FEBRUARY 5 READINGS…Exodus 13:1-15:27.
All things belong to the Lord…as an expression of this, and in remembrance of God’s rescue, He required the Israelites give to Him their first born, human and animal. Then they could buy back these for the ransom price. In this way throughout all their history they would remember that YAHWEH is God, and He is their deliverer.
God instructs Moses to lead the people out of Egypt, but not to take the main road, the most direct path. They were not ready to battle Pharaoh and his army so quickly after leaving captivity. The Lord had to prepare His people for what was ahead, so He had Moses take them on the indirect route. We each were freed from the slavery of sin, and that freedom is complete in Jesus. But we had to learn to walk in the Lord, and trust the Lord. Life does not allow us to always take the direct route…it is in the indirect route that we grow, and we learn to trust in the Lord. Maturity does not happen automatically…getting old does, but not maturity. God desires to grow us up in Him that we might experience the fullness of who He is and what He has for us.
The Israelites failed the first test of faith in God. They were in the exact place that God had led them, but they believed they doomed. They complained to Moses…and once again the Lord moved His mighty hand and opened the sea so that they could walk across it on dry land to safety. Who ever heard of such a thing? When the Egyptians tried to follow God confused them, and then made the water fall on them and destroy them all. Of course this was cause for great celebration…but the celebration did not last long as three days out they complained to Moses that there was no good water to drink. They so easily forgot to trust God. How about us? Do we trust God? Has He not always been faithful in good times and bad? Can we not see that He who began a good work in us, is faithful to complete it? When we don’t know…when we cannot understand…when it looks like the enemy is about to crush us; trust God’s mighty hand. He did not bring us this far to leave us!
Please share your thoughts on today’s readings. Keep in the Word and daily see the reality of God in your life.
TOMORROW’S READINGS…Exodus 16:1-19:25.
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