Posts that reference the book of Exodus

A Friend of God

"So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." Exodus 33:11

Not as a man speaks to his servants.

Or to his son.

But to his friend.

Jesus reiterated this in John 15:15 "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you."

Not enemies. Friends.

This includes me. This includes you.

Called By Name

By Paula Wiseman

See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. (Exodus 31:2 NAS)

God looked at a nation of two million Hebrews (maybe more) and called out one man, by name, for a specific job.

By name.

God knows our names, knows us intimately. We aren't part of a nameless, faceless multitude of "believers". We never have to give our 'believer account number' when we pray. We don't even have to wear a name tag.

See, I have called by name ____(YOU)______.

Study Tip: Exodus

By Paula Wiseman

Exodus, the epic story of God's deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage makes a great study. In fact I'm working my way slowly through Exodus right now. Often the detail and repetition discourage folks from reading and studying the book. For others, any study of Old Testament law seems irrelevant. However, here are a few things to watch that might help.

1. God speaks – Watch God's revelation of Himself through His words. I also love His conversations with Moses. After Moses' death, these words are recorded "But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face." That's a relationship worth studying!

2. God acts – Take note of how God intervenes on behalf of His people, both in Egypt and in the desert. Some of my favorite passages are God's display of power at the Red Sea and His holiness at Sinai.

3. Leadership lessons – Moses makes a tremendous character study. Key traits are his humility, his compassion and his intercession. His humanity shows through many times, too.

4. Object lessons – Everything about the Passover and the tabernacle point to the coming work of Christ.

What have you learned from your studies of Exodus?

Agenda

By Paula Wiseman

But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” (Exodus 14:13-14 NLT)

Don't be afraid.

Don't run around in a panic.

Watch the LORD rescue you.

The LORD Himself will fight for you.

Just stay calm.

Out of, then Into

By Paula Wiseman

I'm reading Exodus and many times Moses or the Lord Himself mentions how He brought Israel out of Egypt. Paired with that, is the assurance that He will bring them into the promised land.

For every "out of", there is an "into".

God doesn't deliver us, save us, rescue us and then leave us hanging.

He finishes the job by leading us into His fulfilled promises.

We just have to keep following.

Study Tip: Divisions

By Paula Wiseman

One way to help make sense of your Bible study is to see the big picture, including the natural divisions. These help us understand, process and remember what we study.

The Bible itself is split into two major sections- the Old and New Testaments and several subdivisions within those: Law, History, Poetry, Prophecy, then Gospels, Letters and Prophecy.

Individual books have divisions-

Genesis – Chapters 1-11 details 4 events, then the rest of the book focuses on 4 people
Exodus can be divided by where the Israelites are – in Egypt, journeying to Sinai, then camping at Sinai
The gospel of John is split between Jesus' ministry and teaching in the first 11 chapters and then the Crucifixion week in chapters 12-21
In 1 Corinthians, Paul begins each new section with the catchphrase "now concerning", then he addresses some topic or question that had been raised.

Your study Bible probably divides the chapters up for you, but take the time to notice them. Do you agree with the division placements and the sections headings?

What are your studying now? How is it divided?