Exodus: Marching to Mt. Sinai and Ascending the Mountain of the LORD

Naaman was a foreign pagan general. He was on nobody's list to be saved--except for God's list. Through the compassion of a little girl who justly had no reason to be kind to him, Naaman finds himself being cleansed from leprosy by the Prophet of the LORD. Not only this, but we find Naaman's heart is also changed. Many years later, Jesus refers to Naaman as proof that the good news of the LORD is not just for Israel, but for all nations. The story of Naaman should both humble us and inspire us to recognize that all people need Christ, that Christ is for all people, and all Christian's are called to bring this good news of free salvation to all we know.

If God is so wonderful, why doesn’t he just forgive everyone? This week we wrap up our study of Exodus with the story of the Golden Calf, then we see God reveal his glory to Moses more directly than any other place in the Bible. God sure is a Holy, compassionate, slow-to-anger God who is full of steadfast loyal love, but he is also just, and will by no means clear the guilty. So that begs the question: are we guilty? And if so, do we have hope? This, too, points to Jesus, and we see that through the work of Christ—and only through the work of Christ—do we get declared “not guilty”. *Note that the New Testament reference of “Unveiled Faces” is from 2 Corinthians 3:12-18, not Hebrews. The “Shine like stars” reference is from Philippians 2. You can find the class handout PDF here: https://electricsystemconsulting.com/secret All music recorded by Jonathan. Intro and outro music was played on a Seagull Merlin Strumstick Dulcimer. Interludes are a regular 6-string guitar.

What does it mean to take God’s name in vain? Does it mean we shouldn’t cuss? Does it mean we shouldn’t say “God” flippantly? How about using dark magic? Or, is there something much more profound going on? Does God condone slavery? If he had just saved them out of slavery, why would he then give them laws to condone it? We cover these and other questions about the ten commandments. Buckle up! You can find the class handout PDF here: https://electricsystemconsulting.com/secret All music recorded by Jonathan. Intro and outro music was played on a Seagull Merlin Strumstick Dulcimer. Interludes are a regular 6-string guitar.

You are a priest. That’s right, as a Christian who has been redeemed by the blood of Christ and called to faith in the New Covenant, you are a priest. You are to represent Christ to the world through your life. Peter shares this priestly concept in his first epistle, and it comes from Exodus 19 at the foot of Mount Siani, where God comes down in his Glory to make his covenant with the Old Testament Israelites. You can find the class handout PDF here: https://electricsystemconsulting.com/secret All music recorded by Jonathan. Intro and outro music was played on a Seagull Merlin Strumstick Dulcimer. Interludes are a regular 6-string guitar.

Crossing the Sea of Reeds! This week we ponder several often overlooked details in this famous story: an angel in the cloud and fire, the breath/spirit of God, and lots of language from the first few chapters of Genesis. I know I was looking for the word “gulf”, fusing that with “peninsula”, but you’ll get the picture. You can find the class handout PDF here: https://electricsystemconsulting.com/secret All music recorded by Jonathan. Intro and outro music was played on a Seagull Merlin Strumstick Dulcimer. Interludes are a regular 6-string guitar.

The blood of the lamb protects the Israelites from the Destroyer. The Passover is instituted and the reader is invited to be one of the Israelites marching out of Egypt. Everything in here points ultimately to Christ. You can find the class handout PDF here: https://electricsystemconsulting.com/secret All music recorded by Jonathan. Intro and outro music was played on a Seagull Merlin Strumstick Dulcimer. Interludes are a regular 6-string guitar.

This week we follow Moses through the second half of the plagues. We see God seals Pharaoh in Pharaoh’s own path of destruction, and God will do so in order to magnify his name and his story of salvation for his people, so that all nations will hear about Yahweh’s deeds. You can find the class handout PDF here: https://electricsystemconsulting.com/secret All music recorded by Jonathan. Intro and outro music was played on a Seagull Merlin Strumstick Dulcimer. Interludes are a regular 6-string guitar.

Today we cover the first group of plagues on Egypt. We talk about what it means for Pharaoh to harden his heart, and what it means for God to harden Pharaoh’s heart. Can a just God harden someone’s heart? Is there room for repentance? To add to it, there are 3 different Hebrew verbs all translated “to harden” with regards to the heart! Plus, there are nuances with these terms in Egyptian thought as well. Buckle up! All music recorded by Jonathan. Intro and outro music was played on a Seagull Merlin Strumstick Dulcimer. Interludes are a regular 6-string guitar.

Today we cover the Psalms which reference the Exodus, lead by special guest star Rev. Ken Hennings! We’ve talked about how the Exodus shapes the rest of the bible, and becomes what is probably the largest event which shapes the thinking of Old Testament Israelites. In the Psalms, we see the writers look back to the events under Moses and both praise God for his salvation as well as call themselves and those around them to repentance, reminding them of God’s justice and expectations for his people. God also reminds us not to rely on ourselves and what seems right in our own eyes. For when we rely too much on ourselves, God could very well give us over to our own way of thinking, which in the end not only limits us, but brings us sorrow apart from him. All music recorded by Jonathan. Intro and outro music was played on a Seagull Merlin Strumstick Dulcimer. Interludes are a regular 6-string guitar.

Today we follow the freshly commissioned Moses back to Egypt, but first we observe a bizarre story about God coming to kill Moses, and Zippora intervening with an emergency circumcision. We peal back the layers and find this cryptic story further solidifies Moses’s identity as God’s representative to institute a covenant with his people. Back in Egypt, we see God’s plan appears to get off to a rocky start, and Moses once again plunging into despair, but God is about to make his name known. All music recorded by Jonathan. Intro and outro music was played on a Seagull Merlin Strumstick Dulcimer. Interludes are a regular 6-string guitar.

Today we finish God’s conversation with Moses at the burning bush. Moses is armed with excuses, citing his weaknesses, but God has already accounted for them and simply asks Moses to trust him. God even makes Moses a snake wrangler, bringing to mind God’s promise to Adam and Eve back in the garden. We see that it’s not sinful to have weaknesses, but it would be wrong to ignore God’s instruction using those weaknesses as the excuse. In fact, God often uses the weaknesses of one of his people to make his name glorified all that much more when they trust him and obey his instruction. The clip at the end about St. Patrick comes from the page Lutheran Satire. Their YouTube page can be found here. https://www.youtube.com/c/thelutheransatire All music recorded by Jonathan. Intro and outro music was played on a Seagull Merlin Strumstick Dulcimer. Interludes are a regular 6-string guitar.

Today we follow Moses as he flees from Egypt to Midian. We discuss Moses’ identity crisis, the Priest of Midian, and the gods of Egypt. We then follow Moses to the Burning Bush where there is a whole lot going on. The mural referenced in part 3 of the episode can be found here about a third of the way down the page: https://orthodoxartsjournal.org/new-murals-at-st-john-of-the-ladder-greenville-sc/ In attendance is Pastor Ken Hennings, former LCMS Texas District President. In the future he may cover a class when Jonathan can’t attend. All music recorded by Jonathan. Intro and outro music was played on a Seagull Merlin Strumstick Dulcimer. Interludes are a regular 6-string guitar.

Today we set the scene for the Exodus story. We see there's a new Pharaoh in town and he doesn't remember the blessings which Joseph and his family brought to Egypt. He irrationally orders the murder of the Hebrew baby boys, so God uses women subvert his plans. Moses' mother saves him by building a little basket/ark and places it in the reeds in the Nile. Then a member of Pharaoh's own household saves the boy who will one day be the instrument through whom God brings Pharaoh to his knees.  All music recorded by Jonathan. Intro and outro music was played on a Seagull Merlin Strumstick Dulcimer. 

There’s a whole lot of marching going on in the book of Exodus: Marching from Egypt to the Red Sea; marching through the Red Sea; marching through the wilderness; marching to Mt. Sinai; marching up and down the mountain; and more. But through it all, God was with His people! In the book of Exodus, the central redemptive event of the Old Testament is described in vivid detail for us. Through the blood of the Passover lambs, the Lord delivered His people from slavery. This redemption becomes the most-mentioned event of Israelite history. Through the blood of the covenant, the Lord consecrated Israel as a kingdom of priests. He directed the building of the tabernacle as a place of worship and forgiveness. Moses and the elders of Israel also enjoyed the splendor of seeing God and learning the meaning of His name, Yahweh. They saw that God is not only holy but also merciful and patient. He remembers His people and His promises to their forefathers for a thousand generations. The Lord still marches with His people today and redeems us by the blood of “the Lamb of God,” Jesus Christ!