I. Who You Going to Serve: Pharoah or Yahweh? – 3.12, “you shall worship God on this mountain” – 4.23, “Let my SON go that he may worship/serve me” – 5.17 [oppressors] “You say, let us go so we may sacrifice” – 7.16, “so that they may worship/serve me” – 8.1, “so that they may worship/serve me” – 8.20, “so that they may worship/serve me” – 9.1, “so that they may worship/serve me” – 9.13, “so that they may worship/serve me” – 10.3, “so that they may worship/serve me” – 10.7-8, [Pharoah] ‘Let the people go, so they may worship/serve … Go worship …” – 10.24, “[Pharoah], “Go worship Yahweh” – ch. 12-13 Directions for worship – ch 14, Exodus Event – Worship, chapter 15, Ike & Tina (Moses & Miriam) – Exodus 19-24, Worship on the Mountain
Worship/service to Pharoah, a god, is slavery and death. Worship/service to Yahweh is freedom and life.
II. Yahweh is a Warrior (Ex 15.1-2): Signs & Wonders
A. Texts to Know – Psalm 78 – Psalm 105.26-36 – Psalm 145.4-7, One generation to another declares the mighty acts
“[I]t is important not to take away the force of the oppression with a ‘pie in the sky by and by’ point of view. Or with this view: the oppression is all part of a larger divine plan. No. God enters in on the side of the disadvantaged because God does not want this situation at all” (Terence Fretheim, Exodus, p. 84, his emphasis).
B. The Divine Combat
Note: Pharaoh was the incarnation of Horus (Sky God); upon dying the Pharoah transformed into Osiris (God of the dead and underworld). Starting with the Fifth Dynasty (2498-2345 BC) Pharaoh’s took on the title “Son of Ra” … the Solar Disk or god. “Who is Yahweh, that I should obey his voice” (5.2).
Israel does not liberate/rescue/save herself. Israel gets saved by Yahweh who has chosen sides between Oppressor and Oppressed. They are already Yahweh’s people (3.7, 10; 7.14).
“It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that Yahweh set his heart on you and chose you – for you were the fewest of all peoples. It was because Yahweh love you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors, that Yahweh brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Know therefore that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God, who maintains his covenant of HESED” (Deuteronomy 7.7-9)
– Nile turns to blood (7.14-25) – Frogs overwhelm Egypt (8.1-15) – Flies/Gnats (8.16-32, note v.18) Writing on the Wall! (cf. 10.7) Impotent gods, cf. Ps 115.4-8. Insects undo imperial hubris! – Livestock (9.1-7) – Boils (9.8-12) – Storms or Thunder & Hail (9.13-35) – Locusts (10.1-20) – Where’s the Sun/Darkness (10.21-29) Darkness is on the face of the deep, Gen 1.2 – Firstborn (11:1-10; 12:29-30)
In these “signs & wonders” Yahweh demonstrates he is not only the God of the enslaved aliens but the Master of the Universe, God of Creation. The gods of Egypt, including Pharoah, are no match. He has brought “judgment upon all the gods of Egypt” (12.12; cf. 15.11; 18.11).
Creation is both the servant (like Israel is called to be) of Yahweh and instrument of deliverance and punishment simultaneously. Water is no longer water. Light and darkness no longer separated. Disease among humans and creatures is out of control. It is as if the land of Egypt has returned to the condition of Day One of Creation where chaos reigned (Genesis 1.1-2).
Scripture is quite aware of how creation itself suffers because of human arrogance and sin. – Genesis 3 – Joel the whole book but see 1.8-12; 17-20; 2.21-22, 25 – Hosea 4.1-6; see also 2.14-20, note v.18 – Romans 8.18-24
Tza’ar Ba’alei Chayim — Hebrew for “the suffering of living creatures” including and especially animals.
Exodus 3: The Numinous Woodmont Hills Church September 9, 2026
“Numinous, arousing spiritual or religious emotion; mysterious or awe-inspiring”
I. Exodus 1-2, the Crises of Refugees & Aliens (The Egypt First Policy)
– Irrational fear (1.12) – Shiphrah & Puah (1.15) break the law but “feared God” (v.21) – State Sponsored terror (1.21)
II. The Cry that Pierced the Heavens (2.23) “My God My God why have you forsaken Me!”
– Cry is just a cry of pain, misery, terror. It is not directed to Yahweh: “After a long time … the Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God. God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God Looked upon the Israelites and God took notice of them” (2.23-24).
– Paradigmatic experience (cf. Deuteronomy 26.1-11, esp. 5-6) – Deuteronomy 1012-22, esp. 19 – Psalm 9.12 “For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted” – Psalm 34.17; Psalm 107.6, 13, 19, 28; Mark 10.47; Luke 18.1-8 – “The poor of this world were the chosen vessels of mercy, the especially honored and blessed of God. They as a class, constitute his elect.” (David Lipscomb, “Who are to Blame?” GA 11 (6 May 1869), 422.
God’s Frightful Promise to Oppressors – Don’t be like Pharoah
“You shall not wrong or oppress a alien (foreigner, NIV), for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me. I will surely heed their cry, my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword … You shall not oppress the alien you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt” (Exodus22.21-22; 23.9)
– The Exodus is the result of the cry of the suffering alien. “God” had had enough!
– Scholars have noted that the structure of Exodus that follows mirrors the structure of laments in the Psalms: l) a lament; 2) a cry/petition; 3) word of assurance of salvation; and 4) thanksgiving. The Book of Exodus follows this,
The Lament and Cry (ch’s 1-2) The Word of Assurance of Salvation (ch’s 3-6) This deliverance is “detailed” (ch’s 7-14) The outburst of thanksgiving and praise (ch. 15)
III. “Numinous” Enters History on the side of the Refugee Aliens (Exodus 3)
– Yahweh (Yahweh is a Warrior, 15.3) shows up. First appearance of the Name (v.2) will 347x in the rest of the Book of Exodus
– Flame of Fire out of the bush but it does not burn (v.2). Fire is mysterious, even today. Clearly see it. Feel heat from it. What is it? Light passes through it. It’s there but not really there either.
– Divine Presence (the narrator is also anticipating ‘the rest of the story’). God appears “in fire” at Sinai (19.18). God spoke “out of the midst of the fire” (Dt 4.12). God leads the people in a pillar of fire (13.21; Num 14.14; Dt 1.33; etc)
– I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob” (3.6,15,16).
+ Luke 1.52-55 + Luke 20.37-38 + Acts 3.13
God of Rescue, God of Hesed = “come down to deliver” “out of the misery of Egypt” (3.8, 17) = to a good land flowing with milk & honey (3.8, 17) Salvation is not simply being removed from oppression. It also is the gift of land, a place for live and blessing … Deliverance for God is finally not only FROM something but TO something. = “I will be with you” (3.10) Not just Moses but with all the people (Tabernacle)
IV. Moses will not stand in God’s way
1. Who am I? / I will be with you (3.11-12) 2. What is the divine name?/ I AM (3.13-22) 3) They do not believe me” / two divine signs (4.1-9) 4) I am not eloquent / I will be with your mouth (4.10-12) 5) Send someone else / Aaron indeed will speak for you [but never does!](4.13-17) (cf. Walter Brueggemann, Delivered Out of Empire, p. 8)
V. Favor/Plunder (3.22)
– Exodus 11.2-3; 12.35-36
“I will look with favor upon you and make you fruitful and multiply you; and I will maintain my covenant with you. You shall eat old grain long stored, and you shall have to clear out the old to make way for the new. I will place my dwelling in your midst, and I shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be their slaves no more. I have broken the bars of your yoke and make you walk erect [stand tall].” (Leviticus 26.9-13)
Bobby Valentine THESE ARE THE NAMES The Book of Exodus Woodmont Hills Church Outline
“Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high, who looks down on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the need from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.” (Psalm 113.5-7)
“When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel his dominion” (Psalm 114.1)
“the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.” (Isaiah 43.21)
I. Exodus, the Event
The Exodus is the paradigmatic moment of salvation by grace (Hesed/steadfast love) in the Bible. The “Event” refers to Yahweh’s mighty acts in delivering a band of enslaved aliens from state sponsored genocide at the hands of Pharoah.
The Exodus in one sense covers all the material from Exodus to Deuteronomy (the Book of Exodus is part of this larger narrative). Like the Gospel is not just “Six Hours One Friday” but Cross-Burial-Resurrection (and more broadly the Story of Jesus including the Ascension). What we call “Exodus” is part of that overall story from Genesis to Deuteronomy, aka The Torah Story.
In another way Exodus is the event – the Salvation of God. The calling of Moses, the taking on the deities of Egypt (Pharoah is the rep of the gods), the crossing the Red Sea, exuberant worship by the Sea, entering the wilderness, the Marriage at Sinai. The Fall of Israel, “cheating with the bell hop” on the honeymoon (Golden Calf). The supreme declaration/revelation of Yahweh’s identity AT THAT MOMENT. The renewal of the covenant and the building of the honeymoon suit … and the Dwelling of God.
It is hard to find a greater narration of the Grace (Hesed) of God in the Bible than in the Book of Exodus. This includes anything in the New Testament. Israel is redeemed by Hesed – Grace – alone People can balk at that, but it is nonetheless a biblical fact.
The salvation of God in the Exodus becomes “the pattern” of all patterns in the Bible. It is the Grace pattern that all are measured by. The life of Jesus is laid over this pattern. The death of Jesus is laid over this pattern. The promised redemption is forever measured by “the Exodus.” It is in the Psalms, the Prophets, the Gospels, Romans, Hebrews, the Revelation of John.
Exodus is from liberation out of death to God living with his redeemed rejects. The Exodus does not end at crossing of the Sea but with IMMANUEL. God Living with Us! What was lost in Genesis 3 was restored in Exodus 40 … even the Golden Calf did not stop that.
The greater story of the Exodus was inculcated in Israelites through the liturgical calendar which revolves around the Exodus events.
– The Sabbath (celebrates deliverance from Egypt) – The Passover points to all Yahweh has done to deliver enslaved aliens – Shavuot (Pentecost) recalls giving of the covenant & Torah at the beginning of harvest – Sukkot (Tabernacles) recalls the wilderness wanderings and the end of harvest
Exodus is the story of Steadfast Love that never ends (Hesed). It is the story of Hesed that overcomes any and all barriers to reestablish his fellowship – communion – with the creation he loves.
A king claiming to be a god will not stand in his way. Moses will not stand in his way. The People themselves will not stand in his way. The Sea will not stand in his way. The Amalekites will not stand in his way. People themselves wanting to go back to Egypt will not stand in his way.
And even the supreme insult to Yahweh – adultery on the “honeymoon” – as the Psalms would later describe it, Israel “exchanged the glory of God for an image of an ox that eats grass” (106.20) … this will not stand in his way.
Hesed Will Triumph. And Yahweh does triumph through his Hesed over all … Just like Psalm 136 declares.
The Exodus Pattern (I encourage you to read these texts)
The Exodus Event is the pattern in both Testaments for God’s redemptive acts of Hesed. It shows up all over the place.
Psalm 18 Psalm 66 Psalm 68 Psalm 78 Psalm 80 Psalm 95 Psalm 99 (Pillars of Cloud & Fire God’s divine Presence guiding Israel) Psalms 103, 104, 105, 106 and 107 for the “Mini-Bible.” They retell the “Story” beginning with the God Creed of Exodus 34.6 in Psalm 103 as the “cover” of the entire narrative. Psalms 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118 are called the Egyptian Hallel and poetically retell the glorious redemption of the Exodus and are incorporated into the Pilgrim Feasts (Jesus sang these at his own Exodus moment) Psalms 135 and Psalm 136 are the Great Hallel. Again retell the Gospel of the Exodus, Ps 136 punctuates everything with the refrain “his Hesed endures forever” (26x). Psalm 145 camps on the God Creed
In Hosea, Amos & Micah (to name only three) paint Israel’s adultery with images taken from Egypt or from the wanderings in Sinai while casting Yahweh as the faithful liberating lover who would redeem Israel. Isaiah 40-66 takes the pattern of Exodus as the source for new hope for Israel.
The Exodus Event is just as ubiquitous in the New Testament writings. The events of Jesus’s own passion are shaped by the Exodus. The Last Supper is the Passover supper. Pentecost is the day the covenant is renewed. The Gospel of Matthew uses the Exodus event as the template for telling the story of Jesus. The Exodus looms large in the Gospel of John. Paul places his Gentile or former Gentile converts in the Exodus Wilderness narrative (1 Cor 10). The Sermonator of Hebrews places his congregation with the same wilderness group (Hebrews 3-4). Jude the Lord’s brother does the same (Jude 1.5). The story of the Exodus plagues shapes the Revelation of John.
Just a few examples of the Exodus Pattern
II. The Book of Exodus Contains Some of the Richest Texts of the Bible (in Summary form)
Since we only have 12 weeks it is impossible to cover everything in the Book of Exodus. Our class will focus on the following texts. Some will cover extended material.
-Exodus 3, Numinous in the Bush & Dirt -Exodus 7-11 Divine Combat for the Endangered Aliens -Exodus 12, How to celebrate salvation before it even happens -Exodus 14, The “cross” moment -Exodus 15, Worship led by Ike & Tina 😉 -Exodus 19, Invitation to a wedding, a covenant of love (Hesed) -Exodus 20, Covenantal guidelines for the already saved by Hesed people -Exodus 24, The Ceremony! And the Revelation of the “Bride Groom!” (YAHWEH!!) Humans experience God in a way they have not since the Garden. They “saw the God of Israel!” One of the most stunning texts of the Bible – Jesus grounds his work on that fateful night in this text.
-Exodus 25-31 Moses is shown the Honeymoon suite
-Exodus 32-33 Disaster, Catastrophic Failure – the Hebrew Bible talks more about the Golden Calf than it does eating the “apple” in Genesis 3! The ink is not even dry on the marriage license.
-Exodus 34 – the revelation of God – the God Creed – When Israel was the worst Yahweh is at the greatest. The God Creed (Ex 34.6) is quoted, paraphrased or alluded to dozens of times throughout the rest of the Hebrew Bible and in the Prologue of John (1.14). This is the Mt. Everest text of the Bible.
-Exodus 34-39 Yahweh renews his covenant by divine fiat of Hesed and even though the covenant is shattered – Yahweh keeps his bride.
-Exodus 40, God Moves In … Exodus 40 anticipates Revelation 21-22 when the “dwelling of God is with humanity.” We reach the GOAL of the salvation of God. Yahweh created the world, filled it with marvelous wonders of creatures and his image bearers because he wanted to LIVE with us.
Helpful Reading
Walter Brueggemann, Delivered Out of Empire: Pivotal Moments in the Book of Exodus Walter Brueggemann, Delivered Into Covenant: Pivotal Moments in the Book of Exodus Terrence Fretheim, Exodus: Interpretation Ralph Hawkins, Discovering Exodus: Content, Interpretation, Reception Carmen Joy Imes, Bearing God’s Name, Why Sinai Still Matters Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative
See, I am making all things new…Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. (Revelation 21:5, 7)
Inheritance is a dominant plot line in God’s story. “Inherit” or “inheritance” appear almost five hundred times in the biblical text, and most often relates to “land inheritance.” Joshua, for example, uses the language fifty-nine times, primarily in reference to God’s “land grant” to Israel.
The correlation between land and inheritance, between territory and kingdom, runs throughout the plot of the biblical drama. People need land, kingdoms need territory, and the inheritance of the people of God is a new heaven and a new earth.
Abrahamic Promise
When God blessed Abraham, he promised to bless all nations (Gen. 12:2-3). Included in that Abrahamic blessing is the land promise: “I will give this land to your offspring” (Gen. 12:7).
This promise is both overplayed as some identify the contemporary state of Israel with this land and undervalued as others see no fulfillment in Israel’s Messiah. The former think the state of Israel is its fulfillment (or at least its beginning) while the later believe the land promise no longer applies. There is a third way.
The land is Israel’s inheritance as the firstborn child of God among the nations (Ex. 32:13; Lev. 20:24; Num. 4:20; Deut. 4:21). God gave the “land for an inheritance to Israel” (Joshua 11:23). One need only to skim the Torah, especially Deuteronomy, to recognize the central role land plays as the inheritance Israel receives from Yahweh as God’s child (Deut. 4:21, 38; 15:4; 19:10; 20:16; 21:23; 24:4; 25:19; 26:1; Psalm 105:11; 136:21-22).
As part of the Abrahamic promise, the land is not conditioned by the Mosaic covenant (Gal. 3:6-9). The “inheritance” is by faith rather than by the works of the Torah (Gal. 3:17-18). This means God’s intent to fulfill the promise to Abraham is not conditioned by Torah-obedience. Whether the nation of Israel at any particular time possesses the land is conditioned on Torah-obedience, but the ultimate fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise is unqualified. It is as unconditional as the promise of the Messiah is.
God gives land, and God gives rest (Josh. 11:23). “Rest” is what God gives to Israel when they seek Yahweh (2 Chr. 14:1, 5-6; 20:30; 23:21), and rest means “no war” (2 Chr. 14:5). “Rest” reappears in the prophets as Israel’s hope. The righteous will rest, but the wicked will not (Isa. 14:7; 30:15; 32:17; 57:20). Ultimately, God’s people will rest in the land without fear (Jer. 30:10; 46:27). Both Isaiah and Micah see a time when the nations will learn war no more, the earth will be at peace, and no one will be afraid (Isa. 2:1-4; Micah 4:1-5). The earth, it seems, has not yet experienced such.
This language echoes God’s purpose in creation. God’s land grant to Israel is analogous to God’s gift of the earth to Adam and Eve when “placed” (rested; Gen. 2:15) in the Garden to serve and protect it (their priestly task). Adam and Eve were priests in God’s temple, God’s home. This was God’s inheritance for humanity.
The land grant to Israel is also eschatological. The new heaven and new earth are what God creates as an inheritance for redeemed humanity. What Israel inherited in the book of Joshua typifies the inheritance God will give to humanity. A day is coming when not only Israel is the “heritage” of God, but also Egypt and Assyria are God’s people and heirs (Isa. 19:25). A day is coming when the meek will inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5).
Prophetic Expectations
Psalm 37 illustrates how the hope of inheriting the land, living in the land, and experiencing God’s goodness in the land is integral to Israel’s joy in the Lord. Disturbed by the prosperity of the wicked, the psalmist assures Israel that those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. Six times the psalmist promises—and Israel liturgically rehearses—Israel will ultimately receive its promised inheritance. They will “inherit the land” (Ps. 37:22, 29). Jesus quotes Psalm 37:11 when he announces: “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5).
This enduring hope of “inheriting the earth,” a renewal of the creation, is pervasive in the prophetic literature. The prophetic message of hope envisioned a “new heaven and a new earth” (Isa. 65:17). God’s commitment to the land pervades the prophetic hope of Israel.
That same message of hope resonates with disciples of Jesus. While the present is filled with “times of refreshing” from the presence of the Holy Spirit, the future brings a “the time for restoring all things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago” (Acts 3:20-21). Here are a few representative prophets where land renewal is prominent.
“I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be plucked up out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God. Amos 9:15
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. Isaiah 55:13
And the Lord will be king over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be one and his name one… And it shall be inhabited, for never again shall it be a doomed to destruction. Jerusalem shall abide in security. Zechariah 14:9, 11.
The most stirring text, which New Testament writers echo, is Isaiah 65:17-25.
“For behold, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people, no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime, for the one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and the one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build houses and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring blessed by the Lord, and their descendants as well. Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, but the serpent—its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroyon all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.
The elderly and children are supported rather than abandoned, everyone has appropriate shelter and housing, everyone is employed with meaningful work, everyone has adequate food and drink, children are blessed, creation will live in shalom with itself, and chaos—the serpent—will disappear in the dust. This is accomplished by the work of the Messiah (Isa. 11:1-9).
Heirs of the Promise
Galatians 3 argues the promise was made before the Torah and is, therefore, not conditioned by Torah-obedience. Israel will inherit the land as God promised Abraham, and God is faithful. Paul explicitly states, “it was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise” (Rom. 4:13).
This is a significant point. The Abrahamic promise belongs to the children of Israel. The land is part of the Abrahamic promise. The children of Israel will possess the land; it is their inheritance. It is an unconditioned promise.
But who is Israel? Who are the children of Abraham? Since the “promise comes by faith,” it is “guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring–not only to those who are of the law” (e.g., Torah-obeying ethnic Israel) “but also to those who have the faith of Abraham” (e.g., including the nations). In this sense Abraham is the “father of many nations;” he is the “father of us all” (Rom. 4:16-17). The Gentiles (nations) have been grafted into Israel through faith (Rom. 11:17). Those who belong to Messiah are the children of Abraham and thus “heirs” of the promise (Gal. 3:29). Renewed Israel includes Jews and Gentiles, and together they constitute the “Israel of God” as part of God’s “new creation” (Gal. 6:15-16).
But does this include the land? Yes, it does. Abraham was the “heir of the world” (cosmos), not just the land of Palestine (Rom. 4:13). The inheritance of the children of Abraham is heaven and earth.
We do not obtain this land by violence or by purchase. We receive it by faith in the Messiah and on the ground of the Messiah’s faithfulness. The “faith(fulness) of Jesus” secures the inheritance for Israel, and we participate in it through faith (Gal. 3:22). The Messiah is the heir of the all things, and we are co-heirs with the Messiah through faith (Rom. 8:17).
The creation is our inheritance. We wait, according to Romans 8:18-25, for the full adoption into the family of God when our bodies are redeemed (resurrection) and the creation is liberated (new heaven and new earth). That is our inheritance. John echoes the whole Abrahamic trajectory (Genesis 17:7-8) in Revelation: “Thosewho are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children” (22:7, emphasis ours).
The Abrahamic promise was first given to ethnic Israel but, by faith and because of the Messiah, it includes the nations as well. Perhaps on the new heaven and new earth the redeemed of ethnic Israel will dwell in Palestine—in the land between the rivers of Egypt and Babylon—but the whole earth will belong to the people of God as they again reign on the earth with God. The kingdom of God will fill the earth!
This accounts for Paul’s pervasive “inheritance” language. He writes about inheriting “the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5). He praises God for the gifting us with the Spirit as a down payment of our inheritance, which will arrive when God has fully redeemed God’s treasured possession (Eph. 1:14). Through faith, Paul writes, we are “qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” (Col. 1:12).
The fullness of the kingdom of God, which is yet future, is our inheritance. It is the final fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise through which God will make Israel a great nation, a great name, and bless all the nations. That promise, including the whole cosmos, belongs to all those who place their hope in God’s Messiah.
Consequently, the new heaven and new earth (creation renewed) is integral to the plot line of the story of God from creation through Abraham to new creation. The earth is the inheritance of God’s people, and one day the reign of God will fill it from the east to the west, from the north to the south. The whole earth, unlike its present condition, will become “Holy to the Lord” (Zech. 14:20).
Inheriting the (New) Earth
At a climactic moment in the drama of Revelation, “loud voices in heaven” announce (Rev. 11:15):
The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever.
This evokes gratitude and worship from those who surround the throne of God. They “give thanks” because the Lord God Almighty has “begun to reign.” This reign involves the judging of the dead, the rewarding of the saints, and—significantly for our purposes—“destroying those who destroy the earth” (Rev. 11:16-18, emphasis ours).
Here “earth” does not refer to people because the Apocalypse habitually refers to the “inhabitants of the earth” for such. This refers to creation. The creator of “heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water” (Rev. 14:7) judges those who destroy the earth God created. This is one reason why creation itself worships the Father and the Son, as “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them” give “blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever” to the Lamb (Rev. 5:13).
When the “destroyers of earth” are judged, the saints are redeemed. When the earth is avenged, the creation rejoices. When the kingdom of God fills the earth, the redeemed “from every tribe and language and people and nation” will become ministering priests and “reign on the earth” (Rev. 5:10).
God’s dramatic story reaches its goal in Revelation 21-22. The climatic picture is wondrous (Rev 21:1-5a).
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I herd a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.”
And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.”
“New heaven and new earth” echoes the creation story in Genesis 1-3. The echo, however, is no mere restoration of creation. Rather, it is a transformation or transfiguration of the present, old creation into something new.
Though chaos remains in the old creation, chaos will disappear in the new. Darkness—part of the original chaos in Genesis 1:2—will no longer exist in the new creation since “the glory of God is its light” (Rev. 21:23; cf. 22:5). The waters of the deep, representing chaos, were part of the old creation, but in the new there will be no more sea (Rev. 21:1). “The sea is no more” assures chaos no longer exists.[1] The consequences of tragic human choices, described in Genesis 3, no longer exist in the new creation—death, mourning, and pain (Rev. 21:4). Indeed, the curse of Genesis 3 is removed (Rev. 22:3). Chaos no longer poses any threat to creation. The earth will never again suffer from human choices or chaotic forces.
Everything chaos and sin produce in the present, old world—death, mourning, pain—will disappear in the new one. The old world will pass away, everything will be made new, and the new world will emerge as a place where God dwells with humanity. What God has prepared for us in heaven (God’s dwelling place) will descend to the new earth under the new heavens in the new creation. God will again dwell with humanity just as God did in Eden.
But Eden is no longer one place on the earth. Rather, Eden fills the earth. The whole creation, unlike in Eden, is God’s sanctuary, the Holy of Holies. The new city is a perfect cube, just like the Holy of Holies in Israel’s temple. But there is no temple on the new earth because the cosmos itself is the temple of God.
The city in Revelation 21-22 stands in contrast with the great city of Babylon in Revelation 17-18. While the latter is filled with greed and immorality, the former excludes all sinfulness. While the latter has dominated and ruled the earth as “the kingdom of this world” since humanity’s expulsion from Eden, the new Jerusalem will fulfill all the hopes of the prophets and the Abrahamic promise. In the new Jerusalem the nations are healed and blessed, provisions are abundant, and the tree and water of life are in the midst of the new earth forever.
Does God create ex nihilo, out of nothing, like God did in the original creation? Is the old creation annihilated and then a totally different world created? We don’t think so.
God’s promise is: “See, I am making all things new” (Rev. 21:5). The text does not say God will make new things. Rather, God will make all things new. This is restoration, healing, and renewal.
Conclusion
This is a new beginning. It is renewal. It is new creation. It is analogous to new life after the Flood, or a new Exodus when Israel entered the promised land. The new earth is our inheritance, and God invites the redeemed “to inherit these things,” where God will be our God and we will be God’s children (Rev. 21:7). This is our inheritance.
Bullet points
God unconditionally promised Abraham’s descendants they would inherit the whole cosmos.
Christians are Abraham’s descendants and therefore heirs of that promise.
The meek will inherit the earth when everything is made new in the new heaven and new earth.
Questions
Does the Abraham promise include the land such that Abraham is the “heir of the cosmos?” What does it mean for Christians to recognize they are “heirs” of the Abrahamic promise?
Are the prophetic hopes of Israel all fulfilled in the present age, or is there a fuller experience of this hope in the age to come?
What is new about the “new heaven and new earth,” and what does it mean for the “old” to “pass away”?
[1] Jonathan Moo, “The Sea That is No More: Revelation 21.1 and the Function of Sea Imagery in the Apocalypse of John,” Novum Testamentum 51 (2009): 148-67.
The Abrahamic Promise (Genesis 12:1-7; 13:14-15; 15:5-21; 17:1-8)
Abraham’s descendants would become a great nation.
Abraham’s descendants would inhabit a promised land as their inheritance.
Abraham’s descendants would bless all peoples upon the earth.
The Land Promise
It was given to Israel “forever” (עוֹלָ֔ם), see Genesis 13:15; Genesis 17:7.
At the same time, the Levitical priesthood is also “forever” (עוֹלָ֔ם); see Exodus 29:9, 28.
David also promised his dynasty would be forever (2 Samuel 7:12-16). Later passages say the promise depended on whether David’s descendants obeyed God (1 Chronicles 28:6-9; 1 Kings 9:4-9).
The Hebrew Scriptures do not have a word for eternity (the Greeks do). The term refers to something permanent or perpetual (NRSV), that is, it is a long-term commitment or reality.
Israel In the Land
Though the land was given to Israel “forever” or “perpetually,” Israel as a national entity lived in the land on condition of faithfulness (Deuteronomy 29; the curses included exile from the land in Deuteronomy 28:26—reversing the promises, Deuteronomy 28:62-65).
Ultimately, Israel was exiled from the land but promised a return (Jeremiah 29:10; Daniel 9:1-2).
Upon their return, they built a new temple, but did not reestablish the kingdom. Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E., and the Romans gave the name “Palestine” to the land after the Bar Kokhba revolt in 132-6 C.E. Jews were expelled from Judea and Jerusalem, but a small group migrated and continued to live in Galilee for centuries.
What does the Land Promise Mean in the Messianic Kingdom?
The meek will inherit the earth (Matt 5:5; cf. Ps 37:9, 11, 22, 29, 34). Ps 37:29 – “The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever” (לָעַד; perpetuity).
Amos promises Israel that after the restoration of the “booth of David” (9:11), God would “never again” pluck them from the land “given them” (9:15). James quotes the promise of Amos in reference to the inclusion of the Gentiles in the church (Acts 15:14-18).
The promise to Abraham included not only the inheritance of the land ancient Israel inhabited but the whole earth. Romans 4:13, “For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.” The Abrahamic promise is not limited to Israel but includes the nations (Gentiles) through faith in the Messiah (the “righteousness of faith”).
This promise is partly fulfilled through the spread of renewed Israel throughout the world as lights in the darkness, a light to the nations. They fill the earth with the knowledge and glory of God. The messianic mission carries forward Israel’s mission (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6; Acts 13:47).
The Abrahamic promise is fulfilled eschatologically when the Messiah’s people inherit the land in the new heaven and new earth. Revelation 21:1-7; verse 7: “Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children”.
“I will be their God and they will be my children” (or people) is God’s covenantal goal for Israel (Gen 17:8; Ex 6:7; 29:45; Lev 26:11-13 [which Paul quotes in 2 Cor 6:16]; Jer 7:23; 24:7; Hos 2:23 [which Peter quotes in 1 Peter 2:10]), which here includes all people who overcome. The land—the new heaven and new earth—is inherited by God’s people, including Gentiles.
The Abrahamic promise—a nation, a land, a blessing to all peoples—is ultimately fulfilled when renewed Israel (through faith in the Messiah) inhabits the new heaven and new earth as the inheritance of the people of God. Both Jew and Gentile are heirs of the promise because they are both children of Abraham by faith in the Messiah (Gal 3:23-29).
In Micah 6, the prophet served as Yahweh’s prosecutor calling for witnesses, listening to the accused, and charging the defendants. They are not a people who pursue justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Through economic injustice and violence, the people have now received God’s verdict: invasion and exile.
But hope is not lost. Who is like Yahweh? That is what Micah’s name means, and it is the final word in his message. God will remember the covenant with Abraham and have compassion on the people, forgiving their sin and renewing their inheritance. Yahweh delights in mercy and will not hold a grudge against the descendants of Jacob or the nations either.
The Corruption of the People (7:1-7)
Before the announcement of hope, the charges continue. The description is comprehensive. The corruption is pervasive.
“The faithful have disappeared from the land, and there is no one left who is upright.” There are none righteous, we might say; no, not one. Even the best people are like briers and thorns in the land.
Rather, people hunt each other in violence, bribe officials and judges, and the powerful pervert justice.
Since there is no one to trust, everyone should keep silent. Even family members cannot trust each other, but conflict awaits. So, guard your mouths, even when you lie in bed with your lover.
Micah says, there is only whom we can trust. “But as for me,” he says, “I will look to” Yahweh. I can entrust my words to Yahweh; God will listen and I will wait on the “God of my salvation.”
The hope is that God will hear Judah if they seek God and wait on God’s work to be done. Judah will find mercy and grace, according to God’s steadfast love (hesed).
A Liturgy of Hope (7:8-20)
Many scholars suggest that this final section of Micah is structured as a liturgical celebration, a testimony in the assembly. Judah is given hope and invited to lean into the future God has promised because Yahweh will keep the covenant made with Abraham and Jacob.
Steven Dempster (Two Horizons Commentary on the Old Testament) sees five stanzas.
Yahweh judges the nations (7:8-10)
Yahweh rebuilds Jerusalem and gathers nations (7:11-13)
Yahweh shepherds Israel in their inheritance (7:14-15)
Yahweh humbles the nations and they align with Yahweh (7:16-17)
Yahweh forgives Judah (7:18-20).
Limburg (Interpretation Commentary) suggests that the people speak 7:8-10, then a priest responds in 7:11-13. The people then respond in 7:14-17 followed by a resounding praise by the whole congregation in 7:18-20.
Yahweh Judges the Nations (7:8-10)
This first stanza is confession of sin and an acceptance of the judgment that will fall upon Judah. It also confronts the nations who taunted and despoiled Judah.
Israel and Judah will fall; they will go into exile. But the nations should not rejoice and pride themselves on their accomplishments. This is the Lord’s judgment; the darkness that enveloped the nation is from God. It is deserved; they had sinned.
But God had not abandoned the descendants of Abraham. God will be alight for them even as the sit in darkness, and there will come a time when God brings them out of darkness into the light…the moment God takes up the cause of Israel.
Though while Israel sat in darkness, the enemy taunted the people with questions like, “Where is the LORD your God?,” there is coming a time when Israel will see the downfall of the nations.
Yahweh rebuilds Jerusalem and gathers nations (7:11-13)
The second stanza announces the future of Jerusalem and Judah. The exiles will return, and this will include the nations as well as the boundaries of the nation are extended.
A day will come, however, the walls will be rebuilt, and the descendants of Abraham will come from the Euphrates and from Egypt to the land of Israel. God will reassemble the people, though the earth is desolate because evil has pervaded the earth. The earth bears the fruit of its judgment while Israel is gathered to God in their inheritance.
Yahweh shepherds Israel in their inheritance (7:14-15)
The third stanza prays for God to lead the people in the wilderness once again and bring them to their plentiful inheritance.
Micah prays, “Shepherd your people.” God will reign over the people in the land—and Israel will flourish. The flock will graze on the hills of Bashan and Gilead as in the beginning of the nation.
Yahweh humbles the nations and they align with Yahweh (7:16-17)
This fourth stanza recounts the humbling of the nations and their turning toward Yahweh. It is the fulfillment of Micah 4 where the nations will flow into Jerusalem to learn of God and learn war no more.
The return from exile will be like a new Exodus. And like Egypt and the other nations at the time, they will shut their mouths in awe. They are defeated nations, like a defeated snake crawling in the dust of the earth. But God offers them hope and a future—to come out of their fortresses (to give up their swords) and turn in fear to Yahweh, the God of Israel. Those nations who do will “stand in fear” of Yahweh.
Yahweh Forgives Judah (7:18-20)
God will restore Israel and redeem the nations? Really? There is no God like Yahweh who pardons sin, not only the sins of the remnant of God’s own possession but the nations as well.
Yahweh . . .
Pardons sin
Forgives (passes over) transgression
Does not stay angry (temperance)
Delights to show steadfast love (hesed)
Shows compassion (like Psalm 103:13)
Treads our sins under our feet (like trampling an enemy)
Throws our iniquities into the depths of the sea (total absolution)
We know who God is from God’s own self-revelation in Exodus 34:6-7. God is gracious, merciful, and compassionate. His anger does not last forever. Rather, God will cast Israel’s sins into the depths of the sea, never to be recovered or remembered.
On the contrary, God is faithful to the promise to the patriarchs Abraham and Jacob. God is loyal to Israel’s ancestors.
Indeed, as Micah’s name reveals, “Who is like Yahweh?”
Micah 6-7 is the third and last oracle of the book. The first two began with “Hear” (1:2; 3:1) as does the third (6:1). The first oracle addressed to “you peoples,” that is, to the nations. It is a witness to all the inhabitants of the earth. The second oracle is addressed the “heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel,” that is, to the military, political, and religious leaders of Judah. The last oracle appears to be addressed to the people of the covenant since Yahweh “has a controversy with his people,” such that Yahweh says, “O my people!”
The responsibility for the consequences that befall Judah are deeply rooted in its leadership but the people are also complicit. The nation, led by foolish and violent leaders, has followed their lead on the whole, though it is probable that there were many who had not bowed the knee (like Micah, for example).
In this oracle, particularly chapter six, we see two movements: a lawsuit and its charges. The prophet functions as Yahweh’s prosecutor who presses charges against the people. It is a covenant lawsuit in the wake of Judah’s rebellion and their unjust practices that failed to show mercy and walk with God.
The Lawsuit (Micah 6:1-8)
The lawsuit is identified by the Hebrew word rib (רִ֣יב), which is often translated “controversy” (6:2) or “case” (6:1) but is actually a legal term. It is a prosecution (Micah 6:1-22). The Hebrew term is used twice along with the intent to convict, contend, reprove, or correct in Micah 6:2 (יִתְוַכָּֽח). This is a courtroom scene: God is the judge, Micah is Yahweh’s prosecutor, creation serve as a witness, and Yahweh is the judge. It is a covenant lawsuit.
The invitation (6:1-2)
The people of God are invited to participate in the lawsuit. As defendants, they have a voice. But there are also witnesses or jurors—those who will hear the case and bear witness to its truthfulness.
The people are invited to plead their cases and raise their voice in defense before the mountains and hills of creation. The creation knows the story; they have seen the activities. And here they are like jurors or witnesses in the lawsuit. Perhaps they are the audience before whom God prosecutes the people.
The mountains and the foundations of the earth—the immovable dimensions of creation itself—are solid footing for the case Yahweh will present. It is a cosmic courtroom to which all creation is invited to hear the lawsuit Yahweh prosecutes through the prophet Micah. Yahweh will reprove and judge Israel in the light of the covenant God established with them long ago.
Yahweh Addresses the People (6:3-5)
In this cosmic courtroom, Yahweh addresses the people so that they might remember “the saving (righteous) acts of the LORD” (Micah 6:5).
What saving acts? The prophet rehearses the story of the Exodus, the wilderness, and the crossing over the Jordan.
God delivered them from Egyptian enslavement.
God sent leaders to guide them through the wilderness to the land of promise.
God protected them from hostile forces like Balak of Moab.
God brought them from Shittim (east of the Jordan) to Gilgal (west of the Jordan).
These are the righteous deeds of the Lord. They are God’s saving acts which are celebrated in the Psalms, remembered by the prophets, and taught in the Torah. Has Israel forgotten?
It is interesting what Micah chooses to name. There are many details he could have specified. One of the more significant—and not mentioned elsewhere except in the Torah itself—is the naming of three leaders: Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. All are called prophets in the Torah. They are all “sent.” They are all divine agents among the people, and Miriam is not restricted to women but also leads the whole of Israel (men and women) in the song of celebration in Exodus 15.
The movement from Shittim to Gilgal is the movement across the Jordan. So, this line completes the journey from Egypt through the wilderness across the Jordan (even though none of the named leaders enter the land with the people).
How has Yahweh treated the people? He freed them, guided them, protected them, and gave them the land in which they now dwell. As Isaiah 5:7 says, what else could I have done for you?
Have God’s saving acts wearied Israel? Have they mistreated Israel? No, creation itself which witnessed this movement from Egypt to the promised land testifies to God’s faithful love for Israel. God’s covenant of love has never had any other goal.
The People Respond (6:6-7)
The people respond with a desire to worship, perhaps even to satisfy God in some way (as some attempt in Psalm 50). To “come before” or “meet” the Lord is an entrance liturgy, like Psalm 15 and Psalm 24. It is to enter God’s presence, to seek the face of God in worship—it is to bow down before God. This is an entrance into the earthly temple (we may presume) that is analogous to entering the heavenly temple to seek God’s face.
What should we bring, the people ask. How do we respond to God to acknowledge our sin and seek forgiveness?
Burnt offerings, even calves a year old?
Thousands of rams, even ten thousand rivers of oil?
My firstborn, the fruit of my body?
The people want to give their best, and the offers intensive their supplication. Burnt offerings? Not that? How about even calves a year old, which are highly valued.
Ok, not that? How about thousands of rams along with rivers of oil. While the number of rams is conceivable for a national celebration (Passover week, for example, during the time of Hezekiah include thousands of animals, 2 Chronicles 30), the amount of oil is extravagant and practically impossible. Such oil is used in the baking of bread with grain offerings. This is a lot of bread! In other words, the people are offering God a celebration where the people come and eat bread and meat, and presumably drink wine in honor of God in order to seek forgiveness or celebrate God’s coming deliverance. They hope to persuade God.
The offer of the firstborn is no fantasy. The surrounding Canaanite cultures, especially the Phoenicians, are well known for the sacrifice of children. Mesha, the king of Moab, records the sacrifice of his own son on a stele which is now in the Louvre in Paris. This archaeological find (found in Jordan in 1868; known as the Mesha Stele). It actually mentions the Israelite king Omri and his son. It dates from around 840 BCE (approximately 130 or so years before Micah’s third oracle). We also Judah’s king Ahaz sacrificed his son(s) in the Valley of Hinnom, according to 2 Kings 16:3 (and 2 Chronicles 28:3). Ahaz was Hezekiah’s father. This probably happened somewhere between 732 and 716 BCE.
So, the offer is a real one. Judah’s leadership was willing to offer a son, if this is what God wanted. But that is not what God wanted.
The ethic (6:8)
God does not want the sacrifice of a firstborn. Rather, God wants the living sacrifice of faithful people. God requires the people to sacrifice themselves through justice, mercy, and humility. What is good? The people already know, but they don’t practice it (as we will see in the second half of chapter 6).
What is good? Not only for Israel, but for all human beings. Micah addresses not only the covenant people in this statement but “Adam” (human beings)—adam knows what is good! Thus, the nations are also judged by the good God identifies. It is a universal call to be truly human, that is, to reflect the goodness and likeness of God. This is what is required, or more literally, this is what the Lord seeks. This is what the Lord wants for humanity.
To do justice (עֲשׂ֤וֹת מִשְׁפָּט֙), or in Greek ποιεῖν κρίμα.
This is a common theme in the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Isaiah 1:17; 16:5; Psalm 99:4). This is what God expects from judges and leaders in Israel (1 Kings 3:28; Jeremiah 22:3). It refers to a system of communal righteousness that orders society in equitable and peaceful ways. This is a quality human beings are to embody in their own lives, families, and systems.
To love mercy (אַ֣הֲבַת חֶ֔סֶד), or in Greek ἀγαπᾶν ἔλεον.
The Hebrew terms hesed (חֶ֔סֶד) is one of the most important words in the Hebrew Bible. It is part of God’s own self-description in Exodus 34:6. Nortoriously difficult to translate into English, it has a variety of renditions: mercy, covenant loyalty, lovingkindness, steadfast love, steadfast devotion. Psalm 136 echoes the way hesed is part of God’s creation and redemptive story.
The people of God are to “love” this quality and emulate it. The people of God are to embody God’s own hesed in their lives. It represents a priority—this is what the people of God love, prioritize, and emphasize. As Christopher-Smith notes, this “phrase about ‘steadfast devotion’ disallows a harsh and vindictive idea about ‘justice’” (p.196). Justice is tempered with mercy and steadfast love, and steadfast love seeks justice for those who do not have it.
To walk humbly with your God (הַצְנֵ֥עַ לֶ֖כֶת עִם־אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ), or in Greek ἕτοιμον εἶναι τοῦ πορεύεσθαι μετὰ κυρίου θεοῦ σου.
“Humbly” is the common translation, but it may also mean cautiously, carefully or with circumspection. It is a call for wisdom, but the main point is to “walk with God.” What does God seek? Yahweh wants humans to walk in the paths of God’s own life and character, that is, to be like God. Israel is called to be holy because God is holy. In essence, the call to walk with God humbly is a call to obedience—to walk in God’s paths.
Many suggest that this summary is influenced by Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (and Jeremiah 7:23 might as well): “So now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? Only to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD your Goda and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being.”
Included in Deuteronomy’s sense of walking in the ways of God according to God’s requirements are: a circumcised heart, justice for the people (no partiality or bribes), justice for the orphan and widow, the love of strangers by the provision of food and clothing, and a commitment to worship God alone (Deuteronomy 10:16-20).
This triad is also echoed in Matthew 23:23, which Jesus calls the weightier matters of the law: justice (righteousness), mercy (love), and faithfulness (walking with God).
If we want to know what the meaning of “mercy, justice, and obedience (humility)” or “doing, loving, and walking” (Limburg, p. 271) is in Micah 6:8, probably the most helpful starting point is the immediate context of Micah 6:9-16. There the prophet lays out the charges—the realities in Judah that violate “mercy, justice, and humility.”
The Specific Charges (Micah 6:9-16)
God has dragged Judah into court because the nation is filled with evil like treasures hoarded in the house of the wicked. Evil fills Judah, and God is indignant. The voice of God confronts Jerusalem (“the city”) and its tribal leaders who assemble there. This assembly, however, turns into a courtroom where the charges are specified. This is a judgment oracle.
The speech articulates some specific evils that have brought about these consequences.
Economic, crimes of the marketplace. This included dishonest weights and measures.
Violence, bloodshed for power, control, and economic gain. The wealthy used their status to gain advantage by violent means.
Deceit, lying is pervasive and used for gain and power.
Idolatry, the statues of Omri (cf. Jeremiah 10:3) who introduced the Baal cult to Israel that spread to Judah.
This stands in contrast to what it means to walk humbly, lover mercy, and do justice. Doing what God requires means:
Economic justice and the rejection of violence.
Loving mercy means reversing the economic and violent abuses of the day.
Walking with God means worshipping the true God rather than idols.
The contrast between 6:8 and 6:10-12 deserve more attention than I have given here. We learn something about the positive nature of justice, mercy, and walking with God while also noting what the effects of injustice, cruelty, and idolatry are. The people of Israel did not do what God required, and therefore they will experience their reward for such evil.
Therefore, Yahweh says, the consequences follow. This includes hunger, loss, sword, and desolation. Ultimately, it is the destruction of a nation, the exile of both Israel and Judah. Neither shall benefit from their labors in the land—the sow but will not reap.
Due to their sin, the people of God will suffer the fruits of their evil.
Who is favored or “happy”? Psalm 41 teaches it is the one who considers the poor and lives with integrity despite their own failings.
Such people are assaulted by enemies, particularly cosmic powers, whom God will defeat. Yahweh is gracious and raises the Psalmist from a deathbed to renewed life.
Jesus quotes this Psalm at the Last Supper in reference to Judas. Though it names the reality of cosmic enemies, it also teaches that Yahweh will show favor and cause those who walk in the way with integrity to stand in God’s presence forever.
Bobby Valentine and I discuss Psalm 41 in the light of the individual, the nation, and the Messiah.
Why “go to church”? Or, better, why participate in the assembly of fellow-believers? Psalm 40 provides a response.
We go to tell the story, to proclaim the good news of God’s righteousness, God’s saving work. To rehearse the story of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness.
We go to present our living sacrifices to the Lord and declare, “Here I am.”
We go to tell our testimonies of God’s deliverance so that others might “see” and be awed by God’s grace and truth.
We go to sing a “new song” and declare the wondrous deeds of God.
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Biblical Texts | Tagged: Egypt, Exodus, Exodus 4-7, gods, Gods of Egypt, Plagues on Egypt, Spiritual Conflict, Spiritual Warfare, Yahweh | 
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Posted by John Mark Hicks