Water and Blood

Exodus 7:14-24

We have before us today the first of the ten plagues God sends on Egypt. God had a vision of a people who are free to worship Him, and these plagues were sent to break the stronghold of Pharaoh, who held them in bondage. This first plague was on the Nile River, a source of life for all Egypt. It watered their crops, as well as livestock, and was an avenue for trade, but it had become a god to them. The name of the god of the Nile was Hapi. God was going to show all Egypt, as well as His own people, that He was the one and only God.

We find Pharaoh at the river's edge in the morning, worshiping it. So that is where God sends Moses and Aaron with a message to let His people go, or He would turn it into blood. God always forewarns of His coming judgments because He “is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) If there is one thing that the skeptics and atheists don’t have an answer for, it is prophecy. Only a true God can say what He is going to do, and then fulfill it. The whole nation of Israel is an example of God’s prophecy being fulfilled, even before our eyes today.

So Pharaoh is confronted and forewarned to let God’s people go, or else. As God prophesied, he refused, because his heart is hardened. As predicted, Aaron smote the water, and turned the once life-giving river into a death-giving river of blood. This was done by a God that Pharaoh wouldn’t obey, or even acknowledge. “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?” (Exodus 5:2)

Pharaoh, in the hardness of his heart, is not moved at all to repentance, but instead, calls for his magicians to see if they can duplicate this miracle. God, in His wisdom, allows for them to do it, which only hardens Pharaoh's heart more. It is interesting to note why didn’t Pharaoh have his magicians reverse the plague, and turn the blood back into water? Instead, he makes more blood, only furthering the plague. I guess a hard heart is also a foolish heart. So God’s judgment fell upon the water of Egypt, and there is no fish to eat, no water to drink, only the smell of death. But even in judgment, God shows His mercy. Seems there is still fresh water in the banks of the river that can be had with some diligent digging. God is merciful; His judgments are followed by His mercy. Moses’ first miracle was to turn water into blood. Moses brought the law, which brings judgment of sin. Christ’s first miracle was to turn water into wine, a sign of gladness of heart. A heart is glad when it is delivered from judgment. Judgment and mercy; can you see it?

~ Jim Frantz

A Burning Vision: Let My People Go

Exodus 3

A little girl was visiting her grandparents one day when she asked, “Papa, do you know how you and God are alike?” As he mentally polished off his halo, he inquired, “No, how are we alike?” She replied, “You're both old.” That was not exactly the response he expected, but it was nonetheless quite true. Maybe I am just looking to the soon-to-come day my new little granddaughter, Lilia, can say the same, but, in the meantime, let it be an illustration of what might have been going in the mind of Moses as he received his awesome vision.

You see, Moses had had quite a journey up to this point. Having been rescued by Pharaoh's daughter from the Nile River as a baby, he was raised in the palace as a prince. When he was forty, he found himself in Midian, herding sheep for his father-in-law. After 40 years of that, God revealed Himself and His plan to Moses. At this point, he was already 80 years old, and I wouldn't think that he really expected to have yet another purpose besides taking a few sheep to pasture. One day, while he was on Mt. Horeb, “...the angel of the Lord appeared unto Him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” (vss. 2,3) Moses stopped what he was doing and came closer. It turned out it was not just an ordinary brush fire—it was God! The Lord had heard the cries of His people in bondage in Egypt, and was now commissioning Moses to be the one to tell Pharaoh, “Let my people go!” Being frightened and feeling ill-equipped for the task, Moses started to think up some excuses—he didn't know God's name; he didn't think he could speak well enough; and so on. I noticed that Moses never brought up the age issue—perhaps he knew that the God who was calling him was even older, and could obviously handle all the details. But then came the kicker—when you are trying to get somebody to do something for you, you don't usually try to make it sound impossible—but God did. The Lord told him, “...I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.” (vss. 19-20) You see, the vision of God will always be impossible in our own strength, but not in God's!

Yes, the vision was given. The coming days would be filled with plagues for a purpose—to get Pharaoh to let the people go. And isn't that the vision for all of life—to let the people of God live in freedom and victory? In this Christmas Season, will you turn aside from your busyness to see the great burning vision that God has for you and your life—salvation at the hands of the One who came to be born to die on the Cross, and to be sanctified—baptized in Holy Ghost and fire? “Let my people go,” will always be the wondrous vision of God, and everything He uses to get us there will be wondrous, too!

~ Rev. Roy D. Warren, Jr.

Introduction

Just as soon as the title of this book, “A Wondrous Christmas Vision,” passes before our eyes, I suppose we can't help but think of the famous Christmas poem, “The Night Before Christmas,” by Clement Clarke Moore. Within those famous stanzas, we find the line about visions of sugar plums dancing in the heads of the little children. Oh, but the concept of visions, and most certainly the Christmas Vision, goes so much deeper than that.

The Holy Scriptures emphatically state that, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” (Proverbs 29:18) In the Hebrew, the original language of the Old Testament, the word, “vision,” refers to a mental sight, often in the form of a dream, revelation, or even a prophetic word. Its root word describes a gazing at something in order to perceive and contemplate it with pleasure. While sugar plums may be pleasurable, I'm sure you can see that the Biblical use of the word “vision” is much more meaningful. From the aforementioned Scripture, I am also sure that you can see the seriousness of not having a vision—it is equated with being in disobedience to God, and disobedience is rebellion. So how are we to understand the various uses of this word in the Bible? Well, first of all, a vision was presented to give supernatural direction, as in the case of Abram—“After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” (Gen. 15:1) Secondly, a vision was given to develop the Kingdom of God by revealing the moral and spiritual deficiencies of God's people in light of His requirements for maintaining a proper relationship with Him. The visions of prophets, such as Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and John, are good examples of this aspect of revelation. In fact, the word “vision” is mentioned 10 times in Ezekiel and 19 times in Daniel alone. In some places in the Bible, the word is simply describing the literal sense of sight—just the ability to see something with our eyes. In still other references, the word “vision” speaks of a way in which the future is actually revealed.

Obviously, a vision can be taken very broadly, and this is the way we will be seeing it—literal visions, dreams, and even events the Lord uses to speak forth His expectations for His people, as well as His enemies. In the first two weeks of these daily devotionals, our focus will be on the ministry of Moses, specifically looking at the exodus of God's people from bondage in Egypt, and many of the events that took place to make that happen. In the third week of the Advent Season, we will fast forward ahead and briefly focus on the ministries of both Jesus and Paul. Then, in the last week, we will backtrack and dive right into the Christmas story itself, and see very emphatically how everything points to the wondrous vision of Christmas. It is our desire that we all come to learn to have the vision of God—to see things as God does. Yes, it all reverberates with the original call, “Let my people go!” What lies before you is far sweeter than sugar plums—God's plan of salvation, as revealed this Christmas, is the sweetest thing you will ever know. Have a very Blessed Christmas Season!!!