Thoughts on January 24 Bible Reading

January 24, 2018

Reading: Exodus 7-8; Matthew 18

I am happy to share a few devotional thoughts on our reading for today. I am praying these thoughts help you to dig deeper into the Bible for yourself.

Exodus 8:32 (CSB)

³²But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and did not let the people go.

Exodus 7 and 8 begin to tell the story of the plagues God brought on Egypt because Pharaoh (Egypt’s king) refused to allow the people of Israel to leave. Each time, God announced through Moses and Aaron that a plague was coming and then the plague would come. After a few of the plagues, Pharaoh began to agree to allow Moses to take the people out to worship God in exchange for relief. However, after the plague would subside, Pharaoh would harden his heart towards God. Paying careful attention to the text of Exodus, you see that Pharaoh hardened his heart toward God after the early plagues. However, looking forward into the next couple of chapters, God began to harden Pharaoh’s heart. Pharaoh refused to respond to God with obedience so many times, that he moved past the point at which he would ever be able to respond to Him at all.

Hardening our heart toward God is very dangerous. Each time we refuse to listen to God and obey Him, our hearts become more hardened toward Him. The example of Pharaoh shows us that people can reach a place where we will be unable to respond to God at all.

Is your heart hardened toward God? Don’t take this condition lightly. “One who becomes stiff-necked, after many reprimands will be shattered instantly— beyond recovery” (Proverbs 29:1). Begin today to confess your sins to God and repent of them. Ask God to soften your heart toward Him again, and obey Him when He speaks to you.

Matthew 18:7–9 (CSB)

⁷Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses will inevitably come, but woe to that person by whom the offense comes.

⁸If your hand or your foot causes you to fall away, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire.

⁹And if your eye causes you to fall away, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hellfire.

Matthew 18 covers a lot of significant life topics; children, confronting an erring brother or sister in Christ, the importance of forgiving others, and this issue of dealing with stumbling blocks in our lives. Jesus is serious about our holiness. He died on the cross, receiving the punishment for our sins so that we can be forgiven and made righteous. A Christian is not perfect, but is forgiven by the blood of Jesus. However, once we come to know Christ, he calls us to forsake sin and to live for Him.

Many Christians have a particular sin or sins that they have greater difficulty overcoming than others. Some people refer to these sins as besetting sins. Jesus teaches us here that we need to take every painstaking effort to remove those things from our lives that tempt us toward those sins. I believe he is speaking in hyperbole here when He says we should gouge out our eye or cut off our hand. However, the point is that we should make radical efforts to keep ourselves from continued temptation. That may mean that others can watch certain tv programs that you cannot. It may mean others can have a smart phone but you cannot. It may mean that you need to stay away from certain places that to which others can go without a problem.

Ultimately, its our own sinful desires which spring from our sin-stricken heart that lead us to sin. However, a very practical way to deal with temptation is to avoid those things that make you more likely to be tempted. Is God calling you to remove something from your life for your own protection?

Hey, don’t miss the part of Matthew 18 that deals with forgiveness!

Praying for you in the journey!

Mac