They Crossed the Red Sea

 

Exodus 14:26-31

 

September 4, 2024

 

They Crossed the Red Sea

 

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.”  So, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea.  The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained.  But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

Thus, the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.  Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

 

Have you noticed the drastic change in your culture? Well, we have in the USA, “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,  without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”  (2 Timothy 3:1-5)  We are witnesses to this, and it is like God is drawing this nation into the Red Sea.   We have a prophecy going back to Isaiah 5:20, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

 

When I was just a small child, it was clear that those Yankees were different from us Southerners.  But as I grew up and was taught by my parents, that yes, how and where a person was raised had a lot to do with their actions.  But they made sure that we showed respect for anyone older than us.  I never heard my dad use a bad word, then one day, and I’m not sure what happened, but to our shock, he said those damn Yankees,  and he was not referring to a baseball team.  As I got older, I studied the  American Civil War (April 12, 1861- May 26, 1865).  My dad was born in 1919, 58 years after the war that divided a nation. His grandparents were very much involved in that war, and the way they were treated by the North after the war.  It is easy to see how people would not trust them, but as a nation, we put that in the rearview mirror. 

 

 Today, September 4, 2024, our nation is divided once again, but this time it is over values, morals, respect, and integrity. So let me address those items: Values are defined as “the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something Your support is of great Value."  Please allow me to share mine, and in that, we are so divided; they may not be yours, but I would die for these, that is the value I place on them.  Freedom, that all men are created equal, and that God has never made a mistake.  My right to Worship God, my right to share my thoughts about His love for all people, and that Jesus is the answer to our division.  The value I put on the family, and that they are my responsibility, not yours or the government's.  Moral: “A person’s idea of morals tends to be shaped by their surrounding environment (and their belief system). Moral values shape a person’s ideas about right and wrong.” Let me once more share that these are my morals, I was taught these by my parents, and by studying the Scriptures.  Not stealing, lying, being lazy in my work, and having a sexual relationship with a man is morally wrong for a man, as is having a sexual relationship with a woman other than your wife.  Respect is defined by the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:10, “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”  As I have stated, I was taught to show respect for anyone 10 years older than myself; they were to be addressed as yes, sir or yes, ma'am.  Anyone in authority was to be given respect, and that for sure meant the police.  When I went into the Army, I had officers who, as men, did not earn respect, but the uniform and rank did.  When it comes to politicians, the same holds, and I must say they do not make that easy.  That brings us to one that I value very highly; integrity: “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. "He is known to be a man of integrity."  From the Scriptures: Proverbs 19:1, “Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity  than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.”  Proverbs 12:22, “The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.”  Psalm 41:11:12 is very good counsel; ”I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me. Because of my integrity, you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.”

 

In this life, we are all going to experience our Red Sea. Now, the question is, are you going to cross on dry ground, or have the water come over you?

 

I’m 82, and have been blessed by God in so many ways, it took a while to live the values that I now employ in my life, but they have given me something that many are not getting, peace, love, not hate for those who hate me for being a person with values, who has no doubt that God has open the Red Sea of my life to place my feet on sound footing.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

 

 

 

Pharaoh Regrets

  

Exodus 14:10-25

 

September 3, 2024

Pharaoh Regrets 

When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord.  They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?  Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”  And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.  The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

 

Some may say, What is wrong with them? Did they not believe in God? The answer is no, they believed it was going to be a slaughter, and guess what, 98 % of church members, and I'm not sure about the 2 % would be blaming your Moses and begging God to fight for them.

 

Now, Bob, that is so harsh, and you are right, but how many of you and this writer have asked why me, God?  Yes, we are not that different than them.

The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.  Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.  And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen.  And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

 

Often, God allows you to have your Red Sea out front and your enemy closing in; it comes in many forms, divorce, loss of job, kids in trouble at school, and often being told you have cancer or something worse.  And the only path is the Red Sea, and that is going to take more faith than you have; you need a miracle, you need Jesus.

 

Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them,  coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.

Do you believe in demons? Scripture tells us they are fallen angels, but Israel's Arc Angel is Michal, their Prince.  He was under orders to protect and fight for the Chosen People.

 

 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.  And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.  And in the morning, the Lord, in the pillar of fire and of cloud, looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic,  clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”

 

Maybe doing as Morses did is the application you and I need.   Just do what God has told us to do, by the faith He has given us, and know He is God.  The Egyptians got it, but it was too late; the waters were coming over them.

 

From ​our Back Porch,

Bob Rice

 

Where have they gone?

  

 

Where have they gone?

A paper from 2007, updated to 2023, 2025

 

In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 9:33-34, we have an account of Jesus healing a man who was unable to speak.  The story is told like this: “As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him.  And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke.  The Scripture states that this man was oppressed by a demon.  Webster’s Dictionary defines the word "oppress" as follows: cause (someone) to feel distressed, anxious, or uncomfortable; he was oppressed by some secret worry.  If we look at the definition of a demon, we will find something like this: 1 an evil spirit or devil, esp. one thought to possess a person or act as a tormentor in hell.  

 

 Are we to assume that all people who are mute have a demon that is oppressing them?  In no way does the Scripture say anything like that.  In fact, a person who would imply such would have little or no understanding of Scripture.  But we do have this account of Jesus healing, or setting free, by casting out the demon that made this man mute.

 

In the book of Luke, chapter 4:31-37, we have an account of a man in Capernaum, a city of Galilee, who had the spirit of an unclean demon.  While Jesus was teaching, this man said, “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are – the Holy One of God.”  Jesus said, “Be silent and come out of Him!”  The story goes like this: the demon threw the man down in the midst of all the people Jesus was teaching, and came out of him.

 

It is clear that the demon living in this man knew who Jesus was, and the crowd had no understanding of who was talking to them.  In fact, the Scripture states that the people were all amazed at his authority and power.   So, it seems that demons live in people, and they are from the spiritual realm, and they have a clear understanding of who Jesus is.  If you look down in the same chapter to verse 41, you will see that this happened many times when the demons came out of people and cried out, “You are the Son of God!”

 

In the 12th chapter of Matthew, verses 22-32, we have an account of Jesus healing a demon–possessed man who was blind and mute.  The Scripture states very clearly that Jesus healed him.  Now, the religious guys at that time were called Pharisees, and they were telling the people that Jesus was a demon, and that was how he was casting out demons.  You can read for yourself Jesus’ reply to that nonsense  

 

 So far, we have seen demons oppress people, but in Matthew​ chapter 8:28-32, we see Jesus healing two demon–possessed men.  Earlier, I defined an oppressed person. Now, let us look at the word possessed.  The dictionary states this about the word possessed; be possessed) (of a demon or spirit, esp. an evil one) have complete power over (someone) and be manifested through their speech or actions: she was possessed by the Devil.

 

This sounds like the demon has total power over the one it possesses.  Once more, we must pay attention to the fact that the demons knew Jesus.  Verse 29 states the following: “And behold, they cried out, 'What have you to do with us, O Son of God?  Have you come to torment us before the time?”  It also seems that they know that a time is coming for Jesus to come back and that they will be judged and enter into damnation.  Once more, that is a truth that most people who call themselves Christians do not understand, and if they do, then they do not believe it to be true.

 

The Scriptures are full of accounts of demons and unclean spirits; in I Timothy 4:1-3, we see that some will depart from the faith.  “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teaching of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”

 

So I go back to the title, “Where have they all gone”?  Why do we not see or hear about demons in our day?   When was the last sermon you heard preached in your church on demons?  When was the last time you saw someone with a demon and you or others in the name of Jesus cast out the demon?  Have we gone so far that we no longer believe in demons?  Have we begun to call them by new names, names that fit better into our modern times?  If we, you and I, were confronted with a demon living in someone we loved, would we have the belief to cast it out?  Have they just gone away, or are we so lost that it is easier to live among the demons?  To have them in our Churches and our homes, and not run to Jesus, the only one who has authority over them?  

 

As you can see, I have a problem. I do not know where they went, but I believe they're still with us.  I believe they live in our governments, in our schools, in our churches, and in our homes.  I believe they are destroying many, and a few of us believe they are real.  What would happen if our pastors began to call things what God calls them?   Would the demons fear?  In James 2:19, we are given this account of what the demons fear: “You believe that God is one; you do well.  Even the demons believe and shudder!” 

 

Is our problem with demons the same problem we have with the Word of God? It just does not fit into our society.  So, we sit and let men and women who are evil steal from us our rights and the freedoms of our children and grandchildren.  We have unbelief, and so we do not pray, and we do not confront, and the reason is, we have left our first love.  Do we have a worldview that is closer to demons than it is to God’s word?

 

Let me share a few examples:  Focus on the Family Action published the following: “Last year, a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives to acknowledge that preborn babies feel pain, and to protect them from agony as much as possible during the killing process.  Not even a dog or a cat would be “put down” legally in such a painful way.  As drafted, the bill would provide women seeking an abortion a brochure stating that there was “substantial evidence” that her baby would experience pain during the abortion.  The House actually voted in favor of the bill by a vote of 250 – 162, but a two-thirds majority was required for its approval due to the rules of debate.”  And you ask, “Where have they gone?” No one but a demon from hell would put the value of a dog or cat above the value of a child.  But in the church today, many “love” their dogs and cats more than the child next door.  One more example from “Focus on the Family Action: “Now a shocking new development has occurred.  Liberal Democrats in the Senate have introduced a bill to override the Supreme Court’s decision on partial-birth abortion and to outlaw any measure designed to restrict abortion in any way.  On April 19, one day after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on partial-birth abortion, the usual cadre of pro-death legislators – Senators Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Chuck Schumer, and others – introduced a bill entitled the “Freedom of Choice Act.”  If passed, this bill will bar any state from limiting abortion in any form or fashion, including bans on partial-birth abortion, parental notification, or any other type of life-affirming protection.”  If you and I would just believe the Scriptures, in Ephesians 6:12, we are told, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”   Our battle is not with the Senators listed above, but I do believe they are oppressed or possessed by demons, why else would they willfully desire the death of babies?  

 

“Where have they gone?” Open your newspaper, watch TV, and listen to the marketplace.  They are all around us, and they live in many of us. We learned to call them new names, and we have tried to come up with drugs to cope with them.  I believe they are in our Churches, in our Families, in our Governments; they are the unseen, and they are unacknowledged, and they are doing what the Scripture said they would do.  We are told that they are liars, murderers, and deceivers, and that they have one goal: to steal and destroy.  So, I am asking each of you where they have gone. I know they have gone from the mouths of most of our preachers and most of the teachers.

 

In the last week, we have seen them in Action; they are very much alive in the actions of Hamas in killing babies and mothers, and children in Israel.  And we call them bad people, yes, but only a devil from hell or a demon-controlled person would do such a thing.  How lets us bring it up to 2025, and we have a black man who I believe is controlled by a demon, he broke into a home, tied up an elderly man and his wife, set the man on fire, stabbed both of them, and then tried to burn down the house. He has not been caught.  Last week, we had a Mexican man cut a young lady's throat and kill her on a bus, and it was reported that he said I just killed a white woman, and you say he is sick or evil, no, he is controlled by the devil.  And the person who killed Charlie Kirk is also a demon controlled.  It is time to call things what Jesus does.​  And yes, I do have a current event of a white person who has killed someone, that is,  they did not know, but all of these shootings in schools, I believe, are also demon-controlled people.  You, Preacher and teacher, may not like the truth, but that does not change the Truth.

 

 

From ​our Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

Living like Jesus tells the truth.  Because He is Truth

Crossing the Red Sea

 

Exodus 14:1-9

 

September 2, 2024

 

Crossing the Red Sea

Then the Lord said to Moses,  “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea.  For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’  And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”  So, he made ready his chariot and took his army with him,  and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.  And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly.  The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

As one who is a follower of the Lord Jesus, much is to be learned about God’s leadership.  Back in chapter thirteen, we know they were very close to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We find that promise to be confirmed to Jacob in Genesis 28:13-15,  “And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, 'I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, I will give to you and to your offspring.  Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.  Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

And 430 years in slavery, they were dressed for war, but their hearts and minds were a long way from being warriors.  So, they move around in the wilderness, and now God’s ready to once more show them who is leading them.  You might think they would understand after the 10 plagues and the blood on the doorpost.  But are we that much different than them?  God, who does not change, the culture changes people’s hearts, harden and turn away from God, and they begin to act like they are in charge.  The only thing God desired was that the Egyptians should know that I am the Lord.”   His desire for you and your nations is that you will know He is the Lord.  Do you understand, John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” 

Your Creator loves you and desires to have a relationship with you.

From our Back Porch,

Bob Rice

 

Pillars of Cloud and Fire

 Exodus 13:17:22

 

September 1, 2024

 

Pillars of Cloud and Fire

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.”  But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle.  Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.”  And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness.  And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.  The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

We human Critters are often discouraged by challenges. In my career, one of my tasks in my job was to be a resource to DuPont in the Electric Markets Division.  They wanted the plant they had in East Germany to change to 3 M terminations and asked me to contact the head engineer.  She happens to be a woman, and she let me know that it was not fun making those kinds of decisions.  She said, Under communism, we had a committee that did all of that. I do not like all this freedom.  The 40-plus years under communism had, I’m sure, not been that great, but having to be responsible was not to her liking.

 

Now it has only been a few days since slavery, God, who is all-knowing, knew they would not fight for freedom and the promised land; they would choose captivity over freedom.  Neither you nor I can imagine 430 years under Egypt's rule and its little gods.  They needed the wilderness to allow them to know who they were following, and it was God, not Moses. 

 

But God began to show them He would lead, by using a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  After reading the Scripture and looking for an application, this thought came into my small thinker: has God had to take us through the wilderness so that we could learn that He is God and not us?  If I began to share the many lessons I have experienced, some very painful and costly, to become the person I am today. Now I’m still a mess, I have not arrived, nor has anyone, so worship God, and you be on the right path.

 

Today’s sermon was titled “Make Room for Jesus.”  Jesus will not stay in a closet; He wants access to all of your life.  My Pastor quotes Blaise Pascal on how to begin hearing from and seeking God.  “All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.”  I’ve found that when you do so seeking Truth, you will leave the room with a fresh understanding of how to go about the day.

 

Paster Ray shares about his basketball Coach, his senior years, in a very important end-of-the-year game. The coach called the three seniors back after giving instructions to the team, and asked, Do you want to win, It was a very close game with little time left to play.  They answered yes, coach, and his reply was Go do it.  His point was Do you want a closer walk with Jesus? Then go do it.

 

From our Back Porch,

Bob Rice

 

 

 

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

 

Exodus 13:3-16

 

August 31, 2024

 

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.  Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out.  And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month.  Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord.  Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory.  You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’  And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.  You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.

“When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you,  you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord's.  Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it, you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.  And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.  For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’  It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

Before reading this Scripture, my thoughts went to how a culture that was foreign to your fathers would have an effect after 430 years?

The first Feast of Unleavened Bread, I bet, was one great praise time to the Lord.  But freedom comes with responsibility, and one who has been in slavery may not be all that reasonable.  It has been a long time since Jacob, Joseph, and the God that they serve have not changed, but the people have changed.  When God appeared to Moses in that burning bush that was not consumed, do you recall He told Moses to take off his shoes, for He was on Holy Ground.  We get a glimpse of God using a shepherd to lead a people out of captivity, into freedom, both physically and spiritually.  Jesus came to earth to do the same thing, but His was to change your and mine eternal destiny.  

As we keep reading, we will come to understand that it will require this mass of people to look to the God with whom Moses and Aaron have a relationship.

 My parents and their grandparents, if they were able to see this amazing technology we enjoy today, they would talk about culture shock.  But I believe that would not be the biggest shock.  I can only imagine the Culture Shock of the moral and spiritual decline they would witness.  Now, could this happen, by the lust for more?  Jesus was very clear that a person cannot serve God and money; you will love one and hate the other.  Our great-grandparents understood money was not evil; it was the lust of money, and it was replacing a person's need to seek God. When more becomes our focus, other things take a backseat, like bringing up a child in the fear of the Lord. Often, the family seeks the urgent and leaves the important.  In my short 82 years, I have witnessed many who go by the title of Christian, putting more before all else, and without the knowledge from Scripture, have let the more lead them into being a slave to the lender.  Here is where we are as a Nation: Credit card debt reported as of August 26, 2024, 4:00 am. Americans are racking up credit card debt as they struggle to keep up with the cost of living, and experts say those who earn the least are the hardest hit. Total credit card balances rose 5.8% from a year ago, to $1.14 trillion, according to a recent New York Fed report.

When people put stuff, the more they move into Slavery.  God has not changed, but we have moved from His authority to looking to government, and self; neither can lead you out of the Egypt you have entered.

One of the best investments today is a storage building, it is where people put stuff they are tired of, but may still be paying for it, and so they pay more to keep stuff that they could have given away and help a young couple or person in need.  And we say we do not worship stuff.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

 

Consecration of the Firstborn

                                                                    Exodus 13:1-2

 

August 30, 2024

 

Consecration of the Firstborn

The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”

In biblical times, the firstborn was given certain unique rights, responsibilities, and privileges. A married couple’s firstborn male child was given priority and preeminence in the family, and the best of the inheritance. The nation of Israel is identified as God’s “firstborn” in the Bible.  In Exodus 4:22, “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, “  And in Jeremiah 3:9, “With weeping they shall come, and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back, I will make them walk by brooks of water,  in a straight path in which they shall not stumble, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”  In other words, Israel held a special place of privilege and blessing among the nations.

 

As a point of clarification, the term firstborn in relation to Jesus does not suggest that He is a created being. The Son of God has existed for all eternity along with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is fully God (John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.“  He took on human flesh so that He could become our Savior to serve as the Mediator between humankind and God (1 Timothy 2:5). ^“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”

When Scripture refers to Christ as the “firstborn,” the message is that Christ’s supremacy, sovereignty, and priority extend over all things and all other beings.  Taken from “Got Questions”.

 

I was the third born, does that mean I am not important to Jesus?  All I have to do is go to John’s gospel and read chapter 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

 

So how can we apply this Scripture to life on Planet Earth? It is eternally important to understand that God loves you, He formed you in your Mother's womb, and number your days before one of them happens.  And many who have by faith in Him invited Jesus to come into our lives have, by that choice, become the number 1 enemy of the devil and His angels.  But we have so many promises from our Lord and the Father, one that is so important is how we are wrapped in the Father and Jesus, found in John 14:20,  ^“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”   Another one that we often wish He had not said is John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”  

 

I am also happy that Jesus has given us the ability to set our minds, and this is counsel I often need, to keep my eyes on Jesus, not on this world, to see His peace and not the garbage of the world.

 

From our Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

 

 

Institution of the Passover

 

Exodus 12: 43-51

 

August 29, 2024

 

Institution of the Passover

And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him.  No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it.  It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones.  All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.  If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”

You will find that in Psalm 34:20, “He keeps all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.”  And the fulfillment is found in John 19:36, “For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: 'Not one of his bones will be broken.”

 All the people of Israel did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.   And on that very day, the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.

Often Scripture foretells us about the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, the Messiah.  In Exodus 12:5a, “Your lamb shall be without blemish”, the Lamb of God would be pure without blemish.  John the Baptist, seeing Jesus come to the Jordan River, makes this statement in John 1:29, “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Both the Old and New Testaments speak of the Lamb of God.  Isaiah 53:7, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”  This was a prophecy of Jesus' crucifixion. 

 

1 Peter 1:18-19, ^“knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

 

1 Peter 2:22, "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth.”

 

Revelation 6:15-17, “And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave, and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

 

Revelation 13:8, “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice
 
 

 

 

 

The Exodus

                                                                

 Exodus 12:33-42

 August 28, 2024

 

 The Exodus

The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.”  So, the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders.  The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing.  And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians so that they let them have what they asked. Thus, they plundered the Egyptians.

And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.  A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds.  And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years.  At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.  It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so, this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.

 

I hope you and all the people who read this understand that it was not Moses or Aaron freeing the people; it was all God.  It was God who gave them favor in the sight of the Egyptians, to give them anything they asked for.  This question, why then do we not go to God to win the favor of our neighbors, fellow workers, and others?

 

“ A mixed multitude also went up with them.”  I wanted to know who these people were, and after searching, I came to the conclusion that no one knows..  This is what the Smith Bible dictionary had this to say: “When the Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, the first stage of the exodus from Egypt, there were with them a mixed multitude." ( Exodus 12:38; Numbers 11:4 ) They were probably the offspring of marriages contracted between the Israelites and the Egyptians; and the term may also include all those who were not of pure Israelite blood. In Exodus and Numbers, it probably denoted the miscellaneous hangers-on of the Hebrew camp, whether they were the issue of spurious marriages with Egyptians or were themselves Egyptians, or belonged to other nations.”

 

Today, our brothers and sisters in Christ in Israel are involved in a war.  Are you asking God to give them victory and favor with the neighboring countries?  You, like me, who live in the USA, are seeing a media that looks like the one in Russia and China, government-run, full of lies, and the Biden and Harris handlers are the source of those lies.  The many agencies that are lying and attacking anyone who is a SEEKER OF TRUTH.

 

One must ask if God is aware of this evil, and the answer is 100% yes.  God often allows evil people to bring judgment on His people when they go after the little gods of this world.  It has been a long time since we were subject to England, it has been a long time since WW1 and WW11, when we saved Europe from slavery, and yes, we also fought the Communists to keep some of Korea free.  And Vietnam, where we lost over 50,000 people with no will to win.  I’m very sure that if invaded, we will not see Europe coming to our defense; our only hope is God. 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice