Do Not Be Afraid. Stand Still, and See the Salvation of the Lord: Exodus 14:1-31

Exodus 14:1-31: "1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 'Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, "They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in." 4 Then I will harden Pharaoh's heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.' And they did so. 5 Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, 'Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?' 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. 7 Also, he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. 8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness. 9 So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon. 10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. 11 Then they said to Moses, 'Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, "Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?" For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.' 13 And Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.' 15 And the LORD said to Moses, 'Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16 But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17 And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.' 19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night. 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. 25 And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, 'Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.' 26 Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.' 27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. 29 But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 30 So the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses."

This is a rather well known pericope. The narrative of the destruction of Pharaoh and his army in the depths of the Red Sea. In this reading we see the pride of Pharaoh, and we see that the old saying is true, "After pride, cometh a fall." We also begin to see in this reading from the Book of Moses, commonly called Exodus, the trouble that our Lord God is going to have with the Israelites. Pharaoh also is a picture of what the Israelites will be like after they have begun living in Canaan.

Throughout the ten plagues, Pharaoh has moments of remorse; moments where he plans on letting the people of Israel go, however, he eventually reneges on remorse. He is no exception, for after the death of the firstborn has sunk in, Pharaoh, and we are told all of Egypt with him, wonders why he let the Israelites go. His pride gets the best of him, therefore, he gathers his army to chase after the Israelites to either bring them back into Egypt by force, or worse, to slaughter them all in the wilderness, taking vengeance upon them for the death of the firstborn sons.

The same thing is true of the Israelites after they enter the land of Canaan, for they also have moments where they have great faith in the Lord God, and call upon Him, and trust in Him, but then as their lives get easier, and they don't need Him as much, they forget about Him. Therefore, the Lord God sends them oppressors, in the form of other lands enacting some kind of force upon them, until they cry out once more to God. This cycle continues throughout the Old Testament, until at last God finally has enough of them, and leads them into exile.

We can see this already in this pericope, for the Israelites, who were slaves in Egypt, and as much as they object at the present time about being led out into the wilderness to die, they did not like it in Egypt. But yet, they still claim they would have been better off staying in Egypt. Yeah, right! But God has already planned their salvation, and the destruction of Pharaoh. For this is where Pharaoh's pride has led him, to his own destruction.

This whole reading is a picture of Holy Baptism. Pharaoh and his army, represent the devil and world, all those things which lead us away from God, and into sin. The Israelites, represent the Church, that is, the people of God, who have been baptized in the holy waters of Baptism. And the Red Sea represents the waters of Holy Baptism itself. The Israelites pass through the waters of the Red Sea with the waters walled up on their left and their right, and they pass through those waters, through seeming death, to life on the other side. Pharaoh and his army, however, are drowned and killed in the Red Sea, so that they can no longer harm the Israelites forever.

This is precisely what takes place in Holy Baptism, all that is evil and sinful within us that we have inherited from Adam, and have added thereto ourselves is drowned and killed in the waters of Holy Baptism. And we emerge out of the waters alive and cleansed, and the powers of hell and death can no longer bother us forever.

Seeing the result of what the Lord God did through the waters of the Red Sea, the people of Israel believed the Lord, and His servant Moses. In other words, it produced faith. This is just like Holy Baptism, for through it the Holy Ghost creates faith in those who cling to their Holy Baptism. And those in whom faith has been created, believe and trust in God, always seeking after Him, and hearing His Word.

However, like the Israelites who would always stray from God, and would need to be led back through oppression and persecution, we too, when times are easy forget about the great gift that is placed upon us. However, through the trial and tribulation placed upon us by our sinful flesh and the world, we are again led back to the Lord God, we are reminded of our Holy Baptism, and that He has redeemed us by the precious Blood of His Only Son Jesus Christ. And having heard once again the message, we again have faith and trust in Him. Although, if we are kept steadfast in His Word, our faith is never shaken, although it may be tested and tried. For through our constant hearing of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are always reminded of what He has done for us, and continues to do for us.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Consecrate to Me All the Firstborn: Exodus 13:1-22

Exodus 13:1-22: "1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 'Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.' 3 And Moses said to the people: 'Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. 4 On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. 5 And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month. 6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. 8 And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, "This is done because of what the LORD did for me when I came up from Egypt." 9 It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD's law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt. 10 You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year. 11 And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 that you shall set apart to the LORD all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the LORD's. 13 But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, "What is this?" that you shall say to him, "By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem." 16 It shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.' 17 Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, 'Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.' 18 So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt. 19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, 'God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.' 20 So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. 21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people."

All the firstborn of Israel are consecrated to the Lord. Having celebrated this past week the Presentation of our Lord and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is sometimes called Candlemas, this reading should be especially poignant. For it is the purification rite that the Blessed Virgin under went that is a result of this consecration of the firstborn. Everyone that opened the womb must be redeemed, that is, they must be bought back from God. This was done through the sacrifices listed in the Old Testament.

But this consecration of the firstborn, really points to our Lord Jesus Christ. For He is consecrated to His Heavenly Father, and because of this, He does His Father's will. For the Christian, our Lord Jesus is called the Firstborn out of all the dead. When the Blessed Apostle St. Paul states this, he is recalling this narrative from Exodus 13. For our Lord Jesus has opened up the womb of the tomb. He is the Firstborn of out the dead, that means that all those who are baptized with the waters of Holy Baptism, also come out of that womb of the tomb. Therefore, just as He was raised from the dead, and arose out of that tomb alive, so to all those who come out of the womb of Holy Baptism, are eternally alive in Christ Jesus.

This is why the Church is often referred to Holy MOTHER Church, for she gives birth to her children through the waters of Holy Baptism. A woman's womb, is like a tomb, for inside the baby grows alive while the outside world is unaware, especially before the baby's life is detected and known. In that time, it is as if the baby does not exist, as if it was dead to the world, however, that baby is alive and growing. So it is to in Holy Baptism, for in the waters of Holy Baptism the baby, or the one being baptized, is spiritually drowned in those waters, and all that is in him from Adam, and all that he has added thereto is drowned and killed in those waters of Holy Baptism.

Having therefore killed off the sin, death, and devil that lived in that child, he is now able to arise again to a new life in Christ. On the cross, our Lord Jesus took upon Him all of our sin, death, and the marks of the devil, and crucified it with Himself, so that He could place them eternally in the grave, and leave them their dead and rotting, so that they could no longer harm us or have an eternal effect on us. Having accomplished this task He rose alive again from the tomb, and opened the womb of eternal life.

However, He did not stop there. He did not only become the Firstborn out of all the dead, who are now living. But He gave that gift to all those who believe. He made us co-heirs of His triumph. So that now we also are considered in the Father's eyes as firstborn out of the dead, and His children. Therefore, we rightly call Him Father, for He is our eternal Father. Having then been consecrated to the Lord our Heavenly Father, through the waters of Holy Baptism, we do His will, trusting in His mercy and grace, and living according to His commandments, and listening to and hearing His holy Word, which is preached into our ears to keep reminding us that we are His children, and He provides us with all that we need to support this body and life. Especially has He gifted us with forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation.

May the Lord God Heavenly Father keep you in your baptismal grace, and bring you to His home in Heaven, when your Holy Baptism is consummated at your death.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Now the Sojourn of the Children of Israel Who Lived in Egypt was Four Hundred and Thirty Years: Exodus 12:29-42

Exodus 12:29-42: "29 And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. 30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. 31 Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, 'Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the LORD as you have said. 32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.' 33 And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, 'We shall all be dead.' 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. 35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. 37 Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. 38 A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds--a great deal of livestock. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves. 40 Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years--on that very same day--it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It is a night of solemn observance to the LORD for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the LORD, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations."

The Israelites after 430 years of being in Egypt, finally start their journey back to their own land; The land of Canaan. This sojourn in Egypt was exactly 430 years, to the very day, we are told. The night of this Exodus from the sojourning in Egypt was to be held as a solemn observance to the Lord. It was kept as a vigil.

Today, when we speak about a solemn observance, we are referring to a specific way of celebration. For example a solemn Mass is a Divine Service that is sung in its entirety. This includes the readings, the creed, everything. The only exceptions being the sermon and the General Prayer, which are never sung. This solemnity may even be accompanied by the use of processionals, and the use of incense. All these solemnities are meant to increase the importance of the Service. So that everyone who participates in the celebration, may know that what is celebrated is important. Most of these solemnities center around the life and work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

These solemnities often spill over into the prayer offices of the specific day, so that at Matins and Vespers, the entire office is sung, and again, there are special activities that are done on these days. These days typically for the New Testament Church, are the Sundays and Feast days.

In the Lutheran Church the days marked as days of special solemnity include first and foremost what are called the High Feast days. These are four in number: Christmas, Easter, Whitsunday (Pentecost), and Trinity. These High Feast days are celebrated for a whole eight days, so each of these High Feasts contain what is called an octave, that is, that the feast day is re-celebrated throughout eight days, and on the eighth day the feast is commemorated. This simply means that the Collect for this day is prayed in all services up to and including the services on the eighth day. The octaves also carry the same festive atmosphere as the Feast day themselves.

The octaves for these High Feast days are: The Circumcision of our Lord, Quasitmodo geniti, Trinity Sunday, and The First Sunday after Trinity (this is why this Sunday has white paraments instead of green), respectively. The only other day in the Church year that has an octave (besides the anniversary of the dedication of the Church which is a specific day of solemnity in a particular parish) is Epiphany. This is due to the fact that Epiphany was the original celebration of Christmas, that is, the incarnation. It's octave is the Baptism of the Lord on Jan. 13.

These High Feasts are technically the only days that should be called "Feast Days," for all the other celebrations in the Church Year, are technically called "Festivals." There are both Greater festivals and lessor festivals. These Greater, or Major festivals in the Lutheran Church are: The Sundays in Advent, The Circumcision, The Epiphany, Septuagesima, Sexagesima, Quinquagesima, Ash Wednesday, the Sundays in Lent, the Days of Holy Week, Easter Monday, Easter Tuesday, the Sundays after Easter, The Ascension, the Sunday after Ascension, Whit-Monday, Whit-Tuesday, the Sunday after Trinity, Reformation Day, All Saints' Day, The Dedication or Anniversary of a Parish, The Feast of Title.

The lessor, or minor festivals include all Apostles, Evangelists, and Martyrs Days, The Presentation, the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, The Annunciation, The Transfiguration, St. Michael and all Angels Day, Thanksgiving, a Harvest festival, a Mission festival, and a Day of Humiliation and Prayer. These days may be marked by special solemnity, but the Greater festivals are always marked by special solemnity.

You will notice that certain Greater Festivals are within penitential times of the Church Year, the solemnity of these days is marked by the penitential character, and are celebrated with this in mind. This includes the exclusion of the Gloria in Excelsis, or the absence of the Alleluias, (like we are currently observing) or it may include cross and images of our Lord being covered by violet monks cloth, or the tryptychs being closed, or the absense of flowers, or the use of the organ only being used to support the choir and congregation.

And so, we can see what it means to observe a solemn occasion in the Church. The event of the Exodus was also observed in this fashion by the people of God. It was done this way, not simply because it was an important day to remember, like one remembers Independence Day, or Memorial Day, it was celebrated with solemnity because on that day, the Lord God showed His salvation for His people. For the New Testament Church, our days of solemnity are all about the life and work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is His life and work which we celebrate, which we remember. For one cannot have salvation, if one does not know our Lord Jesus. And one cannot know our Lord Jesus, unless we are told about Him. And so, throughout the year we hear over and over again, what our Lord Jesus did for us, and continues to do for; In His birth, and ministry, and death and resurrection. We also get to hear of the wonderful faith and life of those who preached and proclaimed our Lord Jesus, and of His Blessed Virgin Mother, who bore Him for us. Therefore, as we hear over and over again the life story of our Lord Jesus, throughout our lives, we come to know Him, and trust in Him and love Him, so that we learn to hope in His promises.

This is no different for the Israelites. For as they yearly, and weekly, remembered the Pascha, they were always reminded of our Lord God's deliverance from slavery and oppression. May the Lord God, ever keep us in the one true faith by keeping our ears attuned to hearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who delivered us from the slavery and oppression of sin by His death.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

It Is The Lord's Passover: Exodus 12:1-28

Exodus 12:1-28: "1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 'This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: "On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire--its head with its legs and its entrails. 10 You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 11 And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. 14 So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat--that only may be prepared by you. 17 So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. 18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread."' 21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, 'Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 And it shall be, when your children say to you, "What do you mean by this service?" 27 that you shall say, "It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households."' So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did."

Today's reading shows us a picture of the atonement. For we get to see the Passover of our Lord. In this Passover, we also see the image of the Supper that would come out of this Passover meal, which we Christians celebrate every Sunday and Feast day, that is, the Lord's Supper.

The similarities between the Passover and the Lord's Supper are striking. Obviously, they are both meals. They both offer bread and flesh (of the Lamb, representing the blood of the Blessed Sacrament). There is a particular rite that is to be followed for the meal to be valid. It is to be eaten only by the Israelites, that is, the people of God, and what was to be served was to be consumed completely by those in the family. What is leftover is to be disposed of properly. Both meals serve as a remembrance of the work of God's salvation from slavery and oppression.

And rightly these meals should be connected, and serve as a remembrance of what our Lord God has done for us, for they both picture the atonement, that is, the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. A lamb without blemish, without broken bones, which is a male lamb, is sacrificed and its blood is poured out as a sacrifice, to bring deliverance from death. Our Lord Jesus is also the Spotless Lamb, whose bones were not broken, who was male, and his Blood was shed to redeem us from sin, death, and the devil.

The blood that was put upon the lintel and doorposts, served as a mark that those who dwelt within that house, were covered with the blood of the Lamb. It was not placed upon the threshold, so that it would not be trampled upon. More interesting, is that in Early Christian symbolism, the symbol of this blood upon the threshold was symbolized by what is called a "tau" cross, that is, a cross in the form of a "T." And if one considers the lintel being the top of the "T" and the doorposts are joined close together, one can see how this can be. The point, however, is that the Early Christians, recognized the atonement, that is, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Passover. They recognized this event as the means by which the Israelites were claimed as the people of God.

For that is really what is taking place here in the Passover, our Lord God, is declaring, by the blood of the lamb, that the people of Israel were now His people. He separates them from the Egyptians, by not harming them, but only harming the Egyptians. They would now be His people, and He would teach them His commands, and how He desired to be worshipped by Him.

We too, are the people of God, we are placed into God's family through Holy Baptism, for it is in Holy Baptism that the Blood of the Lamb of God is placed upon us, symbolically through the holy water of Holy Baptism. In Holy Baptism, we are washed clean by the Blood of the Lamb, and are made the people of God, and on account of this cleansing, this Blood, our sins are passed over, and we are considered pure and holy in God's sight.

And just like the people of Israel, who in the night of the Pascha, ate the meal which both served as a sacrifice of atonement and a meal of remembrance of what took place in Egypt. We too eat the meal which is a remembrance of the one eternal sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. We eat His Body and drink His Blood, in bread and wine, and remember that His sacrifice of death on the cross, won for us salvation, and in this Blessed Sacrament, we are given forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

That You May Know That the Lord Does Make a Difference Between the Egyptians and Israel: Exodus 11:1-10

Exodus 11:1-10: "1 And the LORD said to Moses, 'I will bring yet one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether. 2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold.' 3 And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people. 4 Then Moses said, 'Thus says the LORD: "About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; 5 and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. 6 Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again. 7 But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the LORD does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel." 8 And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, "Get out, and all the people who follow you!" After that I will go out.' Then he went out from Pharaoh in great anger. 9 But the LORD said to Moses, 'Pharaoh will not heed you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.' 10 So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land."

Unfortunately, in this lectionary all of the plagues are skipped, except this last one, the death of the firstborn sons of Egypt. This death did not just apply to the Egyptian people alone, but to all their livestock and animals as well. This is done, as the Lord God tells us in this pericope, so that Pharaoh, and all Egypt with him, would know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and the Israelites.

Pharaoh did not believe that the Israelites were special, that they had been chosen by God. He believed they were just looking for an excuse to get out of their work. And perhaps he believed that if he let them go, they would not return. Of course, this appears to be the Lord's intention from all that He tells Moses. But on account of the hardness of Pharaoh's heart, that is, his unbelief, even after nine plagues that revealed that God not only existed, but that He was more powerful than any of the false gods of the Egyptians, he still refused to acknowledge that the Lord God was the true God. It seems from the reading, since the Egyptians are said to hold Moses and the Israelites in high favor on account of the plagues, that Pharaoh is pretty much alone in his hard-heartedness.

The Egyptian people seem to get it. The Lord God is the true God, and He has chosen Israel to be His people. This is perhaps why they give their silver and gold objects so readily to the Israelites, as a form of worship, or offering, to the Lord God, by proxy of the Israelite nation. That the Israelites receive the spoils of Egypt shows the return of the favor upon the Egyptians, who through hard labor and oppression, and slavery spoil the Israelites. Through this slavery the Egyptians had taken from the people of Israel. Mystically speaking this is a picture of the end times. For the Egyptians represent the harsh oppression and slavery of sin, death and the devil, and the Israelites are the people of God. This spoiling of the Egyptians is the Israelites' victory over them, and this represents the final victory that the people of God will enjoy on the last day, when we obtain our eternal victory, and our right to leave this oppressive world, and we will obtain the spoils of victory, the crown of life.

This crown of life is the crown that our dear Lord Jesus, the Firstborn of God, won for us by His death on the cross. Our Lord bore a crown of thorns, but we are given a crown of garland, which represents our eternal victory. In the same way that the firstborn sons of Egypt are killed because of the sin and unbelief of Pharaoh, so too, is the Firstborn Son of God killed for the sin and unbelief of the world. He stands in proxy for us, taking on the punishment that we deserve. We should have been left weeping and wailing, just like the Egyptian people, but our Lord Jesus takes our place, and our punishment.

We see in this two things, one, the refusal of Pharaoh to act as a proxy for his people, and two, judgment of God. For in this plague alone, God comes down from His throne to enact the punishment on the people, in all the other ones, Moses acted on God's behalf, but in this plague He enacts the punishment Himself. We see in this the picture of the cross, where our Lord Jesus acts as both the High Priest, offering the Lamb up as a sacrifice for us, and the Lamb who is sacrificed. Our Heavenly Father enacts the punishment on His own Son, for us. He also accepts the sacrifice, and frees us from the penalty of sin, having received one for all, the one sacrifice for atonement that saves all mankind from sin.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

I Will Take You As My People, And I Will Be Your God: Exodus 6:1-13

Exodus 6:1-13: "1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.' 2 And God spoke to Moses and said to him: 'I am the LORD. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them. 4 I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. 5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. 6 Therefore say to the children of Israel: "I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the LORD."' 9 So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage. 10 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 11 'Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land.' 12 And Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, 'The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?' 13 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a command for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt."

Today, Almighty God reveals Himself in a more special way than He ever did to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To the three patriarchs, the Lord God only revealed Himself as God Almighty, but now He will reveal His true nature and power. He does this in part by identifying Himself to the Israelites, by His true Name, LORD, or Yahweh, or Jehovah. I AM THAT I AM. He does this for the sake of the Israelite nation. For Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, did not need to see the great wonders that the people of Israel are about to see. No, they believed on God without seeing. And their faith was credited to them as righteousness.

He has revealed Himself to us in an even more special way, that is, through His Son Jesus Christ. He reveals Himself as the God who takes on our flesh, and becomes incarnate for our salvation. He first reveals Himself in this way to His apostles, and those who were witness to His life and work, and miracles and the great wonders that He did, that called to the minds of the people of Israel when He was alive on this earth, the great wonders that were done in Egypt to deliver the people of Israel.

Therefore, the people of Israel in Moses time and in the time of our Lord Jesus each got to be witnesses of our Lord's power, they got to see the Lord in action. And the people of our Lord's time saw that the Lord Jesus was the true I AM THAT I AM, Yahweh, Jehovah, the LORD. However, we today are more like the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for we do not get to see these wonders with our own eyes, but only get to hear His holy Word preached into our ears through simple means. We believe without seeing, just like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

However, the Lord delivers us out of the bondage of sin, just like the people of Israel at the time of Moses, who were delivered from slavery to Egypt and Pharaoh. Our Lord is just as gracious and loving to us, as He was to them. For although we must believe without seeing, He still grants us grace and delivers us through the simple means of grace.

And just like Pharaoh stood in the way of the people of Israel's freedom, the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh stand in our way of freedom from sin and death. And our Lord sends a deliver to us in the form of a man of God, the ministers of the Word, just like He sent Moses and Aaron to speak to the people of Israel the comfort words of our Almighty God's deliverance.

The Israelites did not heed the preaching of Moses. Today, there are still those who refuse to heed to the preaching of our Lord Jesus done through His called servants. But our Lord continues to send them, even as in today's pericope He continues to bolster Moses against both the unbelief of the people of Israel and their captive Pharaoh.

May the Lord God preach the good news of His promised deliverance from sin into your ears, so that by the same faith that the patriarchs of old possessed, you too may believe without seeing, and receive the grace that our Lord God desires to give to you.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Let Us Go and Sacrifice to Our God: Exodus 5:1-23

Exodus 5:1-23: "1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel: "Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness."' 2 And Pharaoh said, 'Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go.' 3 So they said, 'The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go three days' journey into the desert and sacrifice to the LORD our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.' 4 Then the king of Egypt said to them, 'Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your labor.' 5 And Pharaoh said, 'Look, the people of the land are many now, and you make them rest from their labor!' 6 So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying, 7 'You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, "Let us go and sacrifice to our God." 9 Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.' 10 And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people, saying, 'Thus says Pharaoh: "I will not give you straw. 11 Go, get yourselves straw where you can find it; yet none of your work will be reduced."' 12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. 13 And the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, 'Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when there was straw.' 14 Also the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, 'Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?' 15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, 'Why are you dealing thus with your servants? 16 There is no straw given to your servants, and they say to us, "Make brick!" And indeed your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your own people.' 17 But he said, 'You are idle! Idle! Therefore you say, "Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD." 18 Therefore go now and work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the quota of bricks.' 19 And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble after it was said, 'You shall not reduce any bricks from your daily quota.' 20 Then, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them. 21 And they said to them, 'Let the LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.' 22 So Moses returned to the LORD and said, 'Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all.'"

In this pericope we see a glimpse of the oppression of the Israelite nation put upon them by Pharaoh, and the taskmasters placed over them. We also see that Moses' task is not going to be an easy one. As the saying goes, "Things are going to get a lot worse, before they get better." This is certainly the case with regard to the people of Israel. After the request of Moses and Aaron to go three days journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord God, Pharaoh becomes belligerent, and forces the Israelites to now not only make the same amount of bricks as before, but also to now gather the straw, which was before provided for them. Our Lord does this so that He might remove any desire of the Israelite nation to stay in Egypt, and so He makes their labor so harsh, that they will want to leave.

We see the reason for the Pharaoh's treatment of the Jews, and we can really see what is in his heart from the statement, "I do not know the Lord." It was not uncommon during this time period for people to offer sacrifices to their gods, and for people to do what their gods commanded them. So this was quite a reasonable request of Moses and Aaron. We see how faithless Pharaoh is, for even if there was a shred of the fear of God in him, he would have let them go. But we see here just how much of an enemy of God Pharaoh is. In a sense, he represents the devil himself, the great oppressor and accuser of the children of God. From this we can see how when our Lord desires to draw us closer to him, the devil, and the world and our sinful flesh, drive us into further and greater oppression, so that we might lose faith in our God.

This seems to be the case with the Israelites, for after learning of why they are being treated this way by Pharaoh, who do they blame? Moses and Aaron. But in reality they are really blaming God. So it would seem that our Lord's plan to use Pharaoh's oppression to drive them closer to Himself, is not working. However, our Lord God bears the reproach patiently, for He knows that in the end, He will win the battle.

In this we see a picture of our Lord's suffering and death. For He bears the suffering and pain and shame of the beating, and mockery and the crucifixion, because He knows that He will win the victory over sin and death by doing so. In this our Lord God shows that His ways are not the ways of the world. For the world would desire to do everything the easy way, and the quickest way, with the least amount of suffering. But our Lord God suffers reproach on our behalf, in order that He might draw us to Himself.

And this is just as true for us as is was for the Israelites, for when we suffer the onslaughts of the devil, the world and our flesh, we cry out to our God, and He hears us and delivers us, by preaching His holy Word into our ears, so that we are comforted in His Word of forgiveness, and through His constant preaching to us, and by the working of the Holy Ghost through the means of grace, and our participation in them, He strengthens our faith in Him, so that we learn to bear the reproaches of the world, and the devil, and our flesh, even as He did for us.

This of course is what we mean when we talk about faith tried and tested in fire. Holy Scripture uses this illustration of fire purging the impurities out of gold. Fire purifies. It burns away all that makes us impure. But being burned is not a pleasant experience. It certainly must not be for the gold which undergoes a metamorphasis. We through this purification by the fire of the Holy Ghost, undergo a transformation as well. We are made into stronger Christians. Our faith is strengthened, our resolve is increased, so that we learn to withstand greater and greater reproaches, for we know the reward that awaits us. And it is this reward which gives us great hope to endure trouble and trial in this life.

However, the question is always raised when one reads through this part of Exodus about Pharaoh. How come God "causes his heart to be hardened?" Is God sacrificing someone for the good of mankind? It is the same question asked about Judas. How come God couldn't save him, or Pharaoh? The simple answer is, they hardened their own hearts against God. We see this today often, there are those in the Church, who through hardship, are driven from the Church. Their faith is tried and tested, and it fails. What of these people? It is a difficult thing to say, but they have shut their ears to the Word of God, they have hardened their hearts against God.

Instead of rejoicing that their Lord and God is purifying them, that He loves them so much that He cares to make them pure and holy in His sight, they respond like Pharaoh, like Judas, and like the Israelites in this pericope. They blame God, and get angry at Him. Perhaps this makes our Lord God out to be a sadistic god, playing with us like a child plays with his toy action figures, treating them harshly for his own sick pleasures. This, however, is not the case at all. Instead, He desires to strengthen our faith, and draw us closer to Him.

Sadly, there are some people who will never see this. They will always consider our Lord God to be cruel and unforgiving. It is these who in actuality do not have shred of the fear of God in their hearts, just like Pharaoh. And although our Lord God continuously is correcting them, and trying desparately to drive them down the right path, they will only continue to harden their hearts.

However, there are those whose hard hearts, will be softened, and they will listen, and they will heed the Word of God, and learn to rejoice in the reproaches that come our way. The people of Israel, did just this. Not all of them listened, and some of them we left to die in the wilderness, but a whole generation of the people of Israel, did learn to love and trust in the Lord God as their only Lord and Savior, and they were brought into the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey.

This is the eternal reward that awaits you and I as we suffer the trials and tribulations of this life. And we have to confess, that our lives are not all that bad. Our Lord gives us of His very self, every Sunday and feast day, in His very Body and Blood given in bread and wine. He even shares with us His holy Gospel, whenever we gather together to worship Him, and hear His holy Word. This is why the Church traditionally has worshipped every day, morning and evening, so that as we are purified by the fire of trial and tribulation in this life, we might find comfort and hope in our Lord Jesus' holy Gospel.

Our Lord Jesus, our Savior, suffered the all the reproaches that the devil, the world, and sin could throw at Him. And He did it all for us, out of His great love for us. And although, He allows the devil to trouble us in this life, He does not allow him to trouble us beyond our capability, nor does He allow him to completely destroy us. Even and especially when we think we are completely ruined, our Lord has us in His holy arms. The arms that He extends to all of us on the holy cross of His tormenting and death. In His crucifixion we see how our Lord saves us, for even when He seems to be completely destroyed, that the battle has been lost, He is in reality the victor. And to prove it to us, He raises Himself from the dead. In this we see how when we face adversity, and even though it may seem like we are completely destroyed, in reality, we have really gained the victory, for our Lord Jesus reveals His love and grace and mercy for us, and strengthens and renews our faith, so that we trust Him completely unto life everlasting.

May the Lord God grant you grace, even in tribulation, to see His loving gracious hand, and may He hold and protect you in His loving arms.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Israel Is My Son, My Firstborn: Exodus 4:1-31

Exodus 4:1-31: "1 Then Moses answered and said, 'But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, "The LORD has not appeared to you."' 2 So the LORD said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' He said, 'A rod.' 3 And He said, 'Cast it on the ground.' So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Reach out your hand and take it by the tail' (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 5 'that they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.' 6 Furthermore the LORD said to him, 'Now put your hand in your bosom.' And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. 7 And He said, 'Put your hand in your bosom again.' So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh. 8 'Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. 9 And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. And the water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.' 10 Then Moses said to the LORD, 'O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.' 11 So the LORD said to him, 'Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.' 13 But he said, 'O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.' 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and He said: 'Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. 16 So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. 17 And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.' 18 So Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, 'Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.' And Jethro said to Moses, 'Go in peace.' 19 And the LORD said to Moses in Midian, 'Go, return to Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead.' 20 Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand. 21 And the LORD said to Moses, 'When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, "Thus says the LORD: 'Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23 So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.'"' 24 And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him. 25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses' feet, and said, 'Surely you are a husband of blood to me!' 26 So He let him go. Then she said, 'You are a husband of blood!'--because of the circumcision. 27 And the LORD said to Aaron, 'Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.' So he went and met him on the mountain of God, and kissed him. 28 So Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which He had commanded him. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. 30 And Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses. Then he did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped."

Moses is a very reluctant preacher. So reluctant is he to do what the Lord God is sending him to do, that Moses makes the Lord angry. This anger comes after our Lord God gives Moses three signs that will prove that Moses talked to God, and the Moses was sent by God. In a sense these three signs are Moses' installation into the office of prophet. Moses is afterall the first prophet specifically sent by God to His people. Each of these signs imparts to Moses some divine power that will be useful to him in his calling as prophet. This especially makes sense when we consider that Moses has always been considered a type of Christ; he is a prefigurement of what the Messiah would be. Moses is both entrusted with the Word of God, that is, he is sent to proclaim it, like our Lord Jesus was. He is also given authority to work miracles, and in this sense he is like our Lord Jesus, who has all authority to work miracles so that by them He might lead His people out of the slavery of darkness and sin, just like Moses will use the miracles to lead the people of Israel out of the slavery of Egypt.

Each of these three signs that our Lord works through Moses in his calling, has some particular symbolism attached to it. Let us examine this. Look at the first sign, the turning of Moses shepherd staff into a serpent, and then back again. This staff is the emblem of Moses current vocation of shepherd, in putting down the staff on the ground, it symbolizes that he is putting off his old vocation. That the staff turned into a serpent represents the task that is before him, for the serpent represents the oppression put upon the people of Israel by Pharaoh. Even more than that it represents the serpent that deceived our first parents Adam and Eve. This serpant, represents the evil that exists in the world, and that is prevailing in Egypt. When Moses picks the serpent of the tail up, his former staff is now called, "the rod of God." This represents the power and authority that Moses receives from God to extinguish this serpent, that is, this evil, from ruling over the Israelite people. It also represents the fact that Moses is no longer a shepherd, at least in the sense of tending animals. He will now shepherd the people of God, by proclaiming to them what their Lord God says to them, and by protecting them from the evil oppression of Pharaoh, by doing many signs and wonders that will lead them out of Egypt, so that they can meet with God.

The second sign, is the leprous hand, which happens when Moses puts in hand in his bosom, and is cleansed again, when he puts his hand back into his bosom. In the same way that the staff represented Moses calling, the leprous hand represents that which rules and directs the calling. The bosom, is where the heart is, and it is what drives men to do what they do. It is also what drives our Lord to do what He does. He loves us, just as He loves His people Israel, and desires to rescue them. The fact that Moses puts his hand to his breast, symbolizes that he will now have the care of these people at heart. We will see this in later chapters, when our Lord God would desire to destroy the entire Jewish nation because of their disobedience, but Moses is always pleading on their behalf. The people of Israel, will become for Moses, like a baby suckling at his mother's breasts, or like a shepherd that gathers a lamb into his arms, or David bore the reproach of all the nations in his breast, or our Lord Jesus, who desired to gather Jerusalem into his arms as a mother hen her chicks.

That the hand became leprous represents the condition of the people of Israel currently. They have been tainted and made leprous in their beliefs because of their living in Egypt, and their contact with the Egyptian nation. They lost among themselves what it means to serve the One True God, and have been influenced in their beliefs by the Egyptians. It also represents their current servitude and oppression in the land of Egypt. That the hand when put back into Moses bosom came out clean and whole, symbolizes that God will purify the people of Israel, through the work of Moses, so that they learn to love Him as their God alone again. It also represents the fact that the Israelite nation will be freed from the slavery that they are enduring in Egypt currently.

The third sign is the changng of the water of the Nile into blood. This is reminiscent of our Lord Jesus' first miracle where He turned water into wine. This sign represents the authority given to Moses to destroy the gods of the Egyptians. For the Nile River was considered by the Egyptians to be the source of all life, since from it animals, land and humans were nourished by it, and were in essence given life. If Moses had power over the waters of the Nile, then he would have power over all the false gods of the Egyptians. And this would serve as a comfort to the people of Israel, for they would know that their Lord God would deliver them. These signs served as a testimony to this fact. And we shall see that from these plagues, these signs and wonders done by God through Moses, that the Israelite people would grow in faith and trust in God, and the Egyptians, especially Pharaoh, would grow in hatred toward God.

And this is why our Lord God gives us signs and wonders, so that we may have a testimony of His presence among us. This is why He doesn't just leave us with His Word, even though this in itself has power enough of itself, to free us from the bondage of sin and death. But our Lord Jesus, gives us signs and testimonies of water, bread and wine, so that we may see, taste, and feel that our Lord Jesus truly does forgive us of our sins. Through these means He graciously invites us to be His people. He calls us out of the bondage of slavery and oppression of sin and death, to be His people by these signs and wonders.

That Moses bawked at the signs and wonders, and reveals his unwillingness to do what the Lord God is calling him to do, draws the Lord God's anger. For Moses shows his unbelief. The Lord has the same anger at us, when we despise, neglect, or defile these holy signs which He has given to us by making them into something they are not. Such as, saying that they are a work of man, or that they only are symbols, and that they are not true works of God. Sadly, this happens more than it should, for people are always trying to make salvation their own thing, and not God's work. They would prefer to receive the gifts of Him on their own terms, and not on His.

Moses may have angered the Lord God, but He shows His grace, in that He allows Aaron, Moses' brother, to be the spokesman for him. Aaron would be the voice of Moses, and Moses would be the God of Aaron. This shows the relationship of the Lord God to the prophets, for the Lord God gives them the very words to say, just like Moses would tell Aaron what to say, and the prophets say what the Lord God says, just as Aaron would say what Moses told him to say. Today, the ministers of God, also say what the Lord God has given them to say, and they learned what to say from the Apostles, who learned what to say from our Lord Jesus, Who says what the Father has given Him to say. So, we see from this that our Lord speaks through the men of God, whom He sends. Those whom He has not sent, do not say what He says, instead they say what the itching ears of mankind want to hear: platitudes, a laundry list of good works to do, in order to be saved, political rhetoric, and the like, but none of it is what our Lord God wants his ministers to say.

Therefore, we must heed the signs that our Lord God has given us. We must listen to the men of God whom He has given us. So that through these signs, given out by these men, we might be led out of the bondage and oppression of slavery to sin and death, and might live in the freedom of forgiveness, life, and salvation.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

The Angel of the LORD Appeared to Him in a Flame of Fire from the Midst of a Bush: Exodus 3:1-22

Exodus 3:1-22: "1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, 'I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.' 4 So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, 'Moses, Moses!' And he said, 'Here I am.' 5 Then He said, 'Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.' 6 Moreover He said, ;I am the God of your father--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. 7 And the LORD said: 'I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8 So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.' 11 But Moses said to God, 'Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?' 12 So He said, 'I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.' 13 Then Moses said to God, 'Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you," and they say to me, "What is His name?" what shall I say to them?' 14 And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And He said, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you."' 15 Moreover God said to Moses, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: "The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations." 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, "The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, 'I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; 17 and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.'" 18 Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, "The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God." 19 But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. 22 But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.'"

Here we have the calling of Moses by our Lord God to bring His people out of Egypt. When our Lord calls to Moses from the fiery bush, He calls Him twice, "Moses, Moses." This reminds us of when Abraham was to sacrifice his son, and our Lord called his name twice, "Abraham, Abraham." Moses' response is the same as Abraham's response, "Here I am." We hear this response, or something similar, from various persons in the holy Scriptures: Isaiah, Samuel, the mother of our Lord, to name a few. This response is the response of faith. It is the response of the willing listener, who hears the voice of the Lord and heeds it; blocking out everything else to give the voice of our Lord God full attention.

Moses, too, is a willing listener. In fact even before this, he shows his faith by turning aside from the path that he was on to see the fiery bush. Upon doing so, our Lord instructs him to take off his shoes, and to come closer, but not too close. Here we see the grace of our Lord. For He invites Moses into His presence. However, on account of the uncleanness and sinfulness of Moses, he is only allowed to come so close. But there is a communal oneness that is shown in this invitation of our Lord to Moses. Our Lord invites Moses to be with Him and join with Him. And this relationship will last for the rest of Moses' earthly days.

There is symbolism also in the fiery bush itself, for bushes are different than trees. And trees show up in figurative language a lot in holy Scripture. Trees represent strength, and fortitude. The bush however, represents humility. This bush is a symbol of the oppression of the Israelites, who live lives of heavy toil. So, in a sense they are being burned up. But, just like the fire does not consume the bush, our Lord God preserves the Israelites in Egypt, so that they are not completely burned up by the oppression in Egypt. We can see in all this, that our Lord allows the oppression, so that they might be prepared for the rigors of life in the desert, which they will endure for forty years. The oppression also prompts them to cry out to the Lord God for salvation.

This is common still today, we cry out and pray to our God the most when we face oppression. Whether that oppression by because of our sin, our some sickness or illness, or because of some physical disability, or loneliness, or the oppression that comes from living in a world that either ignores God, or actively seeks to root Him out of the world, our prayers are greatest when we have struggle and turmoil. The same is true of the Israelites, their labor was hard, they were enslaved, and so they cry out to the Lord God. Here He gives us good news. He hears our cries. Just like He heard the cries of the Israelites. And after they have been prepared to meet Him, and see His wonders, and hear His Word, so that they would follow Him wherever He willed them to go, He comes to call His servant Moses to lead them out of misery and pain.

Our Lord sends us a Moses as well, to lead us out of the oppression that is caused by the slavery of sin, death and the devil. He sends us His ministers to bring us out of oppression through preaching and the Sacraments. Through these things, He purifies us, just as fire purifies, and opens our blind eyes of faith so that we might see Him through this dark world, just like fire produces light so that people can see.

We also see in this pericope the willingness of Moses to serve our Lord God. Moses, for certain, as we see in other parts of holy Scripture, will show his timidity and, one could argue, cowardess. But not here, we see the willing servant of the Lord, willing to do what He wants Him to do. Even when Moses questions our Lord by saying, "Who am I?", this is not meant as doubt. It is really no different than the Blessed Virgin Mary saying, "How shall this be?" Moses does not see what our Lord sees. Moses sees his sinfulness, and unworthyness, but our Lord sees the prophet who was born just for this purpose. Moses reveals his humility. And that is what truly makes a good servant of our Lord, is a humble servant of the Lord.

The humble servant will do what the Lord wills, because he believes Him to be his Lord and Savior. But, this is humility is not to be confused with timidity, or cowardness, for these are the signs of weakness and doubt, not the signs of strength and faith in our Lord. Moses certainly shows during his lifetime that he can be both humble, pleading the cause of the people of Israel to the Lord God who would wipe them off the face of the earth for their disobedience and faithlessness, and bold, defending the will of God, to a people who would rather go back to Egypt, than live in a desert.

Therefore, in the calling of Moses, we learn something about the men who the Lord God calls today to fill Moses' position. He calls those who, in the eyes of the world, are insignificant, just like Moses was an insignificant shepherd. He calls those who are humble, caring more for other people above themselves, desiring, like a shepherd, to lead the sheep beside quiet waters, so that our Lord might feed them with the pure milk of His holy Word. He also calls the bold, those who serve Him willing in the midst of trial and tribulation and persecution, because they fully believe that He is their God and Savior, and will do anything for Him.

May our Lord God grant and send you men of God like Moses who will defend you from the devil, the world, and your sinful flesh, and boldly preach to you all that our Lord God does for you, even when you may not want to hear the truth of His Word.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

So She Called His Name Moses: Exodus 2:1-25

Exodus 2:1-25: "1 And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. 2 So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river's bank. 4 And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him. 5 Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. 6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, 'This is one of the Hebrews' children.' 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, 'Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?' 8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, 'Go.' So the maiden went and called the child's mother. 9 Then Pharaoh's daughter said to her, 'Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.' So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, 'Because I drew him out of the water.' 11 Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, 'Why are you striking your companion?' 14 Then he said, 'Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?' So Moses feared and said, 'Surely this thing is known!' 15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well. 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. 18 When they came to Reuel their father, he said, 'How is it that you have come so soon today?' 19 And they said, 'An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.' 20 So he said to his daughters, 'And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.' 21 Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses. 22 And she bore him a son, and he called his name Gershom; for he said, 'I have been a stranger in a foreign land.' 23 Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. 24 So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them."

Today we get introduced to Moses. Therefore we have the narrative of how Moses came to be born, and how he came to be named and raised among the Egyptians. This chapter is contrasted with the first chapter, where Pharaoh was consumed with the extermination of the Jewish nation. In this chapter we are shown how God plans to deliver them from extermination. It begins with a man, a levite, who we learn from other sections of holy Scripture (later in Exodus, Numbers) that his name was Amram, a Kohathite, meaning he was descended from Kohath. He also married a descendant of Levi, one of Israel's sons, her name we learn from other places in holy Scripture is Jochebed.

We are told here about the birth of Moses, because he will become the vessel of God's deliverance of the Jews, but it should be pointed out that Moses is not the firstborn. Aaron was born before him, and in this chapter we also hear of Moses sister Miriam, who was not a little girl as is depicted in some movies, but was a young woman, since she is referred to as a "maiden," which commonly means young woman. It also referred to someone who was not married, and therefore would be a virgin, but that is another post. Aaron and Miriam, however, were born before the Pharaoh's edict from chapter one to drown all Hebrew baby boys in the River.

It is this edict that causes Moses mother, Jochebed, to hide him away from the Egyptians for the first three months of his life. It is when she can no longer hide him, that he ends up in the River, but not to be drowned, but to be saved. For he is saved from the waters by floating in a small ark. Moses is the new Noah. The one who saves his people by being saved in an ark.

The fact that Moses is drawn out of the water, which is what his name means "drawn out of the waters," also likens him to Noah. And in a certain sense is a picture of Holy Baptism, where the infant is drawn out of the waters, having received the Triune God's Name, and being saved from his sin. There is even theological meaning in Moses' name, for the one who was drawn out, will become the drawer out of the people of Israel.

Also it should be pointed out, contrary to popular movies supposedly portraying these events, that the princess of Egypt knew that Moses was a Hebrew boy, and in spite of the Pharaoh's edict (her own father) and on account of her compassion for the crying baby boy, she saves him. Moses grew up his whole life knowing he was a Hebrew, it wasn't some surprising shock years later, when he discovers a silly blanket. No thank you, Hollywood! In fact, because the sister of Moses, Miriam, follows the ark until the princess finds it, and tells her that she knows someone who can feed the child, the princess tells her to bring the person, who just happens to be his real mother. Therefore, Moses lived with his family until he was weaned, probably about two years old, and then went to live with the princess. And we can assume that the princess paid regular visits to the family of Moses to keep in touch with the lad. Not only that, but Moses mother, Jochebed, was paid to take care of her own child. Pretty sweet deal!

We also learn from other places in holy Scripture, that Moses was fully trained in all the knowledge of Egypt. This is saying something, for at that time, Egypt was the cultural epicenter of the world. It was the place where knowledge was it's greatest. And so, we see from this that our Lord God, uses the wisdom of the world to train his future servant, so that he might use the wisdom of God to thwart the wisdom of the world. Our Almighty Lord's hand is seen in all of this, from Moses birth, to his rescue, to his upbringing.

However, Moses is not perfect. He is a murderer, a sinner. Again, our Lord chooses men who according to the world's eyes are not worthy. But God's ways our not our ways. He uses the frail, the weak, the unworthy, in order to call all the other unworthy ones, so that He might make them worthy through His holy Word. And for the Israelites this man would become Moses, for he would deliver the people of God from Pharaoh.

There are a few things missing from this narrative that cause one to ponder: First, usually there was a prophecy concerning the baby who would perform great things. However, there is no prophecy of Moses, not of his birth, nor of the rescue of the Israelites. Second, we are not told how Moses was accepted into Pharaoh's home, when he clearly wanted the Hebrew boys killed. We can assume that since he continued to be raised in Pharaoh's home, that perhaps he took a liking to the boy, after all, it is said of him that he was a beautiful child. Third, we are not told how Moses maintained his faith in the One True God, in the midst of learning all the knowledge of Egypt. We are only shown that this is true in his murder of the Egyptian task master (representive of the enemies of God) and in his trying to break up a fight between two of his fellow Jews. We are told from St. Stephen's retelling of the narrative, that Moses was forty years old when this happened, so he wasn't young and impetuous, but had lived a fairly decent amount of time.

We see in these actions of Moses, his belief that he could be used by God to deliver the Israelite nation. However, his brothers did not understand it. It wasn't his time, another forty years would pass before that happened. But in this we can see our own and the world's stiff-neckedness. For God desires to deliver us, and sends us ministers to deliver us through His holy Word and Sacraments, but we and the world "understand it not." We do not see that the Lord desires us to be saved us through such simple means. Perhaps it's because we would rather be saved from sin and death, by more extraordinary means, but this is not how our Lord desires to save us.

Therefore we see our Lord's providence in sending the people of Israel a deliver, that is, Moses. God plans to rescue His people who are trapped in the bondage of slavery, and are oppressed by the enemy, Egypt. Our Lord delivers us from the bondage of slavery to sin, and frees us from the oppression of the enemy the devil. Just as Moses was drawn out of waters and saved, so too are we drawn out of the waters of Holy Baptism, and are saved from our sins. And through His holy Word, he keeps us in this salvation, unto life everlasting.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

The Children of Israel were Fruitful and Increased Abundantly: Exodus 1:1-22

Exodus 1:1-22: "1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; 4 Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5 All those who were descendants of Jacob were seventy persons (for Joseph was in Egypt already). 6 And Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation. 7 But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them. 8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, 'Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; 10 come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.' 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. 13 So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage--in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor. 15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; 16 and he said, 'When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.' 17 But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. 18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, 'Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?' 19 And the midwives said to Pharaoh, 'Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.' 20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. 21 And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them. 22 So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, 'Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.'"

God causes the descendants of Israel to increase and multiply so that they filled the whole land. This fulfills the promise that was made in the book of Moses, commonly called Genesis. A couple things should be pointed out, one, the names of the sons of Jacob are listed according to their mothers, from first born to last born. The sons of the two concubines are listed after these names. This is why Benjamin, even though the last overall born, is listed seventh in the list, and not twelfth. The second thing is that Joseph is not listed in the names of the twelve sons. There are a couple of reasons for this, one, he was already in Egypt and this list lists the names of the sons of Jacob who came with him into Egypt from Canaan. Second, Joseph's sons, as we learn from Genesis 47, supplanted Joseph as sons of Jacob. Therefore he is not listed among Jacob's sons.

It is from these sons, that Jacob, who was renamed Israel, is given by God an abundant family. The English doesn't quite capture the nuances of the Hebrew. To "increase abundantly" in the Hebrew means "swarmed." The idea portrayed in the word, is that the descendants of Israel were everywhere. This fruitful increase is a blessing of our Lord God. It is part of the blessing that God made upon all creation when He first created it, when He said, "Be fruitful and multiply." It should be pointed out, since the English language doesn't carry the full wait of what our Lord God is saying through Moses, that this increase of offspring was not just the normal increase that one would see from twelve families having children and their children having children and so forth. This increase was a super-abundant increase, meaning more offspring than was usual. This is why the word "swarm" is used in the Hebrew, for it brings to mind a swarm of bees or locusts or cockroaches. They had so many offspring they filled the whole land.

Well, this becomes a problem for a Pharaoh of a generation long after when Joseph lived. And so he enslaves them, so that they become too weary to fight back, or overthrow their oppression. But again we see our Lord God's abundant grace, for even in the midst of this slavery that basically works the Israelite nation to the bone, the people of Israel still increase abundantly in producing offspring. One has to wonder when they had the time or energy to produce this amount of offspring. It reminds one of the pastor who was a tireless work-aholic, but had a dozen children, and when asked when he found the time, he responded, "A little here, a little there."

Pharaoh it seems is at a loss, for he tries to slow down the producing of offspring by hard labor, but that doesn't work, so he tries another way. He goes to the midwives, who were in charge of assisting with labor of the Hebrew women, and tells them to kill the male children, so that they will eventually not be able to produce as many offspring. However, this also backfires on Pharaoh, for the midwives worshipped the One True God, and followed His commands rather than Pharaoh's and spared the male children. When this plan of Pharaoh's doesn't succeed, he puts the announcement out to all Egypt, that every male child shall be cast into the river. This sets us up for the birth of Moses and the Exodus of the people of God.

We see in this narrative, from a spiritual standpoint, the devil attacking the Church of God on earth. Pharaoh represents the devil, who seeks to destroy and kill the Church, however, our Lord God, despite the devil's best efforts, still increases His holy Christian Church on earth, giving it an abundant increase, so that it swarms over all the world. We can see this especially in the Church's history when it grew exponentially in the first few centuries despite the onslaught of the devil through martyrdom and persecution. The holy Christian Church grew into a great holy nation, through its twelve fathers, the holy Apostles.

We are a part of this family, this Church, and even though the devil still continues to make our lives burdensome and toilsome, so that we face the rigor of sin, death, and the devil, our Lord God still increases His holy Church on earth by granting us new sons and daughters through the birth of Holy Baptism. And someday, our Lord God, will lead us out of this world, this land of Egypt into the promised land of Canaan, that is, Heaven. A land flowing with the pure milk of His holy Word, and the honey of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

May the Lord God ever keep you in His grace.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

The Famine Was Severe Upon Them: Genesis 47:1-31

Genesis 47:1-31: "1 Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, 'My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.' 2 And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, 'What is your occupation?' And they said to Pharaoh, 'Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.' 4 And they said to Pharaoh, 'We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.' 5 Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, 'Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.' 7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, 'How old are you?' 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, 'The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.' 10 So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. 11 And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with bread, according to the number in their families. 13 Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. 15 So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, 'Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.' 16 Then Joseph said, 'Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.' 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, 'We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.' 20 Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh's. 21 And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands. 23 Then Joseph said to the people, 'Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.' 25 So they said, 'You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.' 26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh's. 27 So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob's life was one hundred and forty-seven years. 29 When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, 'Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.' And he said, 'I will do as you have said.' 31 Then he said, 'Swear to me.' And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed."

This evening's reading relays the narrative of Jacob and his sons settling in the land of Egypt, and the increase of the famine that caused them to be there. Joseph makes Pharaoh a very wealthy man. It was because of the dream of Pharaoh that Joseph knew about the coming famine, and was able to prepare for it. However, the famine lasted such a long time that not only did the bread run out in Canaan, but it also ran out in Egypt. When in did, the people of Egypt did not have anything to eat, therefore they were forced to give all their money to buy food, so that the Pharoah had everyone's money. Having given all their money to Pharoah for bread, they had nothing with which to buy food to eat, so Joseph agrees to exchange bread for their livestock, so Pharaoh had everyone's livestock. Then, having given up all the livestock they could spare, they didn't have any thing to buy bread, so Joseph agrees to buy their land in exchange for bread, so that Pharoah, now owned all the land. So Joseph made Pharaoh a very rich man, because he had all the money, all the livestock and all the land of Egypt.

Joseph was then able to even supply workers to work the fields of Pharaoh, that is, the people who sold their land. They would be allowed to work the land, and would be allowed to keep 4/5 of was grown from the seed that Joseph gave them. They only had to give Pharaoh 1/5 of what was grown on his land by their hands.

This is more than just an informative narrative about Joseph's dealings with the Egyptians during the famine. This whole pericope, including Jacob and his whole family settling in the land of Goshen, and the indebted servitude of the people of Egypt, sets up the Exodus. For eventually it would be the Jews, who would grow into a large nation, that would end up in slavery and working in Pharaoh's fields, and building his cities. The sad thing about all of this, is that Joseph, a Jew, sets up Pharaoh to be a very wealthy man, and by all of his dealings with the people, does great things for Pharaoh. But, a Pharaoh arises who does not remember all that Joseph did for Egypt, and Joseph's kindness is repaid with harsh labor and enslavement.

Today, through this reading, we stand poised at the cusp of our Lord God's deliverance. He reveals to us how He sets things up for us, so that He may deliver us, just like He delivers the Israelites from slavery and bondage. He delivers us from the slavery and bondage of sin and death. Our Lord is not slow in fulfilling His promises, as some would count slowness, but instead is patient, waiting for all things to be fulfilled in their proper time, so that we might have a more abundant harvest.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas