How Can I Make the Journey Easier? (Part 2)

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Editor’s Note: We continue our series of blogs for those who are reading the Bible with us cover-to-cover this year. Interspersed with our thoughts on our daily reading, we want to provide some tips about reading the Bible in general. Today we want to continue our exploration of how we can make the journey through the Bible from cover-to-cover easier.

We are talking about the eight key factors can make our journey through the Bible much easier. Our journey will become easier when we consider:

Our Plan

Going to Hawaii became a huge task. When we contacted the first travel agent, she asked us, “Have you ever been?” When we told her this was our first trip, she told us, “Oh, you must see such and such and such [so much, too much!] while your are there!”

Our travel agent made a fatal mistake right away, one that is common with everyone who travels. They try to see too much and do too much! Had she asked us why we were going, she could have helped us by planning a better trip. Consequently, we did not book with her. Had we, our compelling why would not have occurred, and we would have had a miserable trip!

Have you considered a simple plan to accomplish your goals for this journey through the Bible that is ‘experience appropriate?’ This is a critical question, one that we have already helped you with by limiting the number of goals you have set. Now we will do that again by helping you achieve those goals.

Clarifying Question

  • In order to achieve each of these goals, what will I have to look for while I travel through the Bible? This is your “how.” These are your intermediate steps. They are the more manageable pieces or projects that will break down the somewhat daunting task of journeying through your Bible. For each of the two or three major goals you have written above, take a moment now and write one or two projects to accomplish each goal.

An Example:

You can use this format as an example.

“When I am finished journeying through the Bible, I want to:

(1)  Understand Who God Claims To Be.

Project One: Record what He says about Himself in a notebook or on my computer on a spreadsheet or word processing file as I read each day.

Project Two: Organize those records of what He says about Himself in a in a topical manner for later reference.

Easy-Pleasing Exercise

Now it’s your turn! Take a few minutes this week and record your projects.

“When I am finished journeying through the Bible, I want to:

(1)  ____________________________________________________.

Project One: _____________________________________________

Project Two: _____________________________________________

(2)  ____________________________________________________.

Project One: _____________________________________________

Project Two: _____________________________________________

(3)  ____________________________________________________.

Project One: _____________________________________________

Project Two: _____________________________________________

I can’t over emphasize the importance of this exercise! Without it, your journey will be both difficult and pointless! It is just like when you buy a new car and you begin to notice all the other cars like yours on the road. So too, when you are looking for something that is important to you, you are going to see it when you come upon it in the Bible!

This is the major reason most people get little of nothing out of their journey through the Bible! Since they are not LOOKING for anything, they are not FINDING anything!

Our Budget

Since Melodee and I are not “independently wealthy,” the trip to Hawaii had to take into account some of our financial restrictions. This would have to do with cost of airfare, hotels, rental cars, meals and sightseeing. Knowing our limitations before we went helped us adjust our plans and seek creative alternatives for “must see” items.

Although we will ask you to be sure to obtain certain things that will have some financial cost, the main item in Your Travel Guide to the Bible that must be budgeted is not money; it is TIME! We can say with absolute certainty that each and every one of us have only 24 hours in a day, and only seven days in a week. How we budget our time will make all the difference as we journey through the Bible!

Pareto and Your Journey

When we realize our time is limited, we are required to budget it accordingly. One of the reasons we have asked you to work through the Easy-Pleasing Exercise above is that we understand time well.  Have you heard of the Pareto principle (otherwise known as the 80/20 principle)? Perhaps you use it every day in your life and business, but haven’t considered using it in your travels through the Bible.

Let me explain the principle for those who are not yet familiar with it.

Pareto principle: 20 percent of your priorities will give you 80 percent of your production, if you spend your time, energy, money, and personnel on the top 20 percent of your priorities.

In other words, the top 20 percent of your priorities in your travels through your Bible will give you 80 percent of your satisfaction and enjoyment, if you will spend your time, energy, money, and personnel on the top 20 percent of your priorities.

So, when traveling through your Bible, you will need to focus upon your goals and your projects every day. Pour yourself into those goals and projects that you have written down above as most important – THEY WILL BRING YOU THE MOST MEANING AND FULFILLMENT!

Don’t get caught off on rabbit trails! If something looks interesting, but you don’t have time for it, write yourself a note under a category: “Interesting things to check out later!”

Daily Time On The Journey

Plan your life at New Year’s, your day at dawn.
–   Japanese proverb

Let’s look at one last area when it comes to budgeting our time. Earl Nightingale has been attributed with the statement that if one would spend one hour per day in consistent study upon a certain topic, after five years that person would be an expert.

Perhaps you don’t want to be an “expert,” on the Bible. Yet Nightingale’s statement explains a valuable issue to understanding as we travel through our Bible. If we will set aside time daily, whether 15, 30, 45 minutes or even that hour, we will be far ahead in achieving our goals, and ultimately our compelling why. In lesson 18 we will provide some plans as to reading the Bible and this issue of budgeting our time to accomplish it. Simply making the commitment to a daily exploration, away from the busy-ness of life, will yield high benefits in your travels through the Bible.

It is our hope that this background information helps a bit as you read on in the Bible. We will continue this series with our next installment: “How Can I Make the Journey Easier? (Part 3)” on Friday.

For daily insights into the passage we are reading together each day, you can follow Dr. Smith on Twitter and on Facebook.

You can obtain more help from the FREE Bible reading schedule on our resource page. In His Image is a daily devotional that also follows our reading schedule and expresses the Biblical truth: “God Created You to Love You.” You can find this resource on the side bar of our website.

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How Can I Make the Journey Easier?

Posted on January 25, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith


Editor’s Note: We continue our series of blogs for those who are reading the Bible with us cover-to-cover this year. Interspersed with our thoughts on our daily reading, we want to provide some tips about reading the Bible in general. Today we want to explore how we can make the journey through the Bible from cover-to-cover easier.

A good beginning is half the battle.
–   Portuguese Proverb
Get good counsel before you begin; and when you have decided, act promptly.
–   Salhurst
Always have a plan, and believe in it. Nothing good happens by accident.
–   Chuck Knox

Making our journey all the way through the Bible is what this book is all about. And to do so, we want to find the keys that will make the trip much less difficult and much more enjoyable. Like on any trip, several key factors can change the future trip. Don’t forget Chuck Knox quote above, Nothing good happens by accident!”

Eight key factors can make our journey through the Bible much easier. Our journey will become easier when we consider:

  • Our destination – where are we attempting to journey to?
  • Our purpose – why are we making this journey in the first place?
  • Our plan – have we considered a simple plan to accomplish our goals for this journey that is ‘experience appropriate?’
  • Our budget – knowing our limitations in the area of finances before we go can help us adjust our plans and seek creative alternatives for “must see” items.
  • Our maps – having detailed maps make our journeys so much more enjoyable.
  • Our research – knowing before you travel helps you see more of the not-so-well-known but more-personally-interesting items that our journey has to offer.
  • Our travel companion – a good friend to travel with makes the journey so much more enjoyable.
  • Our guide – finding a great guide, one who understands the local perspective well, reaps untold rewards that guidebooks can never provide the first time traveler!

So let’s begin!

Our Destination

Where are we attempting to go? When Melodee and I first spoke about going to Hawaii with others, people began to ask us, “Which Island?” To be honest, we had never seriously thought about it, since we had never seriously believed we could go! As we explored the possibilities, we realized that traveling to the different islands of Hawaii was like traveling to different countries.

In Your Travel Guide to the Bible, we want to answer the most basic question, “Where do I want to go, as I journey through the Bible?” How do I discover that?

Clarifying Question

  • Why did I pick up the Bible? This is your compelling “why.” Write it out again here:

________________________________________________

Our Purpose

I am appalled at the aimlessness of most people’s lives. Fifty percent don’t pay any attention to where they are going; forty percent are undecided and will go in any direction. Only ten percent know what they want, and even all of them don’t go toward it.

–   Katherine Anne Porter[1]

Pulitzer Prize-winning author

Why are we making this journey in the first place? Our purpose gives us our goals! Our compelling why then allows us to produce the “what” and thus, we achieve our compelling why!

Melodee and I began to review our compelling why in order to determine what we wanted to do while we were there:

“We want to go to Hawaii to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary in a romantic setting, where we can leisurely enjoy both each other and our surrounding without a schedule.”

When we reviewed our compelling why, it quickly helped us write out our most important what. The key words in our compelling why actually produced our what. Notice these words in our compelling why: Celebrate, romantic setting, leisurely, without a schedule.”

With a good understanding of the why, you can then clarify the what using the following question:

Clarifying Question

  • What do I want to get out of this journey? This is your “what” These are your ultimate goals. Again, you will need to write it down.

Easy-Pleasing Exercise

Take a few minutes right now. Write out the two or three main goals you want to achieve, as a result of your journey! You can write them in the following format:

“When I am finished journeying through the Bible, I want to:

(1) ____________________________________________________.

(2) ____________________________________________________.

(3) ____________________________________________________.

It is our hope that this background information helps a bit as you read on in the Bible. We will continue this series with our next installment: “How Can I Make the Journey Easier? Part 2”  on Thursday.

For daily insights into the passage we are reading together each day, you can follow Dr. Smith on Twitter and on Facebook.

You can obtain more help from the FREE Bible reading schedule on our resource page. In His Image is a daily devotional that also follows our reading schedule and expresses the Biblical truth: “God Created You to Love You.” You can find this resource on the side bar of our website.

[1] Maxwell, John C. The Success Journey. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers. 1997. 77.

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Israel's National Laws Handed Down To A People In Formation

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Editor’s Note: We continue our series of blogs for those who are reading the Bible with us cover-to-cover this year. Interspersed with our thoughts on our daily reading, we want to provide some tips about reading the Bible in general. Today we want to explore …

National Laws Handed Down To A People In Formation

(Exodus 19-40)

In this final section in the book of Exodus, Moses receives the Law of God on the mountain of Sinai. While there he receives:

  • The Ten Commandments, which possess the core of the heart of God for his people’s daily moral and spiritual life. (Exodus 20)
  • The laws concerning daily life and justice for the nation of Israel. (Exodus 21-24)
  • The instructions for the construction of the tent of meeting, sometimes called the Tabernacle, which is the center of worship and sacrifice to the God of the universe. (Exodus 25-40)

In our next section, we will discover the book of worship, and the book of failure as we conclude our study.

It is our hope that this background information helps a bit as you read on in the Bible. We will continue this series with our next installment: “How Can I Make the Journey Easier?” on Tuesday.

For daily insights into the passage we are reading together each day, you can follow Dr. Smith on Twitter and on Facebook.

You can obtain more help from the FREE Bible reading schedule on our resource page. In His Image is a daily devotional that also follows our reading schedule and expresses the Biblical truth: “God Created You to Love You.” You can find this resource on the side bar of our website.

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Exodus: The Red Sea and Manna

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Editor’s Note: We continue our series of blogs for those who are reading the Bible with us cover-to-cover this year. Interspersed with our thoughts on our daily reading, we want to provide some tips about reading the Bible in general. Today we want to move on and see how the …

Red Sea Closes Over A Stubborn Pharaoh’s Armies

(Exodus 13.17 – 15.21)

Pharaoh is not long to realize the terrible mistake he has made. Life comes to a screeching halt since there are no longer any servants to wait upon the Egyptians, and they are forced to do everything from public works to their private laundry! This becomes unacceptable as the enormities of this decision’s implications are felt.

Pharaoh decides to retrieve the Israelites. However, in a series of miraculous events at the Red Sea, God again rescues the Israelites. Notice specifically:

  • The provision of the pillar of cloud to lead them during the day, and the pillar of fire to give them light at night. (Exodus 13.21) This could easily of covered them from the intensity of the sun in the daytime and provided much need light at night.
  • The intervention between the oncoming chariots of Pharaoh and the Red Sea escape route. (Exodus 13.19-20) This provides time to escape.
  • The supernatural opening of the Red Sea so that the children of Israel could pass over on dry ground to the Sinai Peninsula. (Exodus 13. 21-22) This is amazing – the ground is dry, despite the muddy conditions that should have been there!
  • The drowning of the Egyptian army by the returning of the Red Sea to its natural state. (Exodus 13.23-31) Often skeptics say that the Israelites traveled across in just a few inches of water. Amazingly the same water that they walked in drowned the most powerful army in the world at the time. Yes, the water they crossed through was deep and yes, it was enough to drown Egypt’s army.

The nation rejoiced and Moses wrote a song to commemorate the day. (Exodus 15.1-21)

Daily Bread Delivered Around A Victorious Israel In The Wilderness (Exodus 15.22 – 16.22)

No sooner had the nation been delivered, but they began to complain about their need for food and water. After all, they were in a desert wilderness! One atlas[1] describes it this way:

The traditional route of the Exodus, favored by many scholars, goes south-southeast along the way that leads to the old Egyptian turquoise and copper mines in western Sinai. After making their getaway … the Hebrews traveled south through the wilderness of Shur. In three days they came to the oasis of Marah, which means “bitter” – and indeed of water there proved unfit for drinking.

As they plunged ever deeper into the arid, mountainous Sinai, the land became more desolate and barren. Fantastic rock formations rose everywhere above narrow, twisting valleys. The steep mountains, first red and brown sandstone and then bronze-red granite, terrifying yet beautiful in a heat of the day, stood silent watch as the straggling band of men, women, and children made its way across the boulder-strewn sand.  Occasional stands of scrub brush, and here and there a tamarisk tree or an acacia, marked the landscape.  For the most part, water was scarce.  Soon, however, food began to run out, and the disgruntled people remembered the lush fields of Egypt, once so hateful to them but now the object of bitter longing.  Even the harsh days of bondage looked good  compared with their miserable present and uncertain future.

These circumstances turned the children of Israel against Moses and Aaron. So Moses cries out to God and God provides manna.

The children of Israel ate manna for the entire forty years they spent in the wilderness, (Exodus 16.35), God providing for them the entire time! Manna means, “What is it?” in Hebrew. Manna is described as:

Numbers 11:7-9

Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium. The people went about and gathered it, ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil. And when the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell on it.

It is our hope that this background information helps a bit as you read on in the Bible. We will continue this series with our next installment: “National Laws of Israel” on Sunday.

You can obtain more help from the FREE Bible reading schedule on our resource page. In His Image is a daily devotional that also follows our reading schedule and expresses the Biblical truth: “God Created You to Love You.” You can find this resource on the side bar of our website.

[1] Reader’s Digest Atlas of the Bible. Pleasantville, NY: The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.1983.67-68.

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The Difficulty of Knowing God

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Editor’s Note: We continue our series of blogs for those who are reading the Bible with us cover-to-cover this year. Interspersed with our thoughts on our daily reading, we want to provide some tips about reading the Bible in general. Today we want to explore …

The Difficulty of Knowing God

There is one more reason why the journey is so difficult. That reason is the difficulty of knowing God. We will discover that the purpose of the Bible is so that we can know God. But think for just a moment about how difficult this is. Examine with me for just a moment three reasons why knowing God is difficult.

God Is Invisible!

First, God is invisible.  To know him, one must first accept the reality that he exists, even though you cannot see him. Since he does not have a physical body, and the Bible says that he is spirit, getting to know him is difficult to best.

Be assured that if God had not left specific instructions on how to know him, it would be an impossible task.

God Is Supernatural!

Another reason why knowing God is difficult lies in the reality that he is supernatural.  We, by nature, are natural – not supernatural.  Although we are spiritual, we do not possess the elements necessary to transcend time or space.

If we are to know God then we will need to work through our spiritual side and not our natural side alone.  The supernatural aspect of God is one of the most exciting and rewarding parts of this journey. Along the way we will develop road signs, pointing us in the right direction in developing a walk with God.

God Is Selective In Revealing Himself!

The last area we want to consider in this difficulty of knowing God is how God explains who he is.  As we journey through the Bible, we will see that he has not left us without information.  On the contrary, he has given us a great deal of information about himself.  That information is scattered across many different, individual encounters that he has had with the many different people.

It is our place to learn from their experiences. As we read and take notes from the travels of others with the God of the Bible, we learn what he likes, what he dislikes, what he rewards, and whom he works against.  As we pay attention, like in any other relationship, we are provided the clues to develop a deeper, more profitable relationship with God.

It is our hope that this background information helps a bit as you read on in the Bible. We will continue this series with our next installment: “The Parting of the Red Sea and Manna” on Friday.

You can obtain more help from the FREE Bible reading schedule on our resource page. In His Image is a daily devotional that also follows our reading schedule and expresses the Biblical truth: “God Created You to Love You.” You can find this resource on the side bar of our website.

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The Ten Plagues

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Editor’s Note: We continue our series of blogs for those who are reading the Bible with us cover-to-cover this year. Interspersed with our thoughts on our daily reading, we want to provide some tips about reading the Bible in general. Today we want to move on and see how  …

God Delivers Israel Through His Miraculous Power

(Exodus 5-40)

We will now see the formation of almost everything the true, avid traveler of the Bible needs to know in order to understand God’s work with the people of Israel. Much of God’s work today with the people who call Jesus Christ their Savior and Lord finds its basis in this section of the journey. As we travel out of Egypt and are instructed by God in the ways to run the nation of Israel we begin to understand the rich meaning to much of the message of the New Testament. This section reveals the heart of God. As He speaks and as He acts, be sure to watch Him at work. Attempt to understand both what He is saying or doing and why He is saying or doing it.

Ten Plagues Fall Upon An Unyielding Pharaoh’s Egypt

(Exodus 5.1 – 13.16)

We see Moses deliver the simple message of God to Pharaoh in one of the most famous sections in the Old Testament:

Exodus 5:1

Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.'”

Pharaoh arrogantly refuses this initial request, and sets up a demonstration of who is truly in control of Egypt, the Earth, and the universe for that matter! However, after the seventh plague, Pharaoh’s advisers beg him to comply, stating flatly that he can no longer continue the charade that he is in charge:

Exodus 10:7

Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?”

Although Pharaoh initially seems to comply, he then changes his mind and is lead to certain destruction because of his stubborn resistance to the God of Heaven. While you read through this section, you will note the following plagues:

  • The First Plague: All the water in ponds, streams and the River Nile became blood. (Exodus 7.14-25)
  • The Second Plague: Frogs from the Nile River that infested every part of the Egyptians living quarters from kitchen to bedroom. (Exodus 8.1-15)
  • The Third Plague: Lice. (Exodus 8.16-19)
  • The Fourth Plague: Swarm of Flies upon only the Egyptians. (Exodus 8.20-32)
  • The Fifth Plague: Disease that brings the death of all Egyptian livestock. (Exodus 9.1-7)
  • The Sixth Plague: boils upon all Egyptians. (Exodus 9.8-12)
  • The Seventh Plague: Hail, mingled with fire from the sky devastated the crops that were already sprouted in the fields. (Exodus 9.13-35)
  • The Eighth Plague: Locusts that swarm over the barren Egyptian landscape eating what little remains of the foliage. (Exodus 10.1-20)
  • The Ninth Plague: Darkness engulfs the land of Egypt for three day, yet the community of the Israelites has regular daylight and is not affected. (Exodus 10.21-29)
  • The Tenth and Final Plague: Death of the firstborn children of the Egyptians and the Passover of the obedient Israelites by the death angel. (Exodus 11.1 – 12.43)

Passover becomes the most sacred event in the Jewish calendar because of its significance! It is to be celebrated every year as the first of the annual feasts. (Exodus 12.14-20; 23.14-19) Later, in the New Testament this feast will become the focus of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice as the Passover Lamb, slain for the sins of the world, not just for Israel. We will talk more about that when we get to the New Testament Island of our travels.

At this point, Pharaoh concedes and allows the children of Israel to leave. God had prepared them for this moment by instructing Moses on what to do when they were allowed to leave. He said,

Exodus 11:1-2

And the LORD said to Moses, “I will bring yet one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether. Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold.”

The children of Israel complied with this instruction:

Exodus 12:35-36

Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

This action remunerated the Hebrew slaves for their years of work without pay and allowed them to leave Israel both strong from the physical labor and financially well off from this “plundering” of the Egyptians.

It is our hope that this background information helps a bit as you read on in the Bible. We will continue this series with our next installment: “The Difficulty of Knowing God” on Thursday.

You can obtain more help from the FREE Bible reading schedule on our resource page. In His Image is a daily devotional that also follows our reading schedule and expresses the Biblical truth: “God Created You to Love You.” You can find this resource on the side bar of our website.

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Leading the Flock!

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Executive Director of EaglesInLeadership.org

Author of “Growing Missional Leaders”

“Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers?” (Numbers 11:11–12, ESV)

Ask any leader with some experience and they will tell you, leading can be difficult! People – you expect them to be more like Christ and less like the world. After all, this is the Church of the Living God. Shouldn’t the people we serve act like Jesus?

The truth is, there are many different kinds of people in your flock. Some are helpful, others, not so much. Let’s take a look at a few:

5 to Avoid if Possible

  • The whiner – Every call for commitment from the leader is met with some complaint or excuse.
  • The whisperer – Behind your back they complain using character assassination and thus destroy the unity of the flock.
  • The wait – er – Only when they see you succeeding will they join in, and then make it sound like they were with you all the time.
  • The wiggler – While they might accept a responsibility if asked directly, these folks always have some last minute conflict that allows them out of their promise to help.
  • The wanderer – You will see these people once and then they will be missing for a while because they drift around from ministry to ministry as they sample the wares of others, much like a buffet.

5 to Draw Close

  • The winner – You will find these people seldom, if ever, let you down. They sacrifice and make things happen. They can be counted on time and time again.
  • The wonder – These are the people who go the ‘extra mile’ and recruit others to your cause. You wish you had dozens of these, but you will be pleased to have even a few.
  • The warrior – No spiritual battle is achievable if you do not have some men and women who are wiling to stand by your side when the going gets tough. Whether its problems within or enemies without, these are the people essential to victory.
  • The worker – Bottom line: you cannot accomplish anything of value without the hard work necessary for success. As this tribe grows, the load grows easier.
  • Wealth-givers – While we seldom talk about this, we all know how essential it is to have the necessary resources. Several of these wonderful people who have bought into your vision can bring about the means to reach your goals.  

You will find these people in every ministry and organization. When you start your ministry you may encounter more of those on the first list. Good leadership and discipleship, will reduce, but not eliminate, your experience with the less committed. As you raise your corporate standards to Biblical levels, your leaders and flock members will grow (Ephesians 4.11-16).

Your preparation and planning will yield fruit. Don’t allow your frustrations to overtake you, as Moses did.

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We Highly Recommend Moody Pastors' Conference!

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

I know you will want to attend this conference! I will be there and I believe you should be there also!

~ Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

~~~~~~

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The Book of Exodus

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Editor’s Note: We continue our series of blogs for those who are reading the Bible with us cover-to-cover this year. Interspersed with our thoughts on our daily reading, we want to provide some tips about reading the Bible in general. Today we want to move on into  …

The Book of Exodus, The Book of Redemption.

(About one year)

As we examine the next segment of this route, we first must focus our attention upon the events that occur between the end of the book of Genesis and the beginning of the book of Exodus. Approximately 270 years pass between the end of Genesis and the beginning of Exodus.

By the time we start the book of Exodus, things are not going well in Egypt for the Israelites. The new Kings, called Pharaohs, have placed the Jews into slavery, (Exodus 1.6-14). They have become the manual labor for the ambitious public works projects the Pharaoh’s are now able to build. When we arrive in Exodus, things are bleak.

God Bursts Forth Through A Man!

(Exodus 1-4)

The children of Israel need to be delivered from their bondage. God sees their plight, and he sends a deliverer, a man named Moses.

Moses Is Born And Raised In Pharaoh’s Palace

(Exodus 2.1-10)

Moses is born in a time when the Pharaoh has decreed that all male children born to Hebrew women were to be killed on the spot by the midwife helping in the delivery. (Exodus 1.15-17) However, the Hebrew midwives disobeyed the order of the King and kept Moses alive. (Exodus 2.2) When Moses becomes three months old, he is too difficult to conceal and so a radical plan is devised. In accordance with the King’s command in Exodus 1.22 that “every son who is born you shall cast into the river,” Moses is placed into a small waterproofed basket (called an “ark” in some versions) and set adrift on the Nile River.

Moses’ sister, Miriam, watches as the ark floats down the river and comes to rest where the daughter of Pharaoh is bathing. (Exodus 2.5-6) The child touches her heart, and Miriam is immediately present to provide her with a “nursemaid” for the child. Since Pharaoh’s daughter desires to keep the child, Moses is nursed by his own mother, and then trained in Pharaoh’s house as the King’s own son! (Exodus 2.7-10)

Moses Rejects His Egyptian Upbringing

(Exodus 2.11-25)

Moses grows until, at age 40, he is confronted by the terrible conditions of his own people, the Jews. He intervenes and kills the Egyptian who is beating a Hebrew man. (Exodus 2.11-12) The next day, in the course of his work, he tries to intervene between two Hebrews who are fighting. They confront him and tell him they know of the murder from the day before. When Pharaoh hears of the murder, he seeks to put Moses to death. Unwanted by the Hebrews, and wanted for murder by the King, Moses flees Egypt. The writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews comments on this event by saying:

Hebrews 11:24-27

By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

He flees to the land of Midian, located on the northeastern side of the Gulf of Aqaba, the right “finger” of the Red Sea. Moses travels a distance of over 120 miles, over the worst desert conditions. When he arrives in Midian, Moses befriends himself to the local priest by rescuing his seven shepherdess daughters. (Exodus 2.16-25) Eventually Moses marries Zipporah, one of the daughters of this priest named Jethro, and has two sons by her.

Over the course of the next 40 years, Moses is content to forget his past and enjoy his present with his family. But as time passes, things grow worse in Egypt and the children of Israel cry out to God for deliverance. (Exodus 2.23-25)

Moses Becomes A Reluctant Deliverer Of His People Israel

(Exodus 3 – 4)

When God sends a deliverer, he prepares that person for years in advance of the task that will be required of him. So, too, is the case of Moses.

  • His birth and early upbringing allow him understanding of and access to the Egyptian political world; after all he is a child of Pharaoh!
  • His years as a shepherd in the wilderness of Midian have taught the importance of caring for a flock, and the dangers of the environment.

He will need these skills to rescue and bring the children of Israel to their “promised land” in Canaan, which is present day Israel.

Please note that Moses did not want the job of deliverer! As you travel through this portion of the journey, never forget Moses has no ambitions of being a judge or a leader of anything more than a flock of sheep in Midian. God calls Moses to become the deliverer of Israel through the supernatural event of the burning bush. (Exodus 3.1-10) But Moses objects to the role on the following five grounds:

  • He has no political standing or power in Egypt anymore! (Exodus 3.11) God responds that Moses has standing and power with Him and that is enough! (Exodus 3.12)
  • He has no knowledge of the name of the God who is sending him! (Exodus 3.13) God reveals His name to Moses and the mission profile needed to win over the children of Israel! (Exodus 3.13-22)
  • He has doubts that anyone would believe him or follow his leading! (Exodus 4.1) God provides Moses with three supernatural signs that he is able to perform at his own will to prove he is sent from God! (Exodus 4.2-9)
  • He is unskilled in speaking and communicating and wouldn’t be able to get the message across! (Exodus 4.10) God reminds Moses who made his mouth and that He would tutor Moses in what to say! (Exodus 4.11-12)
  • He is not interested in going on this mission, even if God wants him to! (Exodus 4.13) God gets angry with Moses and commands him to go anyway and to take his brother Aaron with him as his personal “press secretary.” (Exodus 4.14-17)

The matter now decided, Moses reluctantly goes to Egypt with Aaron his brother, his wife, Zipporah, and their two sons.

It is our hope that this background information helps a bit as you read on in the Bible. We will continue this series with our next installment: “The Ten Plagues Upon Egypt” on Tuesday.

You can obtain more help from the FREE Bible reading schedule on our resource page. In His Image is a daily devotional that also follows our reading schedule and expresses the Biblical truth: “God Created You to Love You.” You can find this resource on the side bar of our website.

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The Book of Genesis in Review

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Editor’s Note: We continue our series of blogs for those who are reading the Bible with us cover-to-cover this year. Interspersed with our thoughts on our daily reading, we want to provide some tips about reading the Bible in general. Today we want to review what we have covered so far in Genesis …

When Melodee and I traveled to Hawaii, our desire was to make sure we got the most of out of our days that is of personal interest to us. With that in mind, we set out a framework of what we wanted to accomplish on the first day or so on. This became the foundation of what we did with the rest of our time.

So, too, it is with our journey through the Bible. Our first book laid out a great deal of foundation for the rest of our journey, so we want to be careful we mapped it out first. As a result, this blog is a review of what we have found so far in reading the first book of the Bible, Genesis.

By way of review, we have noted that we are traveling on:

Major Old Testament Route No. 1:

Forming the first five books of the Bible.

  • On this route we will explore approximately 2,400 years of the formation history for the nation of Israel. Our first route was written as a diary or journal of the actual travels of the people of God in the Old Testament. These five books are their history books.  As we travel on this route, we will be following the original journeys as they unfold, often as if we were participants in the event. We now look at:

Review: The Book of Genesis, The Book of Beginnings.

(About 2,300 years)

God Began It All In The Beginning! (Genesis 1-11)

Beginning Of The Earth and The Universe (Genesis 1-2)

  • Beginning Of Mankind In The Garden of Eden (2)
  • Beginning Of Death and Destruction In The Fall (3)
  • Beginning Of God’s Intervention With The Flood (4-10)
  • Beginning Of The Nations With The Tower Of Babel (11)

God Continues Through A Family! (Genesis 12-50)

  • Abraham Becomes The Father Of Faith In God (12-25)
  • Isaac Continues The Next Generation Of Faith (21-28)
  • Jacob Expands The Family Tree Of Israel (25-49)
  • Joseph Provides For The Family In Egypt (30-50)

It is our hope that this background information helps a bit as you read on in the Bible. We will continue this series with our next installment: “The Book of Exodus” on Sunday.

You can obtain more help from the FREE Bible reading schedule on our resource page. In His Image is a daily devotional that also follows our reading schedule and expresses the Biblical truth: “God Created You to Love You.” You can find this resource on the side bar of our website.

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