Exodus 23:25 (Jessica Seese)

“Worship the Lord your God and His blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you.”
Areas to look at:

1. Worship only me,
2. The LORD your God!
3. I will bless you
4. With plenty of food and water.
   
5. Keep you strong.

For this particular passage, I choose to look at the Contemporary English Version. Remember that Exodus is written to chronicle Israel’s time after being freed of slavery in Egypt. We know that some of the Israelites complained that Moses had taken them away from Egypt’s bounty; only to starve in the wilderness.
They had a feast or famine attitude. Moses was taking the people from the wilderness into the promise land; from slavery and oppression to a land flowing with milk and honey.
What does this promise mean for us Christians, living in the contemporary world? To answer this question, this author has broken down the passage into five sections:

1. “Worship only me.”
   1. To worship is to give thanks and praise. It is more than singing in church on Sunday, but that is a perfect example of corporate worship. God truly desires our hearts. God calls his people. The Israelites would have been exposed to many Egyptian gods and goddesses during their time in captivity. We may not have their other gods, but there are things that we put above God. So, our first piece of wisdom from this passage is to worship God alone.
       
      
2. “The LORD your God.”
   1. God is claiming ownership of the Israelites. Today, he claims us as his own. He is our Lord, the ruler of our hearts. Our creator, sustainer; God wants us to know that we are His. A sense of belonging and peace can be found when we rest in his love for us.
       
3. “I will bless you.”
   1. When we acknowledge the sovereignty of God, he wants to reward us. Due to the fact that we have worshipped only Him, and that He is the LORD our God, he is ready to bless us for our faithfulness. For the Israelites, His provision was food and water. Today, we can cling to the truth that he will provide for all of our needs.
       
4. “Plenty of food and water.”
   1. God gives to us abundance. His provision is more than we could think or ask. With His ways being higher than our ways, we may not always be able to see how his provision will manifest itself. God will always meet our needs, bringing us from the wilderness of unbelief to the promise land when we step out to Him in faith.
       
      
5. “Keep you strong.”
   1. In the previous portions of this Bible study, we have examined how God’s word can be a cure for anxiety. God coming alongside of us and strengthening us as we walk through uncertain is a comfort. He soothes us, quieting the voices of our fears with the mighty roar from the Lion of Judah.
      

“Freedom can be ours when we call His name.” (Song lyric)
God has designed us to be in community with one another. The perfect journey from anxiety into his perfect peace is not one that we will ever have to make alone. God will strengthen you by His Holy Spirit. Your church family contains within it mentors in the faith. These mentors are there to guide and encourage us.

                So that when anxiety strikes, we can remember that God is in control of every situation. He, through Christ, cares for us; so that we can come to Him, laying our burdens down at the feet of Jesus. Then, we can truly be more than conquers!


                                                                                                Love and Peace through Christ Jesus,
                                                                                                                                                Jessica