Week 38, Day 4: God responds to Israel’s suffering
Today’s Reading: Exodus 3:1-22
Some thoughts from the reading…
There are many things that could be commented on in chapter 3. I want to call our attention to something that had not occured to me before last night. In chapter 2 we had read about the attempts of Pharaoh to subdue the Hebrews by putting them to hard labor and by having all the male children killed. We were introduced to Moses and how he came to be a part of Pharaoh’s household because his mother was hiding him from this destruction. We are not told if the Pharaoh continued this policy of attempting to kill all the babies but this certainly paints a very bleak outlook for Israel. They are severely oppressed and their children are killed. At some point the sons of Israel cry out for help. The text doesn’t specify if this was at the beginning of their oppression or if the cry for help rose up over some period of time. What we are told is that God took notice of them (2:25). What I want to point out is how long was it before God answered their pleas. Moses was born at some point perhaps near the beginning of the killings. We find out that when Moses was approaching the age of 40 (Acts 7:23) he went to visit his brethren. Think about that. For 40 years Israel has been enduring this hard labor and harsh treatment such as the attempts to kill their children. We are told in this chapter that Moses flees to the land of Midian after it is found out he has slain an Egyptian. He spends another 40 years in this region before the Lord speaks to him from the burning bush (Acts 7:30). So now we are up to 80 years since this kind of treatment of Israel has been taking place. Again, the text does not indicate if the killing of children cocntinued but we certainly know that the slave labor went on. Why would God wait 80 years to answer their cries? Was Israel cyring out during this whole time? Whatever was the timing for when and how often Israel cried out to God it seems clear that did know what was going on in Egypt. He knew what they were suffering. And yet He chose the time to deliver them.
I think there are a few lessons that we can stress from this. Our timing is not God’s timing. We may want something right now but God answers things when it is best. I can think of several reasons why God might have waited until the time had passed before bringing Israel out. 1) He may have been waiting for Israel to get to the point where they recognized their need for God. They could in no way get themselves out of this mess. They needed God to deliver them. 2) He may have been waiting for them to be ready to let go of Egypt and leave. They had prospered abundantly in Egypt. The land of Goshen was “the best o the land” (Gen 47:6). Isreal had to be at a point that they would leave that behind and not want to stay/ cling to Egypt. 3) God wanted to display his power to Egypt and the lands of Canaan (Rom 9:17, Jos 2:9-11, 9:9). Jehovah is the one and true God. He demonstrated to all the world His might and power over all other supposed gods and against those who would fight against His will and 4) He waited until the time when the wickedness in the land of Canaan had been “completed” and was ready to be punished (Gen 15:16).
The point I want to stress here is that God does take note of any time we suffer. He does hear our cries and will answer them. But just because the answer does not come when we want it or how we might expect it, does not mean that God does not care or has deserted us. There may be more at work “behind” the scenes then we know. I am often impressed how we grow because of our times of suffering and how often looking back on things we can see that we have been blessed on the other side of those difficult times. Do not grow weary or give up serving God during those times of difficulty.
Question: Can you think of times when you felt that God was not answering your prayer during a tuff time? Did you keep praying diligently?
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Week 36, Day 2: Joseph is remembered
Today’s Reading: Genesis 41:1-57
Some thoughts from the reading…
After Joseph has been a prisoner for another two years, Pharaoh has a dream that needs to be interpreted. But no one can interpret it. Then the cup bearer speaks to Pharaoh regarding Joseph. It seems very unjust that this man forgets all about Joseph until now but he indicates in his speech perhaps why he had not spoken before. “I would make mention today of my own offenses.” The man was weary of mentioning how he had offended Pharaoh so much. Understanding things from his stand point makes it more understandable for him to forget about mentioning Joseph before now. I know how hard it is to remember to look at things from someone else’s point of view first, before becoming angry. But with understanding we often can react appropriately.
Joseph’s rise to power is a clear indication of providence. God caused the dream. God showed the interpretation to Joseph and God made it possible for Joseph to serve as a ruler in Egypt. Joseph reflects a continued dedication to God by saying that it isn’t in him to give the interpretation but that God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer. Later we also see him naming his children in a way that he recognizes what God has done for him. What a great lesson in dedication to God, a lack of bitterness, and integrity.
Question: What qualities do you see exhibited by Joseph through his trial so far?
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Week 23, Day 4: They will hate you
Today’s Reading: John 17:1-18:40
Some thoughts from yesterday’s reading…
Jesus continues to prepare the apostles for His departure. The world had hated Jesus. They had mistreated Him and persecuted Him. What do you think they will do to those who serve Him? They would treat them the same way. The apostles were commanded to love one another right before being told that they would be hated by the world. During these times of hardship and pain, they would need each other. They would need to be able to count on each other and know that they had each other’s love. Loving one another would be so critical for them to endure and persevere through the harsh treatment they were going to receive.
In 16:1 Jesus says that He tells them these things so that they may be kept from stumbling. Knowing that hardships are coming helps us to prepare mentally to endure them. Understanding that they hate us because of who we serve should also help us to deal with the persecutions. As Christians we need to prepare ourselves mentally to accept that the world will not view us favorably and will not always treat us well because we are not of the world but are of God. Resolve yourself that come what may, you will continue to serve God and not be suprised at the fiery ordeals that we have to go through. Knowing and accepting that these things will come helps us not stumble when hit by hardships. Our mindset and attitude has a lot to do with how we deal with these things.
Finally, I want to make a comment about Jesus referring to how they hated Him without cause (15:25). Sometimes we hear people say, “why is this happening to me!” Jesus suffered for no wrong that He had done. He committed no sin to deserve the hatred and persecution. When we have bad things happen to us, let us consider that sometimes things can happen without a cause. Yes, hardship can teach us many lessons and cause us to examine ourselve, but let us not become despairing and dwell on why bad things happen to us. Searching for the why has caused many people distress and sorrow when they cannot see the reason. Accept that we will suffer at times for doing what is good and that bad things happening is just a part of life, not necessarily an indication that we are being told by God to change something in our lives.
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