6 posts tagged “egypt”
"For the purification of the unclean person, they are to take some of the ashes of the burnt sin offering, put them in a jar, and add fresh water to them. A person who is clean is to take hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all its furnishings, and the people who were there. He is also to sprinkle the one who touched a bone, a grave, a corpse, or a person who had been killed." (Num. 19 17-18)
The majority of commands in the Torah make perfect sense by todays
medical & scientific standards. For instance, the kosher dietary
laws have been proven to direct people into healthier eating patterns.
Pertaining to matters of personal hygiene, the Lord directed Israel to
avoid mold spores & contagions, centuries before the microscope was
invented.
Forgive me for not detailing the practical nature of all 613 Torah commands, because my point is simply that it took a great level of faith for the community of Israel to follow, what seemed like, senseless orders from Moses. There was only Gods word, and no practical science to support it. Only later many generations later did scientists discover the practical observable scientific foundations for Gods instruction.
I wish I could identify with Moses more in the book of Numbers. Sadly, I find myself empathizing with the grumbling Israelite community. This was especially true when I was a younger disciple. So many of Gods commands seemed needlessly inefficient and laborious. I wondered when I was ever going to enter that life of freedom and abundant joy I heard other Christians talk about.
Shortly after choosing to follow Jesus, I found myself longing for day-trips back to Egypt, so to speak .just to remember the good old days of guiltless abandon. That never really turned out like I wanted, and eventually I learned to appreciate God and take Him at His word.
Im writing this to encourage you to trust Jesus by faith, and stick with it. Proverbs 3: 5-12
How does ash from an offering mixed with water purify a man and his household? Is it purely symbolic, or is there some medicinal property to this elixir? I have no idea. I just know to trust the Lords word over my instincts.
Blessings.
Steve Wiggins
“All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, ‘If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and little children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?’ So they said to one another, ‘Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.’” Num 14: 2-4
It is a common misunderstanding that the United States is a democracy. It is not. The United States is a “republic”, with a democratically elected government. The difference between a republic and a pure democracy is simple. A pure democracy is basically, “mob rule”. Whoever has 51% of public desire at election time, wins.
A republic holds democratic elections, but is based on foundational creeds and principles, which may override the mob. Our republic is based on a constitution, which outlines & protects basic human rights, as listed in the 10 commandments. No matter how the public opinion sways, its actions and decisions may be overridden by the constitution.
For instance, in the “wild West”, if someone were accused of a crime, a lynch mob would form to hunt that person down, and hang him, without trial.
Then came frontier justice and circuit-riding judges who stood between the accused and the mob. A fair trial is based on evidence, weighed against the law as upheld by the constitution. As long as men are willing to abide to the foundational principles supporting our constitution, the United States should fare well…primarily because those foundational constitutional principles are the 10 commandments!
For Israel, things were not much different. Theirs was a Theocracy (God-centered government) not a republic…but the basic standards were similar with two exceptions: 1) Only 1 religion was tolerated. 2) Leaders were chosen by God, instead of the people.
God’s commandments acted as their “constitution”, so to speak. As long as Israel chose to follow the Lord and live within His commands, following His leader, things would go well. But when Israel chose to not trust God and His leader, Moses, their natural inclination was to “…appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”
No matter where we live or under what form of government we may find ourselves, it is always incumbent upon us to follow the Lord, first & foremost.
Blessings.
Steve Wiggins
"The mixed multitude among them had a craving for other food. The
Israelites cried again and said, 'Who will feed us meat? We remember
the free fish we ate in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons,
leeks, onions, and garlic. But now our appetite is gone; there's
nothing to look at but this manna!'" Num 11: 4-6
"Out on the road today, I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac. A
little voice inside my head said, 'Don't look back.' You can never
look back." Don Henley
One year after their miraculous deliverance, the Israelites are
starting to yearn for dear old Egypt. In some ways, they were not
unlike the Grateful Dead fan in Don Henley's "Boys Of Summer". He
wanted his free-spirited Hippie youth, without forfeiting his
Cadillac.
Israel wanted both: Their freedom, and the benefits of Egypt. They
chose to remember the positive aspects of Egypt, somehow forgetting
the whole "slavery" thing.
God's response: You can't have your manna and Egypt too!
To be fair to Israel, it wasn't the whole nation who was grumbling,
at least at first. It all started with what the bible calls the
"mixed multitude". These were the foreigners who came out of Egypt
along with the Israelites. They had no enduring relationship with
God, yet they had benefited from Israel's blessed deliverance.
As we learned at the end of chapter 10, there was a shared blessing
for any Gentile who partnered with Israel. On Mount Sinai, God gave
the same directions for both Israelites, and foreigners living among
them, to worship Him. If the foreigner disobeyed, he was to be put
out of the community, or put to death!
Apparently, God's miracles were too soon forgotten. Hunger
determined the behavior of the ungodly. Pretty soon, many in the
"mixed multitude" complained about God's rules of holiness, and
shucked the kosher laws for some unclean dinner! Those Israelites
close to them, disobeyed, as well.
In American culture, being "separate unto God" is not honored, even
among many Christians. It never surprises me when Christians, who
choose to live on the "border" of the Church and the World, fall into
moral disrepair. Their demise is foretold in the bible.
Our greatest strength is found when we are closest to that section of
God's people who seek the Lord, without abandon. When that section
moves out to impact the world, it is harder for the enemy to pick us
off, individually.
Blessings.
Steve Wiggins
Exodus 18
“Blessed is the Lord, “ Jethro exclaimed, “who rescued you from the power of the Egyptians, and snatched the people from the power of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods because He did wonders at the time of the Egyptians acted arrogantly against Israel.” Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in—law in God’s presence. Exodus 18: 9-12
The lesson of Israel’s exodus affected more than just Israel and Egypt. The four people groups most closely impacted were: 1) Israel, 2) Egypt, 3) Kingdoms of Canaan, 5) Moses’ Gentile (Midianite) in-laws.
Israel responded to God by following Him. Egypt responded by defying Him. The Canaanites responded by challenging Him, and Jethro responded by believing in Him.
Not since the meeting of Melchizedek and Abraham has the bible given us a clear indication of God’s acceptance of worship from a people other than Israel. Melchizedek was a priest-king of Salem, and Jethro was a priest of Midian. Neither were Israelites.
What is interesting about Jethro is that he burnt offerings and sacrificed to the Lord. In the presence of the Lord, Jethro and all Israel’s leaders ate a meal together. This is a symbol that the Lord accepts the worship of all who acknowledge Him.
Acknowledgement is more than mere intellectual ascent, belief that He exists. It is a turning from old ways and beliefs, and a turning to the ways of the Lord. It is the cessation of false religion, and the assumption of faith in YHWH. The absence of Divine protest confirms Jethro’s heart was faithful.
Interesting also, is the image of the goyim (Gentile) Jethro bringing Moses’ bride and children to him. In a similar way the bible says the “nations” will carry the children of Israel back home.
“This is what the sovereign Lord says, ‘See, I will beckon to the Gentiles, I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.” Isaiah 49: 22
The church, completed with Jew and Gentile believers, is called the “bride” of Messiah. Rev 19: 7
Blessings.
Steve Wiggins
Exodus 6
“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go from his land.’ But Moses said in the Lord’s presence: ‘If the Israelites will not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am such a poor speaker?’” Exodus 6: 10-12
Often times in my church experience, I have heard it taught that Moses had a speech impediment. The reason many give for this assumption is from Moses’ own admission, “I am such a poor speaker.” In other bible translations, the verse is interpreted: “I am a man of faltering lips.” It is easy to see why theologians would come to the conclusion that Moses couldn’t speak well.
In actuality, the verse literally interprets, “I have uncircumcised lips.” Moses’ argument wasn’t that he had a speech impediment. It was that he had a “righteousness” impediment. He didn’t believe he was righteous enough to effectively minister. He had a confidence problem.
We also know that there was nothing wrong with Moses’ speech, based on Stephen’s testimony before his martyrdom. “So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was powerful in his speech and actions.” Acts 7: 22
Ultimately, the greatest testimony was that of God, who said, “Therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” Ex 3: 10
Why is it that we must be confident in ourselves before we will place confidence in God? Faith works the other way around. We are first called to do the thing we are uncertain of, then, once God has accomplished His purpose through us, we grow in faith.
God’s calling is our equipping. That is to say, He supplies all we need to accomplish what He calls us to achieve. We may not have all the supplies we need on the outset, but He will supply them as needed, along the way.
As we continue through the book of Exodus, watch as Moses becomes bolder. His confidence builds ashe experiences God’s faithfulness. Don’t be afraid of what God is calling you to. Be afraid of not following.
Blessings.
Steve Wiggins
Exodus 1
“A new king who had not known Joseph came to power in Egypt. He said to his people, ‘Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and powerful than we are. Let us deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and if war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.’” Ex 8-10
I find it interesting that the Pharaoh stated no specific fault with the Israelites. In fact, there is no accusation of wrongdoing, only a suspicion. I believe Pharaoh’s suspicion was evidence of the guilty conscience of a viciously ambitious man.
There are two significant biblical times when Hebrew infants were murdered: Pre Exodus Egypt, and Pre-advent Bethlehem. Both Herod and this particular Pharaoh shared similar climbs to power. They took their positions by force and dirty politics.
The monarch of this new Egyptian dynasty was probably Rameses II. Joseph served one of the Hyskos (Shepherd) kings, an Asian dynasty whose rule in Egypt began in Egypt centuries before him. Their rule came to an end not long after the death of Joseph, when the Hyskos were driven back into Asia, and a descendent of the native dynasty regained the throne.
This new Pharaoh undoubtedly was raised on nationalistic pride, fueled by generations of hatred and mistrust of foreigners.
I grew up in the Southern United States. In those days, there was an intense race struggles between Americans of African and European descent. Most often, the hatred had nothing to do with the character of individuals. It was simple fear, mixed with some degree of ambitious competition.
In a similar way, Pharaoh’s prejudice against the Hebrews was completely unfounded and irrational. He simply loved power more than people.
So, what great lesson can we learn from this injustice? There are probably several lessons in this passage, but let’s focus on this notion: In the times immediately preceding God’s deliverance of Israel, He began preparing Egypt to expel the Hebrews, and Israel’s desire to leave.
Take a moment and reflect on your present life situation. Where is the Lord calling you? What factors is the He allowing, in preparation of your deliverance?
Blessings.
Steve Wiggins
