Daily Power-up: Exodus 4:24-26
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.
Personal Reflection: Zipporah
Three months after I graduated from college, I went with my younger sister as a student missionary to Poland. We were there to teach English, and we were two of only three native English speakers in the entire seaside town of Ko∤obrzeg. I couldn’t speak or read the language of those around me, it was the first time I’d ever been outside the United States, and I had no clue how I was going to be able to teach anyone anything. I remember sitting and looking out the window of our tenth floor flat that first night and feeling the most profound sense of isolation. Even with my sister there, I was so so far away from friends, familiar settings, and the rest of our family that concepts like loneliness, confusion, and risk took on new meanings for me that year. The outcome of that year of isolation from the comfortable and familiar and easy, however, was some of the most intense personal and spiritual growth that I’ve ever experienced. I don’t think any other venture, with the exception of parenthood, has really laid bare for me my failings, nor shown me what I’m capable of. My sister and I treasure some incredible stories and a collection of priceless blog posts from that year. Sometimes knowing that you’re following God’s leading and doing His work can be the catalyst you need to go forward confidently and embrace a situation that’s very daunting.
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Reading books as a child, I was really fascinated with Zipporah, and I pictured her as mysterious and beautiful. As an adult and mother, my thoughts naturally linger on questions like: What must it have been like to try to keep track of kids while wandering through the desert? Mainly, though, I wonder about her as a person and as a wife. From the story of the hasty circumcision Zipporah performed on one of her sons on the journey to Egypt, I gather that she loved her children, she loved her husband (though their cultural differences may not have always been the easiest to navigate), and that she was a smart and quick-thinking woman who was willing to do what needed to be done. Later on when Zipporah came with their sons to meet Moses in the desert after a time of separation, I wonder what their life and marriage looked like. How was it different than it had been in Midian? Did Moses have time to spend with Zipporah, or was he always busy trying to fill his role as leader? Did Zipporah feel resentful, or did she feel at peace knowing that she was exactly where God meant for her to be? I'll bet she'd never imagined that her life would look like that-- raising a family amidst a huge multitude of disgruntled nomads, following a pillar of cloud from place to place, and eating food from heaven!
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You will probably never be asked to wander in the desert for forty years, but can you relate to what Zipporah might have been feeling? Have you ever left comfort and home to follow where God was leading you? Have you ever felt lonely in an unfamiliar setting? Since the Bible doesn’t say a lot about Zipporah, I’m going to imagine that she DID feel lonely and overwhelmed, but that she trusted God to be with her and that she lived out that trust. I imagine her growing from that push outside of her comfort zone and more fully developing into the kind of strong, determined woman that God created her to be, taking courage in knowing that it was no accident she had met Moses at that well in Midian so many years before.
Lydia Dukaric
thinks the vagabond life sounds like a ton of fun, but maybe not with kids? Besides, she secretly loves staying home. Especially when home includes trees and a garden and chickens.
Bible in a Year: Psalms 65-67, 69-70
This Bible reading plan explores The Word based on the chronological order in which it was written, and is unrelated to the daily character devotions.
The Word of Promise audio Bible is used by permission. For more information and to purchase the complete audio Bible go to https://www.wordofpromiseapp.com/.
Psalm 65
Praise to God for His Salvation and Providence
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1 Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion;
And to You the vow shall be performed.
2 O You who hear prayer,
To You all flesh will come.
3 Iniquities prevail against me;
As for our transgressions,
You will provide atonement for them.
4 Blessed is the man You choose,
And cause to approach You,
That he may dwell in Your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Of Your holy temple.
5 By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of the far-off seas;
6 Who established the mountains by His strength,
Being clothed with power;
7 You who still the noise of the seas,
The noise of their waves,
And the tumult of the peoples.
8 They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;
You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice.
9 You visit the earth and water it,
You greatly enrich it;
The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it.
10 You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.
12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks;
The valleys also are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing.
Psalm 66
Praise to God for His Awesome Works
To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm.
1 Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!
2 Sing out the honor of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
3 Say to God,
“How awesome are Your works!
Through the greatness of Your power
Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.
4 All the earth shall worship You
And sing praises to You;
They shall sing praises to Your name.” Selah
5 Come and see the works of God;
He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.
6 He turned the sea into dry land;
They went through the river on foot.
There we will rejoice in Him.
7 He rules by His power forever;
His eyes observe the nations;
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8 Oh, bless our God, you peoples!
And make the voice of His praise to be heard,
9 Who keeps our soul among the living,
And does not allow our feet to be moved.
10 For You, O God, have tested us;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
12 You have caused men to ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.
13 I will go into Your house with burnt offerings;
I will pay You my vows,
14 Which my lips have uttered
And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals,
With the sweet aroma of rams;
I will offer bulls with goats. Selah
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
And I will declare what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear.
19 But certainly God has heard me;
He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer,
Nor His mercy from me!
Psalm 67
An Invocation and a Doxology
To the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
1 God be merciful to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us, Selah
2 That Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
4 Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For You shall judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations on earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
6 Then the earth shall yield her increase;
God, our own God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us,
And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.
Psalm 69
An Urgent Plea for Help in Trouble
To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.” A Psalm of David.
1 Save me, O God!
For the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in deep mire,
Where there is no standing;
I have come into deep waters,
Where the floods overflow me.
3 I am weary with my crying;
My throat is dry;
My eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those who hate me without a cause
Are more than the hairs of my head;
They are mighty who would destroy me,
Being my enemies wrongfully;
Though I have stolen nothing,
I still must restore it.
5 O God, You know my foolishness;
And my sins are not hidden from You.
6 Let not those who wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me;
Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel.
7 Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;
Shame has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers,
And an alien to my mother’s children;
9 Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up,
And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting,
That became my reproach.
11 I also made sackcloth my garment;
I became a byword to them.
12 Those who sit in the gate speak against me,
And I am the song of the drunkards.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You,
O Lord, in the acceptable time;
O God, in the multitude of Your mercy,
Hear me in the truth of Your salvation.
14 Deliver me out of the mire,
And let me not sink;
Let me be delivered from those who hate me,
And out of the deep waters.
15 Let not the floodwater overflow me,
Nor let the deep swallow me up;
And let not the pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Hear me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is good;
Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies.
17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am in trouble;
Hear me speedily.
18 Draw near to my soul, and redeem it;
Deliver me because of my enemies.
19 You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
My adversaries are all before You.
20 Reproach has broken my heart,
And I am full of heaviness;
I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none;
And for comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me gall for my food,
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22 Let their table become a snare before them,
And their well-being a trap.
23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see;
And make their loins shake continually.
24 Pour out Your indignation upon them,
And let Your wrathful anger take hold of them.
25 Let their dwelling place be desolate;
Let no one live in their tents.
26 For they persecute the ones You have struck,
And talk of the grief of those You have wounded.
27 Add iniquity to their iniquity,
And let them not come into Your righteousness.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living,
And not be written with the righteous.
29 But I am poor and sorrowful;
Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.
30 I will praise the name of God with a song,
And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
31 This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bull,
Which has horns and hooves.
32 The humble shall see this and be glad;
And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.
33 For the Lord hears the poor,
And does not despise His prisoners.
34 Let heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion
And build the cities of Judah,
That they may dwell there and possess it.
36 Also, the descendants of His servants shall inherit it,
And those who love His name shall dwell in it.
Psalm 70
Prayer for Relief from Adversaries
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. To bring to remembrance.
1 Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O Lord!
2 Let them be ashamed and confounded
Who seek my life;
Let them be turned back and confused
Who desire my hurt.
3 Let them be turned back because of their shame,
Who say, “Aha, aha!”
4 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
And let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“Let God be magnified!”
5 But I am poor and needy;
Make haste to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay.