hold you accountable, so make sure you bring my bones from here with you.”20-22 They moved on from Succoth and then camped at Etham at the edge of the wilderness. God went ahead of them in a Pillar of Cloud during the day to guide them on the way, and at night in a Pillar of Fire to give them light; thus they could travel both day and night. The Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night never left the people.
HOLY PAUSE
God is now teaching His people how to stay connected to Him. It is important to God and to us to keep the memory alive of what He did and how He did it! When we remember, I believe it is a form of worship to God!
Do you believe God will powerfully bring us out this present trouble? How is He guiding us today?
What will we tell our children and their children when this is over?
“Tell your child on that day: ‘This is because of what God did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ (Or this virus epidemic)
It is good to stop and remember, write it down, as we live to tell what God provided, what God did and how we saw God at work before, during and after this world virus event. If we lose a loved one or dear friend in this event, will we still praise Him? Does this change the fact that we are all in God’s hands? If we are believers, “To live is Christ, to die is gain”, says Paul about himself in the thick of incredibly hard times. (Philippians 1:21)
Hang on, cling, get a grip on the Hope that drives us to God. Journaling our prayers is a good start. This alone time with God each day connects us with the One who loves us most. You will not regret a single moment with God the Father, talking to Him, in Jesus Name, while listening to Him speak to us through His Holy Spirit in us.
Always remember, it is because of Jesus, Lamb of God, who paid for our sin, that enables us to be free to walk right up to God and talk with Him. Don’t forget to be still long enough to listen to Him answer you. THIS is an amazing freedom which knows no bounds.Dear Heavenly Father,
I remember many other times when you rescued us from trouble so deep we didn’t know if we would survive. But we did…all because of your miraculous work in us and all around us. You are GOD, LORD of all and in all. We are not. I worship you this morning as I remember how you work in the lives of all who believe. I see you at work now. I still believe. I watch you daily with expectation and amazement. Oh how, I love you, Lord. May I never forget!
In Jesus Name, Amen
What is the first thing you say to your kids when you are ready to leave? “Get your shoes on! It’s time to go!” I would be rich if I had a dollar for every time I said this to kids and grandkids! They are never prepared to go until you tell them. 
1-10 God said to Moses and Aaron while still in Egypt, “This month is to be the first month of the year for you. Address the whole community of Israel; tell them that on the tenth of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one lamb to a house. If the family is too small for a lamb, then share it with a close neighbor, depending on the number of persons involved. Be mindful of how much each person will eat. Your lamb must be a healthy male, one year old; you can select it from either the sheep or the goats. Keep it penned until the fourteenth day of this month and then slaughter it—the entire community of Israel will do this—at dusk. Then take some of the blood and smear it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which you will eat it. You are to eat the meat, roasted in the fire, that night, along with bread, made without yeast, and bitter herbs. Don’t eat any of it raw or boiled in water; make sure it’s roasted—the whole animal, head, legs, and innards. Don’t leave any of it until morning; if there are leftovers, burn them in the fire.
14-16 “This will be a memorial day for you; you will celebrate it as a festival to God down through the generations, a fixed festival celebration to be observed always. You will eat unraised bread (matzoth) for seven days: On the first day get rid of all yeast from your houses—anyone who eats anything with yeast from the first day to the seventh day will be cut off from Israel. The first and the seventh days are set aside as holy; do no work on those days. Only what you have to do for meals; each person can do that.
21-23 Moses assembled all the elders of Israel. He said, “Select a lamb for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the bowl of blood and smear it on the lintel and on the two doorposts. No one is to leave the house until morning. God will pass through to strike Egypt down. When he sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, God will pass over the doorway; he won’t let the destroyer enter your house to strike you down with ruin.
31-32 Pharaoh called in Moses and Aaron that very night and said, “Get out of here and be done with you—you and your Israelites! Go worship God on your own terms. And yes, take your sheep and cattle as you’ve insisted, but go. And bless me.”
40-42 The Israelites had lived in Egypt 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, God’s entire army left Egypt. God kept watch all night, watching over the Israelites as he brought them out of Egypt. Because God kept watch, all Israel for all generations will honor God by keeping watch this night—a watchnight.
BE RECONCILED TO GOD
As believers our response will make a difference in the lives of those God brings into our lives. Watch God work, testify of His power and rejoice in what He is doing. While we are sitting at home, praying, God is STILL at work! AMEN! Use technology or whatever means God’s gives you to get the word out…Jesus is alive. He has risen indeed! 
Our plague of corona virus has caused most of us to reconsider life purpose and importance and what it means to give all of ourselves to God. Life comes from God and returns to God for all who believe. We believe that His Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth to die for our sins and rose again to prove, without doubt, the power of God. God also proves is relentless love for us. God first in all thinking and behaving should be our life song and our lifestyle. 
Notice how God makes a clear distinction between His people and the Egyptians, once again, in our passage for today. This time, death is the plague that will strike the hearts of every Egyptian from slave to Pharaoh. No one will be passed over EXCEPT those who obey EXACTLY what God will tell His people to do. 
We are faced with two choices daily. Who will we follow heart, mind and soul? Who will we trust with everything? Who will supply our needs and helps through troubles in this world? Who gives peace in trying times and wisdom for living life well? WHO will show us the WAY OUT? 
4-7 Then Moses confronted Pharaoh: “God’s Message: ‘At midnight I will go through Egypt and every firstborn child in Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl working at her hand mill. Also the firstborn of animals. Widespread wailing will erupt all over the country, lament such as has never been and never will be again. But against the Israelites—man, woman, or animal—there won’t be so much as a dog’s bark, so that you’ll know that God makes a clear distinction between Egypt and Israel.’
The tenth plague attacks the very heart of Egyptian faith, which was in life itself. The Egyptians were obsessed with keeping the good life of Egypt intact right into the next world. 
GETTING PERSONAL…
Yes, when we truly look at You, it makes us stop thinking about what we want and run to what You want, which is Your best for us. May our reaction to world troubles lead others to you. Help us, Lord to stay focused on you first and less on what is going on around us. Our lives depend on it.
Today, as we read our next passage, I think of the Egyptians. Their very selfish leader, who is a god to them, does not have their best interest at heart. He is chief god to them among their others gods. Their leader is hanging on to this form of self-made and people driven power as long as possible with everything in him. 
When Corona virus “passes over” us and dissipates, what will we tell our children? What will our children and grandchildren tell their children? THIS, too, is the story of God in us in our generation.
12 God said to Moses: “Stretch your hand over Egypt and signal the locusts to cover the land of Egypt, devouring every blade of grass in the country, everything that the hail didn’t get.”
14-15 The locusts covered the country of Egypt, settling over every square inch of Egypt; the place was thick with locusts. There never was an invasion of locusts like it in the past, and never will be again. The ground was completely covered, black with locusts. They ate everything, every blade of grass, every piece of fruit, anything that the hail didn’t get. Nothing left but bare trees and bare fields—not a sign of green in the whole land of Egypt.
Strike Nine: Darkness
28 Pharaoh said to Moses: “Get out of my sight! And watch your step. I don’t want to ever see you again. If I lay eyes on you again, you’re dead.”
God wants the best for us and that best for us is Jesus. Jesus, God’s Son, settled our sin debt once and for all. He took all our sin and the affects of sin’s self indulgences to a cruel cross and left them there to die. Jesus was buried in a tomb in a cave. God then raised His Son up after three days as a display for many to see and believe in His power and might. God is in control. Jesus conquered sin and death for us. We who believe are saved forever and more than conquerors until we see Him face to face in all His glory! Amen! Yes! 
Dear Heavenly Father,
1-4 God said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘God, the God of the Hebrews, says: Release my people so they can worship me. If you refuse to release them and continue to hold on to them, I’m giving you fair warning: God will come down hard on your livestock out in the fields—horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep—striking them with a severe disease. God will draw a sharp line between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. Not one animal that belongs to the Israelites will die.’”
8-11 God said to Moses and Aaron, “Take fistfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses throw it into the air right before Pharaoh’s eyes; it will become a film of fine dust all over Egypt and cause sores, an eruption of boils on people and animals throughout Egypt.” So they took soot from a furnace, stood in front of Pharaoh, and threw it up into the air. It caused boils to erupt on people and animals. The magicians weren’t able to compete with Moses this time because of the boils—they were covered with boils just like everyone else in Egypt.
13-19 God said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘God, the God of the Hebrews, says: Release my people so they can worship me. This time I am going to strike you and your servants and your people with the full force of my power so you’ll get it into your head that there’s no one like me anywhere in all the Earth. 
23-26 Moses lifted his staff to the skies and God sent peals of thunder and hail shot through with lightning strikes. God rained hail down on the land of Egypt. The hail came, hail and lightning—a fierce hailstorm. There had been nothing like it in Egypt in its entire history. The hail hit hard all over Egypt. Everything exposed out in the fields, people and animals and crops, was smashed. Even the trees in the fields were shattered. Except for Goshen where the Israelites lived; there was no hail in Goshen.
In a forceful statement to Pharaoh, God underlines the purpose of the plagues (9:15-16). If destruction was God’s purpose, he could have done that long since. Rather, using the Egyptian gods and Pharaoh himself as foils, God intends to reveal himself to the world.
Finally, Pharaoh admits that there is some other standard than his own to which he is accountable (9:27). But intellectually knowing does not guarantee surrender of the will (v.35). From the perspective of his own responsibility, Pharaoh hardened his own heart. But from the perspective of God’s purposes this act was entirely within a plan.
With one toddler and one on the way, we bought our first home. It was a small, affordable, two bedroom home. The home was plain but functional. What sold me was the big backyard with beautiful roses, irises, and other beautiful plants. However, once we moved in, we discovered a huge problem. Our home had an infestation of roaches. If you have ever lived in the southern regions, you know what kind of ruthless insects these are. We were plagued with them! They got into everything!
Strike Two: Frogs
5 God said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Wave your staff over the rivers and canals and ponds. Bring up frogs on the land of Egypt.’”
10-11 “Make it tomorrow.”
16 God said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and strike the dust. The dust will turn into gnats all over Egypt.’”
20-23 God said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes down to the water. Tell him, ‘God’s Message: Release my people so they can worship me. If you don’t release my people, I’ll release swarms of flies on you, your servants, your people, and your homes. The houses of the Egyptians and even the ground under their feet will be thick with flies. But when it happens, I’ll set Goshen where my people live aside as a sanctuary—no flies in Goshen. That will show you that I am God in this land. I’ll make a sharp distinction between your people and mine. This sign will occur tomorrow.’”
24 And God did just that. Thick swarms of flies in Pharaoh’s palace and the houses of his servants. All over Egypt, the country ruined by flies.
As we mentioned before the Egyptians had gods for everything around them but did not know THE GOD. The Egyptians gave special reverence to animals that could live in two different environments. They did this because they were eager to be able to live in the environment of the underworld after death. But God shows that these beasts and their representative gods have no special power at all. 
What do we see God doing these days? 
I’ve done my share of whining to God when things don’t go as planned…in my mind and in my way. I have noticed something in me when life falls apart, my first thought is how did I go wrong. My second thought is to look for blame beyond myself. Finally, I consider that this is just life and life can be hard. I am reminded of all my weaknesses. It is in this time that I forget God’s strength and power for a little while. Nothing is too hard for God. Absolutely nothing. I am weak when I forget that even for a moment.
Moses had his first run at Pharaoh who swatted him away like a pesky mosquito…(there’s worse in store for Pharaoh when it comes to insects!) Yesterday we listened to what Moses was up against as Pharaoh shouted, ““Why on earth, Moses and Aaron, would you suggest the people be given a holiday? Back to work!” Pharaoh went on, “Look, I’ve got all these people bumming around, and now you want to reward them with time off?” I am assuming and imagining that Pharaoh shouted these words at the thought of losing his workforce, even for a few days. I am also assuming that Moses and Aaron didn’t put a fight. They only said God’s words and left.
Now times are tougher for the Hebrews. They are so beaten down, tired and weak that when Moses tries to reassure them that it wasn’t last forever, that God will bring them out of this present trouble, they don’t believe him. In fact their whining and groaning under the weight of bondage drives them to anger with Moses and ultimately with God.
2-6 God continued speaking to Moses, reassuring him, “I am God. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as The Strong God, but by my name God (I-Am-Present) I was not known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the country in which they lived as sojourners. But now I’ve heard the groanings of the Israelites whom the Egyptians continue to enslave and I’ve remembered my covenant. Therefore tell the Israelites:
9 But when Moses delivered this message to the Israelites, they didn’t even hear him—they were that beaten down in spirit by the harsh slave conditions.
These are the sons of Levi in the order of their birth.
Why is the family tree of the 12 Tribes of Israel plopped right in the middle of this crises? Because God is reminding Moses and Aaron where they came from and who they are and then tells them where they are going. They needed to be reminded.
Dear Heavenly Father,
There are some people that might be blaming God and accuse Him of sending a virus among us to stop our whining. But that isn’t how God works. We live in a fallen world, with fallen people who make unwise decisions that affect all of us. We have a God who listens, hears and comes to help us when we cry out to Him. Many do not know God so they do not listen. 
2 Pharaoh said, “And who is God that I should listen to him and send Israel off? I know nothing of this so-called ‘God’ and I’m certainly not going to send Israel off.”
13 The slave-drivers were merciless, saying, “Complete your daily quota of bricks—the same number as when you were given straw.”
22-23 Moses went back to God and said, “My Master, why are you treating this people so badly? And why did you ever send me? From the moment I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, things have only gotten worse for this people. And rescue? Does this look like rescue to you?”
In the midst of our own world crisis are we asking why, why, why?
What are you teaching me?
AND WHO IS GOD THAT I SHOULD LISTEN?
When God asks us to be His representative, joining Him in His work of salvation, do we jump up and run to Him without question? Is “YES” our first thought? It probably is yes because we are being as by God! But, then the “how in the world are we going to do that” cascades our thoughts with fear and trembling. We are human, it happens. It happened to Moses.
Moses objected, “They won’t trust me. They won’t listen to a word I say. They’re going to say, ‘God? Appear to him? Hardly!’”
4-5 God said to Moses, “Reach out and grab it by the tail.” He reached out and grabbed it—and he was holding his staff again. “That’s so they will trust that God appeared to you, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
10 Moses raised another objection to God: “Master, please, I don’t talk well. I’ve never been good with words, neither before nor after you spoke to me. I stutter and stammer.”
14-17 God got angry with Moses: “Don’t you have a brother, Aaron the Levite? He’s good with words, I know he is. He speaks very well. In fact, at this very moment he’s on his way to meet you. When he sees you he’s going to be glad. You’ll speak to him and tell him what to say. I’ll be right there with you as you speak and with him as he speaks, teaching you step by step. He will speak to the people for you. He’ll act as your mouth, but you’ll decide what comes out of it. Now take this staff in your hand; you’ll use it to do the signs.”
Yesterday we learned who God is with many I AM statements. Today we learn about what God does with I WILL declarations.
However, the fact that the book does not end there but continues with the giving of the law and the building of the tabernacle provides a clue that the author does not consider the physical bondage in Egypt to be the Israelites’ most critical problem. 
Had their sole need been for deliverance, one climactic act would have sufficed. Instead, there were ten plagues, which in fact constituted a demonstration of God’s absolute superiority over all other powers. Their physical deliverance is not an end but a means to an end.
Have we experienced God’s delivering power in our lives through Jesus saving act of love?
God reintroduces Himself to His people who have been working hard to just survive. They have multiplied in numbers only to be used as slaves to ungodly leaders in a land they do not belong.
1-2 Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the west end of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn’t burn up.
4 God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
7-8 God said, “I’ve taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
11 Moses answered God, “But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
16-17 “Now be on your way. Gather the leaders of Israel. Tell them, ‘God, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I’ve looked into what’s being done to you in Egypt, and I’ve determined to get you out of the affliction of Egypt and take you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, a land brimming over with milk and honey.”’
Who is God in your thinking and understanding? Who does God say He is?
