2.16.25 ~ Do the Next Right Thing

Good morning!

What do you hear/shema that moves you to a deeper and profound walk with the Lord? Is it the power of God to set you free from your enslavement (Ex. 12) or His magnificent power to destroy your enemies (Ex. 14) or the opportunity He gives you to fight your own battles (Ex. 17)? 

Yesterday, we covered two ideas that Jethro heard/shema that moved him, but it's the third that committed him to the One True God (Ex. 18:11,12).

It has been said by every successful person, there's nothing like learning and you really haven't learned anything until you can put it into action. So far, in the Exodus story, God has done virtually everything for us. Now, in the battle of Amalek, a battle that we will have the rest of our lives, God steps back to let us fight this one on our own...or is it on our own? Why? Why wouldn't He pull a miraculous 'drowning of Amalek'? He could! But, He won't. 

One of the 6 things we are to remember every day is what Amalek did to us in the way (Deut. 25:17; Ex. 17:16).  And, from our 21st century mindset, we need to know if we don't overcome Amalek, there isn't a wedding (Ex. 19-24). 

Unlike the Egyptians, who had reasons why they enslaved the Hebrews Egyptians (political, financial and social), Amalek just does what He does with no gain of his own. The Egyptians had rational human reasons for what they did to us. Amalek has no reason at all, he has no relationship with the children of Israel. Everything he does is to take my insecurity about God's presence in my life and feed that mindset until it becomes a cancer that destroys my life (Ex. 17:7,8).  At this point, God doesn't intervene in our fight. 

Why would Jethro be impressed with this? The answer lies in how the Lord intervenes in human struggle. He helps, but only after we take action. It's the idea that true fulfillment comes from earning not just receiving, but what is this exactly? Receiving without action produces entitlement; also known as bread of shame. It produces a state of discontent, shame and restlessness when someone receives something freely without having earned it (Matt. 25:21,23). There’s no meaning and fulfillment in it if it was given for free. There has to be a fight. The Kingdom would not be the Kingdom if there were no obstacles to overcome (Rev. 2 & 3). 

If there’s no duality, there’s no good and evil, so there’s no obstacles, no challenges and if there’s no challenges, intentions and obstacles, there’s no growth and there’s no earnings and there’s no merit so you have to step into your opposition with action! We get the privilege, through the tension, through the challenges, through merit, so every obstacle that you overcome is a new layer of soul growth, a deeper level of strength in your Neshama and one step closer to your high calling. The wrestling match isn't to make you weaker, it's to make you stronger...just ask Jacob (Gen. 32)!  

When we cower, we are helping Amalek's presence to get stronger. It’s a life principal: every force of darkness that comes to encounter you when you overcome that force, when you wrestle with it as Jacob wrestled with his angel of darkness, you earn the title Israel (Isa. 41:8-16; Gal.3:16,29), a holy nation, peculiar treasure, a royal priesthood (Ex. 19:5-8; 1 Pet. 2:5-8). 

Whatever situation that’s going on in the world or in your own personal life don’t be afraid of the wrestling match, don't be afraid to make the effort to take the action! The Lord does promise victory! the Lord promises freedom in the victory and redemption. Where do we see this? Where do we see that the Lord makes his promise of redemption as long as you take the right actions? It’s right there in the war of Amalek. We see Moses has his hand stretched towards heaven, and as long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning (Ex. 17:11). Huh?

The word for hand or arm is yad. What does the Lord tell Moses about redemption? 

"...I will redeem you with an outstretched arm/yad..." (Ex. 6:6; Deut. 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; etc.), 

The question enquiring minds ask is: whose arm is this referring to in the Amalek story? The conventional interpretation suggests it’s God‘s outstretched arm, emphasizing divine power and intervention. Yet, as always, there’s another way to read the text: I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, shifting our mind to another focus...to your outstretched arm is to suggest that when you outstretch your arm, when you take action, when you reach out, make an effort I will redeem. God‘s redemption comes through human initiative. The miracle is set in motion by our willingness to take the first step. In scripture, the arm represents the world of action.  it’s you taking action. You initiate. You do with your arms or hands doing as long as you’re initiating the actions as long as you’re taking the right steps, the Lord promises deliverance, victory, promises, and redemption.

If there’s one thing I want you to take away from today’s study: keep doing the right thing. Keep facing the challenges with courage, determination, and strength because the Lord does promise you that when you take the correct actions the Lord will work through. It's different from the red sea. The red sea was this transient power, universal source of strength, the creator himself at the creation releasing the potential laws of nature separating the seed without any human participation.  But in the battle against Amalek, we participated, we earned, we gained the merit of victoriously getting the opportunity to come into the covenant relationship at Mt. Sinai. 

Jethro heard about the three key dynamics that were not always central to the exodus of his time but were deeper and essential in the final redemption.  Through our participation in Passover, separating the good apples from the bad, the spiritual sorting reveals who stands with holiness and who opposes it (Ex. 12). Next, the Red Sea means divine intervention. God’s direct guidance and intervention through impossible challenges, led by our faith and trust (Ex. 14:12,13), and finally the battle against Amalek, which represents our inevitable conflict with forces that oppose goodness and truth. Externally and within ourselves, these patterns will repeat in the final redemption, helping us understand our spiritual journey and the events unfolding in our time!

On this 1st day of the week, with Passover coming soon, may we increase from strength to strength, rejoicing in God's intervention and our opportunity to be who He has called us to be and overcome what He gives to strengthen our faith in Him!

Shalom 

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