Day 46 Bible Readings – Exodus 17: 11-13 (ESV)

Exodus 17 & 18, Mark 1: 1-28, Psalm 30: 1-7

Exodus 17: 11-13 (ESV)

“Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.”

Verses 11 through 13 from Exodus 17 shows us the value of having other people helping us with prayer. Moses was praying for Israel to prevail against the Amalekites by holding up his hand, but when he grew weary and lowered his hand the Amalekites started winning again. Aaron and Hur helped Moses to pray until Joshua and his men defeated the people of Amalek. If I am praying for something and it hasn’t happened yet, I often reach out to get other people to help pray with me and get their intercessory help with my prayers. Having other people pray with me or do intercessory prayer on my behalf has always helped me to get my prayers answered. Intercessory prayer isn’t always a guarantee that my prayers will be answered, but I think most of the time it does help. When I pray with other people, I am always awestruck by how other people pray. Their way of praying is so different than mine, and I am in awe of their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I love praying with other people because just listening to other people helps to strengthen my own faith.

              

Day 45 Bible Readings – Matthew 28: 12-15 (ESV)

Exodus 15 & 16, Matthew 28, Psalm 29

Matthew 28: 12-15 (ESV)

“And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’  And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.”

Verses 12 through 15 from Matthew 28 shows how people have doubted the resurrection of Christ, even though there were witnesses to the many miracles that took place before, during, and after Christ died. Reading these verses makes me think this was probably the first written example of a disinformation campaign and the original conspiracy theory. The Hebrew priests were so afraid of the teachings of Christ that they came up with this coverup story of the resurrection of Christ and created a disinformation campaign so powerful that it still persists to this day. But no matter how powerful the coverup, it is testament to the power of Christ that his teachings flourished and is still going strong to this day.

Day 44 Bible Readings – Matthew 27: 45 (ESV)

Exodus 13 & 14, Matthew 27: 45-66, Psalm 28

Matthew 27: 45 (ESV)

“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.”

Verse 45 from Matthew is a description of what was happening I the sky while Jesus was on the cross and dying. I’ve always found this verse so interesting. At first I thought that maybe there had been an eclipse that had happened while Jesus was dying on the cross. But as I was reading through several Bible commentaries, I found out there was not a natural eclipse of the sun. Jeus was on the cross for about 6 hours from 9 am in the morning until 3 pm in the afternoon. The darkness happened from 12 noon till about 3 pm, which is much longer than other eclipses. Bible scholars have noted that the darkness happened during a full moon, and it is said that it would be impossible for there to be a natural eclipse of the sun. I love how this darkness could be considered a miracle of sorts, and I am sure it seemed that way to the people who were watching Jesus die on the cross. It must have seemed as if the world itself was in agony when the sky darkened. If the sky getting dark wasn’t a sure sign that Jesus was the son of God, there would be more to come. But I love how the sky darkening reflected the agony that the followers of Jesus must have felt as they watched him dying on the cross.

Day 43 Bible Readings – Exodus12: 13 (ESV)

Exodus 11 & 12, Matthew 27: 11-44, Psalm 27

Exodus12: 13 (ESV)

“The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.”

Verse 13 from Exodus 12 is what God said to Moses and Aaron about the blood of the lamb that he asked the people of Israel to put on their doorposts. God said if he saw the lamb’s blood on the doorpost, the plague of the death of the firstborn will pass over the house and it occupants. When I read this verse, I was reminded of the life of Christ who came to earth to be like these lambs that were killed. Christ was crucified for our sins so the plague of death would pass over anyone who believes in him. I love how God’s plan for the life of Christ was already being hinted at in the Book of Exodus. God was seeding among this people the idea of a sacrificial lamb who could save us from death. I cannot help but think of Christ every time I come across a story in the Bible of a sacrificial lamb. The life of Jesus and how he was treated in the days leading to his crucifixion was exactly like that of a lamb chosen for sacrifice. It makes me wonder how much God is constantly hinting in my life what his plan is for my life, and all I need to do is look for the signs and the recurring themes in my life.