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39 “The blood shall be to you for a token on the houses where you are.”

 Exodus 12:13

 Here in the depths of the Old Testament we have a wonderful picture of what Jesus our Saviour has done for us. The shed blood of the Lord Jesus is very precious to God and to the Christian believer. By that blood we are protected against the full wrath of God against sin and sinners like us. Just as the Israelites at this time of God’s judgment on Egypt were protected by the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their houses, so we are covered by the blood of Christ who has taken the punishment for us and set us free. That blood is able to free us from all our sin and bad habits and make us right with God. It is the sure recompense for our sin and ensures that we are brought safely to heaven.

“In him we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace..”

 Ephesians 1:7

Such is the mercy of God all through the history of humankind that He is willing and able to save us and sent our Saviour to be the propitiation for our sin. We can depend on Him, just as the Israelites were saved by the blood, so we also are saved by the shed blood of Jesus.

“…and through him to reconcile all things to himself by him, whether things on the earth or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.”

 Colossians 1:20

38 “Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should listen to his voice to let Israel go?”

 Exodus 5:2 

 These words of Pharaoh are very cogent for the day in which we find ourselves as Christian people. Maybe you are not a believer and are reading this and you also do not know or recognise the Lord in your life. Pharaoh was so full of pride as he was the top of the tree, and would not listen to the Lord or His commands. We can be so puffed up with pride that we do not accept the rule of God in our lives nor regard His amazing salvation as something we need. Pharaoh is scoffing at the idea of the Lord telling him what to do and he refuses time and time again to listen even though God sends strong persuasions and plagues to jolt him into belief. Pharaoh refuses God time and again and in the end loses everything. This will be the outcome for us if we do not bow our knees to the Lord and accept His salvation.

 Too many today embrace the false faith of atheism as a way to live our own life according to our own ideas. It is the faith that suits us and we can feel that we are deciding for ourselves what to do in our life. It is a false faith for without our Creator we are lifeless and dead in our sin. We must seek the salvation of God and turn to His ways and not our own. God is for real and we can trust in Him who made us and loves us and calls us to escape the coming punishment that will surely come.

 Maybe you are a Christian struggling with a sin in your life. Do not give up the fight for God will give you the victory as you persevere in Him. God can overcome all our weaknesses and make us victorious.

 

 

37 “Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak.”

 Exodus 4:12

 God called Moses to a mighty task of leading God’s people to the promised land. He was very reticent to do this task and complained that he could not speak well. God tells Moses that He will be with him for God himself has made the eyes, the ear and the mouth. God assures Moses that he will receive the help when the need arises. We accept the grace given for our tasks when we obediently obey the Lord and do what He asks of us. It is the same every time. God requires great things of us and we must humbly accept His leading and obey. Moses’ faith was too much in himself and not in the power of God. He needed to see the majesty of the Lord his God and see that nothing is impossible with God. God’s help is immediate when we speak for Him and He will give us the words to say when the time is right.

“…for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that same hour what you must say.”

 Luke 12:12

 We obey the Lord and speak for Him in our daily witness to others and the Lord will guide us as we have delved deep into His Word and learned His precepts. It is not chance, but the result of our study in the Word of God. Let us familiarize ourselves with the Word that we might speak truly and uprightly.

“…so is my word that goes out of my mouth: it will not return to me void, but it will accomplish that which I please…”

Isaiah 55:11

36 “Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.”

 Exodus 3:6

 Moses has been confronted by the sight of a burning bush, a bush ignited by God but not destroyed. Moses is in awe and when God tells him he is standing on holy ground he is cowed down. Moses is in complete reverence to God and knows that he cannot stand before Him because he is a sinful creature and yet God reaches out and seeks conversation with him and to give a new direction for his life.

 Likewise The Apostle John and Daniel are cut down and fall in reverence at the feet of God.

“Now I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who had shown me these things.”

 Revelation 22:8

“Yet I heard the voice of his words. When I heard the voice of his words, then I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face toward the ground.”

 Daniel 10:9

 All these servants of the Lord bowed down in reverence and awe when they encountered God. Do we also feel the reverence of God when we come to Him or are we dangerously familiar? Let us remember…

“…for our God is a consuming fire.”

Hebrews 12:29

35 “God saw the children of Israel, and God understood.”

 Exodus 2:25

 The children of Israel were being oppressed in Egypt and their predicament was noticed by the Lord. He saw their suffering and acknowledged it. He saw how the slave masters drove His people to work so hard and under such oppression that He had compassion on them.

 It can seem to us that God does not notice our sufferings and hardship and even when we pray He does not seem to alleviate the pains. We must trust in  Him and His timing for the deliverance from our dilemmas and heartaches. He does not permit us to suffer without comforts and does not leave us to suffer indefinitely.

 The children of Israel cried out to God in their grief and God heard and answered their prayers. He was preparing His servant Moses to be the mouthpiece to Pharaoh so that His people would be set free from their slavery.

 God always understands our grief and has given us the Word of God that we might be comforted and made strong in His sure promises. He is a reliable God and will carry out His will so that all things work for the good of His people and for the growth of His church, the bride of Christ. Let us not be found to be doubters that find it hard to believe the Word, but that we will overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God.

 God provides for us in the greatest of hardships. 

 

34 “But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out.”

 Exodus 1:12

 The more the Egyptians oppressed the Israelites, the more they grew in number and vigour.

 Here was see the strength of the Christian as they live for God and work hard for Him. The more the people of God are oppressed the greater they thrive. We see this down through the years in persecution of the church that seeds the growth of the church of Christ.

 The devil can never win and the more he tries to discourage us the more we run to Christ our refuge and hope.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

 Psalm 46:1

 The way of God cannot be thwarted, and God will build His church regardless of what is going on around in the culture of the day.

“I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”

 Matthew 16:18

 Let us gain great encouragement for our Christian service that God will honour us and show His glory through us. God cannot be stopped and He will keep all His promises.

 

33 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many people alive, as is happening today.”

 Genesis 50:20

 Joseph saw the sovereignty of God in all his life and saw the mercy of God towards him and the people that he served. God is over all and takes an active part in all of life, fashioning it according to His will and tender mercies. Joseph saw God’s hand in all the hardships of his life and was therefore able to not blame his brothers for all his sufferings.

 So also we, as we look at our own life and the activities of this world, we can be confident that God is over all. All the war and political and economic turmoil that we see is all in the hands of a loving God. He is working our His purposes for the good of His people and using suffering to bring many to faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

 When other people are against us we can move forward in confidence for God is over all. Even when people mistreat us and blame us, yet we know that His sovereign will is still being carried our for our good and His glory. Joseph’s brother did wickedly, but it was all part of the plan of God to bring Joseph to Egypt where he would bless the nations of the world. So with us. God allows deep sufferings that we might be objects of His mercy and show the world the glory of faith.

 Do not lie down in grief over your difficulties but claim the power of God to overcome them in the Holy Spirit. Joseph’s character was being honed for great things, and so we are being honed for eternity and ruling with Christ above. Take heart dear one. God is in control…

 

 

32 “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day..”

 Genesis 48:15

 Jacob is now an old man and is heading to his rest in death. He looks back and recognizes the hand of God on all his days and how God has amply supplied all his need. He has had bread and every provision, physical and spiritual and is now blessing his son Joseph. Whatever age we are we can look back and summarise our life with God and how He has so blessed us with every blessing in Christ. How doubly blessed when we can see the hand of God on our family situations too – fathers and mothers who loved the Lord and sought to teach us the right way.

 This is a good state of mind to be in all our days, that we might follow the lovingkindness of the Lord in our daily walk with Him. We will be able to praise Him all day and have a spiritual outlook on all our dealings.

 God feeds us daily with the temporal blessing we enjoy and also the deep spiritual joys of knowing Him. This kind of outlook fosters the spirit of gratitude which is a sustaining grace in our Christian life. To know that God is with us and is especially interested in our life generates deep love for Him and a staying away from sin and all its deep dyed blame.

“No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

1 Corinthians 10:13

31 “Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It isn’t in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.””

 Genesis 41:16 

 Joseph is brought to the attention of Pharaoh to interpret a troublesome dream that the Pharaoh has had. He had been sold as a slave by his brothers, worked as a slave for Potiphar and now finds himself in prison through no fault of his own. The butler who he befriended in prison and interpreted his dream, finally remembers Jospeh and so Jospeh is brought before Pharaoh. Joseph has been brought to this position by God. God often makes us wait patiently for His blessing for He has plans that we cannot see. He has promised to be with us in all our stumbling and will vindicate our cause at the right time so that His saving power will be seen. This was certainly the case for the people of Egypt who were entering times of great hardship and the grace of Joseph, the grace of God, was experienced by them all and many in other lands too, not least Joseph’s own family.

 God has purposes in our life too and we wait patiently and hone our prayers so that the glory of God is seen. God is calling people into His kingdom and will work all things out for the good of those people. We wait patiently and pray that God’s will will be done, and the kingdom of God extended to all who will believe.

“I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me, and heard my cry.”

 Psalm 40:1

 Let us be still and wait for the timing of God to answer our prayers.

30 “The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man.”

 Genesis 39:2

 Such is the blessed estate of the Christian believer. We are supplied all our needs and more.

“My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

 Philippians 4:19

This is the deep promise of the living God that He will not see His people destitute or without sufficient supply. We can overly react to the prosperity gospel and throw the baby out with the bathwater and not see how our Lord supplies all our needs. The Lord is full of love towards His people and will meet all our needs in this world and the next.

 Let us look to the needs of our souls and not just our temporal needs. We have deep needs of forgiveness and sanctification that need to be met every day and we do so by coming to the eternal Word. God will feed our deepest needs of heart and soul as we come to Him in deep contrition. This is our main need, more that our necessary food and the Lord will supply our want and fill us with good things from His Word.

 Let us look for these deep spiritual blessings and earnestly desire them that we might grow in grace and in the knowledge of God. This is our most pressing need that we are right with Him and in fellowship, daily, with His Spirit. Let us eagerly desire the better things and not just the physical.