Salvogesis

This is a very important passage for our world today. Judges 2:1-5: The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you." When the angel of the LORD had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud, and they called that place Bokim (weepers). There they offered sacrifices to the LORD. This is disappointing; it’s a sad but very important passage from which to launch the stories of the so-called Judges.[1] This pericope (Joshua 2:1-5) explains why the Israelites and their allies suffer hundreds of year...

I remember when I was in elementary school: when I was in the intermediate grades, probably Grade 5 or Grade 6. Across the street from our elementary school there was a senior high school for Grade 11 and 12 students, sixteen and seventeen year-olds. Every spring, it would seem, there was a ritual. (For the record, where I grew up there was no snow on the ground in March – ever) At lunch time, some of us grade fives and sixes would get up the nerve to go across the street and provoke some grade eleven’s and twelve’s who would be smoking outside or just lounging on the lawn. At first one or two of us would run across the street and call a small group of the high school students various names hoping that the sixteen and seventeen year-olds would chase us back across the street to the elementary school… where we had a trap set for them. We had a plan: the entire grade five and six classes were lying in wait ready to ambush them, dog pile on them, jump on them. We were looking for a play f...

The BC municipal elections are today, October 20th, and I encourage all of you, if you haven't already, to vote after you have already been spending some time in prayer, fasting, and study to determine which candidates you should support. Make a good choice. Today in the text,we are also encouraged to make a good choice. We are encouraged to learn, know, and remember who is the ONLY Messiah. Some questions for us today: Who is the Messiah? (Jesus) Messiah is a Hebrew word, what is the Greek equivalent? (Christ) What is the Messiah/Christ? What does it mean? What does he do? (Anointed One/King/Political and Military Leader) This is important. Acts 1:8: " But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Do we know what and where these places are? Jerusalem was the capital of the united kingdoms of Israel...

Now we can understand how Pharaoh would not be so happy, seeing defeat snatched from the jaws of victory in this way as the work of his magicians, sorcerers, and wise men is gobbled up before his very eyes. You can understand how he would be more than a little upset. Now this upsettedness is further exasperated. Have you ever seen those Egyptian headdresses? Picture King Tut – he’s a famous pharaoh. What does his headdress – his hat – what does it look like? – A Snake, a Cobra. Pharaoh has just not only seen all these snakes eaten by the staff of this guy who was run out of the kingdom decades ago but he has also seen this powerful symbol of his family, this powerful symbol of himself, and this powerful symbol of his whole country mocked and devoured before his eyes. It would be like if we went to visit this or any president of the United States and suddenly chopped up and burned and American flag right in front of him; what would he do? At the very least he would have us arrested;...

Again let us picture this scene together. There could possibly be a very packed room with Pharaoh, his officials and possibly a whole bunch of wise men, sorcerers and even magicians here (cf. 2 Timothy 3:8).[7] It may even be like us in this room today. Imagine that Pharaoh is sitting or standing up by me here. Imagine that these two men in their 80’s throw this staff on the ground in front of us here and it becomes a snake and then either one-by-one or all-at-once the person beside you and everyone around you - these many wise men, sorcerers and even magicians - they throw their canes on the ground and there are all of a sudden all these snakes crawling everywhere. This is what it would be like. Now imagine that this snake up here sees all of the others down there and one-by-one goes and fights and eats those 20, 30, 40, 10 or however many other snakes there are sliding around on the ground.[8] That is the visual image of this first sign for Pharaoh. I’ve been in a snake pit or two ...

Exodus 7:8-13: The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,  “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.” So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. There are a number of items and ideas that jump out at one as we read through this sign that God performs for Pharaoh through Moses and Aaron. 1)        We notice that not only can God do this sign but so can wise men, sorcerers and even Egyptian magicians. They can all turn their sta...

Forgetting the Lord will result in weeping and more... Deuteronomy 8:19-20: “If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.” Israel was no more immune to destruction and being removed from the Promised Land than were the people God had there before them (Cf. Amos 3:2). [6] There is a very important passage in Genesis to which the author of Deuteronomy is referring: it is the covenant ceremony whereby God ratifies His covenant with Abraham that a) all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him (Genesis 12:1-3); and b) Israel will (for a time anyway) occupy this Promised Land (Genesis 15:17-21) Genesis 15:13-16 records one reason why the land promised to Abraham’s descendants by God is not given to Abraham in his lifetime. This is because God is e...