Tag Archives: the exodus out of Egypt

The Dew of the Heavens

Posted on May 30, 2023 by expressyourself4him
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqdZMtySm2A

When my father’s company transferred him to their Delaware office, one of the perks included membership to a local golf club to entertain his clients. Subsequently, I was introduced to golf the following summer and began participating in the Penn Oakes Country Club Junior Golf program. Every Monday morning when my mom dropped me off, the grass will filled with dew. Putting and chipping was difficult until the summer sun evaporated all the dew from the greens. This is how I learned about the dew from the heavens.

Then his father Isaac said, Come near and kiss me, my son. 27 So he came near and kissed him; and [Isaac] smelled his clothing and blessed him and said, The scent of my son is as the odor of a field which the Lord has blessed, Genesis 27:26-27.

As Moses provides a brief history of how Israel came to be a nation, his words point to his leadership during the Exodus out of Egypt. The oral tradition of Isaac’s blessing to Jacob refers to the Dew of the heavens. From Moses’ perspective, this could be a reference to manna from heaven which appeared initially like a morning dew, Exodus 16:21. On the flip side, morning dew forming in a desert can also be refreshing in an arid climate. Whatever the meaning of this passage, Isaac points to how God supernaturally provides each day.

And may God give you of the dew of the heavens and of the fatness of the earth and abundance of grain and [new] wine; 29 Let peoples serve you and nations bow down to you; be master over your brothers, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Let everyone be cursed who curses you and favored with blessings who blesses you, Genesis 27:28-29.

Following this heavenly provision, Isaac turns his blessing toward food, wealth and an abundance of natural resources. Isaac doesn’t settle for average as his blessing goes over the top, beyond what most people dream. As Jacob listens to these words, I can imagine goosebumps appearing up and down his arms. Just as Moses witnessed the Red Sea departing and swallowing up the Egyptian Army, the Dew of the Heavens is like the icing on a cake of God’s ability to provide, Matthew 6:33-34.

by Jay Mankus

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Counting the Stars

Posted on March 7, 2023 by expressyourself4him

Astronomy is the scientific study of everything in outer space. The telescope provides amateurs and scientists with an investigative tool to explore astronomy. Since the cost of a telescope can be pricy, most human beings star gaze on clear nights. If you live in a large city, you won’t have the same experience as someone in the country. Nonetheless, when you’re young and carefree, you may find yourself one evening trying to count the stars visible in the night sky.

And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, This man shall not be your heir, but he who shall come from your own body shall be your heir. 5 And He brought him outside [his tent into the starlight] and said, Look now toward the heavens and count the stars—if you are able to number them. Then He said to him, So shall your descendants be, Genesis 15:4-5.

After a moment of doubt, struggling to believe that he would become the father of a great nation, the Word of the Lord comes to Abram. During this encounter, Abram is drawn outside of his tent, into the starlight of this countryside. While Moses does not provide a timeline of Abram’s moment with God, counting the stars appears to be a rhetorical question. Since Moses doesn’t mention Abram counting out loud, this reference is a foreshadowing of the future of Israel’s descendants.

And [God] said to Abram, Know positively that your descendants will be strangers dwelling as temporary residents in a land that is not theirs [Egypt], and they will be slaves there and will be afflicted and oppressed for 400 years. [Fulfilled in Exod. 12:40.] 14 But I will bring judgment on that nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with great possessions, Genesis 15:13-14.

Meanwhile, this encounter continues with a brief nightmare which fills Abram with fear and terror. God uses this dark image as a teachable moment, explaining to Abram what has to happened before the promise spoken in Genesis 12:1-3 is fulfilled. This portion of Scripture gets Moses’ attention as he was the man God chose to lead the Exodus out of Egypt. The next time you find yourself engaged by a vivid starlight, remember that God delivered for Abraham and continues to fulfill promises made in the Bible.

by Jay Mankus

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A Season of Suffering

Posted on February 7, 2022 by expressyourself4him

Most people think of a season in terms of winter, spring, summer, and fall. During this 4 month time period, there are often fluctuations in the temperature. Each season provides a distinct and unique trait such as snow, blooming flowers, warm weather and falling leaves. Yet, the seasons mentioned in the Bible do not how a defined time table. One may last a month while others could go on for years.

To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven: 2 A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted, 3 A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build up, 4 A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 6 A time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away, Ecclesiastes 3:1-6.

During the exodus out of Egypt, a trip that should have taken 3-4 months ended up becoming a 40 year journey through the wilderness. Just like the Israelites who didn’t obey God’s commands and Moses’ instructions, modern day human beings rarely travel from point A to point B in a straight line. Rather, unforeseen traffic causes human beings to get impatient, changing course to try to find a shortcut.

[You should] be exceedingly glad on this account, though now for a little while you may be distressed by trials and suffer temptations, 7 So that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested, [your faith] which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire. [This proving of your faith is intended] to redound to [your] praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) is revealed, 1 Peter 1:6-7.

Yet, sometimes you can follow God faithfully and end up getting lost along the way. My wife and I moved to Delaware in 1997 so that I could attend Seminary, earn my masters and become a college professor or pastor. A rare eye disease ended this quest shortly after I started, leading me on my own 25 year journey in the wilderness of Delaware. Therefore, whatever season you may have to endure in 2022, hold on to faith until the Lord clears the way for your future.

by Jay Mankus

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For Every Wrong Turn… God’s Spirit Will Guide You Back Home

Posted on November 7, 2021 by expressyourself4him

A first century doctor devotes an entire chapter of the Bible to illustrating the lengths to which God will go to search for lost and wayward souls. Luke 15 is broken down into 3 stories about a lost sheep, lost coin and prodigal son. For every wrong turn you may take in life, there is a Shepherd and Father who is waiting for you to make a U-turn back toward the Lord. Unfortunately, when most people get lost, pride or a stubborn heart keeps you from asking for directions to get back on the right track.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path, Psalm 119:105.

Most prodigal stories resemble the 40 year journey of Israel from the Exodus out of Egypt to the promised land. Perhaps human nature is to blame as I’ve done my own wandering away from the Lord. One of my college friends once told me, “stop using Jesus as a crutch.” When times were good, I had a tendency to go off on my own, leaving the Lord behind as my Bible collected dust. Yet, when I broke my ankle playing sand volleyball just before my final year of college, this was a sign to come back to Jesus.

If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit [g]we have our life in God, let us go forward [h]walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit,] Galatians 5:25.

Unfortunately, most of the time things aren’t so obvious. This is where the Holy Spirit can intervene, to guide you back home. However, the context of the passage above includes an internal tug of war. Human nature feeds on cravings, desires and impulses that can ravage souls if not contained, Galatians 5:16-18. The apostle Paul provides crucial advice in 1 Corinthians 10:13. The next time you make a wrong turn by ending up in a tempting situation, look for the way out as you listen for the Holy Spirit to guide you back home.

by Jay Mankus

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What Goes On Beneath the Surface Prior to Rebellion

Posted on October 13, 2021 by expressyourself4him

In a letter to the Church at Thessalonica, the apostle Paul examines the mystery of lawlessness, 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8. Inside this passage, Paul unveils the hidden principle of rebellion. From a historical perspective, the origin of rebellion began with one simple thought in Genesis 3:3, “did God really say?” When Eve allowed this New Age Philosophy to take root within her heart, this is what was going on beneath the surface prior to rebellion being conceived.

[Therefore beware] brethren, take care, lest there be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving heart [which refuses to cleave to, trust in, and rely on Him], leading you to turn away and desert or stand aloof from the living God. 13 But instead warn (admonish, urge, and encourage) one another every day, as long as it is called Today, that none of you may be hardened [into settled rebellion] by the deceitfulness of sin [by the fraudulence, the stratagem, the trickery which the delusive glamor of his sin may play on him], Hebrews 3:12-13.

Rather than review original sin, the author of Hebrews goes back to what happened to Israel following the Exodus out of Egypt. God’s initial plan was to enter the Promised Land at Canaan in the same calendar that Israel fled Egypt. Yet, instead of trusting God to provide manna while living in the wilderness, the hidden principle of rebellion once again reared its ugly head. This came in the form of bickering, complaining, and grumbling to Moses as many Jews wish they had never left Egypt.

Then while it is [still] called Today, if you would hear His voice and when you hear it, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion [in the desert, when the people provoked and irritated and embittered God against them]. 16 For who were they who heard and yet were rebellious and provoked [Him]? Was it not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was He irritated and provoked and grieved for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose [d]dismembered bodies were strewn and left in the desert? – Hebrews 3:15-17

According to Moses, a hardened heart prevents individuals from hearing God’s voice. Perhaps, when Eve was entertaining a sly serpent in the Garden of Eden, the concept of questioning God gradually reached her heart. As this conversation continued, the first lie on earth was planted within Eve’s mind. Thinking that God was holding her back, Eve began to stare at this forbidden fruit. The more Eve look, enticement and lust was conceived, James 1:14-15. This is what goes on beneath the surface prior to any rebellion.

by Jay Mankus

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God is not Slow…You are Just Holding Him Up

Posted on December 13, 2019 by expressyourself4him

I am one of those individuals who is always in a hurry, eager to find the most efficient and quickest route to where I need to go. I don’t do slow well, especially when I’m stuck in rush hour traffic. Rather, I follow the motto from Top Gun, “I feel the need; the need for speed!” While I don’t promote reckless driving, I hate wasting time, especially when it comes to making the most of each day.

And you shall eat it thus: [as fully prepared for a journey] your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment [proving their helplessness]. I am the Lord., Exodus 12:11-12.

When God revealed his plan for Israel’s exodus out of Egypt to Moses, the Lord uses the term haste. Haste refers to excessive speed, urgency of movement or action. Basically, God is telling Israel to hurry up, “it’s time to go into the land that I promised you.” Although Israel did flee Egypt, this sense of urgency didn’t last long. A trip that should have taken 35 days, just over one month, ended up lasting for forty years.

Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us, Hebrews 12:1.

Immediately following the chapter known as the Hall of Faith, Hebrews 11, the author warns individuals about getting tripped up. While God desires to pour out blessings upon your life each month, backsliding, detours and getting lost often results in years without producing spiritual fruit. Before you can reach your full speed and potential in life, you have to get untangled from any web of sin currently slowing you down. As you break free, may you begin to see that God is not slow, you’re just holding Him up.

by Jay Mankus

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Why Are You So Amazed?

Posted on April 8, 2019 by expressyourself4him

Astonish, bewilder, flabbergast and stupefy are words synonymous with amaze. Throughout the course of history, there has been numerous jaw dropping events that have left eyewitnesses dumbfounded. Some may likely ponder “did that just happen or am I dreaming?” When human minds can’t explain, fathom or understand an occurrence like the parting of the Red Sea, amazement is a common response.

“With the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up, the flowing waters stood up like a mound; the deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea, Exodus 15:8.”

After healing a man crippled from birth, Peter doesn’t know why people are so surprised. Two months earlier, a man was nailed to a cross, rose from the dead, spent 40 days with his followers and ascended into heaven. This is the context of Peter’s comment below. Perhaps, Peter was remembering accounts of the Exodus out of Egypt, referring to those who saw Moses part the Red Sea in two. The moment Jesus conquered death, this opened the door for anything else to be possible.

And Peter, seeing this, said to the people, “You men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Why are you staring at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? – Acts 3:12

The phrase seeing is believing is an idiom that was first recorded in 1639. Eyewitnesses to events that defy science trigger an inner desire to believe in a higher power. The lame man healed in Acts 3 occurs during the hour of prayer, between 3 and 4 in the afternoon. When participants of this prayer service began to see the fruit of crying out to God, expectations increased. The point that Peter is making about amazement is that when you keep in step with the Holy Spirit, God has the power to move mountains. For those individuals on fire for God, faith provides the hope to tarry on in prayer.

by Jay Mankus

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Don’t Overlook God’s Providence

Posted on December 10, 2018 by expressyourself4him

Immediately following the Exodus out of Egypt, the Israelites fled into the desert.  When Pharaoh changed his mind, Moses led God’s people to the banks of the Red Sea.  Against all odds, the Lord enabled Moses to part this body of water before collapsing upon and swallowing up the Egyptian army.  After witnessing this miracle, any event that follows would be obscure.  Thus, when God magically sent bread, manna from heaven, the Jews slowly began to overlook the obvious.

And the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the Israelites no longer had manna, but they ate some of the produce of the land of Canaan during that year, Joshua 5:12.

Like any human being, time has a way of changing your perspective.  Initial awe, excitement and joy can fade when everything that follows is small in comparison.  Perhaps, this explains Jesus comment to one if his disciples, “blessed are those do not see me yet believe.”  The testimony of followers of Jesus immediately following his resurrection should have been enough.  Yet, doubt prevented Thomas from believing, needing to see with his own eyes.  When you live with a miracle worker every day for three years, at some point you begin to over look the obvious, expecting greater things.

Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, do you now believe? Blessed [happy, spiritually secure, and favored by God] are they who did not see [Me] and yet believed [in Me],” John 20:29.

As holiday shoppers rush through life to get their Christmas preparations in order, it’s hard to keep track of daily mundane responsibilities.  Meanwhile, subtle miracles are glanced over as God provides this or that without any praise or thanks.  Unfortunately, I tend to be the type of person who allows themselves to be pushed to the limit, on the verge of mental exhaustion weekly.  Thus, instead of seeing subtle signs of God’s providence, I have ignored the obvious.  I guess I need to follow the advice of the Psalmist by being still before God, Psalm 46:10.  When you do, you will stop overlooking the obvious by observing the hand of God over your life.

by Jay Mankus

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When You Put God First

Posted on December 3, 2018 by expressyourself4him

Leadership refers to being in the position to guide a group of people.  Leadership roles vary from a boss, captain, head, principle or superior.  While some people are born with leadership skills, most individuals learn from a mentor.  This process often begins as a teenager, continuing throughout life as you take the baton before its your turn to handoff to someone else.  During the exodus out of Egypt, Joshua was waiting in the wings until replacing Moses as the leader of Israel.

He said, “No; rather I have come now as captain of the army of the Lord.” Then Joshua fell with his face toward the earth and bowed down, and said to him, “What does my lord have to say to his servant?” – Joshua 5:14

The goal at hand in these days was to enter God’s promised land.  The obstacle, facing a land of giants protected by a mighty wall surrounding Jericho.  As captain of the army of the Lord, Joshua doesn’t exhibit an earthly style of leadership.  Rather, Joshua is overwhelmed by the presence of God, falling prostrate to the ground, bowing on his knees.  Perhaps, Joshua is uncertain, not sure what to do.  Thus, Joshua seeks God’s counsel, eagerly waiting for direction.

The captain of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy (set apart to the Lord).” And Joshua did so, Joshua 5:15.

In the passage above, Joshua is merely modeling what Moses taught him.  Back in Exodus 3, an angel of the Lord first appeared to Moses in a burning bush.  Just Moses took off his sandals, obedient to the Word of the Lord, Joshua does the same, acknowledging this holy ground.  According to Jesus, when you put God first by seeking after righteousness, Matthew 6:33-34, all these things will be given unto you.  The testimony of Joshua is living proof as the walls of Jericho turned to rubble with the blast of seven trumpets in Joshua 6.  Whatever you do in life, don’t forget to put God first.

by Jay Mankus

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Your Vibe Attracts Your Tribe

Posted on October 3, 2018 by expressyourself4him

The term vibe can be best described as ambiance, aura, character and spirit that oozes out of your soul.  Others refer to this quality as charisma, a trait that a pied piper demonstrates.  People who exhibit a strong personality tend to develop a following.  Whether this occurs within your community, on social media or at your place of employment, these groups may resemble a tribe as in the days of the Old Testament.

So Moses and Aaron took these men who were designated by name, 18 and assembled all the congregation on the first day of the second month, and they registered by ancestry in their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head, 19 just as the Lord had commanded Moses. So he numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai, Numbers 1:17-19.

During the Exodus out of Egypt, the Israelites traveled in 12 groups.  These groups were named after the 12 sons of Israel.  Moses refers to these descendants as Tribes.  In the early days on earth, the order of your birth often dictated your ability to be successful in life.  Unfortunately, during the days of Judges, individuals began to do what was right in their own eyes.  Instead of keeping the ten commandments, worldly judges gave off bad vibes.  Thus, many tribes gradually became spiritually bankrupt.

What good has it done me if, [merely] from a human point of view, I fought with wild animals at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised [at all], let us eat and drink [enjoying ourselves now], for tomorrow we die. 33 Do not be deceived:“Bad company corrupts good morals,” 1 Corinthians 15:32-33.

In a letter to the church of Corinth, the apostle Paul warns Christians about negative influences in life.  Within a culture steered by philosophy, it wasn’t hard to justify and rationalize certain types of behavior.  In the passage above, Paul is blunt, warning people about getting close to those who demonstrate sketchy character.  Like the sowing principle, the vibe you give off to certain groups of people.  Therefore, don’t be mislead by bad company.  Rather, let your light shine throughout your community, Matthew 5:16, so that others will be drawn to Christ.

by Jay Mankus

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