Matthew

Exodus 5-6, Matthew 28

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I Am and I Will.

Exodus 5-6, Matthew 28

“I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.” – Exodus 6:6-8 ESV

There are two primary problems that all men share when it comes to God. First, is His very existence. Men struggle with knowing whether God actually exists or not. They doubt and debate it. Many simply deny it. But for those who come to the realization that God is real, the next problem becomes whether or not He is actually at work in our world. They believe in God, but doubt His promises and question His ability to intervene in the everyday affairs of their lives. This section of God’s story, found in the book of Exodus, reveals God attempting to convince men of both His existence and His power to do what He says He will do. The Israelites had been living in Egypt for over 400 years. They had been “Egyptianized.” They had grown comfortable with and close to all the gods of the land of Egypt. They had little or no relationship with the God of their ancestor, Abraham. Much of what happens in the book of Exodus is about God trying to convince His own people of His presence and power. They had to be convinced that He was the one true God and that He had the power to fulfill the promises He had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

What does this passage reveal about God?

He is the great “I Am.” He is Yahweh, the singular and solitary God of the universe. There are no other gods beside Him. He alone is God. He is all-powerful and all-knowing. He is not only the creator of the universe and all it contains, He maintains complete control over everything in it. But the Israelites didn’t know all of this at the time. They viewed God as just another diety in a long line of gods. Pharaoah had no concept of Moses’ God and stated, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2 ESV). He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, and instead, upped the pressure on the people of Israel, increasing their labor even more. Pharaoh had his gods and had no use for or fear of the god of the Jews. Even Moses had second thoughts about God. He knew He existed because he had had a personal encounter with Him at the burning bush. But after being confronted by his own people and blamed for their worsening circumstances, Moses began to question God’s plan and doubt His power. “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me?  For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all” (Exodus 5:22-23 ESV).

But God had a purpose behind all of this. He knew what He was doing. He told Moses, “I Am and I will.” He wanted Moses and the people to be certain of His presence and fully aware of His power. And He was going to choose to do it through His dealings with the Egyptians. And His objective? “…you shall know that I am the Lord your God!” All throughout the book of Exodus, you will see this phrase repeated. When all was said and done, the Israelites AND the Egyptians were going to know that God is God. He is the only true God. He not only IS, He DOES. He not only exists, He is the self-existent one. He has no beginning or end. He is not limited by space or time. He is everywhere at once, and is able to see all that is going on in all places at all times. Our greatest need is to recognize His presence and to trust in His power. He is still the great I Am and He will do what He has promised to do in our lives just as He did for Moses and the people of Israel.

What does this passage reveal about man?

Man is prone to doubt God’s existence. Even when we believe He exists, we tend to doubt His presence in and around our lives. Our inability to see Him makes us question His reality. The presence of problems in our lives makes us doubt His power over our lives. Moses had had a personal encounter with God. He had spoken directly with Him. And yet, when things God tough, he began to doubt and question God. The people of Israel found themselves facing mounting pressure and personal discomfort at the hands of the Egyptians, so they reacted in anger and distrust. They blamed Moses and doubted God. “…they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery” (Exodus 6:9 ESV). Their view of God was limited by their circumstances. They allowed the size of their God to be limited by the size of their problem. But God said, “I Am and I will.” Their doubt did not diminish God’s capacity to perform. Their doubt did not make God any less powerful or capable. He was God and He would act. He had promised and He would fulfill that promise. He had seen and heard and He would respond. And while to Moses it may have appeared that God had been inactive, he would find that nothing could have been further from the truth.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

I rarely doubt God’s existence. I simply doubt His presence. I know He’s there. I just sometimes wonder if He is here. That God is in heaven, sitting on His throne is a comfortable concept for me. But to recognize that He is present in the everyday affairs of my life is a bit harder for me to comprehend and believe. I tend to judge the presence of God based on my circumstances. When all is going well, He is obviously there. But let anything go wrong in my life, and I can begin to question His existence or at least His willingness to intervene. I need to see God as the great I Am, who will. He is real and He is intimately aware of my circumstance and fully capable of doing all that He has promised to do in my life – regardless of what I may see going on around me. His apparent inaction is nothing more than my inability to see Him at work behind the scenes. Moses did not know the intimate details of God’s plan, neither do I. I can’t see what He is doing behind the scenes. So I must take God at His word and trust His character more than I trust what my eyes can see.

In the closing chapter of the book of Matthew, we see the disciples grieving over the loss of their Messiah. He is dead. Their hopes are shattered. Their dreams have been dashed. The women went to the tomb to anoint His body, but encountered an angel who told them, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where helay” (Matthew 28:5-6 ESV). Once again, God had done what He had said He would do. Jesus had told His disciples that He would have to suffer and die, but that He would rise again on the third day. And He had.

“I AM and I will.”

God had done the improbably and the impossible. He had provided salvation for man through the death of His own Son. He had satisfied His own just requirement for the payment of mankind’s sins with the life of His own Son. Jesus Himself had claimed to be the great I Am. He had said He was going to die, but also promised to rise again. And He did. He was the Son of God and He did what He said He would do. Our greatest need is to recognize God’s existence in our lives and His power to do all that He has promised to do. He is STILL the great I AM and He WILL do what He has said He will do.

Father, forgive me for doubting You. Forgive me for not seeing Your handiwork all around my life all throughout the years of my life. You have been there. You have been acting behind the scenes in so many ways. You have been there time and time again, but I still tend to doubt. I still tend to question Your presence and Your power. Give me the ability to trust You more. Help me to focus on the reality of You rather than the circumstances that surround me. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Exodus 3-4, Matthew 27

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The Deliverance of God.

Exodus 3-4, Matthew 27

Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey…” – Exodus 3:7-8 ESV

Slavery, abuse, hopelessness, powerlessness. Sound familiar? It should if you are a believer in Christ. The state of the people of Israel living in the land of Egypt was similar to that of every individual prior to their salvation experience. Living in slavery to sin and under the control of the enemy, they were helpless and hopeless to do anything about their condition. But God saw the plight of man and provided a deliverer. He recognized their hopeless condition and determined to do something about it. God did what man could not do. He provided a way of escape and a means of deliverance that was beyond the realm of human imagination, and not bound by the limits of human power.

What does this passage reveal about God?

God is in the delivery business. He delivered Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees. He delivered Jacob back from Paddan-aram where he had fled to escape the anger of his brother, Esau. He delivered Joseph from the confines of the prison and placed him in the palace. He delivered Jacob and his family from the famine and relocated them into the land of Egypt. He delivered Moses from living as a fugitive in Midian to becoming the divinely-appointed leader who would deliver the people of Israel from the oppressive conditions in Egypt, and lead them to the land God had promised to Abraham generations earlier. God delivers because man can’t. Without God’s call, Abraham would have remained right where he was. Without God’s assurances and blessing, Jacob would never have risked a reunion with his brother. Without God’s supernatural, providential leading, Joseph would have never ended up a slave in Egypt, let alone that nation’s second-most-powerful leader. Without God’s intervention, Moses would have remained content to live out his days as a shepherd of sheep, rather than a shepherd of the people of God. And without God’s clearly articulated plan of salvation, the people of Israel would have found themselves living as slaves in a foreign land rather than free men enjoying the blessings of the Promised Land.

Ultimately, the story of Exodus is simply a picture of a much greater story of redemption and freedom. It foreshadows a much more important and long-lasting deliverance to come – the one we find recorded in the gospel of Matthew. Here we have the story of yet another shepherd who came to provide release and rest for the sheep of God. But this shepherd happened to be the very Son of God. He was delivered up so that we might be delivered out of our slavery to sin and death. He died so that we might have life. He made our freedom possible by paying the ransom required. The writer of Hebrews tells us, “For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time” (1 Timothy 2:5-6 NLT). Jesus described Himself by saying, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11 ESV). He willingly sacrificed His life in order to deliver us from slavery to sin and provide us with a freedom that includes the rights and privileges of sons and daughters of God Himself. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1 ESV). God has provided deliverance through His Son, Jesus Christ. He has provided freedom from sin and death. He has provided a restored relationship with Himself. And He will one day deliver us into His very presence where we will enjoy freedom from sin and the pleasure of His company forever.

What does this passage reveal about man?

Man needs a deliverer, and human beings – apart from God’s help – always make lousy deliverers. If left to our own devices, we have a tendency to screw up even the basic freedoms we enjoy. The Jews of Jesus day, while living under the heavy hand of Rome, still viewed themselves as free men. They refused to acknowledge the Roman government or submit to their authority over their lives. And while they still longed for a deliver, they had become content with their lot in life and grown complacent about the reality of their circumstances. Like the proverbial frog in the boiling pot of water, they were oblivious to the danger of their predicament and refused to see God’s hand-picked solution to their problem. The Messiah was standing right in front of them and all they could say was, “Let him be crucified!” (Matthew 27:23 ESV). And ever since, countless men and women have continued to refuse God’s chosen deliverer and perfect plan of salvation.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

God’s plan didn’t make a whole lot of sense to Moses. He even argued with God about it, coming up with all kinds of excuses why it wouldn’t work. But God’s plan didn’t need Moses’ approval. Moses didn’t have to like it or agree with it. He simply had to obey it and trust that God knew what He was doing. That God would choose Moses as His designated deliverer made was as ridiculous to Moses as it would prove to be to the people of Israel. That God could make one of the most powerful men on the face of the earth to willingly set free his substantial, non-paid workforce was a lot for anyone to swallow. None of this was logical. Because it was supernatural. It was going to be a God-thing. The ways of God rarely make sense to us as human beings. Reason has to take a back seat at times when God is at work. Common sense rarely fares well when attempting to explain the uncommon and inexplicable activities of God. That God’s plan for Jesus included His death made no sense to Peter. That a suffering Savior was just as important to God’s plan of redemption as a conquering Christ was difficult for the disciples to comprehend. But God always delivers on His terms, not ours. His salvation is of divine origin, not earthly. The words on the sign that hung above Jesus’ head on the cross, while meant to note His crime, were actually a statement of fact. “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews” (Matthew 27:37 ESV). That is exactly who Jesus was and still is. He was their deliver and He was also their sin substitute, taking on the punishment they deserved and offering them a means by which they might enjoy freedom from sin, a right relationship with God, and an eternity in His presence. The freedom Moses provided for the people of Israel would prove to be short lived. It would only be a matter of generations before they found themselves in slavery again, living in a distant land and serving a foreign people. But the freedom Christ offers is of a permanent nature. “So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free” (John 8:36 NLT).

Father, You have provided a means by which I can enjoy freedom from sin and the condemnation of death. It is hard to explain, difficult to understand, but completely free for the taking. Thank You for sending Your Son as my deliverer. Thank You for setting me free and transforming me from a slave to Your son. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Exodus 1-2, Matthew 26

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Ignorant of His Ways.

Exodus 1-2, Matthew 26

Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act. – Exodus 2:23-25 ESV

The story continues. And while Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph had all disappeared from the scene, God raised up a new cast of characters to carry on the divine story line. It is impossible to read this narrative and not be blown away at how significant each and every event was and how vital they were to the ultimate outcome. The descendants of Jacob, 70 in number when they arrived in Egypt, had become incredibly fruitful and “they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them” (Exodus 1:7 ESV). There was a new Pharaoh who had come to power, who had no recollection of Joseph and, therefore, no compassion on the Jews. Out of fear, he treated the Jews as slaves, setting “task masters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens” (Exodus 1:11 ESV). He even instituted a plan that included infanticide in order to deal with the rapid increase in the numbers of Jews. And yet this incredibly repulsive act would result in the a baby boy being raised in the household of the Pharaoh himself. And this boy, who would be educated as an Egyptian, would never forget his heritage, and at the age of 40, would find himself attempting to rescue his own people in his own strength and according to his own plan. His actions, while well-meaning, would result in his exile to Midian where he would find a wife and begin a new life.

What does this passage reveal about God?

But God was not done with Moses. This entire story reveals the sovereign hand of God over every detail and each individual. The fruitfulness of the people of Israel was not just a coincidence. It was in fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham to make of him a great nation. But it is fascinating to consider how God chose to fulfill His promise. He had caused a famine that had forced Jacob and his family to seek help in Egypt. He had also arranged for Joseph, one of Jacob’s own sons, to be sold into slavery years earlier and become second in command in Egypt. God was behind the rise of a new Pharaoh to the throne over Egypt. At every point in the story, we can see God at work. There is no point at which He is out of control or up in heaven wringing His hands in dismay or surprise at what is taking place back on earth. He was aware of Pharaoh’s plan to eliminate the Jewish baby boys. He was fully up to speed on the abusive conditions under which the Jews were having to live. “God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel – and God knew” (Exodus 2:24 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about man?

Man can be both arrogant and ignorant. Pharaoh, drunk with his own power and fearful of losing it because of a rapidly growing Jewish population, instituted a pogrom designed to eliminate the “problem.” But he was ignorant of what God was doing behind the scenes. He thought he was in control, but he was wrong He believed he knew what was best, but his efforts only made matters worse. Whenever we act out of fear rather than faith, the results are rarely good. When Moses’ mother placed him in that wicker basket and set him afloat on the Nile, she was having to trust God with his life. She was acting in faith. The write of Hebrews tells us, “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict” (Hebrews 11:23 ESV). She had no idea what the results would be. But God knew. The amazing thing is that God not only protected the baby’s life, He miraculously arranged for him to be discovered by the daughter of Pharaoh, the man who had decreed that he be put to death. And then God orchestrated events in such a way that Moses’ mother would be allowed to raise him, being paid for the privilege by Pharaoh’s daughter.

We are all ignorant of the ways of God. We can’t see what He sees. We don’t know what He knows. But we can know Him. We can learn about His character and grow in our understanding of it. That is what these stories are for. Through them, we learn of His faithfulness, love, power, mercy, grace, and sovereignty. Even Moses had learned of God’s promise to Abraham and even after four decades of life as an Egyptian, he wanted to do something to help his own people. Again, the writer of Hebrews tells us, “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:24-25 ESV). The problem was that Moses would try to take matters into his own hands, killing an Egyptian who was abusing a Jew. His actions would result in a warrant for his arrest and his exile to the land of Midian. Moses was arrogant enough to think he knew what was best. But he was ignorant of God’s ways. He was ignorant of God’s plan for his life and for the people of Israel.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

In spite of the fact that I have the end of the story revealed to me through God’s Word, and that I can go back and read about God’s complete plan in all its detail, I can still be so ignorant when it comes to the ways of God. I can find myself reacting as Peter did when Jesus told him he would end up denying and deserting Him. Peter arrogantly proclaimed, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you” (Matthew 26:33 ESV). Peter even claimed a willingness to die for and with Jesus. But he was ignorant. He didn’t know what he was talking about. He didn’t know God’s plan. Even Judas, driven by his love of money, had no idea what the results of his decision to betray Jesus would be. Perhaps he hoped that his actions would force Jesus to reveal His hand and establish His kingdom once and for all. Or maybe he had simply lost hope in the fact that Jesus really was the long-awaited Messiah, and he was just trying to make the most out of what had become a hopeless situation. Judas was both arrogant and ignorant. Peter was both arrogant and ignorant. The high priest who accused Jesus of blasphemy was both arrogant and ignorant. He was unable to see that the one who stood before him was the Son of God and the Savior for whom they had long been waiting. God rarely shows up in the way we would expect Him to. He seldom does things the way we would want Him to. His plan for Jesus’ life was not what the disciples wanted or expected. His mission for the Messiah was not what the religious leaders of the Jews had anticipated. God does the unexpected. His ways are not our ways. His plan for the redemption of the Jews was not what Abraham would have expected. It was not how Moses would have done it. And God’s plan for the redemption of all mankind was not how I would have done it. God’s ways are not my ways. I must learn to trust Him. I must learn to lean on Him. He knows what He is doing, whether I can see it or not – whether I believe it or not.

Father, help me to trust You more. Help me to recognize Your hand in and around all the events and affairs of my life. I don’t want to live in arrogance and ignorance, thinking I know what is best and oblivious to what You are doing to accomplish Your will for my life. May I grow increasingly more aware of just how actively You are involved in my life. Amen.