Deuteronomy 28:1 ~ The Lord your God †

 

One of the most famous Laborers in the Bible would be ... Moses. 

Moses is Historically seen in "The Letters of Two Brothers" surrounding Pharaoh Seti II and Salt Papyrus 124 in the 1200s BC. 

A friend one time said, it was a shame that Moses did not get to lead the Children of Israel into the Promised Land.  Maybe, but the Exodus is really a Work of the Lord.

Noah is famous for launching a dove onto the waters to see if the Dove could find the promised land.  Moses also 'winged' it.  Even with God. 

Exodus 15

9 For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. 20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. 21 And Miriam sang to them:

“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. 24 And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 

25 And he cried to the Lord

Moses was not singing,

"I had the Time of My Life,"  

during a lot of the Exodus journey.

If you are your friends and family

have never have seen

"The Ten Commandments" movie

it is 

EPIC

in the Epic sense of the word.

Why?

Charlton Heston is

the exact duplicate

of 

Michelangelo's Moses, 1515 AD

for 

the tomb of Pope Julius II.

Astonishing.

Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 epic, The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston as Moses. However, DeMille also directed an earlier, silent 1923 version that included a prologue about Moses before shifting to a modern-day story. 

By the end of the 40 years, 

The Lord and Moses had an understanding about Retirement. 

Moses had beaten a stone angrily when he was supposed to be displaying another Act of God. And Moses had complained about the unruly Children of Israel numerous times and for many decades. The very same unruly Children of God called God's Chosen People.  The Salvation in the Exodus was for His compassion and mercy upon the people who knew nothing but harsh slavery.  And perhaps, they would not have felt joy in freedom without sincerely wishing for freedom.

Making the Exodus a great topic of discussion for Labor Day.

Biblical Account of the Numbers

Exodus 12:37: 

 "The people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.".

Numbers 1: 

A total of 603,550 men aged 20 and older, who were able to go to war. 

This "men on foot" figure is often used to estimate a total population of 2-3 million, including women, children, and others. 

Another friend of mine, once said studying the Exodus made her feel unusually uncomfortable in Bible Study. Seeing the conditions of the Exodus, she felt she would have been complaining and unruly as well! Making us all feel a joy in being the People of the New Covenant in Jesus Christ, Savior. 

It's Labor Day, so let's look at Moses and his retirement. 

We will look at the Scriptures and make some guesses. 

Retirement day arrived...

Mount Nebo, Jordan. Moses watched the Children of Israel go forth into Israel and Jericho.

Mount Nebo is on the east side of the Jordan River, in the country of Jordan. Mount Nebo is graced with a panoramic view across the Jordan Valley and is visible on a clear day from the summit.

Proverbs 12:10

A righteous man takes care of his animal, but the wicked. 

Even his compassion is cruel. 

Good people are kind to their animals, but a mean person is cruel.

We tend to let the end of Moses' journey hang loosely.  

Bible Studies suppose Moses watched the Promise Land unfold for the Children of Israel, dug his own grave and waited to die. This seems less than Gracious of God. 

When we look at the History of Moses, he was 80 years old and climbing Mountains to see if the sheep were being cared for as he saw a fire on the Mountain. The fire was not moving, but a fire sweeping down the mountain to his sheep would be a terrible trauma. Moses risked the fire to see why it wasn't on the move.  And Moses began to know God very well. 

 It's highly doubtful God let Moses rot. When Moses met God the first day. God showed Moses he could display his arm as filled with Leprosy.  I always get a smile out of this. OH, Great. OH, Lord.  And the Scriptures go on to say Moses never did want to show his adopted brother, The Pharaoh of Egypt, his plague riddled body. So the Lord, graciously, did not want Moses to have this Burden.  And we would all have to say Go God, to this undisplayed plague and unangered Lord God. 

So, whatcha really think? God said ok, dig the grave and wave goodbye? 

And no gold watch.  

I highly doubt this. If anything, Moses was eventually going like Elijah.  Remember with me, Moses was seen again. Yes, Moses was seen again. Once again, on the 4th Mountain of Moses, this is the Transfiguration with Jesus Christ.  Moses seems to like Mountains. And if you'd been left to dig your own grave and go that way, you might not like Mountains all that much in the future.  Agreed. 

1. Mountains of Horeb, the bush not consumed by fire.

2. Mount Sinai, The Covenant, 10 Commandments of God.

3. Mount Nibo, beautiful view of the Promised Land, Moses is retired by God.

4. Transfiguration.

Mount Nebo looks very lovely. 

Especially compared to the Mount Sinai Desert Mountain, probably the place of the Covenant Mountain. And better than the Mountains of Horeb, where Moses lived with his priest father-in-law and wife.  Was Moses left alone? We certainly do not know.  We know Moses' family returned to him.  Miram's death was recorded. Aaron's death is recorded in the 40th year. Not Recorded:  The deaths of Moses, Zipporah, Moses' sons and his second wife. The death of Moses' 2 wives, Zipporah and the one Zipporah arranged with a Cushite (Ethiopian) woman are not recorded.

This could say Moses was not alone, or suggest strongly. 

Moses may have witnessed Joshua and The Lord making the Jordan River part, to leave Jericho as they were told. From the summit and with a miracle. 

And also interesting, we know Moses knew how to explore.  

He found Midian, Zipporah and Jethro.  And he made his way through a killer desert many times. 

This is what I am suggesting:

"God buries His workmen but carries on His work"

God would eventually bury His workman, Moses. 

However, Moses had time to carry on His Work. 

Moses continued on.  Not indefinitely, but saw more of God's Good Creation. 

People of the area were taken with the Exodus and Moses.

Jordan has an wonderous and amazing River named Wadi Moses. Very Dynamic. 

Petra, Jordan did not look like The Treasury building we think of today.  

Now, the photo is useful!  At the very right, we see a man to the right of the Treasury building. And then notice, at the entrance, 2 people in front of the incredibly massive doorway.  Next, see the brown curtains style framing the photo. These incredible cliffs and narrow river walk way is actually... Wadi Moses.  The River of Moses.

Wadi Moses in Jordan 

is not 

on almost 100% of every route of the Exodus.  

Remember,

The Scriptures

give

details

about

The Exodus,

their ongoing source of 

water

This is completely similar, the dramatic path into Petra. 

The Story of Moses in the Exodus.

 Risky and completely captivating.  

And the life taking Wadi Moses, even today, this steals lives of tourists. 

A sudden rain makes no escape, but drowning should the rain be over an hour.  Wadi Moses is a place of intense landscaping, Towering, towering cliffs with a shape looking carved by a master hand. No escape, if sudden weather changes.  

The tourists are asked to go by camel if the weather should look like a flash flood.  The canyon formed by Wadi Moses is just under a mile. And, yet, precautions are made.

What was Petra, Jordan in the time of Moses?

This period aligns with the Biblical Iron Age, c. 1200

The Edomites began consolidating power after the collapse of major Bronze Age empires like the Egyptians. Yes, Moses would have known about this.

Petra, Jordan 

likely looked like based on archaeological findings, historical context, and biblical references, while noting the limitations of evidence from this era:

A Dramatic Desert Fortress

Petra's geography has remained, largely, unchanged since antiquity, 

providing a natural wonder dominating  12th-century BC Petra. 

The Atlantis quality of 1200s BC, was not the intricately carved rock buildings.  Petra was created by nature forging a fortress, and their ability to store water.  The cliffs made excellent houses for ponds covered by basic house type buildings. This location was strategically located along vital caravan routes.  And became not just a place to find water in a very dry area, but spices and incense.  It is a fort. It is secure and has a defensible position due to Wadi Moses.  Exactly like Moses and the wars he fought with the 602,000 boots on the ground. And the unlikeliness of a victory, yet victory.  This water innovation was a system and supported many miles of population and travelers.

A Strategic Stopping Point 

along early trade routes 

from Arabia to the Mediterranean. 

Habitation was limited and utilitarian. 

The 7,000-year history of Petra. Some cliff dwelling. Hut building, not the fame of Petra today, a different fame of arriving through Wadi Moses.

Rugged Sandstone Cliffs and Canyons: 

The city sits in a basin surrounded by towering red, purple, and yellow-veined sandstone mountains, part of the Arabah Valley extending from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. 

Wadi Moses

The most famous feature,

A narrow, 1.2 km-long gorge (3–12 meters wide and up to 80 meters high)—

a natural pathway formed by tectonic activity and erosion. 

In the 12th century BC, this would have appeared as a dramatic, shadowy chasm, but not yet engineered with the Nabataean famous channels visible today.

Bringing us some Labor Day Scripture

Deuteronomy 28:1

If you fully obey 

The Lord 

your God 

and 

carefully follow 

all 

His Commands

 I give you today, 

The Lord your God 

will 

set you high 

above 

all 

the nations 

on earth. 

Iwuper Papyrus 

Deuteronomy 28:1

If you fully obey 

The Lord 

your God 

and 

carefully follow 

all 

His Commands

 I give you today, 

The Lord your God 

will 

set you high 

above 

all 

the nations 

on earth. 

Mount Nebo:

2 Maccabees 2:4-62

One finds in the records that the prophet Jeremiah ordered those who were being deported to take some of the fire, as has been mentioned, 2 and that the prophet, after giving them the law, instructed those who were being deported not to forget the commandments of the Lord, or to be led astray in their thoughts on seeing the gold and silver statues and their adornment. 3 And with other similar words he exhorted them that 

the law 

should not 

depart from their hearts.

4 It was also in the same document that the prophet, having received an oracle, ordered that the tent and the ark should follow with him, 

and 

that 

he went out to the mountain 

where Moses 

had gone up 

and 

had seen the inheritance of God. 

5 Jeremiah came and found a cave-dwelling, and he brought there the tent and the ark and the altar of incense; then he sealed up the entrance. 6 Some of those who followed him came up intending to mark the way, but could not find it. 7 When Jeremiah learned of it, he rebuked them and declared: "The place shall remain unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy. 8 Then the Lord will disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord and the cloud will appear, as they were shown in the case of Moses, and as Solomon asked that the place 

should be specially consecrated.

Make a joyful noise to the LORD 

ALL

the earth!

Matthew 22:37

 Jesus declared, 

“‘Love the Lord your God 

with all your heart 

and 

with all your soul and with all your mind.’ "

Abba, Father,

We are blessed to pray

for more of Your Good Will

on earth

as it is in Heaven.

Help us to 

Go

Forth.

To be more Heaven on earth

To see more Heaven on earth

To bring more Heaven on earth

To Your Joy

and

Glory

1 Timothy 4:10

 Labor and strive 

because we have put our hope in the Living God, 

who is the Savior of all people, 

and 

especially 

of those who believe.

Hebrews 6:10 

For God is not unjust 

so as 

to overlook 

your work 

and 

the love that you have shown for 

His Name

 in serving the saints, 

as you still do.

Almighty God, our Heavenly Father,

We expect to hear Good News.

Almighty God, our Heavenly Father,

 guide the nations 

of the world 

into the way of justice and truth, 

and 

establish among

them 

that peace 

which is the fruit of righteousness, 

that 

they

may become 

The Kingdom of our Lord 

and

 Savior Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Mercy for the merciful.

Eternal God, 

in whose perfect Kingdom 

no sword is drawn

but the sword of righteousness, 

no strength known

 but 

the

strength of love: 

So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, 

that

all peoples 

may be gathered under the banner 

of the Prince of Peace, 

as children 

of one Father; 

to whom be dominion 

and

glory, now and forever. 

Amen.

Dwell in us, Father,

we ask in the Highest Name of Jesus.

Dwell, fully, in those we love

Help us to seek You 

first

and we will finish well 

in Jesus Christ.

We pray 

Peace

for Israel

and 

Your Good Creation.

We know we will hear Good news.

Mercy for the merciful.

 Joy.

Love.

Thank You. Jesus.

Our God is working. His Son,

Jesus is working.

Amen!

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yes 

Bless the Lord Jesus

You, Jesus, are our Salvation

Isaiah 30:18 ~ The Lord longs

 

Labor Day, raise your hand. I'm for the Holiday. It's not always an easy holiday. Children have seen their school year unfold and have needs. People usually do retail therapy. Labor Day seems to be fitting in a vacation before the rest of the year unfolds. A Celebration of summer, but it will be some time before the Holidays. 

For most of us, we are in the process of overcoming. 

 Today, we are considering the last 12 shootings done by Trans individuals.  In the last century, the men found in homosexual relationships were horribly forced to take female hormones. Those men said and said and said, this hurt their minds.  We can't forget what this says. It isn't a trend that is without victims. Especially children. These are adult decisions and should not be profit taking. No one speaks of the knowledge of the last century. And more and more people are beginning to say this was a horrendous thing to take the wrong hormones. 

The children involved in these shootings have seen what we all hope never to experience. These children probably worry their lives haven't started out well and wonder if they are blessed in this life. Labor Day. Many questions about the future and the larger world.

Isaiah 30:18

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; 

He rises to show you compassion. 

For the LORD is a God of justice.

Blessed 

are all who wait for Him

One of the few ways fiction mimics life, the evil actor is generally not alive after generating the violence.   

People do not seem to mention this as we discuss what evil forces caused the violent to set forth to do harm to the innocent. 

It is baffling why in the 1990s, we all dressed to look sleek and dark after the cinema heros were, generally, not really heroic.  There can be an odd situation when those who are harmed then try to mimic the violent. I know someone, who chose her after divorce personality to be the same as her decades 'friend' who ended her marriage and then married the husband.  Seeking safety unwisely in modeling after the harmful or violent.  

Then again, never spend our lives anticipating doom. We must be the people who believe Blessings and God are for us. 

Isaiah 65:23

They will not toil in vain or bear children

 doomed to misfortune; 

for they 

will 

be a people blessed by the LORD, 

they and their descendants with them.

The Scriptures wisely point out to be as innocent as doves and wise as serpents.

Matthew 16:16,17

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in Heaven."

If we must consider acts of random evil done upon this Nation, then we must consider another day of the everyday living. Men at work, seeking to prosper their families, and a supernatural event changes the world.

Luke 2:8-15

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 

“Do not be afraid.

 I bring you good news of great joy 

that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;

 He is the Messiah, the Lord. 

This will be a sign to you: 

You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly 

a great company of the Heavenly Host 

appeared with the angel, 

praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the Highest Heaven,

and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into Heaven, 

the shepherds said to one another, 

“Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about!”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this Child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

This day, the first day of The Lord's plan to save the world.  

The world was used to slavery, of war victims, family selling family, warlords taking citizens to slavery, slaughter, pirates, early death, starvation. Murder of warring neighbors and clans. Towns that suddenly were at war and the whole of the town was filled with blood and death.  Forced marriages, trafficking of family.  When the 325 A.D. famous Nicaean Council sent invitations out to the Christian Bishops, historians say 1,800 Bishops were invited by the Emperor Constantine. And fewer than 450 agreed to meet a Roman Emperor. 

It wasn't seen as an honor to meet the head of the Roman Empire. It was an opportunity to be fed to lions, set on fire, put into slavery, killed by pirates, potential shipwreck, killed seeking shelter for the night.  There was no hotel network, because one of the greater ways to make a living was robbery of the stranger. 

And in fact, the faithful 1,400 Bishops missed the Labor Day Achievement of the entire world by staying home. If faith had caused them to look UP and not to such safety, their lives would have been blessed.  The Nicaean Council was bringing Christianity from punishment to Blessing of Knowing The Lord Established. 

And did the Lord wait until 325 AD to change the world? The Book of Acts records the wide ripple immediately during the first days after Good Friday and the first Easter. When Peter and Mark showed up in Rome, 16 years later, the Emperor Claudius knew of Jesus Christ and was killing Christians. Peter had Mark write His Gospel because the people meeting and worshiping in the Roman Catacombs knew of the Jesus Miracles and wanted to see what they had experienced put down on papyrus. The Gospel of Mark is the Hit Parade of Roman Interest in the First Century.

The compassion people sought and the next 300 years of praying for one another changed the world. Women were not as much chattel. Roman laws of marriage were changing. Women could own property and not be property. 

If we must consider the sudden wars and violence, we must also look at the good

the world has learned to do.

The Lord does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  In Genesis, The God of All said His Creation is Good. Even when the Garden of Eden is polluted with self-seeking.  Psalm 24 tells us, The Earth is the Lord's and the fulfillment there of. Jesus Christ tells us to proclaim our Love and Faith to All of Creation. Because if we tell of our faith, we are filling our lives looking at the Good. 

God Himself

has given us 

Labor

John 6:29

Jesus answered them,

 “This is the work of God, 

that 

you believe 

in Him 

whom He has sent.”

Abba, Father!

WE PRAY 

BLESSINGS 

Because every time, in Church,

we pray

"Be with us now, and in the hour of our passing"

You, Father,

answer

Prayer!

Thank You, Father.

and

GIVE THANKS
FOR YOUR BLESSINGS

THANK YOU

The safety 

of Your people.

The safety 

of those

helping the earth 

to heal.

Let evil and practicing evil

depart 

far 

from us

and our children.

With Your Help

We will act justly

 and to love mercy

 and to walk humbly with You, our God.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

    for He has visited and redeemed His people

and has raised up a horn of salvation for us

    in the house of His servant David

As He spoke by the mouth of His Holy Prophets from of old,

that we should be saved from our enemies

    and 

from the hand of all who hate us;

to show the mercy promised to our fathers

    and to remember His Holy Covenant

The oath that He swore to our father Abraham, 

to grant us

    that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve Him 

without fear

    In holiness and righteousness before Him

 all our days.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

    for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways,

Father Dennis Zehren

and

the Nation

to Overcome

Violence,

especially to children.

to give knowledge of salvation to His people

    in the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy 

of our God.

    Whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

    to guide our feet into the way of peace.

We pray for the Nation

suffering this storm,

God's Mercy and Blessings.

For all our families!

Dwell in me,

Dwell in us,

Dwell in those we Love,

Help us to seek You first.

And we will finish well, 

in Jesus Christ. 

Help us seek and find 

and bring,

to become,

 more Heaven

to this earth.

Matthew 6

2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. 

And your Father who sees in secret 

will reward you.

Blessed be the Highest Name 

of Jesus Christ

Bless the Holy Spirit as the 

Light of mankind

Light of the Nations

Light of Heaven

Blessed be our Father 

bringing us His exact nature

in Jesus Christ,

Lamb of God

Savior of the world

Forever

and ever.

Amen!

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yes 

Bless the Lord Jesus

You, Jesus, are our Salvation