SUNDAY, JULY 20
Scripture: Exodus 4:20-23

In Exodus 4:20-23, we learn one of the first laws of preparation. One of the first laws of preparation is very simple. Exodus 4:20-23 says, “Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand. And the Lord said to Moses, ‘When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.’”’” The first law of preparation is that as we contemplate executing justice in the gate of the enemy, we must make sure we are prepared to stand in the fire we call down. Translation – we go down a checklist and make sure we are actually in tsed-aw-kaw, or walking in true righteousness before the Lord. Before we can execute mish-pawt we must be standing in complete righteousness. If we are not in tsed-aw-kaw, we cannot attempt to execute mish-pawt. Moses was going down to execute covenant justice. The question is, was his family in covenant? Was his family obedient? Or was there an issue that he had not yet resolved concerning covenant for his very own family? The answer to that is yes, and it is outlined in the succeeding verses.