Where's God? Finding Him in the Small Stuff

Moses and the Israelites were camped at Rephidim and the people were thirsty again. They quarrelled with Moses, which means they verbally attacked him because it was HIS fault! This passage says that the people "tested" God here and so God named it "Test and Struggle" (in Hebrew, of course). Eventually, God told Moses to strike a rock and water poured out, enough for as many as two-million people!...

This episode is all about manna. How did it get its name? What did it look like? What did it taste like? How did everyone end up with an omer of manna even if they originally gathered more or less initially? God gave the Israelites their first two commands which they were to obey when it came to manna. What were those commands? Did they obey? And when did the manna stop?

As the Israelites continued their trek from Egypt to Mt. Sinai, they found themselves in another predicament: They were hungry! Maybe today we would call it "hangry" because they were hungry AND angry! They blamed Moses (again) for all their troubles and claimed (for the third time since leaving Egypt) that they were going to die and thought about how much better life was as slaves (true?). God he...

When the Israelites arrived at a place called Marah they were thirsty, but the water there was "bitter" so they could not drink it. What did they do? Complained. God heard them and when Moses threw a piece of wood into the water, it became sweet and they could drink it. Isn't that weird? What was that all about? Eventually the people came to Elim where they found twelve springs of fresh water, one...

The Israelites were able to walk through the sea on dry land as they escaped the clutches of Pharoah and his army. However, the Egyptian chariots had a difficult time crossing over the same terrain. Why? As God's people passed through the sea, both God's "pillar of fire" and His "pillar of cloud" were in action at the same time, which was very unusual. In the end, the fate of the pursuing Egyptian...

As the Israelites stood at the edge of the sea with no means of escape, they heard Egyptian chariots storming towards them and they were frightened. They were certain that they were about to be killed. They saw Pharaoh in the distance and thought he had all the power in his hands. But God told them to simply "stand and see" while He fought this battle for them. How sad that He had to remind His pe...

The Israelites had left Egypt behind and were camped at a place "by the sea." Geographically speaking, there were interesting aspects about this location which made it a precarious and curious place for them to be. Could this be why Pharoah thought he could catch and capture the Israelites (besides the fact that he had Egyptian chariots and they did not)? What was so special about the Egyptian cha...

Moses and the Israelites were leaving Egypt and heading for Mt. Sinai, which is the beginning of their wilderness experience. They were introduced to the "pillar of cloud" and the "pillar of fire" for the first time. What was the function of these "pillars" beyond guidance and direction? For that matter, why was the "wilderness experience" necessary at all? We will also see how some of the plagues...

Passover night is over and the Israelites are ready to leave Egypt as the Egyptians bury their dead. They are told to "hurry" and leave, and the Israelites marched out as a victorious army with gold, and silver, and expensive clothing. This was the fulfillment of a promise which God had made to Abram hundreds of years before. The Israelites also took a "mixed multitude" of people with them. Who we...

Moses told the Israelites to dip the hyssop branch into the sacrificial lamb's blood which had drained into the "basin" at the foot of their doors. What was this basin? How was this a forerunner of what would happen at the cross of Christ? When the firstborn died in Egypt, was it the males only, or also the females of each household? Pharoah asks Moses the "bless me also." Why did Pharoah ask this...

We have come to Passover night in Egypt, which brings death into every household, both Egyptian and Israelite. Egyptians will suffer the death of their firstborn as God's final plague expresses His wrath for what had been done to His people. The Israelites will suffer the sacrificial death of a chosen lamb which had been in their care, inside their homes, for five days. One group is devastated, an...

The final plague in Egypt was so significant that Moses wrote chapter 11 of Exodus to explain what it would entail. It is the only chapter during the plague narrative in which no plague actually takes place. Moses said that the first-born of every Egyptian family would perish and when it was over, the Egyptians would give silver and gold to the Israelites. Would the Egyptians believe him? Would th...

Moses described the plague of darkness in Egypt as a darkness you could "feel." Certainly, this was more than just the darkness of a night sky and more than the lack of natural light from the sun, or moon or stars. It also included the extinguishing of artificial light as well, no light from candles, oil lamps or torches. Some people think that God brought the darkness of hell to the land of Egypt...

The plague of locusts is certainly one of the most well-known of all the plagues of Egypt. As one of the final three plagues, it directly threatened the lives of the Egyptians. As part of this plague, God told Moses why the plagues were necessary. The answer might surprise you. And we find a foreshadowing in the resolution of the plague that hints at the final outcome for Pharaoh and his army as w...

The plague of hail in Egypt was unique. It was the only plague which caused distress for all three at the same time...the people, the land, and the livestock. This plague also marked a big change among the people. Before the hail, the Israelites had turned to Pharaoh for help and mercy. Afterwards, not only the Israelites, but the Egyptians also began to look to Moses' God for their deliverance. H...

The plague of boils began from a handful of soot which had been taken from the same kilns used by Pharaoh to make bricks, sometimes without straw, by the Hebrew slaves. God took the very thing Pharaoh used to cause pain for His people and used it to bring pain upon Pharaoh's people. These boils were so painful that the pagan priests could not practice their ceremonies, so during this plague only t...

When it comes to the plaque of the livestock, the Egyptians are given a choice by the Lord. They can obey Him and bring their livestock into a stable or a barn and the livestock will be spared. But if they choose to disobey Him and leave their livestock out in the field, then their livestock will die. This is the first plague that has permanent consequences. Up until now, the plagues have been a n...

Moses did not know how many plagues God would inflict upon Egypt before Pharoah would let His people go. In this episode, we learn that Moses must have thought enough was enough, so he made a deal with Pharoah himself. But Moses learned that his plan was not God's plan and that you cannot make God's Word say whatever you want it to say, just because it suites you.

God brings His third plague upon the land of Egypt through Moses, the plague of gnats (or lice, or mosquitos, or ?) which is distinctly different than the first two plagues. What made this one different? Pharaoh's magicians even testified that this plague was the "finger of God," although Pharaoh would not believe them. In this episode, we look at the plagues from both the Egyptian perspective and...

God brings the plague of frogs upon the land of Egypt, covering the land with them. How many were there? Where did they go once they were upon the land? In the first two plagues, God has shown His power by turning Egyptian gods of life and resurrection into judgement and death. We also learn of the "proximity paradigm" of the plagues: They come closer and get more personal one by one.

The time had come for plague no. 1 in Egypt, when God turned the water of the "mighty" Nile River, and all the water in Egypt (even the jars of water in homes) into blood for seven days. Before it was over, all the fish that had died were rotting and stinking and the river that represented the source of life to the Egyptians was turned into a place of death. God had showed His power over Egypt, an...

Moses failed the first time he confronted Pharoah on behalf of the enslaved Israelites in Egypt. As a matter of fact, things went from bad to worse because of it. Now Moses does not want to go back and engage with Pharoah again, but God gives him seven "I will" promises, including, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharoah." Before it is all said and done, the people will see that God is not jus...

When Moses first confronted Pharaoh upon his return to Egypt, the interaction between them did not go well. Even though God spoke through Moses with authority, proclaiming, "Let My people go," not a request, but a demand, Pharaoh refused. Pharaoh even retaliated against the Israelites, taking away the straw they needed to make the bricks which he required each day. Upon learning of this punishment...

As he received his marching orders from God, Moses was reminded that Israel was important to the Lord, and he was given a message of warning for Pharaoh: obey and let His people go, or Pharaoh would suffer the death of his first-born son. On the way back to Egypt, though, Moses was also called to obey the Lord within his own family or possibly be killed himself. To do so would anger Moses' wife, Z...

As Moses headed back to Egypt, uncertain as he was, hesitant, fearful, unsure, he held tightly to the "staff of God." In the years ahead, whenever he felt anxious again, Moses would hold tightly to that same staff because God had promised him that it would be instrumental in bringing forth miraculous things. We don't have a staff like that today as Christians, but we have something even better to...