"The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." Mark 10:24, 26; Luke 18:27. They saw how, through the grace of God, a rich man could enter into the kingdom.

I praise the Lord that He works the impossible. It is something He specializes in. Both the rich and the poor have their disadvantages.

Pro 30:8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:

Pro 30:9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

Praise the Lord that we can accept Christ as a personal Savior and walk in His will! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in our lives without one missing as God empowers us to live in true obedience!

"It is when Christ is received as a personal Saviour that salvation comes to the soul. Zacchaeus had received Jesus, not merely as a passing guest in his home, but as One to abide in the soul temple. The scribes and Pharisees accused him as a sinner, they murmured against Christ for becoming his guest, but the Lord recognized him as a son of Abraham. For "they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." Galatians 3:7." {The Desire of Ages, page 556, paragraph 4}

What a blessing to be a part of God's family by faith!!

Thursday        July 3
A Change of Plans

Read Exodus 2:11-25.

11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.
12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?
14 And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.
15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.
17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?
19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.
20 And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.
21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
22 And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.
23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

What events quickly transpired to change the entire direction of Moses’ life? What lessons can we learn from this story?

What would Moses do? Would he succumb to the lure of Egypt and to the pleasures of the court, or would he endure hardship with his embattled people? Events soon forced a decision for him.

"When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well" (Exod. 2:15, NKJV).

After the killing, Moses really had no choice, at least as far as remaining in Egypt.

Moses had already made the decision to serve God and His people. That is why he killed the  Egyptian. God allowed the truth to become public so that Moses' decision would be easy to follow.

Thus, whatever plans there were for him to ascend to the throne of Egypt and to become a "god," those plans were quickly ended. Rather than becoming a false god, Moses would serve the true God instead. No doubt, at the time when he fled, Moses had no idea what the future held for him.

"The whole matter [of Moses’ killing the Egyptian] was quickly made known to the Egyptians, and, greatly exaggerated, soon reached the ears of Pharaoh. It was represented to the king that this act meant much; that Moses designed to lead his people against the Egyptians, to overthrow the government, and to seat himself upon the throne; and that there could be no security for the kingdom while he lived. It was at once determined by the monarch that he should die; but, becoming aware of his danger, he [Moses] made his escape and fled toward Arabia."—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 247.

Moses lived 120 years (Deut. 34:7), and his life can be divided into three parts of 40 years each. The first 40 years were in Egypt, much of them in the royal palace. The second 40 years he spent in Jethro’s house in the Midian territory.

It’s the last 40 years, however, that take up the bulk of the first five books of Moses (and this quarter), and they tell the story of Israel’s early calling to witness to a world steeped in idolatry, revealing the nature and character of the true God (see Deut. 4:6-8).

Was it God’s plan that Moses kill the Egyptian?

We do not know, but it was probably Satan that instigated it. God turned it to good by placing Moses in the desert for 40 years.

If not, what does this story teach us about how God can overrule in any situation and use it for His own purposes? How does Romans 8:28 help us understand this important truth?

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. 

Nothing that happens God has either caused or allowed.  When God says "all things" that means all things, both which appear to be good or evil. God is in absolute control of all that happens.  This truth ought to help us explain why bad things happen to "good" people.

Tuesday      July 1
The Hebrew Midwives

One cannot understand the book of Exodus without presupposing the teachings of Genesis. The Jews moved to Egypt, and after a time of great prosperity and peace, they were enslaved.

Do we understand that often bad things happen because we are not walking in the light, we are not converted? Why did God allow the Jews to suffer slavery and thus lose a knowledge of Him?

But God did not abandon His people to their problems, even though it may sometimes have seemed so. No doubt many of the Hebrew people despaired of their plight. Yet, in the time of distress, He comes to help with His mighty hand. Our Lord encourages His followers: "Call upon Me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me" (Ps. 50:15, NKJV).

Read Exodus 1:9-21.

9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:
10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.
13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:
14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:
16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?
19 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.
20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.
21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.

What key role did the faithful midwives play, and why are they remembered in history?

They refused to murder babies even though their rulers ordered them to do so. They are remembered because they refused to murder the babies.

No Pharaoh has a name in the book of Exodus. They carry the title of "Pharaoh" only, which means "king." The Egyptians believed that the Pharaoh was a god on earth, the son of the god Ra (or Osiris or Horus). Ra was considered the highest Egyptian deity, the Sun god himself.

Yet despite all his power, this "god" was not able to force the midwives to go contrary to their convictions. In fact, in contrast to the nameless pharaoh, the two midwives are named, Shiphrah and Puah (Exod. 1:15); they are highly esteemed because they feared the Lord. Pharaoh’s wicked command had no effect on them because they respected God more than the orders of an earthly ruler (see also Acts 5:29). Thus, God blessed them with their own large families. What a powerful testimony to faithfulness. These women, regardless of how little they knew of theology, knew not only what was right but chose to do what was right.

When Pharaoh saw that his plot had failed, he commanded the Egyptians to kill all the male babies born to the Hebrews. They were to throw them into the Nile River, probably as an offering to Hapi, the god of the Nile, and also a god of fertility. (This is the first recorded time that Jews are to be killed only because they are Jews.) The purpose of the death decree was to subdue the Hebrews, to annihilate all male descendants, and to assimilate the women into the Egyptian nation, thus ending the threat that Pharaoh believed the Hebrews posed to his nation.

The midwives not only knew what the right action was to take, they took it. What’s the obvious message here for us?

If we want to please God, we do not murder babies, nor do we not follow the truth entrusted to us.

Sunday        June 29
God’s People in Egypt

The book of Exodus is called in Hebrew shemot, literally "names" in English, according to the opening words of that ancient document. "And these are the names" is how it begins. The names of the patriarch Jacob’s family are enumerated right at the start.

Read Exodus 1:1-7.

1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
4 Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.
6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

What crucial truth is found here?

Those chosen of God to carry the message of salvation to the world began as a family of 12.  God blessed them mightily.

The book of Exodus begins with a reminder of God’s blessing. When the patriarch Jacob and his family settled in Egypt, they were only 70 people (Gen. 46:27, Exod. 1:5); but the Israelites "were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them" (Exod. 1:7, NKJV). By the time of the Exodus, however, they counted "about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children" (Exod. 12:37, NKJV).

Read Exodus 1:8-11.

8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:
10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

What was the situation of the Israelites at the time of the Exodus?

They had lost a knowledge of who they were. There were little better than the slaves they had been. They had not been making sacrifices and thus they did not know the power of the grace of God. When God gave them the ten commandments, they had no idea it was impossible for them to keep them the way they were. Yet the all agreed they would do them all.

The biblical text paints the story of the children of Israel in Egypt in dark colors. The book of Exodus begins with their enslavement by Egyptian taskmasters and the oppressive labor that they imposed upon the Hebrews. The book of Exodus ends, however, with God’s peaceful and comforting presence in the tabernacle, at the center of the Israelite camp (see Exodus 40). In between these two opposite poles, God’s triumph is described. By the Lord’s liberating His people from slavery, by His opening the Red Sea, and by His defeating the strongest army of that time, God’s spectacular victory over the forces of evil is revealed.

The story paradoxically stresses that the more the oppressors "afflicted them [the Israelites], the more they multiplied and grew" (Exod. 1:12, NKJV). That is, no matter the human machinations, God is still sovereign and will save His people, even if circumstances appear hopeless, at least from a human perspective.

Yes, it is God's desire to save His people, but as we study the Exodus we find that there is more to salvation than the work that God does. Only two entered the promised land of the adults who began the trek. God gave them all that was necessary for them to be saved. "On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation."  Exodus 40:2. His part in our salvation is so large we cannot measure it. Our part is immeasurably small, but without our part we shall be eternally lost. What was the end of the nation Israel as God's chosen people? Three and a half years after the murder of Jesus by the Jews, Israel was cut off as the people of God.

A new king arose who knew not Joseph. What does this account tell us about how we should never take circumstances, especially good ones, for granted?

Our success in our relationship with Jesus is dependent upon our watching and praying continually. If we allow our minds to wander away from Him, we will surely be found entangled in the nets Satan has spread for us. We ought not ever think we can survive when not vitally connected to Christ. God's grace will not save us unless we allow it into our heart. And, in order to allow it into the heart, we need to behold Him daily. By beholding His glory then we shall be transformed into His character (2 Cor. 3:18).