Consecration of the Firstborn. The Feast of Unleavened Bread. Pillars of Cloud and Fire. Crossing the Red Sea. The Song of Moses. Bitter Water Made Sweet. What is to consecrate? It may seem strange, but I didn't know the definition of the word "consecrate" when I read today's morning devotion. Merriam-Webster defines " consecrate " as to officially make (something, such as a place or building) holy through a special religious ceremony. By a strong hand A Google search revealed many interpretations of "a strong hand" to mean basically sovereign power or overwhelming might. Both make sense to me in the context of Exodus. The month of Abib One commentary defined "Abib" to mean a green ear (of corn). So, it made sense that the month of green ears of corn would mark the first month in a year for the purposes of keeping a calendar. To redeem with a lamb Merriam-Webster defines the word " redeem " in a couple of wa...
The evening devotion for the fifth day is Matthew 5 , which begins the Sermon on the Mount. What is the Law? My assumption has always been that the Law refers to the Ten Commandments, but does it actually refer to and include all of the rules laid out in painstaking detail in Leviticus? Or something else altogether? Who is my brother? Words matter in the Bible, and the word "brother" is probably one that confuses me often. Where the word trips me up in Matthew 5 is where Jesus talks about murder and anger. “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. ( Matthew 5:21-22 ESV ) If I'm reading this literally, the choice of the word "brother" instead of the word ...
Today's morning devotion is Genesis 15-17 , which is a narrative of God entering into a covenant with Abram, who God renamed Abraham when Abraham was 99 years old. The iniquity of the Amorites What exactly were the Amorites wrongfully doing? And how would it be completed? As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” ( Genesis 15:15-16 ESV ) Luckily for me, someone named John Piper, who is much better versed in the Bible, explained that the timing was such that God would deliver judgment to the Amorites using Israel . According to John Piper, the Amorites were pagans and idolaters, rightful recipients of God's judgment after plenty of time to repent while living under God's grace. Power triangle: Abram-Sarai-Hagar The power triangle created when Sarai gave Hagar as a wife to Abram was interesting, in that i...