Exodus! Hardening Pharaoh's Heart? Tim Keller's Counterfeit Gods
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Mike - OYB
Feb 1, 2011, 12:31:43 AM2/1/11
to chronolog...@googlegroups.com
January 31, 2011
We wrap up the book of Job this week, and transition into the book of Exodus! As we'll soon be reading about the Israelites worshiping the golden calf in the book of Exodus, I thought this email might be a great time to recommend a book about the spiritual dangers of our modern-day idols titled Counterfeit Gods by Pastor Tim Keller. Have you read it? I have just started reading it and it is fantastic! It's been recommended to me recently by a Pastor from my church, along with someone in my weekly Bible study class. A brief overview from the book's website: "The Bible tells us that the human heart is an “idol-factory,” taking good things and making them into idols that drive us. In Counterfeit Gods, Timothy Keller applies his trademark approach to show us how a proper understanding of the Bible reveals the unvarnished truth about societal ideals and our own hearts."
Small Group & Individual Study Notes & Questions for the upcoming week of readings are at these links (PDF & Word) below :
www.oneyearbibleimages.com/ChronBibleNotes1_30_11to2_5_11.pdf
www.oneyearbibleimages.com/ChronBibleNotes1_30_11to2_5_11.doc
Or, if these links above don't work, download this week or past weeks Notes at this website link:
www.chronologicalbibleblog.com/groups.html
1. In Chapter 3 God speaks to Moses through the burning bush! What I love about this is in verse 4: "When the LORD saw that he had caught Moses' attention..." It seems like Moses probably could have seen this burning bush - and kept going. He could have somehow walked on by - maybe because he had to get the flocks back home or he was late for dinner or who knows what. He could have missed the adventure and the calling of his life. But he doesn't. He stops. He investigates. He has a conversation with God. God caught his attention. Q: Do you think God is trying to catch your attention today in any ways? How has God caught your attention in the past and revealed to you something important? Have you ever passed God by when he was trying to catch your attention? Exodus 3:14 is a biggee as Moses asks God who he should tell the Hebrews who sent him: "God replied, "I AM WHO I AM. Just tell them, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" I AM WHO I AM translates into Yahweh in Hebrew. I read a great little commentary that said when God speaks of himself, he says "I AM". When we speak of God we should say "He is." I like that. He is. I actually heard a sermon recently about the unchanging nature of God. He is omniscient. Omni-present. Eternal. He is wisdom. He cannot learn anything, because He knows everything. He is. The Hebrew letters yud, hey, vav, hey (below) -- often depicted in English as YHWH or Yahweh -- spell the ineffable name of God. Another powerful thing to note is that Jesus uses this same phrase of I AM and nearly gets stoned to death for sharing this truth in the Gospel of John chapter 8 verses 58 & 59: "“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds." Q: Do you believe that Jesus IS? What IS Jesus to you in your life today? How IS Jesus your very life?
2. This week we read in Exodus chapters 3 & 4 God discussing with Moses how Moses will lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses has a classic line to God in Chapter 4 verse 10: "Moses said to the LORD , "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." I think what is classic about this line is that probably many of us have some sort of line similar to this one that we say to God when God is calling us to do something big for His Kingdom. Or maybe even if it is something medium-sized or small God is calling us to, we probably have some pretty good excuses. "Why me God?" "I'm too young." I'm too old." "I'm too busy." "I'm not that smart." "I'm not that talented". And I'm sure our list of excuses could go on. BUT - check out what God says to Moses in verse 12: "Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."" Wow. Is there an area of your life where God is calling you to move forward? Maybe calling you to some Kingdom work? And are you making excuses? Will you leave those excuses behind? Do you realize that God will help you do whatever you need to do? Do you realize that God will teach you what to do as you go? You may not know exactly what to do right now - but if you move forward, do you believe God will show up and help you accomplish the task? Will you go? Now?
3. I like Exodus chapter 5 verse 1, which builds upon some of our readings in chapter 4: "After this presentation to Israel's leaders, Moses and Aaron went to see Pharaoh." What I like about this is that there was Moses & Aaron going to see Pharaoh - the 2 of them. This reminds me of Jesus sending out the disciples in pairs. Sometimes in life it seems like we can accomplish more, or stay on task better, if we are partnered with someone else. It's sometimes tough to do things on our own. I think sometimes we want to make ourselves out to be Lone Rangers - thinking that we can shoulder the weight of the world on our own. But... we can't. First and foremost we need to be in relationship with God through Jesus. Secondly, in relationship with our family. Thirdly, relationship with our community - as we saw Moses and Aaron spoke with the Hebrew leaders at the end of chapter 4. And then... we are ready to take on Pharaoh! Then, we are ready to take on the world! Yeah, sure, on rare occasions God will call us to pull off Kingdom tasks on our own - but... 9 times out of 10, I think you are going to need brothers and sisters in Christ to help you make it. Q: What type of Kingdom work do you do with other people? Who would you say is your “Aaron” in your life?
4. Today in Exodus chapter 13 verse 17 we read what I found to be an intriguing verse: "When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them on the road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest way from Egypt to the Promised Land. God said, "If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." That last sentence really stood out to me. It makes sense. It was wise for God to do this. But... then I think about our lives today. What if we are faced with a challenging spiritual battle our lives? Will we change our minds about God and return to our "Egypts"? Our Egypts might be the places where we are / were comfortable - enslaved to a sin though we may have been. As I think more about this, I do believe that God is sensitive in our lives, just as he was in the Israelites lives in this verse, as to what we can handle. I do not think he will send us a temptation or a trial greater than we can bear. But I also know that trials do come. And I pray that as the trials come, that we don't go back to our "Egypts"! but that we press on toward the "Promised Land". Q: Have you ever wanted to retreat from moving forward spiritually and wanted to retreat to your old “Egypt” or back to old habits? How did you overcome this temptation? How do you keep your eyes forward on Jesus, and not back on your old Egypt/habits? Have you ever had to sever friendships for this reason?
Sunday, January 30
Job 38-40:5
Monday, January 31
Job 40:6-42:17
Tuesday, February 1
Exodus 1-2:25; 1 Chronicles 6:1-3; Exodus 3-4:17
Wednesday, February 2
Exodus 4:18-7:13
Thursday, February 3
Exodus 7:14-9:35
Friday, February 4
Exodus 10-12:51
Saturday, February 5
Exodus 13-15:27
Sunday, February 6
Exodus 16-19:25
Monday, February 7
Exodus 20:1-22:15
Tuesday, February 8
Exodus 22:16-24:18
Wednesday, February 9
Exodus 25:1-28:43
Thursday February 10
Exodus 29:1-31:18
Friday, February 11
Exodus 32:1-34:35
Saturday, February 12
Exodus 35:1-36:38
Sunday, February 13
Exodus 37:1-39:31
Monday, February 14
Exodus 39:32-40:38; Numbers 9:15-23
Chronological Bible Blog
Every day in 2011, I will be posting up daily commentary, questions for reflection, and images on the Chronological Bible Blog at: www.chronologicalbibleblog.com I encourage you to visit the blog each day in 2011. The blog will be the place for you to interact with our online community of 800 people around the world participating with us in our Chronological Bible readings. Please do share your insights or reflections or questions by clicking on the "Comments" link at the bottom of each daily posting at: www.chronologicalbibleblog.com and/or www.facebook.com/ChronologicalBible
I am excited that there are 800+ of us on this journey together through the Chronological Bible! Please contact me as any questions come up. Until next week's email!
God bless,
Mike
mi...@oneyearbibleblog.com
p.s. If you would consider praying for this Chronological Bible Blog ministry when you think of it, I would so greatly appreciate your prayers. Would you consider praying for this ministry on a regular basis? Maybe even once a week when you receive this email? This ministry is in its 8th year in 2011. Your partnership of prayer in this ministry will help bring more people worldwide into the joy and transformation of heart that takes place by reading and studying God's Word every day. Thank you so very much for your prayers. I truly mean it - thank you.
-
Modern-day golden calves?
Hi
everyone,We wrap up the book of Job this week, and transition into the book of Exodus! As we'll soon be reading about the Israelites worshiping the golden calf in the book of Exodus, I thought this email might be a great time to recommend a book about the spiritual dangers of our modern-day idols titled Counterfeit Gods by Pastor Tim Keller. Have you read it? I have just started reading it and it is fantastic! It's been recommended to me recently by a Pastor from my church, along with someone in my weekly Bible study class. A brief overview from the book's website: "The Bible tells us that the human heart is an “idol-factory,” taking good things and making them into idols that drive us. In Counterfeit Gods, Timothy Keller applies his trademark approach to show us how a proper understanding of the Bible reveals the unvarnished truth about societal ideals and our own hearts."
Small Group & Individual Study Notes & Questions for the upcoming week of readings are at these links (PDF & Word) below :
www.oneyearbibleimages.com/ChronBibleNotes1_30_11to2_5_11.pdf
www.oneyearbibleimages.com/ChronBibleNotes1_30_11to2_5_11.doc
Or, if these links above don't work, download this week or past weeks Notes at this website link:
www.chronologicalbibleblog.com/groups.html
Exodus
Author: Moses
Date: 1420 or 1220 B.C.
Content: The book of Exodus deals with the significant facts surrounding Israel's emergence as a nation. Moses' great leadership is described as he accepted God's call to return to Egypt in order to lead God's people to freedom. God sent the ten devastating plagues upon Egypt because the Pharaoh refused to obey his command. The ceremony of Passover was established during the last plague and became a memorial of God's deliverance for all time to Israel. The Israelites crossed the sea and arrived at Mt. Sinai where God gave the Ten Commandments and the plan for the tabernacle, and the covenant renewed the nation.
Theme: The power of God over evil is clearly shown when God defeats the enemy of his people by delivering them from bondage, but God expects that we trust and obey him in return. Worship in the Tabernacle and adherence to the law were two aspects of Israel's obedience. (Above commentary is from Tyndale Publishers "The One Year Bible Companion" pages 1-2)
Date: 1420 or 1220 B.C.
Content: The book of Exodus deals with the significant facts surrounding Israel's emergence as a nation. Moses' great leadership is described as he accepted God's call to return to Egypt in order to lead God's people to freedom. God sent the ten devastating plagues upon Egypt because the Pharaoh refused to obey his command. The ceremony of Passover was established during the last plague and became a memorial of God's deliverance for all time to Israel. The Israelites crossed the sea and arrived at Mt. Sinai where God gave the Ten Commandments and the plan for the tabernacle, and the covenant renewed the nation.
Theme: The power of God over evil is clearly shown when God defeats the enemy of his people by delivering them from bondage, but God expects that we trust and obey him in return. Worship in the Tabernacle and adherence to the law were two aspects of Israel's obedience. (Above commentary is from Tyndale Publishers "The One Year Bible Companion" pages 1-2)
Terrific in-depth commentary on the book of
Exodus can be found at Bible.org at this link: http://bible.org/article/introduction-book-exodus
"I will harden his heart. . ." Exodus 4:21
One thing I love
about the Bible Blog is the Comments each of you post up every day! Everyone posts
up some amazingly insightful and heartfelt Comments. As well as posting
up some great questions and conversations for us to dive
into. A few years ago someone posted up this great question: "In Exodus
4:21 God told Moses that he was going
to harden Pharaohs
heart, so doesn't that mean it is Gods fault that Pharaoh made the Israelites
life worse and also that all the plagues had
to happen?" I
thought I'd copy my reply gave on the blog here in this email too,
because I am guessing that many of you may have
this same question:
"Very good question! I meant to post up about this
earlier, as I know others are having this question come up too. Paul in
Romans gets at this in Romans
9:14-21, below. (please don't see this as a harsh answer to you
personally to your question - just Scripture interpreting Scripture
here... :)
"What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not
at all! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom
I have compassion." It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or
effort, but on God's mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised
you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and
that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." Therefore God has
mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to
harden. One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us?
For who resists his will?" But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?
"Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me
like this?'" Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same
lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?"
Bible.org gets at
this point at this link - http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=218 Surf down to "The Permissive Will of God"
section. A brief excerpt is below here:
"Other parts of God's plan He permits. The
permissive will of God embraces only the moral features that are evil or
contrary to His desired will. Though God
does not actively promote this aspect of His sovereign will, He uses
them to accomplish His purposes, since He knows before hand just how
every person will respond to every possible situation, and decreed to
allow it or not. Regardless, God always places the responsibility for
these acts and their results with men or angels, as in the case of the fall of Satan and then
of man (Acts 14:16; Ps. 78:29; Isa. 10:5-14; Acts
2:23; Rom. 1:18-32). A classic example of this is perhaps the hardening
of Pharaoh's heart in the book of Exodus. Ten times it is said that
Pharaoh hardened his own heart (7:13, 14, 22; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 34;
13:15), and 10 times that God hardened Pharaoh's heart (4:21; 7:3; 9:12;
10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8, 17). Paul uses
this as an example of the inscrutable will of God and of His mercy
toward men (Rom. 9:14-18). Seven times Pharaoh hardened his own heart
before God first hardened it, though the prediction that God would do it
preceded all. The
fact that God permits these things does not make them less certain, nor
remove them from the sovereign plan of God, but it does remove the
responsibility for the sinful acts of men and fallen angels from God."
A few other websites that I found helpful surround
this question of the hardening of
pharaoh's heart are at these links (Please know that I may not
personally agree with everything you read in these websites, but thought
that they had some good food for thought at various points):
http://www.biblehelp.org/pharaoh.htm
http://www.rationalchristianity.net/pharaoh.html
http://www.ccel.org/contrib/exec_outlines/text/exo4_21.htm
http://www.biblehelp.org/pharaoh.htm
http://www.rationalchristianity.net/pharaoh.html
http://www.ccel.org/contrib/exec_outlines/text/exo4_21.htm
"I AM WHO I AM." (Yahweh) - Exodus 3:14
1. In Chapter 3 God speaks to Moses through the burning bush! What I love about this is in verse 4: "When the LORD saw that he had caught Moses' attention..." It seems like Moses probably could have seen this burning bush - and kept going. He could have somehow walked on by - maybe because he had to get the flocks back home or he was late for dinner or who knows what. He could have missed the adventure and the calling of his life. But he doesn't. He stops. He investigates. He has a conversation with God. God caught his attention. Q: Do you think God is trying to catch your attention today in any ways? How has God caught your attention in the past and revealed to you something important? Have you ever passed God by when he was trying to catch your attention? Exodus 3:14 is a biggee as Moses asks God who he should tell the Hebrews who sent him: "God replied, "I AM WHO I AM. Just tell them, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" I AM WHO I AM translates into Yahweh in Hebrew. I read a great little commentary that said when God speaks of himself, he says "I AM". When we speak of God we should say "He is." I like that. He is. I actually heard a sermon recently about the unchanging nature of God. He is omniscient. Omni-present. Eternal. He is wisdom. He cannot learn anything, because He knows everything. He is. The Hebrew letters yud, hey, vav, hey (below) -- often depicted in English as YHWH or Yahweh -- spell the ineffable name of God. Another powerful thing to note is that Jesus uses this same phrase of I AM and nearly gets stoned to death for sharing this truth in the Gospel of John chapter 8 verses 58 & 59: "“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds." Q: Do you believe that Jesus IS? What IS Jesus to you in your life today? How IS Jesus your very life?
2. This week we read in Exodus chapters 3 & 4 God discussing with Moses how Moses will lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses has a classic line to God in Chapter 4 verse 10: "Moses said to the LORD , "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." I think what is classic about this line is that probably many of us have some sort of line similar to this one that we say to God when God is calling us to do something big for His Kingdom. Or maybe even if it is something medium-sized or small God is calling us to, we probably have some pretty good excuses. "Why me God?" "I'm too young." I'm too old." "I'm too busy." "I'm not that smart." "I'm not that talented". And I'm sure our list of excuses could go on. BUT - check out what God says to Moses in verse 12: "Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."" Wow. Is there an area of your life where God is calling you to move forward? Maybe calling you to some Kingdom work? And are you making excuses? Will you leave those excuses behind? Do you realize that God will help you do whatever you need to do? Do you realize that God will teach you what to do as you go? You may not know exactly what to do right now - but if you move forward, do you believe God will show up and help you accomplish the task? Will you go? Now?
3. I like Exodus chapter 5 verse 1, which builds upon some of our readings in chapter 4: "After this presentation to Israel's leaders, Moses and Aaron went to see Pharaoh." What I like about this is that there was Moses & Aaron going to see Pharaoh - the 2 of them. This reminds me of Jesus sending out the disciples in pairs. Sometimes in life it seems like we can accomplish more, or stay on task better, if we are partnered with someone else. It's sometimes tough to do things on our own. I think sometimes we want to make ourselves out to be Lone Rangers - thinking that we can shoulder the weight of the world on our own. But... we can't. First and foremost we need to be in relationship with God through Jesus. Secondly, in relationship with our family. Thirdly, relationship with our community - as we saw Moses and Aaron spoke with the Hebrew leaders at the end of chapter 4. And then... we are ready to take on Pharaoh! Then, we are ready to take on the world! Yeah, sure, on rare occasions God will call us to pull off Kingdom tasks on our own - but... 9 times out of 10, I think you are going to need brothers and sisters in Christ to help you make it. Q: What type of Kingdom work do you do with other people? Who would you say is your “Aaron” in your life?
4. Today in Exodus chapter 13 verse 17 we read what I found to be an intriguing verse: "When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them on the road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest way from Egypt to the Promised Land. God said, "If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." That last sentence really stood out to me. It makes sense. It was wise for God to do this. But... then I think about our lives today. What if we are faced with a challenging spiritual battle our lives? Will we change our minds about God and return to our "Egypts"? Our Egypts might be the places where we are / were comfortable - enslaved to a sin though we may have been. As I think more about this, I do believe that God is sensitive in our lives, just as he was in the Israelites lives in this verse, as to what we can handle. I do not think he will send us a temptation or a trial greater than we can bear. But I also know that trials do come. And I pray that as the trials come, that we don't go back to our "Egypts"! but that we press on toward the "Promised Land". Q: Have you ever wanted to retreat from moving forward spiritually and wanted to retreat to your old “Egypt” or back to old habits? How did you overcome this temptation? How do you keep your eyes forward on Jesus, and not back on your old Egypt/habits? Have you ever had to sever friendships for this reason?
Our Upcoming
Scripture Readings
Sunday, January 30
Job 38-40:5
Monday, January 31
Job 40:6-42:17
Tuesday, February 1
Exodus 1-2:25; 1 Chronicles 6:1-3; Exodus 3-4:17
Wednesday, February 2
Exodus 4:18-7:13
Thursday, February 3
Exodus 7:14-9:35
Friday, February 4
Exodus 10-12:51
Saturday, February 5
Exodus 13-15:27
Sunday, February 6
Exodus 16-19:25
Monday, February 7
Exodus 20:1-22:15
Tuesday, February 8
Exodus 22:16-24:18
Wednesday, February 9
Exodus 25:1-28:43
Thursday February 10
Exodus 29:1-31:18
Friday, February 11
Exodus 32:1-34:35
Saturday, February 12
Exodus 35:1-36:38
Sunday, February 13
Exodus 37:1-39:31
Monday, February 14
Exodus 39:32-40:38; Numbers 9:15-23
Every day in 2011, I will be posting up daily commentary, questions for reflection, and images on the Chronological Bible Blog at: www.chronologicalbibleblog.com I encourage you to visit the blog each day in 2011. The blog will be the place for you to interact with our online community of 800 people around the world participating with us in our Chronological Bible readings. Please do share your insights or reflections or questions by clicking on the "Comments" link at the bottom of each daily posting at: www.chronologicalbibleblog.com and/or www.facebook.com/ChronologicalBible
I am excited that there are 800+ of us on this journey together through the Chronological Bible! Please contact me as any questions come up. Until next week's email!
God bless,
Mike
mi...@oneyearbibleblog.com
p.s. If you would consider praying for this Chronological Bible Blog ministry when you think of it, I would so greatly appreciate your prayers. Would you consider praying for this ministry on a regular basis? Maybe even once a week when you receive this email? This ministry is in its 8th year in 2011. Your partnership of prayer in this ministry will help bring more people worldwide into the joy and transformation of heart that takes place by reading and studying God's Word every day. Thank you so very much for your prayers. I truly mean it - thank you.
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