Day 38

V From the Exodus to the Crossing into Canaan - 1462-1422 B.C. ~ cont.

(1462 - 982 480 years of 1 Kings 6:1)

B. Time spent at Sinai (sometimes called Horeb) ~ cont.

2. Moses goes to mount (Trip 5) ~ cont.

c. Priesthood items - Exodus 28:1 ~ cont.
Food for the priests - Exodus 29:26-37
Continual burnt offering - Exodus 29:38-46
Sabbath rest - Exodus 3:12-18
4. Returning to a sinning people
a. Golden calf - Exodus 32:1-6
b. Moses' anger, tablets broken - Exodus 32:7-29
c. Moses' plea and God's answer (trip 6) - Exodus 32:30-35
d. Temporary Tabernacle erected - Exodus 33:7-11
e. Moses communes with God - Exodus 33:12-23

{page 165-170}

And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:  (Exodus 22:7)

Moses brought them out?  His response:

And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand.  (Exodus 32:11)

God did not just bring them out...He also did it with great power and a mighty hand.  Moses continues:

Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth?  Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.  (Exodus 32:12)

Blaspheme God's name...David was rebuked for causing God's name to be blasphemed:

2Sa 12:14  Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.

God's character, who HE is, on the line. I liked Gill's commentary on the entire verse:

Wherefore should the Egyptians speak and say,.... Those that remained, as the Targum of Jonathan, who were not drowned in the Red sea: a good man will be concerned for the honour and glory of God among the enemies of his people, that their mouths may not be opened to blaspheme the Lord and speak ill of his ways, see Jos_7:9 and this is sometimes an argument with God himself, not to do that to his people they deserve, lest it should give occasion to the enemy to speak reproachfully, insult, and triumph, Deu_32:26.

for mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth; that he brought them out of Egypt, not with a good but ill design; not to bring them into the land of Canaan, as they promised themselves, but to destroy them in the mountains; not to erect them into a great kingdom and nation, which should make a considerable figure in the world, but to cut them off from being a people at all: the mountains where they now were, were Sinai and Horeb, and there might be others thereabout, among which they were encamped: the Targum of Jonathan is,"among the mountains of Tabor, and Hermon, and Sirion, and Sinai:"

turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people; not that there is any turning or shadow of turning with God, or any change of his mind, or any such passions and affections in him as here expressed; but this is said after the manner of men concerning him, when he alters the course of his dealings with men according to his unalterable will, and does not do the evil threatened by him, and which the sins of men deserve.

"A good man will be concerned about the honor and glory of God."

That is a convicting and encouraging thought.  Do I give a proper estimate of God?  Am I more concerned about His honor and glory over my wants, needs, desires, goals?  Is HIS objective mine?  When people look and/or hear me, do they see and hear a reflection of Him?

Day 32

IV From the Patriarchs to the Exodus - 1606 - 1462 B.C. ~ cont.

F. Moses, the deliverer ~ cont.

5. From Goshen to the Red Sea ~ cont.

e. Passover instructions - Exodus 13:1-19
f. From Succoth to Etham - Exodus 13:20; Numbers 33:6
g. At Etham, pillar of fire and cloud given - Exodus 13:21-22; 14:1-2
h. From Etham to Pihahiroth - Numbers 33:7
i. Pursuit of Pharaoh - Exodus 14:3-20
j. Crossing of the Red Sea - Exodus 14:21-31
~ (Possible location of Psalm 46) ~

And he (Pharaoh) took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.  (Exodus 14:7)

How many chariots? Gill:

and all the chariots of Egypt: as many as could in so short a time be got together: for the words are not to be taken in the utmost latitude, but to signify a great number, and all that could be conveniently come at: the Greek version is, "all the horse", the cavalry, which better distinguishes them from the former:

and captains over everyone of them: over everyone of the chariots, so that they must each of them have many in them, to have captains over them: and perhaps the infantry, or foot soldiers, for, quickness of expedition, were put into them; for, besides these, there were horsemen: Josephus (p) makes the whole number of his army to be 50,000 horse, and 200,000 foot, and the same number is given by a Jewish chronologer (q): but Patricides, an Arabic writer, says (r) it consisted of 600,000, and Ezekiel (s), the tragic poet, has made it amount to a million of horse and foot: should it be asked where horses could be had to draw the chariots, and horses for the horsemen after mentioned, when all were destroyed by the hail, Exo_9:25 it may be replied, that only those in the field were killed, not such as were in stables, where chariot horses and horses for war may be supposed to be: besides, as the Targum of Jonathan intimates, these might belong to these servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord, and took their cattle home, Exo_9:20.

Even if the low number is taken, that is still a lot of people!  There are numerous articles out there about the Red Sea Crossing.  I liked this graphic:

A few sites I found and have perused in the past:  The Red Sea Crossing and another one.  This is a dated article from World Net Daily.  An interesting topic to explore further!

Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.  (Exodus 14:12)

I made a note on this verse, like bondage, comfortable.  Wondering how comfortable I am with sin in my life. Bondages that I am not addressing.  Issues, items, attitudes that I am holding on to that I need to let go.  Being discontent with where or what Father is allowing in my life.  All to refine me and remove the dross from my life.  I was blessed to view this testimony and prayerfully hope it will do the same for you.

Lord, we are all in an ongoing state of sanctification, help us to see ourselves as You do, to repent where necessary, to desire to be conformed more and more into Your image.

Day 31

IV From the Patriarchs to the Exodus - 1606 - 1462 B.C. ~ cont.

F. Moses, the deliverer ~ cont.

4. The ten plagues ~ cont.

i. Darkness - Exodus 10:21-23, 24-27
j. Pharoah cancels negotiations - Exodus 10:28-29
k. Killing of the firstborn
(1) Warning - Exodus 11:1-8
(2) Pharoah's heart hardened - Exodus 11:9-10
(3) Passover instructions - Exodus 12:3-12
(4) Importance of the blood - Exodus 12:13-27
(5) Obeyed by Israel - Exodus 12:28
(6) First born killed, Passover kept - Exodus 12:29
5. From Goshen to the Red Sea
a. Egyptians demand immediate departure - Exodus 12:30-36
b. Deliverance begins - Exodus 12:40-42; Numbers 33-1-4
c. From Ramses to Succoth - Exodus 12:37; Numbers 33:5
d. At Succoth - Exodus 12:38-51

...And he (Moses) went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.  (Exodus 11:8)

A great anger, I was pondering why Moses would be in such a state.  Prior to understanding the doctrine of election, I would be frustrated (not angry) and how people could not grasp the magnitude of the sacrifice made by Christ.  Father has graciously opened my understanding and made me realize, that unless HE opens the understanding of a person, they can not grasp HIM, His mercy, truth, favor, etc. etc.  Just as Pharaoh was hardened again and again.  He could see the natural, but not the spiritual.

great - H2750 - From H2734; a burning (that is, intense) anger.

• H2734 - A primitive root (compare H2787); to glow or grow warm; figuratively (usually) to blaze up, of anger, zeal, jealousy.

H2750 is used 6 times in 6 verses - Exodus 11:8; Deuteronomy 29:24; 1 Samuel 20:34; 2 Chronicles 25:10; Isaiah 7:4; Lamentations 2:3.

1 Samuel 20:34 - So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved  for David, because his father had done him shame.

Always translated fierce or great.

anger - H639 - From H599; properly the nose or nostril; hence the face, and occasionally a person; also (from the rapid breathing in passion) ire.

• H599 - A primitive root; to breathe hard, that is, be enraged.

H639 used 276 times in 269 verses.  Wow.  The first time in:

Genesis 2:7 - And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

This is the same word which Father uses to express Himself when Moses is arguing about being HIS mouthpiece.

Exodus 4:14 - And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses...

Numbers 11:1 - And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.

Browsing through the first verse of each chapter which had H639.  Quite a few of them are similar to the one stated above.  Frightening thought.  Israel seemed to be in a continual cycle of causing the Lord's anger to kindle against them.  Then I came across this one:

1 Samuel 1:5 - But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.

I found that intriguing that the word is translated worthy ~ was it due to the passion Elkanah had for her?

In 2 Samuel 6:7 the Lord's anger is kindled against Uzzah for touching the ark.  This is a poignant reminder that Father has a set of rules.  He has stated what HE wants, likes, desires, expects and we are required to avail ourselves of learning what is most pleasing to Him.

K&D commentary:

With this announcement Moses departed from Pharaoh in great wrath. Moses' wrath was occasioned by the king's threat (Exo_10:28), and pointed to the wrath of Jehovah, which Pharaoh would soon experience. As the more than human patience which Moses had displayed towards Pharaoh manifested to him the long-suffering and patience of his God, in whose name and by whose authority he acted, so the wrath of the departing servant of God was to show to the hardened king, that the time of grace was at an end, and the wrath of God was about to burst upon him.

Day 28

IV From the Patriarchs to the Exodus - 1606 - 1462 B.C.

A. Population grows exceedingly - Genesis 47:27; Exodus 1:7

Egypt is the world power - C 1600 - 1200 B.C.

1. Birth of Tahan (Ephraim to Joshua lineage)
2. Birth of Jochebed
3. Death of Levi (137 years)
B. Egyptian bondage and oppression increases - Exodus 1:8-14
C. Various biographical happenings - 1. Birth of Laadan (Ephraim to Joshua lineage)
2. Birth of Amminadad (38th gen)
3. Moses' parents marriage - Numbers 26:59; Exodus 6:20
4. Growth of Israelites - Exodus 1:15-20
5. Death of Kohath (133 years) (son of Levi)
6. Birth of Ammihud (Ephraim to Joshua lineage)
D. Moses' early days
1. Birth of Miriam
2. Birth of Aaron - 1 Chronicles 23:13
3. Baby boys' death decree enforced - Exodus 1:21-22
4. Birth of Moses (hidden Mar-May 1543) - Exodus 2:1-4
5. Discovered by royalty - Exodus 2;5-9
6. Childhood in palace - Exodus 2:10
7. Birth of Elishama (Joshua's grandfather)
8. Birth of Nahshon (37th gen)
9. Aaron's family - Exodus 6:23; Numbers 26:60; 1 Chronicles 6:49
10. Birth of Non (Joshua's father)
11. Moses slays Egyptian - Exodus 2:11-15
12. Enslavement - Exodus 2:23-25
13. Moses Flees to Midian - Exodus 2:16-20
14. Moses marries Zipporah - Exodus 2:21-22
15. Birth of Caleb (Joshe 14;7)
16. Sons of Moses - 1 Chronicles 23:14-15
17. Birth of Eleazar (Aaron's son)
18. Death of Amram (Moses' father) (137 years)
19. Birth of Joshua
20. Birth of Phinehas - Exodus 6:25
E. Moses' commission
1. Burning bush call - Exodus 3:1-22

You aren't really expecting me to type in anything else as this point, right?

A few brief highlights - in Exodus 1 there is concern about the children of Israel becoming mightier...I found this interesting because...the majority of the people were not mixed with the Egyptians.  They had kept themselves separate.

Wondered what the name Jochebed (Moses' mama) means:

H3115 - From H3068 contracted and H3513; Jehovah-gloried; Jokebed, the mother of Moses.

Wondered when Pharaoh 'charged his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.' did he mean all the people or just the people of Israel?

Gill to the rescue:

saying, every son that is born ye shall cast into the river; the river Nile; not every son born in his kingdom, for this would have ruined it in time; but that was born to the Jews, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan; and it is added in the Septuagint version, to the Hebrews:

Wondered how long Jochebed was able to nurse Moses before she had to hand him over.  I am amazed at some of the rabbit trails I follow to find answers to my questions.  It would seem that between 2 to 3 years of age a child was weaned in the mid-east cultures.

Day 315

XVII The Ministries of Paul and Peter ~ cont.

A. First records the early church at Jerusalem ~ cont.

3. Power and persecution of early church ~ cont.

g. Stephen's life and death - Acts 6:8-15; 7:1-60; 8:1-4
h. Ministry of Philip - Acts 8:5-40


Stephen - ahhh, as I have a son named Stephen (specifically because of this passage) this is another favorite portion of Scripture for me.  :-)


He was full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.  The wisdom and spirit in which he spoke could not be resisted.


Men of the synagogue who were Libertines, Cyrenians, Alexandrians and those of Cilicia and Asia disputed with him.  Suborned (to throw in stealthily, that is, introduce by collusion) men which said that Stephen had blashphemed against Moses and God; the holy place and the law; that Jesus of Nazareth would destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered.


As they looked upon his face, as it had been the face of an angel as he spoke.  I wonder if this how the Israelites perceived Moses when he'd been the presence of God and had to veil his face?


Stephen recounts the history from Abraham to Jesus - reminding them of how they served the false gods of Moloch and Remphan.


And this is where I got stuck...I should know by now that a simple look it up will not suffice.  :-)


What does Moloch and Remphan mean?  A quick google search - grab an overview of those pagan gods and zip right along.  Right?  Wrong.  I got completely blown out of the water.  Frankly, I was so discombobulated by what I initially read, I was ill.


The first page I came to made me dig deeper.  Surely, thought I, the information is wrong - this is just one person's perspective.


I have had reservations about the 6 sided 'star of David,' nothing severe, just a inner 'its not right' - 6 is the number for man.  Now I know why 'it' did not set right within me.  At this juncture, I have been all over trying to verify the initial information or disprove it.  Disprove it I can not.


According to what I have found thus far - the 'star of David' came into being not with David, but with Solomon.  Specifically when the foreign wives turned his heart away. 1Kings 11:4-11 states that he went after Ashtoreth, Milcom, Chemosh, Molech.


All I could think about after reading and researching was, I wonder if this is how someone feels when they find out that all of the 'Christian' holidays are pagan in origin.


The symbol used by the Nation of Israel is a hexagram - now I knew it was 6 pointed - that was obvious.  I knew that the occult symbol was 6 pointed.  I NEVER equated them as being the same.


It has taken me days to work my way through what I have read and researched, to absorb and be able to complete this post.  Tickling my mind over and over again was the thought, Father never told Israel to have a national flag.  Standards were raised for each tribe according to their father's house when they came out of Egypt - and Father is pretty explicit on how to build a tabernacle, where everyone is supposed to be, the type of materials to use, how to make them, where to place, etc.  Had HE a national flag for Israel, He would have made it known.


I think the majority of my perplexity comes in complete wonderment at having blindly accepted something as 'true' when there is nothing Scriptural about it.  This will make me think long and hard about other areas of the Christian life, and about Israel that I currently take at face value, or have just 'accepted' as being true.  Anything we know or do should be based upon the Bible - not what someone thinks, or that is how it has always been done, or we've always done it this way, my (fill in the blank) always did it this way.  What harm does it do?  What's wrong with it?


The real question we ought to ask ourselves is what is RIGHT with it?  How does anything we are thinking, feeling, acting, etc. measure up to the plumb line of the Word?


One of the websites I visited had this:


When believers 'don't care' about the origin and occultic practices that they participate in (i.e. Sunday, Easter and Christmas, etc.), or the wearing of occultic objects (the cross, the fish, and the Star of David), it tells me that their flesh is overruling the Spirit. IEUEsho said, 'But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the Truth...' (John 16:13).


I haven't researched the comment about the cross and fish being lifted from the occult - yet.

For the inquiring mind - this is the first site I came across Star of David? as I searched for the word Moloch.  I launched further, finding this site Star of David Pagan?, and this about the Six Pointed Star, and this site 666 - Star of David (which I found interesting as the author states he set out to PROVE that the star was legit).

I found one site which put a positive spin on it Origin of the Star of David, which came across pretty lamely in defending the position for the 6 sided star (my opinion).

I have not vetted these sites, it is the readers responsibility to review, analyze, research and discern.  God forbid that we should allow the traditions of man to rule.

I will leave you with:

Isa 55:8-9  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.