It's Not What It Seems
Opening Prayer
Loving Father, You are my Counselor, my Friend, and the source of my strength. I bless Your holy name.
Read Exodus 4:18-31
[18]
Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way” (Psa. 25:8,9). We need to listen to the One who pays attention to us and calls us to attention!
Think Further
I begin my meditation today by facing the things this chapter tells me about God: his anger (14); God seeking to kill Moses (24); the apparent tit-for-tat in the warning to Pharaoh (22,23); the first occurrence of the ominous threat that God will harden Pharaoh’s heart (21), which we shall meet again and again in the next week. I rack my brains for possible interpretations of these words, which can’t be elaborated here. I go to God with my disquiet and say, “Father, I do not understand you, but I trust you.” We do not continue to trust God because we have answers to all our questions, but because of Christ.
The critical issue in this puzzling story is Moses’ failure to circumcise his son. We know God had commanded this as a sign of his covenant grace (Gen. 17), but we do not know why Moses had failed to do it. I thank God for the prompt and vigorous action of his wife (another resourceful woman in our story), which saved his life; her words probably reflect her disquiet at his disobedience and her anxiety about his endangered state (25).
Benedict ends the prologue to his rule: “Strip yourself of self-will in order to fight for the true King, Christ our Lord, and take up the keen and glittering weapons of obedience.” For what purpose? “So we shall run with an inexpressible sweetness of love along the way of God’s commandments.” How significant are the words “obey” and “obedience” in my discipleship? Am I fully convinced that my true and full freedom lies in following the will of God as an expression of his love? I offer to my loving Lord my delighted, diligent, patient obedience.
Apply
From the example of Moses, what will you apply today to help ensure that God’s future plans for you are not frustrated?
Closing prayer
Lord, I commit myself anew to listening to Your voice and being obedient to Your call. I pray for a humble heart.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.