Category: Exodus

Day 34 of reading the Holy Bible in 365 days.

Matthew 2:1-12 . We get to read about the Magi (probably about 15 of them including servants) who came to Jerusalem to ask about the King of the Jews. This worried King Herod and all Jerusalem, and Herod asked the Scribes and the learned men where he was to be born. They answered “In Bethlehem of Judea”, but were otherwise remarkably uninterested. The wise men went to Jesus (he is by now at least a few months old), but did not report back to Herod, instead they returned another way.

In Exodus 16  God gave them Manna (what is it?) and quail, and Moses gave the instructions on how to gather it. And they ate Manna for 40 years.

In Exodus 17, lack of water is a recurring theme in the desert. In Rephidim there was no water at all, so God told Moses to strike the rock at the foot of Mount Horeb. Water gushed out and they were all filled with good water. Good it was, for the Amalekites attacked them right afterwards. Joshua and his men fought a good fight, and Moses helped by raising his hands, and as long as he held them high Joshua prevailed. But Moses got tired, so Aaron and Hur held up his hands until sunset, and so the Amalekites were defeated.

Exodus 18 tells of Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law when he visited Moses, who now was in a difficult situation trying to lead his people all by himself, and Jethro gave Moses good advice about real leadership, delegation of management, a practice essential for all governing.

Day 33 of reading the Holy Bible in 365 days.

Matthew 1 tells of the spiritual genealogy of Jesus, starting with Abraham. Joseph was of the kingly line of David and he, not being the father, adopted Jesus after having a dream that it was okay. It then tells of the birth of Jesus. It also tells of Mary remaining a virgin until Jesus’ birth.

Exodus 14 describes the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea and how the pursuing Egyptian army drowned.

Exodus 15 containsf the songs of Moses and Miriam, as God had delivered them from the Egyptians. As the wandering began they arrived at the bitter waters of Marah and the sweet waters of Elim.

Day 32 of reading the Holy Bible in 365 days.

John 21 tells of the eighth miracle of Jesus. This miracle, a great catch of fish happened after Jesus resurrection and was a sign of new beginnings. Jesus reinstated Peter and told him: “Feed my sheep.”

Exodus 12 tells of how God instituted the Passover. The name comes from the action that night, when the angel of death came to kill every firstborn in Egypt, if he saw the blood of the pascal lamb om the doorposts and the lentil of the house, he would pass over that house. The chapter is fantastic, read it and marvel!

In Exodus 13 the feast of unleavened bread is defined and the consecrating of the firstborn to the LORD. The Hebrews have escaped from Egypt, and a proposed route is suggested.

Day 31 of reading the Holy Bible in 365 days.

John 20 deals with the resurrection, and Jesus was not there, only his grave clothes, strips of cloth, not the “Turin Shroud.” It was the first day of the week and Jesus showed himself to all the disciples except Thomas. He doubted their testimony, and it is from this we have the expression “Doubting Thomas.” Later, when even he saw Jesus, he bowed down and worshiped him saying “My Lord, and my God”. Jesus also gave the promise they would receive the Holy Spirit.

Exodus 10: Two more plagues, the plague of locusts and the plague of darkness. For these two plagues the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

In Exodus 11 Moses and Aaron proclaimed the tenth and final plague: The death of the firstborn. Interestingly enough the plagues of Egypt are also in the Quran, four are the same, five are different, and one is missing altogether. Guess which one!

Psalm 11 has the phrase “flee as a bird to the mountain”, which bring back memories of songs we used to sing in choir.

Day 30 of reading the Holy Bible in 365 days.

John 19:16b-42. I took the liberty to incorporate all the “seven words of Christ on the cross.” This requires to take passages from the Gospel of Luke, as well as from the Gospel pf Matthew or Mark. It helped me a lot to get the time-order of events as well as the completeness of Christ substitutionary sacrifice on the Cross. It is finished!

In Exodus 9 there are three more plagues, the plague of livestock, the plague of boils and the plague of hail. In the fifth and seventh plague Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, but for the sixth plague the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

Day 28 of reading the Holy Bible in 365 days.

John 18:28-40 deals with the last 24 hours of Jesus’ life, from the trial before Annas and the Sanhedron Jesus was paraded before Pilate, seeing a way out, Pilate sent him to Herod, who sent him back to Pilate, Pilate offered to release Jesus or Barabbas and the people demanded that Barabbas be released.

In Exodus 4 God gave Moses his call. At first Moses came up with one objection after another, but God persuaded him with signs that he must go back to Egypt, face Pharaoh and lead his people.

In Exodus 5 Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and asked for a 3 day reprieve for their people so they could go and worship God. Like all dictators Pharaoh reacted to this petition by making life even more miserable for the Hebrews; he wanted them to gather their own straw and still make as many bricks as before. The Hebrews blamed Moses for stirring up trouble for them.

And in Exodus 6 the LORD (Jehovah) promised deliverance from Pharaoh and He would give them the land He had promised Abraham. The narrative continues with an interlude where the names of the heads of the clans of Israel are listed. Moses protested and did not want to talk to Pharaoh any more, so Aaron would have to do the speaking.

Day 27 of reading the Holy Bible in 365 days.

John 18:1-27 deals with the last 24 hours of Jesus life, the prayer in the garden of Gethsemane and the subsequent arrest of Jesus, the trial before Annas, Peter’s first denial, Jesus trial before Caiaphas, Peter’s second and third denial and the cock crowing.

Exodus 3 tells where God revealed Himself to Moses in the form of a burning bush and declared “I am that I am”. Jesus made a similar declaration in John 8:58 “Before Abraham, I am”.

In the Septuagint Psalm 9 and Psalm 10 belong together. They speak of God’s faithfulness and the only temporary victories of the wicked one.

Day 26 of reading the Holy Bible in 365 days.

John 17 is commonly known as Jesus’ high priestly prayer. In some conservative circles it is also called “The Lord’s prayer.” In it Jesus prayed for himself, then he prayed for his disciples followed by prayer for all future believers. In the end of the chapter he prayed that the believers will see his glory, the glory God gave him before the creation of the world.

A few hundred years has passed since the end of Genesis. Exodus 1 tells how the Hebrews multiplied and became a perceived threat to the Egyptians. The Egyptians told the Hebrew midwives that every boy they delivered must be thrown into the Nile, but every girl were to be let to live.

Which seamlessly leads into Exodus 2, how Moses when he was born was placed in a papyrus basket, which then was thrown into the Nile and the child was left crying in the reeds. Pharaoh’s daughter heard it, picked him up and asked her servant to find somebody to nurse him. Of course she found Moses’ own mother to nurse him. After he was weaned Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s household and got educated. He did remember he was a Hebrew, so when he saw an Egyptian mistreat a Hebrew he killed the Egyptian. This became known and Moses fled to Midian, where he spent 40 years tending flocks. This is great reading.

February 11, reading the Holy Bible in a year.

Matthew 6:1-18 continues the telling of the sermon on the mount. Jesus spoke of doing good, of fasting and prayer, do it without fanfare, in secret if possible and, above all, be sincere. He then instituted what is called “The Lord’s prayer” which really is a pattern prayer for us, short, direct, but covers the essentials. Fasting should go together with serious prayer, but make it simple.

Exodus 38 retells of how the altar of burnt offerings and the basin for washing was made, continuing telling about the courtyard around the tabernacle and all the materials used.

Exodus 39 retells how the priestly garments were to be made, the ephod, the breastplate, the bells and pomegranates, the mitre and undergarments and finally the words “Holy to the LORD” to be fastened to the priest’s turban.

And in Exodus 40 the tabernacle was finished, the Priests installed and finally God blessed the tabernacle with His presence when the Glory of the LORD filled it. That ends the book of Exodus.

February 10, reading the Holy Bible in a year.

Matthew 5:21-48 is a continuation of the sermon on the  mount. Jesus first addressed murder, where vengeance is not for us to do, instead you must be reconciled with your adversary before you can be reconciled to God. Then He dealt with adultery, you are not only not to do it, you are not allowed to even think about it. Likewise, the only time divorce is allowed is for already committed adultery. Piling on, he addressed taking of oaths, this was serious business under the Law, but Jesus said “Let your yes be yes and your no, no”. Furthermore it was said “An eye for an eye” But Jesus told us to pray for our adversaries, no matter what, and love your enemies. This is the change between Old and New Testament Theology, and Jesus brought it fourth.

Exodus 35 is a more detailed repeat of Sabbath regulations, materials for the tabernacle and who were the leaders of building of the tabernacle.

Exodus 36 describes in detail how the tabernacle was built.

Exodus 37 continues describing how the Ark of the Covenant was built with its cherubim,( by necessity very sketchy since nobody would be allowed to see them once they were made,)   the table, the lampstand and the altar of incense.