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V16 -17 – Who is like the Lord? Mighty in power?

Moses and Aaron just strike the ground and the dust turns into gnats. Just imagine that. Our God is mighty in power, awesome in splendor.

Exodus 15:11 NIV – Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

In this part of the song of Moses and Miriam, they exclaim after seeing all the signs that God has done that there is no one like the Lord. No one like him in all the earth and in the heavens. He fills everything and is all in all.

V18-19 – Though they had been stubborn, the magicians now acknowledge that this was God. They could no longer compete with him. And they start realizing that they are dealing with one who has much power than them. In fact, they even tell Pharaoh this.

But Pharaoh continues to remain stubborn. This shows the extent of the stubbornness of the heart, that even though He sees what is happening, his heart still remains hard. In times of pain and trouble, people should seek the Lord and realize their need for him. But unfortunately, many, like Pharaoh here, do not respond to the Lord and still harden their hearts.

God gets all the glory even in this plague because the magicians now admit that this is God.

V20-24 – The Lord still says the same thing – Let my people go so that they can worship me. And this time, God clearly sets out a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites in that the flies would not be in Goshen where the Israelites live. The purpose of this was so that Pharaoh would know that the Lord was present even in the heart of the land. God is very clear about making himself known to all men and He does that here.

God is present in our land, even in the heart of our countries and He seeks to ensure that all people know Him. His purpose is for all to feel his love and power. That they would recognize that they need him. We must recognize our need for God and draw close to Him.

Joel 2: 12-13 GNBUK – “But even now,” says the LORD, “repent sincerely and return to me with fasting and weeping and mourning. Let your broken heart show your sorrow; tearing your clothes is not enough.” Come back to the LORD your God. He is kind and full of mercy; he is patient and keeps his promise; he is always ready to forgive and not punish.

I see a lot of similarity between what Moses and Aaron does in giving this warning to Pharaoh and how Jonah gave the warning to Nineveh. In both, God promises punishment if his word is not heeded to. But the difference was in their response. Pharaoh’s heart remains hard but the people of Nineveh are very quick to repent and fast, even up to their animals.

And the Lord did not destroy Nineveh. But He continues to punish Egypt and in the end, will receive all the glory.

V25-32 -Pharaoh gives in for a moment but says that they should offer their sacrifices to the Lord in the land of Egypt.

But Moses and Aaron knew God’s command. They were to take a three day journey and sacrifice to the Lord in the wilderness. And so Moses and Aaron insisted on that. They were not tempted to change God’s instruction. They were careful to obey every bit of the word given by God.

This is a warning and is a great example given to us. Do not twist God’s word. Obey and follow it as it is. If He commands me to do something, I must not twist it but do exactly what He says.

And I must not be lazy about it. I must know that there is not much time and so I must take every opportunity He gives me to do as He instructs in every of my life. Because I only have but a certain set number of days on earth to make decisions that will impact eternity.

Ephesians 5: 15-16 NIV – Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Psalm 139:16 NIV – Your eyes saw my unformed body;  all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

John 9:4 NLT – We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work.

Pharaoh agrees to let them go but says they should not go too far.  And Moses warns him not to lie to them again. But that’s exactly what Pharaoh does. He lies to them and by so doing continued to heap God’s anger on himself.

Romans 2:5 NLT – But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

We cannot mock God. He is not man. He asks that we draw closer and He promises that He is ready to fill us with his Holy Spirit:

Isa 44:3 NKJV – For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring;

Psalm 81:10 NIV – I am the Lord your God,  who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

And the Lord indeed says this in that chapter of Psalms, in a wishing voice as we see in the verses before and after the above verse:

Psalm 81:6-16 NIV –  I removed the burden from their shoulders;  their hands were set free from the basket.  In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud;  I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Hear me, my people, and I will warn you—    if you would only listen to me, Israel! You shall have no foreign god among you;  you shall not worship any god other than me. I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. “But my people would not listen to me;  Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.  “If my people would only listen to me, if Israel would only follow my ways, how quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!  Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever. But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

And again, He says:

Revelation 3:18 NIV – I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Let us not delay any longer. Let our response be like the Psalmist:

Psalms 27:7-8 NASB 1995 – Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and answer me. When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O LORD, I shall seek.”

(Help me father against delayed obedience. I must not be slow to obey you. Help me father to make most of the time you give me.)

V1 – The Lord says it again… Let my people go so that they can worship me. Worship is to be given to the Lord. It’s our sacrifice to Him, our utmost devotion to Him and our utmost submission before his presence. God’s purpose in setting the Israelites free is so that they can freely worship him and given him their utmost devotion. But am not sure the Israelites ever got this properly. Theirs became a struggle where God would have to continuously remind and reproach them because they would move away.

While it holds true that the Lord was going to set them free and take them to a land of milk and honey as He had promised, that was his part which He was going to do and He did not need the Israelites to do anything really. And He would indeed bless them and increase them. And true to his word, God did all these things.

But for God, it is very clear from the beginning that He was setting them free and out of slavery so that they would worship Him. His purpose was to make sure that they have the freedom, time and all they needed to worship Him.

I find myself straying because I forget that He has set me free for his glory. He has set me free so   that I can worship Him — worship him by utmost devotion and fear of Him in all areas of my life. In his mercy, He also has given his spirit, the Holy Spirit, who is to help me to accomplish this according to how God desires.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NIV – Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

Isaiah 43: 6b- 7 NIV – Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth—everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.

Isaiah 43:20-21 NIV – The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen,  the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

Psalm 29:2 NKJV – Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV – So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

(Lord, keep me in a place where I understand that you have set me free so that I can worship you. That I can give my utmost devotion to you, my God. And while it’s true that you will bless and increase me, that is not the end in itself for me. The purpose of setting me free is so that I can worship you and give my utmost devotion and obedience to you. Help me by your spirit to do this.)

V2-7 – The plague of frogs comes and there are frogs everywhere, they even jump into ovens. That was extraordinary. The frogs were jumping on people and were even on the Egyptians’ bed.

And the magicians were also able to do the same. But clearly, there was still a distinguishing aspect. Because even though the magicians were able to make frogs come up on the land, this time Pharaoh noticed the immense nature or numbers of the frogs that had come up when Moses and Aaron raised their staff. And his heart, unlike the previous times, now started to feel God’s power. He must have started realizing that this was not ordinary.

And therefore even in this plague, the Lord still gets all the glory!

V8-14 – Pharaoh humbles and ask for help. He is now willing to let the Israelites go. And Moses says that indeed the Lord will take away the frogs and the Egyptians will know that there is no one like the God of Israel.

And the Lord heard the prayer of Moses and Aaron and the frogs. They had been so many such that they were piled in heaps and the land smelled. So the Egyptians were clearly able to see that the frogs came abruptly and all died abruptly. No one apart from the Lord could have done that. And they saw it. They could not deny it.

The Lord was indeed glorified through this plague.

V15 – Pharaoh hardens his heart again, He became stubborn. And the Lord had said all this would happen. And He was going to reveal his mighty power through Pharaoh’s hardness of heart.

But, note that God saw the humility of Pharaoh at first and He took away the plague. I think this is what most of us do. We harden our hearts as soon as God takes away the trouble we had or the pain we faced. God’s goal is always that we would come closer to him but immediately He takes away trouble, we make our hearts stubborn again. And we thus continue stirring up God’s anger.

Romans 2: 4-11 NIV – Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.

May the Lord help us.

V1-2 – God says He will make Moses like God before Pharaoh and Aaron like Moses’s prophet. This scripture section is very critical in showing who a prophet is. As we shall see here in the story, Aaron would do what Moses commands, and remember that Aaron was the spokesperson. I clearly see therefore that the prophet is a spokesperson but in addition, is God’s servant to do whatever God wants to do for his purposes.

This is an important lesson. A prophet of the Living God does not operate from himself/herself. The prophet is God’s tool to be used for God’s purposes and in all things, the prophet’s actions will glorify the one who sent/sends them.

V3-5 – Pharaoh’s response to Moses and Aaron the first time they went to Him was like a mockery. He had said in Exodus 5:2 NIV:

Exodus 5:2 NIV: “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”

Pharaoh and the Egyptians did not know the Lord and did not honor Him as God. And so the Lord here tells Moses that He will harden Pharaoh’s heart and raise his powerful hand over them and they will know that He is the Lord.

The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart therefore was because of his lack of acknowledging who the Lord is. This was also the case for the Egyptians. And so God would reveal himself to them powerfully. He will reveal that He is the creator of all and the all-powerful God. He would do it for his glory.

I see here that the hardening of the heart and the subsequent punishment comes because of rebellion and stubbornness toward God. And this same script happens a lot throughout scripture. For example, the Israelite nation would get punished many times because of forgetting the Lord their God. When they acted in rebellion, the Lord would leave them and they would thus suffer pain but before that, God would keep asking them “return to me.”

Does the Lord have to go to the extent of letting me experience pain so that I can listen to Him?

What eventually happens to those who refused to acknowledge and obey God? They die. Why? Because that is just what sin is and the wages of sin is death. Sin is rebellion against God and that breeds death.

Ephesians 4: 17-18 NIV – So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

V6-7 – God uses those who obey Him. And note that God is using Moses and Aaron in their very old age. God has no limit as to the age his servants are because He is not defined by time.

V8-13 – Pharaoh would demand for a miracle from Moses and Aaron. He was testing to see what God this is. Moses and Aaron perform the miracle but Pharaoh’s sorcerers and magicians do the same thing.

However, even if they do the same thing, God still glorifies himself by making Aaron’s snake swallow the other snakes. He stamps his power and authority over these other false powers.

But even after being shown the miracle, Pharaoh’s heart is still very hard just as God has predicted. The goal of asking for the miracle was not to obey but rather to test God. If it was in his heart to let the Israelites go, He would have let them go even without any miracle. The command from God was clear and no extra thing was needed for Pharaoh to Obey God. And that is why God would do it forcefully. As seen in the later chapters of Exodus, even when Pharaoh let them go on that night of death, He later followed them and wanted to capture them back. Why did He do that? Because He was never ready to obey God.

We do not need any extra thing to obey God. He does not have to convince you in any other way. His initial word and direction is enough. Listen and obey!

I Samuel 15:22 MEV – Samuel said, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Obedience is better than sacrifice, a listening ear than the fat of rams.

V14-18 – God’s message remains clear – Let my people go so that they can worship me in the wilderness. All the miracles and signs will accompany the message which remains clear. They are not the message. They are not the end in themselves. They are tools that God will use to ensure Pharaoh will know that He is the Lord.

V19-22 –  And the Lord greatly shows his power because not only does the water in the Nile become blood but all other water that was even in the bowls in Egypt turned to blood.

That’s astonishing. It happened instantly at that moment everywhere in Egypt. That was the superiority of God’s power. Because the magicians were called and they too turned the water into blood but could they turn all water into blood, even what was in the bowls and instantly?

No, they couldn’t.

V23 – Pharaoh returned to his palace and continues to harden his heart. In fact, He put the whole thing out of his mind.

This is how hard hearts behave: they put God’s word out of their hearts and forget it about as if nothing had happened. You see, Pharaoh indeed heard God’s word, over and over but it did not do anything in his heart. His heart remained hard and He never repented.

The Lord warns us against this hard heartedness where God’s word does nothing in our lives yet we indeed hear it.

James 1:23-27 NLT – For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

Do not live as if you have not heard his word. Live a honest life before God, readily and willingly obeying his word.

V1 – David comes to the Lord asking for justice. He cries for help and asks God to pay attention because He prays from a sincere heart. He is talking about sincerity when coming before the Lord.

Coming with an open and sincere heart before God matters. It is going before Him in truth. And these are the kinds of worshippers He wants. As He said:

John 4:24 NKJV – God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

And He has also said:

Hebrews 10:22 NIV – Let us draw near to God with a SINCERE heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

What does sincerity mean when coming before God?

Sincerity is the quality of being free from pretense, deceit, or hypocrisy. Don’t come before God thinking you can hide other things from him and tell him others. For example, you and I can’t come to God hiding your sin and ignoring it, regardless of what He has said in his word, and then come asking for anything. We can’t come before him asking for material things/healing/ and what we perceive to be important and not be ready to bring our hypocrisy before Him. We can’t come before the Lord hiding our disobedience to his word but asking for him to use us.

When we come before the Lord, we must be open — our hearts are ways must be open to Him. Because regardless of whether you acknowledge your ways or not, He still knows everything about you and nothing is hidden before Him.

(Lord, I come, with an open heart, deal with me in every area of my life. Cause me to obey you and to be like you. My heart’s desire is to completely walk in your ways.)

V2 – The Lord sees those who do right. He knows them and their actions are not hidden from Him.

He knows those who are innocent. And who are these? Well, we know that every person is a sinner and without a savior, you can NEVER be innocent. The ones whose transgressions are forgiven are the ones who have accepted Jesus as their savior and Lord (master).

But after accepting the Lord, many stumble in being true (sincere) believers and Christians. We are called to be obedient children, loving the Lord with sincerity. Loving God is obeying his commands. After we have accepted him therefore, we must check if we are really standing in him or we are still walking in our old ways of sin and rebellion to God.

Apostle Paul talked about people who say they are Christians but are not:

2 Corinthians 13:5 Living Bible – Check up on yourselves. Are you really Christians? Do you pass the test? Do you feel Christ’s presence and power more and more within you? Or are you just pretending to be Christians when actually you aren’t at all?

Check on yourself!

V3-5 – There is something very profound in what David is saying here. David is saying that He has truly given his heart to God and to following his commands.

And He does not mean just outwardly, He means from the depth of his heart that He has loved God’s commands and obeyed them, to the best of his knowledge. He is saying that even in his private life, which is not seen by anyone, he has been careful to honor the Lord.

When you evaluate yourself, can you say these words like David?

In verse 4, we also note that DAVID knows that God’s commands keep him from harm – from evil and cruel people. That’s part of what God’s word does. It keeps people from harm. So you want to avoid harm? – keep God’s word.

I also see in verse 3 that God searches and tests the thoughts and the heart of a person. He looks keenly at our true motives and intentions. He looks to see if they are pure and if they honor him.

(Help me father, to honor you in my private and public life. Let me know to obey your word. Let me reminded of your precepts and your instruction to me.)

V6-12 – By his mighty power, God rescues those who seek refuge from their enemies.

The enemy fights against those who put their trust in the Lord. The enemy is murderous, always looking to kill us and our faith in God. The enemy has no pity and is boastful, He tries to track us down and is always looking for the chance to throw us down. Like a hungry lion in ambush, the enemy wants to tear me apart.

So, what can I do?

I will not lie hopeless, waiting for the attack. I will run to Him who is able to protect me. Him who is able to keep me from all harm. I will cry out to Him “only you can keep me Oh God. You can keep me from stumbling and falling.” We cry out to God because He is also the one who is able to keep us from stumbling and falling in our faith in Him.

Jude 24-25 BSB – Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all time, and now, and for all eternity.

(Father, in your mercy, keep us in you, in your love. Keep us hidden in you Oh Lord.)

V13 – The Lord will stand against the enemies of those who trust in Him by his power.

What a glorious truth, He will protect us. We just have to be under his wings.

V14  – We truly cannot look to the world for a reward. Those who do that always fail and will be destroyed. The world cannot give any reward. Only the Lord can give a true reward.

For those who trust in the Lord, their children will have plenty and they will leave an inheritance for their descendants.

V15 – The righteous will see the Lord. We have been made the righteousness of God through Christ and thus we will see the Lord.

When we awake, we see the Lord and we are satisfied in Him.

But at the same time, when we awake in heaven, we will see Him and be satisfied.

This can be understood by knowing that those who die (physically) in the Lord have only slept. They are awake beyond the grave.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NIV – Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

He is our satisfaction.

V1 – It is the Lord who keeps me safe, through his mighty power. He keeps me safe from the attacks the enemy plans against me, He keeps me safe from all the works of the evil one. He keeps me safe on the road, on the highway, on the rough road, everywhere. He keeps me safe when at home, He keeps me safe when doing my daily chores . He keeps me safe in his presence. I am hidden in him… and because He hides me, then the enemy is not able to find me. He keeps me safe.

Why does He keep me safe? Because I have run to Him, I depend on Him. No one anyone else can. He has taught me to know that only He can protect. I have come to him for refuge. I am a refugee in his camp.

He teaches me proper conduct, and He teaches me to fear Him. He gives me his Holy Spirit who reminds me of his truths that I may not forget, whether I wake up or sleep.

God is my refuge! Keep me Safe Oh Lord in you…. For you are my God and my creator. No one hides from you. Blessed are those who run to you and not from you. Blessed are those who do not quieten your voice when you speak to them concerning life’s directions.

V2 – My soul joins with David in crying to Him—- You are my master, my life is in your hands, Make me faithful to you for then I will be safe in you.

I am a servant: do with me what you want. I want to be hidden in you… doing your precepts oh God

V3 – Godly people are an example to be emulated. These are those who love his word and walk in his precepts. Those who love righteousness and hate sin, they do not love the world but keep their treasures in heaven and their hearts in his presence always. They are careful to hear his direction and to follow the path of life that He leads.

Philippians 4:9 NLT – Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Do you know any truly godly men and women? Love them and follow their example even as they truly follow Christ.

These men and women encourage us to walk with Him and to love Him.

V4 – There is nothing but trouble for anyone who drifts, is drifting or has drifted or who has always been away from God.

There is no other safe place apart from your presence Oh God.

There is no peace away from your presence.

There is no rest away from you.

There is no discipline and Godly chastisement away from God.

Having God is having everything good. Having his holy spirit is the best experience for life, it needs to be greatly desired daily.

V5-6 – The Lord is the inheritance of his people, those who put their trust in him and call upon him.

The land He has promised them and which He gives them is pleasant more than anything else human beings know. It not only flows with milk and honey from his presence but flows and produces much more than we can think or imagine. It is the unending spring of life, it is indescribable to the human mind. Those who see it long to be there,  and those who are there do not want ever to be away from it because it satisfies their deepest desires, those which they have never known. It draws them in and they sink in worship and as they worship, they burst with unexplainable radiance from God. This land is from the Lord, is in the Lord, it is the Lord. The Lord is the inheritance of his saints.

V7-8 – No one is shaken when He is in his presence. No one who has God by their side is afraid of anything. Because He has the mighty Lion, the conqueror of all Kingdoms, the one who defeats everything by his mighty power.

My soul must and shall bless the Lord my God, because in his great mercies toward me, He speaks his instruction to my heart. He causes me to hear him and to love him. Even at night, I hear his word…. “Do this..” “Don’t do that”. Even at night, my heart which is being trained in his presence questions me… “Is that pleasing to your master and Father?” “Does that honor your savior?”

My heart experiences in Him what my mind and my words cannot properly express. I revel in having communion with Him… the God of my salvation.

What does revel it mean? to take great pleasure. Revel means to take great pleasure. If you revel in something, you’re not just pleased or even excited; you’re overwhelmed by joy.https://www.google.com/search?q=revel&oq=revel&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyCQgAEEUYORiABDINCAEQABiRAhixAxiKBTIKCAIQABiRAhiKBTINCAMQABiDARixAxiABDIHCAQQABiABDIHCAUQABiABDIHCAYQABiABDIHCAcQABiABDIGCAgQRRhB0gEIMTgzOGowajGoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#:~:text=People%20also%20ask-,What%20does%20revel%20it%20mean%3F,you%27re%20not%20just%20pleased%20or%20even%20excited%3B%20you%27re%20overwhelmed%20by%20joy.,-It%20used%20to

V9 – After experiencing this, David comes to this point where He simply exclaims…. “No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. Greek version reads and my tongue shouts his praises. Compare Acts 2:26. My body rests in safety.”

V10 – He will not leave those who trust in Him and who have given themselves to Him to go to the dead. He will give them eternal life.

In this section, David is also speaking prophetically about Jesus. He would not rot in the grave but would be resurrected to Life. And this happened… He rose on the third day.

V11 – He shows the way of Life and grants us joy in his presence and the pleasures of eternal life… living with him forever. In his right hand are pleasures forever more.

Psalm 16:11 KJV – Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Psalm 16:11 TLB – You have let me experience the joys of life and the exquisite pleasures of your own eternal presence.

Anyone who thinks they know what pleasure is because of experiencing the mere joys that come from worldly things does not know the meaning of pleasure. Even I cannot yet understand the deepness of the true pleasure which is to experience Him and to enjoy his presence, Nothing can ever be compared to that.

If there is every a pleasure scale, then it cannot measure the pleasure of God’s presence. The pleasure from his presence blows that scale, and the scale itself cannot even qualify to be a the smallest value

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V14-25 – When we come to genealogies, there is a temptation to pass over them but it’s important to always remember that this is still part of God’s Holy word, given to us for our direction and for accomplishing his great purposes in us.

There are a number of things that I see in these verses as they explain some of the descendants of Israel.

FIRST

First, there is an obvious distinction between the descendants of the Levites and the rest of Israel clans mentioned here. The Levites were the priests and they were set apart for service to the Lord. As such, the Lord had said that He would be their inheritance. All these descendants of Aaron as explained here would inherit the Lord.  What an awesome privilege!!

Out of all the Israelites, the Levites had the best inheritance, the Lord!

Deuteronomy 18:1-2 NIV – The Levitical priests—indeed, the whole tribe of Levi—are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the food offerings presented to the Lord, for that is their inheritance. They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them.

Having being made a holy priesthood unto the Lord then, our inheritance is also the Lord. Our inheritance is not earthly, it is heavenly. A lack of understanding of this, or forgetfulness concerning this, can easily lead us to have desires that are contrary to God’s design. When we don’t understand this, we start craving the world yet concerning life in this world, the Lord has said that He will provide for our every need.

1 Peter 2:9 NIV – But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

SECOND

The number of clans/descendants that a person gets is not fixed, it varies per individual. God gives children and descendants according to his wisdom. For example, Reuben has 4 sons, while Simeon has 6. Aaron had 3 sons, while his son, Merari, has 2. This designation belongs to the Lord, it’s not for us.

Psalm 127:3 NIV – Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.

It is really not up to you how many children you can or will have. The Lord decides these things in his wisdom. Every human being belongs to the Lord and therefore, parents receive children as gifts from God. They become custodians and keepers of God’s work. Having this perspective greatly changes our understanding in parenting and in thinking about children.

Can we be careless keepers or custodians? No.

May the Lord help us to diligently guard and keep his gift(s) to us.

THIRD

The age of some of these people is mentioned. It is also random. Levi lives to be 137, Amram – 137, and Kohath – 133 yrs. old. It is also all God’s doing, it’s not man who decides how long anyone lives. And so, human beings are also custodians of life. God puts life in me and you and therefore, we need to be careful how we live. The Lord can decide to take his life out of a person and there is nothing that person will do.

Let us carefully walk each step in life, thinking about the Lord who gives the life and who purposed for us to be here at this time.

V26-30 – The Bible notes that Moses argues with the Lord yet it was God’s command to him and Aaron that they go and speak to Pharaoh.

The kind of arguing that Moses does is inward looking. He looked at himself as a  clumsy speaker, and as inferior and wondered how He could speak to Pharaoh.

But you see, here is the contrast, from what we have seen above. It is God who gives life and decides where we are to be at different points in time. It then means that He has placed us here for reason known to Him. Clearly, God had the purpose of using Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt but here Moses argues. He does not seem to understand that part of the reason God had created and given him life was for this purpose.

And thus, Moses argued with God his creator.

When the Lord calls to us, we often fall in this place where we forget his ultimate power over our lives, We forget that He is our maker, our creator and that He has the right to do with us whatever He wants. We argue with him yet He created us for his glory.

Isaiah 45:9 NIV – Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’?

Isaiah 45:11 NIV – This is what the Lord says— the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?

This is our reminder and may we not forget. He is the potter, we are the clay. He does what He wants with us. He orders and we obey, not the other way round. There is no use arguing with Him. When He speaks, this is how we respond:

Luke 17:10 NIV – So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty. ‘ ”

Luke 1:38 KJV – And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Remember, the Lord is good and there is no evil in Him, He is not a harsh and cruel master. He is good and his purposes are good toward us. When He commands, it is also for our good. Whatever He decides for our life is best!

PSALMS 32: 8-9 NLT – The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”

There is no use arguing against the Creator!

V1-5 – When Moses goes complaining to God, the Lord here first responds not with rebuke but with his response for what Pharaoh had said. The Lord says He will show the power of his mighty hand to Pharaoh.

But then from verse 2, the Lord addresses Moses’s doubt. Remember, Moses had gone to the Lord and protested:

Exodus 5: 22-23 NLT – Then Moses went back to the Lord and protested, “Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!”

In verses 2-5, God explains to Moses his plan and what He had promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and He tells Moses … “You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel…………… and I am well aware of my covenant with them.”

In simple terms, the Lord is telling Moses — you don’t have to complain and protest, I am the Almighty God and I have a plan for Israel and I will fulfill it. The Lord was saying that He was not blind and that He was seeing everything that had been happening and was going to deal with it.

In these verses, God is revealing himself to Moses as one who can be completely trusted because He sees the difficulties of his people. He is showing Moses that He can indeed be calm before the Lord and rest in his mighty power. He is never blind to our suffering and so — we don’t have to protest and complain and be discouraged because of the pain.

We have to understand like David and say:

Psalm 56:8 NLT – You keep track of all my sorrows.  You have collected all my tears in your bottle.  You have recorded each one in your book.

David was singing/writing this at the time the Philistines seized him in Gath. He was in trouble, He was in pain. But as we see, David had a different understanding and posture. He continues to sing:

Psalm 56: 9b-11 – This I know: God is on my side! I praise God for what he has promised; yes, I praise the Lord for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?

God was building Moses’s trust in Him and He is doing the same with us today. Paul and Silas are a great example which we can follow. The Apostle Paul and Silas were in great trouble – they were beaten by rods and severely flogged and then after that, they were imprisoned. But they did not complain or protest to God. This is what they did:

Acts 16: 25 NIV – About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Paul and Silas put their trust in God. They prayed and sang hymns to the Lord in the midst of that very difficult time for them. And as we see in the verses that follow this, God indeed had a plan to save them and He accomplished it in a great and miraculous way such that even the jailer and his family came to believe in God because of the conduct of Paul and Silas throughout this situation.

So, there are two kinds of people we see here. The “complainers and the discouraged” vs the “trusting and encouraged.”  Ask yourself, which category am I in?

I pray for you and I that the Lord God would strengthen our faith and trust in Him. That we rest knowing that He cares for us and that He knows and understands our pain. I pray that when difficult times come, He will cause us to still be thankful to Him, and to sing and overflow with trust in Him. May his perfect will be done over our lives. Amen

V6-8 – The Lord is always faithful to remind us to trust in Him. He continually gives us his word and asks us to walk in his path. This is what God now does for the Israelites here. He gives them these promises:

• He will free them from their oppression.
• He will rescue them from slavery.
• He will redeem them with a powerful arm and great acts of judgement.
• He will claim them as his own people.
• He will be their God.
• He will bring them into the land He promised their forefathers and make it their possession.

These are great promises from God, the one who lies not and who always fulfills his Word. The striking thing that I see here is that this is not a conditional promise. God says He WILL do it. He will save them and make them his own, and be their God.

This is what the Lord has done for us. He loved us, gave Jesus for us and He made us his own people. Unconditionally. He did all this for us. We are now his people. The saving work is all his—- from the beginning to the end! He has not burdened us with conditions so that He can save us. No, He does it in his mighty power — He sets us free.

Hallelujah! Glory be to the Lord who saves me and makes me his own. It is all his doing and none of me.

What is your reaction to these great promises?

V9 – Unfortunately, the Israelites at this point were the discouraged. The Lord God, creator of all things, was telling them that He will save them and make them his people but they couldn’t listen anymore.

(Lord, help us not to be so downcast such that we don’t listen to you and trust your word. Lord, without you, there is no hope for anything. I pray for all those who are here at this point right now. May you oh Lord, in your mercy, give them strength and revive our hearts once again.)

V10-13 – Moses is still having his encounter of getting to know God. At this point, Moses still is seeing a lot of problems with God’s plan. He objects and still says that He is a clumsy speaker yet the Lord had given him Aaron as his spokesperson.

What I see in these verses is a man who still does not really know who God is. He does not yet know him intimately but as we will see in Exodus, Moses will grow in his knowledge of God. He will learn to completely trust Him.

However, even though Moses still does not yet really know the Lord God who speaks to Him, the Lord still uses him. And the Lord is very patient with Him. God commands Moses and Aaron to lead the people out, whether they get the picture or not.

We are all growing in our knowledge of Him and the more we know Him, the more we trust Him and love Him. We grow in holiness, in our fear of Him, in our purity  and so much more.

2 Peter 3:17-18 NIV – Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT – Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.

1 Peter 2:2 ESV – Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—

Philippians 1:9-10 Living Bible – My prayer for you is that you will overflow more and more with love for others, and at the same time keep on growing in spiritual knowledge and insight, 10 for I want you always to see clearly the difference between right and wrong, and to be inwardly clean, no one being able to criticize you from now until our Lord returns.

V4 – Pharaoh says that Moses and Aaron are disturbing the people from their work. Remember, Moses and Aaron communicated God’s message that the people were to be set free so that they can worship the Lord. Pharaoh here is the dissenting voice against God’s message.

When the Spirit of God speaks about Good’s purposes, there are always these dissenting voices. They come up to speak negativities and try to reason against God’s word. God’s purposes include his salvation, his call for service, his call for living a holy and pleasing life and more.

What do the dissenting voices say? They say like Pharaoh “Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their tasks? Get back to work! Look, there are many of your people in the land, and you are stopping them from their work.”

They say:

• “Do you really have time for that?”
• “There is so much work to do.”
• “Here is a better more fun way.”
• “You do not have the capacity to serve God in that way.”
• “Now is not the right time. You can do it another day.”
• “Don’t you think these commands of holiness from God are too demanding?”
• “This entertainment gives me a lot of pleasure. These movies are so fun, it’s the best way to relax after the long day/week I have had.”
• “You are getting distracted from your career path. Focus on the career progression first. You can give God your time later.”
• “You don’t have the money to give to that. You also have needs.”
• “You are too tired to pray and read God’s word.”

In the Bible, here are some of what the dissenting voices said and still do:

Matthew 4: 8-9 NLT – Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Galatians 5:17 NLT: The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

V6-18 – Pharaoh decides to put even more oppression over the people saying they were lazy and that is why they wanted to leave Egypt. However, you remember that it was actually not the people; it was God’s word and instruction.

The lives of the people therefore much more harder because they now have to still meet their quota of the bricks yet they are not given any straw. It was impossible to make bricks without straw and therefore, the Israelites had to go all over Egypt looking for straw to make the bricks. The slave drivers at the same, punished and pushed them to meet the quota still. It was simply extremely hard and painful.

The opposition and the pain can become harder after God has spoken his purposes. The enemy may try to attack you even more and the temptations to sin may become even stronger. The urge to disobey therefore becomes much stronger.

When they saw how hard it had become to meet the daily quota of bricks after Moses and Aaron spoke to Pharaoh, the foremen said to Moses and Aaron, “May the Lord judge and punish you for making us stink before Pharaoh and his officials. You have put a sword into their hands, an excuse to kill us!”

It becomes so easy to complain yet God has actually meant all this for their good.

God was in the process of saving them but the people were forgetting this because of their pain.  God was setting them free but at that moment, it was not making any sense.

Their previous state of making bricks while being given straw by Pharaoh seemed much more tolerable. It seemed too difficult to persevere and wait for God’s salvation. And so, Pharaoh’s plan of seeking to distract them from even thinking about God’s salvation seemed to work. They were now focused on reducing the pain from the extra work rather than on what God had said.

There are so many times when this also happens in our lives. We get distracted from God’s purposes and God’s word by pain. And so, when the pain and difficulty gets harder, when the temptation to disobey is stronger, what should we do?

V22-23 – Moses went to the Lord and protested. He felt the pain of the people and so his trust in God’s plan was shaken. Remember, God had already spoken to Moses about all his plan to save the people of Israel. But Moses was now shaken, just like the people.

Let’s look at what the Bible says about what to do in these situations:

• Psalm 12:6-8 GOD’S WORD Translation – The promises of the Lord are pure, like silver refined in a furnace and purified seven times.
• Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV – The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
• Psalm 23:4 NLT – Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
• 2 Corinthians 2:14 ESV – But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.
• Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV – Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

And when the enemy plans these things against you, ensure you have the full armor of God:

Ephesians 6: 10-18 NIV – Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Remember, the Holy Spirit is there to help you be reminded of all God’s truth:

John 14:26 NASB – But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.

The call is clear, trust in the Lord. Trust in his plan. Trust in his word. Pray about everything, tell it to the Lord. The Holy Spirit is there to help you. Be strong!

V1 – After they talked to the people and the people now understood what God wanted to do, Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh. The message was that God wanted the people to go and worship Him.

We are set free not because being free is the end in itself, we are set free so that we may freely worship Him.

V2 – Pharaoh mocks the Lord and refuses to let the people go.

Our sins and captivities are never willing to let us go. If it were up to the flesh and the enemy, the devil, we would never be free to worship the Lord.

Thank God it’s not up to them but up to the Lord. The flesh and the devil do not have to agree, they are forced to see God’s will unfold in front of them.

Salvation is up to the Lord, He only wants our willingness, faith, trust and obedience.

John 3:16 Living Bible – For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT – God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

V3 – Moses and Aaron say that if they don’t go to the wilderness and worship the Lord, He will kill them with a plague or with the sword.

A question comes up? What happens when people refuse or do not worship the Lord as He has commanded? Why did Moses and Aaron say this?

I think it’s because they understood what happens when people fail to voluntarily (with joyful willingness, not out of compulsion) worship God and glorify Him. At its core, failing to worship is disobedience. The command from God is that we are to worship Him, serve Him and He alone is to be our God.

Luke 4: 8 ESV – And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God,    and him only shall you serve.’”

And so, when we disobey and do not worship Him willingly and joyfully, what happens?  We become these people talked about here:

Romans 1:18-32 NLT – But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

When you refuse to acknowledge and worship God, then He lets you over into your sinful and evil desires, and in the end, you reap what you deserve: death (eternal separation from Him). And out there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Romans 6:23a KJV – For the wages of sin is death…

The portion in Romans 1:18-32 NLT above has shown us how it all happens:

1. You first ignore GOD, yet He has always revealed himself to all people.
2. You refuse to give him thanks and to acknowledge him as your God.
3. You come up with your own ideas of what God is like and start creating idols. (wealth, entertainment, power, gods made of metal/wood/bronze, etc. and so on)
4. You start worshipping the things God created instead of worshipping God.
5. God abandons you to your shameful desires.
6. Your life becomes full of every from of wickedness.
7. You suffer God’s justice.

Acknowledge the Lord and worship Him. Man is bound to worship other things, including self, if He/She does not worship the true God. This happens because when a person refuses to acknowledge God, their mind becomes dark and cannot understand. They walk in darkness, coming up with their own ideas of God.

V33 – This landowner did all the initial work. He bought the land, planted the vineyard, created the press and even set protection for it. He clearly used a lot of his resources and time and is clearly heavily invested into this project. He wants to see it do well.

We understand that Jesus came to reveal God’s kingdom to us and therefore this parable must be related to God’s Kingdom. The landowner who does all this work is God. This verse shows me that God is a worker, He invests heavily and well; He ensures that the vineyard is properly built and planted. He then waits for the fruit from the vineyard.

After doing all this investing work, He gives the vineyard to tenant farmers.

In relation to us individually, God has done the work of salvation. He sent Jesus who died for our sins. Now salvation has been given freely to me. I now must work on it and produce fruit fit for the master.

V34-35 – He sends servants to get the fruit. But the tenant farmers kill the servants greatly harmed the servants.

Now the question is this: Is He wrong in expecting fruit from his vineyard? No, He is not. He deserves the fruit because the vineyard is his possession and He has worked hard for it. Everyone deserves the fruit of their labor.

As tenant farmers who have been given salvation, God directly expects fruit from us. This verse in Ephesians puts it so clearly:

Ephesians 2:10 NIV: For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

(Lord, I am merely a servant, here to do the works you planned long ago for me to do. You deserve the fruit of your labor, Oh God.)

V36 – He sent even more workers to get the harvest but He does not get the harvest, instead, his servants are again harmed. The Lord sends his servants to come and check on his people to see and to harvest the good works but all He finds is sin and death among them.

In the Israelite context when Jesus was giving this parable, He meant that the Israelites and their ancestors had killed the prophets He sent among them. These prophets were sometimes beaten, others tortured and still others killed. The Prophet Jeremiah is one example, He was tortured because of giving God’s message. The message was that the people should return to the Lord. Of course, the harvest that God expected from them is repentance.

Two very important and I would say, “primary fruits” that God expects from us are: repentance from our ways and thoughts, and obedience to his word (the Bible) and all the instructions He gives us by his Holy Spirit.

But a lot of the times, the Lord does not find this harvest of righteousness. All He finds is a people walking in their own way. How unfortunate!

• When He expects a harvest of lives that are full of prayer and fasting, He finds prayerless worldly lives that depend on themselves and not on God.
• When He expects a harvest of study in His word, He finds people who are invested in worldly entertainment… TikTok, Netflix, Instagram etc.
• When the Lord expects a harvest of daily trust in Him, He finds a people engulfed in worry and desperation about tomorrow.
• When He expects a harvest of forgiveness, He finds hearts that are full of bitterness and rage, ready to revenge anytime!
• When He expects a harvest of love, He finds hatred even among believers.
• When He expects a harvest of prayer for the government, He finds government criticizers who do not understand that God puts authorities in place for his purposes.
• When He expects a harvest of Godly children who are taught the Word, He finds children who know more about worldly things rather than God and who He is.
• When He expects a harvest of sexual purity, He finds people who are lustful, fornicators and adulterous.
• When He expects a harvest of love for Him and lives greatly growing in their love for Him, He finds  a love for the world.

Instead of a can of good produce/harvest, He finds a can of worms.

V37-39 – He lastly sent his son and this one they grabbed and killed.

Here, Jesus refers to how the leading priests and Pharisees would kill him. They hated him for how He told the truth about them and therefore would lead to his crucifixion.

In our context, the Bible speaks of crucifying the Lord again.  Here is the passage, very self-explanatory:

Hebrews 6:4-9 Living Bible –  There is no use trying to bring you back to the Lord again if you have once understood the Good News and tasted for yourself the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, and know how good the Word of God is, and felt the mighty powers of the world to come, and then have turned against God. You cannot bring yourself to repent again if you have nailed the Son of God to the cross again by rejecting him, holding him up to mocking and to public shame. When a farmer’s land has had many showers upon it and good crops come up, that land has experienced God’s blessing upon it. But if it keeps on having crops of thistles and thorns, the land is considered no good and is ready for condemnation and burning off. Dear friends, even though I am talking like this I really don’t believe that what I am saying applies to you. I am confident you are producing the good fruit that comes along with your salvation.

V40-43 – What happens to people who produce no fit harvest?

They die a horrible death because they knew what was supposed to be done and did not do it.

Jesus then explains how God has done a remarkable thing in that Jesus, who was rejected by the Pharisees and leading priests has now become the cornerstone. All who accept him are broken and their lives are changed but all who reject him are crushed and they die. What a powerful message!

The striking thing that I see here is that Jesus asked the Pharisees what they thought would happen in this scenario of the tenant farmers. And the Pharisees knew exactly what those evil tenant farmers deserved. Jesus was actually speaking about them and they (the Pharisees) directly proved that they knew what justice meant in this case.

Later, in verse 45, we learn that the reaction of the leading priests and Pharisees after they realized that Jesus was talking about them is that they wanted to arrest him. They were ready to harm him again. Remember, they always wanted to harm him and eventually they did. But that’s the amazing thing! THE STONE THEY REJECTED BECAME THE CORNERSTONE.

So, we see how the leading priests and Pharisees reacted when they were told the truth by Jesus.

Now, let’s bring in a Contrast. This passage has a lot of similarities with the story of David and Bathsheba.

David lusted after Bathsheba and took her in, slept with her and then killed her husband, Uriah. Nathan went in with a story/parable and told him about the rich man taking the lamb of the poor man. David, just like the leading priests and Pharisees in this story, knew what the right judgement was. He said:

2 Samuel 12:5 GNT – David became very angry at the rich man and said, “I swear by the living LORD that the man who did this ought to die!

But then, Prophet Nathan told him that He was the rich man in the story. How did David react when He realized He was the sinner? This is what He did:

2 Samuel 12:13 NIV – Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”

and this is how the Lord immediately responded in the same verse:

Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.

So, dear friend, which you will be when Jesus tells you of your sin? Which you will be when the master comes for the harvest? Will you be the leading priests and pharisees or will you be like David? Will you be an unfaithful tenant or a faithful tenant?

Choose! The Lord is ready to forgive and accept you but you must first be repentant.