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February
4
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Reading
1 - Exodus 10
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here to Listen
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v.
7 - 'snare'
here operates the opposite way round from the way it is usually presented
- usually the word is used to warn Israel against making agreements with
other nations and therefore becoming ensnared with their idolatry - Ex.23:33,
34:12 Deut.7:6. By the time we get to Josh.23:13,
God has turned the tables on them completely, and now they are ensnared,
deserving to be. They were further to be ensnared by the advent of God's
Son - as prophesied in Isa.8:14
see also Rom.9:32,33
Peter Cresswell
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v.2
states quite clearly God's purpose in prolonging the agony of the plagues.
It is that Israel might have a story to tell future generations that would
not be forgotten and would help them to bring to mind God's salvation on
a regular basis. In like manner we have the breaking of bread and drinking
of wine in memory of the greatest event in the whole of history, about which
we also have a detailed description that we might dwell on God's purpose
fulfilled in Jesus. Let us be sure to do so regularly.
Peter Cresswell
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10:22
'thick darkness' is a description of the manifestation of Yahweh at different
times. Exodus
10:22 20:21 Deuteronomy 4:11 5:22 1 Kings 8:12 2 Chronicles 6:1. So
when it is used to speak of the day of the LORD Joel
2:2 Zephaniah 1:15. We see the day of the LORD is a day of His glory
being manifest. It is not just mindless punishment. Interestingly His
glory is seen in the punishment of Judah. That is, He is justified by
His actions.
Peter
Forbes
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10:28
One wonders why it took Pharaoh so long to decide that he wanted to kill
Moses!
Peter
Forbes |
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Exodus
10:4 - "I will bring the locusts into thy coasts" - Again
the land where the Children of Israel dwelt was exempt from this miracle.
Locusts are among the most destructive creatures on earth, eating their
own weight in vegetation every day when they are on the march.
10:7
- "let the men go" - Pharaoh's advisors are wiser than
Pharaoh himself. They know that capitulation is the only wise policy.
If a plague of locusts should arrive, such as Moses had described, Egypt
was doomed.
10:15
- "For they covered the face of the whole earth" - In the previous
verses, the locusts have resisted the urge of nature and have overflown
the land of Goshen on their way into Egypt. With between 100 - 200 million
locusts per square mile, and Egypt measuring approximately 10,400 square
miles, this was most certainly a MAJOR plague.
10:21
- "...that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt" - He
who had said in the Beginning, "Let there be light" now
reverses His decree and says in effect, "Let there be Night."
Cliff
York
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Reading
2 - Psalms 64 & 65
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here to Listen
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64v.5
- uses the same hebrew word for 'snare' as we have just been considering
in Exodus, but here - v.7-9
- for the sake of the righteous who trust in him (v.10)
- God will bring them around to fear him and declare his work. So the confidence
of man to shoot at the wicked (v.4)
is counter productive.
Peter Cresswell
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65
v.2 - Let us not forget that God hears our prayers. It is easy to believe
that He doesn't, especially when He takes what seems to us to be a long
time to answer, and maybe even more especially when He does not provide
the answer we want or expect. We must trust in Him at all times that what
he causes to happen to us is for the best in the eternal scheme of things.
This should make us more inclined to pray to Him. Here are some helpful
reminders from the Psalms - 66:19,
102:17, 145:18,19
Peter Cresswell
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| Psalm
64 - In this Psalm David shows that even though he knew that God was
in control and could save him he was still hurt by the evil words of the
wicked. In this we take comfort for we also are hurt by the words of evil
men. Just like David we can appreciate that our God can act as the antidote
to the distress such things cause us.
Psalm
65 - We might think that :5
of this Psalm is speaking only of the future salvation of man. However
:9-13
shows that God's salvation extends to the harvest that we take so much
for granted year in year out.
Peter
Forbes
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64:4
In shooting in secret the wicked seek to overthrow the just without anyone
knowing who it is who has done the deed. It is rather like sending unsigned
letters accusing individuals. The law was designed to prevent this sort
of thing. Two witnesses were required who would both testify openly (Deuteronomy
17:6)
65:4
The blessed man is a recurring theme in the Psalms. Psalm
1:1 32:3 34:8 89:5,12 94:12 112:1. There is value in looking at all
the things that are said about the blessed man.
Peter
Forbes
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Psalm
64 - The superscription for this Psalm tells us that this is
a Psalm of David. With the references in this Psalm to those who "bend
their bows to shoot their arrows" - v3-4
- we can see echoes of at least two other passages of scripture - Genesis
49:22-24; and Isaiah 49:1-2. In these passages, Joseph as a type
of Christ, is "shot at" by the archers who hated him; but his own
bow, held by hands "made strong by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,"
had prevailed. Jesus Christ, the man whom the Father "made strong for
Himself" was a "polished arrow" in Yahweh's quiver, and He has destroyed
the enemy. David no doubt felt as these men did, as first Saul, then Absalom,
fired their poisonous words about indiscriminately, poisoning the minds
of others toward the Beloved. The tongue can be a very powerful weapon
of evil - James
3.
Psalm
65 - Another Psalm of David, describing in v1-4,
that the Father would draw those who are His children into His house
with Him. He will hear their prayers, accept their praise, cleanse their
sins, and prolong their days.
65:5-8
- The Father has an arsenal of tools at His disposal to attract
mans attention and to alert them to His presence, and to give them confidence
in Him, that He is in supreme control. Storms, earthquakes, eclipses,
frost, snow, avalanche, thunder, lightning, & floods are some
of the "tokens" v8,
of His Almighty Power that can both nourish or destroy.
65:9-13
- Though mighty in power, the Father's Blessings are gentle,
like the rain in its season. In v9,
He gives the seed. In v10,
He waters that seed. In v11,
He brings the corn to ripeness. In v12,
His blessings are wide spread and manifold. And in v13,
He feeds the flocks.
Cliff
York
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Reading
3 - Romans 15 & 16
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here to Listen
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15
v. 7-12.
What a wealth of scripture Paul pulls together to provide comfort for these
Roman gentile believers. v.8
says how Jesus brought in a new and better covenant and thereby made the
covenant of circumcision, which had been everything, worthless. He then
brings out a list of Old Testament passages to prove it.
v.9
quotes Ps.18:49 (& 2Sam.22:50 - parallel passage) v.10 quotes Deut.32:43.
v.11 quotes Ps.117:1 and v.12 quotes Isa.11:1,10 - leaving them in no
doubt that Christ indeed died for them, as he did for us.
Peter Cresswell
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15:1-4
Paul
continues the theme he has been dealing with in chapter 14. We do not
please ourselves but rather to help our brethren and sisters. This precludes
the mind set which contemplates helping our brethren and sisters only
when it is convenient to us.
16:1-16
The long list of salutations might seem out of place in a letter dealing
with doctrinal and practical problems in ecclesial life. However they
are most fitting. The greetings actually mark the way in which each 'part'
of the body of Christ fits together with others.
16:17-18
'Mark them that cause divisions ...' presents the other side
of the unity of the 'body of Christ'. Divisive brethren and sisters
need to be dealt with.
Peter Forbes
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ch
15 - A key word in this chapter is 'gentiles' As you read the chapter
highlight the word. This will help you to gain a better insight into the
structure of the chapter and the thrust of Paul's argument.
16:5
In speaking of 'the church which is in their house' we gain an insight
into New Testament life in Christ. No large ornate buildings. Not even
small halls owned by the church. They simply met in homes of believers.
Look also at Acts
2:46 1 Corinthians 16:19 Colossians 4:15
Peter Forbes
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Romans
15:1 - "We then that are strong..." - Paul here makes
the point that "strength" is for service, not status. His counsel is for
those whose conscience is not offended by things morally indifferent,
(like the eating of meats, etc) to have respect for their Brethren who
were struggling to let go of their deeply ingrained cultural prudence
in this regard. The terms "weak" and "strong"
have today taken on different connotations to that which Paul is referring
to here in his epistles.
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A
Golden Thread:- The same God who could bring Pharaoh and
Egypt to their knees in Exodus, is able also to dispose of the workers
of iniquity and raise up His children and nourish them gently in the Psalms
reading. He also is working mightily among both Jew and Gentile, bringing
them both into His family of grace, nurturing them through their cultural
foibles, to bring them at last to Christ.
Cliff
York
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