Exodus 14

LORD will be honored by Egyptiansverses 1-4

And the LORD spoke to Moses saying

Speak to the children of Israel that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth

between Migdol and the sea

over against Baal-zephon

before it shall ye encamp by the sea

FOR Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel

They are entangled in the land

the wilderness hath shut them in

And I will HARDEN Pharaoh’s heart – that he shall follow after them

and I will be honored upon Pharaoh – and upon all his host

that the Egyptians may KNOW that I am the LORD

And they did so

Pharaoh chases after Israelitesverses 5-9

And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled

and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned

against the people – and they said

Why have we done this

that we have let Israel go from serving us?

And he made ready his chariot – and took his people with him

and he took six hundred chosen chariots

and all the chariots of Egypt

and captains over every one of them

And the LORD HARDENED the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt

and he pursued after the children of Israel

and the children of Israel went out with an high hand

BUT the Egyptians pursued after them

all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh

and his horsemen – and his army

and overtook them encamping by the sea

beside Pi-hahiroth – before Baal-zephon

Children of Israel complainedverses 10-12

And when Pharaoh drew nigh

the children of Israel LIFTED UP their eyes

and – BEHOLD

the Egyptians marched after them

and they were SORE AFRAID

and the children of Israel CRIED out

to the LORD

And they said to Moses

Because there were no GRAVES in Egypt

have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?

Wherefore have you dealt thus with us

to carry us forth out of Egypt?

Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt

saying

Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?

FOR it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians

than that we should die in the wilderness

Moses tells Israelites to watch the LORD workverses 13-14

And Moses said to the people

FEAR not – STAND still – SEE the SALVATION of the LORD

which HE will show to your today

FOR the Egyptians whom you have seen today

you shall see them again NO MORE for ever

The LORD shall FIGHT for you

and you shall HOLD your PEACE

LORD commands Moses use his rodverses 15-18

And the LORD

said to Moses

Wherefore CRY you to ME?

Speak to the children of Israel that they go forward

BUT lift you up your rod

And stretch out your hand over the sea – and DIVIDE it

and the children of Israel shall go on DRY ground

through the midst of the sea

And I BEHOLD – I will HARDEN the hearts of the Egyptians

and they shall follow them

and I will get ME honor upon Pharaoh

and upon all his host – upon his chariots

and upon his horsemen

And the Egyptians shall KNOW that I am the LORD

when I have gotten ME honor on Pharaoh

on his chariots – on his horsemen

Angel of God moved to back of campverses 19-20

And the angel of God – which went before the camp of Israel

removed and went behind them

And the PILLAR of the CLOUD went from before their face

and stood BEHIND them

and it came between the CAMP of the Egyptians and the

CAMP of Israel

and it was a CLOUD and DARKNESS to them

BUT it gave LIGHT by NIGHT to these

so that the one came not NEAR

the other all the night

Children of Israel crossed the Red Seaverses 21-22

And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea

and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a

strong east wind all that night

and MADE the sea DRY land

and the waters were DIVIDED

And the children of Israel went into the midst of the SEA

on the DRY ground – and the waters were a wall

to them on their right hand – and on their left

LORD judged the Egyptian armyverses 23-25

And the Egyptians PURSUED

and went in after them to the midst of the sea

even all Pharaoh’s horses – his chariots – his horsemen

And it came to pass that in the morning watch the LORD

looked to the host of the Egyptians through the

PILLAR of FIRE and of the CLOUD

and TROUBLED the host of the Egyptians

and took off their chariot wheels

that they drove them heavily

So that the Egyptians said

Let us flee from the face of Israel

FOR the LORD fights for them

against the Egyptians

Moses caused the Sea to drown Egyptian armyverses 26-28

And the LORD said to Moses

Stretch out your hand over the sea

that the waters may come again on the Egyptians

on their chariots – on their horsemen

And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea

and the sea returned to his strength

when the morning appeared

And the Egyptians fled against it

and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the

midst of the sea

And the waters returned – and covered the chariots

and the horsemen and all the host of Pharaoh

that came into the sea after them

there remained not so much as one of them

Israelites saw the great work of the LORDverses 29-31

BUT the children of Israel walked on DRY land in the midst of the sea

and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand

and on their left

THUS the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians

and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the sea shore

And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians

and the people FEARED the LORD

and BELIEVED the LORD – and HIS servant Moses

COMMENTARY:

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers

: 10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. (3966 “sore” [ma‘od] means very, greatly, exceeding, much, abundance, muchness, or in the highest degree)

DEVOTION: Have you ever had a panic attack? There are people who have heart problems who get a little pain in their chest and they start to panic thinking that they are going to have another heart attack or their first heart attack. There is medicine that helps those who have these attacks on a regular basis.

The medicine should have been passed out to the children of Israel because it didn’t take them too long to have panic attacks. Every time things got a little tense they were complaining.

They had witnessed all the plagues the LORD had sent to Egypt and now they were on their way out of Egypt and the Egyptian army was chasing them. They complained.

They told Moses that the only reason he took them into the wilderness was because there were not enough graves in Egypt to bury them in. So they were in the wilderness to die.

This was not a proper response to what was happening but they always seemed to find a negative problem rather than a positive solution. God had a plan and HE was working HIS plan.

HE told Moses that HE was going to be honored by what was going to happen next. All of the Egyptian people would understand exactly how powerful HE was. HE was going to defeat the entire Egyptian army with water.

One good point was the fact that they at least knew where to go to complain. They cried out to the LORD. They didn’t trust HIM yet but they were crying out to HIM for deliverance. HE delivered them in a miraculous way.

When great or small difficulty comes our way to we cry out to the LORD for deliverance or just complain???

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers

: 13 And Moses said to the people, Fear you not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which HE will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more forever. (3444 “salvation” [yashuw‘ah] means help, deliverance, prosperity, a means of preserving from harm or unpleasantness, or victory)

DEVOTION: I don’t know how many receiving these devotionals are like me. One of the things that I have a hard time doing is resting. I like to be active at all times. I would like to be either doing something or sleeping. There is no middle ground. Resting or waiting is not high on my priority list.

Here we have Moses speaking to a nation to calm them down. They were watching the Egyptian army coming toward them. They had the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptian army behind them and they thought for sure that they would be killed.

His words to them were to “not be afraid.” Sounds like foolish words with an army coming toward them but that is what the LORD had told him to tell them. He told them and they were to wait on the LORD.

Not only did he tell them to not be afraid but he also told them to “stand still.” This was easier said than done. If there is an army coming toward you the first thing you would want to do is find a place to hide but that is not what the LORD told Moses or Moses told the people.

They were to wait on the LORD. They were to stand and watch what the LORD was going to do. They were to trust HIM for their salvation or deliverance. HE had already done it before. They were out of Egypt. Now HE wanted them to trust HIM again. They were slow learners.

Many of the people I know including myself have not put “standing still” into their lives. We need to wait on the LORD and watch HIM work.

CHALLENGE: If this has not been a habit in the past it would be good to start practicing it now.

: 14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.(3898 “fight” [lacham] means to feed on, to consume, to battle, devour, overcome, prevail, or make war)

DEVOTION: Have you ever observed the LORD working in your life or in the lives of others? Did you remember that event when hard times came your way and you needed the LORD to work in your life? Did you think that God could do a wonderful work in your life too? Or did you think that HE only worked in other people’s lives instead of yours?

Here we have the children of Israel leaving Egypt and they are trapped, it seems, between the Egyptian army and the sea. They had left Egypt after observing ten plagues on the people of Egypt. They had spoiled the Egyptians by taking silver, gold and raiment from them. They were following the LORD. The LORD was leading them.

They were in the wilderness with the sea at their back. They were trapped. They saw the Egyptians coming their way and they cried out to the LORD. The LORD told Moses to give them assurance that HE was there and would make war with the Egyptians.

This word leaves no doubt what the outcome is going to be. The LORD always wins HIS battle. HE is not just going to win but HE is going to receive honor for the battle alone.

The children of Israel still didn’t really trust the LORD to take care of them. They thought it would have been better for them to stay in Egypt than to be in these circumstances. They were mad at Moses. They were mad at God.

Moses told them not to FEAR. Moses told them to stand still and watch God work. He told them that the Egyptians they were seeing today would be gone tomorrow.

Like many of our battles we only see TODAY and don’t look for a brighter TOMORROW. We tend to follow the example of the unbelieving Israelites.

When the LORD wins our battles, we need to always give HIM the glory and honor ALONE. There are going to be battles that we will face. The world is going to cause us problems. However, the promise is that the LORD will not send more our way than we can take. HE also promises to never leave us or forsake us.

We are going to go through many trials in our lifetime. The LORD is going to help us through each trial. Are we giving the LORD the glory due HIS name?

At the end of the chapter we find the children of Israel FEARING the LORD and BELIEVING the LORD. How long did it last? How long does it last with us?

CHALLENGE: Record in a book or in the back of our mind all the wonderful TOMORROWS the LORD has given us. Realize that the BATTLE is the LORD’S. We need to HOLD OUR PEACE.

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

:27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. (5287 “overthrew” [naʿar] means 1 to shake, shake out or off. 1a (Qal) to shake out, show emptiness. 1b (Niphal). 1b1 to be shaken. 1b2 to shake oneself. 1c (Piel) to shake off or out. 1d (Hithpael) to shake oneself. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship])

DEVOTION: There had been ten plagues. Yet Pharaoh still had not relented. He had allowed the children of Israel to leave Egypt only after all the first-born males had been killed. Yet in the final act of defiance, he directs his Egyptian army to chase the children of Israel into the Red Sea. It is as if he did not believe that the LORD was really going to fight for the children of Israel against the Egyptians, despite His giving Pharaoh multiple opportunities for repentance.

Sometimes we want to take back an area of our lives from God because we think that we are better able to manage it. We are tempted to doubt that He alone will take care of us, especially when we are being persecuted for our faith. Maybe it was a vow that we made to God earlier in our lives that now we are tempted to challenge.

God’s plan is perfect and His timing is often different than what we think is right. The children of Israel probably thought that they were finished seeing the Egyptians when the Egyptian army finally caught up with them in their chariots. There was every reason to doubt God’s providence at this point. Yet God deals the Egyptians one final blow from which they will never recovery. Never again would the Egyptians attack the Israelites, for fear of what the LORD would do.

So as we endure persecution today, we realize along with Paul that God is the one who settles the final score and will ensure that we will be vindicated. We can be sure that God ultimately will show His providence to His children, even when we are tempted to doubt this in the here and now.

CHALLENGE: Praise God that He is ultimately sovereign and will judge His enemies fully in the future. (MW)

: 31 And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses. (539 “believed” [aman] means assurance, faithful, sure, trust, certain, lean upon, rely on, convinced or build upon)

DEVOTION: Some people take a lot of convincing. Thomas told the other disciples that he wouldn’t believe that Christ had risen from the dead unless he could touch his hands. The other disciples told him that they had seen Jesus but he was not easy to convince that they were telling the truth.

Here we have the children of Israel who had just witnessed the power of God through the ten plagues HE placed on the land of Egypt. They saw that HE was in control of nature, animals and had the power of life and death in HIS hands yet they still did not trust HIM.

They thought the army of Egypt was going to come and kill them. They had been told to not fear Pharaoh many times but they still were not convinced.

Finally, after they saw the Egyptian army wiped out in the Red Sea they began to fear the LORD and start to trust HIM. We will find out that this trust didn’t last too long.

It is sad that they didn’t trust HIM after all they witnessed. We have not witnessed as many great things like they did but we still struggle in the area of trusting the LORD.

As I look over my life, I see times when I have not trusted HIM as I should have. HE has always provided for my every need and the needs of my family but we have a tendency to want more.

I sometimes want HIM to show more of HIS love toward me which is very selfish seeing HE has shown me all I need of HIS love. Even today I find many Christians who don’t appreciate all the LOVE the LORD has shown them.

We are just like the children of Israel in that we want God to keep short accounts with us by showing HIS power and provision regularly. The problem is that HE is doing it but we don’t appreciate it. We tend to not be a thankful people like the Israelites.

CHALLENGE: We need to have the fear of the LORD with great thankfulness. We need to look for HIS work in the small things of our life as well as the big things.

DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)

SOUL

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)

SPIRIT

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)

Israel cried out to the LORDverse 10

LORD asked why they were cryingverse 15

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)

DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)

God the Father (First person of the Godhead)

LORD (Jehovah)verses 1, 4, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 18, 24-27, 30, 31

I will harden Pharaoh’s heartverse 4

I will be honoredverse 4

I am the LORDverses 4, 18

Salvation of the LORDverse 13

Fight for Israelverse 14

I will harden the hearts of Egyptiansverse 17

I will get me honorverse 17

Egyptians shall know I am the LORDverse 18

God (Elohim)verse 19

Angel of Godverse 19

LORD causes the sea to go backverse 21

waters were divided

LORD troubled the host of Egyptians verses 24-27

Took off chariot wheels

Fought against Egyptians

Overthrew Egyptians

LORD saved Israelverse 30

God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)

Angelverses 19, 20

Pillar of cloud

Light to Israel

Darkness to Egyptians

Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)

Camp at Pi-hahirothverses 2-9

Between Mogdol and Baal-zephon

Pharaoh (king of Egypt)verse 3

Heart hardened

Heart of Pharaoh

Chariots of Pharaoh

Egyptiansverses 4, 9, 12, 13, 18

Six hundred chosen chariotsverse 7

Egyptverses 11, 12

Camp of the Egyptiansverse 20

Egyptian’s pursuedverses 23-28

Midst of Red sea

Water covered Egyptians

Hand of Egyptiansverse 30

Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)

Hard (Stubborn) heartverses 4, 8, 17

Afraidverse 10

Blame Mosesverse 11

Complainverse 12

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)

Honor the LORDverses 4, 17

Know the LORDverses 4, 18

Prayerverse 10

Fear notverse 13

Stand stillverse 13

Salvation of the LORDverse 13

LORD will fightverses 14, 25

Peaceverse 14

Miracleverse 21

Saved (Delivered)verse 30

Feared the LORDverse 31

Believed the LORDverse 31

Israel (Old Testament people of God)

Mosesverses 1, 11, 13-31

Egyptians no more

Told to lift up rod

Divide sea

Children of Israel verses 2, 3, 8, 10, 14-29

Lifted up eyes to see Egyptians

Sore afraid

Cried to the LORD

No graves in Egypt

Let us alone

Die in wilderness

Told to hold their peace

Midst of the sea

Go on dry ground

Camp of Israelverses 19, 20

Israel saw great work of the LORDverse 31

Feared the LORDverse 31

Believed the LORDverse 31

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events)

Dieverse 12

Dead verse 30

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QUOTES regarding passage

Pharaoh assumed that Israel’s divine help had run out and that they were hopelessly entangled on a dead-end trail since the desert, the sea, and marshes barred their way out of this trap. God, however, had commanded Moses (v.3: “Pharaoh will think”) to take this impossible route to show the Egyptians once more that he was God (v.4; see 7:17; 9:14) and to show Israel his great power (vv.30–31). Nevertheless, God would receive glory from Pharaoh and his army. That glory would have come to God whether Pharaoh had yielded (cf. much later Cyrus in the exact situation) or had rebelled and said in effect, “Those Hebrews will leave this place over my dead body!” (Kaiser, W. C., Jr. (1990). Exodus. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Vol. 2, pp. 386–387). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House)

14:1–4. After the Israelites had traveled for some days in a southeasterly path and camped awhile at Etham, the Lord told Moses to tell the people to turn back to Pi Hahiroth between Migdol and the sea and opposite Baal Zephon (cf. Num. 33:7). These cities were east of Rameses. This change in direction would have led Pharaoh to think the Israelites were confused. As a result of God’s hardening of his heart (cf. comments on Ex. 4:21) Pharaoh would attempt to enslave the people again and then God would demonstrate His awesome power through another great judgment.

The sea is called the Red Sea in 10:19; 13:18; 15:4, 22. “Red Sea” (yām sûp̱) is literally, “Sea of [Papyrus] Reeds.” Several reasons indicate that this is farther north than the northern tip of the Gulf of Suez (the northwestern “finger” of the Red Sea between Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula): (1) The Gulf of Suez has no reeds. (2) The northern tip of the Gulf of Suez is much farther south than Pi Hahiroth and Migdol. (3) The area where the Israelites camped was marshy but this is not true of the land west of the Gulf of Suez. (4) From “the sea” the Israelites went east or southeast into the Desert of Shur (15:22), also called the Desert of Etham (Num. 33:8), in the northwestern part of the Sinai Peninsula. Possibly, then, the sea that the Lord dried up for the Israelites was Lake Balah (see the map “Possible Route of the Exodus,” near Num. 33:1–5). (Hannah, J. D. (1985). Exodus. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 131). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

Egypt’s pursuit (vv. 1–9). It dawned on Pharaoh and his officers that, by allowing their Jewish slaves to escape, they had threatened, if not destroyed, Egypt’s whole economy, so the logical thing was to go after the Jews and bring them back. Now we’re given another reason why the Lord selected this route: the reports would convince Pharaoh that the Jews were wandering like lost sheep in the wilderness and therefore were fair game for his army to pursue and capture. The Lord was drawing the Egyptians into His trap.

What seemed like an easy victory to Egypt would turn out to be an ignominious defeat, and the Lord would get all the glory. Once again He would triumph over Pharaoh and the gods and goddesses of Egypt. Pharaoh commandeered all the chariots of Egypt, mounted his own royal chariot, and pursued the people of Israel. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1998). Be delivered (p. 66). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub.)

“And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all his hosts; that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. And they did so” (14:4). Here was God’s reason for commanding Israel to “encamp by the sea.” “Terrible as Egypt’s chastisements had been, something more was still needed to humble her proud king and his arrogant subjects under the felt hand of God, and to remove from Israel all further fear of molestation. There was one part of Egypt’s strength, their chief glory, which had so far escaped. Their triumphant army had not been touched. Moses is told that, when Pharaoh’s spies carried the tidings to him that the Israelites had gone down by the Egyptian shore, it would seem to the king that his hour for vengeance had come. A force advancing rapidly upon the rear of the Israelites would block their only way of escape, and so that helpless multitude would be at his mercy” (Urquhart).

“And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and the said, Why, have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him; and he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with an high hand but the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-Zephon” (vv. 5–9). All happened as God had foretold. Pharaoh and his courtiers became suddenly alive to their folly in having permitted Israel to go, and now a splendid opportunity seems to be afforded them to retrieve their error. The army is summoned in hot haste, Pharaoh and his nobles arm and mount their chariots. The famous cavalry of Egypt sally forth with all their glory. Not only the king, but his servants also, the very ones who had entreated him to let Israel go (10:7), are urgent that Israel should be pursued and captured. The judgments of—God being no more upon their land, and recollecting the great service the Hebrews had rendered them, the advantages of having them for slaves, and the loss sustained by parting with them, they are now anxious to recover them as speedily as possible. (Pink, A. W. (1962). Gleanings in Exodus (p. 108). Chicago: Moody Press.)

Ver. 4. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, &c.] Once more, as he had often done: that he shall follow after them; to Pihahiroth, and even into the sea after them: and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; in his wisdom, faithfulness, power, and justice, by the destruction of them: that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord; the only Jehovah, the Lord God omnipotent; even those that feel the weight of his hand whilst troubling their host, and bringing the waters upon them; especially those that shall remain in the land, and will not be involved in the catastrophe: and they did so; the Israelites turned to the right to Pihahiroth, instead of going by Bishbesh and Tinah (Bubastis and Pelusium), and so along the sea-coast towards Gaza and Ascalon, and encamped there between Migdol and the sea over-against Baal-zephon, as they were ordered and directed. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, p. 385). London: Mathews and Leigh.)

That the trying situations into which the good are brought are designed ultimately to enhance the glory of God, and the retribution of wicked men “I will be honoured upon Pharaoh,” “That the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” God could have conducted the Israelites through the Red Sea before Pharaoh came to their encampment, but that would not have so fully glorified His name,—it would not have shown the terrible retribution of sin. The Divine Being so works the deliverance of the good as to destroy their enemies, and to teach a lesson of trust for the future. Men learn much about God when they are shut in by the land, and when earthly succour is denied them; they learn their own weakness and the all-sufficiency of Jehovah. God is honoured in the overthrow of the sinful. He teaches nations by terrible judgments. Thus all the trying circumstances in which the good are placed will work the glory of God. Lessons:—1. Rest patiently in the circumstances in which God has placed you. 2. God is greater than all the hindrances to your true freedom. 3. Follow God, even though it be through the great waters. (Adamson, W. (1892). Illustrations to Chapter 13. In Exodus (pp. 266–267). New York; London; Toronto: Funk & Wagnalls Company)

FROM MY READING:

(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)

New: Many of today’s evangelical church leaders have borrowed their management philosophies from the corporate world; they have taken their fashion cues from the entertainment industry; !they have imitated the communications styles of secular mass media (favoring sound-bites over substance}; and they have employed various bells and whistles from modern technology designed mainly to amaze and impress rather than to teach and edify. The visible church now mirrors the world to a disturbing degree. A major portion of Christendom is spiritually starved –and sound, biblical preaching has become an extremely rare commodity. There are several encouraging signs that the tide may be turning. Christians hungry for the Word of God are pleading for their churches to recover the priority of faithful, in-depth, biblical preaching and teaching. (I hear from people all over the country every week asking for recommendations of churches where the Bible is seriously preached. Many young men now entering ministry have a fresh commitment to preaching the Word of God, and they are being trained and equipped to become true expositors rather than showmen and motivational speakers. p.12-13 (He IS Not Silent by R. Albert Mohler, Jr)

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Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord Exod. 14:13

Often God seems to place His children in positions of profound difficulty—leading them into a wedge from which there is no escape; contriving a situation which no human judgment would have permitted, had it been previously consulted. The very cloud conducts them thither. You may be thus involved at this very hour. It does seem perplexing and very serious to the last degree; but it is perfectly right. The issue will more than justify Him who has brought you hither. It is a platform for the display of His almighty grace and power. He will not only deliver you, but in doing so He will give you a lesson that you will never forget; and to which, in many a psalm and song in after days, you will revert. You will never be able to thank God enough for having done just as He has. F. B. Meyer (Hardman, S. G., & Moody, D. L. (1997). Thoughts for the quiet hour. Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing.)

Isaiah 55

All that salvation costs is what everyone can afford: one’s self.

INSIGHT

Coming to the Lord costs a man nothing and, at the same time, costs him everything. The offer is free in that a man need not give anything in exchange for his salvation. “Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (v. 1). Yet receiving salvation costs man his life. He no longer has the freedom of self-determination. “Seek the Lord while He may be found . . . Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him” (vv. 6-7). All that it costs is what everyone can give: one’s self.

(QuietWalk)

KNOWING GOD

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

Is it possible to know God? Here I have to introduce a term, a big and yet vital word. The Bible teaches what is called the incomprehensibility of God. It means that God cannot finally be comprehended or understood by human beings. It means that we can read around the doctrine of God and try to grasp it with our minds, but by definition God is incomprehensible; we can never know Him in the ultimate, final, and complete sense. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Read about this also in Romans 11:33 and 1 Timothy 6:16. God dwells in that light that no one can approach. God in His eternal and absolute being is incomprehensible.

Yet we see that though God is finally incomprehensible, He is nevertheless knowable; He cannot be comprehended, but, thank God, He can be known. Let us be clear about this. There are those who would have us believe that God cannot be known in His real being, that He can only be known in His dealings with men and women. But that is a position that is quite wrong when you bring it into the light of biblical teaching. The knowledge that we have of God’s being will never be anything but a partial knowledge, but though it is partial, it is nevertheless real; though it is not complete, it is true knowledge, enough to lead us to glorify Him. And we have this knowledge of God because it has pleased God Himself to give it to us.

A Thought to Ponder

Though God is incomprehensible, He is nevertheless knowable; He cannot be comprehended, but He can be known.

(From God the Father, God the Son, p. 51, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

Stewardship Conflicts

“Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.” (Psalm 8:6-8)
The commission to rule over Earth was never withdrawn from humanity by the Creator. That dominion mandate implies authorization for the following human enterprises:

Discovery of truth—science, research, exploration
Application of truth—agriculture, engineering, medicine, technology, etc.
Implementation of truth—commerce, transportation, government, etc.
Interpretation of truth—fine arts, literature, theology
Transmission of truth—education, communication, homemaking

When that authority was first delegated by the Creator, Earth was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). However, Adam’s failure in his first assignment created an ongoing conflict with humanity’s efforts on every front. Now, the “whole creation groaneth” (Romans 8:22) as the very ground from which all things are made conflicts with the environment (Genesis 3:18). Sin and death are the conditions of existence (Romans 5:12), and ignorance of God’s ideas, apart from God’s revelation, is rampant (1 Corinthians 2:14). Humanity’s drive is to serve ourselves, not God or others (Ephesians 2:1-3), and the ability to obey comes only through God’s new creation (Ephesians 4:17-24).

One day, all these wrongs will be righted with the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Until that day, our mandate remains as stewards over Earth.

(HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)

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