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February 6

Reading 1 - Exodus 13 & 14

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13 v.14 - We are reminded here of our responsibility to pass on the word to our children. God tells Israel to do it on several occasions. Though some of these are parallel accounts, the sheer repetition requires us to consider the issue with some care - Ex.12:26, Deut.6:20-24, Josh.4:6,21-24. It is a requirement placed on all of us. Ps.145:4, Eph.6:4, Col.3:21, 1Tim.3:4, 5:10,14, Tit.1:6.
Peter Cresswell
14 v.19 - This is one of three occasions when the pillar of cloud/fire is referred to as an angel. The other two are 23:20,21, 32:34. An angel, then does not always take the form of a man - the burning bush is another example - Ex.3:2, Acts 7:30,35. God's influence over man through his messengers can strike in many ways, not all expected.
Peter Cresswell
13:19 That Moses took the bones of Joseph not only fulfilled Joseph's request [Genesis 50:24] but provided a permanent reminder of his faith in the promises of Genesis 15. When Israel thought about the coffin of Joseph being taken through the wilderness or when they saw it they would have a visual aid to encourage them to believe in God's promises.

Chapter 14 - The comment [Hebrews 11:28-29] shows that Moses believed God with respect to the slaying of the firstborn - and by implication the nation did not whereas by the time they passed through the Red Sea the nation believed that God was their deliverer.
Peter Forbes

13:3, 9, 14, 16 contains a recurring refrain marking that God delivered Israel by His strength. Sadly they forgot this when they came to the border of the land for the first time and so said 'we be not able' (Numbers 13:31) How easy it is to forget God's care for us even though we can look back and see evidence in the past of His care.

14:30 is quoted in Jude 5. The force of the argument in Jude is that even though Israel had been saved they were still able to fall. And so we can take the lesson to ourselves.
Peter Forbes

HANDS AND FOREHEADS

There is an unusual phrase that is repeated twice in this chapter (13) that is worth thinking about. Verse 9. "This observance (celebrating the feast of unleavened bread and teaching its meaning to your children) will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of the LORD is to be on your lips." And verse 16, "And it (telling your son about the deliverance from Egypt) will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand."

Later on the Jews took this very literally and tied boxes containing parts of the law to their foreheads and wrists. But there is much more to it than that. When I write a note to myself I have what some would call a bad habit (but I call convenient), a failsafe method of not forgetting what I need to be reminded of. I write it on my hand. Why? Because I see my hands. To me, my hands are the most visible part of myself. When we look at another person, the most visible part of them is their forehead. What God wants is for his law and our salvation to be so visible and obvious in our lives, it is as if it was written on our forehead and on our hands.

May our lives be constant reminders to ourselves and to each other that we have been set apart to do God's will.
Robert Prins
Exodus 13:3 - "Remember this day, in which you came out of Egypt" - It only took one night to get Israel out of Egypt - but the Father has been working for more than 3,500 years to get Egypt out of Israel.
 
Exodus 14:19 - "And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him" - For 40 years the children of Israel carried a heavy stone coffin through the desert, finally laying it to rest in the cave of Machpelah with his forefathers. Every time the children of Israel picked up that coffin, they would have been reminded of Joseph's incredible faith in a resurrection from the dead. And what joy for him to experience his next waking moment in the company of his beloved father Jacob, and Isaac and Abraham.
Cliff York

Reading 2 - Psalm 68

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v. 16 - This concept began back in Deut.12:5,11 (or much earlier in principle - at least as far back as the ark of the covenant, probably further than that) - God choosing a place. This is developed at great length throughout scripture. This mountain here referred to is Zion. Ps.132:13,14 - to which, if we desire this 'rest', we are invited to ascend. Isa.2:2-5, and then be satisfied - being in Zion - which is in Christ. Heb.4:1-12. More on this subject when we get to Psalms 78, 87 and 132, God willing.
Peter Cresswell
v.7 - Here we have just what we were looking at above - the pillar of cloud/fire that was God leading them, and we are asked to stop and consider (selah [unusually, mid-sentence]) before moving on. Psa.114:1-8 extends this idea further. We are clearly encouraged to allow God to lead us as we pursue our precarious walk towards His kingdom in the way that he led the people in the wilderness.
Peter Cresswell
68:21 In saying that God will wound the heads of His enemies we are being reminded of the promise in Genesis 3:15. Jael enacted this out also - Jud 5:26
Peter Forbes
:1 'arise … flee before him' is the refrain that Israel were to recite when the tabernacle was moved (Numbers 10:35) So the movements of the ark in some way showed God's work of deliverance which culminated in the work of Jesus.
Peter Forbes
Psalm 68:7 - "thou wentest forth..." - The call of God to His people.
 
Psalm 68:8 - "even Sinai itself was moved..." - The covenant of God with His people.
 
Psalm 68:9 - "thou didst send a plentiful rain..." - The care of God for His people.
 
Psalm 68:14 - "snow" - represents 'righteousness crystallised.' Each flake is six pointed (man), composed of frozen water (word), drawn into the atmosphere by the action of the sun over the sea (of nations), no two snow flakes are identical, yet all show forth the glory of the Father.
Cliff York

Reading 3 - Mark 2

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v.20 - We await the return of the bridegroom now. This symbol of marriage has always been used by God to denote man's relationship with him, eg.Isa.54:5, 62:5. Now we have the same relationship with Christ. 2Cor.11:2. Are we ready? Rev.19:7
Peter Cresswell
2:14 Levi who is here styled 'the son of Alphaeus' actually is the brother is 'James the son of Alphaeus' [3:18]. He is also styled 'Matthew' [Matthew 9:9]. So Jesus calls two brethren who, secularly, were dissimilar. As a tax collector Matthew / Levi would be despised by the Jews. We probably would have not appointed someone from that type of background to such an important task as we would probably think it would not help our cause to present that type of image. This should cause us to think about what basis we use for making selections in ecclesial life.
Peter Forbes
2:10 Jesus forgave the sins of the man sick of the palsy. The scribes murmured saying that only God can forgive sins. Find Old Testament passages which show that God forgives sins. Also find any other occasions in the New testament where it says that Jesus forgave sins - there are not many.
Peter Forbes
Mark 2:17 - "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" - What a shocking condemnation is leveled here by Jesus at those who think that they are in some way superior to others in God's sight. There are none who are righteous, no, not one - yet the Pharisees believed with all their heart, that because of their "good works" in keeping (their version of) the Law, that the Father somehow "owed" them salvation. In reality, we are all like the man stricken with palsy, lying on a bed, unable to do for ourselves what God needs to do for us, as described in v3-5.
 
Mark 2:22 - "no man putteth new wine into old bottles" - The teaching of Jesus so stretches a man's mind, that the teaching of the New Covenant can only be contained in fresh new "skins." The weary old ways of ritual Law keeping were no where near flexible enough to cope with the new ways of thinking brought to light by the Son of God.
 
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A Golden Thread:- Exodus 13 & 14 deal with God calling His people out of Egypt, the Psalmist mentions the same theme in Psalm 68:22, and Jesus' call in Mark 2 goes out to the sinners and publicans and the poor and the weak of this world, all those who recognise that God is still working to extract "Egypt" from "Israel."
Cliff York