For a full description of the (Y4) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Ex. 11
As I alluded to yesterday, evil attacks whatever belongs to God simply because it is God’s. We see evidence of this throughout the Bible, including here in the Exodus story. What we also see, however, is that evil will not prevail. What Moses told Pharaoh regarding the Israelites is true in a broader sense for all who belong to God. “But against any of the sons of Israel a dog will not even bark” (Ex. 11:7a). This is why we persevere in the faith –to see the day when evil can no longer touch us.
Luke 14
I have mentioned in the past that Jesus healed on the Sabbath with intention. We read yesterday about the doubled-over woman that He healed on the Sabbath. Through that specific healing, Jesus demonstrated that the true Sabbath – laying aside our efforts and entering into God’s rest – is what frees us from our bondage.
In today’s reading, Jesus performed another intentional Sabbath healing. He healed a man suffering from dropsy. Not knowing what dropsy is, I looked it up. What I discovered is that “dropsy” is edema, which is an excessive buildup of fluid in the body, causing severe swelling. The interesting thing about that is that the swelling itself is not the disease. It is merely the symptom of underlying issues. So with this particular Sabbath healing, Jesus demonstrated that the true Sabbath is about more than just the surface conditions that the Jewish religious leaders loved to focus on. The purpose of God’s Sabbath is, rather, to heal us from the deeper, underlying issues.
Job 29
Job lost a lot. Reading through his thoughts of his life before disaster hit made me think about Jesus – all He was, all He had, and all that He willingly gave up for the likes of me.