Go Forward!

While through reading through Exodus 14, the reader needs to keep in mind Psalm 103:7:

7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

God could explain things to Moses; the rest of them had to see God's actions with their eyes. We know that the spirit of God was upon Moses and that's how he could hear God.

In Exodus 14, after God had finally gotten them to move out of Egypt and after all the signs, miracles and wonders that had occurred in the process, the Israelites started to complain when they saw that Pharaoh and his armies were following them:

Exodus 14:10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.11 And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? 12 Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. 13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 14 The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. 15 And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:

The Israelites could only see what they could see! Human nature without the benefit of the spirit of God continues to grope in fear. God wanted all men and women to understand His ways as evidenced by the voluminous records in the Word and the sending of holy spirit. He provided a way for 'whosoever' (John 3:16-not just selected individuals), through the person of Jesus Christ. The Word of God is the means to 'go forward' instead of vacillating and wallowing in 'whatsoever'.

Flight In Exodus

During the plagues of Egypt, the Israelites went through a series of different effects. The first three plagues affected them, but in the 4th plague (Exodus 8:22) Israel was separated from direct effects.  I imagine what was going on still disturbed them, but they grew in recognizing God's power and finally with the 10th plague they received the instructions to leave and carried out his instructions. They were making a big change. There was a transition period. As with all transition, there's an uncertainty that goes along with the change.

Things that go on in the world can affect everyone, just look at the news lately.  We have high powered satellites, computers and television that can bring us into events occurring across the globe. The recent airline tragedy or the Russian/Crimean situation can enter our homes with a push of a button. The news seems to go on and on without a solution on the horizon. It is so unsatisfying and unnerving.

In the Old Testament people looked forward through the shadows to the coming of Jesus Christ. The spiritual escape from bondage to the freedom of the New Covenant is a parallel to the physical escape from Egypt.  There are many specific parallels when you look at Exodus 12 in depth.

Exodus 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's passover.

The redemption factor from the Old Testament to the New Testament is the Passover lamb; Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 5:7). Jesus Christ was a male without blemish. He was killed on the 14th day of the month of Nisan before sunset. The blood  was an important symbol of redemption as well as the body of the sacrifice. The blood was sprinkled across the lintel to spare them from the destroyer. The body was prepared and eaten for the Israelites well-being (Psalm 105:37, II Chronicles 30:14-20, and
I Corinthians 11:23ff). No bones of the lamb were broken (Exodus 12:46, John 19:35-37). These little details are breathtaking! There are more when you dig deeper!

God's solution to the evil and problems of this world and all the uncertainty that is so blatantly prevalent is in His son, Jesus Christ. We no longer look through shadows. The work has been done.  Our eyes focus ahead with an inner anticipation and strength. We turn down the volume of the clatter of the world and enter the rest that God has provided remembering the details and the significance of the  sacrifice of the Passover lamb.

Division

In I Corinthians 1:12 Paul pointed out the spiritual immaturity of the Corinthians:

12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

They were following men, rather than God. Paul mentioned himself first. He did not want worship. Paul was instrumental in bringing the freedom of the Word to the Gentiles.  There were some Judeans that criticized his message, demeanor and behavior.

Apollos was popular because of his eloquence. In a Greek culture that thrived on intellectualism, he would appeal to many. He was a well-liked orator.

Then there was Cephas. Cephas (Aramaic for 'stone'-It is interesting that this is the name used here) is Peter.  Some Judeans would have been looking to him for leadership.

Paul even included a group that was 'of Christ'. Maybe the other leaders were rejected by this group and a spiritual elitism dominated their thinking that they only followed Christ.

Factions and following men is a result of spiritual immaturity. God has given his word and His spirit for the 'growing up' process (Ephesians 4:15-16). Men and women may assist in this process as in the case of gift ministries and anyone who recognizes what reconciliation to God is all about (that is: -real honest-to-goodness discipleship), but the ultimate goal is that each individual becomes an expression of the heart of God.

Paul, Apollos and Peter were united by Christ, not divided. In verse 13, Paul says:

13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

There is so much available today to help someone start the process of getting to know God.  Ultimately it is the individual himself that needs to take on the responsibility of developing a relationship with God.  Paul expressed God's heart, as well as his own, in II Corinthians 2:

4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

As a child grows up, he becomes less dependent on Mom and Dad. A baby learns to feed himself, crawl, walk, dress himself and so on. At some point during his growth, he develops the youthful attitude: “I want to do it myself!”  As an individual continues grows and matures, he hopefully becomes an avid learner and eventually develops his own confident independence that functions lovingly and wisely with others. The same is true with spiritual growth. It is the process of ‘growing up’  and maturing in Christ. 

Witnesses unto me!

This morning, as I sat down to work on my project to study the huge polysyndeton ('many-ands' figure of speech) in Acts 2:41-47, I realized that it was bigger than I had imagined. The section records the effects of Peter's great sermon on the day of Pentecost. Actually is wasn't just Peter's sermon that got the 3000 excited, it was everything that had been going on!  Each 'and' in Acts 2:41-47 signified a change in their lifestyle. How they lived back then and worshiped, is not something I can readily relate to, but it is about everything they did in response. It represents a shift from Judaism.

Then I spotted another polysyndeton (thanks to E.W. Bullinger in his book, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible) in Acts 1:8 that totally got me going this morning:

Acts 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me (Jesus Christ) both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

This record is not just about one group of chosen people, it is for all. It starts with being 'witnesses unto me' in both Jerusalem and Judea, the capital of Judaic religion. It includes Samaria(Acts 8:5), the amended Judaic religion. The other group mentioned is the 'non-Judaic' gentile (Acts 10) world. The 'ands' represented the three groups. God has left no one out as He is willing to impart spiritual power to all:

John 3:14-16  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

This verse tied me back into Moses. I am continuing to work (very slowly) through Exodus (which has to include Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy*).  In Numbers 21:2ff, the record of the brazen serpent occurs which Jesus Christ referred to in John 3:14.  Considering Acts1:8 in this light really shows how beautifully intricate God's Word is!

* Exodus and Numbers advance the story of the Old Testament through Moses. In Leviticus there is a little history in chapters 8-10, but it basically complements Exodus. Numbers is an eyewitness account of the Israelites journey to the promised land and Deuteronomy complements it.

Whatsoever things are honest... Asyndeton???

When you look at the list of things to think on in Philippians 4:8, the second entry is 'honest'. What is the difference between 'true' (first on the list) and 'honest' (#2)? Of course, one could look up a commentary on this verse and find out what other people say about this word, but is that where the right definition is found? Not necessarily. Sometimes that helps, but it is a good idea to see how God has used that word before. The root word in Greek is 'sebomai' and is translated 'devout' or 'worship'. Its definition lends itself to consider a 'dignified seriousness'. The actual word found in this verse is 'semnos' and is translated here as 'honest' but in all other places it is translated 'grave' or rather 'having gravity'.

One of the first things we notice about this verse is it's pattern and the repetition of the words 'whatsoever' and 'if there be any' indicating a list. This is a figure of speech called Asyndeton (No-Ands) and each word recorded builds to the conclusion of things to think on. There is an emphasis on the end result. We are to read through this list to the culmination phrase at its end. It is not necessarily a checklist.

'Truth' and 'dignified seriousness' are tied together as are the other words in the list. What if you had the truth but were flippant about it, or disrespectful? Or what if you were very serious and reverent about something and it wasn't something that was true? Putting these words all altogether, describes a good way to think about things for a peaceful outcome. Each of these words builds a total picture together.

The same figure is in I Corinthians 13:4-8a about the love of God.

4 The love is long-suffering, it is kind, the love doth not envy, the love doth not vaunt itself, is not puffed up,5 doth not act unseemly, doth not seek its own things, is not provoked, doth not impute evil,6 rejoiceth not over the unrighteousness, and rejoiceth with the truth;7 all things it beareth, all it believeth, all it hopeth, all it endureth. 8 The love doth never fail; (Young's Literal Translation)

What good is long-suffering if it isn't kind or is envious? This is a total picture of why the love of God never fails.

It is interesting to check out  additional major concepts like 'faith' (Hint: Hebrews 11) and 'hope' (I Corinthians 15) for asyndetons! Figures of Speech by E.W Bullinger is a great resource. He suggests comparing the use of asyndetons with polysyndetons. That's my project this week :) !

Looking into some of these things can be very heady and it is good to keep that in mind. Practically, in doing this type of study, it is good to remember another great asyndeton also found in I Corinthians 13:13 -

13 and now there doth remain faith, hope, love -- these three; and the greatest of these [is] love. (YLT)

Whatsover things are true............

Philippians 4:8  is a great way to apply the wisdom of God to prayer. A list of things to think about sits like a diamond in a beautiful chapter!

Philippians 4:6 Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

First on the list of 'things' is: 'whatsoever things are true'. It is significant that 'true' is listed first. Truth is very important.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

In order to really know God and what he has promised, you have to believe God's word belongs to you. It is essential for believing. God's word is the truth. My favorite times in prayer are a result of just thinking through verses and events from the Old and NewTestaments and asking how they apply to various things going on. The Bible on the coffee table is a simply a book. When you enlist God's help, the Bible becomes a breath of life. That is the foundation of prayer and believing. It is more exciting than just having a 'to do' list for God.

Actsodus

God's love is unfailing. In Malachi, it says He 'changes not!' It is not hard to find  parallels in the OT and NT that are examples of His continuing grace. It helps to look at the 'big picture to see the parallels.

On the darker side, the enemy of God never seems to change either. In Exodus there is clear evidence of manipulations by Pharaoh and his doggedness to keep the children of Israel under his thumb. He is really relentless. It seems at one point he recognizes the power of God, yet his arrogance keeps him from backing off all the way to the Red Sea.

Fast forward to the gospel period, Jesus Christ was also 'stalked' by the enemies of God. It is also very apparent in Paul's life. Judaizers were constantly following him around trying to thwart him and destroy him. Why did they expend so much energy into doing all this? What were they thinking? Ask yourself, if you didn't like what someone was teaching, would you follow him around? It all started in Genesis 3 and continues throughout the ages. It's about playing God.

In Acts are the records of Paul and what he went through with people who opposed him. People complained about him, followed him around and some even tried to physically harm him. It wasn't like he could just walk away from them, they wouldn't let him. There were problems outside the church community, but most of the persecution came from people within the  religious community. When people focus on power, self-interest and influence, not to mention money, things go awry,

Paul's understanding in dealing with this type of persecution is the only way to handle it.

2 Corinthians 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.  9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

God never changes and His answers are what we must focus on. In Philippians 4 are some great gems that apply to our lives:

Philippians 4:6 Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

It is so easy to take on the negatives, but that spirals us downward. Instead we need to focus on the things of God by valuing those things above thus lifting us up and out of the muck. It is absolutely exciting to watch God's grace play out. It is downright glorious!

Fellowship

Recently, the word 'fellowship' has come up in several conversations. (Link-'fellowship'- word study list in NT) I have run into a wonderful bunch of people who love to study the word. Each of them is committed to studying God's word in depth, but even more importantly they all seem to readily recognize things they know and things they don't know. Some of them write books or blogs, or have websites and some are involved in podcasts. I keep running into them in different places. Even though they are not interconnected by one specific organization, there seems to be a common spirit. 

Yesterday, I was really encouraged by a person's post on facebook, and then got excited when another person shared something on a verse I had been thinking about on a podcast. If that wasn't enough, the next facebook page I went to posted the same verse. Not bad for the 'virtual church'! Here's the verse:

Matthew 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona (Simon, son of Jonah): for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Jesus addressed Peter as Simon, the son of Jonah (Barjonas ='bar' means son of, Jonas was Peter's father), right after Peter addressed Jesus as the son of the living God. The 'rock' Jesus was talking about was himself as 'the Christ, the Son of the Living God'. The church (community of believers) is built on the chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ. Peter recognized who Jesus was because God had showed it to him and Jesus was very blessed about that! We get excited when someone shares something that is obviously from God, so why wouldn't Jesus Christ! It is a great example of one person's relationship with another based on the Word of God.

Philexodus

The Word of God is amazing from start to finish.  The closer you look into its pages, the more amazing it becomes! God's word is the truth! When the principles of the Word pop up in your mind at just the right time to apply to everyday life, it is an experience that is very exciting.

I was recently thinking through Moses's life and reactions and I saw some great connections to many of the concepts in Philippians. In the Old Testament, God spoke to certain individuals. God's relationship made Moses more than adequate to deal with helping the children of Israel get out from under Pharaoh's control. Moses had lived a unique life of ups and downs. His life speaks out to us because through Christ we too have a spiritual connection with God. Paul said about his own life:

Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

I used to think that these verses involved the gritting of teeth and bearing down. Paul says he 'learned' and 'was instructed in', that no matter what happened to him, he could be content. What part of gritting your teeth exemplifies contentment? I think there is a deeper lesson here other than our own performance. It is about believing what God has done for us. We've been given the gift of holy spirit and the truth.  Our spirit changes us from the inside out, not the outside in. Real, true contentment comes from knowing we are loved by God and resting in that love and in the truth. Then whatever (involving abasing and abounding) comes our way can be held out to God and we can count on entering into His rest. We have so much to be thankful for:

Colossians 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

Faith, Hope and Obligation? Not!

What a great point  is made in Philippians!

Philippians 2:12b,13 .....work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

In my King James version of the Bible a subtitle is written above it. It reads: 'Obligations of Christians'. Needless to say, subtitles are added by man. Often it is better just to ignore them.
I guess if you translate a verse and use 'fear and trembling' instead of 'respect and awe' our minds think 'obligation'.

It is interesting to look at all the words in this section. 'Work out' is 'katergazomai'  in Greek ( like zero in on, put your energy on). Salvation is 'safety, preservation from danger or destruction'. We are to zero in on our preservation, without getting all wrapped up in making our own works. We have respect and awe for God and His word and realize that it is God that both wills (yes he wants to!) and does of His good pleasure! Each of us has to do this individually and uniquely.  We don't get validation from other people nor do we validate another's walk. This is not about what others think we should do, but about focusing in a loving God that wants to work (energeo) in us.

I'm still working my way through Exodus and am seeing this quality in Moses' life. He had a very unique calling. His upbringing, heart and personality were unique. There is so much about how he dealt with life written about him for all to see. God worked with Him! Each of us has the spirit of God working in us today. It is exciting and certainly not obligatory! In I Corinthians 13 the bible talks about faith, hope and love, not faith, hope and obligation. When you really find out who God is and what He has done, the only response is love.

The Magic Wand

The 10th plague was significant for so many reasons. The Passover Lamb in Exodus 12 is a great foreshadowing of the New Testament Passover Lamb Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 5:7). God's desire for His people is so evident in His faithfulness to His Word throughout the ages.

It is amazing reading through all of Moses's communications with God and with Pharaoh during all those plagues. There is so much there. Moses had his 'work' cut out for him. The thing to see in all this is that even though he had the 'rod' he couldn't just wave it and make it all go away. He couldn't wave the rod and immediately set the Israelites down in the promised land. He probably wished he could. Wouldn't you just love to be able to do something like that? Getting over a million people out of one land into another is an amazing feat. Those million people had free will and their enemies had free will. There were many opposing forces. The logistics must have been mind boggling!

Walking with God through this world, is a moment by moment event. Prayer is not a 'push notification'. Prayer is continuous and a faithful mindset. It is a big deal and a two-way system involving listening and responding.  Perhaps that is what is behind Paul's exhortation in 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

17 Pray without ceasing. (Link)

Moses took on the big deliverance task by staying on it step by step. He continued to go to God for each stage of the plan. This is a great lesson. Most times things of God take time and consistent looking to God. Often people have short attention spans and quit. They either blame themselves or God and then 'cease' from believing and sticking with Him to see the deliverance.

It is one thing to go to a big revival meeting or fellowship, hear a nice sermon and feel blessed. It is quite another thing to wake up the next day and grab life by its tail and truly walk with the power of God. Moses was a great example of putting one foot in front of the other and taking the walk with God.