February 4, 2011 From Fear to Promise

Exodus, to me, is a book of fear hope, faith and promise. From the first chapter we see the king of Egypt afraid that the people of Israel were becoming too populous so he decided to kill all the male born babies, FEAR. Then a woman from the tribe of Levi thought to hide her "special" baby boy in a papyrus basket and place him on the banks of the Nile, HOPE. The princess sees the baby and decides to keep it, but agrees to have the mother feed him until he is older. That turns the Levi woman into a mother of FAITH, knowing that her baby really is special. This is seen throughout the book of Exodus where God takes his peoples fears and gives them hope (water out of a rock) and leads them to His promises. Today, in Exodus 34:6b, we read "Yahweh, the Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin." Don't be consumed with the trials of the day or overwhelmed by the signs of the times. Let the God of compassion take your fears and fill you with the hope of His word so that He can lead you to faith in Him and lavish you with His promises!