Week 9 Tuesday
Today Egypt deals with more plagues, David resolves to watch his tongue while wrestling with how fleeting life is, and Jesus teaches us that however we read the signs of the times, watchfulness and prayer are always the right response.
Exodus 9
📖 What are we reading?: Three more plagues fall on Egypt - livestock disease, boils, and a devastating hailstorm.
✞ What does this passage say about God?: He is engaged in a direct contest with the gods of Egypt, and His power prevails every time.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live?: Even as Pharaoh's own officials begin to fear the Lord's word (verse 20), Pharaoh himself hardens his heart again. Let's not let familiarity with God's warnings dull our own response to Him.
Looking for some extra info?
➡️ The bigger picture: Exodus, meaning "departure", was written by Moses around 1400 BC, and tells of Israel's miraculous deliverance from slavery in Egypt - a rescue Israel was called to remember for generations, and a picture of Christ's greater deliverance from sin.
Psalm 39
📖 What are we reading?: David resolves to watch his words, then reflects on how fleeting and fragile life is, slipping into near despair - yet still holding onto God.
✞ What does this passage say about God?: God is Saviour, and sometimes rebukes His children in love.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live?: Verse 1 is a practical resolution worth adopting ourselves - to watch our ways and guard our tongues, especially when life is hard and we're tempted to speak rashly. Like David, we must call out to God in spite of how fleeting and difficult life is.
Looking for some extra info?
➡️ The bigger picture: The Psalms is a collection of 150 poems and songs, written by David and others, expressing the full range of human emotion in response to God and to life.
Luke 21:1-38
📖 What are we reading?: Jesus commends a poor widow's offering, predicts the temple's destruction, warns of wars and persecution to come, and closes with a call to stay alert and pray.
✞ What does this passage say about God?: He is sovereign over history itself - nothing here catches Him by surprise, and He promises that His words will never pass away (verse 33).
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live?: There are various views on the timing of the events Jesus describes here. Whatever our view, we're all called to "be always on the watch" (verse 36) and pray, so that we're not caught unprepared, whether by the upheavals of history or by His return.
A Prayer for the Day
🙏Lord, You are our hope in a fleeting life, and Your word never fails. Teach us to watch our words as David did, and to watch and pray as Jesus calls us to, ready for whatever You have planned. Amen.
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