Daily Bible Devotionals

“He made a statute and ordinance for them at Marah and He tested them there. He said, ‘If you will carefully obey the Lord your God, do what is right in His eyes, pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, I will not inflict any illnesses on you that I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am Yahweh who heals you.’” Exodus 15:25b-26 (HCSB)

I remember being in college toward the end of the spring semester. It was so hard to stay awake during those late afternoon classes. The more the professor lectured, the more my mind drifted. Then, as if called from a great distance but rushing swiftly into my consciousness, I heard my name, “MR. WIGGINS!”.

It was the voice of my professor. Noticing I was drifting away, he asked me a question…several times. Everyone laughed, and I was embarrassed to 1) not know the answer and 2) not even know the question!

The Lord wants our FULL attention. Just as He directed the Israelites fresh out of Egypt, so He directs us to listen carefully to His voice. What does that look like?

The apostle Paul told the believers in Corinth, “Pursue Love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.”  (1 Corinthians 14:1)

Teaching is to recite tradition. Preaching has an urgent or evangelical bent. Prophecy is a personal revelation from the Lord. For example, as you read the Bible, the Lord will open your eyes to understand the Scriptures on a whole new level. That is prophesy for us believers. Paul said we should desire prophecy and share God’s revelation with others. To be clear, the type of “prophecy” Paul describes is NOT predicting future events. It is simply the Spirit revealing the truth of God’s Word in such a relevant way that it changes your values and how you live out your calling.

It has been my experience that when the Lord starts moving among His people, He doesn’t just tell one guy. He tells a bunch of people. Then, He brings them together so there can be agreement and focus on their efforts. That’s when powerful stuff starts happening! That is also what the church is designed to be. Church has become a place where people come to learn the Bible and get saved. But church should be the place where people who are independently and diligently seeking God’s Word gather at times during the week in agreement. It should be as much a BASE of worship as a PLACE of worship. Church should be less a finish line for people who happened to make it through the week without seeking the Lord and more of a starting line for believers to go out and work towards the Great Commission within their communities next week.  

We should listen for God’s voice as we meditate on His Scripture. Ask for His revelation. When His people obey this command, the Lord reveals His deep knowledge. He heals our theology, our personal relationships, and our emotional and physical conditions as well. Then, we faithfully respond to His call, experiencing His faithfulness.

Grab your Bible & experience the Groundworks Ministries Podcast as Steve Wiggins leads us through the full chapter of Exodus 14. Click the links below to watch or listen now!

“Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because Joseph had made the Israelites swear a solemn oath, saying, ‘God will certainly come to your aid; then you must take my bones with you from this place.’”  Exodus 13:19 (HCSB)

Do you remember the names of your grandparents’ parents? I don’t know the names of mine. I’ve definitely not heard of any agreements they made about their bones. I’m as good as cursed if they did!

What if we compounded this scenario by 400 years? Do you know the names of your ancestors who lived 400 years ago? Imagine a solemn oath that endured twice as long as the United States has been a nation. This was the case with Joseph’s bones.

Attached to the folklore of Joseph’s bones was the promise of hope. The hope of freedom by Divine intervention sustained the Israelites all those years. For the Israelites, the tradition of “what we’re going to do with Joseph’s bones” had to be comforting because it promised deliverance. At times, it must have felt more like superstition than God’s promise! Still, there was the hope: Maybe it’s true… Maybe God really will deliver us from Egypt and deposit us into Canaan.

Sometimes, planning your response to blessing is all the hope you need to get through the hard times. Here is a little thought I like to comfort myself with when money is tight (and it usually is): I make a mental list of the people I want to give money to as soon as I am in another season of financial overage. It helps keep me pressing on.

But in the end, freedom is not about finances. Freedom is spiritual. Many wealthy people are miserable, and many poor are peaceful.

“Your life should be free of the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ Therefore, we may boldly say: The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”  Hebrews 13:5-6  (HCSB)

Jesus said, “I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself” John 14:2-3 (NASB)

This hope of the resurrection, combined with Jesus’ promise to never leave or forsake us, allows the believer to endure this life and its trials. As was the case with Joseph’s bones in Egypt, the Lord will prove Himself faithful towards us. He will return to take us home to Heaven, not bury us in the ground of our homeland. We will walk in newness of life, along with a host of others, including Joseph, saved by God’s grace through faith in His promise. Now, THAT is a hope worth hanging your faith on! That is the hope of eternity with Messiah Jesus mixed with the promise of never leaving or forsaking us in this life!

“The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, This is the statute of the Passover: No foreigner may eat it. But any slave a man has purchased may eat it, after you have circumcised him. A temporary resident or hired hand may not eat the Passover. It is to be eaten in one house. You may not take any of the meat outside the house, and you may not break any of its bones. The whole community of Israel must celebrate it. If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover, every male in his household must be circumcised, and then he may participate; he will become like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person must eat it. The same law will apply to both the native and the foreigner who resides among you.” Exodus 12:43-49 (HCSB)

A few years ago, I was invited to lead music at a church. Maybe it was vacation time for that church because they also hired a guest preacher! Before the service, I asked the preacher what his topic/text was (perhaps I had a special song to set up his message). The preacher was going to cover the Passover. That was good news to me because I have led many believers through the Passover Seder meal and taught how what most Christians call the “Last Supper” was actually the “Last Seder.”

So, you can imagine my shock when the preacher began his message with the statement: “Gentiles are forbidden to celebrate the Passover.” What was this? Where did he get his opinion? He had taken today’s passage out of context. And sadly, he overlooked most of the Messianic imagery in the Passover!

True, today’s passage does begin with the statement: No foreigner may eat it. But then it defines what a “foreigner” is: One who has not been circumcised. Circumcision is a surgical procedure that God commanded the men of Israel to undergo. Literally meaning “cutting around” or “cutting away,” circumcision is a physical testimony that one has cut himself away from the fleshly “World” and distinguished himself as a follower of God. Meant to be an outward expression of an inner condition, it is possible to be outwardly circumcised yet inwardly wicked. Consider these verses:

“Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskins of your HEART, men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem. Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it because of your evil deeds.” Jeremiah 4:4 (HCSB) (emphasis mine)

“On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one INWARDLY, and circumcision is of the HEART—by the Spirit, not the letter. That man’s praise is not from men but from God.” Romans 2:29 (HCSB) (emphasis mine)

Ruth, the Gentile Moabitess, professed, “Your people are my people; your God is my God” (Ruth 1:16b) and was included among God’s people. So we also (Jew & Gentile) become the Community of Messiah whenever we profess Jesus as Savior and Lord. Our hearts become “circumcised,” for we are cut away from the World, set apart for God by the “blood of the Lamb.”  Messiah Jesus is OUR Passover sacrifice. (1 Corinthians 5:7b) So, if we (Jew & Gentile believers) can’t truly celebrate the Passover, who can?

(Moses speaking) “‘Then there will be a great cry of anguish through all the land of Egypt such as never was before, or will ever be again. But against all the Israelites, whether man or beast, not even a dog will snarl, so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying, ‘Leave, you and all the people who follow you.’ After that, I will leave.’ And he left Pharaoh’s presence in fierce anger.” Exodus 11:6-8 (HCSB)

Once, a guy from a rock band told me the story of how their van had been towed from a hotel parking lot. It seems the hotel had experienced a rash of abandoned vehicles dumped by car thieves. As a result, they were towing all vehicles left overnight whose owners had not registered their tags at the front desk. A slight oversight by the band’s road manager almost resulted in a missed gig!  

Here’s my point: The car had been in the hotel lot, parked by legitimate customers, but because it was not registered according to hotel regulations, it was also towed “legitimately.”

God made a distinction between Egypt and Israel. Keeping with my analogy, Egypt was illegitimate in His eyes, and Israel was legit. Soon, we will learn (in chapter 12) that even Israelites could be treated as “Egyptians” if they did not strictly follow God’s instructions. Their “legitimacy” was not dependent upon their DNA; instead, on their obedience to God’s Word. In fact, Scripture infers that in this matter, being “Israel” solely meant faithfully following the Lord’s instructions. For instance, Hebrews, who did not smear blood on their doorposts, eat the lamb’s meat & unleavened bread, would be considered “Egypt” and thus judged as Egyptians. Consider Paul’s words:

“But it is not as though the Word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Neither are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants. On the contrary, ‘In Isaac your seed will be called.’ That is, not the children by physical descent, but the children of the promise are considered seed.” Romans 9:6-8 (HCSB)

Pharaoh and his officials eventually recognized Israel’s God as greater than their gods, but they did not surrender themselves to worship Him.  Here is another distinguishing difference: “intellectual ascent” v/s true repentance. It is not enough to say with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord!” You must also believe it in your heart. Notice that neither Pharaoh nor his officials were spared from God’s judgment…even after allowing the Israelites to flee the country. Their “You win!” lip service was not counted as true repentance because they had not surrendered their hearts. The battle was never really between Egypt and Israel. It was over the worship of the One true God, YHWH.

For people today (Jew or Gentile), salvation is neither by DNA, lip service, or good deeds. It is only for those who surrender and follow Messiah Jesus by faith.

“For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves; it is God’s gift – not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 (HCSB)

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may do these miraculous signs of Mine among them, and so that you may tell your son and grandson how severely I dealt with the Egyptians and performed miraculous signs among them, and you will know that I am the Lord.’”  Exodus 10:1-2 (HCSB)

There has been an ages-long debate over the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. Some hold to a strict belief that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, while others say Pharaoh hardened his own heart. Those who say God hardened Pharaoh’s heart usually carry the inference that He kept Pharaoh from believing. It is as if Pharaoh’s heart could not have been softened, even if he wanted to repent. I find that hard to believe because the Bible says that God does not delight in punishing the wicked. Rather, He delights when they turn from their wickedness and trust Him. (Ezekiel 33:11)

I believe God gave Pharaoh the same chance He gave anyone else in Egypt, but He knew Pharaoh would not believe. God knew the same plagues that would make many repent would make many others hate Him even more. In a sense, the Lord DID harden Pharaoh’s heart because the plagues came from God. That being said, it was completely Pharaoh’s decision about how he would respond. God simply knew. Perhaps the best testimony to this interpretation of “hardening” is found in the final verses of Exodus, chapter 9.

“When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his officials. So Pharaoh’s heart hardened, and he did not let the Israelites go, as the Lord said through Moses.”  Exodus 9: 34-35 (HCSB)

Similarly, the Lord did not make the Israelites believe any more than He made Pharaoh not believe. Each man had a choice. (Joshua 24:15) Each person has a choice today because God is the same: yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The question is: How do you respond to God’s presence in your life? Do you accept Him or live in denial? Do you submit or rebel? You have a choice to either believe or not, so have you chosen to rebel against His Lordship and thus inherit His judgment, or have you chosen to surrender to Him and enter His deliverance? As long as there is life in your lungs, you have the option to turn to Him through faithful belief and trust in Jesus.

“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works for 40 years. Therefore, I was provoked with that generation and said, ‘They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known My ways.’ So I swore in My anger, ‘They will not enter My rest.’ Watch out, brothers, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God. But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.”  Hebrews 3:7-13 (HCSB)

“(The Lord speaking) ‘Every person that is in the field and not brought inside will die when the hail falls on them.’ Those among Pharaoh’s officials who feared the Word of the Lord made their servants and livestock flee to shelters, but those who didn’t take the Lord’s Word seriously left their servants and livestock in the field.” Exodus 9:19b-21 (HCSB)

This is the first indication that God’s warnings had a productive effect on the Egyptians. While Pharaoh may have chosen to harden his heart, some of his subjects were more than willing to consider the Hebrew God’s threats. They went as far as taking appropriate measures to steer clear of His wrath. That is not to say they were complete converts, but they (at least) knew to respect Him.

This passage reminds me of the general attitude in the secular workplace. Most managers don’t care about the Lord, so they do not heed the Bible’s message of the importance of resting. Underpaid and overworked employees do not produce as well as workers in pleasant conditions. A casual stroll through the average HR department file cabinet will give you a strong indication as to the fallout from disgruntled employees.  

In contrast, consider Chick-fil-A. Years ago, the founder of that corporation (a follower of Jesus) determined not to work on Sundays. Not only that, but he gave everyone in their company the day off! Chick-fil-A closes its doors on the week’s busiest restaurant day, yet they gross more than its competitors! They honor the Lord, and He honors their faithfulness.

Likewise, those officials in Pharaoh’s administration who believed God’s message were saved from disaster. The Bible says that when the exodus occurred, the Hebrews left Egypt with a large number of foreigners. There is no indication that these particular officials were in that group, but it wouldn’t surprise me if some of them were.

Have you heard the gospel and witnessed its saving power in the life of someone close to you? Have you noticed that, while followers of Jesus are not immune to hardship, they seem to weather hard times better than others?

Maybe it’s time you took a cue from Pharaoh’s officials. Surrender to Jesus’ Lordship! Save yourself while you still have a self to save!

“Pharaoh responded, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but don’t go very far. Make an appeal for me.”  Exodus 8:28 (HCSB)

The plagues were disciplinary chastisements of God. Instead of annihilating the tyrant with one stroke, God, in His divine forbearance, inflicted ten successive plagues to break his pride. Important to note is how the plagues God inflicted were direct judgments against the “gods” of Egypt.

Notice how different the ways of God are from the ways of man. Human warriors attack by surprise. They don’t space out their blows, and when they have the enemy beneath their feet, they make an end of him. But God warned Pharaoh ten times, and the Lord gave Pharaoh the opportunity to repent each time. Before punishing Pharaoh, God offered him mercy each time.

There is grace and merciful forgiveness for all who repent, but there is unsparing punishment for those who, hardening their hearts to the voice of God, continue in their stubborn ways.

So, what is true repentance?  

Repentance is more than lip service. It is more than saying a prayer, walking an aisle, donating money, or some good “work.” True repentance is complete surrender. It is the total giving-over of your life to the Lord. Anything less falls short of what the Lord requires.

In today’s passage, Pharaoh seems to have repented. But Pharaoh is not repenting. He is negotiating.

For a moment, think of Egypt as symbolic of “the World.” “Pharaoh” may represent a personal demonic influence that is holding you captive, threatening you against trusting the Lord. Imagine yourself being so valuable that two warring kingdoms would fight to the death to obtain you. One wants to exploit you, while the other wants to lavish its love upon you. One is Egypt, and the other is the Lord.

Now, imagine yourself hearing the truth of the gospel, about Jesus’ offering of grace, mercy, and forgiveness for all who would repent. Then imagine a growing desire in your heart to obey God’s voice...to trust Jesus.

The enemy senses you are about to be won by the Lord, so it offers a compromise: follow God, but not completely. “Nobody wants to be seen as a fanatic!” the enemy laughs.

Don’t buy the lie. Anything less than complete surrender is not true repentance. Have you completely surrendered your life to Jesus, or are you still in negotiations? I implore you to surrender TODAY! Don’t spend another night in Egypt.

Grab your Bible & experience the Groundworks Ministries Podcast as Steve Wiggins leads us through the full chapter of Exodus 7. Click the links below to watch or listen now!