Exodus 13:17-15:11, 20-21
When the signal was given for the Hebrew people to move out of Egypt God did not lead them by the shortest route toward Canaan, which would have taken through the land of the Philistines, who were a warring people. God was afraid that the Hebrews would lose heart and turn back or just give up, so he leads them in a longer journey on the round about way, which leads them to the Red Sea. God uses that first encounter to both instill fear and reverence for the Lord. Pharaoh is convinced that he made a bad mistake by letting the Hebrews and all their service go and decides to pursue them and bring them back.
When the Egyptians close in on the Hebrews God moves between the two bodies of people with the fire and cloud and they cannot see one another. While Moses holds out the staff God had given him the wind blows and pushes the water back so the Hebrews can cross over. Then the cloud is removed and the Egyptians pursue them, but when they are in the dry sea bed, Moses moves the staff down and the water returns to its place and drowns all the
Egyptian army. Then the Israelites put their trust in God and had a great celebration of what God had done with singing and playing of tambourines.
Matthew 18:21-35
This passage begins with a question from Peter: Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? Jesus answers, “O No! Not just seven times, but seventy-seven times or seventy times seven! (A little Ray interpretation!)
Then Jesus teaches in a parable about man deeply in debt to the king, who is being brought to account in a circumstance that appears to endanger all his family. The man begs for mercy and is given a stay when his debt is canceled!!!! On the way home this man encounters another who owes him a much smaller debt, but he treats that man harshly and demands payment. His actions are reported by onlookers to the king, who calls him back in and throws the book at him and sends him to jail. The king suggests to the man that he should have shown the same mercy to others that was shown to him.
The closing verse states: This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you, unless you forgive your brother from your heart.
How does that parable and the concluding verse relate to Peter’s initial question? How does it relate to the line in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us?”
Romans 14:1-12
Paul writes to the Church about a situation that he sees where people criticize or judge how others are practicing their faith, because it is different from their own. First Paul seems to suggest that before we render how judgments, we need to learn why others do it differently than we do and then to recall that God that all of us are under the Lordship and judgment of God and none of us escape from that. His final statement is “Each of us must give an account of himself to God.”
Holy God, at the Red Sea both Israelites and Egyptians saw your great power and learned to fear and reverence you. In our daily lives you teach us many lessons about living before you and with those about us. Write your lessons for our lives upon our hearts and make us pure. Amen.