Tag Archives: God

Bible

The suffering on earth is known in heaven

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The encounter with God turned Moses’ life upside down. After Moses has become irrelevant, God takes him to set Israel free through him. But it is not an easy path, but with many surprises.

Exodus 2:23 “During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.”

The suffering of the children of Israel in Egypt has become proverbial. Oppression, hard work, want, contempt, all worked together to make life miserable for them. They sighed and cried out in their distress, and their cry came before God. The suffering of the earth is known in heaven. God perceives everything. But he does not provide an instant solution. God is waiting for the right moment.
 Continue reading The suffering on earth is known in heaven →

Jesus

Moses and his destiny

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Moses was convinced in Exodus 2:11-15 that the hour had come for the Savior to intervene. But the pointer on God’s clock was not that far advanced.

We see Moses acting as a human redeemer. Moses experiences a blatant case of injustice. Shouldn’t justice be helped to triumph immediately?

Moses reacts emotionally. Seeing a need is one thing, but the big challenge is reacting calmly. Today people react before they really start to think about it.

Perhaps we too should learn to wait for the right time? If we want to make a difference, it is important to think before we act. But that’s not always easy for us.

Jesus waited over 30 years before appearing publicly. It is important that we see the need and care it, take it before God and than wait until God’s time has come.

Sometimes we try to react faster than God. But patience is a divine attribute. Psalm 86:15 says: “But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

The second mistake Moses made was that he wanted to save his people on his own. Years passed before God stripped Moses of his own strength, his zeal, even his desire to be a deliverer, so that he could carry out God’s will. God is the doer. He even makes us weak so that his power can be seen in and through us.

Wherever we offer solutions for people who don’t want any, we won’t see any success.

Moses was wrong thinking that by doing this the people would recognize him as their Saviour. They did not yet see Moses as the divine saviour. They saw a zealous man. Moses had not yet become unselfish.

Moses experienced complete bankruptcy. He fails because of his cleverness, his own power and his supposed trust in God.

But whoever wants to become a tool in God’s hands must first reach their limits with their own strength and power.

Moses was not to appear as royal highness, but had to become a Midianite shepherd before God could use him. Not a title is decisive, but the inner maturity.

Moses had not yet learned three things in our story: to wait for the divine time, to let God’s power work in oneself and to become unselfish.

 

Jesus

Women let their fear of God shine

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Mankind can be wicked or have a good heart. The midwives of Exodus 1:15-22 are faced with the question of which is more important to them: a good relationship with the government or a good relationship with God. They feared God more than the king. Instead of eliminating the boys, they chose life. They disobeyed the pharaoh’s inhuman command to kill all male children. They stood on the side of life and did not want to become the servants of death. Verse 20 says, “God made the midwives prosper.” God blesses those who stands to Him.

The resistance of the women thwarts the pharaoh’s plan. He had thought the midwives would kill the newborn boys immediately and then fool the family into believing it was a stillbirth so the plan could go ahead without fanfare. But now he has to realize that his idea that the midwives should lie to the Hebrews will come back with a boomerang lie and show him how powerless he is. Continue reading Women let their fear of God shine →

Jesus

Symbolism of the numbers in the Bible

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Numbers play a special role in the Bible. They often serve as a link and reminder of certain events or symbols. But they are not absolute statements in the sense of an oracle or a hidden prophecy.

The one (Hebrew: echad) is associated with the concept of the unity of God (Deuteronomy 6: 4). Man and woman are also to become “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). The unity of God stands against man’s distrust of God and his benevolence, a “no longer wanting to be one with God”. But we are to become one with God’s way of thinking (John 17:21). But always in the awareness of the differences. The absolute one is jachid. Each personality only exists once and is part of a larger unit in which we complement each other. Everything is designed to be complement. Continue reading Symbolism of the numbers in the Bible →

Israel

When people ignore God

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The new king doesn’t know the story of Joseph. It has been 300 years since Joseph stood up for Egypt. We see: it is always dangerous if we ignore history and do not want to learn from it. This is why the Bible is good to read because it shows what happens when people ignore God.

The Israelites are not oppressed because they rebel, but because they are doing well and are blessed by God, as God has promised to Abraham (Gen. 12: 3), Isaac (Gen. 26: 4) and Jacob (Gen. 28:14).

If we feel threatened, then we have no appreciation or a good word for others. Instead of togetherness, there is an opposition. Continue reading When people ignore God →

Jesus

Good news

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The angels announced to the shepherds in Luke 2: 10-11: ” I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

What’s the good news?

God loves (Hosea 14:4), seeks (Genesis 3:9 / Ezekiel 34:12) and visits us (Luke 1:68).

He does not impose himself on us, but he waits until we open the door for him (Revelation 3:20) or we turn to him (Isaiah 1:4).

Jesus died on the cross and rose again for our transgressions towards his life-enhancing instructions (John 3:16).

The Heavenly Father and Jesus come to us personally through the Holy Spirit (John 13:20). We are changed to the person God created us to be.

The key question is if we are open to God and if he knows us (Matthew 7:23). He knows us when we reveal ourselves to him.

Jesus

God of Abraham

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Abraham is often seen as the father of the monotheistic religions. His way of believing is a model for all people.

Only when we understand how Abraham experienced God, can we evaluate whether we believe in Abraham’s God or we are following our own image of God.

Abraham is described as the first Muslim in sura 2:132. In John 8:39 the Jews say: “Our father is Abraham.” Jews, Christians and Muslims all see Abraham as a model of faith. But Abraham did not start three religions.

When we say we believe in the God of Abraham, we must first see what kind of God Abraham believed in and what are the characteristics of his belief.

Jesus says in John 8:39: “If you were Abraham’s children, then you would do what Abraham did.”

news

Pro-Islam banners on buses

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In at least five cities in England large banners have appeared on public buses reading: “Muhammad Dawat-e-Islami, a mercy to the entire creation.”

The charity spokesman told Coventry Telegraph: Dawat-e-Islami UK put the ads on buses to enlighten the public with a peaceful message about the Prophet Muhammad being a mercy to the entire creation. It’s the first time it’s been done, and there are a lot of Muslims in that area and we’ve had a fantastic reaction from the public.

The question is to what extent Muhammad is mercy? Does this formulation not raise Muhammad to a divine status? Wouldn’t the divine Koran be Islam’s offer of mercy from a Muslim perspective?

When the Asia Bibi case came up in Pakistan, Muslim protesters demanded execution for blasphemy. What she supposedly said that Jesus was the true prophet of God was not a statement about God, but about Mohammed. Since this is called blasphemy, Muhammad attains divine status in practical matters.

In sura 33,36 the decisions of Muhammad are seen on the same level as those of Allah himself. Whoever has not followed them has left the right path. Mohammed seems to be not just a prophet.