Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 19:7-9.

“So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD had commanded him.  All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do!”  And Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.  The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.”  Then Moses told the words of the people to the LORD.”  Exodus 19:7-9.

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Today’s Scripture, particularly the highlighted part of verse 8 above, of the LORD coming to Moses in a cloud, so that the people may also hear and may also believe, reminds us of The Transfiguration of Jesus and The Ascension of Jesus.

“Six days later Jesus *took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves.  And He was transfigured before them;  and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.  And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.  Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here;  if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased;  listen to Him!”  When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified.  And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”  And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.”  Matthew 17:1-8.

“So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”  He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;  but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;  and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.  And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.  They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky?  This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”  Acts 1:6-11.

We have not witnessed such miraculous sights and words as the LORD appearing to Moses in a thick cloud nor The Transfiguration of Jesus nor The Ascension of Jesus, but we can read about these events in the Bible, and to use the language of today’s Scripture, we may also hear God speak and may also believe.  We also have the Holy Spirit and have received power to be His witnesses, so that other people of God’s elect may also believe.  

Shortly after the Ascension, at Pentecost, when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter gave a sermon which concluded:  “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”  Acts 2:36.

What was the result?

“Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”  Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;  and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”  And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”  So then, those who had received his word were baptized;  and that day there were added about three thousand souls.  They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”  Acts 2:37-42.

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 19:1-6.

“In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.  When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness;  and there Israel camped in front of the mountain.  Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel:  ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.  Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;  and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”   Exodus 19:1-6.

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“10 They did not keep the covenant of God
And refused to walk in His law;
11 They forgot His deeds
And His miracles that He had shown them.
12 He wrought wonders before their fathers
In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.” Psalm 78:10-12.

But, there is hope!

“For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. For finding fault with them, He says,

“BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD,
WHEN I WILL EFFECT A NEW COVENANT
WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH;
NOT LIKE THE COVENANT WHICH I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS
ON THE DAY WHEN I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND
TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT;
FOR THEY DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT,
AND I DID NOT CARE FOR THEM, SAYS THE LORD.” Hebrews 8:7-9.

“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.  I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst.  Then the nations will know that I am the LORD,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight.  For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land.  Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean;  I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.  Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;  and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.  You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers;  so you will be My people, and I will be your God.”  Ezekiel 36:22-28. 

“and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.  To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever.  Amen.”  Revelation 1:5-6. 

“And they *sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals;  for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God;  and they will reign upon the earth.”  Revelation 5:9-10.

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 18:1-8.

“Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.  Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away, and her two sons, of whom one was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”  The other was named Eliezer, for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, at the mount of God.  He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.”  Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him;  and they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent.  Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had befallen them on the journey, and how the LORD had delivered them.”  Exodus 18:1-8.  

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What and Who motivate us to be a sojourner in a foreign land?

What and Who motivate us to endure our travels through the wilderness?

The answer to what motivates is that faith motivates us.

“By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance;  and he went out, not knowing where he was going.  By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;  for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”  Hebrews 11:8. 

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt;  for he was looking to the reward.  By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king;  for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.  By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.  By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land;  and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.”  Hebrews 11:24-29.

The answer to Who motivates is that the LORD motivates us.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:10.

“for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”  Philippians 2:10.

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 1:6.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Ephesians 2:8-9.

And, we see Moses give credit to the LORD.

“The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”  See Verse 4.

“Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had befallen them on the journey, and how the LORD had delivered them.”  Verse 8. 

“For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what You have done,
I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.” Psalm 92:4.

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 17:14-16.

“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”  Moses built an altar and named it The LORD is My Banner;  and he said, “The LORD has sworn;  the LORD will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.”  Exodus 17:14-16.

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Specifically, the last two Scriptures in which we read about the Amalekites or Amalek are the following.   

“From them, from the sons of Simeon, five hundred men went to Mount Seir, with Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi, as their leaders.  They destroyed the remnant of the Amalekites who escaped, and have lived there to this day.”  1 Chronicles 5:43.

“O God, do not remain quiet;
Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still.
2 For behold, Your enemies make an uproar,
And those who hate You have exalted themselves.
3 They make shrewd plans against Your people,
And conspire together against Your treasured ones.
4 They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation,
That the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
5 For they have conspired together with one mind;
Against You they make a covenant:
6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites;
7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assyria also has joined with them;
They have become a help to the children of Lot. Selah.

…

“17 Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever,
And let them be humiliated and perish,
18 That they may know that You alone, whose name is the LORD,
Are the Most High over all the earth.” Psalm 83:1-8 and 17-18.

More generally, there are many Scriptures about the LORD saving His chosen ones from their enemies. I quote the following one because it mentions “in the name of our God we will set up our banners.”

“5 We will sing for joy over your victory,
And in the name of our God we will set up our banners.
May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.

6 Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
With the saving strength of His right hand.
7 Some boast in chariots and some in horses,
But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.
8 They have bowed down and fallen,
But we have risen and stood upright.
9 Save, O LORD;
May the King answer us in the day we call.” Psalm 20:5-9.

“He has brought me to his banquet hall,
And his banner over me is love.” Song of Solomon 2:4.

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 17:1-7.

“Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink.  Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.”  And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me?  Why do you test the LORD?”  But the people thirsted there for water;  and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”  So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do to this people?  A little more and they will stone me.”  Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel;  and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.  Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb;  and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.”  And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.  He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us, or not?”  Exodus 17:1-7.

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We read of two recent and similar earlier miracles of the LORD.

When Israel went out into the wilderness of Shur, and they went three days in the wilderness, they likewise found no drinkable water.  “When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter;  therefore it was named Marah.  So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”  Then he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree;  and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet.”  Exodus 15:23-25. 

When Israel set out from Elim and came to the wilderness of Sin, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt, they found no food. “The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.  The sons of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the LORD’S hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full;  for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you;  and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.”  Exodus 16:1-4. 

Despite these two recent and similar miraculous experiences, in addition to the miracle of the LORD saving Israel by parting the Red Sea for Israel and allowing Israel to cross it on dry land and closing it behind them and drowning their enemies, the Egyptians, Israel tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us, or not?”  

But, the LORD did another miracle and saved Israel again as we read in today’s Scripture.  

Psalm chapter 78 speaks of the LORD’S guidance and providence for Israel despite their unfaithfulness.  It goes into great detail and is too long to quote in the format of this short devotion.  But, I will quote the following exhortation to remember God’s wondrous works and to tell them to our children and others so that they will put their confidence in God and keep His commandments and be faithful to God.     

“4 We will not conceal them from their children,
But tell to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,
And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.

5 For He established a testimony in Jacob
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers
That they should teach them to their children,
6 That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born,
That they may arise and tell them to their children,
7 That they should put their confidence in God
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments,
8 And not be like their fathers,
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that did not prepare its heart
And whose spirit was not faithful to God.” Psalm 78:4-8.

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 16:31-36.

“The house of Israel named it manna, and it was like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey.  Then Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded, ‘Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”  Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omerful of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations.”  As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the Testimony, to be kept.  The sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land;  they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.  (Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah.)”  Exodus 16:31-36.

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“24 He rained down manna upon them to eat
And gave them food from heaven.
25 Man did eat the bread of angels;
He sent them food in abundance.” Psalm 78:24-25.

“You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.  He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.”  Deuteronomy 8:2-3. 

“Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today;  otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water;  He brought water for you out of the rock of flint.  In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end.  Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’  But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”  Deuteronomy 8:11-18.   

“It is good to give thanks to the LORD
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
2 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning
And Your faithfulness by night,
3 With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp,
With resounding music upon the lyre.
4 For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what You have done,
I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.” Psalm 92:1-4.