I felt a strong urge to begin re-reading the Book of Exodus the past few days. It is always amazing how scriptures we read while studying the Bible can minister to us in different ways, no matter how many times we read them.
I have read Exodus before, but there are many things I noticed this time that I may not have paid much attention to before.
Exodus is when God really makes Himself known to His people, instead of individual men as before.
He introduces Himself to the Israelites with signs, wonders, and precious promises. It is not a sugar-coated account either because you can see many sides of Jehovah in the book.
His ways are certainly beyond finding out, and attempting to understand them is really a futile exercise.
In the study of Egyptian history, we can see that they were a polytheistic nation who were quite superstitious yet very prosperous. They were able to maximize every resource they had in order to be profitable -- even their workforce, which for 400 years, included the Hebrew Nation.
Even though Jacob was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, it was Abraham who was the forefather of all who would believe on 'The God of the Hebrews' or also known as I AM.
The Egyptians had their own gods and were not in anyway impressed by a God who would allow His own people to be under their rule as slaves for 400 years. In fact, in their minds, they thought of the the God of the Hebrews as no threat.
They were wrong.
I find it interesting that God had appointed a time for the deliverance of the Hebrew people before they even went into captivity.
He told Abraham in Genesis 15:13 (NIV):
You would need to read Genesis to get a full understanding of why the children of Israel had gone into captivity. Joseph was Jacob's favorite son and was sold into slavery by his own brothers. He later became the 2nd in command in Egypt before the rest of his family came to Egypt because of famine in their land. Aside from all of this, Jacob (who later became Israel) was a very deceptive man who cheated his brother out of his rightful birthright.
God will correct his people through affliction, don't allow anyone to tell you otherwise. It is clearly demonstrated and written in His Word.
He can also turn anyone around. He can turn Jacob to Israel; Saul to Paul; cowards into men of war; and fearful men into men of faith. When I say men, I am speaking of mankind. God is no respecter of persons, only a respecter of faith!
Back to Exodus: Moses was raised up centuries after Joseph's time to bring the people out of Egypt. God had a plan from the beginning. Just like He has a plan for your life no matter the things you have been involved in, or done. He already knows and He still has a plan.
I remember a time in my life when I would just drink a little wine. That was all. It was just a nice cap to a long day or a pleasure I enjoyed with friends. In college, I was introduced to smoking with my drink. This really did intensify the relaxation enjoyed and definitely seemed like a harmless indulgence.
The problem was that after a few weekends, or maybe after a few months of enjoying this I began to crave both the alcohol and the smoke -- even if it was not the end of the day, or the weekend. My body had become accustomed to them both and would "remind" me that I needed them in order to truly relax.
There was nothing really stressful more than usual about my life. It had always been a balancing act of personal stresses and professional goals, however for some reason, it seemed that almost any little inconvenience or "stress" would drive me to wanting a smoke, or a glass of wine.
Wow.
How do you go from an occasional fun to basically a dependence? It is called DECEPTION my friends, SIN!
Sin does not come into our lives with a pitchfork and horns. It comes in any way it can to ease our pains, fears or troubles. It is a sneaky, slithery little thing that soon grows to something out of control. If Eve had known in the garden of Eden the true consequences of influencing her husband to eat of the fruit, I do not believe she would have done it. She only wanted to gain access to the knowledge. She didn't want to introduce sin, pain, sickness, war, calamity, and every from of wickedness into the world. I doubt any person would want to do such a thing, but that serpent was quite convincing and cunning.
Now, before I get comments about "smoking won't take me to hell, and drinking wine is in the Bible and is not a sin." I would only ask you - are you sure?
Proverbs 20:1 clearly states that wine is a mocker. And yes, Jesus turned water into wine in John, but I ask you to send me scripture on where we read about Jesus drinking wine.
Paul also told Timothy to "drink a little wine for his stomach during his many illnesses," but you can hardly call a little wine when you're sick to what I had. If the shoe doesn't fit, don't wear it. If it does, evaluate yourself.
And about the smoking, we all know that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. God dwells within us.
Our standard of living is not in comparison to other Christians, our Pastor, or what laws the Pope endorses or frowns upon. Our standard of living as we grow in Christ should be holiness. I am not talking about a denomination, rather a way of life. The Holy Spirit will give you understanding.
The point I am making to anyone who hears the voice of the Holy Spirit in their hearts while reading this is that the Lord already knows your faults, weaknesses and struggles. He is in no way surprised, astonished, or put off. Before your problem began, He made a way out!
While you will ensure some backlash from the enemy (spirits, not people), God will see you through and make it unequivocally clear that He is the One who brought you out of whatever is holding you captive.
God is a deliverer. His name I AM is to show that He is whatever we need Him to be. If we need food, He is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who supplies. If we need peace, He is Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our peace. If we need covering from something, He is Jehovah Nissi, the Lord our Banner.
You have no idea what your life means to someone else who seems like they aren't even paying attention.
The sorcerers and magicians in Egypt thought they could duplicate what God was doing, but fell short.
It was important that they knew He was God and there was none beside Him who could deliver out of His hand. Once the plagues began to come as a result of Pharaoh's hard heart, the Egyptians could see that the God of the Hebrews had power they did not.
Why He operates as He does can be summed up in Isaiah 55:9:
God will use miracles, signs and wonders to bring you out and take you into your Promised Land. Can you endure the journey? Will you commit to moving forward or will you murmur and complain like the Israelites and want to go back? Will you take God at His Word like Joshua and Caleb, or will you be like the majority and believe on the evil report?
God will do His part and will help you do yours. Your deliverance is near; trust Him. If you do not know Him, get to know Him now.
I have read Exodus before, but there are many things I noticed this time that I may not have paid much attention to before.
Exodus is when God really makes Himself known to His people, instead of individual men as before.
He introduces Himself to the Israelites with signs, wonders, and precious promises. It is not a sugar-coated account either because you can see many sides of Jehovah in the book.
- He is Jealous for His people.
- He is vengeful towards their oppressors.
- His anger is kindled more than once when they try Him and refuse to believe Him.
- He shows His power to deliver, to heal, and to set free.
- He also shows His power to kill, to chastise, and to keep His word about disobedience.
His ways are certainly beyond finding out, and attempting to understand them is really a futile exercise.
Moses was a product of the Egyptian way of life, yet the very deliverer that God called to bring His people from Pharaoh's rule.
Let's delve in!In the study of Egyptian history, we can see that they were a polytheistic nation who were quite superstitious yet very prosperous. They were able to maximize every resource they had in order to be profitable -- even their workforce, which for 400 years, included the Hebrew Nation.
Even though Jacob was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, it was Abraham who was the forefather of all who would believe on 'The God of the Hebrews' or also known as I AM.
The Egyptians had their own gods and were not in anyway impressed by a God who would allow His own people to be under their rule as slaves for 400 years. In fact, in their minds, they thought of the the God of the Hebrews as no threat.
They were wrong.
I find it interesting that God had appointed a time for the deliverance of the Hebrew people before they even went into captivity.
He told Abraham in Genesis 15:13 (NIV):
Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there."God promised Abraham possession of a land that was owned and inhabited by other people more than 400 years prior to bringing the children of Israel through captivity and into the Promised Land.
You would need to read Genesis to get a full understanding of why the children of Israel had gone into captivity. Joseph was Jacob's favorite son and was sold into slavery by his own brothers. He later became the 2nd in command in Egypt before the rest of his family came to Egypt because of famine in their land. Aside from all of this, Jacob (who later became Israel) was a very deceptive man who cheated his brother out of his rightful birthright.
God will correct his people through affliction, don't allow anyone to tell you otherwise. It is clearly demonstrated and written in His Word.
He can also turn anyone around. He can turn Jacob to Israel; Saul to Paul; cowards into men of war; and fearful men into men of faith. When I say men, I am speaking of mankind. God is no respecter of persons, only a respecter of faith!
Back to Exodus: Moses was raised up centuries after Joseph's time to bring the people out of Egypt. God had a plan from the beginning. Just like He has a plan for your life no matter the things you have been involved in, or done. He already knows and He still has a plan.
God Always Knows The Solution To Your Problem Before You Even Know There Is A Problem
It does not matter what thing, person, circumstance, generational curse, fear, or unclean spirit that is holding you captive. The Lord your God has already made provision for your deliverance!
I remember a time in my life when I would just drink a little wine. That was all. It was just a nice cap to a long day or a pleasure I enjoyed with friends. In college, I was introduced to smoking with my drink. This really did intensify the relaxation enjoyed and definitely seemed like a harmless indulgence.
The problem was that after a few weekends, or maybe after a few months of enjoying this I began to crave both the alcohol and the smoke -- even if it was not the end of the day, or the weekend. My body had become accustomed to them both and would "remind" me that I needed them in order to truly relax.
There was nothing really stressful more than usual about my life. It had always been a balancing act of personal stresses and professional goals, however for some reason, it seemed that almost any little inconvenience or "stress" would drive me to wanting a smoke, or a glass of wine.
Wow.
How do you go from an occasional fun to basically a dependence? It is called DECEPTION my friends, SIN!
Sin does not come into our lives with a pitchfork and horns. It comes in any way it can to ease our pains, fears or troubles. It is a sneaky, slithery little thing that soon grows to something out of control. If Eve had known in the garden of Eden the true consequences of influencing her husband to eat of the fruit, I do not believe she would have done it. She only wanted to gain access to the knowledge. She didn't want to introduce sin, pain, sickness, war, calamity, and every from of wickedness into the world. I doubt any person would want to do such a thing, but that serpent was quite convincing and cunning.
Now, before I get comments about "smoking won't take me to hell, and drinking wine is in the Bible and is not a sin." I would only ask you - are you sure?
Proverbs 20:1 clearly states that wine is a mocker. And yes, Jesus turned water into wine in John, but I ask you to send me scripture on where we read about Jesus drinking wine.
Paul also told Timothy to "drink a little wine for his stomach during his many illnesses," but you can hardly call a little wine when you're sick to what I had. If the shoe doesn't fit, don't wear it. If it does, evaluate yourself.
And about the smoking, we all know that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. God dwells within us.
Does it seem feasible that a holy God would want to dwell in a smoke-filled temple?
Our standard of living is not in comparison to other Christians, our Pastor, or what laws the Pope endorses or frowns upon. Our standard of living as we grow in Christ should be holiness. I am not talking about a denomination, rather a way of life. The Holy Spirit will give you understanding.
The point I am making to anyone who hears the voice of the Holy Spirit in their hearts while reading this is that the Lord already knows your faults, weaknesses and struggles. He is in no way surprised, astonished, or put off. Before your problem began, He made a way out!
The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: (2 Peter 2:9 KJV)
Your Deliverance Will Come With Spiritual Warfare
You were likely deceived into your problem. You didn't know the full lowdown on everything that would come with it. But your deliverance will not be a walk in the park, and the devil will not just allow you to go freely. Be prepared for spiritual warfare.
Moses was given instructions by God to take Aaron with him to Pharaoh and tell him to let His people go. Pharaoh was definitely not going to take the word of two "slaves" about their "God" and give up His workforce. Not happening.
Exodus 5:2 (KJV) And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
As I mentioned before, I began just having a little wine. Soon, I was craving alcohol -- cocktails, liquor, whatever. We all become slaves to sin after a while. We are not aware of it most times, but it's true.
The Bible records that the moaning and sighing of the Israelites came up to God and He remembered them. Sometimes we have to cry out! We have to put it on God's altar and ask Him to deliver us from every affliction in our lives. He will hear, and He will act. We must know that the fight is on!
Have you ever noticed that the more you pray about something, the worse it gets? You pray about your evil co-worker and they turn into the wicked witch of the west. You ask God for grace to love your mean husband, and he turns into the devil himself? Your family has turned against you in the past, but now they have began to spread lies. All of this is part of the process. It will get darker before dawn.
Exodus 3:19-20 (KJV) And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.
This is the backlash of your prayers. This is a sure sign that God has heard and deliverance is on the way. After Moses and Aaron went before Pharaoh to ask for the release of the Israelites, he afflicted them more. He told the taskmasters to stop giving them straw to make the brick, but require them to steal meet the quota.
Exodus 5:7 (KJV) Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.
Your Deliverance Will Be With Signs, Wonders, and Miracles
God is a deliverer. His name I AM is to show that He is whatever we need Him to be. If we need food, He is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who supplies. If we need peace, He is Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our peace. If we need covering from something, He is Jehovah Nissi, the Lord our Banner.
You have no idea what your life means to someone else who seems like they aren't even paying attention.
The sorcerers and magicians in Egypt thought they could duplicate what God was doing, but fell short.
It was important that they knew He was God and there was none beside Him who could deliver out of His hand. Once the plagues began to come as a result of Pharaoh's hard heart, the Egyptians could see that the God of the Hebrews had power they did not.
Why He operates as He does can be summed up in Isaiah 55:9:
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.By the time God has brought you out of whatever holds you captive, there will be no doubt in your mind or the mind of those who have afflicted you, that He is God. There is something about Him unlike Buddha and other deities that people worship, but have no power.
God will use miracles, signs and wonders to bring you out and take you into your Promised Land. Can you endure the journey? Will you commit to moving forward or will you murmur and complain like the Israelites and want to go back? Will you take God at His Word like Joshua and Caleb, or will you be like the majority and believe on the evil report?
God will do His part and will help you do yours. Your deliverance is near; trust Him. If you do not know Him, get to know Him now.
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