Devotions

left exposed

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 9:13-21

¹³ Then the LORD told Moses, “Get up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Send my people away, so that they may serve me.¹⁴ Because this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that none like me exists in all the land.¹⁵ Because by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the land.¹⁶ But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.¹⁷ You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not send them away.¹⁸ See, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.¹⁹ So now send word, get your livestock and all the people whom you have in the field into safe shelter, because every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.” ‘”²⁰ Then whoever feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses,²¹ but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the LORD left his slaves and his livestock in the field.

left exposed

The hail plague began with a word of warning from God through Moses through Pharaoh to the people of Egypt. All the plagues that had come before had been major irritations for the Egyptians, but this one had the potential to be fatal. Most of the citizens of Egypt knew nothing about the God of the Hebrews. All that they knew was that his word had caused problems for them. They had pride in their own culture and they were not about to give up their own culture and chase the dreams of these slave people. But some of them were beginning to take these messages seriously. They were beginning to ask themselves what harm would there be to get their cattle and field workers out of the way. They were not ready to sign on and become a Hebrew, but they did fear the word of this foreign God. This God is a God of grace, and for him, that was enough. He did not want to take anyone’s life just to prove his power. He created the Egyptians as well, and he loves them.

God has a warning for the world today, and it is not about hail but about hell. People can ignore this word, but to do so would be to put their lives in danger. All the good news about Jesus does not change the fact that the bad news is still valid. In fact, the good news about Jesus is that he has taken hell for us. The essence of hell in the New Testament is that God will judge everyone at the end of time and destroy them with what he calls the second death.[1] For believers, Christ has taken the second death for us. But for those who choose to have nothing to do with Jesus, the warning from this text is that they have left themselves exposed to the judgment. Only those who feared the word of the LORD were protected from the hail. Only those who come to Christ will be saved from the second death.

LORD, show us how to spread your word so that the world can hear it, and save themselves from your coming judgment.

[1] Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8.

Posted in destruction in hell, gospel, grace, Jesus Christ, wrath of God | Tagged Exodus 9 | 1 Comment

handfuls of soot

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 9:8-12

⁸ And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh.⁹ It will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and animal throughout all the land of Egypt.”¹⁰ So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and animal.¹¹ And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians.¹² But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had spoken to Moses.

handfuls of soot

God used of handfuls of fish and bread to feed thousands. But he also used handfuls of soot to harm thousands. The goal of both miracles was the same: deliverance. The difference was the targets of the miracles. In the exodus story, the target was a nation that insisted on keeping God’s children in bondage. In the feeding miracles of the Gospels, Jesus used his hands to feed those who were seeking his truth.

Jesus told his apostles that they were shake the dust off their feet as they leave the towns who resist the gospel.[1] Jesus pronounced judgment upon those resistant towns.[2] Our society today can go either way, but it looks like it is leaning more toward Pharaoh’s resistance rather than seeking truth from Christ.

LORD, feed us. Keep us from rejecting your will and incurring your wrath.

[1] Matthew 10:14; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5; 10:11.

[2] Matthew 11:21.

Posted in deliverance, gospel, resistance, wrath of God | Tagged Exodus 9 | 1 Comment

having thoroughly investigated…

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 9:1-7

9:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Send my people away, so that they may serve me.² Because if you refuse to send them away and still hold on to them,³ see, the hand of the LORD will fall with a very brutal plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks.⁴ But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the sons of Israel will die.”‘”⁵ And the LORD set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land.”⁶ And the next day the LORD did this thing. All over the place, the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the sons of Israel died.⁷ And Pharaoh sent, and see, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not send the people away.

having thoroughly investigated…

One of the distinctive things about the aftermath of this fifth plague is that Pharaoh authorized a thorough investigation of its results. While dead livestock were found all over the land of Egypt (that is the sense in which I translate the word “all” in verse 6), there were no signs of a mass death among the livestock in Goshen, where the Israelites lived.

What does Pharaoh do with the outcome of this investigation? He ignores it, because the data do not conform to his wishes. Such is the case with numerous thorough investigations into the claims of the gospel today. People find that the evidence for what the Bible says is there, but more often than not, they take Pharaoh’s response. The gospel is true. The evidence is there. But it will take the power of the Holy Spirit unleashed through our prayers for people in bondage to accept that evidence.

LORD, make us a praying people, because witnessing truth alone will not release people from the spiritual bondage they are in.

Posted in discernment, gospel, prayer | Tagged Exodus 9 | 1 Comment

saving face but mocking God

Posted on August 17, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 8:20-32 (Hebrew: 8:16-28)

²⁰ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Send my people away, that they may serve me.²¹ Because, if you will not send my people away, see, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and the ground on which they stand also.²² But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, so that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the land.²³ This is how I will distinguish between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will happen.”‘”²⁴ And the LORD did so. Large swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants’ houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was devastated by the swarms of flies.²⁵ Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.”²⁶ But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we would sacrifice to the LORD our God are a repugnance to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings repulsive to the Egyptians before their eyes, would they not stone us?²⁷ We must go three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to the LORD our God as he tells us.”²⁸ So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the LORD your God in the desert; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me.”²⁹ Then Moses said, “See, I am going out from you and I will plead with the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh be mocking again by not sending the people away to sacrifice to the LORD.”³⁰ So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD.³¹ And the LORD did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained.³² But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and did not send the people away.

saving face but mocking God

The fourth plague repeats enough of the details of the first that Stuart suggests that Pharaoh starts to think “Oh, no! Not again!”[1] He is either so alarmed by this repetition or so annoyed by the flies throughout the land that he concedes to send the Israelites away – but not too far away. What he is actually doing is what the Orientals call saving face. Pharaoh and Moses both know that once the Israelites leave, they would be gone for good. But this way it is not a complete concession. Pharaoh only waits until the flies have been removed, and changes his mind again.

Some people come to a crisis point in their lives, and turn to God for help. But then, when the crisis is over, they conveniently forget their commitment to him. Pharaoh did this, and Moses called it mocking God.

LORD, make us people true to our commitment to you. May the world around us always know who we are loyal to … in times of crisis, and times of peace.

[1] Douglas Stuart, New American Commentary, vol. 2.

Posted in commitment, conflict, faithfulness, integrity | Tagged Exodus 8 | 1 Comment

getting the point

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 8:16-19 (Hebrew: 8:12-15)

¹⁶ Then the LORD told Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Extend your staff and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.'”¹⁷ And they did so. Aaron extended his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the land, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the land became gnats in all the land of Egypt.¹⁸ The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast.¹⁹ Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of a god.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had predicted.

getting the point

There is some confusion as to what insect the LORD deployed upon the Egyptians at this time. The KJV has “lice” while most modern translations use “gnats.” Some scholars suggest that it was mosquitoes. Growing up in rural Florida, I had my share of both. The gnats were a bother at times, but the mosquitoes posed a greater annoyance, and a more potential threat. When we served as missionaries in the Philippines, we had to take many precautions against mosquitoes and the diseases they carried.

The Hebrew term is used of all small, annoying, biting winged insects, so it could have been a combination of numerous species. What matters is that they were recognized by the Egyptians as being of supernatural origin. But by this time, Pharaoh was so committed to refusing to give in that he would not listen, even to his own advisers.

There is a struggle going on in our hearts today. The LORD wants to rescue us from our sins. He wants to get us out of the bondage we are in. He places his finger on our lives in a number of sensitive areas, and commands us to release ourselves to him. Will we listen, or will we stubbornly refuse, in spite of all the evidence?

LORD, forgive us for holding out so long. You have touched us with your loving finger. May we wisely get the point.

Posted in deliverance, discernment, discipleship, sanctification | Tagged Exodus 8 | 1 Comment

nuisance

Posted on August 15, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 8:1-15 (Hebrew: 7:26-8:11)

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says, “Send away my people, so that they may serve me.² But if you are refusing to send them away, see, I will plague all your territory with frogs.³ The Nile will swarm with frogs that will come up into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls.⁴ The frogs will come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”‘”⁵ And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Extend 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 extended 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, “Honor yourself by commanding 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, “It will be as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.¹¹ The frogs will go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They will be left only in the Nile.”¹² So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the LORD about the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh.¹³ And the LORD acted consistent with the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields.¹⁴ And they gathered them together in piles, and the land stank.¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was a break, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the LORD had predicted.

Nuisance

The frog was also a deity in the Egyptian pantheon. Heqet was a goddess who represented fertility. To have the territory overrun by these creatures was more than an annoyance. It was another reminder to Pharaoh that his worldview was erroneous. It was an embarrassment. And, even though his magicians were able to duplicate the same thing on a smaller scale (because they were illusionists) he was perturbed, so he appealed to Moses to have the LORD stop the plague. He was starting to take the LORD seriously. Moses even gives Pharaoh the honor of choosing the day for the pestilence to stop. But when the break came, Pharaoh still stubbornly refused to comply with the LORD’s demand.

I wonder if we are any better than Pharaoh was. We regularly experience nuisances in our lives, and they sometimes are so bad that we appeal to the LORD to rescue us. But do we ever stop to ask if the LORD wants to change us? Maybe an annoying event might be his way of getting our attention. Perhaps we should not be so quick to return to business as usual when the nuisance is over.

LORD, forgive us for ignoring you when you remind us of our need to change. Help us to see the possible significance of the annoying interruptions in our lives. Keep us sensitive to your guidance.

Posted in discernment, humility, wisdom | Tagged Exodus 8 | 1 Comment

where we live

Posted on August 14, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 7:14-25

¹⁴ So the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to send out the people.¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning, see, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a snake.¹⁶ And you will say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Send away my people, so that they may serve me in the desert. But so far, you have not obeyed.”¹⁷ Now the LORD says, “By this you shall know that I am the LORD: see, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.¹⁸ The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will get tired of drinking water from the Nile.”’”¹⁹ And the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the water sources of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood all the way through the land of Egypt, even in containers made of wood and in containers made of stone.’”²⁰ Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded. While Pharaoh and his servants looked on, he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood.²¹ And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood all the way through the land of Egypt.²² But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.²³ Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart.²⁴ And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the Nile.²⁵ Seven full days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.

where we live

The first plague hit the Egyptians where they lived – where they were most sensitive. The Nile was a deity for them. They depended on it so much that they took notice when it was threatened. Anyone who experiences a time when their water supply is cut off knows how inconvenient that can be. Imagine going to your water source and discovering blood instead. A whole week of this and people were probably on edge. But Pharaoh was not to be moved by this. His heart was hardened, or heavy. Even when the signs are obvious that God wants change, he is not going to budge.

A battle of the deities is going on, and the battlefield is Pharaoh’s heavy heart. The LORD is going to go from god to god, showing his power over all the powers the Egyptians revered. He will show himself in control of their realms. He will show his sovereignty over every element of the lives of the Egyptians.

He is just as sovereign over our lives as well. Sometimes crises come into our lives as a way of getting us to take our eyes off “normal” and put them back on our God. We have a choice during those times. We can refuse to pay attention to them, turning and going back into our house. Or we can go to God and ask why.

LORD, give us the wisdom to watch closely when the circumstances of life hit us where we live. May we have the courage to change when you challenge us to do so.

Posted in cooperation, dependence upon God, discernment, submission | Tagged Exodus 7 | 1 Comment

when miracles are insufficient

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 7:8-13

⁸ At that time the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,⁹ “When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Give for yourselves a miracle,’ then you will say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.'”¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a snake.¹¹ Then Pharaoh called the wise men and the ones who practice magic, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts.¹² Because each man threw down his staff, and they became snakes. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.¹³ Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had spoken.

when miracles are insufficient

The sign miracle worked flawlessly, but Pharaoh was still unconvinced. Pharaoh just brought out his own illusionists, who had their bag of tricks. When Aaron’s staff ate up its competition, Pharaoh was still not impressed. His heart was hardened. When a heart is hardened, all the miracles in the world are insufficient. But the LORD will continue to provide them, because this contest is all about rescue. Every act of grace that we experience is more than a power encounter. It is a truth encounter. It is the reputation of our redeemer which is at stake.

LORD, we believe you. We ask for your rescue, not so that we believe, but so that others may believe.

Posted in deliverance, evangelism, miracles, redemption | Tagged Exodus 7 | 1 Comment

every good gift

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 6:28-7:7

²⁸ And it was on the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,²⁹ the LORD spoke to Moses, saying “I am the LORD; tell to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I tell to you.”³⁰ But Moses said to the LORD, “See, I am of uncircumcised lips. So why would Pharaoh listen to me?” 7:1 And the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have given you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.² You will tell all that I command you, and your brother Aaron will tell Pharaoh to send the sons of Israel out of his land.³ But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and although I will multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,⁴ Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will give my hand to Egypt and bring my armies, my people the sons of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.⁵ The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and expel the sons of Israel from among them.”⁶ Moses and Aaron did this; they did just as the LORD commanded them.⁷ And Moses was already eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

every good gift

God’s good gifts to Pharaoh were two old prophets that he would ignore, and great acts of judgment that he would be forced to concede to. They certainly were good gifts, but they were not much appreciated by the recipient. But that is the point. As Stuart puts it, “It is one thing when people acknowledge the greatness of their own God. It is yet another when grudgingly yet inescapably a pagan people acknowledges the supremacy of a god they previously had never even heard of.”[1]

What kinds of gifts are you getting from the LORD? Is he challenging you with a calling and commission to fulfill, or is he challenging you with plagues from his hand? He is sovereign, and he has the right to do either. We cannot control the gifts he brings into our lives, but we can respond appropriately to them. If he exalts us with opportunities to serve him, we can respond appropriately by answering his call and commission. If he humbles us by difficulties meant to get our attention and change us, we can respond appropriately by surrendering to his sovereignty.

LORD soften our hearts to your will. Give us the wisdom to listen to your voice, and the courage to be your voice for others who need to hear it.

[1] Douglas K. Stuart, New American Commentary, vol. 2 – Exodus. (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group), 2006.

Posted in discipleship, humility, missions, Moses | Tagged Exodus 6, Exodus 7 | 1 Comment

connections

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 6:14-27

¹⁴ These are the heads of their fathers’ households: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these represent the clans of Reuben.¹⁵ The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the clans of Simeon.¹⁶ These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the years of the life of Levi being 137 years.¹⁷ The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their clans.¹⁸ The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, the years of the life of Kohath being 133 years.¹⁹ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their generations.²⁰ Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father’s sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years.²¹ The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.²² The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.²³ Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.²⁴ The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the clans of the Korahites.²⁵ Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took as his wife one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites by their clans.²⁶ These are the Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said: “Bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts.”²⁷ It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the people of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron.

connections

This genealogy helped the original readers and hearers of the Exodus story connect its events to their own lives. They could identify which clan the characters of the story came from. They could make the connections between the Exodus events and the tribal and national traditions that they participated in. Through the genealogy, the original audience of Exodus could make the story about “us” instead of “them.”

This is all the more important for the Israelites because the rescue is more than an individual matter. God is rescuing families and clans. He has the same desire today. He wants to give me eternal life through Jesus Christ, but he has the same desire for my parents, children, and grandchildren. It is my story that will help them see the connections. Some of my descendants may first see God in a history of my life. That makes it so important that I leave a legacy of obedience to his call.

LORD, we want to obey you because you are God. We also want to obey because of all those who are watching, and all those who will be watching.

Posted in family, obedience, witness | Tagged Exodus 6 | 1 Comment