Today we begin the Exodus Era back in Egypt where Joseph and all of his family members have died but the Israelites have grown “exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.” The new Pharaoh knows nothing about Joseph and sees the Israelites as a threat. Therefore, he puts them to hard labor. “But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew.” So Pharaoh orders the midwives to kill all the male Israelite babies that are born. However, the faithful midwives who fear the Lord, Shiphrah and Puah, refuse to kill the baby boys; so Pharaoh commands his people to throw all the Israelite baby boys into the river.

This is when we meet Moses, a descendant of the Levite tribe. The Lord is working behind the scenes and spares the life of this baby boy but before the Lord uses Moses, Moses endures some hardships himself. Moses is rescued as a baby by the daughter of Pharaoh and raised in Pharaoh’s house.

When Moses is 40 years old and sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, he takes matters into his own hands and kills the Egyptian. Now fearing that Pharaoh is going to kill him, Moses flees into the wilderness, to the land of Midian. There Moses marries Zipporah and they have two sons, Gershon and Eleazer. He spends 40 years in the wilderness as a shepherd where he is stripped down to no longer depend on his own abilities and he learns to depend upon the Lord. 

God has heard the cries of His people in Egypt and He is about to take action using the now 80 year old Levite, Moses. But when God calls Moses from the burning bush that is not consumed, Moses responds – “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt.” God tells Moses that it doesn’t matter who he is…what matters is who I AM and I AM “The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Issac, the God of Jacob.” The Lord is the One who will be doing the work, Moses will just have to go and trust Him.

God warns Moses that the king of Egypt won’t let the people go into the wilderness to worship Him; so the Lord will strike Egypt with His mighty wonders then the king will let them go. He tells Moses when they do let you go, “you shall not go empty-handed. But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.” Then the Lord shows Moses signs of His powers to help build Moses’s faith.

The Lord is about to send Moses and his brother Aaron off to Egypt to display His mighty power. Keep reading to see how God is going to rescue His people.

(Exodus 1:1-2:25, 1 Chronicles 6:1-3a, Exodus 3:1-4:17)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

The Exodus Era concludes with Moses, at the age of 120, blessing the tribes of Israel. Commentaries said Simeon wasn’t included in that blessing as a foreshadowing of his descendants not being allotted their own land inheritance. Simeon’s “inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the people of Judah”. (Joshua 19:1-9) Before he dies, Moses goes up on Mount Nebo and God shows him all of the promised land.

Joshua then takes the reign as leader. God charges him to be strong and courageous and tells him that He will be with him wherever he goes. The Lord says Joshua’s success will depend on his Bible Literacy. “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night…then you will have good success.” Joshua secretly sends out spies this time to check out the land. He didn’t run the risk of the Israelites hearing a bad report and disobeying the Lord again as they did with news from the 10 spies in the wilderness.

Joshua’s spies are welcomed into the home of Rahab the harlot. See, Rahab has heard all that the mighty Lord has done such as parting the Red Sea 40 years ago and defeating the Israelite’s enemies, Og and Sihon, in the wilderness which led Rahab to put her faith in the living God! (Romans 10:17) She requests that her family be spared during the attack on Jericho that is to come. The spies said they would spare anyone who took refuge in Rahab’s home. So Rahab’s family members have a choice to make. Will her family share the same faith as Rahab and live? Keep reading to find out.

(Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12, Joshua 1:1-2:24)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

14 Eras:
Creation Era (Genesis 1:1-11:26)✅
Patriarch Era (Genesis 11:27-50:26)✅
Exodus Era (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) ✅
Conquest (Joshua) up now!
Eras to follow:
Judges, Kingdom, Divided Kingdom, Captivity, Return, Silent, Gospel, Church, Missions, and End Times/New Beginnings

The Song of Moses highlights the characteristics of God and reminds the people of the consequences for their future disobedience but it ends on a note of hope once their punishment is over. “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants; He will provide atonement for His land and His people.”

We also read Psalm 90, the oldest Psalm, where Moses says “So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Moses knows that wisdom comes from the Lord and without that wisdom we will waste away our lives. King David will say something similar in Psalm 39:4-5 “LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered–how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.”

Moses finishes the prayer by saying “And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us”. Paul will say later in Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Moses, David and Paul all know the importance of living intentional lives devoted to the Lord. Our days are numbered and we are to be wise with how we use our time to share Christ with this lost world! (2 Corinthians 2:14-15) Tomorrow Moses dies 😢, we exit Exodus Era 🎉 and jump into the Conquest Era ⚔️. Keep reading!

(Deuteronomy 31:30-32:52)

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“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words.” (Deut 29:29) No man can fully understand God’s ways but He has provided us with what we need to know regarding salvation and following Christ in His Word. “The Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19:7) This is why it is so important to be in the Word so that it is downloaded into you to be uploaded when needed. The Lord tells the Israelites, “But the word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it…I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life…” The Lord has Moses write down a song “that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel…for I know the inclination of their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore to give them.”

God knows the hearts of the people and He is still on a pursuit to save them through the Savior. “…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) He knows that none of us are fully capable of obeying the law and that we are all in need of a Savior so He is working His plan to send His Son. Under the new covenant with Christ the Lord will send the Holy Spirit upon his people which will give His people a heart that desires obedience to the Lord and He will wash away all of their sins through the blood of Jesus. “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds…I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” (Hebrews 10:16–17 from Jeremiah 31:31-34)

Moses will die soon in the Story but the perfect Prophet is coming so keep reading!

(Deuteronomy 29:2-31:29)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

God is constantly telling His people to REMEMBER what He has done for them. Today He says when they come into the land flowing with milk and honey, He wants them to remember how He rescued them out of Egypt. So He tells them to gather the first of the produce and bring it to the priest and do what? Tell the Story! “‘My father was a Syrian (Jacob), about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there…Egyptians mistreated us…we cried out…the Lord heard our voice…so the Lord brought us out…and he gave us this land…’”

This is God’s Story all about Jesus and He wants His people to remember it and retell it. “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Cor 15:20) Like the Israelites, we are to remember how we were rescued. We were dead in our trespasses but made alive in Christ. (Ephesians 2:1-6)

What does remembering do? It leads to worship and thanksgiving. Moses tells the Israelites when they cross the Jordan they are to write a copy of the book of the law and place it on Mount Ebal so that His words are constantly before the people. Then he gives further instructions for the ceremony of blessings on Mount Gerizim and curses on Mount Ebal as we first read about in Deut 11:26-32. This ceremony takes place in Shechem where the Lord first promised the land to Abram’s descendants (Gen 12:6-7). After the conquest Joshua will renew the covenant with the Israelites at Shechem (Joshua 24) before he dies.

We are almost to the Conquest Era so keep reading!

(Deuteronomy 26:1-29:1)

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God’s heart for the outcast, broken-hearted, and unloved shines in today’s reading. He shows care for slave women, unloved wives with firstborn son, wives falsely accused by their husbands, brother with lost items, women who were raped, runaway slaves, poor servants, strangers, fatherless, widows, and so forth. They might not be seen by society, but God sees them, loves them, protects them, and will take vengeance on anyone mistreating them.

When Jesus comes on the scene, we will see that He has the same heart as His Father, a heart for the outcast. “And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:16-17) “I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” (Luke 5:32)

Today’s reading ends with Moses telling the Israelites to remember when the Amalekites attacked them when they came out of Egypt. He says once settled in the land they are to “blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.” Later we will see the downfall of a king due to his disobedience with the Lord’s orders against the Amalekites.

Tomorrow Moses gives the Israelites instructions for a corporate ceremony they will perform when they cross the Jordan in to the promised land. Keep reading.

(Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19)

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“Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’.” (Isaiah 46:9-10) Nothing surprises God. He knows that one day the Israelites are going to reject the Lord as their ruler and ask for a king like the people around them. So God lays out some rules for a king:
1) Can’t be a foreigner
2) Can’t multiply horses for himself or cause people to return to Egypt for horses
3) Can’t have multiple wives
4) Can’t multiply silver and gold for himself
5) Must write a copy of the Book of the Law for himself and read it all the days of his life.
When we get to the Kingdom Era we will see that none of the kings nail all 5 of these rules. The perfect King is coming…”King of kings and Lord of lords”. (Rev 19:16) The Lord spoke to Moses of this coming King in today’s reading “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him”.

But first in this Story, the Israelites have to get out of the wilderness and into the promised land which is going to require a lot of battles. Moses tells the people “Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you”.

We have several more days of instructions from Moses and then the battles begin! Keep reading.

(Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9)

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We all have heard the saying “be careful the company you keep”. It‘s explained in Proverbs 13:20 “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm”. We see today how serious the Lord is concerning the company we keep. “If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, of the gods of the people which are all around you, …you shall surely kill him.”

God is a jealous God (Deut 6:15) and does not want His people to be lured into idolatry, which is the worship or love of anything or anyone above the Lord, bc He knows it will lead to their destruction. God’s instructions for His people are ALWAYS for our good and His glory.

Moses goes on to give instructions regarding diet, tithing, the Sabbatical Year and feasts which we read about earlier in Exodus and Leviticus. Tomorrow Moses gives guidelines for a king. Wait. What?! 🤔 They don’t have kings. We gotta keep reading to see why one day the children of Israel will need these rules. God always provides what we need before we even know we have a need! He is good like that! Keep reading.

(Deuteronomy 13:1-16:17)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” This has always been God’s desire but sin entered the world with the fall back in the garden. Now the Lord is telling His people, “Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer.” Physical circumcision was a sign of the covenant the Lord made with His people, as He first told Abram in Gen 17. God is interested in people’s hearts and circumcision of the heart means a heart totally devoted to the Lord.

Later in the Story Jeremiah will tell the people to “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem”. (Jeremiah 4:4) Then in the New Testament Paul will go on to say in Romans 2:28-29 “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter”. Paul is saying that the Holy Spirit (which the Lord will give to his people after His Son dies, rises from the dead, and ascends to heaven with His Father) changes people, not the law. Only God can change hearts. “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God…anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Romans 8:8-10)

The whole Story is pointing to the arrival of Jesus but in today’s reading the Lord is telling His people that there is only ONE place to worship Him and they “shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go”. We will see the Lord pick Shiloh as the place to worship Him when the Israelites settle into the promised land and before the temple is built in Jerusalem. Then one day He will send the Holy Spirit upon His people to give them a new heart. ❤️ So keep reading!

(Deuteronomy 10:1-12:32)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

Today we see the Lord teach 3 truths regarding elevating His Word, giving God the glory, and remembering Him.

1) “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.” The Lord tells Israel to diligently teach their children and to talk of His Word constantly; when you sit, when you walk, when you lie down and when you rise up. The Lord has been training up this new generation to solely rely upon His Word. “…God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart…So He humbled you…that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord”. The Lord expects His people to know His Word, trust that it is true, and pass His Story down!

2) God points out that the Israelites did nothing to earn the promised land and that they should not equate future victories with their own righteousness. He is driving out the inhabitants due to their extreme wickedness and giving the Israelites their land because of His promise He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Same with our salvation. We can not earn it; salvation is a gift from the Lord through Jesus Christ our Savior. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,”. (Ephesians 2:8)

3) The Lord warns Israel to be careful that when they enter the new land and get all fat and happy that they don’t forget Him. God knows how we tend to neglect Him when things are going great. This is why He tells Israel, “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day”. See, it is all about Him, not us.

The last thing we read was Moses recalling the epic fail with the golden calf in the wilderness. Have the children of Israel learned from their past mistakes? Will pride come with battle success and the new land? Will they forget the Lord? Keep reading to find out.

(Deuteronomy 6:1-9:29)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching