Yesterday people in the United States celebrated Thanksgiving. The tradition goes back 400 years when a colony of pilgrims migrated to New England to escape religious persecution and bring the good news of God\u2019s love and salvation to people who most likely had not heard it. They gathered together after a difficult year to give thanks to God over a harvest meal. Recently I\u2019ve been studying the book of Exodus in the Bible. In the chapters I read the nation of Israel, like the pilgrims, migrated, encountered peril, experienced God\u2019s providence and salvation, and gathered to give thanks. In today\u2019s note I want to share with you a few of the lessons from Exodus which are still relevant today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether you are reading Exodus or any part of the Bible, whenever you read God\u2019s word there is much you can learn about God and your relationship with him and others. One way to get the most out of reading is to prayerfully ask God to help you observe what\u2019s going on, interpret what it means, and apply what you learn to your life. Here are study highlights that impacted me as I went through this process with Exodus chapters 13-15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leading up to this section God had just delivered the nation of Israel from slavery in Egypt where they had been living as foreigners due to a severe famine which drove them from the land God had given them. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, would not let Israel go despite God commanding him through Moses to do so. Because of Egypt\u2019s continual defiance and worship of false gods, God judged Egypt with several plagues which culminated in the death of the firstborn sons of the Egyptians and their cattle. However, anyone who put their faith in God could be spared from this judgment by following God\u2019s provision to sacrifice a lamb and mark the door of their home with its blood. When the angel of death went through the country during that dreadful night of judgment, it passed over the families that trusted God and let their sons live. Pharaoh did not do that and his son died in the night. Stricken with grief, he finally submitted to God\u2019s command and let Israel go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Israel left Egypt God had them eat unleavened bread to remember the haste of their departure. God also had them consecrate their firstborn sons and livestock so Israel would remember from generation to generation God\u2019s mighty deliverance. God led Israel, which had over a million people, through the desert toward the Red Sea by a pillar of cloud in the day and a pillar of fire in the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pharaoh changed his mind and deployed his chariots, horsemen, and troops to overtake Israel. Pinned in against the sea with no escape by land, Israel was terrified and wished they had stayed slaves in Egypt. Moses told them not to fear, because God would deliver them. All that night God held back the Egyptian army with the pillar of cloud and fire while he parted the Red Sea and had Israel cross it on dry ground. The Egyptian army pursued them, but God jammed their chariot wheels and caused confusion in their ranks. At the break of day, with Israel having safely crossed, God had Moses stretch out his hand over the water and it flowed back, drowning the Egyptian army. That morning Israel sang a song to God praising and thanking him for his faithful provision and mighty salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you observe what is going on in the Bible it\u2019s beneficial to interpret what it means and consider how you should respond. Here are three things that stood out to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Honor God Now Rather than Later<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pharaoh did not honor or obey God due to pride and fear. He considered himself to be a god ruling over a powerful nation which served many gods, so why should he listen to the God of Moses. Also he did not want to lose the free slave labor that profited him. Yet his defiance was short-sighted and foolish. Pharaoh\u2019s disobedience to the one and only God caused tremendous suffering and death throughout Egypt. This is always the case, one person\u2019s wrongdoing impacts that person and many others. Disobedience results in spiritual death for it separates a person from God, who is the source of life and all that is true, right, good, and loving. Does your pride or fear keep you from loving and serving God? Pharaoh, his army, and all of Egypt finally realized that God alone is Lord (Exodus 14:4, 18, 25). What took place with the Egyptians is a glimpse of what will take place in the future. The Bible teaches that eventually everyone will bow before Jesus, God the Son, who is the creator, sustainer, and savior of the world and everyone will acknowledge that he is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). It is supremely better to trust and obey Jesus now. Those who do are adopted into God\u2019s royal family. They experience his abundant, everlasting life now and forever. As they follow Jesus he uses ordinary believers to accomplish extraordinary things in his mission to save people and restore creation to his original, glorious design. Those who reject Jesus will be judged and spend eternity in torment. For in their choice to refuse Jesus they forfeit their only way to be saved from the deadly result of their sin (John 3:16-21; Romans 6:23).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let Difficulty Move You Closer to God Not Farther<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Like Israel in the desert, people tend to worry, fear, and complain when they encounter suffering, trials, hindrances, or disappointment. In the process people tend to focus on themselves and their circumstances instead of on God. Moses had to tell Israel to stop fearing and stand firm on God\u2019s promised deliverance. Then they would see God fight for them, save them, and bring them peace. God told Israel to move forward by faith for he was going to intervene on their behalf. He did so in two notable ways. First, he moved the pillars of cloud and fire to the back of Israel separating and protecting them from the Egyptian army which represented bondage and their old way of life. Second, he opened a new way for them to be saved by parting the Red Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus has done the same for all who believe in him. Jesus separates you from your past wrongdoing which enslaved you and threatens to destroy you. In addition, Jesus provides a new life with God and for God where you are adopted, loved, forgiven, and empowered to become all he designed you to be. Don\u2019t allow difficulty to paralyze, isolate, or embitter you. Submit the brokenness of your selfish choices, the wounds from the sin of others, and the hardship of this fallen world to God. Let him hold and heal you as only he can. Then worship and follow him, and like Moses, he will make you an instrument of salvation to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember God\u2019s Faithfulness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n God chose the nation of Israel to follow him and to represent him. He would be their God and they would be his people in order to help other nations come to know God also. During the centuries they spent in a foreign land surrounded by pagan practices and idol worship, Israel gradually forgot what it meant to have a relationship with God. An important method God used in saving and restoring them was to help them remember his faithfulness. He gave them the ceremonies of Passover and Unleavened Bread to remind them of how he mightily delivered them from oppressive slavery. He commanded them to consecrate their firstborn in reverence and thankfulness for his love and providence. God established festivals and commemorative object lessons as opportunities for Israel to celebrate their blessings in knowing God. These remembrances allowed parents to teach their children who God is and what he had done. Therefore, many times Israel recounted God\u2019s faithfulness through worshipful songs like they sang at the sunrise of their salvation after fleeing through the night across the parted sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like Israel, God chose you also. He created you and loves you. He wants you to be with him, to be like him, and to do what he does. Jesus makes that glorious life possible, through his death and resurrection on your behalf. He came to save you and give you a better life. Learn who Jesus is and what he has done. If you don\u2019t know much about Jesus the book of John in the Bible is a great place to start. Praise Jesus and thank him for making your salvation possible, as well as, for what he is doing now and will do in your life. He always fulfills his promises. The apostle Paul exhorted believers, \u201cRejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God\u2019s will for you in Christ Jesus\u201d (1 Thessalonians\u202c \u202d5\u202c:\u202d16\u202c-\u202d18\u202c). \u201cLet the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him\u201d (\u202dColossians\u202c \u202d3\u202c:\u202d15\u202c-\u202d17). Joyfully remembering strengthens your loving relationship with God and helps you share his greatness with others. So each morning that God gives you, realize he is the reason to sing. Rise to greet the day with thanksgiving and praise–an offering of your lips, your heart, your very life which brings beauty to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This song from the book of Psalms is a fitting conclusion. \u201cShout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations\u201d (Psalm 100).<\/p>\n\n\n\nConclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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