{"id":19504,"date":"2021-12-28T22:00:27","date_gmt":"2021-12-29T05:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/exodus-12_15-30-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-12-25T02:15:57","modified_gmt":"2021-12-25T09:15:57","slug":"exodus-12_31-42","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/exodus-12_31-42\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m Not Ready, But Let\u2019s Go"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exodus 12:31-42\u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Exodus 12:31-42.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Exodus 12:31-32 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the\u00a0LORD\u00a0as you have requested.
\n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 31-32:\u00a0\u00a0Pharaoh kept playing games with God and lost.\u00a0\u00a0He lost his firstborn son.\u00a0\u00a0He lost his pride.\u00a0\u00a0Coming to an end to himself, at least for a moment, Pharaoh finally gives Moses and Aaron the go ahead to take the Israelites and their flocks and herds and leave Egypt as they had requested all along.\u00a0\u00a0Then Pharaoh also says a startling thing: \u201cAnd also bless me\u201d (v32).\u00a0\u00a0The last time the Bible recorded an Israelite blessing Pharaoh, it was 430 years earlier in Genesis 47:7, 10 when Jacob (Israel himself) blessed Pharaoh.\u00a0\u00a0This was a generation before the enslavement of the Israelites had started in Egypt.\u00a0\u00a0Now that the enslavement of the Israelites in Egypt has officially and suddenly ended, Pharaoh asks Moses to bless him.<\/p>\n

Why did Pharaoh ask Moses to bless him?\u00a0\u00a0Probably because he finally acknowledged that God was with Moses and that Pharaoh needed the Lord\u2019s mercy and grace at least in some way.\u00a0\u00a0This is Pharaoh at his most humble and most humbled point in the story of Exodus.\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s when we are humble, or humbled, that we begin to be open to God working in our lives.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exodus 12:33-34 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. “For otherwise,” they said, “we will all die!”
\n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 33-34:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Not only did Pharaoh tell the Israelites to go, but the Egyptians also urge the Israelites to leave as well.\u00a0\u00a0The Egyptians are motivated by a fear of seeing more lives lost: \u201cFor otherwise, we will all die!\u201d (v33).\u00a0\u00a0Before fear caused Pharaoh to turn the Israelites into slaves.\u00a0\u00a0Now fear was causing the Egyptians to send the Israelites away.<\/p>\n

In the rush of leaving Egypt the Israelites do not have time to add yeast to their dough, so they just take their unleavened dough and carry it with them in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing (v34).\u00a0\u00a0We\u2019ll unpack this more in verse 39.<\/p>\n

Exodus 12:35-36 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n35\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing.
\n36\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 35-36:\u00a0\u00a0Earlier in Exodus 11:2-3 God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites to ask their Egyptian neighbours for silver and gold (see Exodus 11:2-3).\u00a0\u00a0As the Egyptians are urging the Israelites to leave, I could imagine the conversation between an Egyptian and an Israelite go like this:<\/p>\n

Egyptian: \u201cPlease, go.\u00a0\u00a0Leave us.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t let anything else bad happen us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israelite:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cBut we don\u2019t have any money.\u00a0\u00a0We\u2019re slaves remember?\u00a0\u00a0How can we survive out there?\u00a0\u00a0We have no money, no clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Egyptian (handing the Israelite bags of silver and gold and any other silver and gold articles as well as various clothes they have in the home):\u00a0\u00a0\u201cHere.\u00a0\u00a0Take this.\u00a0\u00a0Take all of this.\u00a0\u00a0And don\u2019t come back.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But please pray to your God that nothing bad will happen to us going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israelite:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without raising a single weapon, the Israelites plundered the Egyptians, leaving Egypt with much of the Egyptians\u2019 wealth.\u00a0\u00a0God\u2019s ways are amazing.\u00a0\u00a0In this case God did all the work and all the fighting for the Israelites.\u00a0\u00a0All the Israelites had to do was trust God to do it.<\/p>\n

Similarly, when it comes to our own salvation (being saved from our sins) as well as our inheritance in heaven, it\u2019s not about how we must work and fight to earn it.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s simply trusting that God has done all the work for us through Jesus Christ\u2019s death on the cross and His subsequent resurrection.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exodus 12:37 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n37\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 37:\u00a0\u00a0With about 600,000 men leaving on foot, some surmise that there may have been as many as 2 million Israelites who left Egypt that day.\u00a0\u00a0The New American Commentary has an alternative take on this, suggesting that the Hebrew word \u201celeph\u201d, which is translated in the NIV as \u201cthousand\u201d, is better translated \u201cplatoon\u201d, i.e. 600 platoons of foot soldiers, and based on this the editors of the New American Commentary argue that the number of Israelites who left Egypt was not in the millions but more in the tens of thousands (Stuart, Douglas K.\u00a0New American Commentary \u2013 Volume 2: Exodus<\/em>. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2006. WORDsearch<\/em>\u00a0CROSS e-book).\u00a0\u00a0In any event, whether it was tens of thousands or 2 million, it would certainly be a mass exodus.<\/p>\n

Exodus 12:38 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n38\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Many other people went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 38:\u00a0\u00a0Last Sunday at Thrive Church Online I shared a message called \u201cToo Much to Pass Over: Understanding Passover\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0In that message I talked about verse 38, how verse 38 suggests to me that over the course of the first 9 plagues, the softer hearted among the non-Israelite Egyptians began turning to the Lord, such that when the Israelites left Egypt, they decided to leave with the Israelites as well.\u00a0\u00a0If other groups in Egypt were being oppressed or were simply tired of life under Pharaoh, they would have been inclined to leave too, having seen the way the Lord favoured the Israelites.\u00a0\u00a0It goes to show that\u00a0the Lord is not just for one nation or one group, but for every nation, every race, every colour, every people group.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exodus 12:39 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n39\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0With the dough they had brought from Egypt, they baked cakes of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 39:\u00a0\u00a0Just as the Israelites did not have time to prepare food for themselves before they left Egypt,\u00a0when it comes to major life decisions I find that following God\u2019s leading often means that you step forward even when you don\u2019t have everything all prepared the way you like.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s about going in faith and trusting that God will provide in His time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exodus 12:40-41 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n40\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years.
\n41\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the\u00a0LORD’s divisions left Egypt.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 40-41:\u00a0\u00a0Over 500 years before this, long before Israel was even born, God promised Abraham that his descendants would be strangers in a country not their own and that they would be enslaved and mistreated 400 years, but that God would punish the nation they served as slaves and afterward they would come out with great riches (Genesis 15:13-14).\u00a0\u00a0Here we see God fulfilling His promises.\u00a0\u00a0Once again,\u00a0God is faithful to His promises.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also, notice the word that verse 41 uses to describe Israel.\u00a0\u00a0Verse 41 calls them \u201cthe LORD\u2019s divisions\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s a military term, and God uses it repeatedly in Exodus (Exodus 6:26; 7:4; 12:17).\u00a0\u00a0These were slaves but God calls them an army.\u00a0\u00a0This speaks to God\u2019s visionary way of thinking and speaking.\u00a0\u00a0God calls His people what they are not until they actually become it<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Exodus 12:42 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n42\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Because the\u00a0LORD\u00a0kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the\u00a0LORD\u00a0for the generations to come.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 42:\u00a0\u00a0To keep vigil means to watch over something during the night.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s beautiful image of the Lord watching over the Israelites all throughout the night as they left Egypt.\u00a0\u00a0As a way to commemorate how the Lord watched over the Israelites that historic night, future Israelites were expected to \u201ckeep vigil\u201d, that is, to stay up and watch the Lord in the coming generations.\u00a0\u00a0Thus some churches will occasionally hold a \u201cwatch night\u201d, a time of worship and praise late into the night.<\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, thank You for so many lessons we can learn from this passage.\u00a0\u00a0Since humility is the first step to seeing You work in our lives, I pray I would go about this day with a humble heart.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You for calling us Your army, even when all we knew before we knew You was how to be slaves.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You for keeping vigil and watching over us every day.\u00a0\u00a0May my eyes be open and my mind alert watching for what You\u2019re doing.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Exodus 12:31-42.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Exodus 12:31-32 (NIV)
\n31\u00a0\u00a0During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the\u00a0LORD\u00a0as you have requested.
\n32\u00a0\u00a0Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.”<\/p>\n

On verses 31-32:\u00a0\u00a0Pharaoh kept playing games with God and lost.\u00a0\u00a0He lost his firstborn son.\u00a0\u00a0He lost his pride.\u00a0\u00a0Coming to an end to himself, at least for a moment, Pharaoh finally gives Moses and Aaron the go ahead to take the Israelites and their flocks and herds and leave Egypt as they had requested all along.\u00a0\u00a0Then Pharaoh also says a startling thing: \u201cAnd also bless me\u201d (v32).\u00a0\u00a0The last time the Bible recorded an Israelite blessing Pharaoh, it was 430 years earlier in Genesis 47:7, 10 when Jacob (Israel himself) blessed Pharaoh.\u00a0\u00a0This was a generation before the enslavement of the Israelites had started in Egypt.\u00a0\u00a0Now that the enslavement of the Israelites in Egypt has officially and suddenly ended, Pharaoh asks Moses to bless him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why did Pharaoh ask Moses to bless him?\u00a0\u00a0Probably because he finally acknowledged that God was with Moses and that Pharaoh needed the Lord\u2019s mercy and grace at least in some way.\u00a0\u00a0This is Pharaoh at his most humble and most humbled point in the story of Exodus.\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s when we are humble, or humbled, that we begin to be open to God working in our lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19507,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19504"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19505,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19504\/revisions\/19505"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}