Contemplative Bible Reading

Exodus 6:9 (English Standard Version) Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery. Moses is speaking to his relatives, the Israelites who are slaves in Egypt. They have been in Egypt 400 years. For the most recent few generations, they […]

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Exodus 1:8-10 (New Living Translation) 8 Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done. 9 He said to his people, “Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. 10 We must make a plan to keep them from […]

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Exodus 14:13-14 (New Living Translation) 13 But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. 14 The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” Apologies to those who love or hate that t-shirt about “stay calm […]

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Exodus 12:30 (New Living Translation) Pharaoh and all his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night, and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died. What a horrible night. Try to imagine this. Growing up in Sunday school […]

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Exodus 15:11 (New Living Translation) “Who is like you among the gods, O Lord— glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders? Set the scene: the people have just walked out of Egypt with lots of goodies. The charioteers—the elite of the Egyptian army—was destroyed in the Red Sea. Time to sing and dance […]

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Exodus 31:14 (New Living Translation) You must keep the Sabbath day, for it is a holy day for you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community. Let’s correct a common fallacy. The Sabbath day was NOT a day that the […]

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Exodus 14:14 (New Living Translation) The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm. Everyone has their own version of the “Stay Calm and…” saying these days. Here is one from when the people were about to be pushed to their deaths in the Red Sea. So we have… Keep Calm and Let the […]

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Exodus 32:5-6 (New Living Translation) 5 Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the Lord!” 6 The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with […]

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Exodus 21:16 (New Living Translation) Kidnappers must be put to death, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves. This is what Joseph’s brothers did to him. Now the law, as stated here, came after the (hi)story of Joseph and his brothers. Still, I doubt that any […]

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Exodus 16:22-23 (New Living Translation) 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much as usual—four quarts for each person instead of two. Then all the leaders of the community came and asked Moses for an explanation. 23 He told them, “This is what the Lord commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete […]

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