Midnight in Pharaoh's Throne Room

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Scripture for Sunday, May 28:  Exodus 12:29-32
Additional Scripture:  Acts 26, Hebrews 11:8-12, Revelation 4

Original image appears here.

Reading the Passover story is hard for two reasons.

One, this is one of the most familiar stories in the Bible--a landmark moment when God saves his people.  We know how the story ends.  It's hard to engage it with fresh eyes.

Two, we can quickly "pass over" the life-changing judgment experienced by the Egyptians on the way to Israelite freedom.  If we pull up a chair in an Egyptian household, we catch other important dimensions of this story. 

In the darkest hour of this night, God strikes the firstborn children of Egypt, from the least to the greatest, both male and female.  Even the cattle are not immune.  And in the middle of the night, great crying is heard--because, as Exodus 12:30 tells us, there was no house without a death.

One commentator likens this final plague to SIDS on a grand scale--youngest to oldest, the firstborn sons and daughters die in their sleep.

Do you hear the pain?

Pharaoh is caught in the difficult position of responding to both personal disaster and national crisis at the same time. 

He calls for Moses and Aaron.  "Get out of here!  Go!  Serve the LORD as you have said.  Take your animals and get lost!  And bless me also."

It is a terrible plague, a terrible picture, that leads to deliverance for the Israelites.  What do we make of it?

There is a hint in Pharaoh's phrase, "Bless me also."

Up to this point in Exodus, the kingdom of Egypt has opposed the kingdom of God.  Pharaoh has
asserted authority over God's people:  Ordering the killing of not just the firstborn but all Israelite baby boys.  Sentencing the Israelites to hard labor.  Ruling as a god.

In this final plague, God does what he said he would do when he first called Moses in 4:21-23:  he kills Pharaoh's firstborn son.  In the plague on the firstborn, God makes a public statement of his claim over Egypt. 

No, Pharaoh, you are not a god.  The LORD is God.

It's as if for a moment, scales fall from Pharaoh's eyes.  He catches a glimpse of what has been true all along:  There is a creative, powerful, covenant-keeping God who rules a kingdom far bigger and far closer to his own reality than Pharaoh realized.  The experienced reality of that power draws an  uncertain confession of dependence and need from the lips of an all-powerful king.

We celebrate Christ's Ascension this week.  And we remember that Christ is ruling at God's right hand, reigning over us, ruling over the kingdoms of this world--and that the veil that separates his reign from our vision is paper thin.

Honor, glory and power belong to him.

1.  Hebrews 11 and Acts 26 give us pictures of how God's people in different times have navigated the tension between kingdoms of this world and God's kingdom.  How might God's Spirit use them to strengthen our own vision of his rule?

2.  Revelation 4 invites us into the throne room of God.  This week as you experience conflicts between the authority of God and the authority of the powers of this world, ask God to remind you that a suffering, risen, ascended, triumphant Jesus who loves you rules as Lord of all.   











 

Bearing Burdens and Carrying Your Own Load

 

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Scripture for Sunday, May 21:  Galatians 6:1-10



 

 

 

"Carry each others' burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."  --Gal. 6:2



 

Throughout Galatians, Paul goes to great lengths to debunk the myth of self-made righteousness.  He minces no words characterizing the "teachers" who had disrupted the Galatian church, and he pleads with these new believers not to fall into the trap of believing that they needed "Jesus-and...."  "Jesus-and-the-law-of-Moses."  "Jesus-and-circumcision." 



The problem with self-made righteousness--besides the fact that it can't ultimately make us right with God--is that checking the right boxes can foster spiritual pride.  It becomes very possible to think too highly of our own life of faith while judging the sins and failures of others from a distance.

Paul will have none of it.  There's no room for spiritual pride in a divine economy of grace.  He tells the believers to restore brothers and sisters caught in sin "gently," watching out that they are not tempted to think too much of themselves in the process.  And he calls the Galatian believers to carry one another's burdens--fulfilling not the law of Moses, but the law of Christ.

Unlike judging from afar, carrying each other's burdens can't be done pridefully or from a distance.  It requires getting close enough to shoulder a burden together.  It means listening to understand, not formulating our response as we listen.  It also means having the humility to let others in on our struggles--asking them to shoulder our burdens. 

Sometimes asking for help with our own burdens is harder.

Paul goes on to say that "each one should carry their own load"--the unique call that God has placed on each life to represent him daily.  Together we carry burdens; individually we plant seeds of God's love in our own Spirit-appointed ways, expecting a God-grown "harvest if we do not give up." 

For Reflection:

1.  Whom might you be most prone to judge from afar? 

2.  Is it easier for you to be the person who carries someone else's burden; or the person who asks for help?  Identify and thank God today for people who have walked alongside and carried burdens with you.

3.  Given your own personality, gifts, and season of life, what is one way that you are currently "planting seeds"; or one way that God might be leading you to plant?

A Reason for Hope

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Scripture for Sunday, May 14
1 Peter 3:8-22, focusing especially on verses 15-16

Additional selected Scripture on hope: 
1 Peter 1:3-21, Romans 8: 18-25

"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect...."  1 Peter 3:15-16


I misuse the word "hope" all the time.

"Mom, can we go to the park today?" 

"I hope so.  Let's see if we can get all our chores done." 

Translation:  "That park outing is looking unlikely."


"Could we have our school friends' family over for dinner?"

"I hope so.  Let's find a time."

Translation:  "Not happening unless we schedule it."

In my vocabulary, "hope" frequently communicates a wished-for but uncertain outcome.  It lives in the realm of my day-to-day world.  That way of speaking bleeds over into my thinking about hope.  It's teaching my children something about hope, too. 

"Hope" in this sense often results in disappointment.

But biblical hope is something else entirely.  It is a treasured certainty.  It is complete confidence in a future held by God.  It is guaranteed by the presence of the Holy Spirit in us.  It is granted to us through the completed sacrifice and resurrection of our Lord Jesus.   

Biblical hope is an unshakeable foundation for living.  It's a foregone conclusion.  We can fully trust that God is working in ways that we cannot see toward a final goal that we can hardly imagine. 

In this passage, Peter assumes that Christian hope is visible.  In fact, he says to be ready to defend or give reasons for the hope that others recognize!  Biblical hope can't be disappointed or put to shame--even when the reasons for earthly hope are few. 

Questions to ponder:
When or how have you noticed biblical hope in another person? 
How would you distinguish biblical hope from a sense of duty to "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" when the going gets tough?
What personal stories come to mind when you think of someone giving a reason for their hope?

"Church People"

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Read the Scripture for Sunday, May 7:  Colossians 4:7-18


Many of the "church people" listed in Colossians 4 have backstories that are included in the New Testament.  Paul greets a bunch of people who would have had no other reason to spend time together if not for the fact that they all belonged to Christ. 

Read the related passages below to dig into the backstory of some of the people Paul greets--John Mark and Onesimus.  What light do their stories shed on challenges and joys we face in "being church" together?

John Mark:  Acts 12, 15:36-41; Onisemus:  Philemon