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Learning something new is an involved process, and for some of us it helps to summarize what we've learned or gleaned from each session as a way to crystalize new nuggets of information.

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Day 22: Exodus 1-3

Israel Increases Greatly in Egypt. Pharaoh Oppresses Israel. The Birth of Moses. Moses Flees to Midian. God Hears Israel's Groaning. The Burning Bush. Avoid the inevitable fall of oppressors The Bible teaches people to not be oppressors, lest they doom themselves and their posterity. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. ( Exodus 1:9-11 ESV ) The new king of Egypt oppressed Israel, and I know from having read this story before that the king and his people suffered many plagues, with some also ending in a violent death. The cautionary tale tells one person not to oppress another, and what does it mean to oppress? Merriam-Webster def...
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Day 17: Genesis 41

Today's morning devotion is Genesis 41 , which tells the story of Joseph being freed from jail and promoted to governor of Egypt by correctly interpreting Pharaoh's dreams of cows and wheat. Dreams are messages from God Pharaoh's acceptance of Joseph's interpretation and attribution of the feat to God is consistent with what Joseph said about his interpretations of the cupbearer's dream and the baker's. And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. ( Genesis 41:38-39 ESV ) Basically, a dream is a message from God, and only God can give its interpretation to a person. Egyptians fear the same God How come the Egyptians fear the same God of Joseph and Israel? I've always found this to be interesting, because I thought the Egyptians worshiped gods of their own. Significance of being...
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Day 26: Exodus 11-12

A Final Plague Threatened. The Passover. The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn. The Exodus. Institution of the Passover. The Hebrew calendar I learned something new today: There's a Hebrew calendar that is very different from the Gregorian calendar that I use on a daily basis and from the lunar calendar used by countries in Asia. The discovery came from a seed of curiosity about the dates that God called out in his instruction to Moses. And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. ( Exodus 12:17-18 ESV ) Although I expected the Passover to be held from January 14-21 every year, it turns out that the Passover is actually held on different dates  every year, us...
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