November 30, 2004

Reading through the Bible in one Year: Malachi

Weekly Memory Verse: Proverbs 27:17

Good Evening Brothers and Sisters,

I was able to get the website re-pointed today.  I have been told that it takes about three days to redirect all the internet gizmos that see the site.  It should be up soon.

Exodus 13:1-8 (NASB95)
¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.” ³ Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of slavery; for by a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. And nothing leavened shall be eaten. ⁴ “On this day in the month of Abib, you are about to go forth. ⁵ “It shall be when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall observe this rite in this month. ⁶ “For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. ⁷ “Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen among you, nor shall any leaven be seen among you in all your borders. ⁸ “You shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ^[1]

One thing to consider as you look at this chapter is that the flock of Israel was a leaderless people, one that did not have any governmental structure in place.  They did not know how to fight, they were basically a herd of people who were running from slavery.  God was the only one who could lead them. 

Colossians 1:15-20 (NASB95)
¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. ¹⁸ He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹ For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, ²⁰ and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. ^[2]

God required the life of the firstborn of Egypt, God required the dedication of the firstborn of Israel.  This is also demonstrated by God in the fact that He gave up the firstborn of all creation to stand as a living sacrifice for all of us.  Somewhere down the line, this practice has been abandoned, I realize that we are no longer under the Law, but doesn't this commitment demonstrate where the parents heart is at?  God demonstrated that Jesus, the creator of the world, was sacrificed to make peace through shedding blood on the cross.   

Exodus 13:9-16 (NASB95)
⁹ “And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ “Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year. ¹¹ “Now when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, ¹² you shall devote to the Lord the first offspring of every womb, and the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to the Lord. ¹³ “But every first offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. ¹⁴ “And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. ¹⁵ ‘It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ¹⁶ “So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NASB95)
⁴ “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! ⁵ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶ “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. ⁸ “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. ⁹ “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 11:13-21 (NASB95)
¹³ “It shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul, ¹⁴ that He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil. ¹⁵ “He will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. ¹⁶ “Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them. ¹⁷ “Or the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you. ¹⁸ “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. ¹⁹ “You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. ²⁰ “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, ²¹ so that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens remain above the earth. ^[3]

We covered the Passover in the past few studies, and consider how important it is to God for us to bind the words and the truths to our hearts. There are still Jews who take this literally and will wear little pouches on their foreheads that contain scriptures.  God was speaking symbolically, there are a lot of Jews who took it literally, but who cares!  The important thing for us is that we get the picture of how important God considers His word and His power in our lives.  It is to always be on our mind, always to guide our hands, and always to be spoken of through our mouths.  Our purpose in life is to glorify God. 

Exodus 13:17-22 (NASB95)
¹⁷ Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” ¹⁸ Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt. ¹⁹ Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.” ²⁰ Then they set out from Succoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. ²² He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.^[4]

God made it his personal mission to lead the people of Israel.  Israel was so disorganized after release from captivity that if they were to fight in a war they were sure to be beaten and to be taken back into captivity.  The quickest way to the Promised Land was through the land of the Philistines.  God led them in a way that insured that they would learn to be a nation, conduct themselves as a nation of people and follow Him.  The pillar of fire and the Cloud were a constant testimony to the Hebrews that He is a God of all power. 

Note also that God led them to the edge of the desert.  They had an immovable barrier in front of them.  It would be impossible for this large group of people to swim across the Red Sea.  Things that started out hopeful, now looked bad, they had been led to a place where it appeared to be the end of the line.  God often does this to show His people that He is in control, He still does this today.

Genesis 50:25 (NASB95)
²⁵ Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here.”

Joshua 24:32 (NASB95)
³² Now they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the piece of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons.

Acts 7:15-16 (NASB95)
¹⁵ “And Jacob went down to Egypt and there he and our fathers died. ¹⁶ “From there they were removed to Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. ^[5]

Moses took the bones of Joseph with him so that he could be buried away from Egypt.  It is interesting that Joseph had lived the majority of his life there, and considered it evil enough that he did not wish to be buried there. We learn from Stephen that the other patriarchs were also carried out of Egypt.

Wrapping it up today, consider how that God wants to be in charge of your life.  He wants to bind His word upon your forehead, hands, and mouth so that your life will be a constant testimony for Him.  Also consider that when God leads us today He is the same God that works through power in His people's lives.  We can trust in Him, with everything, every situation that we face, and all areas of our lives.  We don't need for God to destroy the gods in our lives to get our attention.  It is time that all of us focus our attention on Him.  As we enter the Christmas season, let's all make a point of putting God absolute first in our lives.

I am going to close here,  I hope that you are blessed by this study of the Word.  If you have anything to add, be sure to write in.

Father, I ask that You will impress on each one of us the need to have You as our consuming passion in life.

In Him,

Joe Turner.