THE LORD GOD PROTECTS HIS PEOPLE

Proclamation:

“And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to The Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when He struck down the Egyptians.’”  Exodus 12:26-27 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  The Lord God told Moses what to say to Pharaoh in order for him to let the people of Israel go free to worship Him. (Exodus 7:1-2)  He also told Moses that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart and he would not let the people go. (Exodus 7:3-5)  The Lord God brought ten separate plagues on the land of Egypt and after each plague Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.  There was the plague of blood, (Exodus 7:14-24) frogs, (Exodus 8:1-15) gnats, (Exodus 8:16-19) flies, (Exodus 8:20-32) death of livestock, (Exodus 9:1-7) boils, (Exodus 9:8-12) hail, (Exodus 9:13-35) locusts, (Exodus 10:1-20) darkness, (Exodus 10:21-29) and the death of the first born. (Exodus 11:1-12:30)  Only after the tenth and final plague, the death of the first born, did Pharaoh let the people of Israel go. (Exodus 12:31-32)  The Lord God protected His own people and the Israelites were not affected by the plagues. (Exodus 8:22, 9:4, 9:26, 10:23 and 12:12-13)  On the night when all of the first born of Egypt died, The Lord God passed over the homes of the Israelites.  Even unto this day they still celebrate “The Passover” and explain it to their children. (Exodus 12:25-27)

Application:

The Lord God protects His own people and that includes all believers.  He said that He would never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)  There may be danger all around us but The Lord God protects believers from dangers seen, and unseen.  That upsetting delay that occurred may have kept us from being involved in an accident.  Sometimes we are involved in accidents but walk away unharmed.  We are blessed in more ways than we can count, and by things that we take for granted.  We may not be in an ideal situation but things could be a lot worse.  We need to acknowledge God’s presence in our lives (Proverbs 3:6) and thank Him for blessing us and keeping us.  Death has passed us by a number of times and we should be grateful for the protective covering of the blood of Christ over our lives. (Exodus 12:23)

USE WHAT THE LORD GOD HAS GIVEN YOU

Proclamation:

“When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.’  So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as The Lord commanded.  Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake.”  Exodus 7:8-10 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Moses told Aaron, his brother, everything that The Lord God had spoken to him.  Then they called the elders of the Israelites together and explained everything to them.  Moses, now eighty years old, performed the signs before them which The Lord God had told him to perform and they believed him. (Exodus 4:27-31)  Afterwards, Moses and Aaron went to the Pharaoh and told him that The Lord God of Israel said, “Let My people go.”  But The Lord God had hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not let the people go.  In fact, he made thing harder for them by commanding that they make their quota of bricks without straw being provided for them. (Exodus 5:1-13)  Moses spoke to The Lord God and said that he had made things worse for the people (Exodus 5:22-23) and God gave him a message for the people (Exodus 6:1-8) but the people would not listen to Moses. (Exodus 6:9)  So Moses and Aaron went back to Pharaoh and Moses performed the signs as God had told him to do, yet Pharaoh would not listen to them. (Exodus 7:1-25)

Application:

The staff of Moses became a snake and consumed the staffs of Pharaoh’s officials. (Exodus 7:10-12)  Later Moses used his staff to turn the Nile River into blood. (Exodus 7:20-21)  Moses believed and he used his staff to perform miracles.  Sometimes we feel that because we don’t have much that we can’t do very much.  However, The Lord God has given each of us a gift (1 Corinthians 7:7, 2 Timothy 1:6, and Peter 4:10)  The Holy Spirit of God has given every man a gift (1 Corinthians 12:7-12) so that we can work within the body of Christ.  We just need to use what we have been given to do what The Lord God has for us to do.  If, by chance, you are unaware of your gift, pray and ask God to reveal it to you, and to give you the courage to use it to His glory.

BELIEVE AND OBEY EVEN WHEN YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND

Proclamation:

“Now The Lord had said to Moses in Midian, ‘Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.’  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.”  Exodus 4:19-20 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After The Lord God told Moses that He was going to send him into Egypt to tell Pharaoh to let His people go, Moses came up with a number of excuses which he offered to God. (Exodus 3:11-15)  Then God gave him the plan, telling him what to do and what to say. (Exodus 3:16-22)  Moses still questioned The Lord God and He gave him several signs to show to the people so that they would believe that The God of their fathers had appeared to him and spoken to him. (Exodus 4:1-16) 

Applications:

Like Moses, sometimes we have our doubts about the things which The Lord God tells us to do.  At times we even question God’s instructions.  However, it is better for us to believe in Him, and in His Holy Word, and to obey Him even when we do not understand what He wants us to do or how it is all going to work.  It is our place to trust in The Lord.  We do not have the mental capacity to fully understand or comprehend all that He knows.  Additionally, He knows the future and what it holds for us.  He did not promise us that things would be easy, but He said that He would be with us and never leave or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)  So, let’s just do what The Lord says for us to do.

THE LORD GOD HEARS THE VOICE AND THE CRIES OF HIS PEOPLE

Proclamation:

“The Lord 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.’”  Exodus 3:7 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After his father, Jacob, died and was buried in Canaan, Joseph returned to Egypt and lived to be 110 years old.  Near the end of his life he made his brothers swear to an oath not to bury him in Egypt but to carry his bones back to the land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Genesis 50:22-26)  After Joseph died, a new king rose up in Egypt who did not know Joseph and who was worried about the numerous Israelites.  So he placed taskmasters over them and made their lives bitter. (Exodus 1:8-14)  However, the Israelites continued to increase in number and Pharaoh decreed that all male Israelite babies shall be killed at birth. (Exodus 1:15-22)  One Hebrew mother hid her son for as long as she could, then placed him in a basket and put it in the river.  The child was found by the daughter of Pharaoh, who felt sorry for the Hebrew boy and kept him as her own. (Exodus 2:1-10)  This boy, Moses, was raised in the palace of Pharaoh.  When he was grown, he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew male.  The next day, he stopped two Hebrews from fighting, and one of them asked him, “Are you thinking of killing me as you did the Egyptian?”  Then Moses became afraid and fled to Midian.  There he stayed, married, began a family, and became a shepherd. (Exodus 2:15-22)  It was there that Moses saw the burning bush which was not consumed and he heard the voice of The Lord God. (Exodus 3:1-10)  God told him that He had heard the cries of the Israelites (Exodus 2:23-24 and 3:7-8) and He was sending Moses to bring His people out of Egypt (Exodus 3:10) and into the land flowing with milk and honey. (Exodus 3:8)

Application:

Believers still suffer and go through trials and tribulations during this earthly journey.  It is comforting to know that The Lord God hears our prayers and cries.  When the time is right, according to His will, He will do something about our plight.  Things are allowed to happen to us for a reason.  Sometimes bad things happen to us to keep us humble, (2 Corinthians 12:7) sometimes they are to keep us focused on Him, (Matthew 14:25-31) and sometimes they are punishment for our behavior. (Numbers 14:26-31)  However, our trouble won’t last always. (Psalm 30:5)  He hears the prayers of the righteous and He sees our situation. (1 Peter 3:12)  We just need to keep the faith and obey His Holy Word, (Deuteronomy 7:9) and know that He hears us.

KEEPING THE PROMISE MADE TO A DYING FATHER

Proclamation:

“Then he gave them these instructions: ‘I am about to be gathered to my people.  Bury me with my fathers … There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah.  The field and the cave were bought from the Hittites.’  When Jacob had finished giving instructions, he … breathed his last …”  Genesis 49:29-33 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  When Jacob arrived in Egypt, he sent his son Judah ahead of them to get directions to Goshen.  His long lost son Joseph met them there and they had a joyous and tearful reunion. (Genesis 46:28-29)  Pharaoh allowed them to have the best land in Egypt and Jacob blessed him. (Genesis 47:5-10)  Jacob lived for seventeen years in Egypt before he died.  Just before his death, he asked Joseph not to bury him in Egypt, but in the land of his fathers. (Genesis 47:28-30)  Also before he died, Jacob blessed the two sons of Joseph, intentionally giving the younger son, Ephraim, the blessing which should have gone to the oldest son, Manasseh. (Genesis 48:8-20)  Then Jacob called his twelve sons together and blessed each one of them and spoke prophetically of their individual futures. (Genesis 49:1-33)  They would become the twelve tribes of Israel.  Then he gave instructions to all of his sons to bury him in the land of his fathers and not in Egypt. Joseph honored his father’s dying wish and kept his promise to him. (Genesis 50:1-13)

Application:

People make promises to others all of the time and they break most of them.  Many children are often “crushed” by the broken promises made to them.  However, there is something special about the promise one makes to a dying individual on their death bed.  Promises made to a dying family member are usually held in very high regard and are usually honored.  We should be very careful when we give our word to someone.  The old saying goes, “You are only as good as your word.”  We need to pray for faithfulness in the promises that we make to others. 

DON'T BE AFRAID TO TRAVEL GOD IS WITH YOU

Proclamation:

“So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to The God of his father, Isaac.  And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, ‘Jacob!  Jacob!’  ‘Here I am,’ he replied.  “I am God, The God of your father,’ He said.  ‘Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.  I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again…’”  Genesis 46:1-4 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After Joseph had convinced his brothers of who he was and had spent some time with them, Pharaoh found out that Joseph’s brothers were in Egypt and he told them to go back to Canaan and get their father and their families and bring them to Egypt. (Genesis 45:16-20)  When they got home and told this to their father, Isaac, he agreed to travel to Egypt to see his son Joseph. (Genesis 45:28)  While traveling to Egypt, The Lord God spoke to Israel in a vision and told him not to be afraid regarding this journey.  Israel continued on the journey but now he was walking by faith.

Application:

Traveling on a long journey or to a foreign land, may cause us some concern.  However, The God that we serve is already wherever it is that we are going and He will also be with us as we travel to get there.  He said that He would never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)  The Lord God is omnipresent, He is everywhere all at the same time. (Psalm 139:7-8)  He is also omnipotent, He has all power in heaven and in earth, and everything is under His control. (Matthew 28:18)  He has told us in His Holy Word to “fear not, for I am with you.” (Isaiah 41:10)  If The Lord God is telling us to go to some place, then we have no reason for be afraid.  We just need to stay close to God and pray about everything. (Proverbs 3:6, Matthew 21:22, and Luke 18:1)

SHOW PEOPLE YOUR TRUE SELF AND SPEAK THE TRUTH

Proclamation:

“Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come close to me.’  When they had done so, he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt.’”  Genesis 45:4 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After Joseph had sold his brothers the grain they requested, he returned their money to them and sent them on their way home. (Genesis 42:25-26)  Because of the continued famine in their land they again ran out of food. (Genesis 43:1-2)  When they went back to Egypt to buy more grain, they took their youngest brother, Benjamin, with them as Joseph had requested. (Genesis 43:8-13)  After playing games with them for a while, Joseph revealed the truth to them that he was their brother. (Genesis 45:3-15)

Application:

All too often people put on a false face and pretend to be someone that they are not.  We should not try to “live a lie” in order to please or impress someone.  If they cannot accept us for the person that we are, then we are better off without them in our lives.  We need to be truthful to ourselves, and to others, for The Lord God detests liars. (Psalm 101:7)  As believers we are God’s representatives here on earth.  He is holy, so we should be holy. (1 Peter 1:16)  He is truthful, so we should be truthful. (Proverbs 12:17, Zechariah 8:16, and Ephesians 4:25)