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Exodus 2

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Exodus 2 before reading the devotional below.

Moses’ life was in jeopardy from the moment he was born. Recall from chapter 1 that the king of Egypt demanded that all the Jewish boys be killed so that he could continue to oppress the people more easily. Moses’ mother takes two risks: keeping her baby alive secretly for three months and later sending him down the river in a basket. This riverboat ride was no accident — she knew exactly when and where the Pharaoh’s daughter would come to bathe. Moses is then rescued, and he grows up a foreigner in the king’s palace.

Fast forward to his adulthood and Moses starts to grapple with his identity. The slave oppression angers him, and things come to a head when he kills an Egyptian who was beating a Jewish slave. Although he looks around and sees no witnesses, his murderous act is exposed and his life is once again at risk. He flees to a town called Midian and meets his future in-laws. Meanwhile, the Jewish people continue to cry out for a rescue from God.

Here’s your freedom for today: God knows his purposes for you.

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Here’s your freedom for today: God knows his purposes for you. From the time Moses was born, God knew how he would use Moses and he worked in every detail of his life to bring him to the places he needed to be. Even in his sin, God’s plan is not derailed. God was waiting for the right moment to begin his rescue efforts, and even the label “murderer” does not disqualify Moses. God knows what he is doing with you, and even your sin (which God fully expects) does not eliminate the purposes God has planned for you. He will keep saving you over and over so that in the right moment he can raise you up to do what he has called you to do.

 

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Exodus 1

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Exodus 1 before reading the devotional below.

Today we begin an exploration of the book of Exodus, one chapter a day for the next forty days. The story of Exodus is a story of freedom. As we go through this series, ask yourself what these stories reveal about the character of God and our understanding of freedom.

To sum up this first chapter of Exodus: seasons change. Sometimes situations that are working out well for you shift, and you find yourself kicked back down to the bottom after you had enjoyed a nice run of victory. In the book of Genesis, Joseph rose to triumph and leadership in Egypt after going through a lot of family struggles. The names of his brothers (important foundational knowledge in order to understand Israel’s history), are listed here in Exodus 1 and it is a story of the good times. Verse 8 reveals that eventually Joseph’s victory was forgotten, and a new era of oppression took over.

Here’s your freedom for today: God does not forget your victories.

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Here’s your freedom for today: God does not forget your victories. Although the powerful leaders in Egypt forgot the victory of Joseph, God didn’t. He was paying attention. He heard the cries of his people and was preparing his rescue long before they even asked. Real freedom comes when we let God rescue us instead of trying to cling to what once was. The only way to step into the new places God wants to take us is to get ready to move. Egypt was no longer the place God’s people could prosper. They needed a new land and a new victory that only God could bring. If you need a new victory today, cry out to God and be open to new places he may bring you.

Real freedom comes when we let God rescue us instead of trying to cling to what once was.

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Genesis 50

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Genesis 50 before reading the devotional below.

We’ve come to the end of the first book in the Bible, so we have seen God’s early involvement in the world. We’ve read about creation, sin entering the world, the flood that was a reset button, God’s promise to Abraham, and the start of Israel’s history. There’s much more to come throughout the entire Old Testament, with a period of about 400 years of silence before Jesus comes to earth in Matthew. Yesterday we saw a piece of the thread that shows how Jesus is the real point of the entire story.

Jacob dies after some time in Egypt, and Joseph and all his brothers take all their families back to their homeland to bury their father. If only they had stayed there, perhaps the Israelites would not have become enslaved for hundreds of years! In fact, Joseph himself can see after some time that their families will eventually need to leave Egypt and return to the land God promised to Abraham. Joseph stays faithful to God until the very end, never turning on his brothers or forgetting that God was the one who was directing his life.

Here’s your freedom for today:

What you cultivate in your mind is what will grow.

I’ve had a few relationships with elderly people during my life, and I have observed that age brings with it a decline in verbal inhibition. They say what they think, sometimes without the filter that had served them well earlier in life. I’ve heard some who speak bitterly or angrily, and I’ve heard others who seem to never stop talking about the blessings they’ve seen from God. Once you are old, it’s too late to decide who you want to be and what you want to be known for talking about. What you have invested in and thought about throughout your life will come out of your mouth when you are old. Joseph was repeating the same thing he’d said his whole life: God brought me to Egypt and had a good plan. He had thought it so many times before it was the only thing that would ever come out of his mouth. What are you cultivating in your thoughts today? If you lose some of your filters, what might come out of your mouth someday?

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Genesis 49

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Genesis 49 before reading the devotional below.

We are nearing the end of the book of Genesis, and if you’ve been reading along with us the whole time, great job! You’ve almost finished a pretty long book of the Bible! (If you missed any days in this series, you can always search by category on the right margin of the Daily Devotionals page to catch up.)

As Jacob is dying, he gives his final 12 blessings as he prophetically speaks about the future of each of his sons and their descendants. It’s not great news for Reuben, Simeon, and Levi whose lives were colored by bad choices and evil hearts. Rough to have your father’s last words speak a curse of judgment because of your sin. Joseph’s blessings is what you’d expect Jacob to say, and the other boys each get a small but positive blessing that reflects something about them. But Judah stands out even above Joseph as he gets the most eternally significant blessing of all.

Here’s your freedom for today:

God plans way in advance.

Judah lived about 1,500-2,000 years before Jesus came to live on earth, but his blessing is the first direct prophecy about a coming ruler or Messiah. Verse 8 is fascinating because Jacob predicts that the whole family and in fact all nations will bow to one of Judah’s descendants. Wasn’t that Joseph’s dream? As it turns out, Joseph’s dream was an earthly fulfillment, but this blessing for Judah will be fulfilled for all eternity. The book of Matthew traces the direct path from Judah to Jesus, opening the New Testament with a clear understanding that Jesus was the promised ruler to whom all nations would bow. God carefully sculpted his plans long before anyone could fully understand them. He’s still doing that today and your life is part of a much bigger story than you can imagine.

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Genesis 48

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Genesis 48 before reading the devotional below.

Jacob has another blessing moment in today’s chapter as he interacts with Joseph’s two sons. Recall that Jacob was a twin, and when he was born he was hanging on to his brother’s heel. That was surely a sign of things to come, as Jacob always seemed jealous of the rights of the firstborn son. It makes sense — that’s an especially unfair rule if you are a twin and were born mere seconds after the firstborn. Jacob weaseled his brother into giving him the birthright, tricked their father into giving him the better blessing, and wrestled God to demand a divine blessing of eternal proportions.

Perhaps because of this history, when Jacob blesses Joseph’s two sons, he crosses his arms so that his right hand is on the head of the younger boy and his left hand is on the head of the older boy. Joseph tries to correct him (because the right hand would symbolize greater power and privilege), but Jacob says it’s no mistake. The good news is that both of the boys get a great blessing, and Jacob prophesies that their names will become synonymous with prosperity. Ultimately, Joseph is the recipient of a double blessing because when the land is divided his sons will each get a portion, giving him twice as much of an inheritance as his brothers.

Here’s your freedom for today:

Satan is not strong enough to block God’s favor.

Joseph was favored from birth because his father loved Rachel. Ultimately, this favor was from God. Jealousy, betrayal, accusation, prison, abandonment, and famine could not stop the favor in Joseph’s life. When Jacob received and later gave blessings, they were spiritual experiences because they were communicating the favor of God. These were not just well wishes, these were declarations of God’s plans. Joseph’s life is a great reminder that Satan may try to harm you, but he cannot block God’s favor on your life. God’s doing what he’s doing with you, and if you stay faithful to God’s ways then his favor will come to pass.