Understandably, God was not happy with the Israelites when they forged the golden calf. His word: go with the Israelites on to the Promised Land (a land of milk and honey), but I will not go with you. Moses knew something very important at this point. He reasoned that it was better to wander around in the desert with God than it was go into the land of ... [Continue Reading]
The messiness of sin (Exodus 29-30)
I can't even begin to imagine what it was like for the Israelites to sacrifice animals for forgiveness for their sins on a regular basis. Even the ordination of Aaron and his sons required a bull to be sacrificed each day for a week as an offering for sin. The blood was splattered on the priest's clothing (it must have smelled AWFUL!), and sacrifices ... [Continue Reading]
Details matter (Exodus 27-28)
As a freshman in high school I had to read Charles Dickens' book, Great Expectations. I can think of many ways to describe that book, but a few words that come to my mind are: boring, too detailed, really long, etc. I often wondered how in the world Dickens was able to come up with so much stuff to write (hopefully nobody who reads this blog is thinking ... [Continue Reading]
Famous last words (Exodus 23-24)
Knowing what is to come in this story, it strikes me as humorous to read the response of the people of Israel after they received God's law: "All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do." Obviously this isn't the case, and one has to wonder who they were trying to impress with their careless words. I think that we can sometimes tend to ... [Continue Reading]
Making God too familiar (Exodus 25-26)
Anyone who thinks that God doesn't care about formalities hasn't read Exodus. The problem with God being holy and humanity being unholy is that we cannot approach Him in a haphazard manner. Certainly with Christ's advent on earth and death for our sins, we have access to God in a way that those in living in the days of the Old Testament never ... [Continue Reading]
You ‘ re responsible for your pits (Exodus 21-22)
I think some of the funniest verses from the Old Testament exist in the passages for today's reading. If you happen to dig a pit, and if your neighbor's donkey or ox happens to fall into said pit, then you are responsible for replacing the donkey or ox. What this really comes down to is the importance of being responsible for what you do. ... [Continue Reading]
News of what God did (Exodus 18-20)
I am curious where Jethro heard of what God had done with the Israelites, as is stated in Exodus 18:1). For me, it's really easy to lose sight of the fact that there were other peoples living in the area, and it is probable that news of what was going on in Egypt had spread to other areas of the region. It might be easy to under-emphasize this point, but ... [Continue Reading]
Withstanding the test (Exodus 16-17)
God's desire is total obedience. Some find that offensive or even challenging, but that's the reality. It's interesting to me that God used manna to test the Israelites in order to find out whether or not they would walk in His law. How would He do it? Simple: they were told to collect fresh manna each day and to discard the unused ... [Continue Reading]
Teachable moments (Exodus 13-15)
At this point in God's narrative the Feast of Unleavened Bread was established, and I think it's important to consider why it was established: to be a teachable moment. I think we've lost the concept of teachable moments in the church. The Feast served as a reminder of what God had done for the Israelites, and it served as a way for the Israelites ... [Continue Reading]
How long? (Exodus 10-12)
Through Moses, God asks Pharaoh an incredible question: "How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?" Imagine being confronted by the God of the universe with a question like that! Imagine being the leader of a nation who was so full of pride that he would allow his people to suffer rather than to let go of his ego. The people of ... [Continue Reading]
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