As we dive through Exodus, we're going to look at this overarching narrative but we're going to look today at a section that turns out to be a very frustrating time for Moses and Aaron.

Now, because we are looking BACK at the story, it's obvious to us that God is at work. But, you must bear in mind that Moses and Aaron are LIVING this thing out in REAL TIME. They DON'T know the end of the story. They may have sort of a clue as to the end results, but this is hard for them, these lessons they are learning. We see this and think, "Hey - no worries, Moses. It's all gonna work out in the end." But that's again hindsight. And what Moses and Aaron will deal with in this section of Exodus this morning had the potential to knock them off kilter, for sure.

My wife, Jenny, has certain shows she absolutely loves to watch. And now that we got rid of our satellite service and are just doing streaming and what we get from our external antenna, she can watch these things whenever she likes. Most often it's after a long day of running around, working, getting stuff around the house done, etc. So when I get home, these shows like Survivor or The Amazing Race are on - and, honestly I get sucked into the drama that is on the screen.

But I KNOW that I drive Jenny crazy, because I haven't been tracking the progress of the show like she has. And I'll either come into the room in the middle of an episode - or even start watching an episode, but like 4 episodes into the season - and I will ask, "So what's going on? What's happening? Who is he? Why did she say that?"

And I'm sure Jenny is thinking, "Just watch and you'll figure it out!"

But it would be helpful if she clued me in a bit, right? That way I can know what's going on and can track much better. What's going on? THAT'S how I want to begin today's message, because Exodus is the second book of the Bible. And we're smack dab in the middle of a story, it seems, as we begin our reading. It would be super helpful if we knew what happened in Book 1 (Genesis), where we see the beginning of the story…and not just ONE beginning, but three.