Wed.’s Devo - Following God’s Plan -

Read: Exodus 5:22-7:24; Matthew 18:23-19:12; Psalm 23:1-6; Proverbs 5:22-23 When God told Moses he was sending him to deliver the children of Israel, Moses saw it happening a little differently than it was playing out. Moses had now made himself an enemy to everyone and especially the ones he came to help. He told the Lord just how he felt about it. *** To God, it was only a set up. Now, Moses was going to see what He would do to Pharaoh. God would make it so tough on Pharaoh that he would drive them out of his land. God had given Abraham, Isaac and Jacob the land of Canaan and had made a covenant with them, but he had not shown them who he was. Moses would get to see God as the Lord - more powerful than any king or god on the earth. He would perform great acts of judgment on the evil people, but he would take the Israelites to be his people and be their God. They will know that he is the one who brought them out from slavery and into the land he promised their forefathers. *** The people were so under the weight of their slavery and their spirits so broken that they couldn’t hear the good news Moses was trying to give them. If they wouldn’t listen to Moses, he wondered why the Pharaoh would listen. But, the Lord wouldn’t listen to his complaints, he charged Moses and Aaron to bring the people of Israel out of Egypt. *** Moses and Aaron were from the tribe of Levi, the third son of Leah’s. *** God sent Moses back to Pharaoh telling him he would be like God to Pharaoh and Aaron would be his prophet. He was to tell him to let the people of Israel go out of his land. God would harden Pharaoh’s heart then perform many signs and wonders in the land. Then God would bring them out of the land. Moses was 80 years old at that time and Aaron was 83. *** God said that it was now time to use the signs he had given him. When he cast down his staff to become a serpent, Pharaoh called for his sorcerers and they did the same with their dark arts. But, Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. Pharaoh was not moved. *** God sent Moses back the next morning and told him to take the same staff and tell him if he didn’t let them go he would strike the water in the Nile and it would turn to blood. All the fish would die and they would have no drinking water. Even the water in the canals, ponds, and stored vessels - all the water in Egypt would turn to blood. The sorcerers of Pharaoh showed that they could do the same thing, so Pharaoh was still not moved The Egyptians had to dig around the Nile for water to drink. *** In Matthew, Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a king who wanted to settle up his accounts. He went to a man who owed him 10,000 talents. (This would take him 10,000 years to pay back if he gave all his salary.) He was going to put him in prison till he could pay, but the man fell on his knees and cried out for mercy. The man forgave the man his debt and released him. *** That same man went out and had no mercy on a man who owed him only 100 denari, which was the equivalent to 100 days of wages. He seized him and threw him into prison. Word got back to the king of how he had treated this man and the king called the servant in. He rebuked him for not having mercy on this man when he had received such mercy. *** God is the king who has forgiven us of all our sins and offenses. There is no way we could every pay him back for all he has done for us. He expects us to extend the same mercy to those who sin against us and offend us. If we do not forgive our brother from our heart, we will be delivered over to the jailers. Many people live in bondage and in their own prisons because they refuse to forgive. *** The Pharisees came to him asking if it was lawful to divorce one’s wife for any reason. Jesus took them back to the original reason for marriage. It was for two people to become one flesh. They were not to separate that. *** So the Pharisees then asked why Moses gave them a way to get a divorce by writing a writ of divorcement. Jesus replied, because their hearts were hard (he had just given them the story of forgiveness.) Then Jesus told them that when they divorced, who were not getting writs of divorcement but were just divorcing their wives at their whim; they were committing adultery to marry another, unless it was became of sexual immorality. The writ of divorcement made it legal, but they were not legally divorcing so they were still married to the first woman. To take another was to commit adultery against the first wife. *** Jesus disciples said that if this was the case then it would be better not to marry. Jesus explained that there are some who would never marry because of either birth defects, or their calling (John the Baptist), brutality of man (Daniel), or by their own choice (Paul). *** Lord, may we be thankful for the debt you have forgiven us of and may we be more merciful to those who owe us a debt. This story helps us to see how petty we can be with our feelings and offenses. May we learn to forgive from the heart so we do not live in prisons of depression and bitterness. When we are tempted to question your ways, may we remember how you worked in the lives of Moses and the Pharaoh. God’s plan is a slow process that takes patience and endurance. Lead us beside your still waters and restore our soul.