Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

Spiritual ends are never achieved by carnal means. Back in Egypt, as you may recall, Moses had "looked this way and that," then murdered an Egyptian and buried him with sand.

Moses took a forty-story fall. As we pick up the biblical account, he's a heavy-hearted, bruised-and-battered soul who has come to a sudden stop at the bottom.

Moses was a frightened and disillusioned fugitive running, escaping for his very life. His vaunted education now meant nothing to him. His knowledge of hieroglyphics and Egyptian culture gave him no comfort.

First surprise. Next confusion, followed by fear, like icy fingers around the heart. When Moses' well-kept secret hit the prime-time networks, he got the shakes.

Moses believed he was to be the deliverer, many years before he received his recommission at the burning bush. He assumed everyone else would realize it too.

According to Exodus 2:12, Moses hid the body of the slain Egyptian. But by the next day, it was all over the papers. They found the Egyptian. Five inches of loose sand hid nothing.

Moses looked this way, and he looked that way. Isn't it interesting? He didn't look up, did he? He looked in both directions horizontally, but he ignored the vertical. And what did he do with the results of his murderous anger?

I'm convinced Moses was doing more than grandstanding. I believe he was absolutely sincere. He didn't see himself murdering a cruel slave driver as much as courageously striking a blow for God's people.

Jochebed had faith. She also thought through a very creative plan. I'd like to pause to reflect on this tension between careful planning and full-hearted faith. Are they mutually exclusive? Not on your life!

When we come to passages like the first chapter of Exodus, we are reminded that God's law always comes before man's law. Scripture does not teach blind-and-blanket submission.

According to Pharaoh's instructions, the Hebrew midwife was to watch closely as the baby emerged. She was immediately to discover the sex of the child as it came forth from the womb and to snuff out its life if she noticed it was a male.

The Egyptians' insecurity and abhorrence for their Jewish neighbors eventually led to savagery. I find that interesting. It strikes me that if you are prone to violent anger and brutality, it might be wise for you to back off . . .

Baby Moses opened his eyes on a world very different from our own. Although neither his mother nor father knew it, the birth of this man-child launched a series of events that would change the course of nations.

"Am I in God's place?" Joseph asked them. Had he been a lesser man, he could have played "king of the mountain" and filled the role of God. "Grace killers" do that sort of thing. They exploit the power they have over others.

Despite his age and infirmity, Jacob's memory was nothing short of remarkable. He could name each one of his boys, and he could describe their individual natures and recall with pertinent detail the lives they had lived.

Because Joseph had been a special son to Jacob, Joseph's sons were special to their grandfather as well. The NIV study notes on this portion of the text state that Jacob, at his death, adopted Joseph's first two children as his own.

"Swear to me, Joseph—promise me this," Jacob said. "Place your hand under my thigh and swear." Making promises to the dying is nothing unusual. That is still done today.

The people came to Joseph with their hands empty and open, and he responded by upholding their dignity and treating them with respect. And keep in mind, he had everything, but they had nothing.

Joseph had an innovative plan, something that had never been done before. "In order for the land to produce, we must spread out over this land," he said. Prior to this they had been settled in only a few well-populated regions.

Joseph efficiently thought through a plan of operation that would get his family settled. He rehearsed the plan with those who were involved and then, as we will see in a moment, presented the plans to his boss for final approval.