God had it all set up. Long ago, some 400 years prior to the exodus God let Abraham in on His plan to have His people sent to Egypt for 400 years of slavery.

Genesis 15: ¹³ Then the LORD said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.

Over 400 years go by and sure enough, the Israelites have been in bondage long enough, so they cry out for God’s help. It’s time for the big event. The plan that was devised so long ago was ready to happen. But wait, what’s missing? God’s ambassador to the Egyptian Pharaoh, of course. His plan includes a key person to go before Pharaoh to request that the slaves be set free. It’s now time to call him into action…

Exodus 3: ¹ One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. ³ “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”
⁴ When the LORD saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
“Here I am!” Moses replied.

You can almost see the expression on his face when he says “Here I am!”. So far so good, God got his attention. But what happens when Moses is told to actually do something?

¹⁰ Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”
¹¹ But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”

As if a burning bush is not enough!

In spite of seeing God’s miracle and being addressed directly by the Angel of the Lord, He questions his Creator.

God responds…

¹² God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”

OK, fair enough? Not quite. Even after getting all his objections and questions answered, Moses still doesn’t want to participate…

Exodus 4 ¹⁰ But Moses pleaded with the LORD, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”
¹¹ Then the LORD asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the LORD? ¹² Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”
¹³ But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”

Moses is still unwilling!

In other words, “You got the wrong guy, Lord!”. If I was reading this story for the first time I would think that God would go to His plan B, right? But God doesn’t have a plan B. Instead, God offers to send his brother Aaron as well and that was that, done deal.

¹⁴ Then the LORD became angry with Moses. “All right,” he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you.

I think that is a beautiful way to make everybody happy. God gets His man, Moses’ gets to work alongside his brother, and Aaron gets a role in the plan and works with his long-lost brother. My friends, only God can do this and Israel is saved as a result!

This is just one example of a person being drafted into service, but I also think God asks for volunteers:

Isaiah 6:  ⁸ Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”
I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

At this point, God was no stranger to Isaiah as Moses was initially and by this time Isaiah was ready. He enlisted himself and became willing. When the time came for an assignment, Isaiah was ready. What’s important to note, however, is that Isaiah prepared his heart for this.

God is still looking for volunteers.

He does not overemphasize this in His Word because He wants us to seek Him and learn how to love Him so that it is purely voluntary on our part. He doesn’t want you to work for him if your heart isn’t into it. What kind of witness is that anyway?

2 Chronicles 16: ⁹ The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

You see? He’s ready to give you strength when you commit yourself to Him!

What assignment does He have? Here’s an example of what I would consider His universal work:

John 4: ³⁴ Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. ³⁵ You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. ³⁶ The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! ³⁷ You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. ³⁸ I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”

Jesus was always about His Father’s business, as should we.

Here we read that His workers are paid good wages and much joy awaits.

Here is a clear message that God is looking for more volunteers:

Matthew 9:³⁷ He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. ³⁸ So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

“The harvest is great”

So “wake up and look around” as Jesus says here. Do you see people in bondage? Do you see the hurt and the needy? How about the spiritually lost? Do you think perhaps, with the knowledge and passion that God has put in your heart, that He’s called you to be a part of His grand plan?

Some of you may already be participating and acting on His instructions while others may be clueless as to what God’s called you to do. Perhaps God has already called you to get involved with a ministry found in your church bulletin or maybe He wants you to start a new one. This is between you and Him and don’t let anyone tell you what you should be doing for God unless He’s already told you.

1 Kings 13:  ²³ After the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet saddled his own donkey for him, ²⁴ and the man of God started off again. But as he was traveling along, a lion came out and killed him. His body lay there on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. (Read the entire chapter to understand the context.)

The key is to be able to hear God’s voice and respond to Him. If you make yourself available to Him consistently over time, you will learn to hear His voice and He will give you work to do.

This isn’t a science.

It is simply an effort on your part, devotion if you will, to seek your Creator in such a way that He becomes your closest friend and the one person you learn to rely on the most. If He is not already, then you are not a true disciple.

Luke 14: ²⁶ “If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison–your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters–yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.

 If you are not giving God a chance to speak to you or you are not available to Him through reading His Word, praying and regular fellowship, then you are not even in the game. You would be on what I call the “Inactive Reserve” list. To me, this is being apathetic, complacent, or indifferent to God. Perhaps this list would be compared with those described in Revelations 3:15-16. Please do not be associated with those people.

Psalm 105
⁴ Search for the Lord and for his strength;
continually seek him.
⁵ Remember the wonders he has performed,
his miracles, and the rulings he has given,
⁶ you children of his servant Abraham,
you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.

Are you ready to be called?

Will you pray this psalm with me?

Psalm 26, A Psalm of David.
¹ Declare me innocent, O LORD,
for I have acted with integrity;
I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
² Put me on trial, LORD, and cross-examine me.
Test my motives and my heart.
³ For I am always aware of your unfailing love,
and I have lived according to your truth.
⁴ I do not spend time with liars
or go along with hypocrites.
⁵ I hate the gatherings of those who do evil,
and I refuse to join in with the wicked.
⁶ I wash my hands to declare my innocence.
I come to your altar, O LORD,
⁷ singing a song of thanksgiving
and telling of all your wonders.
⁸ I love your sanctuary, LORD,
the place where your glorious presence dwells.
⁹ Don’t let me suffer the fate of sinners.
Don’t condemn me along with murderers.
¹⁰ Their hands are dirty with evil schemes,
and they constantly take bribes.
¹¹ But I am not like that; I live with integrity.
So redeem me and show me mercy.
¹² Now I stand on solid ground,
and I will publicly praise the LORD.

 Can I get an AMEN?

Photo by Adam Smith on Unsplash

We discussed Amos in the last post and I tried to get the point across about the importance of reading the Old Testament (OT). I am convinced that it is just as important to read the OT as it is the New Testament (NT). You can’t have the NT without the OT, they are a package deal and the writers of the NT understood this.

It doesn’t get any more entertaining than the Old Testament

Before I continue, I know that there are endless genealogies, boring census records and repetitive offerings that will make you snore, but the exciting stories and lessons far outweigh the dry parts.

The Old Testament is filled with drama, intrigue, mystery, action, sex, humor and fantastic stories. Some stories make me laugh, and some make me cry. To get the most out of it is to put yourself there, on the scene. When the Shunemite woman is running towards Elisha because of the death of her child, I imagine it taking place. You can’t help but be moved by it. I have come to tears reading it although I’ve read it before! Read 2 Kings 4.

It never gets old

God, our creative Designer, knows how to keep us enthused and interested. He designed the OT to be filled with romance, sex, action, violence, and drama to beat the band. It never gets old.

Now let’s learn from this…

2 Chronicles 36: ²² In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom:

²³ “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are the Lord’s people may go there for this task. And may the Lord your God be with you!”

This is incredible for two reasons

    1. This was prophesied 150 years earlier by the prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 44:

²⁸ When I say of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,’
he will certainly do as I say.
He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’;
he will say, ‘Restore the Temple.’”

    2. King Cyrus was a Gentile (non-Israeli) and he was happy to oblige!

This demonstrates the  God’s sovereignty and how He uses kings for His purposes.

If you are reading the NT there is clear instruction for us to be reading the OT. So if I cannot convince you, maybe the apostle Paul can…

1 Corinthians 10: 1 I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. …

6 These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, 7 or worship idols as some of them did. …

9 Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites. 10 And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. 11 These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.

This is just scratching the surface of what there is to learn from the Old Testament and many brothers and sisters are missing out by not reading it.

Will you read the Old Testament with me?

“Dear Lord, as I read through the Old Testament, please reveal yourself to me. Help me know you in a way that I might have a greater reverence for you.”

I suggest that you read 2 Kings 1-4 if you’d like to sample some great stories.

In the last two posts, “Are You Eating His Word? parts 1 & 2”, I wrote about the merits of reading the Bible on a daily basis, which I believe is essential to knowing God.

When it comes to the Old Testament (OT), What impression comes to mind when you first think about it? Is it the miraculous stories of Moses parting the Red Sea, David and Goliath,  and Jonah and the whale? Or do the words God’s wrath, jealous God, and God’s anger come to mind? Do you believe it’s relevant?

Until I read through the Bible for the first time, my view of the OT was very narrow. What I mean by that is I knew about the highlights, you know, the stories like I mentioned. I knew the popular Psalms and enjoyed Proverbs. Most importantly is that I thought the God of the OT worked and acted differently than the God of the New Testament (NT). I thought that in the OT God was in a particularly bad mood, cranky, irritated and did not have the patience that we read about in the NT with Jesus. I also wasn’t convinced that the OT was relevant.

Same God, different perspectives

You know how you meet someone at the office or in a professional setting, but never meet them outside of that? Then one day you see them at a party or informal gathering and you see a completely different side of them. Same person, just two different perspectives.

That’s how I now see the OT and NT. In the OT I see a formal God. A God that is majestic, mysterious, unapproachable, awesome, and sovereign. He is all that! In the NT I see God as very personable, human-like and compassionate. He is all that as well! Most importantly is that I see the same God throughout the entire Bible. There is no longer a disconnect, just different perspectives of the same wonderful, magnificent and beautiful God. I am convinced that a believer cannot understand, appreciate, and love God unless they have a complete perspective of Him. Not that we could fully understand God, but I hope you get my meaning.

 Now let’s meet Amos…

Allow me to introduce to you to a lesser-known person in the Old Testament. His name is Amos and he has his own book!

Amos 7: ¹² Then Amaziah sent orders to Amos: “Get out of here, you prophet! Go on back to the land of Judah, and earn your living by prophesying there! ¹³ Don’t bother us with your prophecies here in Bethel. This is the king’s sanctuary and the national place of worship!”

¹⁴ But Amos replied, “I’m not a professional prophet, and I was never trained to be one. I’m just a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore-fig trees. ¹⁵ But the Lord called me away from my flock and told me, ‘Go and prophesy to my people in Israel.’ ¹⁶ Now then, listen to this message from the Lord:

Don’t you love it? The man is a farmer/shepherd and God gives him the task of prophesying to the king! The Old Testament is filled with fun stories like this. What’s exciting about this story is learning that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. We see this all throughout Scripture and the more we read it, the more our faith increases.

The more Scripture you digest, the more His essence will pour out. The Old Testament gives you the complete Message of God that will help you be the ambassador He needs you to be.

Next time we’ll discuss King Cyrus and the prophecy long before his birth!