Performed by Peter Yock in 2009, with the help of Matt Simpson, Ryan Davis & Pooch. Words & Music by Tim Hughes.
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Almighty God <– right click here to download
Performed by Hannah Kinton & Peter Yock on 3rd January 2010. Music by Tim Smith (from Mars Hill Church)
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Psalm 51 <– right click here to download
Written and Performed at Celebration Sunday 2009 by Peter Yock (with the help of Matt Simpson, Ryan Davis, and Pooch)
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his king <– right click here to download
Exodus 18:1-23:16
Good morning fellow readers. Well as I have already said in previous blogs there are some strange stories in the OT. Moses taking advice from his father in-law surely has to be one of those stories. Even though it seems like great advice (My in-laws are visiting if ya wondering).
Three things strike me about today’s reading. 1) God is a holy God and to approach him without his consent meant death (that God for Jesus). 2) The detail of the law – it’s like God knew how annoying we can be and how we always look for loop holes. 3) God’s compassion for the vulnerable – as seen in his laws about widows and children etc.
We follow a powerful God who hates sin but has great compassion for his people.
Exodus 15:1 – 17:16
These chapters are such a contrast – it starts of with Israel giving great praise to God of His might, His majesty and His faithfulness… Look at verse 13:
“In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling.”
Moses and the Israelites were praising God for his faithfulness in delivering them from the Egyptians for the fulfilment of the promises made to their forefathers: being God’s people, under God’s rule in God’s land (“holy dwelling”).
BUT then Israel isn’t satisfied with anything! They complain about that the water isn’t sweet; they complain that there is no meat to eat, they complain about the leadership, they complain that there was no water. When God does give them food and water, they weren’t thankful but instead they disobeyed God and his instructions. It was as though Israel completely lost sight of all that had just happened. All that God had done for them in redeeming them from slavery. Instead of continuing to be overjoyed and thankful as they were after crossing the Red Sea, they turned away from God, their Saviour, and looking longing on slavery.
This is so parallel to the Gospel for me. Like the Israelites we have been redeemed from slavery, slavery to sin. We are initially overjoyed when we hear the gospel that we’ve been redeemed from our sin but then somehow we lose our joy in gospel and thankfulness for all that God has done for us. Like the Israelites, we forget the goodness that God has shown us in Jesus and instead of being thankful for it; we focus on the things around us, the things in this world.
This is a struggle for me most days (well, every day) and I am very thankful for this reminder (a bit of a kick!) from God’s Word today. I pray that we all will continue to find great joy in the gospel of Christ and sing God’s praises for all that he has done for us in redeeming us from slavery of sin.
Hi folks, sorry for the delay in today’s ruminations…
Exodus12-14
WOW! It’s harder to think of a more distinct OT shadow of the gospel than the one we can see in these chapters. God’s people are trapped in slavery to Pharaoh and helpless to rescue themselves. God sends a messenger to his people and to Pharaoh explaining what he is about to do and then shows signs of his power and glory and judgment till finally he comes in a dreadful moment of final judgment on Egypt and her gods and, at the same time, salvation and mercy on those he has chosen.
And Israel was to rehearse the passover every year so that they would never forget. And every firstborn Son was to be redeemed – bought back – as a reminder of when the Lord brought them out of Egypt with his mighty hand: “I do this because of what the LORD did for me…”
Christians share a symbolic meal too. A tangible reminder of what God did for us in sacrificing his firstborn – Jesus – for us. The difference between the Passover meal and the Lord’s Supper is that we don’t shed any blood. This is because Jesus’ blood was the once for all sacrifice that paid for our sin and washed us clean. But there should still be a sacrifice – of a different kind: Apostle Paul says it best in Romans 12:1…
In view of God’s mercy, offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God…
God has been awesomely merciful to us! What a joy it is to know salvation through CHRIST and to offer ourselves sacrificially to his service!
May God’s mercy to you be your motivation in everything today.
Exodus 8:20 – 11:10
Well it’s the third day in Exodus. I hope that you are still cruising through. I guess the thing I have found most encouraging over the last three days is God’s faithfulness, that he is still remembering the promises but also that he is in complete control.
What ‘I am’ says, happens. The plagues and Pharaoh are under ‘I am’s’ complete control. I find it very cool that I am says back in Exodus 4:21- 23 how it’s gunna go. That he will harden Pharoah’s heart and that it will eventually get to the plague of the first born son, all before any of the plagues start.
21 The LORD said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”
For me it is very comforting to know that God is in control. And that he will keep his word. I guess the thing I need to think more about is that God didn’t spare his own son – but sent him to die on the cross for me. But that he also raised him from the dead and promises in his word that Jesus the King is coming back to judge the world.
It’s great to see God’s faithfulness and control in the OT but is it changing the way we live now. Are we ‘walking towards those outside’ (to quote Tomo)? So that they might know the sure hope that we have in Jesus.
What do ya reckon?
Exodus 1-4
A new book, and many generations have passed, but the story continues…
Under God’s hand, Israel have continued to prosper in the land of Egypt and have become a great nation. So great that the current pharaoh sees the Hebrews as an internal threat to national security. And so follows 40 years of oppression at the hands of the Egyptians until God intervenes to save them, just as Joseph had said he would.
But God’s salvation is very surprising! At first it looks like God is planting a man on the inside and this will be his means of influence. It’s a familiar story – the baby in the basket, the clever sister, the Hebrew baby raised in an Egyptian palace – but we need to see what a surprising turn it takes when Moses – God’s inside man – finds himself “an alien in a foreign land” (2:22). God never does things the way we might expect. His power is always shown best through human weakness.
And Moses knew he was weak! Have you ever heard a less reluctant messenger than this guy?! But God chooses this exiled, tongue-tied murderer to be his messenger of judgment and salvation.
I reckon I’m pretty good at making up excuses to avoid speaking God’s message of judgment and salvation… how about you?
Genesis 47:13 – 50:26
Congratulations to all those who have made it this far in their Bible-in-a year reading! You have reached the end of the beginning!
Alas, All good yarns must come to an end and the story of Joseph is no different. For me the most interesting thing about this final episode is the determination of the patriarchs to be buried in Canaan – the “promised land”. Even though they had only taken possession of one measly field, it was their home according to the promise of God. And they really trusted in that promise – listen to the words of the dying Joseph:
Then Joseph said to his brothers “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
Joseph’s trust that God will keep his promise is based on the way that God has already acted in Joseph’s life:
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Will you and I reach our “promised land”, our “heavenly home”? We will if we keep trusting in Jesus. The way God acted in his life is our guarantee.
Tomorrow: Exodus!
From now on, these daily reflections will appear first thing in the morning to enable early risers to read and contribute.
Genesis 44:1 – 47:12
One of our kids Bibles calls the story of Joseph: “The forgiving prince”. If you know the story well, it’s easy to forget what a shocking betrayal Joseph’s brothers were all party to and how amazing his forgiveness is. The brothers’ decision to sell “that dreamer” into slavery and deceive their father into thinking he was dead was one that would have implications for the rest of their lives. BUT not all of the implications would be bad! If nothing else (and there is plenty else), the whole Joseph saga teaches us that God is sovereign and no act, however despicable, is beyond his ability to use for his own good purposes.
God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance (Genesis 45:7)
At this point Joseph has to be a figure of Christ, doesn’t he? Our forgiving prince whom God sent ahead of us to preserve for himself a remnant and to save our lives by a great deliverance?
Praise God that he rules and is working out ALL things for his own glory and for the good of those who love him!
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” – but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)