Wonders – Praying Pint

53.j. Wilderness – 17.p. “Yhere is no rock like our God”

Deu 32:31  For their rock is not as our Rock; our enemies are by themselves.

Numbers 23:8   How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

1 Samuel 2:2    “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.

Jeremiah 40:3   The LORD has brought it about, and has done as he said. Because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you.

Daniel 2:47   The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries

Daniel 3:29    Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”

Daniel 6:26-27    I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end.  He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”

Firm foundation: the solid eternity of the rock on which we can build. Refuge: ‘refuge from the storm’; ‘my rock and my fortress and my high tower.’

Every man’s experience shows him that there is no such refuge anywhere else. We do not assert that every man consciously comes to that conclusion. All we say is that he would do so if he rightly pondered the facts. The history of every life is a history of disappointment. Take these particulars just stated and ask yourselves: What does experience say as to the possibility of our possessing such blessings apart from God? There is no need for us to exaggerate, for the naked reality is sad enough. If God is not our best Good, we have no solid good. Every other ‘rock’ crumbles into sand.

Every man’s own nature tells him that God is his true Rock.

Again I say that here I do not appeal to the surface of our consciousness, nor to men who have sophisticated themselves, nor to people who have sinned themselves, into hardness, but to the voice of the inner man which speaks in the depths of each man’s being. There is the cry of Want: the manifest want of the soul for God. There is the voice of Reason. There is the voice of Conscience.

Yet many of us will not take God for our Rock.

Surely it is a most extraordinary thing that men should be ‘judges,’ being convinced in their deepest consciousness that God is the only Foundation and Refuge, and yet that the conviction should have absolutely no influence on their conduct. (MacLaren)

God is certainly ever-present and a rock and refuge for those who are His children. Disobedient, complacent, neglectful, unappreciative, deaf, blind, self-reliant, self-worthy, lovers of self, proud, greedy, jealous, etc… as we may be, He has reached out to us and sent His Son to redeem us for His own purpose, pleasure, and plans. How are we to act in light of His blessings? How are we to think and speak? How are we to honor God the creator of all there is? By continually renewing our minds through His word and intentionally desiring to live to honor and glorify Him.

50.g. Wilderness – 14.m. “But you shall remember what the LORD your God did”

Deu 7:17-21. “If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So will the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. Moreover, the LORD your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed. You shall not be in dread of them, for the LORD your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.

Yet sin is never totally destroyed in this world; and it actually prevails in us much more than it would do, if we were watchful and diligent. In all this the Lord acts according to the counsel of his own will; but that counsel being hid from us, forms no excuse for our sloth and negligence, of which it is in no degree the cause. We must not think, that because the deliverance of the church, and the destruction of the enemies of the soul, are not done immediately, therefore they will never be done. God will do his own work in his own method and time; and we may be sure that they are always the best. Thus corruption is driven out of the hearts of believers by little and little. The work of sanctification is carried on gradually; but at length there will be a complete victory. Pride, security, and other sins that are common effects of prosperity, are enemies more dangerous than beasts of the field, and more apt to increase upon us. (Gill)

It is hard for us to remember all that God has done for us, how and when He led us, how and when He healed us, how and when He prospered us, how and when He forgave us, how and when He opened and closed doors, how and when He comforted and encouraged us, how and when He filled us with peace in trying and troubling times, how and when He blessed us, how and when He ………

Do you ever wonder why it is that we so easily forget? Or, why it is we are strong sometimes and weak other times? Or, why we are affected by what is before us to the point of being fearful and hesitant? Do we know who God is? Do we trust in, cling to, and rely on He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever-present? Do we trust in, cling to, and rely upon His steadfast love, purpose, mercy, grace, and love? Do we actually purpose to live every moment of every day to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we say, think, and do? Are we in a state of thankfulness and looking for reasons to praise and worship Him?

The answer to these questions reveals the reason why we fail to remember – because much of what happens we attribute to; “good luck”, “fate”, “our own hard work and determination”, “someone else’s good or bad toward us”, “being in the right place at the right time”, etc…..

We have grown weak in knowing who God is. We have become complacent. We are neglectful. We are tossed to and fro. We are forgetful. We are proud. We are jealous. We are hateful. We are fearful. We are greedy. We are self-serving. We are self-reliant. We think we are self-worthy. We think we are deserving. We have a hard time discerning right from wrong and good from bad. We tolerate sins of the flesh. We purpose to do without seeking God’s leading. Our ears have become dull to the Holy Spirit leading. God’s Word is void from our thinking most of the day. We like to be fed baby food from scripture and not solid food for maturity. We see the sins of others and are critical of them. We are blind to our own sins. We are…….

Repent of being slothful and negligent. Doubts and worries will come – talk to God about them and REMEMBER who He is. Purpose to be ever diligent in the study of God’s Word and living with a single purpose to drive every thought, word, and action – Honor and Glorify Jesus Christ every single moment of every day.

50.b. Wilderness – 14.h. “That it may go well with you”

Deu 6:17-25 You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD has promised. “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.’

This theme is constantly repeated. Under the Old Covenant, Israel’s blessing was based on their obedience. When they obeyed they would be blessed; when they disobeyed they would be cursed. Under the New Covenant there is no judgment from God for our disobedience, because all the judgment we deserved was put upon Jesus at the cross. However, there may be correction from the hand of a loving God the Father (not in the sense of making us pay for our sin, but in the sense of training us not to continue in sin), and there are the natural consequences of our disobedience, which God has not promised to shield us from.

Often, the apostasy that comes from prosperity afflicts the next generation more than the present. They grow up expecting such prosperity and blessing, without understanding the repentance and walk with God that led to the prosperity. Therefore, it was essential for Israel to teach and warn their children, so that the blessings given to one generation would not become a curse to the next generation. (Guzik)

Moses gives charge to keep God’s commandments. Negligence will ruin us; but we cannot be saved without diligence. It is our interest, as well as our duty, to be religious. It will be our life. Godliness has the promise of the continuance and comfort of the life that now is, as far as it is for God’s glory. It will be our righteousness. It is only through the Mediator we can be righteous before God. The knowledge of the spirituality and excellency of the holy law of God, is suited to show sinful man his need of a Saviour, and to prepare his heart to welcome a free salvation. The gospel honours the law, not only in the perfect obedience of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ; but in that it is a plan for bringing back apostate rebels and enemies, by repentance, faith, forgiveness, and renewing grace, to love God above all things, even in this world; and in the world above, to love him perfectly, even as angels love him. (Henry)

49.r. Wilderness – 13.x. “Know therefore today, and lay it to your heart”

Deu 4:32-40 “For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him. Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”

Moses asked Israel to carefully consider the days that are past, and if God had ever dealt with any other nation the way He had dealt with Israel. Israel needed to know they had a special place in the plan of God. Israel could know that the LORD was God, because of all the amazing things God did in the life of their nation. In the same way, when we consider how God has touched our lives – how we have experienced the power to free us from sin, to give us hope when we are discouraged, to heal our bodies, to free our bitter hearts, to answer our prayers, to overcome the most difficult obstacles – when we consider these things, we can know that the LORD Himself is God. Israel heard God’s audible voice from heaven; they saw His holy fire and benefited from His divine choice. They could know this from all God had done for them. In light of who God is, and all He did for Israel, obedience to His commands made perfect sense. It was simply what should be done. We are fools to disobey such a God of love and power. (Guzik)

Note this is from the Old Testament while Israel was in the wilderness being encouraged by Moses before going into the Promised Land. The reasoning is pure, right, and true. Fast forward to today. We live with the knowledge of so much more knowledge of God and what He has done over the course of time up to and through the death of the writers of the New Testament. We know of God’s power and love. We have been given precious promises. He sent His one and only Son to redeem us, forgive our sins, and give us eternal life, and we have been given the Holy Spirit to indwell in us to teach, convict, encourage, lead, and guide our thoughts, words, and actions so that we would honor and glorify Jesus Christ.

What punishment awaits those who deny, reject, neglect, and turn their backs on such a great gift of salvation? Romans rings true; “Man is without excuse”.

45.e. “Wilderness” – 9.k. “And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD”

Exodus 34:10 And he said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.

Deuteronomy 4:33-37     Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live?  Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?  To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him.

Psalms 77:14  You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.

Psalms 66:3     Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.

Psalms 66:5    Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.

Psalms 68:35   Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!

Psalms 76:12    who cuts off the spirit of princes, who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.

Psalms 145:6    They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness.

God’s plan was to glorify Himself to all the nations (all the people) through Israel, and to show His glory through the great things He did among them. Israel had a choice regarding those great things. Either the great things would be blessings so impressive that every nation would know that God alone had blessed Israel (as was the case with Solomon). Or, the great things would be curses so horrible that every nation would know God had chastised Israel and yet kept them a nation. Either way, God would glorify Himself through Israel among the nations. For their own good it was essential that they obey God (Observe what I command you this day) and enjoy the blessings of covenant obedience. (Guzik)

When the covenant was broken, it was Israel that broke it; now it comes to be renewed, it is God that makes it; if there be quarrels, we must bear all the blame; if there be peace, God must have all the glory. (Benson)

And he said, behold, I will make a covenant,…. Or renew the covenant before made the people had broke; which on his part was, that he would, as Moses had entreated, forgive the sin of the people, go along with them, and introduce them into the land of Canaan, and drive out the inhabitants of it before them; and, on their part, that they should avoid idolatry, and everything that led unto it, particularly making covenants, and entering into alliances with the idolatrous nations cast out before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; both in their passage through the wilderness, and entrance into Canaan’s land, and the conquest of that; such as the earth opening its mouth and swallowing alive Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and was a new thing God created; the smiting of the rock at Kadesh, from whence flowed waters abundantly; the healing of such as were bit by fiery serpents through looking at a serpent of brass; Balaam’s ass speaking, and reproving the madness of the prophet; the division of the waters of Jordan; the fall of the walls of Jericho at the sound of rams’ horns; the sun and moon standing still, until the Lord had avenged himself of his enemies, and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord; for it should be visible, as the above things were, and plainly appear to be the Lord’s doing, and not man’s, being above the power of any created being to perform. (Gill)

Jehovah declares His purpose of concluding a covenant with His people, to be confirmed by wonders of a character to convince all of His power and greatness. (Cambridge)

Oh that our eyes would be open to see the wonders of God. Each day, every moment, there are wonders to be seen. None so great as the grace, mercy, and love of God. All praise, honor, and glory are His alone, for there is no other God.

42.k.. “Let My People Go” – 10.h. Praise and Rejoicing

Exodus 15:1  Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Revelation 15:3   And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!

Philippians 4:13   I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Exodus 15:6  Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.

1 Chronicles 29:11-12    Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.  Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

Exodus 15:11  “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

Jeremiah 10:6   There is none like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might.

Exodus 15:18  The LORD will reign forever and ever.”

Daniel 7:27    And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’

Daniel 4:3     How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation.

This song is the most ancient we know of. It is a holy song, to the honour of God, to exalt his name, and celebrate his praise, and his only, not in the least to magnify any man. Holiness to the Lord is in every part of it. It may be considered as typical, and prophetical of the final destruction of the enemies of the church. Happy the people whose God is the Lord. They have work to do, temptations to grapple with, and afflictions to bear, and are weak in themselves; but his grace is their strength. They are often in sorrow, but in him they have comfort; he is their song. Sin, and death, and hell threaten them, but he is, and will be their salvation. The Lord is a God of almighty power, and woe to those that strive with their Maker! He is a God of matchless perfection; he is glorious in holiness; his holiness is his glory. His holiness appears in the hatred of sin, and his wrath against obstinate sinners. It appears in the deliverance of Israel, and his faithfulness to his own promise. He is fearful in praises; that which is matter of praise to the servants of God, is very dreadful to his enemies. He is doing wonders, things out of the common course of nature; wondrous to those in whose favour they are wrought, who are so unworthy, that they had no reason to expect them. There were wonders of power and wonders of grace; in both, God was to be humbly adored. (Henry)

What a song of worship and praise to God. A song pinned out of humbleness and gratitude. A song reflecting the pureness of raw worship and praise. A simple song with such depth and emotion that comes with a heart-felt presence of God. A song that reflects praise and worship, God’s power, God’s judgment, God’s love, and God’s holiness.

I love old hymns. You can tell people have written them with like hearts and minds. They are songs of thanksgiving, worship, hope, and praise. If you ever get a chance to acquire a hymnal, do it. Read the heartfelt songs in them. Feel the presence of God in these people’s lives. Just because you are not gifted in music or poetry talent does not mean you can’t join in on the praise and worship in them. Your heart and mind certainly can joyfully join in this praise and worship as the writer has expressed.

Let your hearts and minds proclaim the greatness, awesome power, and love of God, though they are pinned by another.

42.a. “Let My People Go” – 10. Promise of Death of all Firstborn of Egypt

Exodus 11:1  The LORD said to Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people. So Moses said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again.   But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.

Deuteronomy 4:34   Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

Job 27:16-17   Though he heap up silver like dust, and pile up clothing like clay,  he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver.

Psalms 24:1  The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,

Psalms 105:37   Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold, and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.

Proverbs 13:22   A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.

Job 34:20    In a moment they die; at midnight the people are shaken and pass away, and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.

Isaiah 42:13    The LORD goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war he stirs up his zeal; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes.

Psalms 105:36    He struck down all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their strength.

Psalms 135:8   He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and of beast;

Proverbs 21:13    Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.

Revelation 6:16-17   calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,  for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

Despite the great calamity to come, God would grant the Egyptians the ability to see the situation as it really was: the fault of their own Pharaoh, not the fault of Moses or the children of Israel. Here for the fourth time we are told that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart (Exodus 9:12, 10:20, 10:27, and 11:10). Yet God never hardened Pharaoh’s heart until he first hardened it against the LORD and His people (Exodus 7:13, 7:22, 8:15, 8:19, 8:32, and 9:7). (Guzik)

“The Lord hath put a difference between those who are his people and those who are not. There are many distinctions among men which will one day be blotted out; but permit me to remind you at the outset that this is an eternal distinction.” (Spurgeon)

Much could be said about the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart and passages that show it to be of himself and passages that show it to be of God. A person can be tempted to say that it is not fair, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. But, clearly, Pharaoh hardened his own heart first. He did have free will to choose and he chose to defy God and the signs and wonders performed in His name. Let this be a warning and witness to all – a hardened heart does not start out like stone. No, it is soft and pliable but with continual and repeated intentional choosing to defy God, deny God, things of God, God’s creation, and God’s Word (written and proclaimed) the heart becomes harder and harder and harder. At some point, there is no possible softening. This is known to God.

God knows the beginning from the end. He knows who is His and who is not. He knows this before any person is born. There is nothing that happens on earth that would be a surprise to God, where He would say; “I did not see that happening”. God knows the beginning from the end. Every last bit of it. He knows the thoughts and intents of every single person born before they are born. He knows the hairs on the heads of every last person. He knows the beginning from the end. He knows who will honor and glorify Him. He knows who will repent. He knows who will believe. He knows who will abide in faith. He knows who will obey. He knows who will not. He knows who will be ushered into heaven and who will find eternity in Hell. He knows the sin(s) every man will commit before it is even a thought in their mind. Nothing is hidden from Him. He knows the beginning from the end.

Who is the man that they dare say to the Creator of all there is, “I am not at fault, You made me like this.” Each person is given knowledge of God in their innermost being and this knowledge is added to by the wonders of creation. No man is with an excuse when they stand before their Creator. It is by free will they choose to deny the One and only True God. They make images of wood and stone and bow down and worship the craft of their hands, or they deny any God at all. They harden their hearts day after day until the hardness is complete. They will never repent or believe in God and His redemption. They reject God’s Word, His grace, love, and mercy. They reject Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, salvation, and forgiveness. They reject eternal life and freely choose eternity in Hell, though they are warned 1,000 times.

While I write this I am humbled beyond words for I was once like these, without a care, without a need of God, without giving thought or concern to eternity, sin, death, heaven, hell, judgment, forgiveness, etc…. And yet, God, in His great mercy and love, softened my heart, opened my eyes and ears, and showed me my sin and the need for redemption, salvation, repentance, and forgiveness. I lived a life of no concern for God or things of God, and yet He pursued me, He kept knocking at the door of my heart, and at the right moment, He got my attention. At the right moment, a neighbor across the street (Rich) asked my wife and me to attend an evangelical meeting at the church they attended. It was at this meeting Thursday, March 22nd, 1979 my sin, God’s holiness, and my need for repentance and a savior were revealed deep within my heart and mind. I know there was nothing deserving within me of this grace and mercy – trust me I know. However, God’s great love brought me to the point of believing or rejecting. As I say this it is not as though I could have rejected it. I don’t really know how to explain it. The message preached and my need so revealed that there was no way I could say no to the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

I don’t know how many times I reject God and things of God throughout my life up to the point of being saved. God does and I am sure it was a lot. God’s grace, mercy, and love are deep and wide. And yet, they have boundaries. These boundaries include “Faith and Repentance” (trust, obedience, reliance, honor, and glory to Jesus Christ). Good intentions, wishing, hoping, denying, rejecting, self-reliance, etc… all fall short of these boundaries of God’s grace, mercy, and love.

Oh, that all of you would see the sinfulness of sin, the Holiness of God, and the need for repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ.

40.z. “Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand”

Exodus 3:19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

Moses asked God about how his fellow Israelites would receive the news of the deliverance from Egypt, but getting the people of Israel behind Moses was only a small part of the struggle ahead – what about the Egyptians? How would they ever agree to let this free labor force leave the country? Without Moses asking, God answered this question. God knew this from the beginning. He knew what it would take to move the heart of Pharaoh, and the plagues and calamities to come where engineered for a specific purpose and they were not haphazardly planned. God promised to arrange things not only to move Pharaoh’s heart, but also to move the heart of the Egyptian people so that when Israel did depart, they would be showered with silver and gold and clothing. This was not stealing or extortion, it was the appropriate wages for the years of forced labor. (Guzik)

God knew beforehand, and acquaints them with it, that, when it came to pass, they might be induced to believe that the mission of Moses was of God, rather than the contrary. (Gill)

With the command, “Go and gather the elders of Israel together,” God then gave Moses further instructions with reference to the execution of his mission. On his arrival in Egypt he was first of all to inform the elders, as the representatives of the nation (i.e., the heads of the families, households, and tribes), of the appearance of God to him, and the revelation of His design, to deliver His people out of Egypt and bring them to the land of the Canaanites. He was then to go with them to Pharaoh, and make known to him their resolution, in consequence of this appearance of God. (Keil and Delitzsch )

I try to understand what must have been Moses thoughts to this revelation from God. Israel has been in slavery and treated harshly for over close to 300 years. This is the life they knew. It was just the way things were. They knew no different. Think about it; God captures Moses attention (Burning Bush), speaks to Moses, commissions him to lead his people, and reveals how His mighty hand will deliver them. Moses has been gone from Egypt for 40 years and was 70-80 years old. We are never too old to be used by God. We are never too far removed to be sent.

What keeps us from being used by God? Is it willingness? Is it lack of or willing to listen for the Holy spirit’s leading and guiding? Is it a shallow commitment to serving or willing to serve God? Is it being consumed by the busyness of life and how we choose to live? Is it because we choose to neglect studying and meditating on God’s Word? A shallow commitment to God’s Word will lead to a very shallow understanding of what it means to live in such a way the honors and glorifies Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do.

34.p. ” In spite of all this, they still sinned; despite his wonders, they did not believe”

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Hebrews 3:12     Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.

Hebrews 4:2    For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.

Hebrews 4:6   Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience,

Revelation 21:8   But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur

Numbers 14:11    And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?

John 3:18-19   Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

Psalms 78:22   because they did not believe in God and did not trust his saving power.

Psalms 78:32    In spite of all this, they still sinned; despite his wonders, they did not believe.

Proverbs 11:18     The wicked earns deceptive wages, but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward.

Jeremiah 29:13-14   You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, declares the LORD,

Brethren, we call ourselves Christians; let us be honest with ourselves, and rigid in the investigation of the thoughts of our own hearts. Is there a wish for God there? Is there an aching void in His absence, or do we shovel cartloads of earthly rubbish into our hearts, and thus dull desires that can be satisfied only with Him? These are not questions to which any one has a right to expect an answer from another; they are not questions that any Christian man can safely shirk answering to himself and to God. The measure of our seeking is actually settled by the measure of our desire. (MacLaren)

Having one eye of our hearts and minds tuned into and seeking and desiring what the world has to offer, and having the other eye turned toward heaven will not find a place for things of God. The things of earth will eat away any desire and seeking that our hearts and minds would have for things of God. Whatever this world may shout loud and strong into the ears of any who would listen will influence their path in life and hinder any things of God from being heard or seen. The heart of man must want to see and hear things of God above what this world has to offer or they will blindly and deafly follow after what seems right in their own eyes and social norms.

Seek to have God open His Word and give you understanding, knowledge, and wisdom of His grace, mercy and love.

34.h. “A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish”

Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Isaiah 13:10   For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.

Jeremiah 4:23-28    I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light.  I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro.  I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled.  I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger.  For thus says the LORD, “The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.  “For this the earth shall mourn, and the heavens above be dark; for I have spoken; I have purposed; I have not relented, nor will I turn back.”

Ezekiel 32:7-8   When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light.  All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and put darkness on your land, declares the Lord GOD.

Joel 2:10    The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.

Joel 2:30-31   “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.  The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

Amos 5:20     Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?

Zephaniah 1:14-15    The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there.  A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

Acts 2:19-20    And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;  the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

Revelation 6:12-17    When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,  and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.  The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.  Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,  calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,  for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

Several prophetic passages describe the cosmic disturbances that will precede and surround the glorious return of Jesus. All these signs are figures of great and terrible calamities. The roaring of the waves of the sea denotes great tumult and affliction among the people. “Perplexity” means doubt, anxiety; not knowing what to do to escape. “Men’s hearts should fail them for fear,” or by reason of fear. Their fears would be so great as to take away their courage and strength. Barnes)

But I am more inclinable to interpret them of the last judgment, and to think that our Saviour is now passed to satisfy the disciples about their other question, concerning the end of the world; for although Christ’s coming may sometimes signify that remarkable act of his providence in the destruction of his enemies, yet the next verses speaking of his coming with great power and glory, and of his coming with his angels, and with the sound of a trumpet, and gathering his elect from the four winds, the phrases are so like the phrases by which the Scripture expresses Christ’s coming to the last judgment, and Christ speaking to his disciples asking of him as well about that as the destruction of Jerusalem, I should rather interpret this verse with reference to the last judgment, than the destruction of Jerusalem before spoken of, or at least that these signs should be understood common both to the one and the other, as divers of the other signs mentioned in this chapter are. Some think that the darkening of the sun and the moon here, the falling of the stars, and the shaking of the powers of heaven, are to be taken metaphorically, as signifying the great change there should be in the ecclesiastical and civil state of the Jews; and it is true that such kind of expressions do often in Scripture so signify. But without doubt the literal sense is not to be excluded, whether we understand the text of the destruction of Jerusalem, or of his coming to his last judgment; for as historians tell of great prodigies seen before the former, so the apostle confirms us that there will be such things seen before the day of judgment. (Poole)

There is no valid reason why the physical phenomena mentioned in this verso are not to be taken literally, even if we see also in them a spiritual significance. It is only reasonable to expect that the end of this world should be accompanied by stupendous changes in the realm of nature. The sun was miraculously darkened when Jesus hung on the cross. What wonder if similar catastrophes signal his coming to judgment? (unknown)

Men of the world scheme and plan for generation upon generation here, but they plan not with reference to the overwhelming, approaching, and most certain event of Christ’s second coming, which shall do away every human scheme, and set aside for ever all that God forbids. Christ here shows the state of the old world when the deluge came. They were secure and careless; they knew not, until the flood came; and they believed not. Did we know aright that all earthly things must shortly pass away, we should not set our eyes and hearts so much upon them as we do. The evil day is not the further off for men’s putting it far from them. What words can more strongly describe the suddenness of our Saviour’s coming! Men will be at their respective businesses, and suddenly the Lord of glory will appear. Women will be in their house employments, but in that moment every other work will be laid aside, and every heart will turn inward and say, It is the Lord! Am I prepared to meet him? Can I stand before him? And what, in fact, is the day of judgment to the whole world, but the day of death to every one who is not prepared for the return of Jesus Christ? (Henry)