Can I pray for you in any way?
Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The Lord said to Aaron, "Go into the desert to meet Moses."
So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him.
Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and also about all the miraculous signs he had commanded him to perform. Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
Exodus 4:27-31
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
How do you respond when you realize that the Lord has cared for you in the midst of difficult times?
In our scripture today, we see the only appropriate way to respond as we study the actions of the elders of Israel from the closing verses of Exodus, chapter 4. Look again at those words here:
The Lord said to Aaron, "Go into the desert to meet Moses."
So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him.
Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and also about all the miraculous signs he had commanded him to perform. Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. Vv.27-31
In today’s passage, we are picking up where we left off in yesterday’s message as Moses narrowly escaped death at the hands of an angry God after he had failed to circumcise his son which was a disobedient violation of the covenant God made with Abraham years earlier. You’ll remember that it was only the quick action of Moses’ Midianite wife, Zipporah, that saved him as she quickly circumcised their son with a flint knife.
And so Moses, now safe from God’s judgment, departs the lodging place and goes to Egypt where he meets up with Aaron “in the desert”, an encounter initiated by the Lord. The scriptures tell us that the brotherly reunion happened “at the mountain of God".
Now, in the previous chapter of Exodus, you’ll remember where Moses had received his calling at the burning bush and we read where this was near Horeb which was called “the mountain of God” (Exodus 3:1). And so, Moses meets with Aaron in that same location.
After they greet with a kiss, Moses then shares with Aaron everything that the Lord had told him, including "all the miraculous signs he had commanded him to perform", some of which would involve the special "staff of God" that Moses had in his possession. You’ll remember that the first task was to go to the elders of the Israelites and the two brothers do this, just as God commanded.
So how did the elders respond to Moses and Aaron?
Well, God had already foretold this when he gave Moses his marching orders, saying:
“Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’”
“The elders of Israel will listen to you. Exodus 3:16-18
With this, there’s little to no suspense as Moses and Aaron spoke to the elders, sharing with them "everything the Lord had said”. Moses also "performed the signs” God had prescribed and when he did, we read where the elders “believed”, knowing that God was indeed in the midst of the plan being presented. And after hearing more about how the Lord “was concerned about them” after seeing “their misery", the scriptures tell us that the elders “bowed down and worshiped". They rejoiced and were glad in knowing their God cared for them enough that He wanted to deliver them from their hardship.
Friends, we need to grasp that the God who cared for the Israelites in the midst of their difficult life circumstances is the same God who sees and is concerned for us today. In this, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Ultimately, our Lord wants the best for us and that’s reason to rejoice, no matter what we’re going through.
When the Israelite elders heard of God’s compassion and willingness to deliver them, they bowed down and worshiped Him in praise. It was the only appropriate response toward their Lord.
As Christians today, God has delivered us from the bondage and penalty of sin through His Son Jesus, and He did it out of love. Because of Jesus, all who believe in Him won’t perish in Hell but rather gain the eternal life of Heaven (John 3:16).
So how will we respond to this ultimate good news?
My prayer is that we’ll model the reaction of the Israelite elders in our text for today, bowing down before our Lord with a holy attitude of unending worship, praise, and gratitude. For brothers and sisters, this is our only appropriate response to our God after He has given us His goodness, grace, and mercy along with the salvation gained through His Son.
As the Apostle Paul proclaims in his second letter to the Corinthian church:
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.