Time with Jesus - Sunday, 30 September 2012
Hi all,
Our meditation today comes from Exodus 33. It focuses
on Moses prayer asking God to be with them on the journey from Horeb to the
Promised Land. Part of the prayer deals with Moses relationship with the Lord.
Blessings,
Jim
& Phyllida Strickland
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – Sunday, 30 September 2012
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
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©
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These
devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright
protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it
is for non-commercial Christian purposes
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©
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INTRODUCTION
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DAILY
LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES
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MOSES’
PRAYER IN THE TENT OF MEETING
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Have
you heard people question God’s decisions? Those who do, imply that they
could do things better than He does. Essentially it means that they are
better than God and would make a better job of running things than He does.
Perhaps the most common statement is, “How could a God of love send anyone to
hell?” Two comments are warranted here. The first is that God doesn’t send
people to Hell. They go there because they choose to do so. Hell was made for
the devil and his angels. But people will go there by their own choice. God
does not want anyone to be lost. Being lost is their own choice.
The
second comment is that God’s patience with sinners is beyond anything we can
understand. A promise God gave to Abraham immediately prior to Him entering
into a covenant with him was: 16 "Your
children's grandchildren will come back here. That is because the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached the point where
I must judge them." Genesis 15:16
NIrV God is aware of each and every sin ever committed or will be
committed. At that time the Amorites were one of many nations in Canaan. Sin
was rampant. God knew that between the date of this Covenant and the date of
the Israelite invasion of Canaan, sin would escalate. It would reach the
point where He would have to destroy the inhabitants and their animals. He
had used the flood to cleanse the world on one occasion. He would not repeat
that. Instead He would send a “flood” of His people into the land to cleanse
it by totally annihilating the inhabitants and their livestock.
Science
has examined this. It has been established that the Canaanite sexual
perversions were disgusting and included bestiality of the worst possible
sort. Abraham lived ± 700 years before Canaan was invaded. It follows that it
would be a further 700 years before sin of the Canaanites would be “full”. Such
patience is incredible!
Somewhere
between these two events, Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt. The
dialog between God and Moses in Exodus 33 took place in Moses tent of
meeting. It is unlikely that this was the tabernacle built according to the
pattern given to him by God. God’s tabernacle had not yet been made. It’s
more likely that it was a tent or tabernacle of Moses own design.
What
of this dialog? Do we know the details? We only know what has been recorded
in Scripture. Today’s meditation is an extrapolation of what Moses may have
said to the Lord. It is not intended as a new revelation. It is merely my own
idea of what may have been said by Moses to the Lord.
Jim &
Phyllida Strickland
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4 Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths.
Psalms 25:4 TNIV
12 One
day Moses said to the LORD, "You have been
telling me, 'Take these people up to the Promised Land.' But You haven't told
me whom You will send with me. You have told me, 'I know you by name, and I
look favourably on you.' 13 If
it is true that You look favourably on me, let me know Your ways so I may
understand You more fully and continue to enjoy Your favour. And remember
that this nation is Your very own people." 14 The LORD
replied, "I will personally go with you, Moses,
and I will give you rest--everything will be fine for you."
Exodus 33:12-14 NLT
7 He let Moses know his
ways. He let the Israelites know the things he had done.
Psalms 103:7 GW
9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches
them his way.
Psalms 25:9 TNIV
12 Who, then, are those
who fear the LORD? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.
Psalms 25:12 TNIV
5 Trust the LORD with all
your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your
paths smooth.
Proverbs 3:5-6 GW
11 You make known to me
the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right
hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalms 16:11 ESV
8 The LORD says, "I will instruct
you. I will teach you the way that you should go. I will advise you as my
eyes watch over you.
Psalms 32:8 GW
18 The path of the righteous is like the
first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
Proverbs 4:18 NIV
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“O Lord You have been telling me”, “These people
you must lead”.
But who will You send with me, to finish off the deed?
You’ve told me You are with me. My name, You’ve said You know.
That I have found Your favour; for You have said it’s so.
I know You aren’t a liar and since all this is true,
Tell me please My Lord and God, just what I need to do!
I know the destination. It’s called the Promised Land.
Where Abraham first heard about the things which You have planned,
To give as his inheritance, upon some future date.
His family had lived there. But they would have to wait,
Until the people living there, could be obliterated;
For all the wicked practices that You’ve abominated,
For Lord, you have a measure by which you judge men’s sin.
And only when that measure’s full may we all enter in.
I know about their wickedness. The news has reached my ears.
They practise their perversions and now, Lord, it appears
That what they have been doing is so utterly depraved.
It is no longer possible that any could be saved.
I’m told the same perversions took place before the flood.
That even all their animals had this perverted blood.
The only way to cleanse the land was to destroy the lot.
That’s why You brought the deluge; and that is what they got!
You’ve said that I’ve found favour. You know me by my name
Help me know You better, so that I will remain;
And stay within Your favour. O Lord, Teach me Your ways.
That I might get to know You, throughout my earthly days.
O Lord, these are Your people. They are all Jacob’s seed.
We really can’t go up from here O Lord unless You lead.
Unless we know Your presence is with us from the start,
We dare not take another step, or even less, depart.
How will the other nations know that we belong to You?
How can they differentiate the false from what is true?
How will they know that You’re with us, unless they understand,
That You have brought Your people to take the Promised Land!
And Lord, how will they ever know that You are always near.
Lord, if You do not stay with us, don’t send us up from here.”
Jim Strickland
Written 30th September 2012 |
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