When Moses left Egypt, he had no map, no idea of which way to go or what awaited him when he arrived. He had the presence of God to guide him, and he hedged his future (and that of the hundreds of thousands of Israelites who went with him) on the voice he heard in the wilderness, who appeared with a sweeping claim of authority and sovereignty.
“This is what you are to say to the Israelites:
I AM has sent me to you.”
—Exodus 3:14
This story is a familiar one in Sunday school classes, Hollywood movies, and sermon illustrations. What I love about Scripture and these beloved stories is how many different lenses we can wear to examine them. While we could read this passage through Moses’s eyes, as I usually do, I believe it’s even more compelling to read it through the lens of God’s presence that was with Moses and His people.
Beginning in Exodus 3, God revealed He had come to Moses because of the cries of His people. “Then the LORD said, ‘I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings’ ” (v.7).
God was there in Egypt, with His people. His omnipresence—His everywhere-ness—meant that He never left. And so when He called them out of Egypt to follow Him into the wilderness, they went. In Exodus 6, God identified Himself to Moses as the God who had been with his fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His presence wasn’t new, but it was revealed in a new, personal way to Moses.
God directed the Israelites’ route, not “along the road toward the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby” but “around toward the Red Sea” (Exodus 13:17,18). God wasn’t calling them out of oppression and then letting them stumble around, waiting for the stars to direct their steps; rather, He had a specific path for them to follow, one in which He would lead and they would have to learn to trust and follow Him.
His presence, provision, and promises are everywhere in this story. He was there, constantly providing for His people, whether defeating their enemies, sending manna and quail to nourish them, literally lighting their way, and more. He faithfully kept His promises to Moses.
When God called Moses, He didn’t promise him an easy road. In fact, Moses himself never made it to the promised land. But God did promise Himself, His presence, and His perfect provision. We all know the seasons of our life that are a little like the wilderness. For the roads that feel like dead ends or the roundabouts that circle us around and around, I would love a good map to show me how to navigate those turns. But I know from these stories that He was always there. And today, I need to know that those promises, and God’s unfailing presence, are mine as well.
@JULIA C: you were missed ❤️. Hope your time off was refreshing.
@ERB: how is your mom’s wrist healing? prayers for your parents, your household that all is well. Thank you for your reflections.❤️
Morning she’s. Couple of things stood out to me today:
– God leads not His people the nearest way, but He leads them the best way through the wilderness (Exodus 13:18). Allow God’s wilderness to pass through our lives. Wilderness is a season of lack, discomfort, unfamiliarity, both heat in the day and cold at night, but God’s people are to be humbled and proved that their heart is with God.
-“Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt” (Exodus 13:17). On the journey to the promised land, there will be war (guaranteed). May we not waver and turn straight back to slavery (what’s familiar) by God’s grace. This is hard, but it takes God and the courage He can instill in us to go through.
@MIA FAITH: thank you for your update, i am so glad to hear from you, continual prayers for you and your sweet ones.
@SEARCHING, @FOSTER MAMA: thank you for wanting to join with the Go fund me. Yes hello from a fellow Canadian sister ;) there are quite many Canadian shes on here too I believe.
@VICTORIA E: healing from stomach bug, so sorry.
Dear shes, fellow readers, please advise by commenting if you’d like to join and fundraise for AMANDA NOBLE as a token of encouragement. If there’s enough interest and responses, the next steps would be executed. Thank you shes.
@SEEKING UNDERSTANDING: I saw your question yesterday about where Cain’s wife comes from. Some sources from Bible gave us good hints, “”The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters” (Genesis 5:4), so Adam and Eve had other children as well. Though only Cain, Abel and Seth were mentioned by name to us readers in Genesis. A closer look at the Hebrew word for “wife” in Genesis reveals something readers may miss in translation. It was more obvious to those speaking Hebrew that Cain’s wife was likely his sister. The word ishshah is the word for “woman,” and it means “from man.” This can be seen in Genesis 2:23 where the name “woman” (ishshah) is given to one who came from Adam. Thus, Cain’s wife is a descendant of Adam/man. The mark for Cain is by Cain’s personal pleading with God, though he is a murderer of his brother out of envy, and when he pleaded with God to spare him, that God is really merciful, God granted the mark. Hope this helps.
Be blessed dear sisters.
I am here…a little more sporadically than typical… but here. Thank you for all your prayers. They have held us up in these hard days. We have a long way to go as while we held services, we still don’t have his body from the GBI! We are still waiting in this very slow process. Then we still have to have the actual burial with just our children and my sister-in-law (since we already had the graveside service).
Love this study and how I know His presence is guiding me and my family through this.
Bless you all and I join in on prayer requests for you all!
Keeping you all in my prayers.
@ Mia You and your family are in my prayers as you all navigate this hard time ❤️ Even if only sporadically, we’re all so happy to see you still here.
Thank you for the update, Mia Faith. I cannot imagine how heavy and hard this is for you. Holding you and your family in prayer. Praying that even when things feel hopeless and bleak, you’d see that pillar of gods light guiding you forward
When they left Egypt with Moses, the lives of the Israelites were completely disrupted from what they knew (yes, they had terrible lives as slaves, but they were going into the unknown). I feel like my life has been totally disrupted by the events of the past few years – everything I knew and hoped for has gone. Today’s readings have reminded me that over and over in the Bible there are examples of people whos lives were unexpectedly disrupted, but it wasn’t unexpected to God. And he had a plan for them, to lead them on from their life altering situations into a future he is already present in and knows all about. This has encouraged me to trust God and believe the verse, ‘I know the plans I have for you…’
Tina, what a beautiful reminder of that old song “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.” His presence is always with His children, we just need to be still enough to hear Himself, feel Him, see Him, know Him and receive what He has for us.
I have sung this song in many places but it doesn’t matter where I sing it, I always feel His presence! I think sometimes we just need to acknowledge Him and He pours out into our hearts more of His love.
Love you all and praying for you!
I really love the whole idea of God leading us into His presence. Reminds me of the prodigal son, when the father ran out to the son. He didn’t sit on the porch swing, waiting for his son to arrive. He got up and ran to his son. I’ve seen that in my own life with God. I don’t always see it, but when I’m looking, I see Him approaching me, planning ahead for things I need, preparing the journey, preparing me for the journey. There are so many things going on in my life right now, I can’t even begin to thank God for HIS VERY PRESENCE, preparing me, preparing the way, preparing for my needs, leading me along when I don’t know what to do. I sometimes can’t grasp His love for me, it seems too good to be true. The little things He does to show His awareness of everything going on. He is such a great God, words cannot describe. I’m so thankful for this study, for all of you on here. Some day we will all meet and be able to see each other face to face. Sisters in Christ. What a blessing each of us are!!
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AIMEE RODGERS – My step daughter had dibilitating migraines. She now takes a med that is injected once a month and is on a Migraine diet. The diet is a bit tough. She has 2 full pages of what she cannot eat and 1 page of what she can. BUT she is much better.