From today’s reading in Tyndale’s One Year Chronological Bible dated 2/4:

Today we read about the final 3 plagues: locust, darkness, and death of the firstborn. The Lord says to Moses, “About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again. But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.”

God instructs the children of Israel to take a male lamb without blemish on the tenth day of the month and says, “Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it…And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.” And any house under the blood will be passed over by the plague.

God tells the Israelites to keep this day as a memorial so they will never forget what the Lord has done for them; and the Lord gives them instructions on celebrating the Passover. “So the people bowed their heads and worshipped. Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.”

The Lord strikes all the firstborn in Egypt that are not under the blood of the lamb and there is a great cry throughout Egypt. The Egyptians urge the Israelites to leave quickly, but first the Israelites plunder the Egyptians as God instructed Moses (Exodus 3:22); and they leave with great possessions as the Lord told Abraham would happen (Genesis 15:13-14). 

“Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. A mixed multitude went up with them also…” So we see that anyone who puts their faith in the Lord by being under the blood of the spotless male lamb is brought out of Egypt. This is a foreshadowing of Jesus, the ultimate spotless Lamb, whose blood will be shed to save us from far more than circumstantial, worldly oppression. Jesus will be nailed to a cross and shed His blood so that we may be restored to the Father and have the hope that is only found in Christ. And He is on His way but next up, the Israelites escape through the Red Sea so keep reading. 

(Exodus 10:1-12:51)

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From today’s reading in Tyndale’s One Year Chronological Bible dated 2/3:

Today we read about 7 of the 10 plagues: blood, frogs, lice or gnats, flies, livestock, boils, and hail. The magicians of Egypt could do the first two plagues but it probably would have been more helpful if the magicians had turned the blood back to water and got rid of the frogs instead of increasing the number of frogs. 🤷‍♀️ But anyway, luckily for the Egyptians, the Egyptian magicians’ magic stops after the second plague. And the magicians come to the realization that “This is the finger of God.” 

We also see the Lord setting His people apart during the plagues: 

  • “I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. I will make a difference between My people and your people.” 
  • “And the Lord will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.” 
  • “Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.” 

God desires for His people to be set apart from the people around them in a way that attracts others to the hope we have because of our relationship with the Lord. When Jesus arrives on the scene, He is going to tell us to be set apart as a light in this dark world – “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). Soon in the Story, the Lord will give the Israelites laws to live by and instructions on approaching Him through the sacrificial system but that doesn’t mean that others, outside of the chosen Israelites, who have faith in the Lord can’t become one of His people. Did you notice in Exodus 9:20-21 that some of Pharaoh’s servants are starting to fear the Lord? We will see that not only the Israelites come up out of Egypt but it is a mixed multitude so keep reading! 

(Exodus 7:14-9:35)

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From today’s reading in Tyndale’s One Year Chronological Bible dated 2/2:

Today God instructs Moses to return to Egypt and He calms Moses’s fears by letting him know that the ones who wanted to kill him years ago, after he murdered the Egyptian, are now dead. So Moses leaves Midian with his wife and sons and heads toward Egypt. On the way, God seeks to kill Moses because he neglected the sacred rite of circumcising his sons, the act that symbolizes God’s covenant with His people. See, God is going to use Moses to teach His people His laws so it is of utmost importance that Moses, their new leader, obeys them.

Then Moses meets up with his brother Aaron and they tell the children of Israel all the words of the Lord and Moses performs the signs in the sight of the people. “So the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.”

But when Moses and Aaron ask Pharaoh to let the people go to worship the Lord, Pharaoh refuses as God said he would. Then Pharaoh increases the Israelites workload and beats the officers for not making quotas. Now the Israelites are in great distress and Moses is questioning the Lord about why He sent him since the people are now worse off. God responds to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

One thing about God is that He always does what He says He is going to do. The Lord tells Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.’”

This is exactly what will eventually happen but we see that the Israelites’ circumstances get worse before God delivers them. The Lord is less concerned about our immediate comfort and more concerned about displaying His glory to the world. However, God assures the Israelites that He will deliver on His promise to rescue them – “I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under your burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give Abraham, Issac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage.” And He will but it is going to be God’s way and in His timing.

Be sure to take note of the genealogy of the Levites. The Lord will assign them a special role once the Israelites flee Egypt. Keep reading to see how God delivers His people!

(Exodus 4:18-7:13)

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From today’s reading in Tyndale’s One Year Chronological Bible dated 2/1:

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)

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From today’s reading in Tyndale’s One Year Chronological Bible dated 1/31:

After the Lord challenges Job, Job responds saying “I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know… I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” 

This is what it is like walking with God. His Word exposes our sin and our need for a Savior which leads us to repentance…which leads to restoration…which ultimately leads to closer fellowship with the Lord. 

The story ends as it began, with Job at the altar. This time Job is interceding for his three friends who spoke incorrectly about God. So Job lays down his anger and frustration toward his friends and prays for them. Then the Lord restores Job and “the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning…After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. So Job died, old and full of days.” 

And that’s a wrap on the Patriarch Era! 🎉 Next up, Exodus Era. Remember we left the Israelites (Jacob’s descendants) over in Egypt multiplying like crazy! Keep reading to see what happens to them.

(Job 40:6-42:17)

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14 Eras:

Creation Era (Genesis 1:1-11:26)✅

Patriarch Era (Genesis 11:27-50:26 and Job)✅

Exodus Era (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) up now! 

Eras to follow: 

Conquest, Judges, Kingdom, Divided Kingdom, Captivity, Return, Silent, Gospel, Church, Missions, and End Times/New Beginnings

From today’s reading in Tyndale’s One Year Chronological Bible dated 1/30:

The Lord appears in a whirlwind and tells Job “Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you and you shall answer Me.” The Lord’s questions reveal that He is the God of ALL creation and He is sovereign over ALL things. God says to Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know!” 😬 The Lord ends His challenge to Job by saying “Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it.”

Do we think that Job is now boasting in all of his good deeds? No. Job response is “Behold, I am vile.” 

This is what happens the closer you draw to God through His Word; He becomes more magnificent and you become more aware of your brokenness and your need for a Savior. Basically when up against His holiness we look pretty disgusting. But this is what makes the Good News such Good News! The more we see our sin problem, the more we see our need for a Savior, and then the deeper we fall in love with the Lord.

Anytime man is confronted with the Lord throughout this Story, he is always overwhelmed with the Lord’s holiness. We are about to see this in the Exodus Era with the life of Moses when God appears to him at the burning bush. And later in the Story, during the Divided Kingdom Era, we will meet a man named Isaiah. When Isaiah encounters the Lord, he says he is a man of unclean lips. But a seraphim will touch his lips with coal and say, “Behold, this has touched your lips, your guilt is taken away, and your sin is atoned for” (Isaiah 6:7). 

This is what God does for repentant sinners…He restores them. And that’s exactly what the Lord will do through His Son Jesus. His bloodshed will atone for the sins of those who trust Him and restore us into right relationship with the Lord. 

Tomorrow, we will see the Lord restore Job, a repentant sinner, bringing an end to the book of Job and the Patriarch Era. So keep reading!

(Job 38:1-40:5)

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From today’s reading in Tyndale’s One Year Chronological Bible dated 1/29:

“Behold, God is mighty, but despises no one; He is mighty in strength of understanding. He does not preserve the life of the wicked, But gives justice to the oppressed. He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous; But they are on the throne with kings, For He has seated them forever, And they are exalted.” Elihu goes on to further remind Job of God’s greatness: “Behold, God is exalted by His power,” “Behold, God is great and we don’t know Him,” “God thunders marvelously with His voice,” and “With God is awesome majesty.” 

It is because of God’s greatness that He despises no one. We will see this clearly when Jesus arrives on the scene and makes His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The people will cheer for Him but Jesus will weep. Why? Because Jesus knows that the people cheering for him that day will days later yell for His crucifixion. He weeps because He knows that the city of Jerusalem will be destroyed by the Roman Empire in 40 years. He weeps because He came to give them eternal life and the majority rejected Him. He weeps because He despises no one but is broken hearted over the people’s unbelief. He weeps because He knows the consequences of their unbelief. 

There will be a day of judgement for each person and that judgment will be based on your relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul will write about this coming judgement – “But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who ‘will render to each one according to his deeds’” (Romans 2:5-6, Psalms 62:12). And John will tell us that Jesus will be the final Judge – “For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him” (John 5:21-23).

So how do we escape the wrath of God? It is through trusting in Jesus Christ as our Savior – “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:1-4).

We can have hope during our trials knowing that God is for us and that one day we will be in the presence of His greatness for eternity, “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). 

Tomorrow, Job stands in the presence of God. Keep reading.

(Job 35:1-37:24)

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From today’s reading in Tyndale’s One Year Chronological Bible dated 1/28:

Today Job’s young friend, Elihu, comes forward with some words of wisdom. Elihu is angry at Job for justifying “himself rather than God” and he is angry at the three friends because “they had found no answer and yet had condemned Job.” 

Elihu confronts Job saying, “Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard the sound of your words, saying, ‘I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me. Yet He finds occasions against me, He counts me as His enemy; He puts my feet in the stocks, He watches all my paths.’ Look, in this you are not righteous.” Elihu is correct! Job is not without sin and Scriptures support Elihu’s claim:

– “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).

– “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24).

– “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

However, One is coming who has no sin to do for us what we can’t do for ourselves – “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). There is only one person that will ever walk the earth that is without sin and that is Jesus Christ! Job is a sinner in need of a Savior just like the rest of us. And once again, what makes him righteous? His faith in the Lord! 

Tomorrow we will hear more insight from Elihu about the greatness of God and then the next day the Lord speaks. Keep reading…we are in the home stretch on the book of Job! 

(Job 32:1-34:37)

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From today’s reading in Tyndale’s One Year Chronological Bible dated 1/27:

Yesterday’s reading ended with Job talking about how he used to be well respected by the community –  “Men listened to me and waited, and kept silence for my counsel. After my words they did not speak again, and my speech settled on them as dew…I chose the way for them, and sat as chief; so I dwelt as a king in the army, as one who comforts mourners” (Job 29:21-25).

But things are quite different for Job now that he isn’t prosperous. We see the contrast in today’s reading – “And now I am their taunting song; Yes, I am their by word. They abhor me, they keep far from me. They do not hesitate to spit in my face.” So the people around Job loved him when he was rich and healthy but now they are disgusted with him because he has nothing and is suffering greatly. 😏

But does Job have nothing? He actually has something pretty great. He has the Lord! Also, remember how God can change people’s circumstances just like that?! I’m thinking of Joseph…and yes, He can do the same for Job.  It’s always too soon to make a call about a person; so keep reading to see how Job’s story ends. 

(Job 30:1-31:40)

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From today’s reading in Tyndale’s One Year Chronological Bible dated 1/26:

Job refuses to cave into his friends’ false teachings about the Lord and suffering; but when put on the defense by his friends, Job starts justifying himself based on his own merit – “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind, and I was feet to the lame. I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the case that I did not know. I broke the fangs of the wicked, and plucked the victim from his teeth.” The Lord did declare Job blameless in the beginning of this story but that wasn’t based on Job’s actions; and his suffering isn’t based on his failures.  

Job, a righteous man, is enduring extreme suffering for God’s purposes. Jesus Christ will willingly do the same. And when Jesus arrives on the scene and John the Baptist is sitting in prison wondering if Jesus is really the Messiah, Jesus will say to John’s disciples – “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” (Matthew 11:4-6). Jesus, the final Lamb, is coming to heal the blind, the deaf, the lepers, and ultimately anyone who believes in Him. Jesus, the only perfect Man to ever live, will die a horrific death so that you and I can have hope.

“Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:18-19). These verses explain that Adam’s disobedience in the beginning of this Story brought sin into the world. As a result, we are all born sinners in need of a Savior. Therefore, the Lord is sending His Son Jesus to make righteous and restore to His Father anyone who believes in Him. 

Job’s story points to Christ as do all these stories within the beautiful Big Story of the Bible; but we have more people to meet and stories to read before we get to Christ…so keep reading!  

(Job 26:1-29:25)

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