Not all psalms are in the Psalter! Photo credit: Michael Maasen via Unsplash Exodus 15:1–18 (NIV) 15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the L ORD : “I will sing to the L ORD , for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea. 2   “The L ORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3  The L ORD is a warrior; the L ORD is his name. 4   Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea. 5   The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone. 6  Your right hand, L ORD , was majestic in power. Your right hand, L ORD , shattered the enemy. 7  “In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like stubble. 8   By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood up like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea. 9  The enemy boasted, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.’ 10  But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. 11  Who among the gods is like you, L ORD ? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? 12  “You stretch out your right hand, and the earth swallows your enemies. 13  In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling. 14  The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia. 15  The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away; 16    terror and dread will fall on them. By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone— until your people pass by, L ORD , until the people you bought  pass by. 17  You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance— the place, L ORD , you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, L ORD , your hands established. 18  “The L ORD reigns for ever and ever.” Belgic Confession Article 1 We all believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that there is a single and simple spiritual being, whom we call God— eternal, incomprehensible, invisible, unchangeable, infinite, almighty; completely wise, just, and good, and the overflowing source of all good. Summary Moses' psalm here in Exodus 15 is comprised of five parts - parts that are technically referred to as strophes . The first and fifth strophes are actually comprise one strophe. The first part of it serves as a prologue which sets the stage: I will sing to the LORD... for He has hurled the horse and driver into the sea. The second half forms an epilogue at the end: The LORD reigns for ever and ever! The three strophes in between form a doxology - words of praise and glory to the LORD. The first celebrates God's sovereignty in the victory they'd just witnessed. All the Israelites did was move forward at God's command. They never raised a weapon - indeed, they didn't even have any! The LORD is their strength and defense... He hurled the Egyptians into the sea... His right hand shattered the enemy. The third strophe is deeply theological. God is not just an abstract being, as so many of the Egyptian gods were. The LORD physically intervened and rescued His people. He threw down those who opposed Him... He unleashed His burning anger... It was the blast of His nostrils that piled the waters up... The fourth strophe expresses a strong hope for the future. The LORD will lead the people He has redeemed... The nations will hear and tremble... The LORD will plant us on the mountain of His inheritance, the place He has made for His dwelling, the sanctuary His hands established.   Dig Deeper   How do you respond when something has just gone extraordinarily good for you - not just the everyday, run of the mill fortunate occurrence (of which, for most of us, there are many!), but the big massive infusions of divine intervention? Those times when your business was saved from the brink of bankruptcy or the diagnosis that was fatal suddenly and miraculously disappeared? Moses and his rag tag bunch of freed slaves experienced the most extraordinary deliverance in the entire history of deliverances. In rescuing His people from the powerful Egyptian army, God performed what is arguably His most audacious miracle ever by parting the Red Sea so His people could pass through on dry ground and then collapsing it on the pursuing chariots - an event so powerful and impactful that the prophet Isaiah, writing over seven centuries after the exodus, says it made an everlasting name for God on earth. So how did Moses and the Israelites respond? The same way you and I ought to: by singing a song to the LORD! This is what the psalms in the Bible do - the 150 psalms in the Psalter, and the smattering of other psalms throughout scripture like Exodus 15. These psalms help us give voice to our emotions, be it thankfulness, joyfulness, depression, sorrow, and sometimes even righteous indignation in a way that points us back to the overflowing source of everything good. The psalms guide us in celebrating God's goodness in our lives, but they also give comfort as we navigate the dark valley of life, which is covered by the shadow of death. And they do so while continually pointing us to the salvation our covenant God has won for us through His Son and our Savior. So whatever it is that you have going on in life, in both the good times and the bad, be sure to read and sing the psalms often along the way! AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who reigns for ever and ever; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that whatever you face today, the psalms will always be on your lips; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Be still and know the LORD will fight for you. Then stop crying and get moving. Logos.com SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF: Israel finally departed Egypt, leaving in haste as a redeemed people, marked by covenant obedience and provisioned by the Egyptians. God lead them not by the quickest route, but by the wilderness, teaching them to follow His presence and preparing them for what lies ahead. But after they left, Pharoah once again hardened his heart and set chase after God's people. Exodus 14:10–31 (NIV) 10  As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the L ORD . 11  They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12  Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” 13  Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the L ORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14  The L ORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” 15  Then the L ORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16  Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17  I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18  The Egyptians will know that I am the L ORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” 19  Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20  coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. 21  Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the L ORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22  and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 23  The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24  During the last watch of the night the L ORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25  He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The L ORD is fighting for them against Egypt.” 26  Then the L ORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27  Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the L ORD swept them into the sea. 28  The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. 29  But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30  That day the L ORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31  And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the L ORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the L ORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant. Belgic Confession Article 29 As for those who can belong to the church, we can recognize them by the distinguishing marks of Christians: namely by faith, and by their fleeing from sin and pursuing righteousness, once they have received the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ. They love the true God and their neighbors, without turning to the right or left, and they crucify the flesh and its works. Though great weakness remains in them, they fight against it by the Spirit all the days of their lives, appealing constantly to the blood, suffering, death, and obedience of the Lord Jesus, in whom they have forgiveness of their sins, through faith in him. Summary What a sight this must have been! A multitude of slaves, set free by their covenant God whom they barely know through a series of cataclysmic events, laden down with food and treasure given to them by their former oppressors, and being chased by the most powerful army in the world. It was all too much for them - they were terrified and cried out to the LORD. But that's not all they did. They quickly organized hundreds of thousands of voices into a choir that spoke in perfect unison, blurting out a chorus that they as a people would be repeating for the next four decades: "Moses! Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?!? Didn't we say to you to just leave us alone?!? Moses' reply to the peoples' whining show his leadership skills at their finest. Don't be afraid, he begins. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring... The LORD will fight for you; you only need to be still.   Dig Deeper   It would be so poetically beautiful if immediately after Moses spoke those massively comforting words that the wind would have begun to blow and the sea opened up for God's terrified people to escape into. But that's not how it went down. Instead, the LORD replied in a surprising way... shocking, even. We might have expected to see God place a majestic rainbow in the sky or give each one of His people a divine hug of some sort. But instead, God seems perturbed that His people were praying! Why are you crying, He asked Moses. He continued, tell the Israelites to move on!!! Exodus 14 is a fun passage to read, for sure! Out of all the miracles in the Bible, I think I'd like to be able to have witnessed this one the most and see those walls of water up close. And then to see the look on the Israelite faces as those walls crashed in upon an army bent on enslaving them again. But don't get so caught up in the entertaining logistics and details that you end up missing this huge theological implication. God is certainly the God of all comforts , but He also means business. When He says go, it's time to suck up the tears and go, even when it seems to you He's driving you into the deep sea. When He points the way to salvation, as He did millennia ago in Egypt, and as He's done for you in Christ, it's time to stop crying and start following! AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who gained glory through Pharoah and all his army; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Cry out to God for comfort, be still and know that the LORD will fight for you, but also quit crying when God has said to move out; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Sacraments help you see what God sees. Exodus 12:1-36 12 The L ORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2   “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3   Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb  for his family, one for each household. -- 6  Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7   Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. -- 12  “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the L ORD . 13  The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. -- 21  Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22  Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. 23  When the L ORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. 24  “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25  When you enter the land that the L ORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26  And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27  then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the L ORD , who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’ ” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. 28  The Israelites did just what the L ORD commanded Moses and Aaron. 29  At midnight the L ORD struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. 30  Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead. 31  During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the L ORD as you have requested. 32  Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.” 33  The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. “For otherwise,” they said, “we will all die!” 34  So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing. 35  The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. 36  The L ORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians. Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 66 Q. What are sacraments? A. Sacraments are holy signs and seals for us to see. They were instituted by God so that by our use of them he might make us understand more clearly the promise of the gospel, and might put his seal on that promise. And this is God’s gospel promise: to forgive our sins and give us eternal life by grace alone because of Christ’s one sacrifice finished on the cross. Summary Imagine the tension everyone was feeling in Egypt as Exodus 12 begins. Nine increasingly awful plagues have been poured out on the Egyptians at this point, and word likely spread quickly through the land that Pharoah and Moses were still at loggerheads, and now even more so than ever before. What would happen next? The plagues themselves were not just a set of random, disconnected disasters. Each one dripped with deep irony, specifically designed to demonstrate the utter emptiness of the Egyptian pantheon. Remember, God had one specific primary objective in mind - an objective He repeated over and over: that the world know that He is the LORD (Exodus 7:5, 7:17, 8:10-11, 8:22, 9:14-16, 9:29, 10:1-2). The nine plagues up to this point came in all sorts of different forms: the Nile turned to blood, various swarms of bugs and pests infested everything, devastating hail rained down and a thick and dreadful darkness covered all the land. But all of these plagues had one thing in common: they could all be seen by everyone. God's ordinary way of making Himself known is through His Word. It was His Word that brought the universe into being; His spoke His covenant commandment to Adam, called out to Abraham, gave dreams to Joseph and verbally summoned Moses from with a burning bush. He speaks to you through the Bible, a collection of inerrant, infallible Words He inspired. But at times He makes His Word visible, as He did to the Egyptians, so that all can see and know that He is the LORD. But in His grace, He makes His Word visible to His covenant people through sacraments - visible signs and seals that help us understand more clearly the promise of the gospel.   Dig Deeper   The tenth and final plague is different than the rest - for sure in its severity, but also in its stated purpose. Whereas the first nine plagues were demonstrative in nature - designed to make God known - the final display of God's power was designed to bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. It would wreak more than just economic havoc, it would bring sin's ultimate penalty: death. But not every firstborn would be struck down as the LORD passed through Egypt. The effects were certainly comprehensive, including every first born from Pharoah, the prisoners, and even from the livestock. But no destructive plague touched anyone whose doorposts were covered in the blood of the defect free lambs. Moses told the people that the LORD will see the blood... and will pass over that doorway, and He will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. What an amazing contrast! The first nine plagues were so that the pagan world could see and know the LORD is God, but the final plague that brought judgment was designed so that the LORD would see the blood of the lamb and pass over. The sacraments we've been given as Christians differ in their forms from the circumcision and Passover meal prescribed for Israel, but their purpose is exactly the same: so that we can see what God sees. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who sees the blood of the Lamb when He looks over us, His covenant people; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will trust God in the midst of the chaos just as the Israelites did on that fateful night; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

God called you out of the darkness and into His wonderful light. alittleperspective.com SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF: The LORD reaffirmed His covenant name and promise to Israel, sent Moses and Aaron back before Pharaoh, and through a series of eight escalating plagues demonstrated His absolute power over Egypt’s gods while hardening Pharaoh’s heart and making clear that Israel’s deliverance would come by His mighty hand alone. Today we'll read of the final two plagues. Exodus 10:21–11:10 (NIV) 21  Then the L ORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” 22  So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. 23  No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived. 24  Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the L ORD . Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.” 25  But Moses said, “You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the L ORD our God. 26  Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the L ORD  our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the L ORD .” 27  But the L ORD  hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. 28  Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die.” 29  “Just as you say,” Moses replied. “I will never appear before you again.” 11 Now the L ORD  had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. 2   Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.” 3   (The L ORD  made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.) 4   So Moses said, “This is what the L ORD  says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. 5   Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. 6   There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. 7   But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the L ORD  makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. 8  All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave.” Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh. 9   The L ORD  had said to Moses, “Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you—so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt.” 10  Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the L ORD  hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country. Canons of Dordt Point 1, Article 1: God’s Right to Condemn All People Since all people have sinned in Adam and have come under the sentence of the curse and eternal death, God would have done no one an injustice if it had been his will to leave the entire ­human race in sin and under the curse, and to condemn them on account of their sin. As the apostle says: “The whole world is liable to the condemnation of God” (Rom. 3:19), “All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), and “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Summary The ten plagues that God unleashed upon Egypt systematically attacked and humiliated their core religious presuppositions. The Nile river, Egypt's source of life and stability had been turned to blood. Gnats, flies and locusts not only devastated Egypt's economy, but they ironically demonstrated the Egyptians really had no control over an environment they thought they had dominated. Their livestock had died, boils beset them and hail crushed whatever was left. Through it all, Pharoah's heart remained hard as stone. Certainly there were times that even he was so overcome that he almost gave in; at other times he tried to bargain with Moses, as we read today when he said the people could go, but their livestock needed to stay behind. Ultimately though, nine times in a row, even as everything that Pharoah had thought to be so strong had its true vapidness displayed, he responded by spitting in God's face. And then the ninth plague came: total darkness covered Egypt for three days. Dark chaos reigned over a land who's highest power was Ra, supposedly the god of the sun. At this point everyone in the land except Pharoah - both the common people and Pharoah's officials - had a favorable disposition toward the Israelites, and Moses himself was highly regarded. They had seen the LORD's power and aligned themselves with it. But not Pharoah. Even after nine humiliating displays of divine power that had crumbled his once proud nation in a matter of days, Pharoah refused to listen. Certainly the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, but nowhere does the text present him as an unwitting victim or pawn. God didn't create his rebellion; God simply hardened the rebellion that Pharoah had incubated on his own.   Dig Deeper   Total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. Well, not all Egypt. Whereas none of the Egyptians could see anyone else or move around, all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived. As the plagues escalated, God increasingly distinguished His covenant people from the rest of the sinful world that surrounded them. It's a distinction that will be made the clearest as we read of the Passover tomorrow. This distinction is nothing new for us at this point; we've seen it over and over as we've read through the opening pages of the Bible this past month. The line of Seth was distinguished from that of Cain. Noah's family was distinguished from the rest of humanity and protected from the flood. Salvation comes only to Abraham's offspring ( which we are in Christ ). Ishmael was sent away so that Isaac would carry on the covenant. Jacob God loved, but Esau He hated. God often provides blessings for all people - He provides people with plenty and even fills their hearts with joy (Acts 14:17). But God reserves salvation for His covenant people. Peter explains the significance of being included in God's covenant: You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession. Holy here means to be separated - literally, cut apart - from the rest of the world. So as you work your way through this week, remember who you are. You are a covenant child of God. This inclusion results in an obligation, Peter says. You've been included in God's covenant so that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of the darkness and into His wonderful light ( 1 Peter 2:9-10 ). AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who always remembers His covenant and rescues His people so we can see Him and know that He is the LORD our God; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that your life will demonstrate the distinctives that set you apart as God's covenant child; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

God saved you so that you can see and know Him. A covenant is "a bond in blood, sovereignly administered." - O. Palmer Robertson SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF:  Moses and Aaron asked Pharoah to let God's people go to worship the LORD. But Pharoah instead made life more miserable for the Israelites, so they began to turn against Moses. Exodus 5:22–6:12 (NIV) 22  Moses returned to the L ORD and said, “Why, L ORD , why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? 23  Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” 6 Then the L ORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.” 2   God also said to Moses, “I am the L ORD . 3   I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty [ El-Shaddai ],  but by my name the L ORD I did not make myself fully known to them. 4  I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. 5   Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. 6   “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the L ORD , and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7   I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the L ORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8  And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the L ORD .’ ” 9  Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor. 10  Then the L ORD said to Moses, 11  “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.” 12  But Moses said to the L ORD , “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?” Nicene Creed Paragraph 1 We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. Summary I'll bet Moses really misses his sheep at this point. He'd lived for decades out in the wilderness tending his father-in-law's sheep until a bush began burning and the LORD called out. Now he's been sent to make an impossible demand of the most powerful man on earth, and the only result so far is that people he's been sent to save have been made even more miserable that they were before. Moses' own faith has begun to falter as well. He left his perturbed people, returned to the LORD and said, "Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Then Moses' tact switches from being humbly inquisitive to downright accusatory. He finishes his short prayer by blaming God for not doing what He'd said He'd do: You have not rescued your people at all. The moments after that last word sailed out of Moses' mouth must have seemed like an eternity to him. How would the God whose mere presence in a burning bush made the surrounding worthless wilderness suddenly transform into the earth's holiest ground react to such a bold accusation? It wouldn't be at all surprising at this point if the heavens opened up and a legion of angels came down to obliterate Moses for even thinking the thought, much less voicing the prayer. After all, as the Apostle Paul would warn thousands of years later, who are you, a mere man, to talk back to God? But Moses wasn't obliterated. The LORD simply and softly replies, Now you will see what I will do. In doing so, the LORD tacitly gives you permission to question Him as Moses did and the psalmists so often do: to ask Why, Lord? This isn't a blanket invitation to blame God for all of your problems, petty complaints and theological misunderstandings, but to hold God's promises before Him. It's not that God needs to be reminded of them, it's so that you are as you recite these promises back to God.   Dig Deeper   God's mission is more than just rescuing you. Remember, He's El Shaddai - God Almighty, the LORD, who simply uttered the words let there be light, and there was light. If all he wanted to do was rescue His people, He only needed to thunder the words let my people go down from heaven and they would instantly be set free. Jesus told us exactly what God's mission is as He prayed to His Father the night before He'd be executed: This is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent ( John 17:3 ). God wasn't there to just take the burden off of Israel's back, and He didn't reveal the gospel to you just so that you'd go to heaven when you die. He wanted Moses and Israel to see what His mighty hand can do. He wanted them and wants you to truly know that He is the LORD your God. We also get a big clue as to why God saves His people. It's because He remembers His covenant. A covenant is a formal, reciprocal agreement between two parties, and the concept is one of the primary themes that binds the Bible together. All people are born into the covenant God entered into with Adam in which God would give life as long as we obeyed Him - a contract which we have horribly breached. But God established a new covenant in which He promised to uphold both sides of that original covenant He'd made with Adam for all those who belong to Him. In other words, your salvation is secured, as was the Israelite's long ago in Egypt, because the LORD God has legally obligated Himself to do so. He reminds Moses of it with these famous words that explain the core essence of God's covenant of grace: I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. But the Israelites, as is so often the case with us, needed to see more. Moses reported this to them, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor. So God will go on to display His outstretched arm and uplifted hand with mighty acts of judgment. Stay tuned. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who always remembers His covenant and rescues His people so we can see Him and know that He is the LORD our God; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that the Spirit will cause you to see past your discouragement and harsh labor to know that the LORD is your God; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Take refuge in the LORD - He will keep you safe. BibleStudyTools.com Psalm 16 A miktam of David. 1  Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. 2   I say to the L ORD , “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” 3   I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” 4  Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips. 5   L ORD , you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. 6   The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. 7   I will praise the L ORD , who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. 8   I keep my eyes always on the L ORD . With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9   Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10  because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. 11  You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 113 Q. What is God’s will for you in the tenth commandment (you shall not covet)? A. That not even the slightest thought or desire contrary to any one of God’s commandments should ever arise in my heart. Rather, with all my heart I should always hate sin and take pleasure in whatever is right. Summary It's so easy to say we trust in the LORD. We even stamp the saying on our money. Psalm 16 beautifully unpacks what it really means to trust in the LORD, so that it becomes the guiding principle for your life, rather than just an empty saying. Theologian Mark Futato suggests  these five headings to help you understand what it means to truly trust in the LORD, taken from the five stanzas of this week's psalm. To Trust Is to Rely on the LORD (v1-2) Most people want what David begins with in Psalm 16 - they want God to provide them safety and refuge in the midst of trouble. But David's reliance on the LORD is far deeper. David realizes that apart from God he has no good thing . In other words, David knows that even in the good times, he is fully reliant upon the LORD. To Trust Is to Be Devoted to the LORD (v3-4) David looks to those around him who have demonstrated devotion throughout their lives - the holy people , or saints. It's these people who are society's true nobles.  The less devoted - those who want safety and refuge from God when things are bad but who run after other gods  the rest of the time - will suffer more and more. To Trust Is to Delight in the LORD (v5-6) John Calvin writes of these verses , "This passage reminds us that true godliness is learned only by those who find their ultimate happiness in God alone. When David calls God his portion, inheritance, and cup, he declares his complete contentment in God, needing nothing else and rejecting any sinful desires. Let us likewise learn to embrace God fully when He offers Himself to us, seeking in Him alone everything we need for true and complete joy" (paraphrased for modern english). To Trust Is to Learn from the LORD (v7-8) David understands the LORD to be his counselor (other translations use the word guide  or  advisor ). That's not too surprising, in and of itself. What's really surprising is what David writes next, that his heart instructs him. Isn't Bible lesson number one is DO NOT TRUST YOUR HEART, which is deceitful beyond all measure (Jer. 17:9)? But David says you can trust the reflections of your heart when it's been continually grounded in the LORD's instruction. To Trust Is Rejoicing in the LORD (v9-11) David's heart is glad and his tongue rejoices because he knows that God's grace is stronger than he is. David can rest secure  because of his assurance that he will not be abandoned to the realm of the dead. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who makes known the paths of life and fills me with joy in His presence; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that like David, you will fully trust in the LORD in the days to come; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Public opinion rarely corresponds with God's truth. Photo Credit: M abnodey, via Unsplash SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF:  Moses has returned to Egypt, and upon hearing that the LORD had sent him to rescue them, the people bowed down and worshiped. Exodus 5:1–21 (NIV) 5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the L ORD , the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’ ” 2   Pharaoh said, “Who is the L ORD , that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the L ORD and I will not let Israel go.” 3   Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the L ORD our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.” 4   But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” 5   Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.” 6  That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: 7  “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. 8  But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9   Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.” 10  Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. 11  Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.’ ” 12  So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. 13  The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” 14  And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?” 15  Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? 16  Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.” 17  Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the L ORD .’ 18  Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.” 19  The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.” 20  When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, 21  and they said, “May the L ORD look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” Belgic Confession Article 7 We must not consider human writings— no matter how holy their authors may have been— equal to the divine writings; nor may we put custom, nor the majority, nor age, nor the passage of time or persons, nor councils, decrees, or official decisions above the truth of God, for truth is above everything else. For all human beings are liars by nature and more vain than vanity itself. Summary Public opinion is a dangerous guide, and Moses experiences early on how quickly it can turn. Unfortunately, it's a lesson he'll have to keep on learning for decades to come as he leads God's rebellious people through the wilderness. Moses had returned to a heroes welcome of sorts. Through his brother Aaron, he'd reported everything the LORD had said to him and performed the miraculous signs God had enabled him with. The people believed , and having heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshipped ( Ex. 4:30-31 ). It seemed like everything that God had promised was falling into place! The people were rallied in support, ready to be relieved from their oppression and worship the LORD. All Moses needed to do yet was to march before the Pharoah and demand that he let his numerous labor force take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD God. Obviously the LORD had bigger plans than just a three-day festival in the wilderness; He planned to bring them back to the Promised Land. But Moses wasn't negotiating in bad faith here. It's not surprising that Pharoah wouldn't let his labor force go for good, but Moses' three day request wasn't without precedent. The Egyptians had let other slave populations go out for a few days for religious purposes before. Notice that Pharoah's first objection isn't economic - it's not centered on how much productivity would be lost in these three days. Pharoah rejects this reasonable request because he does not know the LORD and therefore will not obey Him. People who do not know the LORD - the creator of reason and logic - cannot be expected to act reasonably or logically. Moses' initial limited, reasonable request demonstrates that.   Dig Deeper   The wave of popularity that Moses initially rode didn't last long. This wasn't the first slave revolt Pharoah had faced, and he knew exactly how to handle it. Turn the people against the organizers. Cause internal division. Dissolve the pent up anger and energy by having the people fight one another. It worked then, and the tactic still works today. In twenty one short verses, the tide changed completely. By the end of the passage, the people are angrier at Moses and Aaron than they are at Pharoah. Moses quickly learned he wouldn't just be battling the forces of evil in freeing God's people, he'd be battling God's people as well. Popular opinion is a powerful force, but it rarely leads people to the truth. This is one of the reasons why the Reformers were so adamant that Christians look only to God's Word for truth, not to human writings— no matter how holy their authors may have been. So don't let the roller coaster of polls and fads manipulate you. Popular people may consider you obnoxious for holding to the truth of God's Word, but be reminded that the truth of God is above everything else. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who rescues His people from slavery; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will hold firmly to God's Word regardless of public opinion; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

God doesn't fit in the boxes we like to put Him in. Our good, holy and sovereign God cannot be tamed. SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF:  Moses doubted that Israel would believe that God had sent him. So the L ORD graciously confirmed his calling through miraculous signs, patiently addressed his fears, rebuked his reluctance, and appointed Aaron to speak—making clear that the mission would proceed by God’s power, not Moses’ confidence. Exodus 4:18–31 (NIV) 18  Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.” Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.” 19  Now the L ORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.” 20  So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand. 21  The L ORD  said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 22  Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the L ORD  says: Israel is my firstborn son, 23  and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’ ” 24  At a lodging place on the way, the L ORD  met Moses and was about to kill him. 25  But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. 26  So the L ORD  let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.) 27  The L ORD  said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28  Then Moses told Aaron everything the L ORD  had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform. 29  Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, 30  and Aaron told them everything the L ORD  had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31   and they believed. And when they heard that the L ORD  was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 94 Q. What does the Lord require in the first commandment? A. That I, not wanting to endanger my very salvation, avoid and shun all idolatry, magic, superstitious rites, and prayer to saints or to other creatures. That I sincerely acknowledge the only true God, trust him alone, look to him for every good thing humbly and patiently, love him, fear him, and honor him with all my heart. In short, that I give up anything rather than go against his will in any way Summary We have such a strong desire to domesticate God - that is, to shape and fashion Him according to the way we want Him to be. The raw and untamed God of the Bible so often, then, seems so off-putting and even bizarre, impetuous and down right cruel. We like the warmth with which He appeared from the burning bush, coming to rescue His enslaved people, but then we get to a passage like today's and we're not sure what to think about Him. Moses felt this way too, and it nearly cost him his life. We get our first clue right away as Moses approaches his father-in-law, Jethro. Moses begins by asking for permission to return to his own people in Egypt. Such deference to Jethro is appropriate, for the Bible always describes him as being wise and godly. But Moses doesn't explain the whole situation to Jethro. He said nothing about a burning bush, holy ground, or a God named I AM who promised to rescue His people. All Moses mentioned was a desire to see if any of my people are still alive. Then there's Moses' wife, Zipporah. She probably wasn't too pleased to have been put on a donkey with her sons, carried away from her father and homeland to Egypt, where there's a death warrant that's been issued for her husband. But that's not her most pressing problem. Moses had likely indicated that their sons needed to be given the sign of the covenant - the bloody, painful procedure of circumcision. And that's where she had drawn the line. And Moses apparently didn't cross it - more afraid of his wife's wrath than God's. But then one night at a rest stop, this intrepid family encountered the untamed holiness of God: the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him for his passive cowardice and noncompliance. What a scene! Zipporah angrily threw a bloody foreskin at Moses' feet to appease God's wrath and save Moses' life. God doesn't fit in the boxes we like to put Him in.   Dig Deeper   We haven't even gotten to the most difficult aspect of today's passage yet! 21 The L ORD said to Moses... I will harden Pharoah's heart so that he will not let the people go. How then, the perennial question goes, can we blame Pharoah for resisting God if it was God who hardened Pharoah's heart? That's not a question that gets reserved for Pharoah; it gets asked in regards to all those who refuse God's call to repent - those whose hearts God has not softened. The Apostle Paul fiercely rebukes our tendency to tame God with a question like this. Who are you, a mere man, Paul writes in Romans 9 , to talk back to God? This doesn't mean it's wrong for you to wonder about such things, only that you better not persist in trying to constrain our holy, all powerful God to fit your own limited understanding. This is the first of ten times in the book of Exodus that we'll read about the LORD hardening Pharoah's heart. But we'll also read ten times over that Pharoah voluntarily hardens his heart on his own. There certainly is great mystery in God's sovereignty that we can't fully comprehend. But don't forget that God never forces Pharoah do anything he doesn't want to do. Ultimately the LORD gives Pharoah - and every other unbeliever - exactly what they want. So as we read these sometimes strange stories in the Old Testament, resist the urge to conform God to your own design. Don't try to domesticate Him. Instead, silently and thankfully own the mystery that He's conforming you to His design. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our loving, yet untamed Father; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will be able to fully trust God even though you don't fully understand Him; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

God comes to rescue His people. SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF:  Moses was born under Pharaoh’s decree that all Hebrew baby boys be killed at birth. He was preserved by God through unlikely means, driven into exile after defending his own people, and spent four decades tending sheep in Midian while Israel’s suffering in Egypt grew worse. Exodus 3:1–22 (NIV) 3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2   There the angel of the L ORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3   So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” 4  When the L ORD  saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” 5   “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6   Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. 7  The L ORD  said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8   So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9   And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10  So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” 11  But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12  And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” 13  Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” 14  God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM  has sent me to you.’ ” 15  God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The L ORD , 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, the name you shall call me from generation to generation. 16  “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The L ORD , the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17  And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 18  “The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The L ORD , the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the L ORD  our God.’ 19  But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. 20  So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. 21  “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22  Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.” Athanasian Creed The Ecumenical Creeds - the Apostles', Nicene, and the Athanasian - adopted by the worldwide church centuries ago summarize the most important tenets of our faith. Whoever desires to be saved should above all hold to the catholic faith. Anyone who does not keep it whole and unbroken will doubtless perish eternally. Now this is the catholic faith: That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity, neither blending their persons nor dividing their essence. For the person of the Father is a distinct person, the person of the Son is another, and that of the Holy Spirit still another. But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal... Summary Moses is a complicated man. He'd been preserved from certain death as an infant, having been set adrift on the Nile in a makeshift ark, only to be found by one of the Pharaoh's many daughters. He was raised and given the finest of educations as a prince in one of history's most sophisticated and successful cultures. Yet the fallout stemming from his temper - a character flaw which will plague him his entire life - forced him to flee Egypt. We catch up with him four decades later running sheep for his father-in-law on the far side of the wilderness, by a mountain named Horeb - a word that means dried up, ruined waste. How fitting! It's here in this desolate place, near this mountain that would later be renamed Sinai, that God comes crashing into Moses' life in a strange way: in the midst of flames of fire from within a bush. But that's been the pattern so far in this grand drama of redemption, hasn't it. God came and found Adam hiding, naked and afraid. He found Noah living in the wickedest of societies. He cut a covenant with Abraham after decades of infertility, and saved Isaac as a knife was raised over him. He wrestled with Jacob on that long night before he faced Esau and was with Joseph at the bottom of a cistern and prison dungeon. God doesn't beat around the bush (excuse the pun); He gets right to the point. He tells Moses that He's seen the misery of His people and heard them crying out, so I have come down to rescue them. Then He told Moses go - I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. God would save His people through a man.   Dig Deeper   It's customary for a royal figure to be announced with what's known as a heraldry , which is often a long and complicated recitation of all of that person's titles. Each of the names read off has meaning, and the more names a royal has, the more important he is. The official heraldry  God gives for Himself is neither long nor complicated, yet it is immensely profound: I AM who I AM. In other words, GOD IS. God is His attributes; more than that, He defines Himself, an ability that no other creature has. In other words, He isn't just good , rather He defines goodness. He doesn't just act lovingly , love exists because God exists. God exists in and of Himself. He had no beginning and will never end. Time itself is one of His creations, and He lives outside of and above it. He always was, is now and always will be. None of us will ever fully comprehend who and what God is. Many people reject God because they can't understand Him. But let these incomprehensible aspects of God comfort you rather than push you away. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, your name is holy and you are above all things; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will be able to fully trust God even though you don't fully understand Him; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Sometimes God gracefully sends suffering. Wait... what?? Where was God while His people suffered bitterly baking bricks? SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF:   All of Jacob's family has joined Joseph in Egypt. Exodus 1 (NIV) 1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: 2   Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; 3   Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; 4   Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. 5   The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt. 6  Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, 7  but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them. 8  Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. 9   “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. 10  Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.” 11  So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12  But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13  and worked them ruthlessly. 14  They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly. 15  The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16  “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” 17  The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18  Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” 19  The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” 20  So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21   And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. 22  Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.” Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 52 Q. How does Christ’s return “to judge the living and the dead” comfort you? A. In all my distress and persecution I turn my eyes to the heavens and confidently await as judge the very One who has already stood trial in my place before God and so has removed the whole curse from me. All his enemies and mine he will condemn to everlasting punishment: but me and all his chosen ones he will take along with him into the joy and the glory of heaven. Summary The book of Exodus starts way more dramatically in the original Hebrew than it does in the English translations. We read the opening sentence as These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt. The text goes on to list Jacob's sons, whose names should be somewhat familiar since the tribes of Israel will be named after them. But the Hebrew text begins with a tiny one letter conjunction. The closest translation would be the simple word and. In English, it's awkward to start a sentence - much less an entire book - with the word and, so the translators skip it. But that humble little letter helps point out that the story of redemption that began when Adam & Eve were evicted from the garden continues. Life has become a literal grind for Jacob's descendants, who live under the thumb of a society completely ignorant of its own history. The new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, viewed these Hebrews as an existential threat. His plan is to work them to death by enslaving them to build a couple of warehouse cities. But the new king can't out-dictate God's blessings, and the people continue to prosper. So the new king resorts to one of the key indicators of a truly debauched society: abortion. He orders that the baby boys must be killed before they're fully 'born'. But since the midwives get there 'late,' they miss the opportunity to kill them before they actually 'become' human beings.   Dig Deeper   The perennial question arises in these ugly situations: where is God? Where was He as His people's lives were made bitter with harsh labor as they were worked ruthlessly? Where was He as the pharaoh issued a death warrant for baby boys? It's a question we often ask today. Where is God in the midst of a cancer diagnosis or horrible accident? Of course the Bible never fully answers that difficult question as to why God allows such evil things to occur, but today's passage gives us just a little smidgen of understanding. Sometimes - NOT every time, but some times - these hardships are actually mysterious outpourings of God's grace! Think of it this way. What if this opening chapter played out completely the opposite... what if instead of bitter, ruthless conditions, the descendants of Jacob had nothing but sunshine and roses? Then slowly but surely, each subsequent generation would become less Hebrew and more Egyptian until the God of Jacob meant nothing to the people. Such a prosperous people would have no incentive to leave Egypt and the conditions for our Savior's birth would never have been met. God's covenant promises would have withered. We've already seen this phenomenon as we've read the Bible this past month: God allows elements of misery to afflict His people to keep us pointed and focused on the glory that will be revealed in us , which far surpass our present sufferings (Rom. 8:18). He put His mightiest angel between Adam and the Tree of Life. He confused the language at Babel. He made Noah build a boat in the desert. He made life miserable in Egypt to prod His people back to the Promised Land. He did all of these things to keep His people pointed towards the coming Savior. This doesn't mean every tragedy that you've suffered is somehow God's grace in disguise, but keep in mind when suffering comes that our sovereign God and Father uses ALL things to keep you longing for His coming Kingdom. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who providentially controls all things for the good of those who have been called according to His purpose; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that the suffering you experience will keep you pointed towards our Savior; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: