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March 12, 2010
Exodus 6:1-30 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.” 2 God also said to Moses, “I am the LORD. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they lived as aliens. 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. 6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.’” 9 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage. 10 Then the LORD said to Moses, 11 “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.” 12 But Moses said to the LORD, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?” 13 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. 14 These were the heads of their families: The sons of Reuben the firstborn son of Israel were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans of Reuben. 15 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon. 16 These were the names of the sons of Levi according to their records: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Levi lived 137 years. 17 The sons of Gershon, by clans, were Libni and Shimei. 18 The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years. 19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of Levi according to their records. 20 Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years. 21 The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg and Zicri. 22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan and Sithri. 23 Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 24 The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans. 25 Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the Levite families, clan by clan. 26 It was this same Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.” 27 They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt. It was the same Moses and Aaron. 28 Now when the LORD spoke to Moses in Egypt, 29 he said to him, “I am the LORD. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.” 30 But Moses said to the LORD, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”
Matthew 23:37 – 24:14 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” NIV Matthew 24:1 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” 3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. 9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
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Books: Exodus, Matthew 1 Comment »
One Response to “March 12, 2010”
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March 12th, 2008 at 5:30 am
I’ve always had a bit of a struggle with the whole end times, apocalyptic thing. I completely believe Jesus will return, as He promised. But I’ve never been one of those who confidently declare “we’re living in the last days” as I look at the “signs of the times.” Is that wrong? I believe Jesus has called us to be watchful, to be ready for his return, but not necessarily to try to guess when it will happen. For example, sometimes you hear someone talking about “wars and rumors of wars” and saying this is a sign we’re in the last days; according to 24:6, Jesus is saying “don’t be shocked by that – they will always be happening, but that isn’t a sign of the end yet.” I think it is accurate to say that we have been in the beginning of birth pains (v.8) since Jesus left the earth; we have been in the last days since he ascended to heaven.
There is nothing in v. 5-12 that did not happen during the disciples’ lifetime, up to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., and all of those things have happened in every lifetime up until the presence. There have been wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes, believers have been persecuted, people have turned away from the faith, there have been false prophets, wickedness has increased and love has grown cold. I read nothing in those verses that makes me say our era is any different, that Jesus must be coming in our lifetime.
The last two verses (13-14) are signficant. V. 13 seems to be saying that the evidence of salvation is not just having “prayed the salvation prayer,” but includes continuing and persevering in the faith until the end, whatever that might mean. This theme comes up a lot in apocalyptic literature, especially Revelation – those who are truly saved will persevere to the end, will not abandon the faith under persecution. If someone does abandon the faith, they need to question whether they were really saved in the first place.
Lastly, there is a call to preach the gospel to all nations. This is something that had not happened during the time of the disciples, and has been happening throughout history. Does Jesus mean that EVERY tribe, tongue, and nation must hear before He will return, or is it just a general “bring the gospel to the world”? I don’t know. But his call is as clear as it was at the end of Matthew – his disciples are to go into all the nations and make disciples.
The need for prayer is clear, that we might be aware that living in the last days means that we will face trials, persecution, and be tempted to go astray by false prophets. Lord, give us the strength and love to persevere to the end, to never deny your name.