Category: Exodus
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Tyrant and Idol
I was recently listening to a discussion on the book of Exodus, and one of the key themes that emerged was tyranny, oppression, and slavery, and the willingness and need to stand up against it. Naturally, this is relevant today. The thought occurred to me as I was listening that throughout the biblical narrative tyranny…
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Dying You Shall Die
A question arises: is the death that follows the eating of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil a penalty? The language used in the law—he shall surely be put to death, or the like—is not used here. The same emphatic verb doubling is used but the form of the…
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The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
One fatal tree there stands, of knowledge called,Forbidden them to taste: Knowledge forbiddenSuspicious, reasonless. Why should their LordEnvy them that? Can it be sin to know?Can it be death? Paradise Lost, Book IV Adam was given only one rule or commandment regarding food: he may eat fruit of any of the trees of the garden,…
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The Spirit of the Day
Meredith Kline, in Images of the Spirit, has a wonderful exposition of the post-fall encounter of Adam and Eve with God. They had eaten of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; their eyes were opened and they sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness. The KJV (most other…
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For the Body
Exodus 3 and 4 recount Moses’s encounter with God at the burning bush. God tells Moses that He has heard the cry of His people and He knows their sufferings and that He has come down to deliver them from the Egyptians. He said to Moses, “‘Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you…
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So All Will Know
Leviticus 19 includes the phrase that Jesus quotes as the second great commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” God gives examples of what this means, anticipating the pharisaical question, “Who is my neighbor?” He includes the poor, the sojourner, the hired worker, the deaf, the blind, the great, the one living near you, and any…
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Kingdom Church
Deuteronomy 5 is a restatement of the Ten Words, or Ten Commandments, given to the people of Israel as they were preparing to enter the promised land. Chapters 6-26 are an expansion and commentary on each of the Ten Words. Chapter 7 is part of the section dealing with the first Word, “I am Yahweh…
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Kingdom of Priests
In Exodus 19, the people of Israel have been brought to Sinai, the mountain of God. They have already been rescued from the death and slavery of Egypt. Now, after they have seen the great salvation of God in the overthrow of their enemies, they are being prepared to receive the law. God tells them…
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The King and His Kingdom
God’s covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7 is part of a larger Exodus pattern in David’s life. In the Exodus, Moses and Israel escaped from Pharaoh and came to a wilderness place. They were attacked by Amalekites, but they defeated them. Jethro, the Gentile priest blessed them and then the covenant was established and instructions…
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Light and glory
Isaiah wrote around the time of the collapse and captivity of the northern kingdom of Israel, but his dealings were with the kings of the south. He warned against the coming invasion of Assyria and the ultimate fall, exile, and restoration of a reunited Israel. In the beginning of chapter 60, he casts the restoration…