the exodus...

Just an update on my learning about God providing and recklessly abandoning my way of thinking...
So I am still in Exodus because i have a current obsession with Moses and how he sucks at relying on God and recklessly abandoning his way of thinking...makes me feel better i guess ;).
In Exodus 6 God makes some promises to the Isrealites. (Exodus 6:6-8)
He promises to:
1. Bring them out of the yoke of the Egyptians. aka Freedom
2. Redeem with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment
3. Take them as His people and he will be their God
4. Bring them to the land that was promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
lets see if God keeps his promises...

If we keep reading Exodus 6:12 says "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"
Are you thinking what i am thinking? Oh my goodness Moses for real? Did you really just tell God AGAIN that you couldn't speak to Pharaoh when you already did and you SAW with your very own eyes that Aaron said everything God told you to say? Ha. Funny how easy it is to say that with outside eyes and knowing the end of the story.

Side note: Now run with me on this a little. I'm gonna stretch this and say that this is how God views us. Lets pretend that all of time is written in book form. The story of life is already written and God is the Author, a reader and a character in this story. He wrote the book of my life. He is reading the book of my life, and he is also a main character in the book of my life(or he should be anyway) For example's sake lets leave out the part of the free will argument and just agree to disagree that we have free will and God knows our decisions to therefore he can be the Author because essentially its already been done because God is outside of time...Anyway, he is reading through this already knowing the end of the story but intertwined with that he is a character of the story, so instead of being completely frustrated with his creation and just saying its a crappy piece of work, he molds and shapes alongside us as a supporting role. I just think its cool how God can be the Author, reader and a lead character in our stories and how little our minds can comprehend. We can't view life as being all three. When we do, we fail and life sucks. We can't really read this story of Moses and say oh Moses you have so much to learn...that's not the initial reaction, at least from me. I get frustrated and am like Moses how stupid are you? for real? But God is reading it saying Moses, because i wrote this and i have read the end of the story, let me be a character alongside you so this story is way better when you are finished playing your part. long side note i know, i am just amazed how little i can comprehend.

So Moses is an idiot and tells God that Pharaoh just is not going to listen and God reassures him that he will listen but not without hardening his heart first. In order for Egypt to see that God was God he needed to do things a certain way.
Exodus 7:1-5
Then the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it."
Being in Africa it is sometimes difficult to focus on the present instead of dwelling on the future. Honestly, God has taken the future completely off my mind and my worry is gone so that has been so wonderful, but reading this is such a reminder that God is not just a character in my story but that he works things in certain ways so that He gets the glory of it all. Thats the point in life anyway right? He doenst just leave me to walk this life alone, but when he says do something or reassures me for the 100th time, maybe i will be quicker to listen and to trust what He says.
He promises freedom in Ex 6:6... Ex 14:30 says "That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore."

He promises to redeem with mighty acts of judgment in Ex 6:6...Ex 7:14 Plague of Blood, Ex 7:25 Plague of Frogs, Ex 8:16 Plague of Gnats, Ex 8:20 Plague of Flies, Ex 9:1 Plague of Livestock, Ex 9:8 Plague of Boils, Ex 9:13 Plague of Hail, Ex 10:1 Plague of Locusts, Ex 10:21 Plague of darkness, Ex 11:1 Plague of the firstborn.

He promises to take them as His people and for Him to be their God in Ex 6:7...Ex 14:31 "And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant."

He promises to bring them to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Ex 6:8... Josh 21:43 So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it

I have yet to see a promise that God has made that he has gone back on. And yet we still worry.
Some encouragment for us though, Gal 3:29 if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. We are heirs and get the spiritual promise land. how stinkin' sick is that?!
:)