“( 28) We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.  ( 29) For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  ( 30) And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified ( Rom. 8:28-30 ).” Verse 28 can be translated differently based on the manuscript used.  (1) In everything God works for good with those who love him – God cooperates in all things with those who love.  (2) God makes all things work together for the good of those who love him.  (3) All things work together for good for those who love God.  No matter which translation is used, it is God’s purpose and plan that are the foundation of the Christian life because God is in control.  We are ‘predestined’ because God’s plan for all who accept his call has already been determined – to bring them to eternal life with

'Then the Lord said to Moses: Go to Pharaoh, for I have made him and his servants obstinate in order that I may perform these signs of mine among them and that you may recount to your son and grandson how I made a fool of the Egyptians and what signs I did among them, so that you may know that I am the Lord. So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: How long will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go to serve me. For if you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. They will cover the surface of the earth, so that the earth itself will not be visible. They will eat up the remnant you saved undamaged from the hail, as well as all the trees that are growing in your fields. They will fill your houses and the houses of your servants and of all the Egyptians—something your parents and your grandparents have not seen from the day they appeared on this soil until today.” With that he turned a

'Then the Lord spoke to Moses: Early tomorrow morning present yourself to Pharaoh and say to him: Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to serve me, for this time I will unleash all my blows upon you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me anywhere on earth. For by now I should have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with such pestilence that you would have vanished from the earth. But this is why I have let you survive: to show you my power and to make my name resound throughout the earth! Will you continue to exalt yourself over my people and not let them go? At this time tomorrow, therefore, I am going to rain down such fierce hail as there has never been in Egypt from the day it was founded up to the present. Therefore, order your livestock and whatever else you have in the open fields to be brought to a place of safety. Whatever human being or animal is found in the fields and is not brought to

'From Mount Hor they set out by way of the Red Sea, to bypass the land of Edom, but the people’s patience was worn out by the journey; so the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!” So the Lord sent among the people seraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of the Israelites died. Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord to take the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people, and the Lord said to Moses: Make a seraph and mount it on a pole, and everyone who has been bitten will look at it and recover.  Accordingly Moses made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever the serpent bit someone, the person looked at the bronze serpent and recovered (Num. 21:4-9).' As Moses was leading the Israelites from captivity in Egypt to the Promised Lan

' So the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Each of you take handfuls of soot from a kiln, and in the presence of Pharaoh let Moses scatter it toward the sky. It will turn into fine dust over the whole land of Egypt and cause festering boils on human being and beast alike throughout the land of Egypt. So they took the soot from a kiln and appeared before Pharaoh. When Moses scattered it toward the sky, it caused festering boils on human being and beast alike. Because of the boils the magicians could not stand in Moses’ presence, for there were boils on the magicians as well as on the rest of the Egyptians. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said to Moses (Ex. 9:8-12) The plagues that God inflicted upon the Egyptians became more and more serious.  The sixth plague was not announced, and the boils affected both humans and livestock.  Even the magicians were affected by the boils so they could not perform their rituals to Isis, the

Bodily health is a good thing, but what is truly blessed is not only to know how to keep one’s health but actually to be healthy. If someone praises health but then goes and eats food that makes him ill, what is the use to him, in his illness, of all his praise of health? We need to look at the text we are considering in just the same way. It does not say that it is blessed to know something about the Lord God, but that it is blessed to have God within oneself. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. I do not think that this is simply intended to promise a direct vision of God if one purifies one’s soul. On the other hand, perhaps the magnificence of this saying is hinting at the same thing that is said more clearly to another audience: The kingdom of God is within you. That is, we are to understand that when we have purged our souls of every illusion and every disordered affection, we will see our own beauty as an image of the divine nature. And it seems to me that the

'Love righteousness, you who judge the earth; think of the Lord in goodness, and seek him in integrity of heart; Because he is found by those who do not test him, and manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him. Because into a soul that plots evil wisdom does not enter, nor does she dwell in a body under debt of sin.  Do not court death by your erring way of life, nor draw to yourselves destruction by the works of your hands. Because God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. For he fashioned all things that they might have being, and the creatures of the world are wholesome; There is not a destructive drug among them nor any domain of Hades on earth, For righteousness is undying (Wis. 1:1-2,4,12-15).’ The book of Wisdom focuses on divine wisdom and how God’s justice rewards or punishes individuals.  We are to live a virtuous life in thought and action and trust in God so that we can obtain divine wisdom and possible union with God.  We m

'Then the Lord said to Moses: Go to Pharaoh and tell him: Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to serve me. For if you refuse to let them go and persist in holding them, the hand of the Lord will strike your livestock in the field—your horses, donkeys, camels, herds and flocks—with a very severe pestilence. But the Lord will distinguish between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that nothing belonging to the Israelites will die. And the Lord set a definite time, saying: Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land. And on the next day the Lord did it. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. But although Pharaoh found upon inquiry that not even so much as one of the livestock of the Israelites had died, he remained obstinate and would not let the people go (Ex. 9:1-7).’ God sent Moses to warn Pharaoh of the coming pestilence.  This plague was more serious because it involved livestock which was ne

'Then the Lord spoke to Moses: Early tomorrow morning present yourself to Pharaoh when he sets out toward the water, and say to him: Thus says the Lord: Let my people go to serve me. For if you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies upon you and your servants and your people and your houses. The houses of the Egyptians and the very ground on which they stand will be filled with swarms of flies. But on that day I will make an exception of the land of Goshen, where my people are, and no swarms of flies will be there, so that you may know that I the Lord am in the midst of the land. I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow. This the Lord did. Thick swarms of flies entered the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants; throughout Egypt the land was devastated on account of the swarms of flies. Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go sacrifice to your God within the land.” But Moses replied, “It is no

'Thereupon the Lord spoke to Moses: Speak to Aaron: Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it will turn into gnats throughout the land of Egypt. They did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and gnats came upon human being and beast alike. All the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the land of Egypt. Though the magicians did the same thing to produce gnats by their magic arts, they could not do so. The gnats were on human being and beast alike, and the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” Yet Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said (Ex. 8:12-15).’ This was the third plague of the first triplet of plagues.  The battle with Pharaoh, his gods, and his magicians continued.  This time, God does not give Pharaoh warning before the plague.  Aaron struck the dust of the earth and the dust turned into lice all throughout Egypt.  The lice were on both m

‘The Lord then spoke to Moses: Speak to Aaron: Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams, the canals, and the ponds, and make frogs overrun the land of Egypt. So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. But the magicians did the same by their magic arts and made frogs overrun the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord to remove the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” Moses answered Pharaoh, “Please designate for me the time when I am to pray for you and your servants and your people, to get rid of the frogs from you and your houses. They will be left only in the Nile.” “Tomorrow,” he said. Then Moses replied, “It will be as you have said, so that you may know that there is none like the Lord, our God. The frogs will leave you and your houses, your servants and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.” After Mo

'Then the Lord said to Moses: Pharaoh is obstinate in refusing to let the people go. In the morning, just when he sets out for the water, go to Pharaoh and present yourself by the bank of the Nile, holding in your hand the staff that turned into a snake. Say to him: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you with the message: Let my people go to serve me in the wilderness. But as yet you have not listened. Thus says the Lord: This is how you will know that I am the Lord. With the staff here in my hand, I will strike the water in the Nile and it will be changed into blood. The fish in the Nile will die, and the Nile itself will stink so that the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from the Nile. The Lord then spoke to Moses: Speak to Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—its streams, its canals, its ponds, and all its supplies of water—that they may become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the wooden pails

Moses continued to protest and said to God, “If you please, my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and tongue. If you please, my Lord, send someone else ( Ex. 4:10,13 )!”   At this, God grew angry and told Moses that his brother Aaron would, “Speak to the people for you: he will be your spokesman, and you will be as God to him ( Ex. 4:16 ).” When Moses was on his way back to meet with his brother Aaron and the Israelites in Egypt, God gave him additional information and instructions.   'Then the Lord said to Moses in Midian: Return to Egypt, for all those who sought your life are dead. So Moses took his wife and his sons, mounted them on the donkey, and started back to the land of Egypt. Moses took the staff of God with him. The Lord said to Moses: On your return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart and he will not l

' On that day, as evening drew on, he said to them, “Let us cross to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey (Mk. 4:35-41)”’ From the disciples’ perspective, to understand the significance of what Jesus did we have to reflect on creation; “A mighty wind sweeping over the waters ( Gn. 1:2 ).”   Only God can control nature.  Squalls were a common occurrence on the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus was asleep in the

When Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden of Eden God started the process of reconciling mankind to himself.  He made himself know to Abram and God made a promise to him that was repeated to Abram’s son Isaac ( Gen. 26:1-5 ), and Isaac’s son Jacob ( Gen 28:10-16 ).  “The Lord said to Abram: Go forth from your land, your relatives, and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will find blessing in you ( Gen. 12:1-3 ).”  It is this promise of which we are now beneficiaries through Christ Jesus.   Jacob, Isaac’s son, had 12 sons who became the heads of the 12 tribes of Israel ( Gen 49:28 ).  Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, was sold into slavery by his brothers out of jealousy when he was 17 years old ( Gen. 37 ).  But God had a plan for Joseph and through

“But,” objected Moses, “suppose they do not believe me or listen to me? For they may say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” The Lord said to him: What is in your hand? “A staff,” he answered. God said: Throw it on the ground. So he threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and Moses backed away from it. Then the Lord said to Moses: Now stretch out your hand and take hold of its tail. So he stretched out his hand and took hold of it, and it became a staff in his hand. That is so they will believe that the Lord , the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did appear to you. Again the Lord said to him: Put your hand into the fold of your garment. So he put his hand into the fold of his garment, and when he drew it out, there was his hand covered with scales, like snowflakes. Then God said: Put your hand back into the fold of your garment. So he put his hand back into the fold of his garment, and when he drew it out, there it was again like

“Go and gather the elders of the Israelites, and tell them, The Lord , the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I have observed you and what is being done to you in Egypt; so I have decided to lead you up out of your affliction in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey. They will listen to you. Then you and the elders of Israel will go to the king of Egypt and say to him: The Lord , the God of the Hebrews, has come to meet us. So now, let us go a three days’ journey in the wilderness to offer sacrifice to the Lord , our God. Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless his hand is forced. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wondrous deeds I will do in its midst. After that he will let you go. I will even make the Egyptians so well-disposed toward this people that,

'But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” God answered: I will be with you; and this will be your sign that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will serve God at this mountain. “But,” said Moses to God, “if I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what do I tell them?” God replied to Moses: I am who I am. Then he added: This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you. God spoke further to Moses: This is what you will say to the Israelites: The Lord , the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever; this is my title for all generations (Ex. 3:11-15).”’ At this point Moses does not receive a sign of God’s power before he is sent to the Israelites and to Pharaoh and he begins to question God.  He is just told to

'Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock beyond the wilderness, he came to the mountain of God, Horeb. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him as fire flaming out of a bush. When he looked, although the bush was on fire, it was not being consumed. So Moses decided, “I must turn aside to look at this remarkable sight. Why does the bush not burn up?” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called out to him from the bush: Moses! Moses! He answered, “Here I am.” God said: Do not come near! Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father, he continued, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. But the Lord said: I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry against their taskmasters, so I know well what they are suffering. Therefore I h

“Therefore, since we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we are clearly apparent to God, and I hope we are also apparent to your consciousness. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you an opportunity to boast of us, so that you may have something to say to those who boast of external appearance rather than of the heart. For if we are out of our minds, it is for God; if we are rational, it is for you. For the love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer (2 Cor. 5:11-16).” Paul defends his ministry because his opponents have interpreted his trials and tribulations as signs that he is not truly an apos

“Therefore, since we have such hope, we act very boldly and not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites could not look intently at the cessation of what was fading. Rather, their thoughts were rendered dull, for to this present day the same veil remains unlifted when they read the old covenant, because through Christ it is taken away. To this day, in fact, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts, but whenever a person turns to the Lord the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:12-18).” Christians can act and speak boldly because of the glory of their ministry, unlike with the old covenant where the Israelites had only a veiled understanding of Moses and his teaching ( Ex. 34:29-35 ).  Freedom from the ‘old covenant,’ wh

“Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, was so glorious that the Israelites could not look intently at the face of Moses because of its glory that was going to fade, how much more will the ministry of the Spirit be glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, the ministry of righteousness will abound much more in glory. Indeed, what was endowed with glory has come to have no glory in this respect because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was going to fade was glorious, how much more will what endures be glorious.” Paul contrasts his preaching of the Gospel and Christ crucified with the ministry of Moses.  The Mosaic Law, which Paul calls the ‘ministry of condemnation,’ cannot lead to salvation; “I once lived outside the law, but when the commandment came, sin became alive; then I died, and the commandment that was for life turned out to be death for me (Rom. 7:9-10).”   The Gospel he preaches far surpasses the ministry of Moses in its splend