bsf blog – The Notes are Good

27.3 Revelation – Built by God

There is one God and one new Holy City. There is one dwelling place where those chosen and called will live in daily communion with God. There is a New Heaven and a New Earth, but no separation between them.

Creation is new again, but God and believers come forward into the new existence. There is not a new God, God is God, unchanging and eternal. The God of the tribes of Israel is the God of the apostles. The God of the old testament is the God of the new and the yet to come. Man is born again, in new bodies, free of sin and pain and tears.

But mankind has no dowry for the wedding day. Mankind has nothing old, for all the old is gone. Mankind has no possessions or deeds, because all have been judged and burned away.

But Christ, as the groom has beautifully ordained and dressed His bride. As we read through the size and magnitude of the city. As we view the beautify of the jewels, the emerald, the ruby, the sapphire, amethyst, pearls and gold. As we see the names on the gates and on the walls, we need to remember one important thing: All of these are from God, not for God. The new Holy city is not built by human hands, it is built by God and descends from heaven. These are not things that God owns, to show off to others or to display His wealth. These are not things made valuable because of scarcity. These are things presented simply because they are beautiful and simply for the joy of the bride.

One thing that is interesting to keep in mind is that, in the dark, these are simply rocks. Nothing more, nothing less. They are no greater or less than any other rock made by God. But in the light the reflect the light in beautiful brilliant ways. They reflect a rainbow of colors. They reflect shine and depth, they reflect the love of God, the presence of the Lamb.

My Answers:

6.
a.
Jasper Sapphire Agate Emerald Onyx Ruby Chrysolite Beryl Topaz Turquoise Jacinth Amethyst Pearls Gold

b.
Old and New Testaments – No kingdom or castle on earth has ever compared – gold is nothing but paving stones, but all creations

7.
12. On the gates were written the 12 tribes of Israel
14. The wall of the city had 12 foundations, and on them were the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb

8.
a.
Glory: shone, brilliance, precious, clear as crystal, great, gem covered
Security: walls thick and of stone (precious), gates, wide and high as it is long (cube)
Perfect: dimensions are perfect, jewels are perfect, Gold is transparent as glass,

b.
It is real and measurable. It has substance and beauty, it is sufficient as a city

c.
The beauty – it is not necessary, but it is right.

26.4 Revelation – Permeated with sin but Present in Peace

In Genesis 1, again and again we read that God’s creation was good. But, then sin entered and, like a virus, it spread into every part of creation. Every part of creation. It spread into man’s DNA, our very existence, our nature. But it also spread into the soil (blood), into the plants (weeds), into the rocks and streams and waters and air. It spread into space, into the universe. It spread into everything animate and inanimate. It spread into the spiritual realm with the serpent and demons and fallen angels. It is so invasive and so corrosive that the ultimate proper response is not to control or manage it, but simply to remove it.

In Revelation 21, we read that is what God does. Every part of creation dies. The living and the inanimate. The mortal and the spiritual. The earth and the cosmos. All of it simply goes away and exists no more. And, God starts a-new.

A new heaven and a new earth. A new existence that in which God is fully present, where there is no more hurt or pain or sadness or separation.

We get fleeting glimpses of this in our present day. The joy and innocence in a child’s eyes. The shiver of the spirit when we feel God move in our life. The peace that comes in the midst of prayer in a dire situation. While we long for these flickers to light into raging fires, they are too quickly gone, smothered in the sin of the world.

But these glimpses are not mirages, they are real. They are embers of the fire that burns in our God’s heart that He wants to place in ours for eternity. It is the warmth and peace and joy that surpasses all understanding and keeps our hearts and minds on the truth, on the Word, on Jesus Christ.

The challenge for us, as believers, is not in finding the words to say to share the good news of Jesus Christ. It is not in finding the spirit and conviction to talk to others. It is not in our prayer lives. The challenge is in our witness for Christ. All of those others things impact it, but our loudest witness is in living a life noticeably different than the rest of the world. A life that, despite the trials and tribulations, the pain and persecution, still shines with joy and assurance and peace. Too often the witness that people see is one of hypocrisy of lip-service and compartmentalization of our faith to an hour on Sunday morning. We are sinners and do not have the ability to shine this living witness on our own, but through prayer, reading the word and the power of the Holy Spirit, the reflection of God’s holiness can shine through us.

My Answers:

7.
Our current existence – because it has been corrupted by sin – all of creation, not redeemed directly by the saving power of Jesus Christ, must suffer death and destruction

8.
During the time in the garden God walked and talked with man daily. In isolated instances after He did the same (Enoch, Moses). He spoke to and through the prophets. He revealed himself in visions and direct signs and through angels (Lot, Daniel). He became man and dwelt among us (Jesus). He is coming again to reign for 1000 years after which time all creation will be purged and replaced with a new heaven and a new earth and only those who have committed their lives to Him will live for eternity in peace.

9.
a.
God’s answered prayer – Also that God has revealed Himself through circumstances that simply cannot be described in any other way than divine intervention.

b.
Because of the peace of the presence of the Holy Spirit – it is a feeling, but also a comfort and consolation and contentment that can be described in no other way than “from God”

23.2 Revelation – Brought to their knees

Another angel, with great authority and illuminating the world with the light of heaven, proclaims, “Fallen, Fallen is Babylon.”

But what does fallen mean? Does it mean crumbled as from an earthquake? Does it mean fallen as in an economic market crash? Does it mean defeated in battle? Or all of these?

The greek word that John uses in this quote is pipto. There are a few other places it is used in the New Testament. It is the word used to describe the wisemen in Matthew 2:11 who, upon meeting Jesus, “bowed down and worshiped.” It is also the word that Satan uses in Matthew 4:9 when he tempts Jesus after his time of fasting in the wilderness, “All this I will give you if you bow down and worship me.” It is also the word that is used repeatedly in Matthew 13 in the parable of the sower, “the seed fell upon…”

From these other uses, I think we get a deeper meaning of the proclamation of the angel. This is not simply a setback for Babylon, it has been literally brought to its knees in submission to the light of God.

We see this further in the word that the NIV translates as “haunt”. We think of haunt as a hangout, a meet-up, a place of congregation. But the original Greek word as translated in the NKJV gives a stronger meaning. It translates the word as “prison”.

The proclamation, not prediction, of the angel – a completed event not future possibility – is of a Babylon that has become its own prison of wickedness and brought to its knees in submission to the might of God.

My Answers:

3.
a.
Another angel coming down from heaven with great authority and illuminating the earth with his splendor, shouted with mighty voice

b.
Fallen, fallen – she was corrupt from the inside out in every way and now she is fallen

4.
a.
They do not provide, they consume. They are never enough. They leave the hollowness on the inside. They drive people to communion with wickedness and lies and every unclean and detestable thing. They seek to elevate self only, not creating community or helping the widows, orphans, poor, disenfranchised.

b.
The things that are of the kingdom to come and the will to be done. The things of heaven, not of earth. The Godly things that are noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy (Phil 4:8)

21.5 Revelation – God’s justice and mercy under the new covenant

God’s justice and mercy under the new covenant

Yesterday we talked about how sin broke our perfect holy relationship with God, the same way a child breaks a window. We discussed that while justice and mercy were consistent in the old testament as well as in the new, since there is only one God and He is unchanging, the “fix” under the old testament was insufficient. A patch was put in place, but it wasn’t a fix. We simply did not have the means to pay the price of the fix.

You see, the price of the repair was one perfect life, lived, and laid down in perfect, full, and holy obedience. Only one man has ever lived such a life, and He is who starts the New Testament and the New Covenant.

By Jesus’ work, through His entire life, to deny temptation, to resist sin, culminating first in His sacrificial death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead, Jesus fully paid the price to restore the perfect holy relationship between God and mankind.

By accepting the sacrifice of Jesus as the offering made for you, and agreeing to come under Him as your savior, you are not held responsible for the broken relationship, no payment is required and the relationship is restored. Jesus perfectly repairs the broken glass on both sides of the window (God’s side and Man’s side).

Standing firm in resolve to not accept Jesus is to be, as my grandmother would have said, “way too big for your britches” and “your mouth is writing checks you cannot cash”. If we deny to accept Jesus, then we tell God, we think the mud we flung up in the window is sufficient repair. It is not only wrong, but it is insulting. God, in mercy, holds back wrath even on these people, but only for a time.

In the final days, when Jesus comes again, He will come again to set things right. He will wash the window of our spiritual relationship clean with the full power of God’s wrath. All the mud and dirt will be removed and the window will once again sparkle as new. But those who want to be judged by the dirt they produced, will no longer receive mercy and payment for sin will be required. It is a payment that can never be fulfilled without Jesus, so they agonize forever in the debtor’s prison of Hell.

While this sounds horrible, it is what they want and choose, because the offer to accept Jesus’ payment was never rescinded. Also, the removal of sin from the world, something that only makes sense to do along with a restriction on new sin entering, is something we who have accepted Jesus’ gift long for.

Don’t you want to see the beauty in the perfectly restored window of the perfectly restored relationship with God? When John talks about the entire sea of glass before the throne alight with fire, this is what I think of. No dings, not cracks, no smudges, no blurs, no imperfection of any kind, no dirt, no mud, no dust – a perfect shining brilliantly, like it is on fire, reflection of the perfectly restored relationship.

My Answers:

10.
a.
While we were sinners (i.e., did nothing to earn it), Christ died for us. We are justified by His blood (found not-guilty) and saved from wrath through Him and reconciled to God. On our own merits we deserve death but instead we are made alive in Christ, given a new life, a new body, a new spirit for eternity

b.
Christ bore our sins. He, who was perfect, was not compelled to die – it was not a just sentence for Him since He was free of all transgression. So, He did not suffer and die for His own sins, but for ours. The fact that He paid the price is a ticket that He need not use but gives as a gift to each of us if only we accept it.

11.
humility, love, sacrifice, not conforming to the pattern of the world but being transformed to become holy, to be honest with God and ourselves, to confess our sins and truly repent (which includes change)

13.2 Revelation – Stopping the Wind

Stopping the Wind

Who can stop the wind?

Wind is an unseen but very real force. It is constantly moving with both benefits and harm. It helps cleanse the earth, move and dissipate smoke and polution. It drives the rain clouds. It also produces tornadoes, hurricanes, down-gusts and micro-bursts.

Whether you see the stopping of the wind as a form of wrath in itself (by removing the beneficial properties of the wind) or a delay of wrath (by holding back the destructive power), either way, the power and ability to perform such a task in outside of our comprehension.

We can deflect the wind. We can make shelters from the wind. But we can’t hold it back.

But God can. And Revelation 7 says that He will for His purpose. He will send angels to hold back the wind and then another angel to seal 144,000.

Righteous harm will befall the earth. It is inevitable and part of God’s plan of purification for the stain of sin on creation. But God is in control even of the inevitable. He can hold back even the wind for His purposes. We see it in the end times and we see it in our daily lives. All sin is against God and all of us sin. We pile up debts of sin with no way to repay even the smallest. God is not unjust. He does not leave sin unpunished or unreconciled, but He holds back His right or setting the accounts right, so that the ones He love can be drafted to His service.

My Answers:

3.
standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds

4.
a.
destruction, invasion, wrath, power, anger

b.
Patience – protection of the earth, land, sea, trees and people to be sealed

c.
every day I sin and deserve the wrath of God. All sin is against God.

18.5 Moses 18, Day 5

Multi-Sensory Experience
I was struck in our lesson today about how God connects with us not only on every level but through all of our senses.  The sight of the cloud by day and fire by night.  The smell of the burnt offerings and incense.  The feel of hands upon the scape goat.  The sound of the trumpet.  The taste of the unleaven bread and roasted lamb of passover.
It reminded me of a Sunday school lesson on Daniel in the Lion’s den from Daniel 6.  After the angel closes the mouths of the lions and Daniel survives his night locked in their den, King Darius issues a decree recorded in Daniel 6:26, “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. “For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.””
Our God is alive.  He is not some talisman or good luck charm.  He is not a rock we rub for good luck or a piece of wood we wave about.  He is not your lucky pair of gym shorts (although those may be alive in a different, gross way).  God is living.  He hears, He smells, He gives, He looks, He wept, He is jealous, He created, He has a mighty hand, He breathes, He speaks and He loves.  (some related verses from the bible)
God’s wants to connect with us in every way, not only in every sense (literally), but even ultra-sensory.  He wants to dwell within us, to wash us clean of our sin and to tend to and grow the garden of our heart.  He wants to continue doing this.  With special days of celebration.  With sabbath days and years of peace and rest. But also in every moment.  Accepting God isn’t an event that is done and complete.  It is more like a wedding or even more so, a birth.  It is the start of a whole new life in every way, shape and form.
What dead charms do you put trust in instead of God?  How are you approaching the living God?  Are you doing it with a repentant and humble heart or with pride in the good works you’ve accomplished?  Do you seek a real relationship with Him?

My Answers:
11.

a.

1 year (it was the beginning of the second year, passover occurs on the 14th day of the new year, or at least it did at that time until the Jewish new year was changed after the time of Jesus when the temple was destroyed).
b.

It was a commandment of God.  It was a commemoration of a critical event.  It only happened once a year.  It was defining.
c.

Sometimes get distracted but ask God to continue to show that He is present in the worship
12.

a.

the cloud covered it when the tabernacle was set up and looked like fire at night, whenever it lifted they set out til stopped
b.

2 trumpets, all called to order, 1 only heads of clans, when blast east tribes set out, when 2nd blast south side, sons of A blow
c.

with sight and sound, by what I see and hear

18.4 Moses 18, Day 4

Missed Blessings

My mom relayed a conversation she had with the pastor at her church. She was talking with him about attendance at church service. She wanted him to know that there were some days that she just didn’t feel up to making it to church. It wasn’t because she didn’t like the music or the liturgy of the service. It wasn’t anything against his sermons. It wasn’t because she was behind on tithing. To use her term, “some days I’m just old.” I thought his words back to her were very wise and thoughtful. He told her that if she could make it at all, come for the last 2 minutes of the service and if she couldn’t make that to call him. The final part of the service is a benediction. Most of the time, it is the exact same words that God told Moses to tell Aaron to say. The pastor explained to her that this was a special blessing for her. While it was said to everyone in attendance, it was an individual blessing, something special and specific for each individual. If she wasn’t there to receive the blessing, she would miss out on it. If she simply couldn’t physically be there, then she should call him and he could give her her blessing.

When we recite the blessing in Number 6:24-26 we forget verse 27. “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

These weren’t just words or good wishes. While it is a “good word” or benediction, it is more than that. God told Moses to tell Aaron to “put my name on the people”. God didn’t say and I might bless them, He said “and I will bless them.”

Aaron didn’t originate the blessing. Moses didn’t originate the blessing. God originated the blessing. But, like in many other things, He allowed the priests, who were brothers to the community, to participate.

When we think about church attendance we tend to focus on the sermon or prayers or communion or songs. All of those are great and help us pour our heart out to God. But the blessing – that is something special, a gift from God given through the minister, specifically for you.

What blessings are you missing out on because you aren’t showing up? When you receive a blessing are you grabbing on to it and pasting it into your heart? Do you accept the gift? Do you bow your head or raise your hand and receive His name being written on to you? Do you desire His radiance, His grace, His peace, His blessing?

My Answers:

8.
When parting friends, blessing to children

9.
It is for God’s glory not my own. Give the required tithe plus more. – Tribe of Judah gave first 4th in line, Reuben, Simeon, Levi… But also the lineage of Jesus.

10.
a.
Given wholly to God who took them in place of the firstborn Israelites. Given as a gift to Aaron and his sons to do the work

b.
1. God can do what He wants (He is God), 2. From the passover every firstborn belongs to God, set apart. The Levites were taken in their place

c.
25-50

18.3 Moses 18, Day 3

Stopping things that spread and Letting go to gain more

What do skin disease, wronging another, and jealous husbands all have in common? They are all things that if not properly addressed can grow and spread and cause hurts that cannot be healed.

Take the requirement of restitution. We all grew up with the understanding that if you take something without permission you have to return it. But, we also know, that is insufficient. The item is returned or the cost of it is provided but there is still pain and hardship. Paying to fix someone’s car you wrecked is required but insufficient. They have to get estimates, be without a vehicle, etc. The Hebrews were given the +20% rule. Fix the car + 20% more of the cost. Buy the new sweater that you borrowed and got a hole in, plus a new scarf. Because, if you don’t, there is still resentment. The person wronged doesn’t feel whole. The relationship suffers, the parties suffer, the hurt spreads.

Jealousy. If a spouse believes the other is unfaithful, no level of discussion alone is going to bridge that gap. If one party thinks the other capable of lying and deceit, they aren’t simply going to believe reassurances. And, in a relationship between a man and women, the physically stronger man can cause far more than mental anguish. Instead, the matter is taken out of the hands of the husband and given to God and the priests.

Immediately after the conditions to deal with these areas of division, the Nazirite vow is discussed. In the Nazirite vow, certain things were set aside as they dedicated themselves to the Lord. Grapes, wine, haircuts. Clearly these are not significant material things that cause someone to sin, but they are symbolic, while still being tangible and visible.

Think about it this way. Have you ever been frozen in fear? It may have been on a ladder or the high-dive at the swimming pool. It may have been standing on a ledge of a ropes-course. You know it is unrational. You know you just need to move forward, but your body won’t take that step. You grasp ahold of something, anything. Don’t misunderstand. I don’t believe there is any such thing as a “leap of faith” with God. God never expects us to just “hope” He is there. He gives us so many assurances. He lights our path. He carries our load. But we can still get stuck in fear. When we do, the answer isn’t to force ourselves to move forward, to make the “leap”. Instead, it is to the answer is to first begin to let go. When a person took the Nazirite vow, they let go of little things, wine, personal grooming. In doing so they trusted in God. By releasing their white knuckle grasp on something insignificant, they opened their hand for God to take them by the hand. By dedicating themselves to Him for a time they entered a period of little releases while standing firmly on His foundation.

The whole Nazirite thing can seem silly to our modern ways of thinking, but it actually is a great lesson. It is like fasting. Denying yourself food for a period doesn’t make you stronger. Physically, it would make you weaker. But letting go of eating solid food for a 24 hour period of time as a vow of dedication to God for that period pays huge dividends. By letting go of little things, you participate in the vow. By honoring your separation, you honor your dedication to God and honor God Himself. You are not going to starve in 24 hours. This is truly insignificant physically, but spiritually it opens your hand to allow God to place it on the next rung of the ladder.

If you don’t believe you are frozen in place, let me ask you a question that challenge me this week. What can you name in your life that you completely and fully rely upon God to provide? No contingency plan. No backup strategy. Start by naming one material, significant thing. If you can name one, great, what else? As Christians, shouldn’t we all be fully trusting and relying on God for, if not all, the vast majority of the important things in our lives? But we grasp ahold and try to hold onto little things like control and self-sufficiency while mentally understanding that both of those are really just illusions. Maybe it is time to renew a vow of dedication.

My Answers:

6.
a.
1-4: Send away from the camp all who had a defiling skin disease
5-10: Make full restitution for wrong
11-31: Take wife who is suspected of unfaithfulness to the priest

b.
2 Million people, while they followed God, they also had issues and grievances that could have torn them apart. God provided a fair way to address these issues

c.
“Justice” was not put in the hands of a jealous husband. The test was put to God through the priest.

7.
a.
A vow of dedication and separation – a full and deep devotion. Samson, JTB

b.
prayer and fasting

08.3 Moses 8, Day 3

What legacy are you leaving?

As the autumn leaves fall outside reminding me of the changing seasons of life I’m reminded of my thoughts about what type of legacy am I leaving behind? Many of us would like to believe that our time spent on this earth in some way makes a difference. In particular we want it to have made a difference for our family. We think about retirement planning. We make wills and do estate planning. We buy life insurance. But that is all just “stuff.”

The commandments are way bigger than just a set of rules or laws. They contain structure. They contain order. They contain promises.

The first 4 commandments don’t just happen to be about our relationship with God. The first commandments are about our relationship with God because that relationship comes first. That is the most important thing.

They are also a reminder that what we do matters. We choose to obey or disobey. Once a law is written down, your actions and behavior are either on one side of the law or the other. There are no loopholes. They is no gray area. There isn’t an ability to be on one side but to appear to the judge that you are on the other side (especially since God is the judge and he sees and knows everything).

But in that realization that what we do matters, God has placed a promise – a really big promise. In the second commandment, Exodus 20:4-6 He reveals part of His character to us. He is a jealous God. He doesn’t want part of our heart. He wants it all. He doesn’t deserve part of the honor and glory, He deserves it all. When we deny Him that by allowing other gods to stand before or beside Him, when we bow down to those other “things”, it matters. This isn’t a threat – no more than the law of gravity is a threat or the law of inertia is a threat. If you ignore those laws, there are repercussions. In the same way, if you ignore this law of God, there are repercussions, big repercussions, that transcend your own life and affect your children, their children and even their children. God is in control, but we are making the choice. We see this reality all around us. The decision to reject and dishonor God by one generations affects multiple generations with pain and hardship. The decision to chase after other gods is a tear that takes its toll on children and the way they raise their children.

But we also read, hear and see the promise to those who obey as well. The punishment we bring on only lasts for 3 or 4 generations. But, the legacy we can provide, the rock solid foundation that we can begin to build on, is a shower of love from God for 1000 generations. I am blessed that my parents and grandparents built their lives on the rock of Christ Jesus. That blessing, that love from God, is passed to my children and to their grandchildren on and on and on. I am not perfect, my parents weren’t perfect, but God is perfect. What legacy are you leaving through the choice you are making in response to the 2nd commandment?

My Answers:

7.
a.
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery

b.
By the mercy of god to reveal the depth of my sin and the inability for silver or gold or any act or possession I could bring to pay restitution for the brokeness of my choices. But to then receive the assurance and confidence that the sacrifice that Jesus made of His life was fully and completely sufficient.

8.
20:3 – You shall have no other gods before me – Worship and trust in God first and God alone
20:4-6 – not make an image – not bow down to them or worship them – jealous, punish 3G/4G but show love to 1000G – legacy!
20:7 – not misuse name of the LORD your God – not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name – Only used for honor risk of guilt
20:8-11 – Remember Sabbath day by keeping it holy – no work nor cause others to work, not just relax, but holy: God blessed this day

04.5 Moses 4, Day 5

Part I: Pass the Burden and Part II: Outlaw to Obedience

In life we have burdens. Some burdens are physical. Some are injuries from situations or other people. Some are products of our own fears, inadequacies and insecurities. We know they are there. They interfere with our health, our sleep and our relationships with others. And, like those in our reading today, we often try to pass them to others.

When Moses told Pharaoh God’s command to “Let my people go”, Pharaoh became burdened. Who is the Lord that Pharaoh should obey? Is Pharaoh’s authority being questioned? Is he at risk of losing power or prestige? Do people think him weak? Is he making the right decision?

Pharaoh attempts to shift his burden to the Hebrews. He feels burdened so he increases their burden. He tells the slave masters and overseers. They tell the slaves. When results wain, the burden on the slave masters increases and they increase the burden on the overseers by beating them. When the overseers are beaten they go to Pharaoh and attempt to shift the burden to “your people”.

When that is not successful, the foremen pile the burden onto Moses and Aaron as a curse. Moses feels burdened and passes it to God. Why? Why?

But there it stops. God doesn’t pass the burden, He simply says “I am the Lord.”

The interesting thing about this progression is that up until the last step burden wasn’t off-loaded, it simply multiplied. When Pharaoh increased the burden on the Hebrews it in no way decreased the burden he felt – there was just more burden. When the overseers blamed Moses, their burden didn’t decrease, but Moses’ increased. But when Moses passed it to God everything changed. Not only did God take on the burden, but he actually removed it from Moses. How things would have been different if Pharaoh had stopped and taken his burden to The Lord instead of denying Him. How things would have been different if the overseers turned directly to God instead of blaming Pharaoh or cursing Moses.

We face these same challenges daily. We are tempted to try to pass our burden to others: to be mad a co-worker, short with our spouse, harsh with our children. But none of those “pass the burden” tactics make anything better – taking it to the Lord is the only source of relief. Matt 11:28, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

———————

Bonus: Moses’ Outlaw Roots

When we think of Levites we think of priests. But, as we read these verses starting at Exodus 6:13 we need to keep in mind that was not yet the case. Jacob’s first three sons were the outlaws of the family. In Genesis 49, Jacob brings his sons together for a final blessing before he dies and, in essence if not in direct words, curses the linage of his first three sons: Reuben, Simeon and Levi.

How interesting that these three sons are the ones Moses includes in this strangely placed lineage. But all of us have lineage. We are a product of our parents and our grandparents and great grandparents and the choices they made. Like Moses, we can continue down the same path or we can face the road in front of us and go a different direction.

God was shifting into a higher gear and Moses was choosing a new direction. His heritage was anger and fury. His ancestry was killing others in anger. His curse was to be scattered.

But his choice now was to change from outlaw to obedient servant of God. From fury to faith. From being scattered to being used by God to gather His people to Him.

We have the same choice. Are we defined by the actions of others or are we defined by our obedience to God?

My Answers:

8.
a.
He talked about His mighty hand and that He is The LORD.

b.
I am The LORD

c.
His commitment to them. His singular might (not relying on anyone else and no doubt present)

9.
a.
I will bring you out. I will free you. I will redeem you. I will take you as my own people. I will be your God. I will bring you to the land. I will give it to you. I am the LORD

b.
Ezek 36:26 – I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.

10.
Discouragement over our circumstances can prevent us from receiving the comfort we desire. It can also stand in the way of us accepting God and His will for us.

11.
a.
Amram – Kohath – Levi

b.
Elisheba. Ndab, Abihu, Eleazar, ithamar. Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, had Phinehas