Exodus 10-12:36

In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

Exodus 12:11-13

The significance of the Passover cannot be overstated. It is perhaps the defining event for the Israelites, celebrated to this day, and it foreshadows the Cross of Christ.

I cannot possibly do more than barely scratch the surface of what the LORD does here, but let me just mention three things:

• Readiness
  • The LORD instructs each Israelite family to bring a lamb into their home a few days before the night of Passover. The lamb is not snatched from the flock moments before the slaughter. Instead it lives within the household. The lamb becomes a family pet.
  • Everyone is to be ready to go — belt and shoes on, staff in hand — and the meal is to be eaten in haste.
• Judgment
  • All the plagues, but especially this tenth and final one, constitute judgments on the gods of Egypt.
• Mercy
  • The LORD shows mercy to those who — following His instructions, strange as they may seem — place the blood of the lambs on their doorposts and lintels.
  • The LORD sees the blood and passes over.

In our own lives God calls us to welcome Christ into our lives as the Lamb of God, and He calls us to get ready. He warns of judgment on false gods, anything that would draw us away from Him. And He shows us mercy, seeing the Blood of the Cross, and passing over us, that we might have life. Of course, just as with the Israelites in the first Passover, receiving that mercy requires our cooperation.

Exodus 7-9

But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you My power, so that My Name may be proclaimed in all the earth.

Exodus 9:16

Egypt stands here as the most powerful nation on earth, and Pharaoh rules it as a god. But with the plagues the LORD is systematically demonstrating His supremacy. Pharaoh and all Egypt’s gods beside him are powerless before the LORD, and yet Pharaoh resists.

As you read these stories, do you ever try to envision yourself “on scene”? If so, where are you in the room? Are you Moses? Aaron? An average Israelite? How about just a fly on the wall? (There are plenty of those!) Most of us probably imagine ourselves as “one of the good guys”, not necessarily Moses himself, but right there with him, rooting for him against the nasty Pharaoh. But we should at least occasionally break out of that self-congratulatory perspective and imagine things from a different point of view.

I am pretty sure none of us now occupies the position of head of the world’s most powerful nation. Nor do the people around us bow down to any of us as a god. So perhaps it is difficult to put ourselves in Pharaoh’s place — except for one thing: we all resist the LORD in one way or another. Perhaps our story is not as dramatic as the plagues of Egypt, but God’s message to us is the same as it was to Pharaoh: But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you My power, so that My Name may be proclaimed in all the earth.

Perhaps it is time for us all to admit that God is in control, and we are not.

Exodus 4:18-6:30

Let’s review just a bit. Genesis finishes with Jacob’s family all living in Egypt. Exodus opens about 280 years later, with a greatly expanded populace of Israelites now enslaved by the Egyptians. We are introduced to Moses as a baby, rescued from Pharaoh’s edict of infanticide, and drawn from the Nile by Pharaoh’s daughter. Moses grows up in Pharaoh’s household, but flees to the land of Midian after killing an Egyptian. There he becomes a shepherd and eventually sees a curious sight, a bush that is on fire but is not consumed. Turning aside to investigate, he encounters the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. When Moses asks God’s name, God reveals Himself as “I AM WHO I AM”. (Ex. 3:14; By convention in most modern English translations, this Name generally appears as the “LORD” — all caps — throughout the Old Testament.) The LORD calls Moses to deliver the people of Israel from their bondage. Moses does not want the job, but God “insists”, and Moses reluctantly agrees.

Moses now returns to Egypt, meeting his brother, Aaron, along the way in a divinely appointed rendezvous. Together, they meet with the elders of the people of Israel, show them signs, and explain the plan of deliverance.

And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.

Exodus 4:31

That moment of faith and worship marks a high point, but then things immediately go south. Moses and Aaron gain an audience with Pharaoh and ask him to let the people go, but Pharaoh refuses and instead demands that they find their own straw for making bricks — without reducing their quota for brick production. So the people, now more burdened than ever, come back to Moses and Aaron:

[A]nd they said to them, “The LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have You done evil to this people? Why did You ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people, and You have not delivered Your people at all.”

Exodus 5:21-23

The Israelites readily go from a high point of joyful worship to a valley of complaint. But Pharaoh’s actions are no surprise to God.

But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

Exodus 6:1

God has a plan, and in His plan, Pharaoh will not only let the people of Israel go, he will, in fact, drive them out of his land.

Sometimes we hear God’s message of deliverance for us and we respond with faith and worship. We are delighted to know that we are headed to eternal joy in His presence. But we are not so happy about the short-term challenges we may face here and now, so much so that we lose sight of that glorious destination and the God Who promises it. We look at our burdens, the sufferings that we do not expect, and we doubt the goodness of our God.

What are the “unforeseen” obstacles in your path today? What challenges are you facing that don’t seem to make sense? (I know for sure that some of us are currently facing some truly difficult and painful circumstances…) Has God revealed every detail of His plan for you? (Probably not.) But can you trust Him anyway?

Exodus 1-4:17

Picture, in your mind’s eye, Moses before Pharaoh.

What do you see? My guess is that for most of us, it’s Charlton Heston and Yul Brenner. Congratulations to Cecil B. DeMille, the Hollywood machine, and decades of reruns of The Ten Commandments. Thanks to such movies we know the story — or we think we know. But let’s remind ourselves that we’re interested in the Word of God, not Hollywood fiction — or even Sunday School fiction. That is, we need to be very cognizant of where the ideas in our heads come from and sort out fact from fiction. Is this idea I have really in Scripture? Or is it from DeMille? Or is it from some forgotten Sunday School teacher, whose orthodoxy might be questionable? Feel free to watch The Ten Commandments (again) and enjoy it for what it is. But as we read through the Bible, listen to what it actually says and break free of any fictions you might be carrying around in your head.

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Who made you a prince and a judge over us?

Exodus 2:14

Thus an Israelite rejects Moses as an authority figure with what sounds like a very democratic perspective, one to which we Americans might readily subscribe. Moses is, after all, a fellow Israelite whose only qualification for Egyptian privilege is having been pulled out of the water by Pharaoh’s daughter. So why pay Moses any particular heed? That has “democracy” written all over it, but that doesn’t mean it’s heading in the right direction. This may be the first time an Israelite questions Moses’ authority, but as we shall see over the coming weeks, it isn’t the last.

Genesis 47-50

If you have ever wondered why the name “Joseph” is not generally listed as one of the “Twelve Tribes of Israel”, your answer is here in Genesis 48, where Jacob/Israel adopts Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, as his own (Gen. 48:5), in effect giving Joseph a double portion of the inheritance. (And given that without Joseph, they would all be dead, I guess that is only fair…) So these two grandsons of Jacob are treated as sons and become the heads of tribes for the ongoing generations (with Joseph standing in the background). Of course, that means we now have thirteen tribes of Israel. We’ll see how we get back down to twelve when we get to the book of Numbers…

Interestingly, when Jacob blesses Joseph’s two sons, he deliberately places his right hand on the head of Ephraim, the younger of the two, giving him the greater blessing. Clearly, this runs contrary to Joseph’s expectation, but it is not unprecedented in the history we’ve covered so far:

• Abel is favored over Cain
• Isaac is favored over Ishmael
• Jacob is favored over Esau
• Now Ephraim is favored over Manasseh

God’s plan just does not always fit human expectations or traditions.

In Genesis 49 Jacob prophecies over each of his sons. These are not idle words, emotional sentiments of an aged father about to die. These are pronouncements shaping the future of generations to come. I expect that whole dissertations have been written on each verse in turn. Luckily for you, I will make no such attempt, but here are a few highlights:

• Reuben
  • Remember Genesis 35:22? Jacob apparently remembers well enough!
• Simeon and Levi
  • Remember Genesis 34? Jacob does.
• Judah
  • The scepter shall not depart from Judah. (Gen. 49:10) Indeed.
• Joseph
  • He still sounds like Jacob’s favorite.

After blessing his sons, Jacob dies at the age of 147. He is embalmed, carried back to Canaan, and buried in the family tomb.

It is now 39 years since the brothers sold Joseph into slavery and 17 years since being reunited with him. They still feel the guilt, and they fear reprisal, so they finally ask forgiveness. Joseph replies very much as he had 17 years earlier:

“Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Genesis 50:19-21

Sometimes good news is hard to believe. Sometimes it takes time to sink in. In this case that slowness amounts to 17 extra years of guilt.

Just as we need to forgive and let resentments go, so must we accept forgiveness when it is given and not continue to wallow around in guilt. So what guilt might we be carrying unnecessarily? What are the things others have forgiven that we still lug around? In particular, what has God forgiven that we need to release?

Genesis 43:16-46:34

[Joseph’s steward] replied, “Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you…”

Genesis 43:23

This line, spoken by an Egyptian, expresses far more truth than he yet knows — indeed more truth than the brothers yet know!

Joseph, however, is not yet ready for full reconciliation with his brothers. He has a further test for them. First, he shows extraordinary favoritism toward Benjamin, heaping upon him five times more feasting than the others. This action presses in on the brothers’ weak spot, the very jealousy that pushed them to mistreat Joseph.

He then sends them on their way, again surreptitiously returning their money and additionally planting his silver cup in Benjamin’s sack, and the trap is set. Having baited the brothers by the favor shown to Benjamin, he now marks Benjamin as a target. The brothers are thus primed to sell him out, at which point Joseph can rescue Benjamin from any further abuse. But they don’t give up Benjamin to save themselves. They return to Joseph, and Judah holds true to his pledge, offering himself in exchange for Benjamin.

The brothers thus pass the test, and Joseph finally reveals himself to them and embraces them in an astounding display of forgiveness and reconciliation. He tells his brothers:

And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life… So it was not you who sent me here, but God…

Genesis 45:5,7,8

That is a tremendous expression of faith in a sovereign God. Joseph lets go of resentment toward his brothers for his enslavement and instead chooses to see God’s hand of provision. Joseph realizes that God is in control and has been in control all along, and that allows him to forgive his brothers.

So what about us? We all face pain and suffering of one kind or another. We’re all mistreated by someone: family or “friends”, coworkers or colleagues, or outright enemies. The pain may be mild or severe, even devastating. But in all of it, can we, like Joseph, choose to see God at work?

Nothing can happen to me that God doesn’t want. And all that He wants, no matter how bad it may appear to us, is really for the best.

St. Thomas More

Ponder that today. Look for any unforgiveness in your heart, any lingering resentment you may harbor, and offer it all up to our sovereign — and loving — God.

Genesis 41-43:15

For those of us who grew up going to Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, the story of Pharaoh’s dreams of seven fat cows followed by seven emaciated cows and of seven plump ears of grain swallowed up by seven thin ears of grain is likely to be very familiar territory. We know Joseph’s interpretation of the dream — that there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine — so well that it seems obvious, and we wonder why no one else in Pharaoh’s court could figure it out. But I bet that we are much less familiar with Joseph’s dealings with his brothers when they come to buy grain, yet that’s the part of the story that gets the most ink, and we do not even reach the end of it until tomorrow’s reading.

To understand Joseph’s actions, one need only look at what he tells them: “…that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you…” (Gen. 42:16) He knows their earlier character. He knows how they treated him, but that was over 20 years before. (Add them up: 13 years in Egypt before Joseph becomes Pharaoh’s right-hand man [Gen. 37:2, 41:46], then seven years of plenty.) Joseph needs to see what kind of men they are now. Have they changed? Or are they still scoundrels? In particular, how might they treat Benjamin, his full-blooded little brother, whom Jacob clearly now favors?

The brothers, of course, do not recognize Joseph. (How could they? Who would imagine that he would now have the authority of Pharaoh?) They talk among themselves, and Joseph overhears and gets the first clue that, perhaps, they regret their prior actions:

Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” They did not know that Joseph understood them…

Genesis 42:21-23a

But talk is cheap and insufficient evidence of real change, so Joseph holds Simeon hostage, demanding to see Benjamin. Further, he surreptitiously refunds their money, which is simultaneously generous and a test of their integrity.

Jacob is then faced with an incredibly difficult challenge: face starvation, or offer up his “baby”, Benjamin, his last reminder of Rachel, to the mercy of this powerful governor of Egypt. Reuben nobly tries to convince Jacob by vowing the lives of his two sons if Benjamin does not return. But that is not good enough (or Jacob is not yet hungry enough). (Gen. 42:37-38) Finally, Judah — the one whose idea it was to sell Joseph — pledges himself as surety for Benjamin, and Jacob relents. (Gen. 43:8-15)

Is Joseph satisfied? Or does he need more proof? Does he forgive his brothers? Or seek vengeance? Stay tuned.

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One more thing…

On a completely unrelated note, a young man I know publishes short essays occasionally (about once a week) that you all might find interesting. Take a look at his website at https://www.dtsheffler.com/, particularly the Notebook or even the Archive. He recently started an ongoing series, so I’d recommend going back to the start of that series (Enemies of Excellence – Intro) published 12/30/2022, and moving forward from there.

Enjoy!

Genesis 37-40

Let’s recall a bit about Jacob’s family. First he has four wives: Leah and Rachel (his cousins) and their two maidservants, Zilpah and Bilhah. These four women bear him 12 sons and a daughter:

Leah	Rachel	Bilhah	Zilpah
1 – Reuben 2 – Simeon 3 – Levi 4 – Judah 9 – Issachar 10 – Zebulun Dinah	11 – Joseph 12 – Benjamin	5 – Dan 6 – Naphtali	7 – Gad 8 – Asher

Of the four women, Rachel is Jacob’s favorite, the only one he intended to marry. Jacob passes that favoritism on to Rachel’s sons, particularly to Joseph, as we see today, but also to Benjamin, for whom Rachel dies in childbirth. (Gen. 35:16-20)

Jacob shows his favoritism of Joseph in giving him a robe of many colors (Gen. 37:4), but my guess is that the robe is just one of many bonuses that Joseph enjoys. It is not a secret that Joseph is the favorite, and that naturally leads to ill will toward Joseph from his brothers. When Joseph starts having dreams that suggest that he would somehow have dominion over them, or that he is superior to them, they hate him even more. But none of that justifies what they do to him — or to Jacob.

The brothers conspire to kill Joseph, but Reuben steps in, hoping to rescue him later. (Is Reuben really that much morally superior to his brothers? Doubtful. My guess is that he just wants daddy to think better of him after his having slept with Bilhah — Gen. 35:22.) Judah then suggests selling Joseph, rather than killing him. (Hey, if you can get rid of Joseph and make a profit at the same time…) So they take advantage of a passing caravan and sell Joseph. Now they just need to explain Joseph’s disappearance, and a blood-soaked robe of many colors is more than convincing for Jacob. And again we have deceit — of the most horrendous kind. And they stick with the false story for years.

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Meanwhile, back at the ranch… Gen. 38 shifts our attention away from the Joseph narrative to tell us all about Judah and Tamar, his daughter-in-law, who scandalously becomes the mother of his children — yet another unflattering story. Aside from our base nature’s interest in such juicy details, why is this story here? After all, Reuben’s affair with Bilhah warranted only a single verse. I think the answer lies in that this is Judah, who is of particular note as the one through whom comes the anointed line of David, ultimately producing the Christ.

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One more thing…

Although our text here is silent about Benjamin, I am confident that he is not a party to the conspiracy against Joseph, as he is likely still a boy. It also becomes clear later that Joseph maintains a particular affection for Benjamin. Stay tuned.

Genesis 34-36

Today we again see family traits pass from generation to generation, both good and bad. Abraham passes along faith in the LORD to Isaac, and Isaac somehow passes it along to Jacob. But another family characteristic is similarly passed along: deceit. Abraham deceives both Pharaoh and Abimelech with regard to Sarah’s status as his wife (Gen. 12:10-20; 20:1-18), and apparently he does this all the time (Gen. 20:13) — but at least calling Sarah his sister is half true. Isaac goes on to repeat that same deception, calling Rebekah his sister, which is not at all true. (Gen. 26:6-11) Jacob, of course, deceives his own father, Isaac, in stealing Esau’s blessing. And now Jacob’s sons deceive the men of Shechem in the matter of Dinah. It’s not a pretty business.

Is this a function of nature or nurture? Yes. We are all born sinners and are naturally inclined to evil. But we also learn from the examples laid out for us by our parents, and when those examples are negative, it is easy to follow along. So when Jacob grumbles to his sons about their rash behavior (Gen. 34:30), he does not have too far to look for blame. He and Uncle Laban (the sons’ grandfather) set the pattern.

But then God instructs Jacob to revisit Bethel, the site of the “Ladder” dream, where God first spoke to Jacob and promised him protection. Jacob immediately tells his family, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves…” (Gen. 35:2) Presumably, that includes Laban’s household gods that Rachel stole. Jacob here sets a better example, turning his family away from false idols to the Lord.

So how about us? What kind of examples are we setting? What family traits are we passing down, for good or ill?

Genesis 31-33

After 20 years away from the land of his birth, Jacob is a changed man. At the outset he profoundly encounters the Living God in his “Ladder” dream at Bethel. Then he spends years dealing with Uncle Laban, where he learns what it is to be on the receiving end of trickery, theft, and abuse. He works 14 years to “earn” Laban’s two daughters, Leah and Rachel, and gets two concubines thrown in, resulting in one daughter (Dinah) and eleven sons (so far). After working another 6 years for deceptively changing wages, Jacob again hears from the LORD: “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.” (Gen. 31:3) It is finally time for Jacob to separate from Laban and return home.

Before getting on the road, Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel, takes on the mantle of “schemer” and steals her father’s household gods (i.e., idols). It is not entirely clear here what Rachel’s intentions are regarding these so-called gods. Does she believe in them and so clings to them instead of the LORD? Is she trying to secure some kind of protection from these idols? Or is she just “sticking it” to her father, Laban, showing him that he is no longer in charge? I don’t know, and the Bible doesn’t say.

In any case, anticipating Laban’s unfavorable reaction to their leaving, Jacob tries to just slip away quietly. It is difficult to move a large contingent of people, livestock, and material goods without being noticed, so Laban realizes what is going on and pursues him. God, however, warns Laban not to step out of line with Jacob, so Laban is constrained in his actions and has a nice friendly uncle-to-son-in-law chat with Jacob regarding the matter of those missing household gods, about which Jacob knows nothing. In his ignorance, Jacob makes a rash vow that whoever has the idols should die, but Rachel — like her deceptive father and husband — lies her way out of the crisis.

Jacob and Laban finally part ways, establishing a covenant not to interfere with one another, erecting a heap of stones as a testimonial monument, and saying, “The LORD watch between you and me…” Laban says this with animosity, meaning it as a severe warning to beware of doing anything against him. (I find it interesting that I occasionally hear that phrase freely quoted out of context, always with an intended meaning very different from what we have here. People seem to say it as a blessing, a pledge of friendship and togetherness, maintaining a spiritual connection despite having to be physically parted. But that is not at all what it means. Be careful what you quote!)

Turning away from Laban, Jacob must then face the fearful prospect of meeting his brother, Esau, whom he cheated 20 years earlier. He learns that Esau is coming to meet him with a force of 400 men. But Jacob, recognizing his own unworthiness for God’s steadfast love, prays for protection and deliverance. He recalls the Lord’s promise and is encouraged. Even so, he sends wave after wave of livestock ahead of him as presents to appease Esau, hoping to deflect his anger and resentment. In fear, Jacob divides up his family, placing Zilpah and Bilhah (his concubines) with their children first, then Leah and her children, and finally Rachel with Joseph. But when Esau finally arrives, he does not attack but instead embraces Jacob. The brothers thus reconcile, and Jacob is humble in his interactions, calling himself Esau’s servant. Yet it is clear in the end that Jacob intends to remain independent and not become enmeshed with Esau.

But what about this other encounter that Jacob has with God? The night before he meets Esau, Jacob wrestles with a mysterious figure, a “man” that evidently is not just a man, but an angel, or even God Himself in some fashion. They wrestle until the break of day, and Jacob’s hip is put out of joint, but Jacob refuses to let go, demanding a blessing. The “man” declares, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” (Gen. 32:28) From that day forward Jacob is no longer just Jacob, but Israel.

I am not going to pretend that I understand this encounter, but one thing to note is Jacob’s displaced hip, which causes him to limp for the rest of his life. It becomes a constant reminder of this wrestling match, this contest with God. We sometimes hear it said that God always wants to heal our bodily ailments, that he never intends physical suffering. And yes, sometimes we need to bolster our faith and receive healing from His hand. But it is simply not true that God always wants to heal. Sometimes He wounds, but the wounds are for a good purpose, given by a loving and faithful God to keep us close to Himself.