MOSES
After Joseph saved Egypt from starvation (Genesis 41), the Israelites lived in Egypt as guests. Eventually, the Egyptians forgot about Joseph and enslaved the Israelites (Exodus 1:6-14). For many years the children of Abraham suffered under Egypt’s slavery.
Continue reading ISRAEL IN EGYPT
In Exodus 3:2 Moses’ attention was arrested by the sight of a bush that burned without being consumed by the fire. When he turned aside to investigate, the Lord spoke to him from the bush, instructing him to return to Egypt to deliver the Hebrew people from slavery.
Continue reading DEFINITION OF THE DAY (BURNING BUSH)
We sometimes think of the Old Testament as a book in which God makes repeated appearances of many kinds. But when we put a time line next to the account, we quickly realize that God’s manifest presence was far more rare and purposeful than we realized. The last time God made a direct appearance in Genesis he visited Jacob in a dream (46:1-7) and assured him his family would become “a great nation” while in Egypt (v. 3). Over four hundred years would pass before God would make another recorded appearance. Continue reading SIGNS AND SYMBOLS OF THE BIBLE (MOUNT SINAI)
Isaiah 6 records the prophet’s vision of God, “I saw the Lord.” Yet Exodus 33:20; John 1:18; and 1 John 4:12 state that no one has ever seen God. Continue reading HOW CAN ISAIAH SAY HE SAW THE LORD, WHEN MANY SCRIPTURES DECLARE THAT NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN GOD?
Both mesmerizing and mysterious, fire represents combustion, a chemical reaction that releases both heat and light. Today, fire seems to be at our fingertips-we just need to turn on the stove or light a match. Because we no longer have to work to get it, most of us take fire for granted. Yet we rely on fire for light, warmth, cooking, manufacturing, and refining. Fire figures into the Bible in numerous ways-in daily life, religious ceremony, Continue reading BIBLE SIGNS AND SYMBOLS (FIRE)