Historical BackgroundWhen Moses led Israel out of Egypt after the Passover, the nation traveled for roughly three months before coming to Sinai. There God gave Moses the Law, the tabernacle was built, and many events transpired (golden calf, miracles of water provision, etc.) over approximately a year’s time. From Sinai they traveled to Kadesh-barnea on […]
If you’re a believer, you should know the Ten Commandments. You should have them committed to memory. You should know them well enough that you can rehearse them easily and quickly. At the end of this post I’ll give you a shortcut method for learning them so you can recite what is the summary of […]
What would you say to someone you were not going to talk to again for four centuries? What final words of wisdom would you leave with them? After six condemnations of Israel, God ends the message of Malachi with a charge and a promise. He commands the people to remember the law – the very […]
This text tells a key story in the life of Moses and marks a key event in the journey of Israel to Canaan. It is a story told from two perspectives – the bottom of Mount Sinai and the top; with two main human characters – Aaron and Moses; who have two responses to a […]
Thirty days out of Egypt the people have a food problem. They’re in the wilderness, their provisions have run out, and there’s no visible means of feeding themselves. The conditions are ripe, therefore, for a show of faith in the God who so miraculously delivered them from Egypt and has brought them to where they […]
Israel belongs to God because of His covenant with Abraham; its status is based on God’s choice and isn’t conditional. In this text, however, God makes another covenant with the people and its promises come with conditions. God promises them peace, prosperity, longevity and a place in the world as His special representatives IF they […]
The Israelites leave Egypt after the tenth plague amidst the panic of the Egyptians and a destroyed country mourning its dead. God has clearly demonstrated His power over Egypt and its gods and humiliated Pharaoh. Amazingly, however, God isn’t done glorifying Himself at Pharaoh’s expense. As a result, even though Pharaoh ordered Moses to go […]
When God commissioned Moses in Midian He told him three things would happen upon his return to Egypt: God would strike Egypt with great miracles (3:19-20); He would enable the Israelites to leave Egypt with great riches (3:21-22); and He would kill Pharaoh’s firstborn son (4:22-23). The first of His predictions has come true with […]
After his first appearance before Pharaoh ended with disastrous results for both Moses and Israel, the scene and power begin to change as God starts to work. Whereas Pharaoh showed his authority over Israel in the incident with the bricks, God now shows His sovereignty over Pharaoh and all of Egypt with the plagues. In […]
After his first appearance before Pharaoh ended with disastrous results for both Moses and Israel, the scene and power begin to change as God starts to work. Whereas Pharaoh showed his authority over Israel in the incident with the bricks, God now shows His sovereignty over Pharaoh and all of Egypt with the plagues. In […]
