A Boomer in the Pew

Bible in a Year Series: And They saw the God of Israel

Day #37 - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Exodus 22-24.

I found chapter 24 to be the most amazing scene.  God has given Moses the Book of the Covenant, he reads it to the people, the agree to obey, and a most solemn ratification of this covenant is done on an alter before the Lord.

Then, look at this:

"Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank." (Exodus 24:9-11)

They saw God!

Something holy has happened here.  I suppose we don't know fully what "saw God" might mean, but nonetheless, they were in the presence of God and were not destroyed.

Unfortunately, Israel is soon to build the golden calf, but I will be savoring this scene throughout the day with wonder.

Bible in a Year Series: Fear, Faith, and Moses on Sinai

Day #36 - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Exodus 19-21.

Yahweh to David Porter:

I'm God, and your not!

Mankind was severely messed up from the apple in the Garden of Eden.  At the root, we became proud, and would dream that we control our destiny, in essence, our natures are inclined to call themselves god.

So how might the one true God communicate to us that we are not God?  By forcing upon us, or bringing to our view the infinite power of his right arm.  Over and over, we see in the pages of these Scriptures that a proper fear of God is a precursor to faith. 

If we don't fear God, then the door is open for us to think, in some way, that we might be god.

Once again, at Sinai, God is putting a healthy fear of himself into his people.  He is beginning to introduce the concept of his holiness, and here threatens death to those who would dare trivialize his deity.

As I read the Scriptures, I must confess that I frequently find myself questioning, not liking a particular thing, and even sometimes thinking outright rebellious thoughts as my nature fights for control of my belief system.

God has made it clear, "If you obey me, and keep my covenants, then you shall be my people". 

God will have no part of us sharing his rightful throne, and demands complete submission.

As a matter of fact, is this not the root of our problem?  We don't like that word submission.  

We must consider this long, and hard.  Are we willing to completely submit our will to Yahweh.  He, in fact, demands it.  He requires that we understand who we are, and who he is.  But also consider this:  how joyful would it be to have absolutely no cares, and know that you are cared for by a holy, perfectly loving Sovereign, who has nothing but the best in mind for you?

Do you feel the struggle?  Do you feel the tension of that word submission?

Oh my soul, completely surrender to all powerful, and sovereign Yahweh.

Bible in a Year Series: Over 1,000,000 People Whining in the Wilderness

Day #35 - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Exodus 16-18.

If you have ever been in a leadership position over a large group of people, then you will have a crystal clear understanding of the grumbling that can occur. 

We must remember that when Israel left Egypt, there were over 600,000 men, plus women, children, massive numbers of animals, as well as a "mixed multitude".  Consider the immensity of well over 1,000,000 people, plus their animals, wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years!

Got that picture in mind?  Now, put on your managers hat, and imagine trying to lead this massive wandering band of people.

ACK!  I think I need to go back to bed.  My head swirls to even consider this.  I can certainly understand why we will see Moses' temper flair from time to time.

I found myself quick to judge these people as I can't imagine how they could utter a single complaint.  I mean, come on, you just saw God deliver you from Pharaoh with 10 plagues, split the Rea Sea, destroy Pharaoh and his army, every evening quail come waltzing into your camp for you to eat, and every morning, you arise to find the ground covered with tasty honey cakes.  God provides water from a rock, and to top this all off, God is ever-present in a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night.

And will all of this they complain?

Here's a good question:  If I were there, would I be one of the complainers, or would I, starving for a drop of water, know that God is going to provide.  Hmmm, can I plea the 5th amendment?

The other thing that immediately catches my attention are the archetypes of Christ:  bread, water, rock.  These narratives a loaded with foreshadowing of Messiah.

I also found it interesting the Moses' father-in-law bops into the scene, calls him a crazy man for trying to single-handedly manage all these problems, and instructs him to set up the beginnings of a judicial system.

God has a sovereign purpose in all of this.  God is working to shape his nation from a million fallen people chasing after him in the wilderness.  We have many amazing things yet to witness as we approach God's holy mountain. Further still, when we see the behavior of these people, and view the coming judgment of God upon them, we must still the desire to quickly judge, look into our own hearts, and realize that we too possess a rebellious, whining heart, that needs to be tamed by the testing of almighty God.

When we consider all of this, don't you long for Messiah's coming?  Having a fallen nature is a LOT of work.

The Roaming Boomers - Our New Travel Adventure Website

We just launched a new website called The Roaming Boomers.  Please come visit, say hello with a comment, subscribe/connect with our RSS Feed, Twitter, Facebook, and/or e-mail feed, and give us your feedback.  Thanks!

Bible in a Year Series: Witnessing God's Powerful Right Hand in the Crossing of the Red Sea

Day #34 - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible:  Exodus 13-15.

I have been diligently fighting the temptation to breeze through these narratives as merely stories learned in my childhood Sunday school classes.

Israel has been in captivity for over 400 years, and now through the most remarkable of circumstances, God has brought them away from Pharaoh, and through his "strong right hand", has made it clear to Israel, Egypt, and all the surrounding nations, that He alone is God.

Everyone, including Israel, has in them a fear of this God.

It is now that God will fulfill his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to build of these people a chosen nation.  It is now that we will begin to see God establish Israel as a Theocracy, and begin to establish the ways in which they should live, conduct themselves, and relate to Yahweh as the only God.  It is now that Israel must begin to understand, and feel great privilege to understand that this God, the only God, is also Israel's God.  It is also now that Yahweh will continue the molding of his mediator Moses.

Try to imagine yourself as one of these Israelites, 400 years removed from Joseph, enslaved for generations, and now witness to these events.  I have got to believe that a great many of them longed for our modern adult diapers as they shook in fear at the events happening around them.

Imagine their joy as they witnessed God's powerful right arm completely destroy Egypt's mighty Pharaoh and his whole army.

Hundred's of thousands of Israelites, pinned against the Red Sea, and God delivers them in the most powerful way imaginable.

And then, in chapter 15, we find Moses' incredible song, and a nation forever changed, and ready to travel through the centuries, sometimes with only a very small remnant remaining, but moving forward, as promised by God, until all Israel, and a great host of adopted Gentiles find their chosen path to God's ultimate promised land.

What a journey we are witnesses of, and what a journey we are on!

Oh my soul, through the eyes of your faith, never forget the safety found in Yahweh's powerful right hand.  Who can stand against this God?

Bible in a Year Series: Understanding the Holy Significance of The Passover

Day #33 - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Exodus 10-12.

As I was reading today's narrative, I was feeling a sense of guilt that I might only spend my typical two hours on these passages.

There exists in these pages so much for us to understand, not only as these things apply to God's chosen Israel, but significantly for us there exists sacred foreshadowing, and archetypes.

Consider:

• the lamb that was slain
• the blood that saved
• God himself applying judgment
• the separating of God's people from the world.

The lesson for us to learn from this seems to be:

• It is God's holy wrath against sin that all men should fear.
• We are only saved from God's wrath by the sacrificial Lamb of God, His shed blood, and our action to believe, trust, and obey.

There is so much that is significant before our eyes today that it makes me feel inadequate to comment.  Therefore, I am going to provide a few links for you to take upon yourself perhaps some extra study:

• Spurgeon - Separating the Precious From the Vile
• Spurgeon - The Blood
• A.W. Pink - The Passover
• John MacArthur - God's Saving Power Displayed in Egypt (Audio)

Abba, teach us to properly tremble at the sound of your Great Name.  If we were the ones huddled behind the bloody doorposts, we would only possess fear, and hopefilled trust.  But in the morning, what joy would be ours as we would separate oursleves from the bondage of the evil Pharaoh.  Give us eyes to see how these words apply to our lives today, and make us exceedingly glad for your plan of redemption, your calling of a holy people, and our own exodus some day to your heaven-kept promised land.

Bible in a Year Series: 10 Plagues to Proclaim the Name of Yahweh to the World

Day #32 - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Exodus 7-9.

There is so much for us to learn here, in these 10 plagues of God, that we could likely halt our journey and feast our souls here for six months.

But, alas, our journey is to read God's sacred Scriptures in a year.

Out of the myriads of things that we could discuss in this encounter between God, and this evil man (created by God) named for us as Pharaoh, I suppose we should look to the primary reason for this episode.  Although, there are many significant secondary reasons.

That His Holy Name might be known:

• But for this purpose I have raised you up [evil Pharaoh], to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. (Exodus 9:16)
• that they may know that you alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth. (Psalm 83:18)
• who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name, (Isaiah 63:12)

So far in our journey, God has declared himself creator, sovereign, and here we are witness to another significant declaration of God:  He has chosen a people, and he will make it crystal clear that He alone is God, and easily stands against, and defeats all other gods.

Surely we must not miss the many things that God has for us to understand in these 10 plagues, but we must also bear in mind that there exists a spiritual realm of good, and evil angels.  Certainly Satan has witnessed God's choosing of a people, and it is certainly appropriate to think that Satan understands that these elect of God are the establishing of a Kingdom, right in the middle of Satan's kingdom, that God will call his own.  Further, God has made this crystal clear to Satan in the defeat of his sorcerers, and further still with the testimony of these sorcerers that this is indeed "the finger of God".

God even forces demons to cry uncle under his almighty hand.

Abba, teach us all that we need to know from these Scriptures.  You alone are God, you will uphold your elect with your mighty hand, and here we see another page in your redemption story.  How merciful you are to save us, who from our father Adam, have sought to become our own gods.

The Roaming Boomers - Our new Travel and Adventure Website is About to Launch

My wife and I are about to launch a new travel/adventure website called The Roaming Boomers.  This will be the third jewel in our social media adventure.  We are really looking forward to jumping into this new business to see if we can build a subscriber base in the travel/adventure space.  Plus, traveling all over the place isn't so bad either.

Here is the introductory video that we will be putting on the front page of our new website.  When we launch the new site, I will come back an let you know.

Bible in a Year Series: Longing for our Present Exodus

Day #31 - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible:  Exodus 4-6.

The mural shown here is from a 15th century BC Egyptian tomb which depicts Asiatics hard at work making bricks.  Click the mural to learn more.

God's chosen people are enslaved to Pharaoh with the backbreaking work of making bricks.  God's people have grown from a band of 70 people to a vast nation in captivity.

Furthermore, the are complaining to God of their labors, and Moses' first round with Pharaoh made life even worse and now they had to gather their own straw to make bricks, but must still maintain the same daily output.  A tremendously worse burden that brought the whip down on them even more.

It is important for us to learn all the things that God has in view for us in this scene.  And, there is a great many things.  But my mind is drawn to the foreshadowing that exists here.

Are we not Israel lumbering under the taskmaster of our fallen natures?  Do we not live under an evil Pharaoh (Satan) who bids us to do his bidding?  Do we not long for our own Exodus to the promised land?

With our own Exodus in mind, and our own longing for the promised land, let us read these verses with new eyes:

"God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’” (Exodus 6:2-8)

This is a far different relationship we see before our eyes then we have witnessed thus far in the Patriarchs. From the beginning God desired us to be his "sons", and here he has begun to call the nation of Israel his "son".  This is a far more personal God then we have seen.

It does us well to consider all of the times God has said "I" in these verses, and brand our hearts with each and every one of them.  Furthermore, as we consider our life and times, let us take these words and pray them back to our God:

You are my God.  You appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  You will redeem us with your outstretched arm with great acts of judgment.  You take me to your your son.  You will be my God.  You will bring me into the land that you promised, and give it to us as a possession.  You are my God.

Come Messiah, Come!