40th Week Exodus Chapters 15-19 (Click on Title for the Video Introduction)

 Click on the Title for the Video Intro

Monday, Exodus Chapter 15

Exodus 15

Verses 1a & 20

Mindy Strayer

May 26, 2008

Verse 1a:   Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: 

Verse 20:  Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing.    

THOUGHT

God had just saved the Israelites from the Egyptians by doing an absolute miracle of immeasurable proportion. This was an event that needed to be remembered forever. How better to do that then to remember in song. How cool that the leadership of this group of people led them in song to the

Lord. 

Music is such an awesome gift from the Lord. Lyrics of songs are often taken from Bible verses, and they contain stories about the Lord’s characteristics and His workings in our lives. Music unto the Lord, whether it be singing, playing an instrument or dancing is not just for entertainment, but it is an act of worship. It is a useful tool to be able to thank and praise God for His goodness, faithfulness, provisions, and help us to remember all that He has done for us.

PRAYER

Lord, thank You for the gift of music in this world. All of us have had a song that really spoke to our hearts, seeming to be exactly the perfect description of what we were going through, capturing exactly what we were wanting to say but couldn’t put it together by ourselves. We are grateful for those songs that ultimately have helped us gain a deeper relationship with You. Help us to make a joyful noise unto the Lord frequently. AMEN

Tuesday, Exodus Chapter 16

Exodus 16

Verse 35

Mindy Strayer

May 28, 2008

Verse 35:  The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.

THOUGHT

The same food for 40 years?! The Bible doesn’t really say if the Israelites had anything else that they ate along with the manna, except of course for the quail. It doesn’t say that they ate quail for 40 years though. This just got me wondering. My first thought was that if I had to eat the same food day after day, how tired of it I would be after 5 days let alone 40 years. Unless of course it was ice cream! Ha!

But then I thought about the blessing of being able to rely on something day after day. You know that it will always be around. It is consistently present to fill you, providing you with something that is much needed. During different time frames in our lives the Lord provides us daily with certain consistencies like he did with the manna for the Israelites. Yes, His Word, is our daily bread spiritually. But there are many more that exist.

For those of us who are married, isn’t our spouse one of those consistencies? Maybe it is our job, or our town, or home, a friend or a pet. Those are just examples. They ate the manna right up unto the point where the journey would change to one of wandering in a land to one of settling in a land. Isn’t it most times the case that when God is ready to move us to a different land, we find that something that once was consistent in our lives no longer is? When that consistency is gone, it often is a sign from the Lord of Him wanting us to enter into a new land. For the Israelites, I wonder if they just woke up one morning and the manna wasn’t there for them. Did they then look to what lies ahead, the land of Canaan?

I guess what I take from this is that there are blessings that exist in our lives that we tend to look at as mundane, and that is the total wrong attitude. The next thing I take from this is that there are blessings that exist in our lives right now that may not exist in the future.  My thought is this. When they are gone, will I have faith enough to ask of the Lord, “Lord, what new land would You like me to settle?”.  This is just food for thought.

PRAYER

God, thank You for all of the blessings that You have provided us with. God, we want to be a grateful people. Help us to see the blessing in things that otherwise would get looked over or even things that get complained about. We thank You for all of the ways in which You choose to lead us. We thank You most especially for Your son Jesus who’s love is a consistent blessing throughout our entire life. We love You, Lord. AMEN

Wednesday, Exodus Chapter 17

Exodus 17

Verses 11-13

Mindy Strayer

May 1, 2008

Verses 11-13:  As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it.  Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite with the sword.

THOUGHT

How encouraging I found this to be. What a collective effort by these leaders. They fought right alongside the Israelites, just not on the physical battlefield. They fought the Amalekites on the spiritual battlefield. I imagine that with his arms raised, Moses, along with Aaron and Hur, were probably praying to the Lord as well, looking up to the Lord, knowing that their help was coming from Him. 

These three verses illustrate the importance of our involvement, our role in prayer and approaching God on the behalf of others. Each one of us in this group will be or have been a Joshua fighting in a battle. And each one of us in this group will be Moses, Aaron and Hur approaching the Lord for Joshua and his army. God responds when we acknowledge Him. The more difficult the battle, the longer we will need to press in. Like Moses, if we lessen or lower our attention from God, we will begin to lose our battles. Also notice that Moses had to have help because this was a difficult battle. It is good for us to see that it is OK to have help, and that it is extremely necessary to provide help to those who can’t fight the battle alone any longer.

Everyone’s role is important to fight evil, and we are stronger as the complete body of Christ, not just a few parts.

PRAYER

Lord, thank You for responding when we call on You for help. You are so faithful to Your people. Thank You for sending Jesus, our greatest helper. God, help us to understand how important our prayers are in fighting the Amalekites of today’s world. Place within each one of our hearts a desire to help others carry burdens and fight battles. May we continually look to You for the strength to keep on going, knowing that the victory belongs to the Lord. AMEN

Thursday, Exodus Chapter 18

Exodus 18

Verse 8

Matt Strayer

June 2, 2008

Verse 8:  “Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them.”

THOUGHT

This verse was a great verse for me simply because it is a reminder to look back at what God has done for all of us. I fall into the category of a driven person with tunnel vision. My current circumstances overwhelm me, and that’s all I can think about. How refreshing it can be to step back and remember what God has done in our lives. The Israelites where under attack, and God parted the sea; they were hungry, and He gave them manna; and they were thirsty, and He gave them water. He does the same for each one of us as we know.  God reminded Moses many times what he had done for the people, and He told him to write it down so they would not forget. This remembrance would give them confidence/faith that He would be with them in the future. 

My good friend Josh took the leadership class that is offered by our church, and the first thing they had to do was write a paper about their journey up to this point in their lives. He said after he wrote this paper, it was made so clear to him that God dearly loved him, and that he had saved him many times on his journey so far. Many times Josh will just smile and say, “Man, prayer is awesome, and it works.” That confidence has been strengthened by looking back and remembering. He has had me write my prayers down and then look back. I so easily forget what I asked for. That blinds me to the reality of my faith, the realness and true power of God.

To conclude, we know it’s not right to live in the past, however, looking back as Moses did sure can strengthen our faith and allow us to encourage others in their faith as well.

PRAYER

Dear God, we thank You for verses like this one to remind us not only of everything that You did for the Israelites, but also to remind us to take a quick look back. You have done so much for us, and we trust that You will continue to do so in the future.  AMEN

Friday, Exodus Chapter 19

Exodus 19

Verse 16

Matt Strayer

June 3, 2008

VERSE 16:  On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.

THOUGHT

This verse stood out to me because of the recent F5 tornado that we had rip across northeast Iowa. In fact, I am typing this in the wake of another thunder storm of heavy rain with thunder and lightning. In chapter 19 we know that God is about to say something very important, something that He doesn’t want His people to forget. He doesn’t want them to forget His teachings, because He knows that if they follow these commands, that it will keep them safe. It will allow them to grow, to prosper and become the very holy nation He has chosen them to be.  So on the third day before His speech, there was thunder and lightning, and everyone trembled.

One of our strongest emotions as humans is fear. Fear motivates us in many ways. God wanted the people to listen up because something important is about to be said. I look at what has happened here shortly following the tornado. First, it has definitely made me listen to weather forecasts differently. No longer will I blow off tornado warnings. Secondly, people have reached out to help the victims of this disaster like you would not believe. They have donated their time, energy, and money to help these people. It has brought out so much good in those around the area. Finally, people have turned to prayer for the victims. My employer has sent many e-mails to over 3000 people to pray for those affected by this devastating event. People have become thankful again for the simple things they have, their home, family and friends.

You cannot look at the path of this tornado without thinking, “My God, You are powerful”. Even though this was a tragic event resulting in death and injury, God has our attention. With this wakeup call many will become closer to Him and many may be saved.

PRAYER

Dear God, You brought thunder and lightning to the Israelites, and they trembled in fear. You intended this for their good so that they would take seriously what You had to say to them. Please, allow us and the many people in NE Iowa to listen closely to what You have to say to us. Make this a lasting impression for days to come. Draw us closer to You in this time.  AMEN