September 22 | Exodus 2:1-10

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DAILY READING

Exodus 2:1-10

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REFLECTION

God is in control

by Kim Starr

When I first read this passage, the word that came to mind was courage. How courageous of Moses’ parents to hide him for three months. How courageous of Moses’ mother to put Moses in a waterproof basket and hide him among the reeds? How courageous of Moses’ sister to speak to Pharaoh’s daughter and offer a solution whereby Moses would be fed and the family would earn money. How courageous of Pharaoh’s daughter to save Moses from her father’s edict to kill all Hebrew children. I wondered if I would have had the courage to do any of these things and I tried to look back on my life and search for times I had been courageous.

Then I stopped and realized that it was God’s plan for Moses to put all these people in motion to do what they did. God knew long before Moses was born that Moses would lead God’s people out of Egypt. God is Who made it possible for all these events to transpire in the manner they did.

Then I looked back on my life and tried to discern all the times that God’s hand had been guiding my actions, the actions of others, and events. At the time, I probably didn’t even think about what God was doing. But now that I was looking for God, I could see His hand in all kinds of things.

The story of Moses’ birth and deliverance is an example of God moving in the hearts and minds of humans to accomplish His sovereign will. Every single event occurred just the way God needed it to. God knew the role Moses would play and what would prepare Moses to accomplish His plans. From beginning to end, God was in complete control.

Are you going through something in your life right now that you don’t understand? Do you wonder why God is sending people, projects, and events your way? Look at what you are dealing with and observe it in the context of today’s Bible passage.

We do not have to understand why we are going through what we are. All we need to do is believe in God and trust Him. We need to believe God has a perfect plan for our lives and that every person, project, and event in our lives is working to fulfill that plan. We also need to believe God when He tells us that every detail of our lives is under His sovereign control, just like it was with Moses. God knows exactly what He’s doing, and we need to trust Him, relax, and let His plans work.

PRAYER

Dear heavenly Father, help us look to You first in every situation. Help us ask You what is going on that we don’t understand and ask You how we can fulfill Your plans. Thank you for your vision. It is far greater than any we could have. To You be the glory! Amen.

September 21 | Exodus 1:15-22

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DAILY READING

Exodus 1:15-22

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REFLECTION

Righteous Disobedience

by Judy Webb

This story in the first chapter of Exodus has me captivated. I read and re-read verses 15-22 in order to better understand them. My various commentaries are not in agreement here.

"The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live." (Exodus 1:17)

One source stated that the two leaders of the midwives were Egyptians, as their names were of that origin and because they would be more likely to obey the vicious command to murder Hebrew baby boys. Another stated they were Hebrew woman as their names were Hebrew names and their fear of God would never allow them to obey a such murderous edict.

Either version was enough for this writer to take it to the next level. It would be such fun to compose a short story about these two women, filling in the blank spots where fact is lacking and just follow scripture and see where God's Word and our imagination takes us. Any way we look at it, their courage and faith are a fantastic story, and one we can all learn from.

Is this scripture instructing us to ignore the rules the law of the highest leaders of the land and do what we want? No, but it is reminding us that God’s law is the highest and we are not to deviate from following His word. Shiphrah and Puah were faithful to play a vital role in God’s plan. They laid their own lives on the line by doing so.

This was a political maneuver that did not work out as planned by the evil leaders. Have you ever had to decide between an easy choice and a faithful one? Acts 5:29 reads: “We must obey God rather than human beings.” Read the story to see what their struggle was about. (Acts 5) A lesson to take away from this story is about changing the course of history. Maxwell leadership Bible tells us, often, it’s men and women with no power and little social standing who most significantly reshape this world.

PRAYER

Lord, give us the courage of Shiphrah and Puah when we need to stand firm. Plant your truth deep in our hearts and fertilize it with strength and faith. Amen.

September 20 | Exodus 1:1-14

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READING

Exodus 1:1-14

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REFLECTION

God Works It Out

by David Thompson

It is interesting how God takes care of situations, and more so, how He puts people and situations into motion before the results of God's actions are even seen. It is no different in today's reading. It tells about the family of a man named Israel. As you might remember, this family is talked about a lot in Genesis chapters 37-50. I don't have absolute proof, but having thirteen chapters written about you is one of the longest narratives in the Bible.

In the story, we learn that there were twelve brothers, and after some negative situations with their brother Joseph, things started happening to fulfill the provision of taking care of His people during a great famine. Joseph was thrown into a pit and they wanted to kill him, but one of the older brothers intervened. It happened that a caravan of merchants came by where this story was happening. The brothers sold Joseph to them, and he was taken to Egypt and sold.

Ultimately after a lot of God's intervention on people and situations that are too numerous to detail here, Joseph becomes Pharaoh's right-hand man and is put in charge of all food production. The famine hits and Israel's sons (except for Benjamin) came to Egypt looking to buy food. More miraculous things happened, and the whole family and nation moved to Egypt. They were well taken care of until Joseph died and a new pharaoh came to power. Due to this, the Israelites were made to be slaves (verses 6-7).

Verses 8-14 tell of the rough treatment God's people had to endure, but God was still present and heard his people's groanings. It had been 400 years since they moved Egypt, but things were changing for the better as God's raised up Moses and Aaron, who would set God's people free.

God is with you today in the good times and the bad times. He promises in Romans 8:28 that "All things work together for good for those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose." And He further promises that "He will never leave you, nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5 KJV) God said it, so it is a fact that no matter what we are going through, He will bring good out of the situation. Hopefully His plan will become apparent in less than 400 years, but you can be sure that it will be fulfilled even if you don't see the result in your lifetime. Count on it.

God is good, all of the time!

PRAYER

Dear God, thank you for today's lesson and help us to be confident in your love and compassion for us. We are your dear children, and you are our good father. As we are praying this prayer, bring to mind a time in each of our lives where something seemed hopeless and you intervened. Show us how what we were, or are, facing was made better or more manageable because of you. Thank-you for your Bible with all of the promises that help us live our lives confidently and expectantly. Amen!