Accepting God’s Rules

July 5, 2009

Background Scripture: Deuteronomy 5:1 – 27
Lesson Passage: Deuteronomy 5:1 – 9a, 11 – 13, 16 – 21

Do we truly think about phrases such as “God, who is the head of my life…” and “my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ…” when we say them or hear others use them? These phrases indicate a personal relationship with God that is ideal but not always desired or sought after by many professing Christians. What do I mean by “not always desired or sought after…”? Do all professing Christians truly want to turn their lives over to be managed by another? Surely we know many church members that refuse to go to auxiliary meetings or rehearsals because someone told them that their attendance was required. The fact is I know many professing Christians who absolutely refuse to allow anyone to give them directions. Some of them will volunteer to do anything yet will not do one thing that someone else asks of them. We live in a society that functions on rules and regulations but many citizens detest the very notion that someone would dare try to tell them what to do. This same attitude that is found in society also finds its way into local church congregations. We readily accept Jesus as our savior and, in fact, enjoy hearing the story of how he died out on Calvary to save us from our sins. Do we readily turn our lives over to him and allow him to be Lord or ruler over our “personal” affairs? We profess that we love Jesus but Jesus said if we love him then we would keep his commandments—or, in other words, allow him to be Lord over us. This is not suggesting ethical rules such as the Ten Commandments but practical instructions that we have been taught from the bible since we were children. We were taught to obey them that have the rule over us for they watch for our souls. We were taught to pray for governments because they have been ordained by God. We were taught to pray for our enemy and to give to those that are in need. We were taught to submit ourselves one to another in the fear of God. We are not ignorant of what God expects of us. We just don’t like to do it at all times. So, do we truly think about phrases such as “God, who is the head of my life…” and “my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ…” when we say them or hear others use them? That’s good religious talk but many, if not most, of us have not arrived at the point that our talk lines up with our walk or lifestyle. The older I get the more I see new meaning in the biblical doctrine that we, Christians, must die daily to ourselves. We daily mortify self to allow the Spirit of Christ to have larger rule in us. This is part of the sanctification process. This process is effective in us when we allow God’s rules to direct our path. Then, Jesus is truly our Lord and God is the head of our lives.

Our lesson today revolves around part of God’s instructions to Israel prior to allowing them to enter into the Promise Land. These instructions provided the ethical and moral foundation that Israel was expected to accept and obey. These are not new instructions but those they had received from God about forty years earlier. Here, Moses is reminding them of when and how they received those rules. He is also providing some explanation as to the reason and importance of specific rules. Israel was reminded that God made them a special group when he delivered those laws to them since no other nation had ever received such direct instructions from God. Now, all that remained was for Israel to accept God’s rules.

Robert C. Hudson
June 11, 2009

Finding Protection

June 28, 2009

Background Scripture: Exodus 13:17 – 14:30
Lesson Passage: Exodus 14:15 – 25, 30a

The topic of our lesson today is Finding Protection. Put another way, the lesson is about trusting God for protection. God’s divine protection had been occurring all along as the Hebrews were spared many times the plagues that wreaked havoc on the Egyptians. After they were run out of the land of Egypt, God’s protection continued in that he provided a route for them that would prevent them from losing heart before they had grown to truly trust him. God led them the long way from Goshen to Canaan to avoid confrontation with the warrior nations along the Mediterranean coast. To further boaster their confidence, God provided a visible presence for them day and night. God provided a cloud to guide them in the day and a pillar of fire to guide them at night and to provide light so that they could travel both night and day. At the same time that God was leading them, he was also setting a trap for Pharaoh’s military which was pursuing them. God allowed Israel to witness the Egyptian military pursuing them. He moved his visible presence from the front of their procession to the rear so that he would be a physical barrier between the Egyptians and Israel. Israel was given light at night but the Egyptians were cast in darkness.

In spite of these visible signs of God’s protection and presence, Israel saw two choices: serve the Egyptians or die. Israel saw the desert as sure death for them at the hands of the Egyptians. God had another option for them—he would do the fighting for them. With the Red Sea as a barrier on one side and Egyptians on the other, Israel saw their situation as hopeless and that their very lives were in danger. Their danger was God’s opportunity. God again used Moses as his divinely appointed representative to encourage the people and lift his rod out over the Red Sea. God sent a wind that blew during the night and created a dry path through the midst of the sea. What was a barrier had become a way out. Although Israel was not always perceptive of God’s gracious help, ironically, the Egyptians discerned that God was fighting for Israel. This created fear in the Egyptians and they tried to run away but God was not going to allow them to escape. Israel’s way out had become the Egyptians trap. After Israel had crossed through the midst of the Red Sea on dry ground, God caused the sea to close up again and overflow the Egyptians and their chariots. In spite of their fear and lack of faith, God had rescued Israel again. This miracle gave them courage for the moment and they could enjoy the protection that God had given on that day and rehearse it in the hearing of their children forever.


Robert C. Hudson
June 4, 2009

Recognizing Authority

June 21, 2009

Background Scripture: Exodus 5:1 – 6:1
Lesson Passage: Exodus 5:1 – 9, 22 – 6:1

I recall my first disappointment in the ministry of evangelism occurred when I learned that non-Christians don’t think of God as I do. In spite of my private devotions, meditations, and prayers, I had loss sight of the fact that all people don’t know God. I thought that if I could share with others just what the Lord Jesus means to me that it would be sufficient to win them over to have the same adoration and reverence for God that I had come to know. God had moved in my life and worked miracles in my presence. Why couldn’t others get it and have similar experiences, thoughts, and emotions? Whether I had properly introduced others to Jesus I cannot readily say. What I can say is that they seemed underwhelmed and refused to recognize the authority of “my God” over them or anything else for that matter. Moses, undoubtedly, was still excited about winning the confidence of the Hebrews after being away from them for forty years. Everything was running smooth. Perhaps it was running too smooth. (Realism requires that overly positive situations be viewed with at least a dash of skepticism.) Did Moses understand God’s previous statement to him that Pharaoh’s heart would be hardened and he would refuse to let the Hebrews go? Not only did Pharaoh not comply with Moses’ request, he took out his frustration with the request on the very people that Moses was there to represent. The Hebrew supervisors that were placed over their brethren were beaten by Pharaoh’s taskmasters. This was both a rejection by Pharaoh of Moses’ request and a mild show of strength on his part. Now Moses had two problems. Pharaoh was not going to be cooperative and those that Moses represented, the Hebrews, were upset at Moses. Moses responded brilliantly and yet with an attitude of confusion. Moses took both problems to God and questioned God’s original intent in sending him in the first place. In spite of Moses’ frustration with the unfolding events, everything was going exactly according to God’s plan. God told Moses before he went before Pharaoh what Pharaoh’s reaction would be to his request. What Moses was not told is that Pharaoh’s reaction would cause some of the Hebrews to suffer at the hands of Pharaoh’s servants. Moses was in a position that he did not want to be in. Both sides saw Moses as a problem. Moses’ encounter with Pharaoh involved many people with various positions of authority. From Moses and Pharaoh to the Hebrew slave overseers and Pharaoh’s servants, many individuals with positions of authority were affected by this confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh. Above all of these stood one position and that is the authority of God. It seems that many were recognizing their various positions and the authority that went with them but they were not recognizing God and his authority. God again reassured Moses that he was in control and that Moses would see what the ultimate authority is able to do against those with earthly position only. In due time, all would recognize the only true authority.

Robert C. Hudson
June 3, 2009

Accepting Responsibility

June 14, 2009

Background Scripture: Exodus 4
Lesson Passage: Exodus 4:10 – 16, 27 – 31

The background scripture provides a fitting backdrop to the entire Exodus episode. In the first verse of Chapter 4, Moses is objecting to the Lord’s call on his life by claiming that the people would not believe him nor listen to him. The chapter closes out with the declaration that the people believed and responded by worshipping. This stark contrast between the insecure and seemingly ill-equipped servant and the final results that God brings about in others is played out over and over in the book of Exodus. Our lesson today revolves around what took place between Moses doubting and the response of the people to Moses’ message. The Lord gave Moses three signs to convince the people of his calling and the Lord’s message to them. God admonished Moses to allow the voice of the signs to speak for him to remove the people’s doubt. Moses then objected that he would not be a good spokesperson because he was not a good speaker. He was once again assured that the Lord would take care of his shortcomings. Moses, at that point, emphatically declined to go and be God’s spokesperson and therefore told God to send someone else. God showed that he can be more emphatic than Moses and refused to accept anymore excuses. Furthermore, God provided Moses a spokesman in the person of Moses’ brother Aaron. Moses would still be accountable for conveying God’s message but God would allow Moses to use Aaron as his spokesman but Aaron would receive all of his instructions from Moses and not from God. At this point, Moses asked leave of his father-in-law so that he could do God’s bidding by returning to Egypt after a forty year absence. After Moses accepted his calling, God then gave him the plot. Moses would confront Pharaoh and charge him to let the Hebrews go that they could be free to serve God. In spite of the signs and wonders needed to convince the Hebrews, Pharaoh would not be convinced by them and the Lord would provoke him to reveal the full rebellion that was within him. How challenging is that? Moses was told what to do and that what he did would not be effective. In spite of what could have appeared futile to Moses and the Hebrews, God was in full control and was working his plan to divine perfection through Moses. How often do we feel that our efforts are futile? Does it sometimes seem as though the more we try to do as God has directed us, the worse the situation becomes? Our lesson today is a reminder that when we do as God directs us to, God takes full responsibility for the outcome. Regardless of how futile our efforts may appear to be to us, God is firmly in control of situations and aware of circumstances. God’s calling is not for us to take responsibility for the outcome. God calls us to obedience that he may use us to do his will and to work his plan through us. When we accept our calling, we accept responsibility to serve God as he works his plan through us and we absorb ourselves of the responsibility for the outcome which is in God’s hands.


Robert C. Hudson
June 3, 2009

Hearing God’s Call

June 7, 2009

Background Scripture: Exodus 2:23 – 3:12
Lesson Passage: Exodus 3:1 – 12

This quarter’s lessons focus on the children of Israel from the time of their deliverance from Egypt to their preparation to inhabit the land of Canaan forty years later. This history provides a spiritual metaphor of the church’s deliverance from the world and its preparation for the rapture. The first four lessons are from the book of Exodus. Our lesson today brings Moses to the front and center as God’s chosen person to lead Israel out of Egypt. Moses had lived his life in two phases. For the first forty years, he was reared in Pharaoh’s house as a prince in Egypt. Moses, however, never forgot his roots as a Hebrew. After witnessing a Hebrew slave being badly treated by an Egyptian overseer, Moses took matters into his own hands and killed the Egyptian and hid his body. The very next day Moses learned that some secrets are not secrets at all. When he tried to settle an argument between two Hebrews, one of them told him that he was not in authority over them and reminded him that he was guilty of murdering the Egyptian. Moses ran for his life away from Egypt and into the second phase of his life in the desert of Midian. The second phase of his life was spent in a much more humble situation. He was given the task of caring for another man’s flock out in the desert for forty years. Today’s lesson centers on the end of the second phase of Moses’ life. At the age of eighty years, God made contact with Moses. The voice of God spoke to Moses from a burning bush. God informed Moses that the children of Israel were in sorrow and he was going to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians and place them in the land of Canaan in fulfillment of his covenant with their forefathers. It is not clear from the scripture whether Moses had time to think about this and feel relieved for his kindred because God also revealed to Moses how he intended to deliver them. God was sending Moses back to Egypt after forty years as a fugitive to confront Pharaoh and bring Israel out of Egypt. Unlike the forty year old man who thought he could protect the Hebrews from the Egyptians, at the age of eighty, Moses’ thoughts were very different. His response to God indicates that he felt inadequate for such a task. God assured Moses that he would not go alone but God would accompany him and after the task is completed, Moses would worship the Lord at the very mountain where his first conversation with God took place. Moses desired the Hebrews’ deliverance forty years ago but learned that he was unable to do it on his own. God was now calling him to put his trust in him and not in his own strength. God assured Moses that he would be successful and spoke about future events that would take place afterwards. Moses heard God’s call—but still he doubted if he was the right one to respond. At the age of forty years, Moses seemed to be governed by emotions and reason. At the age of eighty years, it seems as though life experiences had taught him to be skeptical and content. God will sometimes call us from our skepticism and contentment to do his will in spite of whatever experiences we have had in life. We, like Moses, must hear God’s call.

Robert C. Hudson
June 1, 2009