Meditations in Exodus

This meditation is a companion to a previous mediation: What Is His Name? - Exodus 3:13-15 (Part 1)      

Exodus 3:13 reads, “And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?”

In Exodus 3:9-10 the Lord God expressed his call upon Moses to send Moses as His instrument of deliverance for His people Israel.  In verse 11 Moses responded with an expression of humility and hopelessness concerning his ability to fulfill the Lord’s call – “And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”  In answer, the Lord God responded with His promise to be with Moses and to enable Moses in fulfilling His call – “And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.”

Yet in Exodus 3:13 Moses presents another question unto the Lord God.  This question did not concern Moses’ inability, but now concerned the Lord God’s nature and ability.  Indeed, Moses indicated that the children of Israel would ask concerning the name and nature of this God of their fathers who had sent Moses unto them – “What is his name?”  In verse 12 the Lord had promised to be with Moses and enable Him.  So then, who is this Lord God who will be with His servants and His people – “What is his name?”  In verse 10 the Lord had placed His call upon Moses to send Him unto His people.  So then, who is this Lord God who calls and sends His servants unto His people to lead them and help them – “What is his name?”  In verse 8 the Lord had pronounced His purpose to deliver His people from their affliction and to bless them with abundance.  So then, who is this Lord God who will help and deliver His servants and His people in their affliction – “What is his name?”  In verse 4 the Lord had proclaimed His personal recognition of His people’s sufferings and sorrows.  So then, who is this Lord God who personally knows the sorrows of His servants and His people – “What is his name?”  Yea, what is the name and the nature of this Lord God, the Lord our God?

Already in the first part of the meditation (see above), we have considered three truths, that the Lord our God is the Self-Existing One, the Eternal One, and the Unchanging One.  In this second part of the meditation, let us consider three further truths.

Outlines in Psalms

“To the chief musician, to Jeduthun [praising, celebrating], A Psalm of Asaph.”

  I.  The Cry of the Lord’s Servant (Psalm 77:1-3)
 II.  The Complaint of the Lord’s Servant (Psalm 77:4-9)
III.  The Confession of the Lord’s Servant (Psalm 77:10a)
IV.  The Commitment of the Lord’s Servant (Psalm 77:10b-12)
 V.  The Confidence of the Lord’s Servant (Psalm 77:13-15)
VI.  The Comfort of the Lord’s Servant (Psalm 77:16-20)

Meditations in Exodus

Exodus 3:13 reads, “And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?”

In Exodus 3:9-10 the Lord God expressed his call upon Moses to send Moses as His instrument of deliverance for His people Israel.  In verse 11 Moses responded with an expression of humility and hopelessness concerning his ability to fulfill the Lord’s call – “And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”  In answer, the Lord God responded with His promise to be with Moses and to enable Moses in fulfilling His call – “And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.”

Yet in Exodus 3:13 Moses presents another question unto the Lord God.  This question did not concern Moses’ inability, but now concerned the Lord God’s nature and ability.  Indeed, Moses indicated that the children of Israel would ask concerning the name and nature of this God of their fathers who had sent Moses unto them – “What is his name?”  In verse 12 the Lord had promised to be with Moses and enable Him.  So then, who is this Lord God who will be with His servants and His people – “What is his name?”  In verse 10 the Lord had placed His call upon Moses to send Him unto His people.  So then, who is this Lord God who calls and sends His servants unto His people to lead them and help them – “What is his name?”  In verse 8 the Lord had pronounced His purpose to deliver His people from their affliction and to bless them with abundance.  So then, who is this Lord God who will help and deliver His servants and His people in their affliction – “What is his name?”  In verse 4 the Lord had proclaimed His personal recognition of His people’s sufferings and sorrows.  So then, who is this Lord God who personally knows the sorrows of His servants and His people – “What is his name?”  Yea, what is the name and the nature of this Lord God, the Lord our God?

Meditations in Exodus

In Exodus 3:9-10 the Lord God revealed His purpose to Moses, saying, “Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.  Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.”

In Exodus 3:7-8 the Lord God had revealed that He knows the sorrows of His people and that He is moved to deliver His people from their sorrows.  As He continued His message unto Moses from “the burning bush,” He further revealed unto Moses His purpose and plan for the deliverance of His people.  Indeed, the Lord God expressed His call upon Moses to send Moses as His instrument of deliverance.  Even so, we find so often that when the Lord our God moves on behalf of His people, He does so by calling and sending a man through whom He might accomplish His work.

Meditations in Exodus

Exodus 3:7-8 reads, “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”

Exodus 3:1-6 introduces us to the occasion wherein the Lord God acquired Moses’ attention with “the burning bush” and met with Moses’ out of “the burning bush.”  In verses 7-8 the account continues as the Lord God reveals unto Moses the reason for His meeting with Moses.  Indeed, the Lord our God reveals that He knows the sorrows of His people and that He is moved to deliver His people from their sorrows.

Outlines in Psalms

Psalm 123 – “A Song of Degrees”

  I.  The Position of Faith

        Psalm 123:1 – “Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.”

 II.  The Patience of Faith

      Psalm 123:2 – “Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a
      maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy
      upon us.”

III.  The Prayer of Faith

      Psalm 123:3 – “Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with
      contempt.”

IV.  The Problem to Faith

      Psalm 123:4 – “Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the
      contempt of the proud.”

Outlines in Psalms

This outline is a companion to a previous outline:   Our Heart Is Not Turned Back - Psalm 44:9-26

  I.  The Record of Past History (vs. 1-3)
       II.  The Response of Confident Faith (vs. 4-8)
            III.  The Reality of Present Tribulation (vs. 9-16)
      IV.  The Refusal to Forsake the Lord (vs. 17-22)
 V.  The Request of a Troubled Soul (vs. 23-26)

Outlines in Psalms

Psalm 44:17-19 reads, “All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.  Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way; though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.”

Psalm 44:9-26 presents a scenario wherein the Lord our God had brought his faithful servants into a place of fiery trial and testing.  Yet it is of significance that this psalm does not end as do so many of the other psalms, with a proclamation of the Lord’s merciful deliverance or with a prophecy of the Lord’s merciful deliverance in due time.  Rather, this psalm simply ends with the continuing cry of the Lord’s faithful servants for merciful deliverance.  Even so, in Psalm 44:23-26 the cry is lifted up, “Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord?  Arise, cast us not off for ever.  Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?  For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.  Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.” 

Indeed, this is just how this psalm ends.  Yet this portion of Psalm 44 ends in this fashion, without a proclamation or prophecy of the Lord’s merciful deliverance, specifically because it does not set its focus upon the Lord’s merciful deliverance.  Rather, this portion of Psalm 44 sets its focus upon the faithful response of the Lord’s servants while under fiery trial and testing.

Outlines in Psalms

This is a companion outline to two previous outlines:  Fret Not Thyself Because of Evildoers – Psalm 37:1-2, 7-10
                                                                                    Trust in the Lord, and Do Good – Psalm 37:3-8, 27, 34

The purpose of Psalm 37 is to exhort and encourage God’s faithful servants concerning the prosperity of the wicked, which certainly appears at first to be an unfair and unrighteous reality of this life.  Indeed, it can be a great frustration unto the hearts of the faithful to see “the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree” (Psalm 37:35).  In fact, if we dwell on this frustration, it can easily and quickly turn us back from our walk with the Lord and lead us down into the pit of sinful iniquity (See Psalm 73:2-3).  So then, how does Psalm 37 exhort us and encourage us concerning this matter?  In two previous outlines (see above), we considered the prohibition concerning our attitude at the prosperity of the wicked, the proclamation concerning the judgment of the Lord against the wicked, and the precept concerning our walk with the Lord.  In this outline we shall consider the promise concerning the favor of the Lord upon the righteous.

Meditations in Exodus

This meditation is a companion to a previous meditation:  And the People Multiplied – Exodus 1

As we have noted in a previous meditation (see above), in Exodus the Lord our God began the process of fulfilling his promises unto His chosen people, the children of Israel.  Even so, three times Exodus 1 indicates that the children of Israel multiplied in number and might.  Thus the book of Exodus begins with a demonstration of our Lord God’s faithfulness unto His own. 

Yet as the Lord our God moves in faithfulness to bless His people, the world often moves in hatred to afflict God’s people.  This present evil world sets itself against the Lord, against His authority, and against His will.  Therefore, this present evil world also sets itself against the Lord’s people with hatred and persecution (John 15:18-25).  Yet even in the midst of this world’s hateful persecution, our Lord continues faithful unto His faithful servants.  Even so, in six acts Exodus 1 reveals the conflict between the Lord’s faithfulness for His people and the world’s hatred against God’s people.

Meditations in Jeremiah

Due to Jeremiah’s proclamation of God’s fierce wrath and fiery judgment against His people for their sinfulness, Jeremiah was greatly persecuted through both verbal and physical attacks by God’s own, rebellious people.  Such persecution motivated Jeremiah to express his burden of prayer in Jeremiah 15:15 for deliverance, saying, “O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke.”  Furthermore, in Jeremiah 15:16 Jeremiah expressed his commitment to and delight in the truth of God’s Word, saying, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.” 

Yet in Jeremiah 15:17-18 Jeremiah expressed his attitude of discouragement at the tribulation and doubt in the Lord, saying, “I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.  Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed?  Wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?”  Indeed, Jeremiah began to accuse the Lord of unrighteousness and unfaithfulness.  Yea, he directly accused the Lord of being “altogether” unto him “as a liar.”  Although Jeremiah had a commitment of heart toward the Lord, his growing doubt in the Lord was corrupting that commitment. So then, how did the Lord our God respond unto Jeremiah’s prayer for deliverance and accusation of doubt?

Outlines in Psalms

The Holy Spirit inspired introduction to Psalm 7 states, “Shiggaion of David, which he sang unto the LORD, concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite.”  Throughout the Psalm David refers to this Cush as a persecutor, and thereby as an enemy.  Apparently, this Cush was persecuting David through “the words” of false accusation (See verses 3-5).  Thus this psalm provides us with counsel concerning our response to the persecution of false accusation.