Tag Archives: Israel

Bible

loss of income

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The cattle plague, the fifth in Egypt, results in loss of income. Without healthy animals there is no work.

The trouble for Pharaoh was that God made a distinction between the animals of the Israelites and those of the Egyptians. In Exodus 9:7 we read: “Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.”

The Egyptians regarded cattle as sacred, even as incarnations of deities. The deity Hathor, a mother deity, resembled a cow. No wonder it would have been an abomination to them if the Israelites had sacrificed in the land.

Despite the clarity of the message, the pharaoh locked his heart. No matter how clearly God speaks, if man does not want to hear, he shuts himself off to God.

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Psalm 95:7-8

Bible

Losing the savings

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The fourth plague is about a fall of values. The insects destroy the stores. If you only rely on your savings, you lose what makes up your life.

From now on God separates his people Israel from Egypt. The exciting thing is that Jesus said he would take care of his children. Since from this plague onward a distinction is made between the land of Goshen and the rest of Egypt, we can see that here the gods of preservation are put to shame, such as Buto, a tutelary goddess.

After a separation has taken place between God’s people and Egypt, we see Pharaoh offering compromises. “Go, offer sacrifices to your God here in the land” (Exodus 8:21).

Moses replied, “Let us go three days’ march into the wilderness, and offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, as he commanded us” (Exodus 8:21).

What does this journey of three days mean? It is the way of death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, who rose from the dead on the third day. This is the prerequisite for being able to serve God.

Exodus 8:22 describes why the Israelites were unable to serve God in the land of Egypt: “We must offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, which will cause offense to the Egyptians.”

The reference to the divine sacrificial lamb in Jesus is and remains a stumbling block. That someone has to die in our place is unacceptable to the man who wants to establish his own righteousness.

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This is God’s finger

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The third plague of mosquitoes (Exodus 8:12-15) from the Exodus out of Egypt happen without any warning.

The Mosquitoes arises from the dust of the earth. The earth, like water, was personified in a deity by the Egyptians. This deity was called Seb. Seb was a father of the gods, with a bird on his head – a sign of life.

All people and livestock are affected by the plague. Again, the magicians try to come up with their imitations, but this time their attempt is useless. They say, “That’s God’s finger.”

Mosquitoes are animals that suck blood from humans. We read in Leviticus 17:11 that in the blood is life.

The plague is a symbol of an apostate world in which life is being sucked out of us. Instead of right use, there is abuse. Work does not satisfy but becomes a burden. We are busy with diseases that are often caused by an unhealthy lifestyle. Instead of helping each other, we’re undermining each other.

In this situation, turning to God, the giver of true life, would be the matter of the day. The answer to the world’s need would be, not to accuse God, but to turn to Him.

When our life disappears in our hands, we should ask us what really matters in life.

Bible

The structure of the 10 plagues

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There is an interesting structure in the text. Three times Moses should go to Pharaoh early in the morning. By the first (Exodus 7:15), fourth (Exodus 8:16) and seventh plague (Exodus 9:13) God always makes a new beginning. In all three cases, Moses must appear before Pharaoh early in the morning. Each morning points a beginning of God’s calling to the Pharaoh and Egypt. Continue reading The structure of the 10 plagues →

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Three levels in the 10 plagues of Egypt

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There are three levels in the 10 plagues of Egypt. On the one hand, through history we see what man is like and what God is like.

Then history is also a model that shows us how God knocks on peoples’ doors and on individuals. We see how God gives opportunities for repentance and how he speaks more and more clearly.

But it also becomes visible how man distances himself more and more from God. Man does not perish because he knows nothing about God, but because he does not want to admit him. There were also Egyptians who joined Israel. Exodus 12:38 says, “A great crowd of other people also went with them.”

It is interesting that in the last book of the Bible, in Revelation, similar plagues are mentioned. There it also says that people do not want to turn back to God.

It is an eye opener that God does not change the world but leads people who trust in him out of trouble. We see that in Noah, in Lot of Sodom, in Moses and in Revelation.

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 →

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 →

Israel, Jesus

Rejoice daughter of Zion

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“Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!” Zephaniah 3:14.

The prophet Zephaniah called on Jerusalem, like all Israel, to rejoice in the presence of the Lord: “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save” (Zephaniah 3:17). Salvation is in Hebrew: Yeschuah / Jesus is Yeschua and means saviour.

This almighty God has forgiven his people the guilt: “The Lord has taken away the judgments against you … The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst” (Zephaniah 3:15). “Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (John 19:19).

The joy of this is shared. Not only of the people of Israel, but God himself shares the joy of his people: “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). ” And you shall again obey the voice of the Lord… For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers” (Deuteronomy 30: 8-9).

The promises of the First Testament are fulfilled in the coming of Jesus into this world.

Paul writes that the reason for joy is the closeness of God revealed in Jesus. ” Rejoice in the Lord always … The Lord is at hand” (Philippians 4: 4-5). The closeness of God in Jesus is the cause of hope and joy. And we always need it.