Day 40
Exodus 4:1-6:12
(4 | 5 | 6:1-12)
Moses is concerned that the people won't believe him, and that they won't listen to God's message because of this. So God gives Moses various signs to perform in front of the people; in the first, Moses's staff is turned into a snake; in the second Moses's hand is made leprous, and then healed again. A third sign, only to be used in the event that the first two are not believed, involves water from the Nile turning into blood when it is poured on the ground. Moses has another problem; he's not a very good speaker. So God recruits Moses's brother, Aaron, to speak for Moses.
Moses is told that everyone who wanted to kill him in Egypt is dead, and he is instructed to return to Egypt. So he and Aaron go to the Israelite elders, pass on God's message, and perform the signs given them. They believe, so the case is taken to Pharaoh; Moses and Aaron ask Pharaoh to let the Israelites go so they can all head out into the desert to worship the LORD. Pharaoh's response is to increase the Israelite's workload; they are to produce the same number of bricks as before, but they have to find their own raw materials.
Concerned by this development, Moses goes back to the LORD to ask what on earth is going on. God promises to deliver the Israelites from their situation. What's more, he says he still fully intends to honour the promise he made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and give Israel the land of the Canaanites. Moses relays the message to the Israelites. However, downhearted because of their situation, they do not believe. This discourages Moses who wonders how he's supposed to get Pharaoh to listen to him when he can't even get his own people to listen.
Matthew 26:31-46
(26:31-46)
Jesus predicts that all of his disciples will fall away from him that evening. This probably made little-to-no sense to them at the time. Why on earth should they fall away from him? Everything's great at this moment in time. Peter goes so far as to say that he would stay true to Jesus, even if everyone else falls away. Jesus tells Peter that, actually, he will deny Jesus three times before the cock crows. Peter and the rest of the disciples all claim that they would never disown Jesus, even if it meant death for themselves.
Jesus takes his disciples to Gethsemane. There, he tells nine of his disciples to just sit around and wait for him. He goes off to pray, taking Peter, John and James with him. He tells the three to keep watch while he prays. Jesus prays three times that the task before him be removed from him. But he maintains that he wants the Father's will, and not his own, to be done. Jesus doesn't want to suffer, which is understandable. If you ever wanted proof that Jesus was God in human form, that's it. The fear of suffering and in-built sense of self-preservation kick in here as Jesus asks to be released from the thing that must happen to him. Upon returning to the group from his prayers on each occasion, he finds his disciples asleep.
Proverbs 4:10-19
(4:10-19)
Solomon says the path of the righteous and of the wise is clear; the way to stay on it is to listen to and embrace instruction from God. The path of the wicked, however, is dark and full of snares underfoot. Solomon urges us to not only avoid, but to turn tail and run from the path of the wicked.
Exodus 4:1-6:12
(4 | 5 | 6:1-12)
Moses is concerned that the people won't believe him, and that they won't listen to God's message because of this. So God gives Moses various signs to perform in front of the people; in the first, Moses's staff is turned into a snake; in the second Moses's hand is made leprous, and then healed again. A third sign, only to be used in the event that the first two are not believed, involves water from the Nile turning into blood when it is poured on the ground. Moses has another problem; he's not a very good speaker. So God recruits Moses's brother, Aaron, to speak for Moses.
Moses is told that everyone who wanted to kill him in Egypt is dead, and he is instructed to return to Egypt. So he and Aaron go to the Israelite elders, pass on God's message, and perform the signs given them. They believe, so the case is taken to Pharaoh; Moses and Aaron ask Pharaoh to let the Israelites go so they can all head out into the desert to worship the LORD. Pharaoh's response is to increase the Israelite's workload; they are to produce the same number of bricks as before, but they have to find their own raw materials.
Concerned by this development, Moses goes back to the LORD to ask what on earth is going on. God promises to deliver the Israelites from their situation. What's more, he says he still fully intends to honour the promise he made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and give Israel the land of the Canaanites. Moses relays the message to the Israelites. However, downhearted because of their situation, they do not believe. This discourages Moses who wonders how he's supposed to get Pharaoh to listen to him when he can't even get his own people to listen.
Matthew 26:31-46
(26:31-46)
Jesus predicts that all of his disciples will fall away from him that evening. This probably made little-to-no sense to them at the time. Why on earth should they fall away from him? Everything's great at this moment in time. Peter goes so far as to say that he would stay true to Jesus, even if everyone else falls away. Jesus tells Peter that, actually, he will deny Jesus three times before the cock crows. Peter and the rest of the disciples all claim that they would never disown Jesus, even if it meant death for themselves.
Jesus takes his disciples to Gethsemane. There, he tells nine of his disciples to just sit around and wait for him. He goes off to pray, taking Peter, John and James with him. He tells the three to keep watch while he prays. Jesus prays three times that the task before him be removed from him. But he maintains that he wants the Father's will, and not his own, to be done. Jesus doesn't want to suffer, which is understandable. If you ever wanted proof that Jesus was God in human form, that's it. The fear of suffering and in-built sense of self-preservation kick in here as Jesus asks to be released from the thing that must happen to him. Upon returning to the group from his prayers on each occasion, he finds his disciples asleep.
Proverbs 4:10-19
(4:10-19)
Solomon says the path of the righteous and of the wise is clear; the way to stay on it is to listen to and embrace instruction from God. The path of the wicked, however, is dark and full of snares underfoot. Solomon urges us to not only avoid, but to turn tail and run from the path of the wicked.
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