Exodus 2

Baby born to man of house of Leviverses 1-4

And there went a man of the house of Levi

and took to wife a daughter of Levi

And the woman conceived and bare a SON

and when she saw him that he was a GOODLY CHILD

she hid him THREE MONTHS

And when she could not longer hide him

she took for him an ARK of BULRUSHES

and daubed it with slime and with pitch

and put the CHILD therein

and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink

And his sister stood afar off

to wit what would be done to him

Pharaoh’s daughter finds Mosesverses 5-10

And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself

at the river and her maidens walked along

by the river’s side

and when she saw the ark among the flags

she sent her maid to fetch it

And when she had opened it – she saw the CHILD

and behold the BABE wept

and she had COMPASSION on him – and said

This is one of the Hebrews’ children

THEN said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter

Shall I go and call to you a NURSE of the Hebrew women

that she may NURSE the CHILD for you?

And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her

And the maid went and called the child’s mother

and Pharaoh’s daughter said to her

Take this CHILD away – and NURSE it for me

and I will give you your WAGES

And the woman took the CHILD – and NURSED it

and the CHILD grew

and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter

and he became her SON

And she called his name MOSES [drawn out] – and she said

BECAUSE I drew him out of the water

Moses kills Egyptianverses 11-15

And it came to pass in those days – when MOSES was grown

that he went out to his brethren

and looked on their burdens

and spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew

one of his brethren

And he looked this way and that way

and when he saw that there was no man

he SLEW the Egyptian – and hid him in the sand

And when he went out the SECOND day

BEHOLD – two men of the Hebrews strove together

and he said to him that did the wrong

Wherefore smite you your fellow?

And he said

Who made you a PRINCE and a JUDGE over us?

intend you to kill me – as you killed the Egyptian?

And MOSES feared and said

Surely this thing is known

NOW when Pharaoh heard this thing – he sought to SLAY MOSES

BUT MOSES fled from the face of Pharaoh

and dwelt in the land of Midian

and sat down by a well

Life for Moses in Midianverses 16-22

NOW the priest of Midian had seven daughters

and they came and drew water

and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock

And the shepherds came and drove them away

BUT MOSES stood up and HELPED them

and watered their flock

And when they came to Reuel their father – he said

How is it that you are come so soon today?

And they said

An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds

and also drew water enough for us

and watered the flock

And he said to his daughters

And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man?

call him – that he may eat bread

And MOSES was CONTENT to dwell with the man

and he gave MOSES Zipporah – his daughter

and she bare him a son

and he called his name Gershom [a stranger here]

FOR he said

I have been a stranger in a strange land

Children of Israel cry to the LORDverses 23-25

And it came to pass in PROCESS of TIME

that the king of Egypt died

and the children of Israel SIGHED

by reason of the bondage

and they cried – and their cry came up to God

by reason of the bondage

And God heard their GROANING

and God remembered his covenant with

Abraham – Isaac – Jacob

And God looked upon the children of Israel

and God had respect unto them

COMMENTARY:

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers

: 4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. (3045 “wit” [yada] means know, perceive, understand, consider, to learn or find something out by making an inquiry or other effort, or to reveal)

DEVOTION: How many children were there in your family when you were growing up? There were seven in our original family. I was the oldest. There were five boys and two girls. When I was about nine years old my parents started splitting up. So as the oldest I was left home many times to watch my younger siblings. It was no fun. We had to do many of the chores around the house and my siblings didn’t like me telling them what to do. I will tell the rest of the story another time.

Here is Moses’ sister watching him at the river because the law stated that all male Hebrew children were to be thrown into the river when they were born. So Moses is in a ark made of bulrushes floating in the water.

It was dangerous for his sister. She did her job well. She even volunteered her mother for the job of nursing baby Moses. It was unique how the providence of God works in the lives of the people of the Old Testament. By providence we mean that God knows when we need something and HE provides it.

That same providence is working in our lives. HE knows what is happening in our lives and sends just the right people to our aid when we need them. Too often we doubt the providence of God in our lives.

We have to be like the sister Miriam and watch the LORD work out the details of our lives according to HIS plan. It is not easy to watch HIM work.

Children can be very impatient when it comes to waiting for something. Parents need to teach their children how to wait on the LORD. This can be taught by example. Parents need to show their children that they are willing to wait on the LORD to provide their every need.

This can be done by praying with our children when there is a special need and then praising the LORD when HE provides for that need.

CHALLENGE: What are we watching for in our lives to see what the LORD will provide?

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers

: 14 And he said Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Intend you to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely, this thing is known. (8199 “judge” [shaphat] means a public official authorized to decide questions brought before a court of justice, to rule, pass judgment, to administer justice, settle, or make decisions)

DEVOTION: Moses saved a fellow Hebrew from a beating by an Egyptian taskmaster. He killed the man who was trying to strike a fellow Hebrew. Remember that Moses was raised by his mother and he understood his background even though he lived with his adoptive mother in the palace.

Now his fellow Hebrew confronts him with the killing. He thought it would stay a secret but apparently the one he saved spread the word about what had happened and the rest of the Hebrew people knew the story.

Word travels fast in some circles. It can be truth that is spread but sometimes even the truth hurts people. In this case, Moses was scared that Pharaoh would find out what he had done. In fact, he did.

Notice what the man said to Moses “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Who would have known that forty years later this would be true? It was not true at this point in Moses’ life but he would come back to Egypt and prove that statement to be true.

No one likes another sinful human being to be their judge. In fact, we are told not to condemn anyone. We are here to encourage our fellow believers to mature in the faith. That is one sinful human being who knows the LORD helping another sinful human being understand the teachings of the Word of God regarding events that have taken place in their lives.

Each of us has probably confronted someone regarding something that has happening in their life? Did we do it to help them or to hurt them? Our motives are important.

The fellow Hebrew that confronted Moses didn’t do it to help him.

CHALLENGE: We need to do it to help our fellow believer mature in the LORD. It needs to be done in a loving manner not a judgmental manner.

: 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. (2974 “content” [ya’al] means show willingness, be pleased, determined, accept an invitation, willing, resolve, or yield.)

DEVOTION: Moses is running from Pharaoh because he killed a man. He arrives in the land of Midian. There he helps the daughters of Reuel get water for their flock. He is invited to live with them.

After a time he marries one of the daughters of Reuel the priest of Midian. He had to learn to accept what the LORD set in his way. He was going to have to stay in the wilderness for forty years. It was a learning time.

His first forty years was in Egypt. The next was in the wilderness. His final forty years was leading the children of Israel toward the Promised Land. Each of these time periods were learning experiences for Moses.

Our lives are divided into learning experiences too. We have our time at home to learn from our parents and others. Then we go into the world to receive more education or join the armed services or get into a trade. This is a learning experience. Finally, there is retirement and that is a whole new world as well.

Each time period in our life is supposed to be a time of learning more about ourselves and our relationships with others. Those who are believers are learning how to relate to the LORD Jesus Christ.

During all of our learning experiences we should learn to be content to wait on the LORD for the new doors HE opens to us. It is not easy to wait on the LORD but that is what Moses will be doing during this time period.

CHALLENGE: When we look over our lives, we might think that we didn’t need all the learning experiences the LORD sent our way but we did!!

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

:23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. (5656 “bondage” [‘abodah] means 1 labor, service. 1a labor, work. 1b labor (of servant or slave). 1c labor, service (of captives or subjects). 1d service (of God). [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship])

DEVOTION: The children of Israel found themselves enslaved. This did not happen overnight, but gradually. As they began to depend more and more on the resources of Egypt and settle into their home there, they found that it was difficult (if not impossible) to imagine life apart from living in Egypt. Combine that with their nomadic existence in the Promised Land until the time of Israel, and you can see why they wanted to settle down.

But the habits of the Egyptians now became the orders of the Egyptians. The children of Israel were forced into becoming builders for the Egyptians, requiring them to do heavy manual labor. They began crying out to God because of the situation. God sent Moses as their deliverer.

This is a metaphor for how sin ensnares our lives. When we first sin against God, we think that we can get away with it (whatever it is). If we do not confess this to God, we find that there is an ever-increasing circle of rationalization that takes place, so that we begin to convince ourselves that our sin was the right thing to do in the first place. This often leads to further sin (repeated sin, or just denial to others that what we have done is wrong. Soon we find that we are in slavery to sin and cannot break away (Romans 6:16). This causes our love for God to become cooler, and we lose our passion for the things of the LORD.

The good news, though, is that Jesus came and died in order to free us from the slavery to our sins. We can, therefore, experience our own liberation and exodus from sin through the finished work of Jesus Christ. This is good news indeed!

CHALLENGE: Do you find yourself in bondage to anything in your life? If so, ask God to help you identify what it is and then share this with one other Christian friend who will help you overcome it. (MW)

: 25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them. (3045 “respect” [yada] means to know, observation, care, and recognition, be aware, consider, familiar friend, or understand)

DEVOTION: We have a record of the birth of Moses. His parents were both of the tribe of Levi. They were supposed to cast their male children into the Nile River for them to die. His mother saw that he was a special child and spared his life. She kept him until she could keep him no longer.

His mother put him in an ark made of bulrushes. She assigned his sister to watch him while he was floating on the Nile River. While he was there Pharaoh’s daughter spotted him and took him out of the water. He cried. She had compassion. Miriam came to her and asked if she wanted someone to nurse the child. She did. Miriam got his own mother to nurse him. Not only could she raise her own child but she was paid to do it. The providence of God is so wonderful.

The plan of God was for the children of Israel to spend 430 years in Egypt. While they were in Egypt they grew into a great nation. Now they were under persecution by the Egyptians.

However, as we learned from the last chapter, they grew larger under persecution. They were now crying to God for help. They wanted their persecution to end.

God understood where they were and what they were putting up with in Egypt. HE heard their prayers and remembered HIS covenant with them to give them their own land.

HE looked at what was happening to them. HE recognized their circumstances. HE cared. HE knew HE had to cause something to happen. HE was going to send Moses to be their deliverer.

HE cares about what is happening to us. HE wants us to pray and ask for HIS help. HE is available. HE doesn’t force us to call on HIM. HE is willing to help when we stop depending on ourselves.

Too often Christians try to do things on their own. They think that they don’t need God for their daily problems. However, the Scripture teaches us that that is a LIE from the DEVIL.

We need HIM for each and every decision we make. When we made decisions without HIM, it causes problems in our lives. Are we trying to do something without the help of God? Can we be truly happy by excluding God from our lives?

HE has made some promises to us and HE will keep HIS promises. HE never lies. We need to turn our problems over to HIM and watch HIM work them out. Remember that tribulation works patience and patience experience and experience gives us HOPE [Romans 5: 1- 5]. Praise HIS name!!!

CHALLENGE: Remind ourselves that God listens to our prayers. HE remembers HIS promises to us. HE will act.

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)

Cryverse 23

God heardverse 24

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)

Abrahamverse 24

Isaacverse 24

Jacobverse 24

God the Father (First person of the Godhead)

God (Elohim)verses 23-25

Israelites cried to God and HE heard them

Remembered covenant with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob

Looked on children of Israel

Had respect to them

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)

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

Daughter of Pharaohverses 5-10

Had compassion on baby Moses

Hired his mother to nurse Moses

Adopted Moses

Egyptian smiting an Hebrewverses 11, 12

Killed my Moses

Land of Midianverse 15

Priest of Midian: Reuelverse 16

Seven daughters

Daughters thought Moses was Egyptian

Invited Moses into his home

Gave Moses a wife: Zipporah

Shepherds stopped daughtersverse 17

Zipporah = wife of Mosesverse 21

First son of Moses: Gershom

King of Egypt diesverse 23

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

Killed verses 12, 14, 15

Fearverse 14

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

Compassionverse 6

Contentverse 21

Covenantverse 24

Respect from the LORDverse 25

Israel (Old Testament people of God)

House of Leviverse 1

Birth of Mosesverses 1-10

Goodly child

Ark of bulrushes

Sister watched him in water

Hebrewverses 6, 7, 11

Moses is grownverse 11

Killed an Egyptian

Two Hebrews fighting

Asked who made him a prince or judge

Asked by fellow Hebrews if he was going to kill them too

Feared

Helped daughters of Midian priest

Children of Israelverse 25

Sighed by reason fo bondage

Cried to God

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events

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QUOTES regarding passage

24–25 God was pleased to respond to even those first lisps of faith, but he was also moved by his own word that he had promised to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gen 17:7, 19; 35:11–12 passim). It was a remembrance that was more than a mental act; it also included a performance of his word just as it did in Genesis 8:1 and 1 Samuel 1:19. In four consecutive verbs, the divine action is charted: God heard, God remembered, God looked (= considered), and God knew (= was concerned). (Kaiser, W. C., Jr. (1990). Exodus. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Vol. 2, p. 313). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)

2:23–25. The deceased king (v. 23) is probably Thutmose III, the Pharaoh of the oppression (1504–1450 b.c.), who was followed by Amenhotep II (1450–1425). During Moses’ 40 years in Midian the Israelites continued to suffer under the servitude of the Egyptians (1:11). Hearing their anguish God thought of His covenant promises to Abraham (Gen. 12:1–3; 15:18–21; 17:3–8), Isaac (Gen. 17:21), and Jacob (Gen. 35:10–12). In His compassion God considered the plight of the Israelites. He looked on them (cf. Ex. 3:7, 9) and was concerned about them and decided to intervene. Exodus 2:24–25 is a hinge in the narrative. Suppression, slavery, and death were dominant themes in 1:1–2:23. Now deliverance and triumph will be major emphases. God in His sovereign power was ready to act in accord with His promises to deliver and preserve His people. (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. 111). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

Solitude and humble service (vv. 15–25). Moses became a fugitive and fled to the land of the Midianites, relatives of the Jews (Gen. 25:2). True to his courageous nature, he assisted the daughters of Reuel, the priest of Midian (Ex. 2:18), and this led to hospitality in their home and marriage with one of the daughters, Zipporah, who bore him a son. Later, she would bear another son, Eliezer (18:1–4; 1 Chron. 23:15). Reuel (“friend of God”) was also known as Jethro (Ex. 3:1; 18:12, 27), but Jethro (“excellence”) may have been his title as priest rather than his given name.

The man who was “mighty in word and deed” is now in the lonely pastures taking care of stubborn sheep, but that was just the kind of preparation he needed for leading a nation of stubborn people. Israel was God’s special flock (Ps. 100:3) and Moses His chosen shepherd. Like Joseph’s thirteen years as a slave in Egypt and Paul’s three years’ hiatus after his conversion (Gal. 1:16–17), Moses’ forty years of waiting and working prepared him for a lifetime of faithful ministry. God doesn’t lay hands suddenly on His servants but takes time to equip them for their work.

God’s delays aren’t evidence of unconcern, for He hears our groans, sees our plight, feels our sorrows, and remembers His covenant. What He has promised, He will perform, for He never breaks His covenant with His people. When the right time comes, God immediately goes to work. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1998). Be delivered (p. 16). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub.)

And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter” (2:16–21). Here again we may discern God working behind the scenes. That Moses should have “stood up” against those shepherds, single-handed, shows plainly that the Lord was on his side; and in thus befriending the daughters of Reuel, Moses was enabled to win the esteem of their father. The sequel shows how the Providence of God thus opened to Moses a home during his long exile from Egypt. Thus did God make all things work together for his good. (Pink, A. W. (1962). Gleanings in Exodus (p. 21). Chicago: Moody Press.)

2:24 remembered His covenant. The unilateral covenant God made with Abraham (Ge 12:1–3; 15:1–21; 17:1–22) and confirmed with Isaac (Ge 26:2–5) and with Jacob (Ge 28:10–15; 35:9–15) specifically promised a geographically recognizable territory to the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob. Through them, too, the world would be blessed. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ex 2:24). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

Ver. 24. And God heard their groaning, &c.] The petitions they put up to him with groans and cries: and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob; that he would bring heir seed out of a land not theirs, in which they were strangers, and were afflicted, into the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, p. 326). London: Mathews and Leigh.)

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!!)

GRATEFUL PEOPLE

by Anne R. C. Neale

Are you grateful for what you have?

Surveys have found out so many things,

Your level of positive emotions are high,

You have more vitality which is something.

You’ll have lower levels of depression and of stress,

You will tend to exercise too which is great,

You will feel better and that is a plus,

Grateful people are positive people and they do not hate.

You’ll have higher alertness, enthusiasm and determination,

Counting your blessings is a wonderful thing to do,

Give thanks and be grateful for all you have,

You are a Child of God, and God unconditionally love you

” Give thanks for all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Jesus Christ”

1 Thessalonians 5;18 ( NIV)

Psalms 63
Spiritual thirst is satisfied only by spiritual intimacy with God.
INSIGHT
There is a God-shaped vacuum in every human heart. Man was made for God, and his soul will be restless until it finds it’s rest in Him. Our longings for love, relationships, belonging, security, meaning, purpose, and identity are ultimately met only in the Lord Jesus Christ. We find temporary fulfillment in the pursuit of people, possessions, and circumstances; but eventually, these will pass away or we will change and they will no longer satisfy. We have been made for God, and we will find our deepest longings met only in Him. Make David’s prayer your own prayer for spiritual fulfillment. (Quiet Walk)

THE MECHANISM OF THE PROMISE

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
We must look at what I choose to call the mechanism of the promise–the way in which it works. The apostle says that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” He says that we “know” this, that it is something that is well-known and acknowledged, something that to the Christian is self-evident. How is this so? The answer is partly doctrinal and partly a matter of experience.
The doctrinal answer starts at the end of our text–“to them who are the called according to his purpose.” It continues at the end of the chapter. We know that all things work together for good to believers because their whole position is dependent upon God and His activity. Our salvation is God’s work. Listen to the argument: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (verses 29-30). There is nothing accidental or fortuitous or contingent about God’s work. It is all planned and worked out from the beginning right until the end. In our experience it comes to us increasingly, but in the mind and purpose of God, it is all already perfect and entire. Nothing can frustrate it.
But it is not merely a matter of high doctrine. There is a fact that confirms it all: “he that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Is God, who actually delivered up His only Son to that cruel death on Calvary’s cross for us, likely to allow anything to stand between us and His ultimate purpose for us? Impossible.
A Thought to Ponder: There is nothing accidental or fortuitous or contingent about God’s work. (From Why Does God Allow War? pp. 122-123, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

The Day of Visitation
“Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:12)
This unique expression, “in the day of visitation,” based on a surprising use of the Greek word episkope, occurs one other time in such a way, when Christ wept over Jerusalem and pronounced its coming judgment. “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.…because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation” (Luke 19:42-44).
Now this word, episkope, and its derivatives are usually translated as “bishop,” “office of a bishop,” or “bishopric,” and it seems strange at first that it could also mean “visitation.” However, its basic meaning is “overseer” or “oversight,” and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is really the “Shepherd and Bishop of [our] souls” (1 Peter 2:25), as well as that of nations and, indeed, every aspect of every life.
As a bishop or pastor (“shepherd”) is responsible for the “oversight” of his local church, or flock, so Christ is “that great Shepherd of the sheep,” the true “Bishop of [our] souls,” the overseer of all people in every age. In His great plan of the ages, the Jews, and then the Gentiles, each have been entrusted with a time of “visitation,” or “oversight,” of God’s witness to the world. Sadly, Jerusalem “knewest not the time of [her] visitation” (Luke 19:44) and, as for Judas, the Lord had to say, “his bishoprick let another take” (Acts 1:20).
Now in God’s providence, it is the time of Gentile oversight, and it is eternally important that we who know His salvation today glorify God by our good works, with our “conversation [i.e., lifestyle] honest among the Gentiles” in our own “day of visitation.”

(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)

Nathan asks (MI): Reductionistic, Divisive, Arrogant?

In the face of radical partisanship, legitimate and necessary debate over the role and limits of governance, inconsistent and inconclusive scientific data, and enough “flaws” in the data to make your head spin . . .

To assume a monopoly on what Jesus would do in response, moralize your interpretations and corresponding applications of the data, demonize anyone who questions or challenges your conclusions, and dismiss anyone who expresses concern about the level of propaganda we are being presented with . . . I would suggest is potentially reductionistic, divisive, and/or arrogant.

We are facing a set of circumstances and a need for wisdom as Jesus followers that I believe should be viewed as disputable matters. Paul’s direction to early believers navigating disputable matters together was this:

“Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong . . . So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God . . . Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.” Rom 14:1,10,12-13

When faced with disputable matters, Paul calls us to move away from a reductionistic view of things to an integrated and holistic view, seek unity and deference over division, and be humble enough to be comfortable with disagreement and different perspectives.

Whatever your perspective, preferences, and politics . . . reductionism, divisiveness, and arrogance should be rebuffed not embraced as forms of engagement for Christ followers. The cost is too high and the power too great to do otherwise.

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