Sherman Church of the Nazarene

As we read today, Joshua becomes the leader of the Israelites.  What a set of shoes to fill.  Can you imagine having to lead after such a Godly man as Moses?  On our own strength, we could never do it.  However ,God's promise in verse 5 reassures that Joshua was not alone: "No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you".

Further, I find strength in God's admonition to Joshua in verse 8: "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful".  Timeless words and really, the foundation of why we're doing this 40 days of bible reading.

What an amazing promise and challenge God gives to Joshua.  How has hiding God's Word in your heart changed your life? 

What is God saying to you in His word today?

Today we read the Ten Commandments.  I don't have anything pithy to say or any story to recount.  The truth is as I read the Ten Commandments, I am at a loss.  Framed by the history which we have read to this point, I am moved that God so loved His chosen people that in spite of their disobedience, He still instructed and corrected them and did all he could to draw them unto Himself.  And, he still does so today.  The Ten Commandments then create such a foundation for the rest of our journey of faith.  I found this commentary from John Wesley on Exodus 20:1.

"The law of the ten commandments is a law of God's making; a law of his own speaking. God has many ways of speaking to the children of men by his spirit, conscience, providences; his voice in all which we ought carefully to attend to: but he never spake at any time upon any occasion so as he spake the ten commandments, which therefore we ought to hear with the more earnest heed. This law God had given to man before, it was written in his heart by nature; but sin had so defaced that writing, that it was necessary to revive the knowledge of it."

What is God saying to you through HIs Word today?

Defining moments.  We see them in sports, we hear about them in the news.  I recently read the story of the hiker who, inspired by another hiker who had to cut off his own arm to save himself, tried to hike the same trail.  The second hiker broke his leg and had to crawl for four days to find aid.

Today, we read as the Israelites have left Egypt and are moving toward the promised land.  The first thing that strikes me are the bones of Joseph.  Verse 13:19 says Josepeh knew "“God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place".  What an amazing faith.  Joseph know God was at work and would come to the aid of the Israelites.

Once again, I am struck by Moses' boldness in 14:13-14 as he says " Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.  The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Then, we see that the Israelites crossed the Red Sea on dry land.  Talk about a defining moment.

Has God used a cicrumstance or event in your life to create a defining moment in your faith?  What is God saying to you through His Word today?

Isaiah had a powerful message to the Israelites of his day. “You are in for trouble if you go to Egypt for help, or if you depend on an army of chariots or a powerful cavalry. Instead you should depend on and trust the holy LORD God of Israel .” (31:1) Ironically today’s Engage the Word passage brings to my mind that warning against trusting in an alliance with Egypt for safety. (Warning: History lesson follows!)

For years, the study of Egyptian history had overpowered the Bible’s account of events in the Ancient Near East. Simply put, the accepted chronology among Egyptologists of the famous empire’s past did not jive with the Bible’s. When reading about the Hebrew oppression, Moses’ life, the 10 plagues, and the mass exodus, facts just didn’t match up. But very recently, as in within my lifetime, many scholars have questioned the accepted Egyptian chronology to the point where it now only hangs from the threads of stubbornness woven of academic traditionalism.

The root of this traditional chronology begins in the third century B.C. when the Egyptian historian Manetho compiled a list of all Pharaohs and the length of their reigns. Then in 1904, German Egyptologist Eduard Meyer comes along with an astronomical theory as to the beginning date of Manetho’s king list based on the appearance of a certain star in the skies. I simplify here, but basically Egyptologists then line up Manetho’s Pharaohs from the beginning of Meyer’s star and count out years based on the length of their reigns. Viola! A nice, neat timeline. Going by that chronology, there is nothing in Egyptian history to corroborate the Bible’s account of a large Hebrew population, a reason for Moses to be adopted by a Pharaoh’s house, plagues, or a massive exodus of any people when the Bible says it should have happened.

Beginning in the 1970s and culminating in a breakthrough study in 1991, a new wave of Egyptologists have researched this accepted history and discovered that Manetho’s original king list is flawed. One, it appears that he listed many kings that reigned at the same time, so its not as simple a matter to just add up the reigns of his many kings one in succession of the other. Additionally, some Pharaohs had variations in the writing of their name, to which Manetho simply listed them twice, further tainting his compilation. Fast forward to Meyer’s star theory and it turns out that the Egyptians held little significance to the specific solar sign and so the trusted “beginning date” of Egyptian history is in tatters. The resulting revision of these new Egyptologists essentially condenses the traditional chronology by about two and a half centuries.

The revised timeline reveals some intriguing facts when compared with Biblical accounts. Now archaeological evidence confirms the presence of Hebrew slaves as the Biblical timeline reports, even documenting the use of bricks composed of mud and straw as building materials (Exodus 5:7). The new timeline puts Amenemhet III as Pharaoh at the time of Moses’ birth. He had no sons, but two daughters, and so the adoption of Moses would make sense in light of continuing the family line. Then by the time of the Biblical exodus, the large slave populations at two sites suddenly disappear hinting at a mass migration. Not only that, but the Pharaoh at this time was Neferhotep whose mummy has never been found (which would make sense if his body is at the bottom of the sea according to the Bible) and his son’s mummy, Wahneferhotep, has been discovered as a young boy (perhaps a victim of the plague of the first-born).

This is not to give definitive proof of all this today or say everything lines up nice and neat. But it is to show again how archaeology and the historical record continue to support God’s Word. But more than that it comes down to the question, do we heed Isaiah’s warning today? Do we depend on and trust the holy Lord God? For years, the history of the ancient world did not make sense and so historians turned to Egypt for help, just as the Jews of Isaiah’s day allied with that country for safety. Both of those hopes have proven false. In fact it’s the exact antithesis to that of Moses and the Hebrews of the historical exodus. God provided for them because they depended on Him, not human strength or wisdom. And God still operates the same today.

Today we read about the Passover.  Once again I encourage you to read between yesterday and today's passages to fill in the gaps, it's a truly amazing story.

In between the two passages we see Moses' elevation and education in Pharoah's household.  Everything about his education and upbringing would point to the fact that Moses is going to be a leader.  One problem, one day he saw an Egyptian master beating his Hebrew slave and intervened to stop the beating and killed the Egyptian master.  Thinking no one saw him, he went about his day.  The next day he was recognized and they wanted to bring charges against him and avenge the death of the Egyptian master.  So, Moses fled Egypt to Midan where he met his wife and they had a child.  Moses became a shepherd and found himself pretty content.  One day, he was tending sheep in the desert.  God comes to Moses in a burning bush and tells Moses his plans to lead the Israelites out of bondage and into the promised land.

In today's reading we see God preparing the Israelites to leave Egypt.  He is about to send the final plague upon Egypt, but before he does, he instructs the Israelites mark this solemn occassion not just now, but in the future.  I see this picture painted in verses 24-28 "Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 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.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. ²⁸ The Israelites did just what the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron.

What a picture of obedience.  The Israelites are about to be delivered.  But, yet there is no victory chant, no dancing in the streets.  They simply worship God in obedience.  The plague that follows devestates Egypt, for a time.  At this moment, at least, God's people don't revel in the power that God showed.  They simply claimed His promises and worshipped in obedience.

What is God saying to you in His Word, today?

Wow!  Day 8 is already here and I can't believe how quickly we've progressed from the Creation to Moses.  I hope God is giving you a hunger for His Word and that you are hearing and seeing God in each of these readings and as you pray.

Seeing God's blessings in difficult circumstances can be difficult.  We saw an excellent example in Joseph yesterday.  I am always blown away at Joseph's faithfulness and positive outlook in spite of all of the awful circumstances in which he found himself.  The "rest of the story" (Sorry, Paul Harvey) for Joseph is that as a result of his faithfulness, he was second in command in Egypt.  Only Pharoah had more power.  As a result of this, Joseph was able to send for his family (His father Jacob and his brothers) from the land of Caanan where the famine was as bad as it was in Egypt.  God was able to preserve this line that would eventually lead to the birth of Jesus.  I encourage you to read Genesis 49 and 50 and read this amazing story. 

As we read in Exodus today, we see the result of Jacob's family in Egypt.  His offspring are becoming more and more numerous and they are bound in slavery to the Egyptians.  Something jumps out at me here in Exodus 1:8: "Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt".  How quickly they lost sight of God's blessing. 

A few things stand out to me.  First, God is blessing the Isrealites and increasing their number.  But, I wonder if the Israelites see the blessing of their numbers being increased.  Sometimes, we can't see God's hand at work in our circumstances.  Once again, God is so faithful as this is a direct result of His covenant with Abraham.  Praise God for the disobedience of the midwives to Pharoah's command to kill all of the boys born to the Israelites.

Secondly, I wonder about the sorrow in the hearts of the Israelites.  How tragic and difficult to imagine.  But yet, God's hand is at work in the heart of Moses' parents. "When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for  him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile" (2:2-4).

God ordained the chance meeting that follows in Pharoah's daughter finding Moses in the Nile.  Out of such tragedy around them, God remains faithful.  I can't minimize the amazing sorrow that the hundreds or thousands of Israelite families who must have lost their sons.  But, still in the midst of it all, God's hand is at work.

What is God saying to you today?

Wow, we're already on day 7 of our journey together.  To those who have been following along, please use this blog space to just fill us in on how God has been speaking to you this week.  Your thoughts don't need to be earth-shattering.  I am just curious as to how God is using this time in your life.  I am amazed at some of the insights God has provided through those who have shared through the comments.  If you haven't shared jump in.  I have been encouraged by all of the comments and enjoyed seeing how God is speaking to us each about different things in the same passages.

Today we pick up our reading with Joseph, a great-grandson to Abraham. 

A few things jump out at me.  The first is that in spite of the evil that his brothers intended by selling him into slavery, we see God prospering him.  "The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant (39:2-4)"" tdfa"  

Next, Potiphar's wife desires Joseph and when she is rebuffed, she manufactures a story about Joseph and he is thrown in prison. In spite of yet another evil plan, God gives him the ability to interpret dreams and most importantly, the Pharoah's dream.

Finally, becuse his interpretation of Pharoah's dream was accurate (should we expect any less?), Pharoah put Joseph in charge of collecting and storing grain from the 7 years of abundance in preparation for the 7 years of famine.  These same stores of grain would later be used to save the very ones (his brothers) who intended to be rid of him once and for all.

How amazing God's providence at work.  How have you seen God's providence in your life?

In today's passage, we see the faithfulness of God to Abraham in fulfilling his promise to bless him with a child.  In the chapters between yesterday and today, we see Abraham struggling with obedience once again.  In his mind he couldn't see how God was going to bless him with a child while he and Sarah were in their old age.

In today's passage we see in verses 1-4 "Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. ² Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. ³ Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. ⁴ When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. ⁵ Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him".  God is so amazing.

I find it fascinating that God said in verse 21:13 "I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring".  God was so faithful to his promise to bless Abraham's offspring that he was going to bless Ishmael in spite of Abraham's disobedience.   What a picture of God's grace.

Finally, in Chapter 22, we see Abraham's obedience to God's call to sacrifice his only son.  If you read Jason's blog yesterday, isn't it amazing how we see the thread continue?  A father willing to sacrifice his only son, a precious sacrifice indeed.  Just as Jesus was God's only Son, he became a precious sacrifice for all of us.

What is God saying to you today in His Word?

Today we find Abram after defeating the larger army, made up of a confederation of five kings. .  But, God showed His Power and Glory and brought victory to Abram.  God reassures Abram in verse 1 that "I am your shield and your great reward".   

The thing that jumps out at me today is God's covenant to Abram.  He enters into a covenant with Abram to bless him and his descendants.  The only problem was, Abram didn't have any descendants.  But, God showed Abram in verse 5 "Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be".  God reaffirms an earlier covenant that Abram would take posession of the land (v 7). 

One one hand you can't blame Abram for asking in verse 8 "Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”  After all, Abram had to be thinking he couldn't just march in and say "Here I am to take posession of the land".  But, God tells Abram to prepare the animals so that God could seal his covenant.  This is a traditional way to seal a contract between two parties.  God appears as a torch of fire and seals the covenant with Abram.

God is faithful.  What promises has God been revealing to you through His Word?

One of the most significant statements in all of Genesis is found in today’s reading. After the Lord’s promise to Abram that he would have a son and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars, we see Abram’s response in verse 6, “And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” This righteousness, or living in a state that is right and just with God, is a gift from the Lord who is not only the author of righteousness, but the sole embodiment of it. We do not naturally possess righteousness, so it must be imputed, or assigned, to us. God as author can credit that righteousness to us. But how? Through faith in Him. But there is more that emerges from just a cursory reading of Genesis 15:6.

Something fascinating that I read analyzes a bit deeper the timing of Moses’ narrative here regarding Abram’s faith and righteousness. This is the third chapter of Genesis that recounts Abram’s life, but it is the first time that mentions he had faith. So are we to presume that Abram did not have faith when he uprooted his entire life and left Haran (chapter 12)? Or at any time before and after that until this moment with God? I think Hebrews 11:8 answers that: “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.” The emphasis here clearly is that Abram had faith even before God made this particular promise. So what is Moses getting at in his structure of Abram’s biography?

I think it ties in with the reading from Chapter 12. God promised that He would bless “all the families of the earth” through Abram. But how can He do that when Abram has no descendents? That realization becomes clear with God’s promise of a son in Chapter 15. For us today, these two promises together are a reference to Christ Messiah – the ultimate blessing to “all the families of the earth.” Now, we need to be careful assigning a complete understanding to Abram the full knowledge of what these two promises represented, because God had not reveled His full plans at this point in history. However, Christ Himself reminds us in John 8:56 that, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw it, and was glad.” Abram had faith in the promise of a son that would lead to blessings for all humanity. Today, we must have faith in the reality that the Son has come and now speaks on our behalf before the Father. It is faith in that for which we are assigned righteousness. And so Moses’ timing regarding Abram and faith and righteousness makes perfect sense given this emphasis that saving faith comes from that in the person and work of Christ Jesus – the promise of or the reality.

Indeed, as I look back in the other three readings for the week, this promise is a central focal point. In Genesis 1:26, we see Christ in tandem with the Father creating man; “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.” The original plan was for man to live in righteousness with God, the Son, and the Spirit. So we have an illustration of what the promise will achieve. But in Chapter 3, Adam and Eve spoiled that plan (as any of us would have) in disputing God. But the promise is still central to the reading when God proclaims to Satan that Eve’s seed, Christ, will crush his head and establish final victory (v. 15). And then again in Genesis 6 and 7, this promise explains why God had to do the unthinkable. Apart from Noah and his family, the entire world had become so evil that, if allowed to continue unchecked, would have corrupted the human race so vilely that no righteous line would have survived from which Christ Messiah to come. 

Today we read about Abram's call.

It's an interesting story of obedience and disobedience. On one hand we see Abram's obedience to "Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you" (Gen. 12:1). Talk about moving out of your comfort zone. God asked Abram to leave all that he knew and move into a new land. But, in verses 2-3, God promises to bless Abram, and make him "into a great nation" and to make his "name great".

As we see Abram's obedience to God's call, however, Abram devises a plan to keep himself safe as they move into the land of Egypt. Motivated by fear that he would be killed because his wife, Sarai (Sarah) was beautiful, Abram knew he would be safe and would be treated much better if the Egyptians believed Sarai was his sister. But, Abram failed to trust God.

It's easy to Monday morning quarterback and say, "God led him to Egypt, why didn't Abram trust God for his protection in Egypt". The pharaoh’s rebuke was very just and certainly God's grace went before Abram. The pharaoh’s response is "Take her and go!” (V 19). And the pharaoh even "gave orders about Abram to his men" (20).

God's grace goes before us, especially when we are being obedient to his call to us. Many times it is hard for us to see His hand at work, especially in light of our own fears.

How is God speaking to you through the Word today?

Are you different?  Sometimes, we don't like to be called different.  I used to talk to a salesman who always called himself a "chameleon" that blended in with anyone and became whatever his customers wanted him to be.   It may have led to success in sales, but it always made me wonder if he was being genuine in our dealings or just being a "chameleon".

Today's passage is the account of Noah.  It's interesting to me to see the continued effect of sin entering the world through Adam and Eve.  In fact, 6:5 says that "every inclination of man's heart was evil all the time."  But, 6:8 tells us that "Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord".  I like the way the Message puts it: "But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah". 

Two things jump out at me in this passage.  First, because Noah was "different", he was saved, but, so was his family.  How good God is to us.  Our faithfulness affects our families, too.  Noah was faithful in spite of the circumstances around him and his family took notice and was faithful, too. 

The second thing that strikes me is Noah's obedience.  Noah wasn't concerned about what his neighbors might think or how he would be received.  Gen. 7:5 tells us "Noah did all that the Lord commanded him".  I'm sure that on the surface, the task would seem overwhelming, but Noah followed every detail. 

What is God showing you in today's passage?

"The devil made me do it".  How many times have we heard that line, often in jest.  But, yet, we often hear it used as way to excuse our own failure.

Today, we read about the fall of man through Adam and Eve.  We see Eve dialoging with the serpent and moving to question the unreasonableness of the boundary not to eat of the fruit (vv. 2-3), then to contemplating a reason that nullifies the prohibition (vv. 4-5), and concludes with gazing longingly at the forbidden fruit and giving in (v.6).

Interestingly enough, as God walks through the Garden, he doesn't point out their disobedience, they were already aware.  Their nakedness became a symbol of the shame and guilt of disobedience (3:8). 

Then, God begins to explain the consequences of Adam and Eve's disobedience in verses 14-20.  But, if we look back at Chapter 2, verse 17, "but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die", we see that, as heavy as the consequences are, God does not carry out the death penalty.  God responds to disobedience, not with the full weight of justice, but with mercy and grace!

Finally, God's provision for the covering of skins in verses 22-24 is a symbol of grace and forgiveness.

How has God's grace been applied to your life?  God has forgiven our sins and provided Mercy and Grace through the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ.  

What is God saying to you through His Word today?

I don't know if you've ever watched a TV Show called "The Joy of Painting".  It featured a soothing artist named Bob Ross.  He shows you how to paint beautiful landscapes using a small variety of brushes and after watching you start to get the sense that "Hey, maybe I could do that".  He had a theory that you never made mistakes, just "happy accidents" that you could turn into something like a bush or a tree in your painting.

Today's reading points out that God beautifully created the earth and everything in it, including all of us.  Isn't it a joy to know that we were beautifully created by an artist who loved us enough to create us in his own image (1:27-28)?  Often, we are led to believe that we are just "happy accidents" in the scheme of an ever-changing world.  How have you seen God's hand at work in creation today? 

He didn't just create Adam, he blessed him (1:28) and told him to: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! (The Message).  Wow! 

How is God speaking to you through today's passage? 

In 1993, Israeli archaeologists excavating at the Tel Dan site in Northern Israel discovered an inscribed stone with the phrase “House of David,” generating immense excitement in the world of Biblical archaeology. Excitement on a scale not seen in the field of study for many years. Why would such a familiar Biblical reference create such a stir? Because believe it or not it was the first extra-Biblical source ever uncovered referring to King David. Until as little as 18 years ago, many scholars doubted that this central Judeo-Christian figure even really existed. What was the source of their doubt? Merely the fact that something else had not yet surfaced confirming the Bible.

This is a familiar story. It is not the first Biblical truth to be discounted by scholars from lack of extra-Biblical sources only to be confirmed later by archaeology and/or other historical record. And it won’t be the last. Historical evidence has confirmed the Bible time and time again, even revising secular thinking on many subjects from the Hittites to the Canaanites to the Sumerian King list to Egyptian chronology. Still people choose to ignore and scoff at the Bible’s sometimes inexplicable (from a human perspective) accounts. 

You see, “people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.” (1 Corinthians 2:14) This brings me to Genesis 1 and 2 – the beginning of history. It is hard to comprehend God speaking into existence this infinitely vast universe and then personally breathing into life man, a mere and fragile speck in creation, and giving him such a specific role in, even dominion over, that creation. Even evangelicals question the creation account, the literal six days and the order of events. Why? Because a scientific world can’t understand it and so they discount it. It is foolishness to them. Confounded with such mystery, many Christians decide to emphasize why God created us, instead of the details of how. In a sense, I can’t blame them. After all, it is important in understanding God’s love for us in order to convey it to others. It also gives us purpose in life. But I fear we compromise His Word in skimming past Genesis 1 and 2.

 I believe in the six days of creation. I affirm the Genesis 1 and 2 accounts of history. I don’t pretend to have all the answers. I don’t pretend to understand everything. For a comprehensive and scientific source that addresses the Biblical creation account, I highly recommend the folks over at Answers in Genesis. But what I do know is that the historical record has proven the Bible time and time again. God’s Word guided and sustained an entire nation for centuries, transformed one of the most influential empires ever created, changed world history, and continues to impact and transform lives all over the globe even today. In the face of that evidence, who am I to challenge the very foundation upon which it all rests? And while I’m fairly certain it won’t happen in my lifetime, I’ve no doubt that one day humankind will discover the scientific Tel Dan. 

I am so excited to see how God is going to work as we Engage the Word together.  We have been learning to pray together and we are seeing God doing amazing things as we "Seek His Heart" through prayer.  I can't wait to see how He moves as we continue to seek him through The Word.  I wll try to utilize the blog area every day to get us discussing the way that God is transforming our lives through The Word.  We have 60 individuals and couples committed to the Word, including 12 teens (great work, teens!).  I know of a few families who have taken the family reading guides, so I am happy to see that even the children are going to be experiencing the power of God's Word.