Jephthah is a Judge over the people of Israel. Judges came along before kings and were the ones who would save or deliver the people of Israel against other nations. As Jephthah goes off to battle he makes a vow, a promise, to the Lord that ends up costing him dearly. In our sin, God makes us a promise that ends up costing HIM dearly.

As Joshua leads the Israelites into the Promised Land, they are set to take the city of Jericho. And the way to defeat your enemy is to march around their city, and to blow trumpets, and to shout, after all it just means you’re listening to the commands of God. Something that we all fail to do perfectly. Sometimes, it means our walls need to fall.

Because she was welcoming to the spies sent to check on the land of Canaan and had faith, Rahab the prostitute was adopted and became part of Jesus' family tree.

Last week we talked about the minority vs. the majority, the popular opinion vs. the unpopular opinion. As Moses lifts up the bronze serpent in the wilderness to save the people who have been bitten by snakes, we'll take a look at what kinds of things get lifted up in today's society that we make out to be our savior, or at least what the world wants to be our savior. But there is only ONE who was lifted up that is able to save.

God led the people of Israel to the Promised Land, and Moses sent out twelve spies to check out the land that God had promised them, to see who inhabited the land, and if it was a land flowing with milk and honey. When the spies returned after 40 days, 10 spies brought back a bad report because of those who were living there, and 2 faithful spies told the people to trust in God. The people listened to the majority, the popular opinion, instead of the faithful few. The result was having to wander 40 years in the desert. Do you want to be in the minority or the majority?

The Tabernacle is set up, and God lays out very specific plans for sacrifices, and very specific rules for the place where He dwells, the Most Holy Place. Only once per year could the high priest enter it, on the Day of Atonement. What is atonement? When was the last time you celebrated it? And if you never have, what does it have to do with us today? Even more so, what does it have to do with Jesus?

We celebrate Trinity Sunday and recognize God as 3-in1, three persons, one God. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As the Israelites wait for Moses to come down from Mt Sinai, they aren't patient enough and instead make for themselves a god, a golden calf. They worship this idol, not the One true God. What is your golden calf? What are your idols? The things that you place as a higher priority than God. Maybe it's not even a what, maybe it's a who.

We celebrate Pentecost and think about the tongues of fire descending upon the disciples allowing them to speak in other languages, so that the word of God is spread. Today we journey to Mt. Sinai where smoke and fire have descended upon the mountain and God gives Moses the Ten Commandments. Which one is your favorite? The one you commit most often? The one you commit least often? Do the Ten Commandments still apply to you today? As we continue our two-year reading through God's Word, is it even applicable to you today?

As the people of Israel are freed from the slavery of Egypt, they have one response: complaining. They're hungry, they're thirsty. Sounds much like the children in our lives who are constantly hungry and thirsty even after they've just been fed. How does God respond to hunger and thirst? He meets our needs. He gives us food and drink, just like He did with the Israelites. God doesn't want us to just be physically nourished, He wants us to be spiritually fed, and so Jesus comes to us as the bread from heaven, the bread of life, and gives us exactly what we need.

As the Israelites make their way out of Egypt, Pharaoh has a change of heart and chases after them. As they get to the Red Sea, God parts the Sea, to allow the Israelites to cross on dry ground. As the Egyptians close in on them, the walls of water on the Red Sea collapse on them once all the Israelites are safe. When Jesus comes along, He doesn't part the sea, rather He walks upon it, showing His power over water, just like He did in the Exodus. God still works miracles with water today, and all we have to do is look at the baptismal font.