Daily Devotionals

If you’re going to create a new calendar, it has to be for a momentous occasion. Think about it: Whatever date you fixate as “year zero” needs to be an event so huge and so important that every single thing after that event hinges on it. That was the way our current calendar was developed. […]

At this point, Moses and Pharaoh have seen a lot of each other. They’ve talked in Pharaoh’s palace, they’ve talked by the Nile River, and they’ve exchanged plenty of “emotional” words. It’s time for those conversations to come to an end. The intensity of the last several meetings has continued to ratchet up. Pharaoh seems

After more than 400 years of slavery, the nation of Israel will finally leave Egypt. It hasn’t happened yet in the Narrative, but God tells Moses in Exodus 11:1 that the next time Moses talks to Pharaoh will be the last. After that, Pharaoh will let Israel go. But their departure won’t be easy, nor

A few years ago, I took my family on a vacation to St. Louis. Along the way, we stopped at Meramec Caverns, a fantastic set of caves that descends deep into the heart of the earth. When we reached the bottom, our tour guide instructed us to put our cell phones in our pockets and stand

As his back gets further and further against the wall, Pharaoh’s actions become more and more desperate. Not only has his country been devastated by the plagues, but his own advisors have turned against him, begging Pharaoh to send Moses and the Israelites away. At this point, it’s basically Pharaoh’s obstinance against God’s omnipotence. You

When you hear about the plagues in sermons, classes, or devotionals, they seem very linear. One plague moves to the next, Pharaoh resists, and there’s very little variation from point to point. When you read the story of the plagues though, you notice just how dynamic the situation is. Pharaoh is stubborn, the plagues do

Anyone who’s enjoyed a nice summer night in the South is familiar with the sound of grasshoppers and crickets scratching their legs through their night. It’s actually quite a soothing sound; to me, it signifies that everything is at peace. Sing away, grasshoppers. That might be why the eighth plague, the plague of locusts, never

After the Israelites eventually leave Egypt, they’ll have a story to tell. It’ll be one of struggle, of miracles, of faith, and ultimately, one of deliverance. But they’ll also have a story about God’s power. We sometimes wonder why God does things in a certain way, but as 1 Corinthians 10:11 points out, these things

It seems odd to me that, in the middle of an incredibly long streak about destruction and death and judgment and pain, that the Narrative would interrupt itself to talk about flax and barley. And not just for one verse, but two whole verses. In Exodus 9:31-32, there’s a parenthetical statement about the state of

Hailstorms are common in Texas. So common, in fact, that I’ve even invested in a hail blanketfor my vehicle so that I don’t have to keep filing insurance claims and dealing with dent repair centers. It’s a nuisance, but in certain situations, can be downright dangerous. The meteorologists here will routinely describe hail in size