Aaron

Set Apart

The Israelites fall prey to their own impatience and the weak leadership of Aaron. The people couldn’t wait 40 days, they made a gold cow and worshipped it, Moses made them drink the cow, they got sick… suffice it to say it was a wild time.

Shortly after this series of events Moses would come before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting just outside the camp. There he would ask the Lord who was being sent with the Israelites on their journey. God says He will go with Moses. Moses rejects this proposal. Seriously. Just like Moses rejected the proposal to wipe out the Israelites entirely and become the new father of the nation of Israel himself. Moses was a leader who truly, genuinely cared about his people. Moses was a shepherd who fought for his sheep. Moses told God — basically — it is not enough that you go with me, you must go with us as a nation. If God will not lead the Israelites into the promised land, Moses would rather not go at all. God agrees to Moses proposal because he (Moses) has found favour with God.

A side note to pastors, elders, and other leaders… we should be interceding before God for our people with the fervour and resolve of Moses.

This leads to the sentence that most moved me this morning, as rendered in the NLT: “For Your presence among us sets Your people apart from all other people on the earth.”

This is still true today. Without the love and presence of the Lord in our lives, we look remarkably like everyone else. And more than that, we we claim to be children of the Lord, but there is no distinction between us and anyone else, that brings disrepute on the Lord. Here we are, claiming to be His special possession, but our lives bare no evidence of that?

Let’s press in to the Lord. Let’s seek his presence until we shine like Moses. Let us seek to be VISIBLY set apart from all the other people on the earth so that they can see the difference in us plainly and WANT to know the source of our joy.

Be blessed as you pursue the Lord today, brothers and sisters.

Feb 11 | Ex 32-34 | 042/365

Not a Hoof!

The temptation to compromise can be a strong one. We feel that God has called us to do something and we push toward that goal, ultimately settling for most of it. That’s pretty good, right? Close enough.

Growing up, my mother often said (and I often quote her), “‘Good enough’ never is.”

We see that in the… negotiation between Moses and Pharaoh. Moses wants all everyone to go. Pharaoh says “No.” Moses pushes as the Lord instructs him to and Pharaoh says, “Ok, but just the men”. Moses pushes as the Lord instructs him to and Pharaoh says, “Ok, but no livestock!”. Finally, GOD pushes and Pharaoh (and the Egyptians) say(s), “Go! Oh, and also take our silver and gold!”

The first Passover didn’t involved Moses or Aaron waving their staffs or smacking the water, this one was all God. Moses, empowered and emboldened by the call of God took the ball to the 10 yard line (to use a football analogy), but it was God Himself who carried it in for a touchdown.

We often feel like we need to do it. We can accept that God tells us where He wants us to be, but we need to get there under our own power and strength. And when we feel like it’s on us, that’s when the temptation to compromise seeps in. We got so close, let’s just leave the livestock behind! Take the exit presented to us!

But Moses staunchly refuses. He knows God is going to see this thing through and fulfill His promise 100%. We need to have the same trust. God wouldn’t call you to go 100 miles if He really wanted you to go 93 miles. When you come to the end of yourself, that’s when the power, and strength, and glory of the Lord shines through. That’s when He carries us. So the next time you feel tempted to throw in the towel and settle for less than God has called you into… don’t deprive yourself of the fullness of His blessing, instead resolutely stand up and say, “Not a hoof can be left behind!”

Exodus 10-12 | 35/365

Have It Your Way

Some of us would admit it, others never would, but we all love control. We like to be in charge. We want the final say and for the buck to stop with us. That’s why the Burger King slogan, “Have it your way” was such a fantastic stroke of marketing genius!

And this brings us along to Pharaoh. He has enslaved the Israelites and they are forced into hard labour for the Egyptian government and people. The time is right for God to raise up His chosen leader — Moses — and his brother, Aaron. They go to Pharaoh and famously ask him to “Let my people go!”. Pharoah’s heart is infamously hardened and he refuses, so God sends a series of plagues, judgements on the Egyptian people. Making the water undrinkable, sending various pests, extreme weather, killing livestock, and even afflicting the people with ill health. Some of these signs were mimicked by the Egyptian magicians, but others could not be. In some cases Pharaoh promised to let the Hebrews leave before reneging the moment that the judgement of God was relieved.

Often we cluck our tongues at Pharaoh and wonder why he was such a big stupid idiot, but I think our man is a cautionary tale for *US*. We desire the same control that Pharaoh did, we just don’t have as much power or authority. And when God’s will does not align with our will, the temptation is often to rationalize the incongruence. I literally had a woman tell me once that because God knew she was unhappy in her marriage, He sent her another man!

Lay your plans down and give the Lord final say-so. Once I stopped trying to ‘have it my way’ and waited on the Lord to lead, I felt so much more satisfied and contented in my life and my work. You’ll experience the same thing. Don’t be Pharaoh.

Exodus 8-9 | 034/365

The Lord Your God

Moses and Aaron have been commissioned by God to advocate before Pharaoh for the release of the Israelites. God warns them that Pharaoh’s heart will be hard, but that in time he will not only let the Israelites go, he will force them to leave Egypt.

What will cause this turn of events? The magnanimity of Pharaoh? LOL! The eloquence of Aaron? Not likely. The miraculous signs performed by Moses? Not likely (again). The grassroots groundswell of support by the Israelites against their Egyptian oppressors!? LOL (again)!

The Lord says this as recorded in Exodus 6:6-7 (NLT):

Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgement. I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt.

Remember the fullness of time from yesterday? Moses was God’s chosen leader because he cared for the people and he was humble, even doubtful he could possibly be a leader. The perfect vessel for God’s glory. And we had to wait for the previous Pharoah to die off so that Moses could return without being executed. Which leads us to this situation where God will free the Israelites in spectacular fashion, in a way that only the Lord can. In this way there can be no doubt who did it.

This is the God we serve. He is powerful over all things and Will only act in the fullness of time. If you feel like you can’t do it, that you are not up to the task… you are in good company. Remember that we can do (that is: persevere, press-on, or endure) all things through Christ who strengthens us. (Phil 4:13, Conrad’s Amplified Version)

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