This year I switched from using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible reading to the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net”. I have now done this long enough to say that I am glad I made the change. I am firmly convinced that the One Year Bible Online is a great way to read through the Bible in a year. It breaks the parts of the Bible which can be a struggle to read into manageable portions. However, I think that the Daily Bible Reading Schedule I am using now is a better format for doing a daily Bible study.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Exodus 1-3.

    The Israelites remained as a separate people in the land of Egypt. When they had grown into a sizable group, those who controlled the land of Egypt became afraid that they would not remain under their control. One thing we often overlook is that the Pharaoh, speaking as the chief of those who controlled Egypt, was also afraid that the Israelites would leave Egypt. So, the Egyptians had two problems. The Israelites were becoming too many and too powerful to be controlled. Egypt needed the people of Israel (I assume this means that Egypt’s economy would suffer if the Israelites left). This is a problem that any nation will face sooner or later if they allow a group of people to enter the nation without becoming part of that nation. Egypt’s chosen solution, oppressing this unassimilated minority, always leads to trouble for the host civilization.

    As a young man, Moses wanted to use his position of privilege to help his people, the people of Israel. However, his attempt was misguided and misunderstood. It went wrong. What happened with Moses is what always happens when privileged young people attempt to help the oppressed. It was only when Moses was much older and wiser that God was able to use Him to lead His people. However, it is also important to realize that Moses was not wrong about God wanting to use him to free His people. He was guilty only of acting before God’s time. Even so, God used his mistake to prepare him. Moses’ mistake as a young man made him resistant to God’s calling when God was ready for him to act.

    We need to learn two lessons from this passage. First, we need to learn to wait for God’s time and direction before we act. The second is the much harder one. When God tells us that it is time to act, we need to be willing to act, even if our previous actions ended badly. God’s plans were not disrupted by Moses’ flaws, by his reluctance to do what God instructed him to do. However, Moses missed the opportunity to experience the Promised Land for himself because of those flaws.