May 15 Exodus 1-2

Exodus is the second book in the Exodus is the second book in the Old Testament, and continues the history of the Israelites. Brief overview of the end of Genesis. Joseph was sold as a slave to Ishmaelites who took Joseph to Egypt. Joseph became second in command during the fruitful then famine years. He reunites with his family, and they all settle in Egypt. The story continues In Exodus.

Verses 1-7 starts off with a little genealogy. The Jewish tradition is very big into genealogy - tracing your family tree. I know many have taken up this hobby tracing their family roots - but this is serious business for the Jewish faith. We learn that Jacob and his 12 sons have moved to Egypt, their generation has died, and the Israelites have been fruitful, strong, and the land was filled with them. The Israelites on being fruitful and multiplying - this was a commandment of God with Adam and Eve - be fruitful and multiply. So, they were obeying the will of God.

Verses 8-11 A new king is ruler and he doesn't know the story of Joseph. Historians aren't quite sure who this new king is. Joseph died around 1806 b.c., and this may be around 250 years later. The Israelites became friendly with the Hyksos, and the new king may have feared these two nations would be stronger than his nation (from NET Bible). The new king comes up with a plan on how to address this problem. Slavery. The intent was to crush the Israelite nation.

Verses 12-14 The more the Israelites were oppressed in slavery - the more they multiplied. We know that tough times strengthen us. This is what God was doing - strengthening the Israelites.

Verses 15-22 The king of Egypt comes up with a new plan. He meet with the midwives and tells them to kill all newborn boys - but allow the girls to live. The midwives feared God and ignored the King's request. Fearing God - I like to think of it as out of obedience and respect - following God's command. Since the midwives didn't follow the King's orders, God blessed them, the people continued to multiply. When asked why the midwives didn't kill newborn boys - they stated that the Hebrew women were strong and the babies were already born when they arrived. The question needs to be asked - did the midwives lie, and is it ok to lie? It IS possible the babies were born before the midwives arrived, so they could have been telling the truth. And God's law is higher than man's law. The midwives gave logical explanation without going into God's law.

The Pharoah commands that newborn boys be thrown into the river but girls can live.

Chapter 2 The birth of Moses

Verses 1-4 Moses' father is from the tribe of Levi. A little background here :-). Moses is born and his mother saw he was healthy, and hides him for 3 months. When he became too big to hide, she made a basket for him and put the baby in the basket along the edge of the Nile. How many of us would do the same? Do anything to protect our child. Moses' Mother tells Moses' sister to watch over the baby to see what happens to him.

Verses 5-10 Pharoah's daughter finds the baby in the Nile as she is bathing, and has compassion for Moses. His sister suggests that she find a woman to nurse the baby and Pharoah's daughter agrees to this. So, Moses stays with his family until he was weaned. He may have been 2-3 years old at this time. Oh how heartbreaking it would have been to give him up but they did. Oh yes - Pharoah's daughter paid Moses' mother for taking care of him.

Moses is named Moses which means because I drew him from the water, and he becomes the Pharoah's daughter's son.

I found this in my studies - from an early Christian theologian named Origen and he came up with this allegory of the story of Moses' birth. Anyway -is an interesting interpretation of this passage of scripture.

·        Pharaoh represents the devil

·        The male and female Hebrew children represent the animal and rational aspects of the soul

·        The devil wants to kill the rational character of man, but keep alive his animal character

·        The two midwives are the Old and New Testaments

·        Pharaoh wants to corrupt the midwives so that the rational character of man will be destroyed

·        Because the midwives were faithful, God builds houses of prayer all over the earth

·        Pharaoh's daughter represents the church, and gives refuge to Moses - who represents the law

·        The waters of the Nile represent the waters of baptism

·        When we come to the waters of baptism and take the law into our heart - the royal palaces - then the law grows up into spiritual maturity

Verses 12-13 Moses has grown up and become a man. One day he observes an Egyptian beating up one his his own - a Hebrew. So Moses looks to see if anyone is watching and kills the Egyptian.  I have always wondered although he lived with the Pharoah's daughter - what kind of relationship did he have with his family and his people? OK I side tracked here - but I'm still curious. Moses took matters into his own hands - thought no one was looking and killed a man.

Verse 14-15 BUT someone was watching Moses when he killed the man, because the next day when Moses asks 2 Egyptians why they are fighting - the ask him if he will kill them. Moses becomes afraid when he realizes he was seen killing a man.  When Pharoah hears about it he wants to kill Moses, so Moses flees to Mdian. Moses was 40 when this happened.

May 15,2011 just catching up

I haven't written anything in a very long time, mainly because I began working full time late last year and found it more and more difficult to commit to writing daily in my blog.  And I haven't been studying the bible like I should. Thank goodness God is faithful and forgiving, and loves us unconditionally.

I have also had some health issues - my thyroid levels got low, and my medication needed changed. I also  began taking vitamins. Both of these changes have helped a lot!  Our bodies are complex and when one little gland doesn't work right it throws the whole body off. I became a little depressed, didn't do much except work and housework. Unfortunately the changes were so gradual I don't notice how bad it is until I get a medical check up. Now I have more energy, and a more positive outlook on life. Whew, hope I stay this way!

Today is Sunday. It is not a pretty spring day here in Indiana. It has been drizzling since last night and it is almost 6 pm. Last Sunday, Mother's Day, my daughter helped build me 2 more square foot gardens!   Yesterday, Saturday, I had some top soil delivered for the new gardens. The dirt is now in the boxes but it has been drizzling all day long, so I will have to wait for another day to plant tomatoes. I think this is lesson in patience. My little gardens are small but I get much pleasure tending them. I have two gardens that are 3 by 4 feet in diameter, and one garden is 3 by 3 feet. The 3 by 3 foot garden will be for rhubarb, and the other two are vegetable gardens. In the one garden I have lettuce, peas, radishes, and carrots planted. Carrots are slow growing and I haven't seen them peak through the ground yet, but the others are growing nicely. The new one will have mostly tomatoes. Its been a very cool spring here in Indiana - even the farmers are behind planting corn.

I added pictures of my twin granddaughters! Wow - what an answer to prayer!  They are 7 months old now, as healthy as can be, and perfect in every way! They are soooo cute! And they know it :-).  As you can imagine though, they are a lot of work. When I come home from babysitting them along with their brother and sister, I'm exhausted. I don't know how my son and daughter in law do it, but they do :-). I have two other grandchildren - two boys ages 4 and 8. These are the good years raising children I think. Past the baby stage not yet teens. Still love to visit Grandma's house :-). As a parent we don't notice day by day how fast our children grow and change, and as a Grandparent, I cherish each moment I spend with all my grandchildren because I know how fast they grow up!

I bought a Nook Color reader device New Year's Eve. I have enjoyed reading books this way. I have three versions of the bible on my nook, and I have to say the Bible and Cook Books - its easier to read the old fashioned pick up a book and read that way. You can create notes and highlight in books so that is plus. However - reading books LOVE IT! Many books on my nook I have gotten through free downloads.  One good resource is called vessel project, and they list free Christian books you can download. You can download and read on your computer too without a nook.  I have enjoyed reading these books. I have also learned just cause a book is free, it doesn't mean its worth reading. I have tried new authors, different venues than I would ordinarily read. Some of them are good, some I delete after reading a few pages. Its like tv, garbage in garbage out. If there is a lot of swearing and sex - delete!  Maybe those books have violence in them too, I just never get that far. What I really like about the Nook is I can download books from the library, and when the three weeks are up, they just go away. No more late fees!

OK - when am I going to get back on the bible study bandwagon??? My 3 year bible study guideline - Exodus - started yesterday. I will do some double duty and catch up. We will read Exodus 1-13 by May 27th, then pick up in Acts on the 28th in Acts 12:25 through the month of June.

Nov 4, 2010 Daniel 1

Today we begin studying Daniel, then Revelations. Both books are steeped with prophecy. I have much to learn, for I haven't studied these books much. Anyone's comments would be appreciated.

To continue 40 days of thankfulness - today I am thankful for my warm home as the days become chillier.

Daniel - some background. Author is Daniel. Date written - approx 536 BC. Background - the Jews had taken captive to Babylon and he served in the Babylon government for 60 years. This book was written for the Jews to remain faithful, and God is in control no matter what our circumstances are in life.

Key verse 2:22 He [God] reveals deep and hidden things, he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.

Daniel Chapter 1 Verses 1-2

Nebuchadnezzar defeated Jerusalem in the 3rd year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar took some of the articles from the temple of God with him and put them in his temple to his god.

Verses 3-4 The king orders Asphenaz - who is his chief of court officals - to bring young male Israelites to him, they must be strong, handsome and without blemish, and intelligent, and they are to be brought to his court. These young men will be taught the language and culture of Babylon.

Verses 5-7 Of the young Isrealite men chosen, the scripture's story revolves around these 4 young men. They are groomed for 3 years, and given a diet fit for a king. At the end of 3 years they will be fit to serve the king. As you can imagine the diet of the king is much different than what these young men ate at home.

I read David Guzik's commentary a lot, and his website is: http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/2701.html
This section David gives the birth names of the 4 young men, and their new Babylonian names.

To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: Daniel tells us of four of these youths, and their new Babylonian names.

i. The name Daniel (meaning God is my judge) was changed to Belteshazzar (meaning Bel’s prince).

ii. The name Hannaniah (meaning Beloved by the LORD) was changed to Shadrach (meaning Illumined by Sun-god).

iii. The name Mishael (meaning Who is as God) was changed to Meshach (meaning Who is like Venus).

iv. The name Azariah (meaning The LORD is my help) was changed to Abed-Nego (meaning Servant of Nego).

Guzik also says in this section that what the king has given these young men aren't much different than what Satan tries to feed us, and they are: Feed on what the world has to offer, identify us in the world, and educate us in the ways of the world. What can I say but yes this is SO right. No different today. We are bombarded with advertisements from the day we are born until the day we die.

Verse 8 Daniel is a man of faith. He resolved not to eat food that was not good for him. So he asked the chief official not to bring him this food. Wow, what a brave young man to follow God to the point of not even eating food that was not pleasing to God. And I don't want to forget Daniel purposed his heart. We need to think through events before they happen. Not the "what if" worry syndrome but how will I act in unusual circumstances.  Again, its reading God's word, prayer, fellowship with fellow believers. This is how we grow and mature.

Nov 1, 2010 2 Peter 3:11-18

I am way behind so sorry. Will wrap up 2 Peter today, Nov 15. This section on 2 Peter encourages us to have hope in Christ. He will return a second time, and those of us who are Christians will be ready for his second coming.

Verses 11-13 Peter tells us to live holy lives in anticipation of Christ's return.  The earth as we know it now will be destroyed and God will create a new earth. If we live holy lives the second return will come faster - we want Christ to reign. Living holy lives will lead others to Christ and when the whole world knows of Christ, this is when he will come again. Verse 13 says we are looking forward to a new earth, a new heaven and a new righteousness.

Verses 14-16 Be diligent in our walk with God. Be without sin. That is tough but day by day we can strive to be more like Christ. Paul wrote of these things too. Both Peter and Paul's teachings can be hard to understand at times, but God gives us wisdom to understand as we grow in the faith. Our church motto is "His word our Walk" and I have discovered this to be so true. We read his word and walk in his path, and as we mature we come to more fully understand Christ.

Verses 17-18 The conclusion - be on guard against evil doers and false teachers, and grow in grace and  knowledge of our Lord. Amen.

David Guzik from Enduring Word has 4 definitions of amen and I am sharing them with you.

·       It expresses the desire of the heart.

·       It expresses the affirmation of our faith.

·       It expresses the joy of the heart.

·       It expresses the declaration of resolution.

http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/6103.htm

I think this is a good way to end 2 Peter with an amen.

Father God,  I thank you for the wise words of Peter. I have strayed a little from my daily blog and I am sorry for that. I don't always understand what the bible has to say so I avoid it. This is not wise. I know that. I don't pray any less but I don't push myself to learn more about you Lord. I am thankful for a new day a new week that I can get back on track. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Nov 3, 2010 Jude 1:17

Today, Nov 2nd - my daughter in law's grandmother died this morning. I don't know much about her, except my daughter in law loved her very much. It's also election day in the USA.

I am thankful today for my grandmothers of whom I am a part of. One grandmother I didn't know well because she lived in another country but my Grandma who lived near me when I was growing up - I loved her dearly and I know she loved me. My Grandma's house was always spotless and everything in her home had a place. My home sometimes gets messy and out of control and I wonder how Grandma kept her house so neat and tidy :-). I think of her often - she loved God, loved her family. Her ministry was sending cards to sick people.

And now on to Jude - and he continues to warn against certain people, those who turn from God.

Verses 17-18 Jude tells us not to be like these certain people. Stay focused on God.  There will always be mockers.

Verses 19- These certain people are sensual people - not necessarily sexual but selfish - live in the moment.

Verses 20-21 How can we avoid these people? The next few verses helps us. 20-21 we should look inward,  Keep loving God, build each other up, and pray with the holy spirit.

Verses 22-23 Outwardly we should view certain people with compassion, befriending them, walking along side them in hopes we can bring them back to the Lord.

Verse 24 Jude ends with a doxology  - praising God.

Father God - we thank you for giving us discernment - warnings against certain people, and how to live and we give you the glory.  In Jesus name we pray Amen.