Spinning Out of Egypt

November 17, 2020

Exodus 13:14-16 14 “In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’ 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.”

Moses had been entrusted by the Lord to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. What a task! It wasn't just the physical logistics of leading a mass of people out of a land and into a new territory that would be daunting. Likely, a greater obstacle would be leading the people out of Egypt in their minds. Moses had the unusual perspective of being on both sides of the coin. He had been raised an Egyptian and understood the "master" mentality having grown up in Pharaoh's very home. He knew about all the Egyptian gods. Yet, he was an Israelite himself, and he had been initiated into the Jewish perspective on the backside of the desert while herding sheep. He was well prepared to lead and do the Lord's bidding even though he didn't feel qualified.

Have you ever been to Egypt? We know symbolically Egypt represents a "place to come up out of." I've been there. Why, I have camped out there at times in my life. Is there something you need to "come up out of?" It can be as simple as murmuring, judging, entertaining thoughts that are not captive to the obedience of Christ, unkind speech or it could be a literal place that you know does not align with the will of God for your life. It could be a habit; something done almost by rote that does not bring glory to Him. He knows exactly how to get you out of Egypt. He is THE Deliverer.

This morning as I was thanking God for getting me out of Egypt I wanted to show Him that I agreed with Him. I have a small globe on my desk. I marked Egypt on the globe with a red pen, and I "spun" the globe 7 times declaring that I was leaving Egypt. He showed me something with the spinning. I think many of us would agree that our world is being shaken right now; the earth as well as possibly our own "world". It should not surprise us as He has told us:

Hebrews 12:25-27

25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.”27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

What remains cannot be shaken. So, if you are feeling the shaking, be encouraged. However, I heard something in the "spinning" of the globe. I believe that the Lord was saying that on our way out of Egypt, our heads may be spinning, things may be seemingly spinning out of control, but this is His mighty hand bringing us out. I also feel that, somehow, the spinning is different from the shaking of everything that can be shaken. The shaking has been going on; now the time of spinning is at hand. Things will suddenly fly off as He is spinning. Spinning is also a process that creates cloth. The Lord has much to say about cloth and clothing in His Word. Perhaps in this spinning done with His mighty hand He is creating the cloth that doesn’t even smell like smoke when put through the fire, the white cloth that covers our shameful nakedness (Rev. 3:18), the cloth of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (Col. 3:12), the very cloth of Jesus Christ Himself (Gal. 3:27). Thank the Lord for the spinning, for what is falling off, and for what He is weaving for you. Receive His covering.

Broader Borders

November 14, 2020

Joshua 1:1-10 1 After Moses, the servant of the Lord, had died, the Lord said to Moses’ aide Joshua, son of Nun: 2 Moses my servant is dead. So now, you and the whole people with you, prepare to cross the Jordan to the land that I will give the Israelites. 3 Every place where you set foot I have given you, as I promised Moses. 4  All the land of the Hittites, from the wilderness and the Lebanon east to the great river Euphrates and west to the Great Sea, will be your territory. 5 No one can withstand you as long as you live. As I was with Moses, I will be with you: I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and steadfast, so that you may give this people possession of the land I swore to their ancestors that I would give them. 7 Only be strong and steadfast, being careful to observe the entire law which Moses my servant enjoined on you. Do not swerve from it either to the right or to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go. 8 Do not let this book of the law depart from your lips. Recite it by day and by night, that you may carefully observe all that is written in it; then you will attain your goal; then you will succeed. 9 I command you: be strong and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.

10 So Joshua commanded the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for three days from now you shall cross the Jordan here, to march in and possess the land the Lord, your God, is giving as your possession.’”

God had prepared a land for His people. It had always been prepared. It was there during centuries of enslavement in Egypt. It was there during decades of wilderness wandering. It was there during the murmuring and complaining and unbelief. The land was even there during the reckless worshipping of a golden calf created in the chaos of discontent, pride , and rebellion. God's boundaries for His people had been established since always.

Acts 17:26-27 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

Our boundaries are as in place as the Israelite's. They have been established by the One in whom all things are held together. We can trust the borders of our lives that have been ordered by Love Himself. Perhaps we do not feel comfortable in our "land." There are seasons where we may wish we were somewhere else. The wilderness is not a fun place. We'd rather know where we were headed and know how to get there, and, usually, get there quickly. When there is delay our current borders can seem confining. When we are living within the boundaries that someone else has created for us, it can feel constricting. This is when we can lean hard into Adonai and give Him His reign over our lives and trust our place. Here. Now. Until He decides to change our "here." When He is ready for us to cross over to a new "here" He will make it known to us as He did to Joshua. No, He may not always show us the exact destination, but He will give us as much as we need to be able to follow Him and cross over to the where He has prepared for us. How can we make the transition to broader borders easier? Let's do as Joshua was instructed; be strong and courageous. Do not swerve away from His word. Jehovah Nissi has assured us success as He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Expect Him to enlarge your territory and give you broader borders.

One Strike and He's Out

November 10, 2020

Judges 4:1-9  Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.

4 Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. 5 She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided. 6 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. 7 I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’”

8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”

9 “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.”

Oh, these Israelites! Again, they did evil in the eyes of the Lord. When will they ever learn? When will we? Again, the Lord puts them between a rock and a hard place. Was God letting them have it because of the evil they had once again committed? No. He knew what would drive them to cry out to Him once again. After 20 years, they cried out to the Lord for help. Twenty years?? What prevented them from crying out? What prevents us? Stubbornness? Shame? Pride? Guilt? Indifference? Why do we delay in crying out to the One who knows all?

Judges 4:14-23 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him. 15 At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.

16 Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all Sisera’s troops fell by the sword; not a man was left. 17 Sisera, meanwhile, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was an alliance between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite.

18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

19 “I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up.

20 “Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say ‘No.’”

21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.

22 Just then Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you’re looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple—dead.

23 On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites. 24 And the hand of the Israelites pressed harder and harder against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.

Judges 5:1, 24-27 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:“Most blessed of women be Jael,

the wife of Heber the Kenite,

most blessed of tent-dwelling women.

25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk;

in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.

26 Her hand reached for the tent peg,

her right hand for the workman’s hammer.

She struck Sisera, she crushed his head,

she shattered and pierced his temple.

27 At her feet he sank,

he fell; there he lay.

At her feet he sank, he fell;

where he sank, there he fell—dead.

Look at Jael.  She INVITES the enemy into her home.  Usually, we are trying to hide from the enemy or are maybe pretending we don't see him and, in turn, hoping he doesn't see us, and that he'll just pass on by to the next tent.  And then...a tent peg to his temple!!  This perhaps sounds barbaric to us. However, Jael knew the enemy was in her camp.  She knew she better hit the mark; she only had one try.  Why not poison him or go find some men after Sisera fell asleep to come "handle it?"  She took a common iron tent peg-something very familiar to her as a tent dweller and wielded it as a weapon.  A tent peg would have been absolutely necessary in her daily life. It literally held up her home.  How are our homes holding up today? What does the foundation of our homes look like?  Could it be used to destroy our enemy in one blow?  Let's take the weapons God has given us for our daily living, PRAISE, LOVE, OBEDIENCE, BELIEF,PRAYER; those things that are hopefully holding up our homes, and use them to deliver the final blow to some enemies. 

The enemy, Sisera, was on the run.  Notice his 900 iron chariots weren't doing him any good.  (Some trust in horses, some trust in chariots, but we will trust in the name of our LORD OUR GOD). God had stripped him down.  And what was his downfall? One little iron tent peg took him down!  Wow.  Let's believe that God is so much BIGGER than our enemy.   Let's not be fearful, even if the enemy is right inside our tent.  We will watch our enemies fall at our feet, just as Sisera fell at Jael's.

God is encouraging us. Be bold like Jael. The victory has already been secured.  Let's live like it!