Genesis 50:1-Exodus 2:10 ~ Matthew 16:13-17:9 ~ Psalm 21:1-13 ~ Proverbs 5:1-6
Today is the 25th day of January. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian and it’s great to be here with you today. I’m thrilled that we have another day to take another step together through the Bible this year. This week we’ve been reading from the Contemporary English Version and following in the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis. His father Jacob has died and we’ll get a peek into the customs of the time. Then we’ll be kind of moving into the next chapter of this family, the family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who is Israel and their children. So congratulations because today we will conclude the book of Genesis and move into what comes next in the book of Exodus. So today, Genesis 50, verse 1 through Exodus 2, verse 10 and we’ll do a little flyover of the book of Exodus when we get there to understand the territory that we are moving into in our journey this year, but first, let’s finish up the book of Genesis.
Introduction of a New Book (Old Testament)
The book of Exodus, which is where we’re headed now, is the second book in a collection of books known as the Pentateuch, which is the first five books of the Bible as we know it now. Most scholars will attribute in some way these writings to Moses. Obviously, Moses couldn’t have written all of this down. Some of it happened before he was ever around, so he is collecting together the story in a way that preserves the story.
Exodus in its original language means departure. True to its name, the book is the epic retelling of God’s deliverance of his people from slavery and it is in this book that we’ll meet this guy Moses. He becomes an actual part of the story.
So as we completed Genesis, we read about Joseph and how his being sold into slavery was ultimately used by God to save his family and the land of Egypt from famine and starvation. Joseph’s family was ultimately brought to Egypt where they began to prosper and multiply rapidly. And as we move into Exodus, we’re fast forwarding now over 400 years and Joseph, obviously we read in the last paragraphs in the book of Genesis, has died at the age of 110, but this family who came into Egypt, under 100 people who came into Egypt to be protected by Joseph, over the course of 400 years, they have multiplied dramatically.
So Jacob, or Israel’s family line remains in the land of the Egypt over these centuries and they’ve become enslaved to the Egyptians. The story of the children of Israel enslaved, Moses becoming their leader, and the dramatic way in which God humbles Egypt and sets his people free covers the first third of the book of Exodus. Then the central portion of Exodus chronicles the drama in the desert as the children of Israel learn to trust God the hard way. And then the final portion of the book describes the Tabernacle and its many utensils as well as the modes of sacrifice in the offering of worship to God. So what we’ll be seeing is the formation of a cultural norm that has begun and we’ll have a front row seat to God’s remaking of these people and it’s a front row seat to the way God remakes our identity.
And so we begin with Exodus chapter 1.
Commentary
So we have this fascinating story that just pops up out of the book of Matthew today. Jesus starts telling his disciples what is going to happen to him in Jerusalem. And then six days later he takes Peter and James and John up a mountain where the strangest thing happens. He’s changed. And Moses, who we’re just getting to know in the book of Exodus, who we just met today as an infant, is there. And the prophet Elijah, who we haven’t met yet in this revolution through the Bible this year, is also there. So theologically this is known as the transfiguration. Now, if you put yourself in the position of Peter, James, or John, it’s a disruptive moment. So Simon Peter speaks up. He is often the first to speak. And he speaks up. And he is like, “This is awesome. It is good that we’re here.” And then he thinks about what he is supposed to do, what they are supposed to do. They are supposed to make three tents to commemorate the moment, one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
It is so interesting how God can move into our lives, we can feel him speaking, we can feel his presence, we can feel his leading and it can be overpowering at times or dramatic at times or it can be still and small at times, but we know it is the Lord. So we’re immediately thinking ‘who do I tell about this? What do I need to do with this?’ That is kind of what Peter is doing, but he hadn’t noticed this cloud that was hovering and moving in on them and from the cloud there is this voice. “This is my own son and I’m pleased with him. Listen to what he says.” So when the disciples hear the voice out of the cloud, it is like too much and they fall flat on the ground out of fear. And I read that story and I’m like, yeah, I get that. I can see fight of flight reactions moving in during an encounter like this. And Jesus comes to them and touches them and says, “Get up, get up. You don’t have to be afraid.” So when they get up off the ground they only see Jesus.
What is interesting is the instructions of God from the cloud. The Father is certainly affirming Jesus, saying “I’m well pleased with my son,” but that is not all he says. He also gives direct instructions to the disciples. “This is my own beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to what he says.” So God doesn’t say, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased and, yes, you should make the tents. We need to build something here. We just had a magic moment and we need to commemorate this.” He simply says, “Listen to what he says.”
This is a really good reminder in our lives because we go thrashing about all the time about all kinds of things, and even when God moves in and brings margin and balance and shalom and direction and clarity, we’re usually thinking about what we’re supposed to do next. What we’re supposed to do next is to continue to listen to what Jesus says.
This is how we get ourselves into all kinds of problems. We feel the leading of the Lord and we’re like right into action rather than walking with God. It is about being and not so much about doing. Although there is plenty of doing, we are offered this margin. We are offered this bubble that we get to walk in with God. There is plenty to do, but often when we have an encounter with God, we just move into the doing and leave him behind. Like, he just spoke to us, he’s done speaking to us, so we’ve got to go move into doing something to commemorate the moment rather than just understanding that life is a rhythm of walking with God in all things, at all times, in all places. That includes plenty of things to do as he guides our steps, but the primary important thing is to listen to what he says and not go doing things without the full picture and full clarity.
So lots of times we go running off doing things that we think are part of whatever God is leading us to do without just walking with him. And we remove all of the margin in our lives by going into things half-cocked or half-baked so there is so much cleanup that has to happen that never had to happen. Sometimes we get into those kinds of stories and we look back and it’s like, this is not working out how it was supposed to work out, and then we get mad at God. It’s like, you told me to do this. Slow down. Slow down. Just like the example we see here in the story of the transfiguration. “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to what he says.”
Prayer
Father, that is what we want. Yeah, we’re guilty of all these things. We’ve walked with you and we’ve been led by you, but we’ve rushed into activity when maybe you weren’t done talking about it. We come to you often for instructions rather than for relationship, we’re looking for the next step rather than falling deeply in love, to the point that we are willing to waste time just to be with you, which of course is not wasting time. Help us to slow down. Help us to not be so frantic. Help us to learn the lesson that we just learned by reading the story of Joseph. There is more going on here and we need to be in lockstep fellowship with you. This is what we were created for. This is all you want, too. This is not about doing as much as it is about being with you. So come Holy Spirit, we pray. Give us margin in this, we ask. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian. I love you. And I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports
Hello Daily Audio Bible. My name is McKenzie. I’m 13 and I live in California. I’ve been listening to the Daily Audio Bible for three years and I just really want to say that it has blessed me in so many ways. I’m actually calling after having a night-long anxiety attack which was wonderful. It will be great at school today. I get those quite often and they are just terrible. I’ve been struggling with anxiety for as long as I can remember and I just want it to be over. I pray all the time that it will be over and the Bible says that if two or more people pray for something, that it will eventually happen as long as it’s, you know, within reason. So I could just ask you guys to pray for me. Also a shout-out to Autumn, the 11-year-old girl who called from Arizona. I’m basically you two years in the future. My grandmother actually passed away when I was 11 and I just want to tell you that no matter how negative the situation seems right now, positive will come out of it. So many positive things came out of that terrible situation, especially my relationship with God has become a lot closer. I just want to say you inspired me to call. I’m praying for you. You don’t have to go through this alone. Alright, thank you guys. Bye.
Hi, this is Lisa, the Encourager. I was calling tonight to encourage Jessica. She called in about her husband and his church that he is attending and looking at going through some transition and was needing his leadership and they were having some real struggles with what was going on. So I just want to pray for you tonight, Jessica, and your husband and the leadership team and all the decisions they are going to have to make and also to encourage your husband through those decisions and that the Lord will give you peace. Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you so much for allowing me to pray for Jessica tonight. I pray, Lord Jesus, that you will help her husband who is pastoring a church and he is dealing with some real confrontational issues regarding the leadership in the church. I pray, God, that you will give him wisdom, give him guidance, and give him discernment to know what to do. Help Jessica to just pray through every bit of it, pray without ceasing and just continue to give her husband all the support he needs through a very difficult situation. I pray that you will help her to be able to also have wisdom in making some of the right decisions for their family and what they need to do and whether they need to stay or go or whatever it is, Lord Jesus. I also pray that the leadership in that church will be led by you and that their hearts will be softened to the realization of the stress that this is…
Hi, this is Troy from Flint, MI. I’ve been on the Daily Audio Bible now for about three weeks. I travel on the road and I see a lot of different things. I just want to say how blessed I am. A friend of mine, who actually married Brian and Jill, I’ve known since my early days of church back in Flint, MI. But anyways, I am so, so blessed to be listening every day when I’m on the road and listening to God’s word. Brian, I appreciate you, Brother. Yeah, I’ve __________ but I was given it again by a few of my friends, but you’re a true blessing. I love the way you speak. I feel like you’re next to me like we’re talking __________. A little prayer request. I had a little problem though with my boss. __________, but he tends to micromanage me and sometimes I wonder where his actions are and what his beliefs are sometimes towards other people. I pray for him daily. I know he’s praying for me daily, but we’re trying to work it out but we can’t seem to find our balance head to head. I’m just looking for balance and looking for, like you guys say, the rhythm. Just wanted to __________, you know. I’m a believer in God and I’ve __________ all my life and I just want to say thanks guys. I hope we talk. By the way, I like __________. It’s awesome. __________ that way because I have a twin brother, but hey, you all have a great day. God bless and we’ll talk again soon. Bye-bye.
His everyone. My name is Karen and I’m a first-time caller to the Daily Audio Bible. I’ve been listening for about four months now and it was recommended by a friend of mine who is here in St. Louis. I’m really grateful for your ministry, Brian. I find that your commentary has great wisdom. I’m also very sorry about the loss of your mom. I have numerous friends who have lost their parents and spouses in the last month. I’m so moved and encouraged by the fellowship of the saints who share in the grief and are mobilized to comfort. So I just pray that you’re sensing that, Brian, and that you would live in that hope that you will see her once again. I was moved to call because I was listening to the Joseph story and, gosh, you know how God uses it all for his redemptive purposes. I have an urgent prayer request for my nephew Todd who is now in a mental health wing in a hospital here. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder two years ago after being taken to a drug rehab mental health facility here because he had been smoking dope and having delusional episodes, but he was also led to read the Koran. He had been introduced to Islam from a foreign exchange student that stayed with my brother and his family four years ago, but this behavior really was coming to a head a couple years ago. He had these episodes right after the holidays. Some of them have been violent. He actually was very antagonistic towards me and my sister and brother and a friend who went over for Christmas, just going after certain verses in the Bible. I feel that he is being coached, but again, I’m having tons of people praying for him and praying for my brother and his family and I’m just wanting to ask my brothers and sisters in Christ here at the Daily Audio Bible to storm the gates of heaven and contend for Todd’s soul and also for healing for his mental health issues. But I’m also praying that my brother and sister-in-law and Todd’s brother would also come to know…
Good afternoon family. This is Kimberly K. from Albany, NY calling again. Been calling quite a bit lately. I think this is addictive. The reason I’m calling this time is because I heard the message from Bob from Michigan who was recently diagnosed with throat cancer. Bob, your message truly humbled me because despite the diagnosis, what you’re asking for is that you could be a great ambassador for God throughout your illness and your treatment and this trial. I have a feeling, God, that Bob has been an ambassador on your team for many, many years, that his witness is bold and I ask, God, that you would continue to allow Bob’s focus to be on you and that his future is known to be safely in your care. I ask, God, that you would heal Bob’s illness and as his illness is healed, that miraculous occurrence will simply illuminate the bold witness that Bob brings to everyone who has been involved in his care so that, as Blind Tony says, even when walking by, a light can be seen and those are drawn to Bob and Bob has the opportunity to give blessings and thanks to God, the Father of all creation, the Father of our healing, of our heart, of our soul. Bob, bless you as you go through your treatment. I pray that you will be a bold witness and that we hear from you again and let us know how you are.
Hey DAB family. I just wanted to ask for your prayers. This is Tim out of New Mexico. My wife and I, Carissa, we found out yesterday that we lost our baby. We would just love some words of encouragement if you guys get a chance and just lift us up in prayer. It is our first pregnancy and it has just been really hard the last couple days. Thank you guys for all that you do. We love you guys and we just appreciate all of you from all over the world. I know you guys are great prayer warriors. So thank you so much. Again, it’s Tim and Carissa out of New Mexico. Bye.