for evil.
The Sum of It All
“Then the LORD said, ‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them’ ” (Exodus 3:7-8).
| EXODUS 13–15 | Week 5, Day 1 |
Since the Israelite firstborn were spared from the death angel, the people were to consecrate all their firstborn, both human and animal, to the Lord. This would be a reminder that the Lord had brought them “out of Egypt, from the house of slavery” (13:14). They were to be a covenant people, led by a safe route since they were not ready for war (13:17) and guided by the quiet, continuing miracle of cloud and fire.
But (like you and me) they were an obstinate lot. They rebelled as they faced the sea, contending that it would have been better to stay in Egypt than to die in the wilderness. How could they so quickly forget the power of the Lord from the Passover night? Most of us, if we reflect honestly upon our own journey, will understand. We so soon forget the pain of the slavery from which we have been saved and the glory and mercy of God in our deliverance.
But as they saw their pursuers destroyed, they joined Moses in singing a song of deliverance. Then Miriam, Moses’ sister, picked up the theme. Tambourine in hand, she led the women in dancing and singing: “Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously” (15:21). They were only three days down the road, however, when they not only forgot the songs they had sung with Moses and Miriam but complained bitterly against Moses at their shortage of water. God used the occasion to add a new dimension to their covenant (15:25b-26).
PRAYER: Give me a sanctified memory, I pray, so that when I am inclined to grumble against you, I will remember your mercy. Amen.
Record the pendulum swing of the actions of God, the troubles endured, and the negative and positive responses of the people.
| EXODUS 16–18 | Week 5, Day 2 |
God provided food (16:35), water (17:6), and victory in battle (17:13). The people provided the grumbling. Each day seemed to require a new miracle if the people were to carry on, and always they seemed ready to return to Egypt where they “ate [their] fill” (16:3) and had plenty to drink (17:3). When I was seventeen a man named Herman Pencovic told me, “The Jews remembered the leeks and garlic of Egypt after they had forgotten the taskmasters and the making of bricks without straw.” Most of us have just such a selective memory when we recall the good old days.
The visit by Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, is a special kind of bright spot in the midst of Israel’s struggles. Wise as Moses may have been, he was using his time and energy poorly; leaders are often inclined that way because they see themselves as indispensable. Jethro gave Moses advice that was ingenious good sense: Share the burden. From a religious point of view, Jethro might have been seen as a pagan; he was not one of the people of Israel.
If Moses had been more narrow in his sympathies, he would have refused this counsel; after all, God had been speaking to him directly, so why should he listen to an outsider? But Moses was both wise enough and humble enough to learn even from an in-law! Here’s a lesson in common grace: God speaks to all his creation, to the degree we are willing to listen.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, help me to be ready to learn, no matter what channel or instrument you use to teach me; in our Savior’s name. Amen.
Make a list of the varieties of ways, in these chapters, that God met Israel’s needs.
| EXODUS 19–20; PSALMS 31–32 | Week 5, Day 3 |
Out in the wilderness there is a mountain called Sinai. It is not the tallest mountain in the world, but it may well be the best known. Israel had been on the road long enough to know they needed the structure of law. Even the best and most careful drivers need a line to show which is their side of the road, and a sign to indicate who will stop at an intersection. Life together requires boundaries.
Although this law was to deal with the most practical issues, it was not ordinary; it was the gift of God. Moses made this clear by establishing restrictions of many kinds so the people would understand that Sinai was holy ground.
The Ten Commandments come from a basis of God’s right and our debt. So they begin, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (20:2). God has a right to our loyalty because of the deliverance we have received. The degree to which we are at peace with God’s commands is probably directly related to our sense of his salvation.
The first four commandments regard our direct responsibility to God; the last five our duties to our fellow human beings; the fifth, the command to honor our parents, is a kind of bridge between them. But the responsibility to God comes first; as a philosopher has said, if there is no God, then anything goes.
PRAYER: Help me, I pray, to know with the psalmist that your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path; in Christ our Lord. Amen.
In what order would you place each of the Ten Commandments if you were listing them by importance? Justify your order.
| EXODUS 21–23 | Week 5, Day 4 |
I am struck by the simplicity and directness of these laws, and by their mercy, too. If at times they seem severe, the severity is on the side of the injured. It seems almost taken for granted that there will be respect for truth; without it, witnesses are meaningless and the whole structure of the law collapses. Undergirding everything in these laws is a sense that life is lived under the hand of God. All justice and judgment is in the end dependent on this conviction and on the quality of life that comes from it.
There is a restraint on power. In a world where slavery was practiced, these laws limited the slave owner; if he broke a slave’s tooth, the slave was set free in compensation for the tooth (21:27). At a time when women were subservient, protections were nevertheless provided (22:16-17). Perhaps the most helpless in society were the aliens, but they were to be treated fairly because “you were aliens in the land of Egypt” (22:21). And as for the poor, lend to them and do not take interest; and if the surety for your loan is your neighbor’s cloak, don’t keep it at night, for “in what else shall that person sleep?” (22:25-27).
And above all, there shall be justice. You shall not side with a majority (23:2), nor take a bribe (23:8), nor shall you even in pity be partial to the poor (23:3). Your fairness shall extend to the land, allowing it to rest every seventh year (23:10-11).
PRAYER: Give me regard, O Lord, for your commandments, so that I am fair to my fellow human beings and to all creation; in your name. Amen.
Find four or five examples of
