Posts that reference the book of Exodus

Study Tip: Ezra

Ezra continues the history of Israel, picking up after seventy years in Babylonian captivity. We see them take their first steps toward reclaiming their nation and their place as God's chosen people. As you can imagine, things are a little shaky. This generation doesn't know much more about living as God's people than that first generation of Israelites who left Egypt. In fact, there are a lot of similarities between the two. Just like in Exodus, we find:

The institution of God's law
The establishment of a worship center
Hostility from enemy nations

And like Exodus there are occasional lengthy passages of genealogies or other details.

Some things to watch for as you read:

Watch how God sovereignly directs all the events. The phrase "the hand of the Lord" is used a few times. We'll see it again in Nehemiah.

Notice the problems caused by compromise.

List Ezra's character traits. These are summarized in 7:10.

How are the principles in Ezra relevant to us?

A Friend of God

By Paula

"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

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

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

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

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.