Exodus 13:19 — Joseph’s 400-year-old bones. Remember reading a few days ago about the promise that Joseph forced his family to make (Genesis 50:25-26)?
Exodus 14:12 — Many people would rather live serving the devil than risk death to serve the Lord.
Exodus 14:21 — Where did the Red Sea crossing occur? There are 5 major routes for the Exodus in one study Bible (and that isn’t even an exhaustive map) and many interesting arguments for many different sites and routes.
Exodus 15:1 — Have you praised the Lord when He has delivered you?
Matthew 21:31 — Sadly today, publicans and harlots will go into the kingdom of God before many pastors and deacons. Being religious is not enough. Following Jesus is enough.
Psalm 26:1 — The Psalmist is asking God to defend him because he walked in integrity. If your prayers aren’t being answered, check this Psalm to see if you meet the conditions of integrity. Additionally, Grace To You has collected 15 reasons for unanswered prayer.
Proverbs 6:16-19 — The Seven Deadly Sins – add these to your list of things that God hates. Check through them from time to time to see if you are living a life that God will bless, or one that He will chastise.
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If you read this devotional online at www.biblereadingchallenge.org, you can hover over the references, and the verse will pop up!
Exodus 12:24 — Pharaoh wanted to kill the sons (Exodus 1:22), but he settled to keep the sons (Exodus 10:11). God wanted to teach the sons (Exodus 12:24-27; Exodus 13:8, Exodus 13:14).
Exodus 12:29 — The Pharaoh who killed the sons (Exodus 1:22) lost his own son (Proverbs 26:27).
Exodus 12:41 — 430 years … just as God told Abraham (Genesis 15:13)!
Matthew 20:34 — We noted this earlier, but if you are keeping track of the attributes of God this year, mark His compassion!
Matthew 21:1 — The Messiah would enter through the Eastern Gate. The current Eastern Gate/Golden Gate was built in 520 AD, closed in 810 AD, reopened in 1102, walled up in 1187, rebuilt in 1541, and has stayed sealed since then. However, according to Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, the Eastern Gate at the time of Jesus was in a different location (in line with the current Dome of the Rock).
Here’s a picture of the current Eastern Gate I took from the Mount of Olives
Matthew 21:9 — How did the shouts from the crowd sound in Hebrew? Maybe like this song:
Psalm 25:16-19 — In your journal, make note of these verses for the next time you are afflicted. If you’re afflicted now, pray with the psalmist!
Proverbs 6:15 — The wicked shall not always prosper!
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Exodus 10:4 — We are finishing up the last three plagues of Egypt. God performed 56 miracles in the Old Testament by one count (definitions vary, so we’re going to go with the Blue Letter Bible’s [BLB] count). Twenty-five of these miracles occur under Moses and Joshua’s ministry (circa 1400 BC), seventeen occur under Elijah and Elisha’s ministry (circa 850 BC), and fourteen occur throughout the rest of the Old Testament. In the New Testament, Jesus performs thirty-six, and Peter & Paul are present in eighteen (circa 30 AD). Of the one hundred ten miracles recorded (by BLB’s count) in the Bible – ninety-six miracles occur in three separate, roughly fifty-year-long, windows of interaction, and all are about 700 years apart. Of the roughly 6,000 years of biblical and modern history, 87% of the documented miracles occurred in 2.5% of the time and are associated with the ministries of just seven people. The remaining 13% of miracles occur in 8% of the time (approximately 500 years) between Samson (circa 1075 BC) and Daniel (circa 540 BC). In roughly 90% of the centuries, God has not documented the use of miracles even once to communicate to people. In today’s reading, we are witnessing the first intense series of God’s miraculous workings, which is why the LORD said to tell what He would do to your sons and to your son’s sons (Exodus 10:2).
Exodus 10:11 — Pharaoh was willing to let the men go as long as he could keep their children. I don’t need to make the application for you.
Exodus 12:2 — Only two events have shaken the calendar. The offering of the first Passover lamb re-ordered the months in the calendar. The birth of the last Passover Lamb broke the calendar in half.
Exodus 12:3 — Everyone needs The Lamb. The Lamb had to be without blemish (Exodus 12:5, 1 Peter 1:19). The Lamb had to be killed (Isaiah 53:7, Acts 8:32, Revelation 5:6) by all of Israel (Exodus 12:6, John 11:50, Luke 23:18). The blood of The Lamb became the marker of salvation (Exodus 12:7, Hebrews 9:14, Romans 3:25, Ephesians 1:7, Revelation 7:14, Revelation 12:11), and those who will be saved had to eat the flesh of The Lamb (Exodus 12:8, John 6:54 and 56). Anyone not covered by the blood of The Lamb would die (Exodus 12:13, Revelation 21:27).
While you and I may not meet on this earth, I trust we will meet at the Marriage Supper of The Lamb (Revelation 19:9)!
Matthew 20:12 — No matter if you’ve been a believer since a child, or you’re in the twilight of your life – we are all equal before The Lamb because it is not by our works that we are saved but by His (Matthew 20:15); it’s because The Lamb was crucified (Matthew 20:19) as a ransom for us (Matthew 20:28) that we can have eternal life!
Psalm 25:1-4 — Our memory song for today is a classic camp song, sung during the Share-A-Thon of Crosstalk Affiliate WDFB 88.1 FM, Danville, KY.
Proverbs 6:6-11 — Wasting time is a sin. Rick Grubbs of Redeeming the Time has made it his mission to help us not waste time (Ephesians 5:17).
By the way – kudos to BlueLetterBible for holding to the inerrancy of Scripture! This is something to check in commentaries – if they compromise on inerrancy, they have taken the first step toward atheism. We’ll talk about the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy later.
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Exodus 8:19 — Three plagues in and the magicians can’t keep up!
Exodus 8:8, Exodus 8:28, Exodus 9:28 — In Exodus 10:17 (tomorrow’s reading), Pharoah asks Moses to intreat the LORD. “Intreat” may not be a word we use much today, but if we look up the passage tied to the Strong’s Number, we can see what this is in Hebrew. James Strong matched up every word in the KJV Bible to the original language word. Since most of us don’t read Greek or Hebrew, we can look up the words by number (8,674 Hebrew root words; 5,624 Greek root words). When we click on “intreat” in Exodus 8:8, we can see that it is Hebrew word #6279, ‘athar.’ In Hebrew it is written עָתַר. We can see that it means “intercede, pray, intreat”, and we can see some examples of how it is used in the Bible.
While Pharaoh was insincere, he did ask Moses to pray for him. 1 Timothy 2:1-3 says that we need to pray for our leaders, regardless of whether they ask for our prayers.
Sorry if I go on too long in the New Testament today, but this is an incredible passage!
Matthew 19:17 — Some people say Jesus is teaching “works righteousness.” In fact, He is! If you can keep God’s Law perfectly, you can have eternal life.
Matthew 19:18-19 — Jesus doesn’t quote the entire 613 commandments (the “least commandments” – Matthew 5:19), He just quotes five of the Ten Commandments (by the way – in just a few days we will reach the Ten Commandments). He quotes Commandments 5-9 and the Second Greatest Commandment (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 5:43, Matthew 22:39). Commandments 5-9 deal with man’s relationship to man – a bit easier to examine than man’s relationship with God. These commands are summarized within the 2nd Greatest Commandment, also known as the Royal Law (Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:14, James 2:8).
Matthew 19:20 — The young man says he’s perfect on Commandments 5-9 and the Second Greatest Commandment.
Matthew 19:21 — Jesus could have said, “Let’s go back to #1-4 and #10, man’s relationship with God.” Other than #2, these commands are mostly heart issues, and after God dealt with Israel’s idolatry throughout the Old Testament, by now the Israelites had finally kept #2. In a few days Jesus will summarize these into the Greatest Commandment (Deuteronomy 6:5, 10:12, 11:1, 11:13, 11:22, 13:3, 19:9, 30:6, 30:16, 30:20; Joshua 22:5, 23:11; Matthew 22:36-40).
But the compassionate Jesus doesn’t ask him to falsely assent to the ‘intangibles’ commands, He asks this young man, “Prove to Me you are keeping the Second Greatest Commandment and the Greatest Commandment. If you really love your neighbor as yourself, will you sell what you have to give to the poor?” Checking the Strong’s Number for the word “poor”, we pull up Greek #4434 – πτωχός. These aren’t just merely low-income people that have an aging iPhone. These are cringing beggars, public mendicants, literally distressed poor roving about in wretchedness. The poor Jesus talks about are those who are truly needy. They are the sick and suffering we read about yesterday (Matthew 19:2). This young man is cutting in line, in front of the sick and suffering who have needs. Jesus is probably looking at these people that He has compassion for (Matthew 14:14) as He talks about the poor to the young man. “Prove it! If you loved these fellow Israelites as you love yourself (James 2:16), you would spend some money to meet their needs (and in the process convert earthly treasure to heavenly treasure) and obey the 2nd Greatest Commandment!”
Then going back to the Greatest Commandment, Jesus asks the young man to prove that he loves the Lord God with all his heart, soul, and mind by inviting him to “Come and follow me.”
Matthew 19:22 — He went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. The young man did not love his neighbor as himself. The young man did not love the Lord God with all his heart, soul, and mind. The young man by his actions failed the greatest test of his life. We’ll take him at face value – he probably kept many commandments, but could he prove that he kept the two greatest commandments? No. The young man proved himself a sinner.
Matthew 19:29 — In 2017, investors in the Dow Jones Industrial Average made a 28% return on their investment. Want to make a 10,000% return? Invest for His Name’s sake. People can lose money converting dollars to Euros or gold bullion or Bitcoin. Nobody has lost converting earthly treasure to heavenly treasure (Matthew 19:21).
Psalm 24:7-8 — Handel’s Messiah features these verses. The Brussels Choral Society does a beautiful job singing about the Lord.
Proverbs 6:1 — Co-signing is a bad idea. “Up to 75% of borrowers may end up defaulting… which means not only that the cosigner is going to be on the hook to pay it – something that they really usually don’t expect – but also that it’s going to go on their credit history.” If you doubt that – please read the rest of the transcripted broadcast from NPR. Who would have thought that NPR would do an entire program on Proverbs 6:1!
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“Judson’s wife and all their children died in the first 14 years of his missionary career, and he became very despondent. He questioned: Did he carry death with him like a contagion? In the beginning there had been Harriet Newell and her baby; followed by Samuel Newell, who died a few years later in Bombay; then Judson’s own son Roger; his wife Ann; and now his daughter Maria. He hoped—he believed—he carried the gift of life eternal into the next world, but wondered why he carried the gift of death in this?”
In Hebrews 11:24, Moses is listed in the Hall of Faith – even though he doubted, he had faith. Count how many times in Exodus 6 God uses the phrase “I will.” Moses could have doubted, but he had faith in God.
Exodus 6:25 — We see a name briefly mentioned, Phinehas. We’ll meet him several times throughout this year (just don’t confuse Phinehas the son of Eleazar with Phinehas the son of Eli)!
Matthew 18:33 — Compassion is mentioned 21 times in the New Testament. Fourteen times in the Gospels – either Jesus was described with compassion, declared His compassion, denoted others with compassion, or others desired His compassion.
Psalm 23 — This Psalm inspired the John W. Peterson song “Surely Goodness & Mercy” (performed by Martha Garvin/Musical Memories). In this Joy of Music program, organist Diane Bish goes to the Marble Collegiate Church in New York City where she plays the pipe organ for the Marble Choir and Festival of Voices as they sing “Psalm 23”. This isn’t just relaxing music, though; this is a promise for you if you are one of His sheep!
Proverbs 5:22-23 — In contrast to the sheep of the Lord’s flock, the wicked will not stay on the paths of righteousness but will be led astray. We’ll continually see this sharp contrast between the way of wisdom and the way of the wicked.
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We return to Moses talking to God. Yesterday he had two questions (Exodus 3:11 & 13); today he has three excuses (Exodus 4:1, 10, & 13).
Exodus 5:3 is a bit odd at first glance – wasn’t Moses supposed to be asking for emancipation, not just a vacation? Is Moses backpedaling on God’s instruction? Looking at the context from yesterday and today we see that God gave them the words to say (Exodus 3:15; 4:28 & 30). Was God demonstrating that Pharaoh’s heart was so hardened that he wouldn’t sign off on a brief vacation to protect his workforce (Exodus 5:3 – lest he fall upon us with pestilence)? Benson’s Commentary on Exodus 5:3 shares this perspective.
Matthew 18:6 — If you work in children’s ministry (Sunday School, Christian Day School, Parenting, etc.), it’s not “filling in” because the pastor couldn’t find anyone else. This is serious business. You are dealing with the model citizens of heaven (Matthew 18:4) and the equivalency of a death penalty (Matthew 18:6). Take heed to your ministry (Colossians 4:17)! Also, if Matthew 18 becomes a verb in your vocabulary (“Matthew 18’d him but he still didn’t repent”), make sure you have the right attitude. Matthew 18:15-17 was not written to justify you in your disputes but to emphasize how important Christian unity is. Keep making the effort to reconcile (Psalm 133).
Psalm 22:27 — Even though our Exodus reading introduces the LORD to Pharoah as the God of the Hebrews, our Psalm reading reminds us that the LORD’s kingdom will have no end (Isaiah 9:7), and all nations shall worship before Him!
Proverbs 5:21 — Here we see another “anthropomorphism” – the “eyes of the Lord.” While it’s difficult to comprehend omnipresence, Solomon reminds us God sees us. As Joseph told us earlier this year – when we sin, it’s not just against a fellow human, it’s against God because it is in His sight.
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Exodus 2:12 — Whether this is a good act or not is a matter of debate among commentators. However, even though he looked around and saw nobody, some Hebrews saw him (Exodus 2:14), and Pharaoh found out (Exodus 2:15), and there were consequences.
Exodus 3:11 — While Moses’ humility is commendable (Numbers 12:3), he has questions. Unfortunately, we will see tomorrow his lack of faith.
Matthew 17:15 — Many a parent of teenagers has come to God with this prayer, but thankfully most haven’t needed to pray for God to heal their child’s seizures. While the disciples were proud of their role (Mark 9:38), they lacked faith (Matthew 17:20), and unlike their teacher that we saw a few days ago (Matthew 14:23), they had not spent time in prayer.
Psalm 22 — Harry Ironside, Senior Pastor of The Moody Church from 1930-1948, said, “Someone long ago suggested that in Psalm 22 we have the Good Shepherd giving His life for the sheep, in Psalm 23, the Chief Shepherd in resurrection life guiding His people through the wilderness of this world, and in Psalm 24, the Great Shepherd coming again in power and glory to bring in everlasting blessing.”
If you have the time, he gives a great message on this psalm (The Shepherd Psalms).
Proverbs 5:9-11 — We see the consequences of going after the Strange Woman. Loss of honor, time, wealth, labors, health, but plenty of mourning.
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Genesis 50:4-6 — Side note: Pharaoh was glad to accommodate a diligent and profitable God-fearer who asked for time off for work for a good reason. Only 15 times does someone weep in Genesis – most of the time it’s Joseph. It’s okay for a God-fearing leader to have compassion!
Genesis 50:17 — The first time Joseph wept was Genesis 42:24, then Genesis 43:30, Genesis 45:2, Genesis 45:14, Genesis 45:15, Genesis 46:29, Genesis 50:1, and now for the 8th time.
Genesis 50:24 — An echo of faith in the promise of Genesis 15:14. Congratulations on finishing your first book of the Bible! Let’s see what happens to Jacob/Israel’s descendants in Egypt.
Exodus 1:22 — Satan is attempting to destroy the Israelites and specifically the line of the Messiah. Haman tried this in Esther 3:13. Herod would try this in Matthew 2:16.
Matthew 16:16 — Once Simon Peter recognized who He was, Jesus could explain what would happen (Matthew 16:21). Interesting that only after the disciples had seen Jesus telling John’s disciples that He was the prophesied one (Matthew 11:4-6), that they watched the 5,000 being fed (Matthew 14:21), that they experienced Jesus walking on the water (Matthew 14:25), that they witnessed countless incredible miracles (Matthew 15:30-31), and that they participated in the feeding of the 4,000 (Matthew 15:38). Peter voices the obvious conclusion. Yet Jesus doesn’t let any of us stop at a confession – He calls for us to take up our cross and follow Him. He wasn’t talking about a nice piece of jewelry; He was talking about the element of execution.
Psalm 21:6-7 — If the king trusts in the Lord, he will be blessed. Let’s pray for our elected officials that they will trust in the Lord so He can bless them. PublicServantsPrayer.org is a great website to remind you to pray for your leaders. I’m subscribed to the Wisconsin prayer list.
Proverbs 5:1 — Hopefully you’ve realized that wisdom is more than just cute sayings on a refrigerator magnet. It’s pretty important. Today we follow up on the Strange Woman that we met in Proverbs 2:16, and will meet again in Proverbs 6:24 and Proverbs 7:5. Other women we’ll meet are the evil woman, the whorish woman, the woman who lacks understanding, the brawling woman, the angry woman, the contentious woman, the adulterous woman, the odious woman, and the foolish woman. We’ll also meet the gracious woman, the fair woman, the virtuous woman, the wise woman, and the God-fearing woman!
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Genesis 48:5 — Jacob is claiming Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh. When we get to the long genealogies (I Chronicles 5:1-2), we’ll see how the birthright that belonged to Judah went to Ephraim and Manasseh.
Genesis 48:18-19 — Joseph is correcting his dad about who deserves the birthright – an interesting echo of what Jacob did to his father in Genesis 27.
Genesis 49:10 — The scepter is spoken of by Balaam (Numbers 24:17) and the psalmists (Psalm 60:7, 108:8). Shiloh is a difficult term; even commentators admit it’s hard to be certain. It seems to refer to the promised seed to Eve.
Matthew 15:30-31 — Pay attention to these verses; when we come to the trial of Jesus, this would be exhibit A in the defense of Jesus of Nazareth. Why? Check Isaiah 35:4-6!
Matthew 15:33 — Remember what we read two days ago? An interesting echo of Matthew 14:17. The disciples failed the lesson two days ago, and they look like they failed the quiz Jesus gave them today.
Thankfully Jesus, the Great Teacher, addressed the learning problem the disciples had in Matthew 16:8.
Genesis 46:3 — “Fear not to go down into Egypt.” Abraham went down into Egypt because there was a famine in Canaan (Genesis 12:10), but he lied about his wife while there (Genesis 12:12), and it was in Egypt that he likely picked up Hagar whom he sinned with (Genesis 16:3). Ishmael did not take a wife of the believers but of Egypt (Genesis 21:21). God forbade Isaac from going to Egypt (Genesis 26:2). Joseph was sold into Egypt (Genesis 37:28). Perhaps that’s why Jacob/Israel was scared to go back to Egypt. He had learned that before you go, seek God’s face, and God will give you wisdom (James 1:5).
Matthew 15:1-28 — Jesus accused the Scribes and Pharisees of sin but had mercy on the Gentile woman. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5, James 4:6, Proverbs 3:34).
Psalm 19 — Patch the Pirate composed a great song based on this psalm!
Psalm 19:7 — If you have time, it’s worthwhile to do a quick search on the phrase “the Law of the Lord” in the Old Testament. Why not memorize Psalm 19:14? It’s a great verse to hide in your heart to keep your life pure!
Proverbs 4:18-19 — The path of the just is as the shining light … the way of the wicked is as darkness. A pretty clear contrast. Which path do you want to take?
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