Verse for the Day, 19 June 2014.

Exodus 4:10-17, “But Moses said to the LORD, "Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue."  (11)  Then the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?  (12)  Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak."  (13)  But he said, "Oh, my Lord, please send someone else."  (14)  Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, "Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.  (15)  You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do.  (16)  He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him.  (17)  And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”

Exodus 4 is a chapter that illustrates that even when man is in the presence of God, he can still doubt God’s power and ability. Moses has seen the presence of God in the burning bush, God has revealed His power and ability to Moses by turning his staff into a snake and by turning Moses’ hand leprous. Yet in spite of these clear revelations and displays of God’s power and ability, coupled with the promises of God to be with Moses and grant Moses success, Moses still doubts and questions God.

Moses objects when God tell Moses to speak to Pharaoh, he objects on the basis that he lacks an eloquent tongue and is slow of speech. God seeks to assure, even comfort Moses, by reminding Moses that He is the creator of the tongue and therefore Moses need not worry, furthermore God promises that He will be with him and even give Moses the very words to say. We would be inclined to think that this would satisfy and reassure Moses, yet Moses continues to object!

We are told that God’s anger kindled against Moses. Just because one is chosen and called by God, that doesn't mean that He is not provoked to anger by our sinfulness. As a result of Moses’ lack of faith in God, and his unwillingness to trust God, God in an amazing display of grace undertakes. God doesn't treat Moses as he deserves to be treated, He relents, shows mercy and provides, raises up another. Moses is instructed by God that Aaron would function as his mouthpiece, his spokesman before Pharaoh.

While we are surprised by Moses’ doubt, if we are honest with ourselves, that very same doubt resides in us all. God can demonstrate His faithfulness, power and ability to us in a myriad of ways, we can read of all His wonderful and true promises in His Word, we can know the working of His Spirit within us. Yet when it comes to the future, especially facing a difficult, potentially risky or dangerous future, we can become quickly filled with the very same doubt that Moses had. All God's promises and previous works are discounted, ignored, in our minds the situation facing us is greater than what God has done before, and we fear that God’s faithfulness, power, presence and promises will either fail, prove insufficient or not even be there. To think this is not only foolishness, it is to call into question everything that God is, that He has revealed Himself to be and proved Himself to be. It is to say that God is a liar, He breaks His promises and therefore cannot be trusted, that God is not sovereign, nor does He know the future any better than we do, that He is not all-powerful because there are situations that are beyond His power. It is to say that His faithfulness, ability and presence are all circumstantial and limited. When we are tempted to think, behave or believe in such a manner, we need to quickly address and counter that sinful and foolish way, with the unchanging nature of God’s character, attributes, abilities, promises and previous works. We should lean more upon God and the knowledge of who He is, than we lean upon ourselves, God and His character should be the first place of help and refuge that we turn to.

Most gracious God, how we plead with You to forgive us for our foolishness and doubt. Help us to see the sheer folly of calling You, the unchanging God, into question. We pray that we will so fill our minds with the knowledge of who You are, that when trial, difficult or danger stands before us, we will run to You and find in You our refuge and strength. Amen.

Verse for the Day, 18 June 2014.

Exodus 3:11-17  But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?"  (12)  He said, "But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain."  (13)  Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?"  (14)  God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"  (15)  God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.  (16)  Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, "I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt,  (17)  and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey."'

Hidden from the eyes of the Israelites, God is putting His plan of rescue, redemption in place. It started with the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, it started in the birth and preservation of Moses and it starts here in Exodus 3 as God calls out and sends Moses back to Egypt to bring the people of Israel out.

Exodus 3 is a passage that many of us wished we could have witnessed, to see the burning bush, to hear the voice of God and to hear that wonderful name of God be proclaimed for the first time. It would be an event that Moses would remember for the rest of his life, and an event from which he would have to draw courage and strength from, especially when he was severely tested.

God tells Moses that He is aware of the sufferings of His people, the many cries they have made to Him; He also has not forgotten the covenant that He made with their forefathers. In light of this He now wants Moses to go to Egypt and take the Israelites out and lead them to the Promised Land. It is a quite stupendous request and task! Does God not know how severely oppressed the Israelites are and how strong and mighty the Egyptians are? Does God really think that Moses can simply walk into Pharaoh’s palace, demand the release of the Israelites and receive a favourable reply? Is God not sending Moses to his death? Does God’s think that the people of Israel with really listen to Moses, will they actually believe what Moses will tell them about this burning bush and the voice of God?

Moses is his fear, disbelief and lack of faith, raises some of these questions, and receives comforting and strengthening words from God. God promises to be with Moses, and God promises to be the one that will bring the people out of Egypt. He makes it clear to Moses that it is not up to Moses’ powers of persuasion, or Moses’ might that will determine if the Israelites are set free. God is simply calling on Moses to be a faithful servant, messenger and leader under God.

As true and encouraging as all this is, the most encouraging point for Moses would have been in the name of God, given to Moses by God Himself. “I AM WHO IAM”! This is a rich and deep name, one which we do not fully understand. It expresses the unchanging, eternal, sovereign, all-powerful and faithful ways of God. What is Pharaoh, what is Egypt, what are the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, in the presence and sight of I AM WHO I AM? They are nothing, Pharaohs are born, live and die, kingdoms rise and fall, but God remains, unchanged, unmoved. The power of man, may be great, but it is pitiful in the sight of God’s strength, thus the strength and might of Egypt is nothing in God’s sight. Furthermore, who, what man, what kingdom can stand in the way of God’s sovereign promises, purposes and people? God is eternal and unchanging, thus what He has decreed will come to pass. Moses could go before Pharaoh with confidence knowing that not only was God with him, but the Pharaoh was weak, foolish, powerless and mortal before God, and because God had decreed that the Israelites would come out of Egypt it would come to pass, there is nothing that Pharaoh or all of Egypt could do to prevent it.

As believers in Christ, the God who is “I AM WHO I AM”, is our God. He is our God, our redeemer, our deliverer and our leader. He is as much with us as He was with Moses, and just as He worked deliverance for the Israelites and brought them safely to the Promised Land, we also have been delivered from slavery to sin and He will bring us safely to His Promised Kingdom. We can then entrust ourselves and our future days, whether they be bright or dark into His care, resting and rejoicing in the fact that He remains, unchanged, unmoved, in power, faithfulness and care for His people and shall do so for all eternity.

Our God who is I AM WHO I AM, we bow before You in humble reverence and confess that we understand so little of who You truly are. Help us this day to comprehend more of who You are and allow that knowledge to inform, shape and guide our lives. May we rest in Your unchanging, eternal, all-powerful, faithful nature, rejoicing that You are such a God to us. Amen.

Verse for the Day, 16 June 2014.

Exodus 2:23-25  During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.  (24)  And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.  (25)  God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

The king of Egypt has died, but he has been succeeded by another. Any hope that the Israelites had of this new king easing the burden of slavery upon them quickly disappears. A deep distress and sorrow descends upon the Israelite nation for their suffering and slavery looks set to continue for many more years to come. In the midst of their great sorrow they cried out to God, that He might act so as to deliver them from their distress.

To a certain measure we can identify with the cry of the Israelites, we have found ourselves in great distress and sorrow, and like the Israelites, we have cried out for God to act on our behalf. These cries that we make are made with a mixture of anguish, sorrow, hope and doubt. We are in deep distress, we are gripped by anguish, we cry out to God in the hope that He might deliver us, but we often allow the distress to get the better of us and therefore doubt God’s ability or willingness to deliver us. These verses should greatly encourage us not to doubt God’s ability, willingness, compassion or knowledge.

We are told that the Israelites cried out to God for deliverance and God heard them, He remembered them and the covenant He had made. It is important that we understand what this means, God had not forgotten the covenant and the promises, nor had His ears grown deaf to the prayers of His people. God had set the covenant in place, and He had set the times in place for when these things would come to pass. What is being expressed in these verses is that the time for God’s covenant promises to come to fruition had now come. God had told Abraham this would all take place, his descendants would find themselves enslaved in a foreign land, but at the appointed time God would bring them out from slavery and into the Promised Land. This appointed time is drawing near; God is in fact already at work to this end in the life of Moses, a work that is hidden from the eyes of the Israelites. God never forgets His people, nor does He forget His promises, He shall bring them all to pass at the time He has appointed.

The encouragement doesn’t end there, look again at verse 25, “God saw the people of Israel – and God knew.” What incredible words! God looked upon His people, He saw all it was that they were enduring, but He doesn’t merely watch from a distance, He sees in a manner that He understands all that which they are enduring. We are told that “God knew”, He saw, He understood, He knew completely all that which they were suffering. This word “knew” implies more than just knowledge; it also conveys a sense of compassion, of showing a concern. God saw, God understood, God knew and God had compassion, He had concern for His people.

If we are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can draw immense encouragement from this, God see us, He sees us when we are going through these times of great trial and distress. He understands and knows all that we are enduring, He knows the pain, turmoil and anguish that resides within the depths of our hearts, He see every tear that we shed, He hears every prayer and desperate cry. He sees, He understands, He knows and He has compassion and concern for us. And as we shall see in Exodus 3, He acts so as to deliver us!

Compassionate Father, we draw comfort from that fact that You are the all-seeing and all-knowing God. We are further comforted that You are also a God who is loving and compassionate towards His children. We thank You that our trials and sorrows, our tears and anguish, our cries and pleas are not hidden for Your sight, or unknown by You. You see right into our very heart and know all that which we cannot express with words. May we draw comfort from all this in our times of distress and may it strengthen us to trust in You all the more. Amen.

Verse for the Day, 13 June 2014.

Exodus 2:5-10, “Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it.  (6)  When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children."  (7)  Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?"  (8)  And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go." So the girl went and called the child's mother.  (9)  And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed him.  (10)  When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, "Because," she said, "I drew him out of the water."

The first half of Exodus chapter 2 is loaded with emotion and anticipation. We cannot imagine the grief that faced this couple, God had blessed them with a child and yet they knew that should the Egyptian authorities hear of the birth of this baby boy, the boy would be lost. How difficult it must have been to place this helpless infant in a basket and then on to the river! But then imagine the joy, when Miriam returns with the infant boy, carrying the instructions of Pharaoh’s daughter; that she is to care for and nurse the child.

This incredible event causes the reader to ask, who might this baby grow up to be? Spared from certain death at the hands of the Egyptian authorities, survived being set in a basket and put into river, fortuitously being found in the river by no one less than royalty and subsequently being adopted into the house of the Pharaoh. With all this having occurred within the first few months of this baby’s life, what will come of the rest of his life?

We know that this is more than good fortune or mere coincidence; this is providence, the sovereign hand of God working so as to accomplish the impossible. Of course we have the benefit of knowing that this infant boy, Moses, will go on to be mightily used by God so as to redeem Israel out of Egypt. But in order for Moses to be used by God to this end, he must first be physically saved by God himself, which is what happens in these verses. Moses’ life is saved from the hands of the Egyptian authorities, Moses’ life is plucked up out on the waters of the river. This physical salvation (Moses’ true, spiritual salvation will come later) comes through a demonstration faith and trust by his parents. When Moses was born they in faith trusted God for the protection of their child in the first few months, and then in an act of resolute trust in God, Moses is placed quite literally into the merciful hands of God. Set adrift in that river, his parents trusted that God would not just preserve their child, but that God would ensure that Moses would be led to the right place and person, who would save him and treat him as a true son. The result of this is that God responds by doing even more than what Moses’ parents could have ever expected.

This chapter in Exodus serves as a stunning example of God’s providence, of God’s ability to take sovereign control of human lives and of physical elements so as to accomplish His will. It is also a challenging example of what it means to resolutely trust in God, not just for our own lives and well-being, but for the life and well-being of our children. It encourages and challenges us, for we have a God that has such exclusive power and control, and therefore He can truly be trusted in and rested upon. The challenge comes to us to trust in and rest on Him completely, and also to be willing to then take bold steps of faith in our service of God, steps that might appear to be costly, difficult, maybe even dangerous, but to take them wisely and trusting in God’s sovereign will and power.

Our great God of salvation, we praise You for Your great and awesome power, that You exercise sovereign control over all things. We pray that we might rest more in You and learn to trust You more than what we do. We pray that as we rest and trust in You, we will be willing to step out in bold faith, knowing that You are at work in and over our lives. Amen