October 7 | Exodus 3:16-22

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DAILY READING

Exodus 3:16-22

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REFLECTION

Believing the Promise

by Pr. Dave Mann

Continuing from yesterday, we read the sequel to the story of Moses’ encounter with the Lord in the burning bush. Moses is called to speak to Pharoah in Egypt to free the Israelites to go to the land God promised to them. The promise of a land for the Israelites was first given to Abraham in Genesis 12. And now in Exodus 3:17, God repeats the promise of land for the Israelites via Moses: And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey. 

God’s promises are faithful, but sometimes the fulfillment comes in time, in God’s season. The day of Abraham, when God first promised the land of Canaan to the Israelites, was around 1900 B.C. The day of Moses, when God spoke specifically about leading the people of Israel to the promised land, was around 1450 or 1200 B.C. (There are two dominant viewpoints on the dating of the Exodus.) That’s between 450 and 700 years from the day of the first promise to Abraham until the day of fulfillment in the Exodus and following. This promise of land was passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation – no internet, no recordings, no written documentation. And the people persisted in their belief that what God promised he would do!

• Abraham believed in the promise of the land. (See Genesis 12:1-3; 15:6; Romans 4:3 & 18; Galatians 3:6; and James 2:23.)

• Isaac believed the promise. (See Genesis 26:2-6.)

• Jacob believed the promise. (See Genesis 28:13-16.)

• Joseph and his brothers believed. (See Genesis 49 & 50:20.)

• And now Moses, Aaron, and the elders of Israel believed. (See Exodus 4:29-31.)

They believed the promise without seeing – for hundreds of years! How long are we willing to wait for the fulfillment of God's promises in our lives?

Believing the promises of God, even without seeing, is a message repeated through the Scriptures. Perhaps the most famous words concerning believing without seeing are uttered by the disciple Thomas and our Lord. Thomas’ infamous words were: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). Jesus’ words to him were: Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29).

PRAYER

O God of promise, faithful and true, grant us two things: 1) to listen to you in your Word to know what you have indeed promised. Save us from projecting our self-centered preferences into your mouth. And 2) to believe that you will fulfill what you have promised, whether that be sooner or later. May our confidence be rooted firmly in your character, in Jesus’ name, Amen.