Tuesday, Ordinary 22/Proper 17-- Sept 2
HealthFitNow
Posts: 1,205 Member
Meditation
Tuesday, Ordinary 22, Proper 17 separated the extremes of those, who were pro-God and those against. The Old Testament lesson in Exodus brought Moses before Pharaoh and declared that the Lord said to let his people go three days into the desert to worship the true God.
Who was this true God? Pharaoh was skeptical and dug in his heels, saying, “No.” In fact, Pharaoh reacted spitefully, demanding that the slaves make bricks without the aid of straw, while insisting that they keep up at the same rate.
An impossible task, the beatings the Hebrews received for failing to accomplish this brought the anger out against Moses. “You told us to do this Moses and now our life is worse.”
People will often blame the people that are not the perpetrators of the evil. The terrorists that murder Americans on camera shift the blame to the US government and some, who believe the government could have done more to placate them, blame the government, too. Actions are a choice and people must own their choices.
The truth remained that Pharaoh was at fault for the increase in work load of the Hebrews. But the elders of the Israelites still turned on Moses, blaming him. “If only you hadn’t changed things, it wouldn’t have gotten worse.”
Moses turned on God. “Hey, you promised you would lead us out of here. Now things are worse.”
God explained to Moses and Aaron, “Get ready. I am about to show Pharaoh who is the true God. The Egyptians will be responsible for the wrath of God, and I will bring my people out of Egypt to the Promised Land.”
Timing challenged the Hebrews. They hungered for God to intervene in a way that was instant. “Make all the bad stuff go away. Now.”
But God worked over time, with the efforts of individuals. Just asking Pharaoh to allow the Jews to worship God as they desired saw Pharaoh become ugly in his response. Moving the heart of a self-indulgent Pharaoh to release a huge group of people would take time. It took 400 years for the person of Moses to be prepared to face Pharaoh.
God assured Moses and Aaron of his support and that things might get worse before getting better, but that did not mean the Lord didn’t have a plan. Moses was to go back to Pharaoh. Moses was suffering the stings of uncertainty because his people blamed him. He protested to God again that he was not good at speaking. But God insisted.
In the New Testament lesson, John’s vision was directed to the angel of the church at Philadelphia. God was pleased with the church, who had kept the faith. He declared,
“There is a group[a] that belongs to Satan. They say they are Jews, but they are liars. They are not true Jews. I will make them come before you and bow at your feet. They will know that you are the people I have loved.”
The church at Philadelphia had been under attack from the synagogue run by people, God said claimed to be Jews but were actually working for Satan. Pretty fierce indictment. Once again, ‘leaders of the faith’ that claimed they were offering the true answer or the true way, were actually working against God.
As believers, recognizing what was true and what was false became paramount. The church at Philadelphia was able to remain true to their faith in the true God and was not side-tracked by the false leaders. They would be rewarded for their ability to align themselves with the true God and not Satan, masquerading under the Jewish synagogue leadership.
The elders of Israel in Egypt were behind Moses until things became difficult. They struggled with understanding the truth. The New Testament church of Philadelphia was able to hold firm. The Psalmist had many questions, begging God to not be silent when there were troubles.
We cannot always know the timing of God. We are sad when things don’t go well and elated when they do, but regardless of which position we find ourselves, we must hold firm to the truth of faith in God. Our choices show where we stand. On the side of truth or the side of Satan. Let us hold firm like the church in Philadelphia and be firm in the face of falsehood.
Thanks be to God.
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Ordinary 22, Proper 17
Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 83:1-4, 13-18;Exodus 5:1—6:13;Revelation 3:7-13&version=ERV;GNT;NCV;CEV;NIV (multiple versions)
Tuesday, Ordinary 22, Proper 17
Psalm 83:1-4 Psalm 83:13-18
Exodus 5-6:13
Revelation 3:7-13
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Psalm 124:8
King James Version (KJV)
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
Exodus 5-6:13
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Moses and Aaron Before Pharaoh
5 After Moses and Aaron talked to the people, they went to Pharaoh and said, “The LORD,[a] the God of Israel, says, ‘Let my people go into the desert so that they can have a festival to honor me.’”
2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD? Why should I obey him? Why should I let Israel go? I don’t even know who this LORD is, so I refuse to let Israel go.”
3 Then Aaron and Moses said, “The God of the Hebrews has talked with us. So we beg you to let us travel three days into the desert. There we will offer a sacrifice to the LORD our God. If we don’t do this, he might become angry and destroy us. He might make us die from sickness or war.”
4 But Pharaoh said to them, “Moses and Aaron, you are bothering the workers. Let them do their work. Go back to your own work! 5 There are very many workers, and you are keeping them from doing their jobs.”
Pharaoh Punishes the People
6 That same day Pharaoh gave a command to the slave masters and Hebrew foremen. 7 He said, “You have always given the people straw to use to make bricks. But now, tell them they have to go and find their own straw to make bricks. 8 But they must still make the same number of bricks as they did before. They have gotten lazy. That is why they are asking me to let them go. They don’t have enough work to do. That is why they asked me to let them make sacrifices to their God. 9 So make these people work harder. Keep them busy. Then they will not have enough time to listen to the lies of Moses.”
10 So the Egyptian slave masters and the Hebrew foremen went to the Israelites and said, “Pharaoh has decided that he will not give you straw for your bricks. 11 You must go and get the straw for yourselves. So go and find straw, but you must still make as many bricks as you made before.”
12 So the people went everywhere in Egypt looking for straw. 13 The slave masters forced the people to work even harder. They forced the people to make as many bricks as before. 14 The Egyptian slave masters had chosen the Hebrew foremen and had made them responsible for the work the people did. The Egyptian slave masters beat these foremen and said to them, “Why aren’t you making as many bricks as you made in the past? If you could do it then, you can do it now!”
15 Then the Hebrew foremen went to Pharaoh. They complained and said, “We are your servants. Why are you treating us like this? 16 You give us no straw, but you tell us to make as many bricks as before. And now our masters are beating us. Your people are wrong for doing this.”
17 Pharaoh answered, “You are lazy, and you don’t want to work! That is why you ask me to let you go. And that is why you want to leave here and make sacrifices to the LORD. 18 Now, go back to work! We will not give you any straw. And you must still make as many bricks as you did before.”
19 The Hebrew foremen knew they were in trouble, because the Pharaoh had told them, “You must still make as many bricks as you made before.”
20 When they were leaving the meeting with Pharaoh, they passed Moses and Aaron. Moses and Aaron were waiting for them. 21 So they said to Moses and Aaron, “May the LORD judge and punish you for what you did! You made Pharaoh and his rulers hate us. You have given them an excuse to kill us.”
Moses Complains to God
22 Then Moses prayed to the LORD and said, “Lord, why have you done this terrible thing to your people? Why did you send me here? 23 I went to Pharaoh and said what you told me to say. But since that time he has made the people suffer, and you have done nothing to help them!”
6 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. I will use my great power against him, and he will let my people go. He will be so ready for them to leave that he will force them to go.”
2 Then God said to Moses, “I am the LORD. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They called me God All-Powerful. They did not know my name, the LORD. 4 I made an agreement with them. I promised to give them the land of Canaan. They lived in that land, but it was not their own. 5 Now, I have heard their painful cries. I know that they are slaves in Egypt. And I remember my agreement. 6 So tell the Israelites that I say to them, ‘I am the LORD. I will save you. You will no longer be slaves of the Egyptians. I will use my great power to make you free, and I will bring terrible punishment to the Egyptians. 7 You will be my people and I will be your God. I am the LORD your God, and you will know that I made you free from Egypt. 8 I made a great promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I promised to give them a special land. So I will lead you to that land. I will give you that land. It will be yours. I am the LORD.’”
9 So Moses told this to the Israelites, but the people would not listen to him. They were working so hard that they were not patient with Moses.
10 Then the LORD said to Moses, 11 “Go tell Pharaoh that he must let the Israelites leave his land.”
12 But Moses answered, “LORD, the Israelites refuse to listen to me. So surely Pharaoh will also refuse to listen. I am a very bad speaker.”[c]
13 But the LORD talked with Moses and Aaron and commanded them to go and talk to the Israelites and to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He commanded them to lead the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer of Encouragement
Almighty God, we cannot begin to fathom your greatness. You worked in Moses’ life for eighty years. You still had more lessons for him to learn. Empower us to learn the lessons we need to incorporate in our lives and give us the skills to be alive in Christ. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Tuesday, Ordinary 22, Proper 17 brought the element of the dividing line in the sand to the forefront. For the Psalmist, for Moses, for the church in Philadelphia, and for all believers there came a point to make a choice.
Believe in God, or follow Satan. Moses presented God’s words to Pharaoh and the result was as God predicted—Pharaoh refused. The elders became upset when life turned harsher for the Jews and they turned on Moses. Moses brought the complaints to God, but God reminded him of the fact that God would take them out. Timing. Our timing and God’s timing may be different, but we must remain as the Philadelphian church did with firm faith and trust in God and not be swayed by false teachers even when they wear the accoutrements of religious leaders.
Our choices. Our faith. Our responsibility to God. God will provide the rest.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study. God bless you.
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
Tuesday, Ordinary 22, Proper 17 separated the extremes of those, who were pro-God and those against. The Old Testament lesson in Exodus brought Moses before Pharaoh and declared that the Lord said to let his people go three days into the desert to worship the true God.
Who was this true God? Pharaoh was skeptical and dug in his heels, saying, “No.” In fact, Pharaoh reacted spitefully, demanding that the slaves make bricks without the aid of straw, while insisting that they keep up at the same rate.
An impossible task, the beatings the Hebrews received for failing to accomplish this brought the anger out against Moses. “You told us to do this Moses and now our life is worse.”
People will often blame the people that are not the perpetrators of the evil. The terrorists that murder Americans on camera shift the blame to the US government and some, who believe the government could have done more to placate them, blame the government, too. Actions are a choice and people must own their choices.
The truth remained that Pharaoh was at fault for the increase in work load of the Hebrews. But the elders of the Israelites still turned on Moses, blaming him. “If only you hadn’t changed things, it wouldn’t have gotten worse.”
Moses turned on God. “Hey, you promised you would lead us out of here. Now things are worse.”
God explained to Moses and Aaron, “Get ready. I am about to show Pharaoh who is the true God. The Egyptians will be responsible for the wrath of God, and I will bring my people out of Egypt to the Promised Land.”
Timing challenged the Hebrews. They hungered for God to intervene in a way that was instant. “Make all the bad stuff go away. Now.”
But God worked over time, with the efforts of individuals. Just asking Pharaoh to allow the Jews to worship God as they desired saw Pharaoh become ugly in his response. Moving the heart of a self-indulgent Pharaoh to release a huge group of people would take time. It took 400 years for the person of Moses to be prepared to face Pharaoh.
God assured Moses and Aaron of his support and that things might get worse before getting better, but that did not mean the Lord didn’t have a plan. Moses was to go back to Pharaoh. Moses was suffering the stings of uncertainty because his people blamed him. He protested to God again that he was not good at speaking. But God insisted.
In the New Testament lesson, John’s vision was directed to the angel of the church at Philadelphia. God was pleased with the church, who had kept the faith. He declared,
“There is a group[a] that belongs to Satan. They say they are Jews, but they are liars. They are not true Jews. I will make them come before you and bow at your feet. They will know that you are the people I have loved.”
The church at Philadelphia had been under attack from the synagogue run by people, God said claimed to be Jews but were actually working for Satan. Pretty fierce indictment. Once again, ‘leaders of the faith’ that claimed they were offering the true answer or the true way, were actually working against God.
As believers, recognizing what was true and what was false became paramount. The church at Philadelphia was able to remain true to their faith in the true God and was not side-tracked by the false leaders. They would be rewarded for their ability to align themselves with the true God and not Satan, masquerading under the Jewish synagogue leadership.
The elders of Israel in Egypt were behind Moses until things became difficult. They struggled with understanding the truth. The New Testament church of Philadelphia was able to hold firm. The Psalmist had many questions, begging God to not be silent when there were troubles.
We cannot always know the timing of God. We are sad when things don’t go well and elated when they do, but regardless of which position we find ourselves, we must hold firm to the truth of faith in God. Our choices show where we stand. On the side of truth or the side of Satan. Let us hold firm like the church in Philadelphia and be firm in the face of falsehood.
Thanks be to God.
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Ordinary 22, Proper 17
Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 83:1-4, 13-18;Exodus 5:1—6:13;Revelation 3:7-13&version=ERV;GNT;NCV;CEV;NIV (multiple versions)
Tuesday, Ordinary 22, Proper 17
Psalm 83:1-4 Psalm 83:13-18
Exodus 5-6:13
Revelation 3:7-13
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Psalm 124:8
King James Version (KJV)
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
Exodus 5-6:13
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Moses and Aaron Before Pharaoh
5 After Moses and Aaron talked to the people, they went to Pharaoh and said, “The LORD,[a] the God of Israel, says, ‘Let my people go into the desert so that they can have a festival to honor me.’”
2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD? Why should I obey him? Why should I let Israel go? I don’t even know who this LORD is, so I refuse to let Israel go.”
3 Then Aaron and Moses said, “The God of the Hebrews has talked with us. So we beg you to let us travel three days into the desert. There we will offer a sacrifice to the LORD our God. If we don’t do this, he might become angry and destroy us. He might make us die from sickness or war.”
4 But Pharaoh said to them, “Moses and Aaron, you are bothering the workers. Let them do their work. Go back to your own work! 5 There are very many workers, and you are keeping them from doing their jobs.”
Pharaoh Punishes the People
6 That same day Pharaoh gave a command to the slave masters and Hebrew foremen. 7 He said, “You have always given the people straw to use to make bricks. But now, tell them they have to go and find their own straw to make bricks. 8 But they must still make the same number of bricks as they did before. They have gotten lazy. That is why they are asking me to let them go. They don’t have enough work to do. That is why they asked me to let them make sacrifices to their God. 9 So make these people work harder. Keep them busy. Then they will not have enough time to listen to the lies of Moses.”
10 So the Egyptian slave masters and the Hebrew foremen went to the Israelites and said, “Pharaoh has decided that he will not give you straw for your bricks. 11 You must go and get the straw for yourselves. So go and find straw, but you must still make as many bricks as you made before.”
12 So the people went everywhere in Egypt looking for straw. 13 The slave masters forced the people to work even harder. They forced the people to make as many bricks as before. 14 The Egyptian slave masters had chosen the Hebrew foremen and had made them responsible for the work the people did. The Egyptian slave masters beat these foremen and said to them, “Why aren’t you making as many bricks as you made in the past? If you could do it then, you can do it now!”
15 Then the Hebrew foremen went to Pharaoh. They complained and said, “We are your servants. Why are you treating us like this? 16 You give us no straw, but you tell us to make as many bricks as before. And now our masters are beating us. Your people are wrong for doing this.”
17 Pharaoh answered, “You are lazy, and you don’t want to work! That is why you ask me to let you go. And that is why you want to leave here and make sacrifices to the LORD. 18 Now, go back to work! We will not give you any straw. And you must still make as many bricks as you did before.”
19 The Hebrew foremen knew they were in trouble, because the Pharaoh had told them, “You must still make as many bricks as you made before.”
20 When they were leaving the meeting with Pharaoh, they passed Moses and Aaron. Moses and Aaron were waiting for them. 21 So they said to Moses and Aaron, “May the LORD judge and punish you for what you did! You made Pharaoh and his rulers hate us. You have given them an excuse to kill us.”
Moses Complains to God
22 Then Moses prayed to the LORD and said, “Lord, why have you done this terrible thing to your people? Why did you send me here? 23 I went to Pharaoh and said what you told me to say. But since that time he has made the people suffer, and you have done nothing to help them!”
6 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. I will use my great power against him, and he will let my people go. He will be so ready for them to leave that he will force them to go.”
2 Then God said to Moses, “I am the LORD. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They called me God All-Powerful. They did not know my name, the LORD. 4 I made an agreement with them. I promised to give them the land of Canaan. They lived in that land, but it was not their own. 5 Now, I have heard their painful cries. I know that they are slaves in Egypt. And I remember my agreement. 6 So tell the Israelites that I say to them, ‘I am the LORD. I will save you. You will no longer be slaves of the Egyptians. I will use my great power to make you free, and I will bring terrible punishment to the Egyptians. 7 You will be my people and I will be your God. I am the LORD your God, and you will know that I made you free from Egypt. 8 I made a great promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I promised to give them a special land. So I will lead you to that land. I will give you that land. It will be yours. I am the LORD.’”
9 So Moses told this to the Israelites, but the people would not listen to him. They were working so hard that they were not patient with Moses.
10 Then the LORD said to Moses, 11 “Go tell Pharaoh that he must let the Israelites leave his land.”
12 But Moses answered, “LORD, the Israelites refuse to listen to me. So surely Pharaoh will also refuse to listen. I am a very bad speaker.”[c]
13 But the LORD talked with Moses and Aaron and commanded them to go and talk to the Israelites and to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He commanded them to lead the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer of Encouragement
Almighty God, we cannot begin to fathom your greatness. You worked in Moses’ life for eighty years. You still had more lessons for him to learn. Empower us to learn the lessons we need to incorporate in our lives and give us the skills to be alive in Christ. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Tuesday, Ordinary 22, Proper 17 brought the element of the dividing line in the sand to the forefront. For the Psalmist, for Moses, for the church in Philadelphia, and for all believers there came a point to make a choice.
Believe in God, or follow Satan. Moses presented God’s words to Pharaoh and the result was as God predicted—Pharaoh refused. The elders became upset when life turned harsher for the Jews and they turned on Moses. Moses brought the complaints to God, but God reminded him of the fact that God would take them out. Timing. Our timing and God’s timing may be different, but we must remain as the Philadelphian church did with firm faith and trust in God and not be swayed by false teachers even when they wear the accoutrements of religious leaders.
Our choices. Our faith. Our responsibility to God. God will provide the rest.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study. God bless you.
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
0
This discussion has been closed.