From January 31, One Year Bible

Today's Scriptures:

Exodus 12:14 ~ 13:5; Matthew 20:29 ~ 21:22; Psalm 25:16 ~ 22; Proverbs 6:12 ~15

My One Thought Scripture: Exodus 12:29 ~ 32, 13:3 (NIV)

29 At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well.

30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.

31 During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested.

32 Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go.

Exodus 13:

3 Then Moses said to the people, "Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand.

Today, there is terrific unrest in Egypt. There are riots and political unrest as Egyptians call for the ouster of their leader and his government. People are even dying as the riot continues and the government tries to quiet the situation. This morning I heard one report that as many as 90,000 Americans are being urged to leave the country for their own safety. You can imagine the problems and pressures that situation puts on airlines and other means of transportation. But the 90,000 are only the Americans. There must be citizens of other nations as well. I have not heard anyone venture a guess on that number but it must be astounding. Governments, corporations, transportation venues...they are all scrambling.

In today's Old Testament reading from Exodus, I see Moses in a similar situation. God has sent the death-angel...the first born of the Egyptians have died. In the night, the Egyptian people awoke to the sound of “loud wailing” throughout the land. There was not a single (Egyptian) house where someone had not died. Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron in the middle of the night and told them to “get out”! They were told to take the people, flocks and herds and leave! All the begging, pleading, planning, the plagues and “mind-changing” that has gone on between Moses (God) and Pharaoh has now suddenly come to a head. It is time to act! We are told that on the night the people of Israel left Rameses and started for Succoth, there were 600,000 men, plus all the women and children to begin this evacuation all at one time. Since the day that Joseph's family came to settle in Egypt until now, it had been 430 years.

As the Israelites began their journey, in Exodus 13:3, we read, “...Moses said to the people, 'This is a day to remember forever ~ the day you left Egypt, the place of your slavery. Today the Lord has brought you out by the power of His mighty hand.'” When I read that, my mind returned to events in my own past that I can now look back on and say, “that was a day to remember forever ~ the day You, God brought me out of slavery...the day I was brought out by the power of Your mighty hand.” Never forget the important days in your own spiritual walk.