Picturepocket's Blog

Category: Bible

  • Exodus 14: A Tight Spot

    Exodus 14: A Tight Spot

    The Lord prompts Moses to take the people down by the sea, warning him that Pharaoh will pursue them. God hardens Pharaoh’s heart so he decides he actually doesn’t want to let his Israelite slaves leave. Since the people have traveled outside of the boundary of his country, Pharaoh takes six hundred chariots and very…

  • Exodus 13: Set Apart

    Exodus 13: Set Apart

    God speaks to the Israelites through Moses. He tells them to set aside all firstborns to the Lord. We just saw the Destroyer take every first born in Egypt, but the children and animals of those who had the lamb’s blood over the door were saved. He mentions a figurative mark on the forehead and…

  • Exodus 12: Ready to Run 

    Exodus 12: Ready to Run 

    In the month of Abib, God gives Moses a specific set of instructions. Each household needs to slaughter and prepare a blemish-free goat or sheep at twilight. They are to roast and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs while dressed and wearing coats and shoes, ready to leave.  The blood from the animal…

  • Lot in Life

    When we read Scripture, it’s easy to identify with the hero, the main character. All of the characters in the Bible are important and sometimes we miss some of the things that God is doing in the edges of stories. Lot is an example of one of those side characters. He is Abraham’s nephew, the…

  • Exodus 10: Winds of Change

    Exodus 10: Winds of Change

    God gives Moses the same instruction to go in front of Pharaoh asking for leave. God tells him that Pharaoh will deny his request again so that God’s wonders will become a sign not only to the people of Egypt, but also for Moses’s son and grandson. This reminds us that the battles we face…

  • Exodus 9: Provisions

    Exodus 9: Provisions

    The flies and gnats were harbingers of the plagues to come. Moses warns Pharaoh, then delivers a severe plague upon the livestock of the Egyptians. Horses, donkeys, camels, herds and flocks die in the fields while the animals of the Israelites survive.  One of my chickens died this fall and I was very sad; I…

  • Exodus 8: Warning

    Exodus 8: Warning

    God tells Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let the Israelites leave or He will send a plague of frogs. Pharaoh refuses and God sends frogs. They are everywhere. Frogs get into in people’s homes, bedrooms and kitchens. The magicians also make frogs appear by their secret arts. Pharaoh pleads with Moses…

  • Exodus 7: River of Memory 

    Exodus 7: River of Memory 

    God responds to Moses’s complaint saying he will make him like God to Pharaoh and Aaron will be his prophet telling him to let the Israelites go. Again God warns Moses that Pharaoh will not listen, so God will “raise his hand to him.” The text lets us know that at this time Moses was…

  • Exodus 6: Inheritance

    Exodus 6: Inheritance

    After Moses’s PTO request to leave Egypt for a religious retreat with the Israelites was denied and punished, Moses complains to God that he has failed to deliver his people.  God goes over the history, saying he identifies as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but didn’t give them his “I Am” name before.…

  • Exodus 5: A Turn for the Worse

    Exodus 5: A Turn for the Worse

    Aaron and Moses go to Pharaoh and tell him that the “I Am” demands that he let the people of Israel take a three day trip out into the wilderness to worship.  Pharaoh says he doesn’t know who this “I Am” is, and slaves don’t get holidays. Most Bibles translate the “I Am” name into…