Thy Strong Word From Kfuo Radio

Rev. Dan Eddy, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Beloit, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 17. “Take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out.” Another water plague is reversed in Exodus 17, demonstrating both God’s supreme power and as well as His infinite mercy, leading His Israelite flock like a shepherd. When Israel goes out to fight the Amalekites, Joshua and Moses falter, showing that it is really “the staff of God” which wins the battle. Just like the uplifted staff, the cross of God wins the battle for all who are in Christ the Good Shepherd.

Rev. Nabil Nour, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hartford, South Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study the second half of Psalm 78. “The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle. [...] They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them.” Wealth, power, land—the tribes of Joseph had it all. Ephraim in particular was shown so much grace, but Psalm 78 shows how Ephraim, blessed as firstborn in Egypt, tragically fell away as he forgot God’s Exodus. When idolatry twists the archer’s bow, we hurt ourselves and the people closest to us. By God’s grace, there is forgiveness for Joseph in Christ, as renewed faith constantly looks back and looks forward to God’s salvation. We need your support to stay on the air. Give now at kfuo.org/sharathon.

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study the first half of Psalm 78. “He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them. He gave their crops to the destroying locust.” The opposite of forgetting is hearing, according to Psalm 78. The reason why we fail to obey God is because we do not have His salvation before our eyes and ears. Many Israelites were like Pharaoh, refusing to look at God’s faith-producing salvation in the Word and the signs. Even with swarms of quail for food, Israel forgot how they were spared from swarms of flies, frogs, and locusts. Faith constantly tunes in with its eyes and ears to the crossing of the Sea and the cross of Christ.

“In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp.” Ravenous locusts and destructive hail were still fresh memories in Exodus 16, so the message was loud and clear when God worked these two anti-plagues to provide meat and bread for his people. God also used the dew-like and honey-flavored bread to patiently teach His children about the Sabbath, even before He instituted it. He gave them a foretaste of the feast to come in the “land flowing with milk and honey,” just as Christ’s body and blood let us participate in the resurrection of the world to come.

Rev. Benjamin Ball, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Hamel, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 15. “At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.” The people see the glory of Yahweh and immediately burst into song in Exodus 15. They sing as one voice, God’s firstborn rescued from Egypt. Yet the language signals something bigger here, the very defeat of universal evil and primordial chaos. Like Israel, our praises join the praise of Christ, the true firstborn rescued from death as He triumphed over pharaonic Satan. This Sabbath rest is already ours, and yet it also awaits us in the Canaan of the resurrection.

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 14. “See the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.” With the drowning of Pharaoh’s army in the sea, Exodus 14 ties together all the major themes of the book: Yahweh judges the Egyptian gods so that Egypt would know Him, and Yahweh saves His people so that Israel would see and put their faith in Him. Even as the darkness and the waters hearken back to Genesis 1, the language points ahead to Christ, lifted up in death, resurrection, and ascension that the whole world would see Him and know God.

Rev. David Andrus, pastor of Abiding Savior Lutheran Church in St. Louis and Not-Alone.net Ministries, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 13. “When in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.’” Exodus 13 seems like no time for theology class, in the middle of the wilderness with Pharaoh about to pursue in the next chapter. Yet here God’s people are doing just as Moses originally asked: They are holding “a feast to the LORD” in the wilderness. Three rituals are tied together, looking back to Egypt and pointing ahead to Christ: God puts forward a substitute, He passes over us in mercy, and He makes us holy.

Rev. Steven Theiss, retired LCMS pastor in Frohna, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 12. "There was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead." The human death that began in the hailstorm has reached its climax in Exodus 12, striking the head of the Egyptian pantheon. All was encoded onto the details of the ritual of Passover, whose name also means Christmas and Easter. Christ was the ultimate Passover lamb, whose blood protects the house of faith.

Rev. Thomas Eckstein, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Jamestown, North Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 11. “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here.” Exodus 11 leaves us with a dramatic cliffhanger: Moses announces the most severe plague yet—the death of the firstborn—and storms out of Pharaoh’s palace in anger. But didn’t Pharaoh forbid Moses from coming back to the palace? What’s the point of this announcement? God speaks law and gospel through His servant and through His wonders, calling Egypt to repentance and forgiveness, even as He calls us today through His Word and Christ.

Rev. David Fleming, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 10. “Tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land.” The plagues of Exodus 10 ominously resemble the end of a decreation countdown. Yet even when the locusts are driven “into the Red Sea” with foreboding, Pharaoh grows more defiant. As sin’s clutches refuse to let go, they destroy God’s good gifts in self-fulfilled prophecy. While darkness and corruption desperately clutched their power, God worked life from death in Christ’s cross.

Rev. Nathan Meador, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 110. “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Was King David also a priest? Psalm 110 seems to speak about David, describing how he anticipated the re-unification of prophet, priest, and king under God. God spoke to the angels about His plans for David before humanity was even created. Yet on another level, this psalm—the most quoted in the New Testament—makes sense coming from David, pointing to Jesus the Messiah. As one both resurrected and ascended, He has defeated even death and the devil.

Rev. Chris Matthis, pastor of Epiphany Lutheran Church in Castle Rock, Colorado, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 9. “All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died.” An epidemic strikes in Exodus 9. As the plagues intensify, the first deaths come. But if all the livestock died in the epidemic, why are they later described in the plagues of boils and hail? This misunderstanding disappears under close reading. God gradually intensifies the plagues so as to make Pharaoh dig in his heels, isolating him from his subjects. God thus opens the door for some of the Egyptians to turn and know Him, just as Christ isolated Satan that the Gentiles might come to know His Father.

Rev. Christopher Maronde,  pastor of St. John Bingen/Decatur, Indiana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 8. “I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.” Frogs, gnats, and flies! The transition in Exodus 8 however shows that there are different sets of plagues, each with different meanings. In this second set, the focus is on the ruination of Egypt as opposed to the peace of Goshen. Peace out of ruin, life out of death—these foreshadow Christ’s resurrection and the life of the world to come.

Rev. John Shank, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, IL, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 7. “The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel.” Aaron’s staff becomes a snake, and when his staff strikes the Nile, it turns to blood. The true confrontation begins in Exodus 7, as God provokes Pharaoh’s proud anger. God’s purpose is twofold: to break Pharaoh’s will and secure the release of His people, and to publicly reveal His glory to all Egypt. Egypt is judged rightly, but the purpose is repentance and salvation, just as it was later in the destruction of Jerusalem, when Christ was revealed as the true Temple for all people, even for Egypt.

Rev. John Lukomski, retired LCMS pastor and co-host of Wrestling with the Basics on KFUO Radio, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 6. “I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?” When Moses doubts himself, Exodus 6 responds with a genealogy. While Moses might not have been the best speaker, it was never about his ability; it’s about God’s promise. The genealogy shows the divine plan going from Levi to Moses & Aaron and then down to Phinehas, who helped capture Canaan. The priesthood is about the covenant of “I WILL BE.” God’s grace isn’t for the sake of rebellion, but rather for the inclusion of all people through Christ, who submitted to the authorities even as He loved God—and us—more than Himself.

Rev. Dr. David Adams, Associate Professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 5. “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me?” Moses despairs in Exodus 5 because the Israelites went from believing in him to wishing he’d never shown up. This is exactly why Pharaoh increased the Israelites’ workload, to turn them against a potential rebel leader. All this however plays into God’s larger plan to save His people “in the sight” of everyone. He does no evil; rather He turns trouble into salvation, just as He did with His Son, who let Himself be lifted up by an oppressive regime in the sight of everyone.

Rev. William Cwirla, pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hacienda Heights, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 4. “Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, 'Let my son go that he may serve me.'” Fatherhood is central to Exodus 4, whose poetry prepares the way for Father, Son, and Spirit. As Israel’s Father, God lovingly repeats His name to Moses, “I will be with your mouth and teach you what to say.” When Moses however fails to circumcise his own son, only the son’s blood can atone for him, a sign of Passover and eventually Easter. Israel’s mission is not one of disobedience, but a mission fulfilled in the atoning Christ who obeyed to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Rev. Curtis Deterding, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, Florida, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 3. Christ quotes Exodus 3 to prove the resurrection: even if we die, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is still our God. Moses is afraid of what he has seen, but God has seen Israel’s suffering and He “will be” with them. Yahweh means “He will be.” His name is pure love, grace, and promise, ultimately revealed in Christ who helps even the Gentiles to see the Triune God through His preaching, His cross, and His ascension.

Rev. Shawn Kumm, pastor of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Cody, Wyoming, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 2. “His sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him.” Miriam takes center stage in Exodus 2 as the forerunner of Moses, serving God with faith and wisdom like their mother and the midwives. Most importantly, they see and serve as witnesses, like John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene after them. God will draw His sojourning people out of the water so that Egypt sees like Pharaoh’s daughter, not like the clandestine vigilantism of Moses. Similarly, God raised His Son for all to see, and His beautiful Son moves us to see and take pleasure in His new creation.

Rev. Dan Torkelson, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in North Prairie, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 1. “The people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly.” Exodus 1 flows seamlessly out of Genesis while also foreshadowing the confrontation with Pharaoh. Israel fulfills God’s commandment to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” even while serving the King of Egypt. Yet Pharaoh prefers “wisdom” over life, which will lead to disaster as in Genesis 3. But the midwives, even before Moses and the Apostles, boldly obey God rather than men. God’s blessing and promise could not be stopped, even as Christ the Word cannot be stopped.