“I AM WHO I AM.”
- Exodus 3:14
“ ISRAEL IS MY FIRSTBORN SON.”
- Exodus 4:22
I guess my entire journey through the books that I did study the last month could be summarized in the best possible way in the above verses. So we went through Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy and Joshua. God reveals Himself to Israel as “I AM” - the Almighty, self-existent, Sovereign God and breaks into their history and redeems them from slavery and makes a covenant with them. All through the wilderness, He continues to reveal Himself as Holy even as He establishes the ordinances for worship and framework for social living. He judges them for their disobedience yet as a Father continues to be Faithful to them. And finally leads them into the promise land and through Israel brings judgment on the nations that were wicked in His eyes. There is no possible explanation as to why God chose Israel, but the only pointers we have is that He calls them His ‘firstborn son’ and says that He loves them. Case closed!!
As I went through the books, there were 3 things that spoke volumes of truth and conviction in my life. The first one is that God is Holy and he desires His people to be holy. As I look into my life, time and again, I am convicted of the little compromises I make which leads to bigger gaps in my life. It was a huge challenge to be humble knowing that as you consciously walk in the revelation of God’s holiness, the more filthy and wretched you see you are. The second truth was that of God’s faithfulness. I look into my life and this is unbelievable that I am studying the Bible in one of the best SBS around the globe, in the best academic settings, surrounded by committed staffs and passionate students and God has constantly met all my needs so far in my journey and I’ve had no lack. This is awesome and I have for sure seen His faithfulness and it has been a wakeup call for me to continue trusting in His faithfulness not only during SBS but for the rest of my life. The third conviction that I had was from Moses’ life and leadership as a servant of God who loved God and loved the people of Israel despite their rebellion. It was convicting because I have given up on people so many times assuming that they are never gonna change, while I fail to recognize that it is not I who change them but GOD. Thus I walked away from these books challenged to love God and walk in the conscious realization of His presence and seek to serve the people that I am called to work with wholeheartedly.
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