More Revealings from Exodus

“And when Israel saw the great hand which Yahweh had done against the Egyptians, the people feared/revered Yahweh, and they believed in Yahweh and in His servant Moses.” Exodus 14:31

Only now they believe? They have seen the miracle of Moses’ staff, ten plagues (some of which affected Egypt but not them) and they have seen and heard the death of the Egyptian firstborn, they have seen the Red Sea part and walked on dry land between two walls of water. But not until the waters close in and drown the Egyptian army do they fear/revere Yahweh and believe in Him and Moses. They were and we are a people who need much proof. Alas, for them (and for us) that proof won’t last long. Soon they (and we) will be whining and complaining and doubting and forgetting.

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“And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may be before you, so that you may not sin.’” Exodus 20:20 (NASB)
“Don’t be afraid,” Moses told them, “for God has come in this way to show you His awesome power, so that from now on you will be afraid to sin against Him” (TLB)

This verse comes right after the God-spoken Ten Commandments. In just a few chapters, Moses will go up the mountain to get the stone tablets and come down to find the people worshiping a golden calf. The fear instilled in the people upon hearing the voice of God sure didn’t last very long!

Verse 23 tells the people, “Remember, you must not make or worship idols made of silver or of anything else!” It’s as if the fear wiped out the hearing and taking in of that command altogether. Perhaps the problem was that their needy, sinful souls wanted to worship a god who didn’t demand anything but pleasure from them and who wasn’t so fearful. That desire wiped out their memory and fear of the living God.

Assurance

“Now Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one in the same; God has told to Pharaoh what He is about to do.” Genesis 41:25

Pharaoh has dreamed of seven emaciated cows eating seven fat cows without looking any fatter and seven withered ears of grain eating seven plump ears without looking any plumper. The interpretation which follows this verse is that there will be seven years of plenty to be followed by seven years of severe famine.

Joseph could have said, “God has told Pharaoh what is going to happen”, but that’s not what he says. God isn’t a revealer of future events that are out of His control. God is the source of future events. He is the creator and arranger of them.

We’re not given a reason for the famine, but whether the reason was God’s judgement, Satan, the course of natural events, or the result of mankind’s actions, God provided a warning and a solution (seven years of plenty). We’re rarely given a reason for the disasters and hard times that befall us, but we can rest assured that whether it’s God’s judgment or refining, the evil schemes of Satan, another person’s ill will, or the consequence of our own mistakes, God is sovereign and in control of the event and He will provide what we need to see it through.

“That the dream was sent twice to Pharaoh in two forms indicates that this thing which God will very soon bring to pass is gully prepared and established by God. Genesis 41:32 (Amp)

Indeed, every single thing that God brings to pass is fully prepared and established by Him.

Then and Now – Eliezer and the Holy Spirit

(Genesis 24:1-9)

This is the chapter where Abraham sends Eliezer, his steward, to Abraham’s old country and relatives to find a wife for Isaac. This year I’m reading Joyce Meyers’ Everyday Life Bible, which has this footnote at the beginning of the chapter:

“This chapter is highly illustrative of God the Father, who sends forth His Holy Spirit to win the consent of the individual soul to become the bride of His Son. Keep these resemblances constantly in mind as you read and see how the story unfolds. First meet the Father and note His concern about His Son’s bride. Then get acquainted with the Holy Spirit’s great selfless heart, Whose one purpose is to win the girl for His Master’s Son. Then meet the Son and note His tenderness as He claims His bride. The longest chapter in Genesis is devoted to this important story.”

Abraham is old and well-advanced in years, but he still has a clear mind. His beloved Sarah has just died and Isaac is now motherless. Soon he’ll be looking for female companionship and Abraham doesn’t want it to be from among the Canaanites. I find it odd that there wasn’t a young woman in the tribe he could marry. Perhaps it wasn’t proper or customary for the master’s son to marry one of the servants.

Abraham is quite sure that Yahweh will send His angel ahead of Eliezer and that he will come back with a bride. Since God provided a ram (up on the mountain in the middle of nowhere) to sacrifice and spared Isaac’s life, providing a bride from his homeland should be a piece of cake.

God our Father sends His most trusted servant, the Holy Spirit, Who is actually a part of Himself – the part Who works and interacts among us. The Spirit has the Father’s heart and can be trusted. Just as Abraham desired a God-fearing woman for his son, God desires the Bride of His Son to be those who worship Him in Spirit and in truth, who will love His Son as much as He does. While Abraham had no idea who would be Isaac’s bride, God already knows exactly who will be part of the Son’s Bride. He has specifically chosen and designed each one of us and prepares each of us to leave our homeland when the time comes.

Just as Abraham gave Eliezer specific instructions, God the Father has given the same to the Spirit. The Father knows who is/will be willing and directs the Spirit to those souls. The Spirit brings the Father’s treasures with Him to share with us – love, joy, peace, wisdom, discernment.

Eliezer wasted no time on his journey. As soon as he arrived at the city, he sought God’s guidance and the very first girl to arrive was the answer to his prayer, the one God had chosen for Isaac and the future nation of Israel. Eliezer was thorough – he made sure Rebekah completed the task of watering the camels/dromedaries. A dromedary can drink fifteen gallons of water! Rebekah’s clay jar would have been about five gallons. Three trips per camel, ten dromedaries, that’s thirty trips! (I wonder how thirsty those dromedaries were and how many trips she actually had to make, and how far away the well was from the animals.) Once the beasts were watered, Eliezer discovers that God has led him directly to Abraham’s brother’s household! (Still think anything is a coincidence?) As soon as Eliezer enters the home and meets the family, he explains the purpose of his journey and asks for their answer. The next morning, he’s ready to leave. He’s a man on a mission and he wastes no time in completing it. Unfortunately, we take longer to convince, but the Holy Spirit keeps drawing and wooing us until we finally agree. He never gives up on us even if it takes us until our deathbed!

Isaac would have been very attached to his mother – he was the promised child of her old age, a miracle baby, her greatest joy and her laughter (the meaning of his name). By taking Rebekah into his mother’s tent, he gave her the same place in his heart his mother had. He loved her and was comforted after his mother’s death.

Jesus gives us a very special place ion His heart – the space created just for us that only we can fill. He loves us. He suffered and died a horrendous death so He could have us and we could have Him. Our presence in His heart and kingdom comfort Him after His death, making it all worthwhile.

Tears in a Bottle

The young woman turned away with a cry of anguish – a small cry, but intense. It was a many-faceted pain – memories, emotional, deep in spirit and physical. The facets ran deep and they overlapped and intertwined.

Very gently and tenderly, He kissed her forehead and scooped up a tear. That simple act broke the dam open and the tears gushed and the cries grew louder. No one had ever been so kind and gentle and tender before and it made the anguish worse. The anger and bitterness came up and boiled over. He listened quietly and intently, but she tried to push Him away. “You can’t help me! I can’t love You in return!” she desperately cried out. “I have to have a heart to love you with and mine is broken. It’s broken,” she sobbed.

A gentle voice replied. “Please, let me fix it. Give me the broken pieces.” He waited patiently until the sobbing subsided. With trembling hands cupped together, she gathered the shattered pieces of her heart and slowly began to hold them out to Him. His large hands cupped her small ones and she saw a large tear slowly fall onto the shattered pieces. The tear melted the pieces and made them all one and healthy again. In wonder, she looked up and through her drying tears and saw the tender, loving face of God.

When the young woman realized she was being truly heard and paid attention to for the first time in her life, it made her pause. She waited for His response. There was none, but His heart was in His eyes, encouraging her to tell Him more.

Her tears slowed. Her anguish diminished. Her words grew calmer and more logical. Still He listened without comment, but with tremendous empathy and love.

Her breathing evened out and peace began to replace anguish. At last she was understood and accepted. It felt as if she were being held close. She felt warm and safe and she never wanted to leave.

After a while she stirred, ready to go on. There on the table next to her was the most beautiful glass bottle she’d ever seen. She admired it and gingerly removed the stopper. The scent that wafted out was the sweetest smell she had ever smelled and brought her back to the feeling of being held, comforted, protected. She suddenly realized that this was the bottle of her tears that He had collected. She never felt more loved in her entire life.

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“You have taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?” Psalm 56:8 NASB

“You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in Your bottle! You have recorded everyone in Your book.” TLB