Look for men and women of peace – Feb 24th
Exodus 7
Pharoah had rejected God, so Moses will stand in God’s place
“He should stand before Pharaoh in the place of God, not only delivering His messages, but accompanying them with such actions of power as should demonstrate the authority of those messages.” (Morgan)
In the New testament, Paul writes that believers are like letters written by Jesus that the whole world reads (2 Corinthians 3:2-3). People that won’t look to God look at us; those who won’t read the Bible read our life.
The first plague – blood goes against the Egyptians gods to do with the Nile.
Luke 10
In ch9 Jusus sent out the 12, now he commissions the 72 in the same way. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few! Look for men and women of peace – those whose hearts are open to God! Work with them, telling them about Jesus and healing them!
Shake the dust of your feet when you are not welcomed.
The 72 are excited by success – but Jesus tells them to rejoice more that their names are written in heaven – eternal security again!
Job 19
Job answers Bildad.
“Job’s friends have been, by the general consent of posterity, consigned to endless infamy. May all those who follow their steps be equally enrolled in the annals of bad fame!” (Clarke)
“They struck at him with their hard words, as if they were breaking stones on the roadside. We ought to be very careful what we say to those who are suffering affliction and trial, for a word, though it seems to be a very little thing, will often cut far more deeply and wound far more terribly than a razor would.” (Spurgeon)
In describing his suffering Job has given us the phrase the “escaped by the skin of my teeth” v20
1 Cor 5
Verses 9-10 are key to this chapter. For believers who feel we must retreat from the world. Stop! v9 10 is clear that happens only when we die. Separate from immoral believers who won’t stop their sin. Don’t judge unbelievers – believers that won’t repent are to be judges and expelled.