Hate bribes

Exodus 18:20-22 NLT

Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives. But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten. They should always be available to solve the people’s common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you.

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Disputes come with the territory. People, even God's people, maybe especially God's people, have a keen sense of injustice. Everyone knows when they have been wronged. Well at least everyone knows when they feel like fairness hasn't been observed in their behalf. Seems one of the first phrases a child declares with passion is, 'that's not fair'.
And who do we imagine will right the wrong? At first it is our parents. But then it is innate that we appeal to leaders for justice.
"Billy took my toy!, " we cry expecting our toy to be returned and maybe Billy will get a good thrashing so he'll not take my toy again.
We long for mediators who will dispense fair, considered, impartial, wise justice.

I think one of the first interesting things in this passage is that this was not a particularly democratic process. Moses chooses these intermediaries. Next I've observed that as Moses chooses he determines the level of responsibility each leader will have from a handful of people to a thousand.

But what stands out most to me is the relativity short list of relevant criteria.

• Capable 
• Honest 
• Fear God 
• Hate bribes

Dispensing justice requires capability. There is a skill or talent that enables some persons as capable.

Then next in the list is a character trait, possibly a reputation of honesty. A person in leadership whose role it is to dispense justice has to love the truth, they must be without a practice of lying. It is interesting that the primary character trait of arguably one of the greatest presidents in American history was honesty. It has been passed down through the years that he was even known for the practice of honesty so much that he was nicknamed, 'Honest Abe.'
I wonder could it be that actually there are only two requirements on this list stated first positively and then reiterated negatively.

Cable = fear God
Honest  = hate bribes

It was not an uncommon literary device of Moses' people or time to emphasis by restating the points in opposite ways, or by building the point.

We'd do well to consider the possibly that real capability in leadership, particularly in dispensing justice, comes from the humility of  knowing your place before God. The Fear of God the Bible says is the starting blocks of wisdom.

And valuing the truth over personal gain is foundational. I've once heard it said that leadership requires an insight into the trajectory of truth. I'd heartily agree, that a person that sees the tangled web that is woven through deception will at all cost avoid the peril of entrapment and the demise of entanglements with bribes and lies.

For ultimately God knows exactly what has happened. God has seen both the action and the intent of your heart. Nothing has escaped God's view and God will ultimately dispense justice. The capable leader will be acutely aware that justice is not some subjective abstract concept but rather is deeply rooted in the person of God. And further that it has been imprinted on the human heart with the image of God given at creation.

First trust God to give you justice.
Secondly, pray for mercy!

Egyptian Slave or Slave of God?

Exodus 20:1-6 NLT

Then God gave the people all these instructions : “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

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 Is everything black and white?

Are we ever free? Does obligation cease to exist? Can we flout the laws of nature and live? Or are we slaves to pain or passion? Are we always possessed by another? Carefully answer, for do you not desire the commitment and companionship of another? Would you not willingly give your heart to the one you love?

The Israelites were slaves of the Egyptians but God had set them free. And still it seems in chapter 21 of Exodus that the Hebrews themselves had imbibed the elixir of ownership and possession of another human.

We should not wonder at this social structure. I believe that it is too simple to expect that since they've been freed they extend freedom. Far from our human nature, prison populations nearly always develop a strict structured hierarchy that includes servitude. Countries formerly under tyranny are some of the worst offenders when it comes to civil war, unrest and the ruthless struggle for power. It appears that freedom does not beget freedom!

So if we are going to fall prey to a regime, why not willingly serve God. As he set his people free he demonstrated his unparalleled power. But in his protection of his people he demonstrated his unparalleled love.

At this time, in this world, the idea that everyone will be good and can be trusted if they are left to thier own devices is not born out by reality. We love slavery!

So be a slave of God.

This is not just an idea of the age of law. Paul also persuades us to see ourselves as slaves. He evokes the picture of the indentured servant seen in Exodus 21. And like the challenge issued by Joshua 40 years later to God's people, Moses here in Exodus 20 is saying "Choose you this day whom you will serve"

Quit fooling yourself with lies of inate goodness flourishing in the nurture of "complete 'freedom'"!

You will serve a master. Of that you can be sure.

The question is whether your master is as good as God?

Serve the Lord God and live to the fullest!

The gift of a song.

Exodus 15:2
The Lord gives me strength and makes me sing; he has saved me. He is my God, and I will praise him.

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Daughters of Davis DVD

It all starts with a gift. God has been giving since the beginning when he gave Adam the breath of life. Then God gave him purpose, a job, a place and woman as a companion. God had given fruit to eat, a garden to care for, animals to name, a command to obey, sons to raise, and a warning with hope for the future.

Here after a long, difficult process of trusting God and seeing his miraculous deliverance, Moses and God's rescued people rejoice because God gave them strength. And God gives them a song too.

I love how a relationship with God includes the gift of a song. Moses' song shared with the people and led by his sister says that God makes them sing.

I'm confident this isn't a one off. The Psalms are replete with people moved to song as a proper response to being rescued. Mary the mother of Jesus celebrates her saviour the baby she carried with a song. And Elisabeth the mother of John the Baptist also rejoices in God's salvation with a song.

Songs are an appropriate response to God's nearness. When God comes into our lives and hears our cries for help, often he gives us a song to accompany our Exodus from captivity.

Has the Lord of heaven and earth saved you? Has the creator of the universe given you strength? Do you sense his presence? Have you been set free from slavery? Are you wealthy beyond all imagination with a confidence that heaven is your real home and God's is your Father?

Then Sing!  Praise him.

Write your own song. Tell how God has saved you.

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Exodus 15:1-19 NCV

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, because he is worthy of great honor. He has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea. The Lord gives me strength and makes me sing; he has saved me. He is my God, and I will praise him. He is the God of my ancestors, and I will honor him. The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name. The chariots and soldiers of the king of Egypt he has thrown into the sea. The king’s best officers are drowned in the Red Sea. The deep waters covered them, and they sank to the bottom like a rock. Your right hand, Lord, is amazingly strong. Lord, your right hand broke the enemy to pieces. In your great victory you destroyed those who were against you. Your anger destroyed them, like fire burning straw. Just a blast of your breath, and the waters piled up. The moving water stood like a wall; the deep waters became solid in the middle of the sea. “The enemy bragged, ‘I’ll chase them and catch them. I’ll take all their riches; I’ll take all I want. I’ll pull out my sword, and my hand will destroy them.’ But you blew on them with your breath and covered them with the sea. They sank like lead in the raging water. “Are there any gods like you, Lord ? There are no gods like you. You are wonderfully holy, amazingly powerful, a worker of miracles. You reached out with your right hand, and the earth swallowed our enemies. You keep your loving promise and lead the people you have saved. With your strength you will guide them to your holy place. “The other nations will hear this and tremble with fear; terror will take hold of the Philistines. The leaders of the tribes of Edom will be very frightened; the powerful men of Moab will shake with fear; the people of Canaan will lose all their courage. Terror and horror will fall on them. When they see your strength, they will be as still as a rock. They will be still until your people pass by, Lord. They will be still until the people you have taken as your own pass by. You will lead your people and place them on your very own mountain, the place that you, Lord, made for yourself to live, the temple, Lord, that your hands have made. The Lord will be king forever!” The horses, chariot drivers, and chariots of the king of Egypt went into the sea, and the Lord covered them with water from the sea. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry land.

Behind the scenes, His purpose.

Exodus 9 :12
"But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh,"

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(a more complete sampling of these passages is included below my notes.)

Sheffield seen from Heeley

Two things you need to know about how God sometimes works.

• In the short term he may ask you to do something and then he might work 'against you' while you try to do what he said.
• God may be doing something 'odd' in someone else's heart; You have no idea how he works.

God asks Moses to talk to Pharaoh and ask Pharaoh to let his people go.

Then God makes sure Pharaoh says no a lot!

For a while this makes Moses very unpopular with God's people and with Pharaoh. I'm sure the Egyptians weren't very impressed either.

From our perspective God sets Moses up to fail. Sure in the end it works out for the most part but along the way Moses has a lot to deal with. If you were given a job by God how long will you accept what looks and feels like failure.

Many modern day followers of God give up on a lot of things pretty quickly.

Pharaoh's heart was hardened. I find this incredible. And God gives a reason too.

" so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth."
" But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth."

God being seeing as God is the highest goal and greatest reason for all that God does. It is all for the glory of God. From my and your limited point of view we can not always see how God could get glory out of the situation. But God can. It's all part of God's plan. We should not be so quick to judge. We don't have all the information.

Moses and Pharaoh are both quite unlikely characters to accomplish God's purposes and bring him glory.

Maybe you are too. But the story of the Exodus is epic in God's plan. This incident is repeated over and over. These events are key to understanding what God is doing through Jesus. Jesus himself retells the story the night before he is crucified as did every faithful Jews at every passover celebration for over a thousand years and a couple thousand since Jesus.

I suppose I just think we need to be reminded that God doesn't always ask us to do things he's going to make easy. I can imagine God's people praying, 'Lord  please soften Pharaoh's heart so he let's us go.' All the while God is hardening his heart.

• Are you sure you know what God is doing? 
• What brings him glory? 
• Do you really know how you'd be best partnering with him?
• Do what you're told!
• Leave the results up to God. 
• Don't give up. 
• Don't think you know what's going on. 
• Have faith that God does.

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Exodus 9:12-21, 27-28, 34-35 ESV

But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses. Then the Lord said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, "Thus says the Lord , the God of the Hebrews, "Let my people go, that they may serve me. For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them."" Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field. Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, "This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Plead with the Lord , for there has been enough of God's thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer." But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.

EXO 10:1-2 ESV

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord ."

Big Tax Refund

Exodus 3:21-22 NLT

And I will cause the Egyptians to look favorably on you. They will give you gifts when you go so you will not leave empty-handed. Every Israelite woman will ask for articles of silver and gold and fine clothing from her Egyptian neighbors and from the foreign women in their houses. You will dress your sons and daughters with these, stripping the Egyptians of their wealth.”

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Another reversal jumps from the pages of the Bible. And this time it's wealth that is redistributed. Throughout Genesis I saw a lot of position, prestige and status reversals. There were some plot spoilers where riches were caused by God to multiply for the person being mistreated. The spotted, stripped, and speckled sheep and goats scenario between Jacob and Laban was a situation where God saw to it that his people weren't swindled. And that's what this is all about.

God isn't arbitrarily shuffling the money deck and then dealing a bad hand to the Egyptians while dealing off the bottom of the deck for his people. No, not at all. God is righting a wrong. That's what a God of justice does.

So before you get your gimme hands ta grasping consider if you've been doing right by others with what God's given you!

Far too often people in the church start naming and claiming blessings, promises, riches, happiness and botox from their personal God genie. But they fail to see how long the injustice period had gone on. They choose to ignore the fact that literally days after one of the greatest wealth redistributions in history the lotto winners were full of fear and complaints. Riches will not make you happy. More will not solve your problems.

But God is keeping score.

Bingham Park at 20:30 03/06/13

And he loves to make things right. So if you've been done wrong God has a plan to give you justice. Consider it a heavenly savings plan.

There are plenty of God's people who have been taken advantage of. You may be one of the people suffering in silence, groaning to God as your hard earned cash is clothing the rich in Versace and Prada. But rest assured God will hear you. And someday and in some way the wrong will be righted.

Can you trust God? Can you let him provide for you?

Moses here gets the Exodus master plan from God. And as a reminder he's Abraham's God. He's Isaacs God. He's Jacob's God. That's an impressive list. God made sure each of them had plenty. Each started out with meager beginnings and each faced an obstacle of significant portion. But in each case God provided.

God is faithful. He always provides what you need.

And far more than riches you need a heart change. Remember that all though these former slaves turned into the wealthy making a stunning exit left rich they quickly and repeatedly were unsatisfied.

So make sure you desire the right riches. God does want to right the financial wrongs but more than your bank balance it's your heart that needs to be rescued.