August 5th, 2011
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

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Opening Prayer

Lord of the impossible, I step into this day, seeking Your presence and leading. Thank You for Your Spirit’s work in me.

Read Exodus 5:22-6:27

[22] Moses returned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? [23] Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” [1] Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.” [2] God also said to Moses, “I am the LORD. [3] I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them. [4] I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they lived as aliens. [5] Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. [6] “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. [7] I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. [8] And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.'” [9] Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage. [10] Then the LORD said to Moses, [11] “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.” [12] But Moses said to the LORD, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?” [13] Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. [14] These were the heads of their families: The sons of Reuben the firstborn son of Israel were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans of Reuben. [15] The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon. [16] These were the names of the sons of Levi according to their records: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Levi lived 137 years. [17] The sons of Gershon, by clans, were Libni and Shimei. [18] The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years. [19] The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of Levi according to their records. [20] Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years. [21] The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg and Zicri. [22] The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan and Sithri. [23] Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. [24] The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans. [25] Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the Levite families, clan by clan. [26] It was this same Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.” [27] They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt. It was the same Moses and Aaron.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1 ESV). Be strong in hope and conviction today.

Think Further

“Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk; King walked so Obama could run; Obama ran so we can all fly.” I wonder if you heard this saying at the time of Barack Obama’s inauguration. Whatever one’s politics, it was deeply moving for many to see elderly African Americans weep as they remembered their struggle and celebrated a new dimension of hope and freedom. Fifty-four years separate Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her bus seat for a white passenger in Alabama from the start of Obama’s presidency.

At the heart of our text today is a sense of the suffering and deferred hopes that accompany every quest for authentic freedom. Moses confronts the distress and fury of the Israelite foremen and addresses his anguished protests to God (5:22,23), and God responds. He invites Moses to imagine a not far distant future, “Now you will see …” (6:1), and to reconsider his understanding of the past (2,3). Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had known God as “the Lord” (I AM, YHWH), as well as by the name “God Almighty” (El Shaddai). They had seen God’s promises fulfilled. Moses’ assertions to the contrary, God had, indeed, “rescued” (5:23) his people, but God seems to imply (3) that the past generations had not experienced the full content of the name YHWH. This name is not a philosophical concept, but rather a historical one. It testifies of one who is active in history, constantly intervening to realize a plan with the world in general and with a particular instrument, the people of Israel. Now, through a slowly unfolding process, Moses and his people will start to experience all the dimensions of God’s name beginning with liberation from slavery (6), moving on to a new identity—adoption into God’s covenant people (7), and culminating in homecoming (8).

Apply

What promises of God have you seen fulfilled in your life and lifetime? Are there defeats and deferred hopes you should share with God?

Closing prayer

Mighty God, the world seems to be spinning out of control. I need the assurance that You are in control and will sustain me.

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