Exodus 29 -- Consecration

Exodus 29:1 “This is what you are to do for them to consecrate them to serve Me as priests. Take a young bull and two unblemished rams, 2 with unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers coated with oil. Make them out of fine wheat flour, 3 put them in a basket, and bring them in the basket, along with the bull and two rams. 4 Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water. 5 Then take the garments and clothe Aaron with the tunic, the robe for the ephod, the ephod itself, and the breastpiece; fasten the ephod on him with its woven waistband. 6 Put the turban on his head and place the holy diadem on the turban. 7 Take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him. 8 You must also bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. 9 Tie the sashes on Aaron and his sons and fasten headbands on them. The priesthood is to be theirs by a permanent statute. This is the way you will ordain Aaron and his sons.

I am assuming that Moses is performing the washing and dressing since it was to him the command was given.  They are to be physically cleaned to remove anything impure from their bodies.  Like we, when we are saved are washed by baptism and by the blood of Christ.

Exodus 29:10 “You are to bring the bull to the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on the bull’s head. 11 Slaughter the bull before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 12 Take some of the bull’s blood and apply it to the horns of the altar with your finger; then pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 13 Take all the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 But burn up the bull’s flesh, its hide, and its dung outside the camp; it is a sin offering.

The bull is to be a sin offering to the Lord.  The bests parts of the bull are to be burned on the alter while the rest is to be removed and burned outside the camp as something unclean. 

Exodus 29:15 “Take one ram, and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on the ram’s head. 16 You are to slaughter the ram, take its blood, and sprinkle it on all sides of the altar. 17 Cut the ram into pieces. Wash its entrails and shanks, and place them with its head and its pieces on the altar. 18 Then burn the whole ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasing aroma, a fire offering to the Lord.

This sacrifice is a pleasing aroma to the Lord.  He is pleased when his children obey him and do as he asks.  

Exodus 29:19 “You are to take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on the ram’s head. 20 Slaughter the ram, take some of its blood, and put it on Aaron’s right earlobe, on his sons’ right earlobes, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Sprinkle the remaining blood on all sides of the altar. 21 Take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle them on Aaron and his garments, as well as on his sons and their garments. In this way, he and his garments will become holy, as well as his sons and their garments.

Aaron and his sons were to cover themselves in the blood of the sacrifice.  Perhaps this was a way to show how they purify themselves?  I do not know the significance of the body parts mentioned.  Perhaps someone can enlighten me!  We are to cover ourselves with the blood of Christ.

Revelation 1:4 John:  To the seven churches in Asia.  Grace and peace to you from the One who is, who was, and who is coming; from the seven spirits before His throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.  To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood, 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—the glory and dominion are His forever and ever. Amen.

We are cleansed from our sin by the blood of Christ.  The sins of the Israelites were cleansed by the blood of animals.  Christ's sacrifice is permanent.  The animals were temporary.

Exodus 29:22 “Take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat covering the entrails, the fatty lobe of the liver, the two kidneys and the fat on them, and the right thigh (since this is a ram for ordination); 23 take one loaf of bread, one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord; 24 and put all of them in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them as a presentation offering before the Lord. 25 Take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a pleasing aroma before the Lord; it is a fire offering to the Lord.

I wonder if using the right thigh has anything to do with Abraham making his servant make an oath for Isaac's wife by placing his hand "under his thigh?"

One thing I thought about while reading the above was why did the offering have to be burned?   Well, after reading several commentaries, I am still not sure why.  I know that the whole animal was consumed.  Perhaps since the animal was to be used as a sacrifice to atone for our sins, and the punishment for sin is death, and those who do not trust in Christ are thrown into a lake of fire, perhaps the animal is to represent what happens to sinners who do not repent of their sins?  If anyone can provide any answers on this, please let me know!

Exodus 29:26 “Take the breast from the ram of Aaron’s ordination and wave it as a presentation offering before the Lord; it is to be your portion. 27 Consecrate for Aaron and his sons the breast of the presentation offering that is waved and the thigh of the contribution that is lifted up from the ram of ordination. 28 This will belong to Aaron and his sons as a regular portion from the Israelites, for it is a contribution. It will be the Israelites’ contribution from their fellowship sacrifices, their contribution to the Lord.

29 “The holy garments that belong to Aaron are to belong to his sons after him, so that they can be anointed and ordained in them. 30 Any priest who is one of his sons and who succeeds him and enters the tent of meeting to minister in the sanctuary must wear them for seven days.

31 “You are to take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place. 32 Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 33 They must eat those things by which atonement was made at the time of their ordination and consecration. An unauthorized person must not eat them, for these things are holy. 34 If any of the meat of ordination or any of the bread is left until morning, burn up what is left over. It must not be eaten because it is holy.

Only Aaron and his sons can eat the holy sacrifices.  Since the priest did not farm or have work with which to buy food, it was the other Israelites jobs to take care of them.  The Lord even made it where they could be fed through the sacrifices that were offered.  This passage also reminds me of the wanderings in the desert.  The mana was only to be gathered so that each family had what they needed for the one day and not to save any for the morning.  Also, with the passover lamb, none of it was to remain until morning either (Exodus 12:10).

Exodus 29:35 “This is what you are to do for Aaron and his sons based on all I have commanded you. Take seven days to ordain them. 36 Sacrifice a bull as a sin offering each day for atonement. Purify the altar when you make atonement for it, and anoint it in order to consecrate it. 37 For seven days you must make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. The altar will become especially holy; whatever touches the altar will become holy.

38 “This is what you are to offer regularly on the altar every day: two year-old lambs. 39 In the morning offer one lamb, and at twilight offer the other lamb. 40 With the first lamb offer two quarts of fine flour mixed with one quart of oil from crushed olives, and a drink offering of one quart of wine. 41 You are to offer the second lamb at twilight. Offer a grain offering and a drink offering with it, like the one in the morning, as a pleasing aroma, a fire offering to the Lord. 42 This will be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance to the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet you to speak with you. 43 I will also meet with the Israelites there, and that place will be consecrated by My glory. 44 I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve Me as priests. 45 I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. 46 And they will know that I am Yahweh their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so that I might dwell among them. I am Yahweh their God.

Here at the end of the chapter, God says that He will be the one who will consecrate and make holy by His glory.  The actions performed by Moses, Aaron and his sons are not necessary but are to be a sign of how to approach God.  You must prepare yourself for seven days.  You must become a new creation.  Since creation took seven days, so must the preparation to come before God. 

God brought the Israelites out of Egypt so that He may dwell among them in the tabernacle.  He saves us Christians to that he can dwell with us in the new heavens and the new earth at the end of times.

Exodus 25 -- Instructions 1

Exodus 25:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Tell the Israelites to take an offering for Me. You are to take My offering from everyone who is willing to give. 3 This is the offering you are to receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze; 4 blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; 5 ram skins dyed red and manatee skins; acacia wood; 6 oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 7 and onyx along with other gemstones for mounting on the ephod and breastpiece.

Here the Lord is instructing Moses on what materials will be necessary to make the tabernacle of the Lord and the items that will be inside of it.  You should notice that the Lord did not command Moses to take these items from the people, but he said that Moses should take from those who are willing to give. 

2 Corinthians 9:7 Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.  

Today, the Lord does not force us to give Him anything.  He wants us to, but will not force us.  He wants us to give to Him because we want to and he wants us to be happy about it.  

Exodus 25:8 “They are to make a sanctuary for Me so that I may dwell among them. 9 You must make it according to all that I show you—the pattern of the tabernacle as well as the pattern of all its furnishings.

The Lord did not make the Israelites guess as to how the tabernacle should be be built, but he gave them specific instructions.  The Lord wanted a place where He could dwell among His people.  Today, the Holy Spirit dwells in those who believe, but before the sacrifice of Christ, no one could have anything holy within them since they were full of sin, so God required a separate place to dwell.  He could no dwell within men as he does today.  Christ's sacrifice on the cross means that those today who are believers are covered by the blood of Christ and when our Heavenly Father looks at us, he will see Christ.

Exodus 25:10 “They are to make an ark of acacia wood, 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high.

Why acacia wood?  What I know of acacia is that it is a thorny tree that grows in parts of Africa and giraffes like to eat it... thanks Discovery Channel! -- Anywho, I did some looking up about acacia and found that they are all over the world, not just Africa.  The plants have some medicinal purposes, but I could not find anything specific about that.  In Egyptian myths, acacia is associated with life.  In Asian cultures, acacia bark is burned and used as an incense to keeps demons away and to put the gods a good mood. (Wikipedia) So, knowing in other traditions acacia is associated with life and is something to ward away demons, it seems to be fitting to use acacia wood for various things in the tabernacle.

Exodus 25:11 Overlay it with pure gold; overlay it both inside and out. Also make a gold molding all around it. 12 Cast four gold rings for it and place them on its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. 13 Make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them. 15 The poles are to remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed from it. 16 Put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark. 17 Make a mercy seat of pure gold, 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. 18 Make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end. At its two ends, make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat. 20 The cherubim are to have wings spread out above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and are to face one another. The faces of the cherubim should be toward the mercy seat. 21 Set the mercy seat on top of the ark and put the testimony that I will give you into the ark. 22 I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony; I will speak with you from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites.

So, the Lord will appear on the ark, in the mercy seat between the two cherubim.  All of these things described are covered in gold.  Inside and out.  The ark would be heavy and since they were not allowed to touch it (we will see this later on) the poles were necessary to carry it. 

Exodus 25:23 “You are to construct a table of acacia wood, 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high. 24 Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding all around it. 25 Make a three-inch frame all around it and make a gold molding for it all around its frame. 26 Make four gold rings for it, and attach the rings to the four corners at its four legs. 27 The rings should be next to the frame as holders for the poles to carry the table. 28 Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, and the table can be carried by them. 29 You are also to make its plates and cups, as well as its pitchers and bowls for pouring drink offerings. Make them out of pure gold. 30 Put the bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.

Bread of Presence?  Anyone know this?

Exodus 25:31 “You are to make a lampstand out of pure, hammered gold. It is to be made of one piece: its base and shaft, its ornamental cups, and its calyxes and petals. 32 Six branches are to extend from its sides, three branches of the lampstand from one side and three branches of the lampstand from the other side. 33 There are to be three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a calyx and petals, on the first branch, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a calyx and petals, on the next branch. It is to be this way for the six branches that extend from the lampstand. 34 There are to be four cups shaped like almond blossoms on the lampstand shaft along with its calyxes and petals. 35 For the six branches that extend from the lampstand, a calyx must be under the first pair of branches from it, a calyx under the second pair of branches from it, and a calyx under the third pair of branches from it. 36 Their calyxes and branches are to be of one piece. All of it is to be a single hammered piece of pure gold.

The sculpture of this piece must have been very skilled to make such an object out of a single piece of gold.

Exodus 25:37 “Make seven lamps on it. Its lamps are to be set up so they illuminate the area in front of it. 38 Its snuffers and firepans must be of pure gold. 39 The lampstand with all these utensils is to be made from 75 pounds of pure gold. 40 Be careful to make them according to the pattern you have been shown on the mountain.

I am suddenly reminded of this:

Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” 12 I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven gold lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe and with a gold sash wrapped around His chest.

 I wonder if  there is any significance to this.  

Exodus 24 -- Covenant Ceremony

Exodus 24:1 Then He said to Moses, “Go up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and 70 of Israel’s elders, and bow in worship at a distance. 2 Moses alone is to approach the Lord, but the others are not to approach, and the people are not to go up with him.”

Moses was the only one to approach.  When we read about the temple, we learn that their is one high priest that can enter the holy of holys.   Here Moses is acting as a high priest by being the one who can enter closest to God.

Exodus 24:3 Moses came and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. Then all the people responded with a single voice, “We will do everything that the Lord has commanded.” 4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early the next morning and set up an altar and 12 pillars for the 12 tribes of Israel at the base of the mountain. 5 Then he sent out young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses took half the blood and set it in basins; the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 He then took the covenant scroll and read it aloud to the people. They responded, “We will do and obey everything that the Lord has commanded.”
8 Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.”

Blood is used as a sign of this covenant.  This reminds me of the need of Christ's blood to atone for our sins.  We too needed the blood of something (in our case someone, Christ) to bind us to God.  It is through Christ's blood that we are able to draw near to God.

Exodus 24:9 Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and 70 of Israel’s elders, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. Beneath His feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire stone, as clear as the sky itself. 11 God did not harm the Israelite nobles; they saw Him, and they ate and drank.

Perhaps they saw the throne of God?  In Ezekiel, it is described as being sapphire stone:

Ezekiel 1:26 The shape of a throne with the appearance of sapphire stone was above the expanse. There was a form with the appearance of a human on the throne high above.

and

Ezekiel 10:1 Then I looked, and there above the expanse over the heads of the cherubim was something like sapphire stone resembling the shape of a throne that appeared above them.

Sapphire is also found in the foundation of the new Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:19) 

Exodus 24:12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there so that I may give you the stone tablets with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua and went up the mountain of God. 14 He told the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has a dispute should go to them.” 15 When Moses went up the mountain, the cloud covered it. 16 The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day He called to Moses from the cloud. 17 The appearance of the Lord’s glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop. 18 Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain, and he remained on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.

Forty days and nights, just like the rains of the flood.  I wonder if there is any significance to that?  

Marriage and the Church

Marriage is a beautiful thing when understood rightly and in the context of  the Christian faith.  Today, the definition of marriage has been twisted and perverted and made to be something it was never intended to be all in the name of "equal rights."  A marriage is so much more than two people who love each other.  You need more than just love to make a marriage work, and work well.  A marriage needs some sort of unifying force.  Something greater than the sinful and imperfect love of humans.  For the Christian, that is Christ.  Any marriage that is truly centered on Christ and Christ alone will not falter.  Yes, there will be ups and downs, but the bond between the couple, if centered in Christ, will not break.  A marriage that falls apart is due to the sinful desires of one or both partners, so the marriage that fails is not centered on Christ but sinful human desire.

Revelation 19:6 Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude, like the sound of cascading waters, and like the rumbling of loud thunder, saying:
Hallelujah, because our Lord God, the Almighty,
has begun to reign!
7 Let us be glad, rejoice, and give Him glory,
because the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and His wife has prepared herself.
8 She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure.
For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.
9 Then he said to me, “Write: Those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb are fortunate!” He also said to me, “These words of God are true.” 10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow slave with you and your brothers who have the testimony about Jesus. Worship God, because the testimony about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

This passage describes the marriage of Christ to his church.

Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord, 23 for the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. 27 He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless. 28 In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 since we are members of His body.
31 For this reason a man will leave
his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh.
32 This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.

These verses further the link between marriage of a man and a woman with Christ and his Church.  A man is to be the head of the home as Christ is head of the church.  He is to love his wife as Christ loves the church.  He is to keep her pure and clean and keep pointing her towards Christ.  Likewise the wife is to submit to her husband as the church submits to Christ.  For this purpose, men and women leave their childhood homes and become one flesh in marriage, a marriage that unifies them in Christ.

I know that submission is something that many women have issues with, but I think it is because it is misunderstood.  Just think of submission to your husband this way.  If you, as wife, are supposed to represent the church and your husband is supposed to represent Christ, then imagine that your husband IS Christ.  So if your husband, who is supposed to represent the Lord Jesus Christ looked at you and said, "Honey I don't think we need new curtains or a new whatever.  I think we can use that money in a better way."  What is your first reaction?  "But I really want it!" You grumble and complain against your husband for being denied something you WANT.  While you are grumbling against your husband, you are grumbling against Christ. Against Christ!!!  The one who loved you in such a way that he went to the cross and died the most horrible death to save you from the depths of hell.  He died, sacrificed himself, so you could have the most wonderful future with God and himself in the everlasting kingdom of God. When you do not submit to your husband's authority, then you are therefore not submitting to Christ.  Now, I am not saying that you must obey EVERYTHING your husband would want for you. Remember, he still sins.  He must represent Christ, but as a man, he is still under the sin nature and will not perform that duty perfectly.  You must use your own judgement to discern when your husband is requesting of you in Christ or requesting of you through sin.  If what your husband request of you would lead you, your husband or your family to sin, then, you have every right to speak to your husband and refuse the request by explaining why you will not fulfill it.  It does not have to be an argument.

I have been blessed with a wonderful husband who does his best to represent Christ.  We have only really had one real argument in the seven years we have been married.  We had just moved away from home, almost 10 hours away, the first time I had been away from home.  We had to use a laundry mat to wash our cloths, first time for that too.  Well, my husband was supposed to get quarters for us to use the machines.  He did not because he did not know where the machine was.  (It was located in another building that was not near the laundry mat)  Well, we only had enough to wash one load and we had 3 or so.   I made a comment to him that was something like "you were supposed to get the quarters or we should have gone to find the quarter machine" and I; not sure why my husband  got mad, I do not really remember, but he did.  He said something not so nice, again I don't remember exactly what, and he proceeded to leave the laundry mat and leave me by myself.  Of course I burst into tears, which my husband melted at and the argument was over.  He stayed and we had quarters every week from then on.  From then on, we have not really argued to the point of getting mad at each other.  If fact, there are very few people who have EVER seen me mad, and my husband has never see it, truly.  I was not mad above, just hurt.  Instead of arguing every time there is a disagreement or misunderstanding, you both need to sit and discuss it.  See what the Bible says about the issue.  Why do you want it this way and why does he want it another.  Sometimes the situation just needs some clarification or explanation that cannot be given if you two are yelling and angry.

Now a woman may say, "but my husband is not a Christian, so he cannot represent Christ, because he does not know Christ."  Well, the Bible says this:

1 Peter 3:1 In the same way, wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even if some disobey the Christian message, they may be won over without a message by the way their wives live 2 when they observe your pure, reverent lives.

Even if your husband is not saved, you should  submit to him in so much that he does not hinder your walk with God.  If you continue to live as Christ would have you live, you my be able to win your husband to Christ without saying a word, but by the way you live your life and treat him and your family.  Just because your husband is not saved, doesn't mean you do not have to submit.

Marriage is so much more than "I love you."  It is a way of life in which you and your husband demonstrate Christ's love for his church through the way you live, in loving, caring, submitting, and every other good and pleasing thing to God.

Exodus 20:7 -- Do Not Misuse the Name of the Lord

Exodus 20:7 Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses His name.

We should not use the name of the Lord in a way that would bring dishonor to him.  We should not use his name unless we are addressing Him or telling someone about Him.  Passages in the Old Testament tells us to take our oaths in Him name.  

The Bible is filled with references telling the people to not misuse God's name, here are a few.

Leviticus 18:21 “You are not to make any of your children pass through the fire to Molech. Do not profane the name of your God; I am Yahweh."

Leviticus 19:12 You must not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God; I am Yahweh.

These two verses are straight forward.  Do not profane the name of God.

Deuteronomy 18:19 I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to My words that he speaks in My name.20 But the prophet who dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods—that prophet must die.’

Here, a punishment is given for those who profane or misuse the name of God, he must die.

Psalm 74:10 God, how long will the enemy mock?
Will the foe insult Your name forever?
11 Why do You hold back Your hand?
Stretch out Your right hand and destroy them!

The Psalmist is pleading with God to destroy those who insult the name of the Lord.

Proverbs 30:8 Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.
Give me neither poverty nor wealth;
feed me with the food I need.
9 Otherwise, I might have too much
and deny You, saying, “Who is the Lord?”
or I might have nothing and steal,
profaning the name of my God.

Here in Proverbs it suggest that having plenty or too little could cause someone to profane the name of God.  Having just what one needs can help keep one from doing so.

Ezekiel 20:39 “As for you, house of Israel, this is what the Lord God says: Go and serve your idols, each of you. But afterward you will surely listen to Me, and you will no longer defile My holy name with your gifts and idols.

Ezekiel is telling Israel that they are defiling the name of God by serving idols.  By rejecting God and raising our lives to another god profanes God's name because we are not seeing Him for being the Holy God he truly is.

Ezekiel 36:21 Then I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went.
22 “Therefore, say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: It is not for your sake that I will act, house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations where you went. 23 I will honor the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am Yahweh”—the declaration of the Lord God—“when I demonstrate My holiness through you in their sight. 

Romans 2:23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 For, as it is written: The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.

These two verses show that the name of God is defiled when those who proclaim His name do not act as though they follow God.  They confess with their lips but their actions are completely different.  Thus, those who see them out in the world get the wrong view of God, this His name is profaned.

1 Timothy 6:1 All who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters to be worthy of all respect, so that God’s name and His teaching will not be blasphemed.

If you are subjected to following the rules or under the authority of another individual, no matter who they are, or how they act, you must show them respect so that your witness in Christ may be protected and that you will blaspheme the name of God.

Revelation 16:8 The fourth poured out his bowl on the sun. He was given the power to burn people with fire, 9 and people were burned by the intense heat. So they blasphemed the name of God, who had the power over these plagues, and they did not repent and give Him glory.

The people here experienced something horrible.  Instead of turning to God and repenting or even acknowledging the power of God to remove these horrible plagues, the people grumbled and complained that they were being burned.  Grumbling and complaining against God is another way to blaspheme His name.

There are many ways we can defile the name of our God.  It is more than spewing out a profanity.  It is a way of life.  If we have idols, if we grumble and complain against Him, if our actions do not match our speech concerning Him, if we deliberately sin, we are guilty of profaning the name of God.  God is all about His glory.  His name must be praised and exalted.  We must strive to do this every day by praising him and turning from our sins.

Exodus 12:33-13:16 -- Keeping the Passover

Exodus 12:33 Now the Egyptians pressured the people in order to send them quickly out of the country, for they said, “We’re all going to die!” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls wrapped up in their clothes on their shoulders.
35 The Israelites acted on Moses’ word and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 And the Lord gave the people such favor in the Egyptians’ sight that they gave them what they requested. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.
37 The Israelites traveled from Rameses to Succoth, about 600,000 soldiers on foot, besides their families. 38 An ethnically diverse crowd also went up with them, along with a huge number of livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 The people baked the dough they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves, since it had no yeast; for when they had been drivenout of Egypt they could not delay and had not prepared any provisions for themselves.
40 The time that the Israelites lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of 430 years, on that same day, all the Lord’s divisions went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It was a night of vigil in honor of the Lord, because He would bring them out of the land of Egypt. This same night is in honor of the Lord, a night vigil for all the Israelites throughout their generations.

The people finally left Egypt and traveled away from the city of their oppression.  This, of course was only the beginning of their long journey to the promised land.

Exodus 12:43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner may eat it. 44 But any slave a man has purchased may eat it, after you have circumcised him.45 A temporary resident or hired hand may not eat the Passover. 46 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. 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate it. 48 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 may eat it. 49 The same law will apply to both the native and the foreigner who resides among you.”

Here, the Lord gives to the people of Israel the instructions on how to celebrate the Passover.  Each family that participates, whether Jew or foreign, must be circumcised.  Since circumcision is the sign of the covenant between God and his people, they must be in his covenant to participate in the Passover.  That is why if a foreigner becomes circumcised, he will become like a native of the land.

Exodus 12:50 Then all the Israelites did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 On that same day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt according to their divisions.

The Israelites obeyed the command of their God concerning the Passover.

Exodus 13:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Consecrate every firstborn male to Me, the firstborn from every womb among the Israelites, both man and domestic animal; it is Mine.”

Here, the Lord is demanding that every first born male to be consecrated to himself.  Just as God destroyed the first born of those in Egypt, he wants to separate the first born of Israel for his special purposes.  Just as his own first born, Christ, was set apart as the sacrifice for us all.

Exodus 13:3 Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day when you came out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, for the Lord brought you out of here by the strength of His hand. Nothing leavened may be eaten. 4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving. 5 When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers that He would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you must carry out this ritual in this month. 6 For seven days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord.7 Unleavened bread is to be eaten for those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, and no yeast may be found among you in all your territory. 8 On that day explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’9 Let it serve as a sign for you on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the Lord’s instruction may be in your mouth; for the Lord brought you out of Egypt with a strong hand. 10 Keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.

Here Moses commands again for the people of Israel to follow the Passover.   The people will constantly have to be reminded and redirected towards the will of God throughout their journey to and life in the promised land.

Exodus 13:11 “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 you are to present to the Lord every firstborn male of the womb. All firstborn offspring of the livestock you own that are males will be the Lord’s.13 You must redeem every firstborn of a donkey with a flock animal, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. However, you must redeem every firstborn among your sons.
14 “In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘By the strength of His hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man to the firstborn of livestock. That is why I sacrifice to the Lord all the firstborn of the womb that are males, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’16 So let it be a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead, for the Lord brought us out of Egypt by the strength of His hand.”

The Lord brought the Israelites out by the strength of His hand.  He showed his mighty power in taking all the first born of Egypt, and now he wants the first born of Israel, not to kill, but to redeem and set apart for his works.

I want to look at a phrase that has been in this section a few times:  "a symbol on you forehead."  I know this is mentioned many times in Revelation in reference to the mark of the beast as well as determining who is Gods.

Revelation 13:15 He was permitted to give a spirit to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And he requires everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of his name.

Revelation 14:9 And a third angel followed them and spoke with a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb

Here those with the mark of the beast are those destined to an eternity in hell.  They are not marked with the seal of God, and the only other option is the mark of the beast.  The mark is probably not literal in the since that you will see a physical mark on a person's hand or forehead, but it is their thoughts and deeds that hand them over to their destruction.

Revelation 7:3 “Don’t harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we seal the slaves of our God on their foreheads.”

Revelation 9:3 Then locusts came out of the smoke on to the earth, and power was given to them like the power that scorpions have on the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green plant, or any tree, but only people who do not have God’s seal on their foreheads. 5 They were not permitted to kill them but were to torment them for five months; their torment is like the torment caused by a scorpion when it strikes a man.

Revelation 20:4 Then I saw thrones, and people seated on them who were given authority to judge. I also saw the people who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of God’s word, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and who had not accepted the mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with the Messiah for 1,000 years.

Revelation 22:3b The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His slaves will serve Him. 4 They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 Night will no longer exist, and people will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever.

Again, the seal of God is probably not a physical mark on the person's body, but a showing of their faith through their deeds and thoughts.  Those are God's are marked and those who God has chosen will not be harmed by some of the upcoming judgments.

It seems that the mark on the hand comes from the deeds the person does.  If the person does evil or selfish deeds , they are marked by the beast but if they do righteous deeds they are sealed for God.  Likewise the mark on the forehead seems to be that if the person thinks evil things they have the mark of the beast, but those chosen by God have righteous thoughts and are sealed by God.

When referring to the Passover and the consecration of the first born males, the deed of keeping the Passover would be righteous in the site of God for the Jews, the mark on the hand.  Also, the fathers teaching their sons the importance of the Passover and the consecration of the first born, the mark on the forehead.  I could be completely wrong about seeing a connection here, and if anyone has any further incite, please let me know!

Deuteronomy 11:18 “Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children,talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Deuteronomy tells the marks are not literal.  They are symbols.  Keep the words on your heard and minds.  Bind them as a sign on your hands.  Keeping the laws in Deuteronomy would be a sign of righteousness, and this the acts of the hands in keeping the law would be the sign to show you have faith and believe in God.  Believing enough to do the deeds of God, you will want to teach them to your children.  The mark of the forehead is knowing the truth of God through and through, enough to teach others about the power and glory of God.

Exodus 9:13-35 -- Hail Falls from the Sky

Exodus 9:13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh. Tell him: This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. 14 Otherwise, I am going to send all My plagues against you, your officials, and your people. Then you will know there is no one like Me in all the earth.15 By now I could have stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with a plague, and you would have been obliterated from the earth. 16 However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you My power and to make My name known in all the earth. 17 You are still acting arrogantly against My people by not letting them go. 18 Tomorrow at this time I will rain down the worst hail that has ever occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 Therefore give orders to bring your livestock and all that you have in the field into shelters. Every person and animal that is in the field and not brought inside will die when the hail falls on them.”

As I read this, I think of how Moses was being obedient to the Lord's commands.  Early on, he had a lot of objections to this plan, especially telling God he was not qualified to do the work, but now, Moses does everything the Lord tells him to.  Another thing that struck me was that the Lord gave them a way out of this plague.  He said if the bring their people and animals inside, then they would be spared.  He said that anything or anyone left outside would be destroyed,

Exodus 9:20 Those among Pharaoh’s officials who feared the word of the Lord made their servants and livestock flee to shelters, 21 but those who didn’t take the Lord’s word seriously left their servants and livestock in the field.

 After all that the Lord had shown the Egyptians through Moses and his plagues, there were some who still did not believe in the Lord's power.  They were obstinate and left their livestock and servants outside.

Exodus 9:22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven and let there be hail throughout the land of Egypt—on man and beast and every plant of the field in the land of Egypt.” 23 So Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail. Lightning struck the earth, and the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24 The hail, with lightning flashing through it, was so severe that nothing like it had occurred in the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. 25 Throughout the land of Egypt, the hail struck down everything in the field, both man and beast. The hail beat down every plant of the field and shattered every tree in the field. 26 The only place it didn’t hail was in the land of Goshen where the Israelites were.

God destroyed everything.  Man.  Beast.  Plants.  All the crops that had not been gathered was destroyed.  All the animals that had not been put to shelter were killed.  Every man who stayed outside lost their life.  The land of Israel was spared.

Exodus 9:27 Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. “I have sinned this time,” he said to them. “Yahweh is the Righteous One, and I and my people are the guilty ones. 28 Make an appeal to Yahweh. There has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t need to stay any longer.”
29 Moses said to him, “When I have left the city, I will extend my hands to Yahweh. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know the earth belongs to Yahweh. 30 But as for you and your officials, I know that you still do not fear Yahweh our God.”

Moses knew that Pharaoh and the officials did not fear God.  They still held beliefs in their own gods even though our Lord showed his complete power over the gods of Egypt.

Exodus 9:31 The flax and the barley were destroyed because the barley was ripe and the flax was budding, 32 but the wheat and the spelt were not destroyed since they are later crops.

Here we see some mercy from the Lord in this plague.  Yes, the crops that were already planted and near to harvest were destroyed and the Egyptians had to suffer temporarily from lack of grains, they did have the harvest of wheat and spelt to look forward to.  It was not God's intent to utterly destroy the Egyptians, just to brake them enough to recognize his power and authority over all functions of the earth.

Exodus 9:33 Moses went out from Pharaoh and the city, and extended his hands to the Lord. Then the thunder and hail ceased, and rain no longer poured down on the land. 34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his officials. 35 So Pharaoh’s heart hardened, and he did not let the Israelites go, as the Lord had said through Moses.

I know Moses was not surprised at this reaction.  He knew that Pharaoh and his officials did not fear God properly. They wanted their comfort back.  They wanted to rebuild what was lost, but they did not want to acknowledge God and what he had done.   Once things were back to normal, Pharaoh and his officials recanted what had previously been said,

There are other times in the Bible when the Lord uses hail as a judgment on wicked and evil people.

Joshua 10:6 Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Don’t abandon your servants. Come quickly and save us! Help us, for all the Amorite kings living in the hill country have joined forces against us.” 7 So Joshua and his whole military force, including all the fighting men, came from Gilgal.
8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for I have handed them over to you. Not one of them will be able to stand against you.”
9 So Joshua caught them by surprise, after marching all night from Gilgal. 10 The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel. He defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them through the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled before Israel, the Lord threw large hailstones on them from the sky along the descent of Beth-horon all the way to Azekah, and they died. More of them died from the hail than the Israelites killed with the sword.

Here, the Lord handed over the enemy of Joshua to his army.  They defeated them and as the defeated army fled, the Lord rained hail down on them, taking out more men that the Israelite army did.

Psalm 48:47 He killed their vines with hail
and their sycamore fig trees with a flood.
48 He handed over their livestock to hail
and their cattle to lightning bolts.

Here, Psalm is talking about the punishment God gave to Israel during their disobedience while they wandered through the desert.

Revelation 16:21 Enormous hailstones, each weighing about 100 pounds, fell from the sky on people, and they blasphemed God for the plague of hail because that plague was extremely severe.

At the end times, a hail storm will come and devastate everything.  People will curse God because of the hail instead of recognizing his power and authority.

As you see from these examples, hail is used as a judgment from God in the Bible.  God uses hail to show his power and might over many parts of nature.  Weather.  Life and Death.  Food.  Comfort.  And so much more.  God is all powerful and the righteous judge.  He brings the hail down on wicked people to they can see his power and might.  So they can know he is the one true, all powerful God.

Exodus 9:1-7 -- Death of Livestock

Exodus 9:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him: This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go and keep holding them, 3 then the Lord’s hand will bring a severe plague against your livestock in the field—the horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.

 So the Lord said he would strike their "horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks."  The horses, donkeys and camels were the animals they would have used to work and travel.  If they die, then their work and travel would become much harder.  Their flocks and herds, talking about goats and sheep most likely, were a source of food.  With out meat or milk, their food supply would diminish greatly.

Exodus 9:4 But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that the Israelites own will die.”

 Again, the Lord does not touch the flocks, herds or animals that belonged to the Israelites.  He made a distinction between his people and the people of Pharaoh.

Exodus 9:5 And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” 6 The Lord did this the next day. All the Egyptian livestock died, but none among the Israelite livestock died. 7 Pharaoh sent messengers who saw that not a single one of the Israelite livestock was dead. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

Again, the reports of Moses and Aaron became true.  The Lord promised death of all the Egyptian animals and life for all the Israelites' animals.  Pharaoh saw that all this came about, but his heart was still hardened and he refused to listen to God.  He knew this was God who preformed these things, but he still did not listen, much like the merchants watching the destruction of Babylon at the end of times.

Revelation 17b And every shipmaster, seafarer, the sailors, and all who do business by sea, stood far off 18 as they watched the smoke from her burning and kept crying out: “Who is like the great city?” 19 They threw dust on their heads and kept crying out, weeping, and mourning:

Woe, woe, the great city,
where all those who have ships on the sea
became rich from her wealth,
for in a single hour she was destroyed.
20 Rejoice over her, heaven,
and you saints, apostles, and prophets,
because God has executed your judgment on her!

Those who watched the destruction of the great city recognized that God had executed his judgments on Babylon.  They did not, however, turn and repent, or even attempt to help save the city.  They stood on their boats and watched, crying at the loss of all their worldly treasures. It is almost like they are angry at the saints, apostle and prophets: the city was destroyed because of you!  That is the wrong attitude.  They should have been saying "God your power is great and your judgment is just, we believe you are God"  But again, their hearts were hard, just like Pharaoh's.  They would not listen to God, even when his majesty and power were on display for them.

Exodus 8:1-15 -- Frogs Are Everywhere

Exodus 8:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him: This is what Yahweh says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go, then I will plague all your territory with frogs. 3 The Nile will swarm with frogs; they will come up and go into your palace, into your bedroom and on your bed, into the houses of your officials and your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls. 4 The frogs will come up on you, your people, and all your officials.”

So why was their a plague of frogs?  That does not seem to scary or dangerous.  It does not seem life threatening like making the water of the Nile undrinkable by turning it to blood.  Well I did some research into frogs and Egypt.  I had always been told that Egyptians did not like frogs and thought they were disgusting creatures, but after reading a little about Egyptian mythology, I learned that they believed in a god that took the form of a frog, often associated with fertility and childbearing.  By showing God's power over frogs, Moses and Aaron are demonstrating to Pharaoh that their God, Yahweh, can control the Egyptian "god." Another way to look at this is that another Egyptian god, Kuk, was also depicted as a frog, and he was the god of darkness and chaos, so perhaps the fear would come in that the many frogs reminded them of Kuk, and thus chaos and darkness upon the land of Egypt.

Exodus 8:5 The Lord then said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, canals, and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.” 6 When Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians did the same thing by their occult practices and brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.

So, once again, the magicians were able to duplicate the frogs with their "occult practices"

Exodus 8:8 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Ask Yahweh to remove the frogs from me and my people. Then I will let the people go and they can sacrifice to Yahweh.”
9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “You make the choice rather than me. When should I ask on behalf of you, your officials, and your people, that the frogs be taken away from you and your houses, and remain only in the Nile?”
10 “Tomorrow,” he answered.
Moses replied, “As you have said, so you may know there is no one like Yahweh our God,11 the frogs will go away from you, your houses, your officials, and your people. The frogs will remain only in the Nile.” 12 After Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord for help concerning the frogs that He had brought against Pharaoh. 13 The Lord did as Moses had said: the frogs in the houses, courtyards, and fields died. 14 They piled them in countless heaps, and there was a terrible odor in the land.

Pharaoh agreed  to let the people go if the frogs were taken away.  So Moses agreed and asked God to remove the frogs from Egypt, which God did.

Exodus 8:15 But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

How many times do we tell God I will do this when this other thing happens.  Take away this hardship or time consuming activity and I will devote more time to you.  I will conform to Your will when this situation is resolved.  How many times are these burdens removed and we still do not devote that time to our Lord?  We fill it with other things instead spending the time with him and conforming to His will.  Our hearts are hard toward's God, just like Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he refused to let the people leave after the relief came from the frogs.

Notice the end of 15 says "as the Lord had said."  Remember, that earlier in the book of Exodus, God tells Moses that he would make Pharaoh's heart hard and Pharaoh would not listen to Moses.  God had this all planned out.  God planned out each plague to show his power and dominion over all the earth, every aspect from the water they drank, the food they ate, the health they had, the weather they experienced, and their comfort and their very lives.  The plagues were designed by God to show that he was the most powerful and His will WILL be done, no matter what.  Our Lord is the one true God and these plagues were to demonstrate that fact to the Egyptians and Israelites equally.  Even though the Israelites were not affected by some of the plagues directly, they were able to see the power of their God in delivering them from the oppression by punishing the Egyptians.

The only other reference to frogs in the Bible (other than verses directly referencing the plagues) comes from Revelation:

Revelation 16:12 The sixth poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 13 Then I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming from the dragon’s mouth, from the beast’s mouth, and from the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons performing signs, who travel to the kings of the whole world to assemble them for the battle of the great day of God, the Almighty.

Here the frog-like spirits are demons, enemies of our Lord.  On the great day of the Lord, God will show his power of the demons, these frog-like spirits by defeating them once and for all.

Exodus 7:14-25 -- The Water Turns to Blood

Exodus 7:14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent. 16 And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed. 17 Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. 18 The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.”’” 19 And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”
20 Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood. 21 And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. 23 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.
25 Seven full days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.

Again Moses and Aaron showed Pharaoh a sign from God and again his magicians were able to duplicate it using "secret arts."  This was the first plague brought on Egypt by God to show his power and strength in judgment against a people who mistreated the Israelites.  All of the water turned to blood, the fish died and the river stunk.  They could not drink the water.  This is a big deal since the Nile was the main source of water for everyone in the area.  Since the rest of the Egyptian area was dessert, the Nile was necessary for life.

The turning the Nile into blood is similar to what will happen one day as Christ returns:

Revelation 16:4 The third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 I heard the angel of the waters say:
You are righteous,
who is and who was, the Holy One,
for You have decided these things.
6 Because they poured out
the blood of the saints and the prophets,
You also gave them blood to drink;
they deserve it!
7 Then I heard someone from the altar say:
Yes, Lord God, the Almighty,
true and righteous are Your judgments.

This is one of the judgments poured out on a sinful and wretched world.  Sinners have spilled the blood of the righteous, so God has given them blood to drink as a punishment.

Revelation 11:3 I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies; if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6 These men have the power to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the days of their prophecy. They also have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague whenever they want.   

At the end of times, the two witnesses will have the power to bring plagues upon the earth, much like the plagues that God brought on the Egyptians, one of which is turning the water into blood.

Why reading scripture in context is important!

It is my opinion that scripture must be read in context. You find the meaning in scripture by reading other scripture. This post is sparked by another blog I was directed to (by that blog's author) in which the author of that blog states that reading scripture in context is wrong and scripture is meant to be read out of context. The exact quote from the site is: " you must read the Bible HIS way Isa 28:9-10, 2 Tim 2:15 (OUT of context). The whole world is deceived Rev 12:9 because they read the Bible Satan's way (IN context)."

Lets look at the verses sited:

Isaiah 28:9 Who is he trying to teach?
Who is he trying to instruct?
Infants just weaned from milk?
Babies removed from the breast?
10 For he says: “Law after law, law after law,
line after line, line after line,
a little here, a little there.” 

2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.

Revelations 12:9 So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him.

Using these scriptures, she tries to claim that each line should be taken by itself on its own.  In doing this, you can make scripture mean ANYTHING you want.  (The verse in Isaiah is actually talking about drunk priest, if you read the verses before it.  The priest were teaching people simple things: law after law, line after line, a little here, a little there: but Isaiah was saying the priest needed to teach the deeper things of God.  The people were grown adults and need more than the milk of scripture, they needed more than the pureed and mashed up food, they needed real bread).  Lets look at this verse from Luke: (Better yet, lets look at it in the KJV, since that is the only "real" version of scripture according to the other poster -- There will be a post on that later).

Luke 4:7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

What a wonderful promise scripture gives us if we read this OUT of context.  If you will worship me, all shall be yours.  This is wonderful, all we have to do is worship God and we shall get everything.  WRONG.  This is one verse where contexts matters!  Did you know the devil said this?  He said this when tempting Jesus.  Go read the rest of Luke 4.  Get the context and you won't like this verse anymore!

Yes, 2 Timothy 2:15, states you should correctly teach the word of truth.  But how do we do that?  We look at scripture, ALL of scripture, as a whole.  Not just one part.

Genesis 40:8 Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God?"

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 Peter 1:20 First of all, you should know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation, 21 because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Interpretations from scripture come from GOD and only GOD.  HE is the one who wrote it and HE is the only one who can tell us what it means.

In order to fully grasp what the Bible is trying to say, you must read the passages in context, in context with the verses around it, in context of it's book, and in context of the Bible as a whole.  Another belief I hold to is that the Bible is true and does not contain any contradictions or mistakes.  If you allow the Bible to have mistakes or contains things that are not true, then you cannot believe any of scripture.  Who are you to judge the book of God?  If one thing is false, then all of it is false because we have no way of knowing what is true and what is not.  We cannot pick and choose what WE (man) think is true and what is not.  As we see above, it is God's word.

By taking scriptures out of context, you open up for contradictions.  The Bible cannot contradict itself if every single part of it is true.  If you read a verse and think, but what a minute, it contradicts this other verse over there, then you are interpreting those scriptures incorrectly, in my opinion.  They are both true, so you must look at other scripture to see the full meaning.

Matthew 12:25 Knowing their thoughts, He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

Here, Jesus says division in a kingdom, home or city (and this can be extended to ANYTHING, even scripture) cannot stand.  If you divide scripture and only take a small part for living, it will not benefit you the way knowing and believing all of scripture, as a whole will.  You need all of scripture to live a Godly life.  You need all of scripture, together, to rightly know God and his plans for salvation.  You cannot understand one concept in the Bible by reading one line.  God's salvation plan is more than John 3:16.  If  you divide the Bible into small parts and twist them to mean what you want, you are spreading a false gospel.  If what you believe is not backed up by ALL of scripture, then what you believe is wrong.

Yes, the whole Earth is deceived by Satan.  That is why we cannot reply on any Earthly interpretation of the Bible.  We must rely on the Bible to interpret the Bible.  If we do not understand one part of scripture, we must look at other scripture to help us understand.  The only way to stop a false prophet is to show them the truth of scripture.  The scripture is the only truth we have.  We cannot rely on our own understanding.  We must rely on God.

1 Corinthians 2:1 When I came to you, brothers, announcing the testimony of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. 2 For I didn’t think it was a good idea to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 My speech and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a powerful demonstration by the Spirit, 5 so that your faith might not be based on men’s wisdom but on God’s power.
6 However, we do speak a wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written:
What eye did not see and ear did not hear,
and what never entered the human mind—
God prepared this for those who love Him.
10 Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, for the Spirit searches everything,even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man that is in him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God.13 We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.

"Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit." Hence, scriptures.  God revealed the scripture to the original writers.  God reveals the interpretations to us through the spirit.  We must read the word God gave us through the prophets and apostles and rely on his spirit for guidance.  God did not give us a bunch of little verses and say "do with this as you please," he gave us a whole book and said "read and obey."  All of it.  Not just part.  Not what makes me feel good.  Not what I like, but ALL of it.      

Reading the Bible IN context helps us grasp a full understanding of scripture.  Pulling verses out of context could get you sucked up in one of the Devil's lies.  (Luke 4:7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine." (KJV) -- Remember, this is a promise of the Devil, not God).  Context is important.

Genesis 2:1-3 -- A Sabbath Rest

When I started this blog, I had a goal of getting through at least one chapter in the Bible a day. Well, it is day 4 of my blog and I'm just now on chapter 2 in Genesis!

Genesis 2:1 So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed. 2 By the seventh day God completed His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. 3 God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it He rested from His work of creation.

After God created all of creation, he rested. He set apart the seventh day has holy. He rested from all his work on the seventh day. In the Old Testament, the Jews also set apart the seventh day (called the Sabbath) and kept it holy and rested from their work. There were many laws about the Sabbath and what was considered work and what was not. In fact, the 4th commandment that God gave to Moses reads as follows:

Exodus 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: 9 You are to labor six days and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the foreigner who is within your gates. 11 For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.

 The Bible also gives strict punishment for breaking the Sabbath.

Exodus 31:12 The Lord said to Moses: 13 “Tell the Israelites: You must observe My Sabbaths, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, so that you will know that I am Yahweh who sets you apart. 14 Observe the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Whoever profanes it must be put to death. If anyone does work on it, that person must be cut off from his people. 15 Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who does work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. 16 The Israelites must observe the Sabbath, celebrating it throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign forever between Me and the Israelites, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.”

Anyone who works on the Sabbath shall be put to death. Does this mean we too must observe the Sabbath as they did in the Old Testament?

Mark 2:23 On the Sabbath He was going through the grainfields, and His disciples began to make their way picking some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 He said to them, “Have you never read what David and those who were with him did when he was in need and hungry— 26 how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the sacred bread—which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests—and also gave some to his companions?” 27 Then He told them, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. 28 Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

The Sabbath was made for man. It is a blessing from God to have the Sabbath. A time of rest of our toils and labors on this earth. For the Jew, that rest was on the seventh day of each week since that is what the Lord commanded of them. For us, our Sabbath rest is found in Christ.  For those outside of Christ, there will be no rest.

Revelation 14:9 And a third angel followed them and spoke with a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb, 11 and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or anyone who receives the mark of his name. 12 This demands the perseverance of the saints, who keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus.” 

13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: The dead who die in the Lord from now on are blessed.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “let them rest from their labors, for their works follow them!”

Our rest in Christ is two-fold.  We find rest and comfort in him now on the earth.  We may even set aside a day (whether it be Saturday or Sunday or some other day) to rest from our earthly work and focus on the Lord, however there is also a day coming when we will have complete rest in Christ.  We will be in the presents of God and will no longer have the toils and trials of the earth to worry us.  Our rest will be complete and perfect in the new heavens and the new earth.