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Moses tries to wiggle out of God’s assignment. True, setting a whole nation free is a big job. Yet the Lord assures Moses that He will be with him. When I AM is with us, success is guaranteed! Remember, the Lord never gives us a task without first giving us Himself.

The Lord blesses a daring plan to protect the future leader of God’s people. Too impatient to await God’s timing, grown Moses takes matters into his own murderous hands. He has a ways to go before becoming the Lord’s humble servant. Though fully forgiven, God’s believing people are always a work in progress.

Fearful of the increasing numbers of the Israelites, Pharaoh orders the killing of all newborn baby boys. The Lord protects these little ones through the brave actions of two midwives. May God give His people today courage to defend the lives of all those who cannot defend themselves.

“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” the Battle Hymn of the Reformation, is based on this Psalm. No matter how tumultuous the circumstances of our lives, no matter how strong the foes arrayed against Christ and His people, no matter how our enemies rage—God is with us, and we will not be overcome. Be still, and know that He is with us and is our refuge.

After the death of Moses, God commissioned Joshua to lead His people to the land He had promised them. God told Joshua to be strong and courageous and to faithfully follow all that God had told Moses. Doing that, God promised, would result in the blessings of God and sure success. So also with us. We can be bold and confident of God’s blessings in our lives as we faithfully follow His Word.

Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that the 144,000 of Revelation 14 is the literal number of all those since the time of Jesus who will be in heaven. Revelation 7:5-8 makes it clear that the 144,000 is a figurative number, representing all who are saved. That the number of those saved is not limited to the twelve tribes of Israel mentioned in chapter 7 is made clear in verse 6: the Gospel is for all people.

Josiah became King of Judah and was one of the few who sought to do what was right in the sight of the Lord. When the re-discovered book of God’s Law was read to him, he diligently sought to restore true worship to Judah. God blessed Judah while Josiah reigned, and punished the nation for its apostasy afterwards. May God graciously grant to us good and faithful leaders.

We live in turbulent times, yet we have an unfailing source of stability and calm, if only we take advantage of it. God’s faithfulness is certain and everlasting. No matter how the world around us rages, no matter what afflictions we may face, no matter our circumstances, He is faithful and His promises cannot fail. Let us cling to God’s precepts and testimonies, and we will not be shaken.

Judah had rebelled against God, and their “worship” was merely empty ritual rather than genuine worship and obedience. God told them that He has no pleasure in perfunctory sacrifices, and called them once again to repentance and reformation of their lives. He promised that even though their sins were great, He would forgive. May He also grant a true revival of Christian faith throughout our nation, which has largely fallen away from Him.

Ruth, a Moabitess and thus not a Jew, had married a Jew from the tribe of Judah. After the death of her husband, Ruth returned from Moab with her mother-in-law, Naomi, to Bethlehem, promising that Naomi’s people would be her people, and Naomi’s God her God. The Jews were God’s Old Testament people, but even in the Old Testament, salvation by faith in the one true God was open to all.

Habakkuk (630 B.C.) could be describing our world today. Wrongdoers prosper. Those in power ignore and violate the law with impunity. Wicked people hold down the righteous. But God’s response then is still the same today: He is in control. He will unfailingly work things according to His good and gracious purpose, and in His time. Have faith in the Word of Him Who cannot lie, and live by that faith.

All will eventually recognize Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, the Redeemer of fallen mankind. Tragically, however, for many that recognition will come too late, and they will die in their sins. Others, however, will come to faith in this life. They will abide in the saving truth of the Gospel, and thus be free indeed. God grant that we abide in His Word unto the end.