Archive for the ‘Exodus’ Category
Day 43 Ex 39-40
Comments (4)- Priestly Garments
- Moses Inspects the Tabernacle
- The Glory of the Lord
If Last weekend you skipped some of the readings because life seems to move fast, this is a great time to go back and read more about the Tabernacle, the Priests, and the Courtyard.
I am going to take a minute to reflect on what some of the readings were so far. Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah’s ark, Tower of Babel, Job and Friends, Lot, Sodom and Gomorrah, Covenant, the near sacrifice of Isaac, Jacob and Esau, 12 sons if Israel, Joseph sold as a slave and then placed in charge, Jacobs family goes to Egypt, 400 years passes, Moses, Plagues, the Passover, the Exodus, the Red Sea, 10 Commandments, the Tabernacle
…..and all this to end this chapter with God’s Glory sitting right here with them and us.
The Book ends with a nearness of God. The God of the universe in community with His people. He Dwells with the people. “Tabernacles” with them. We no longer need a Tabernacle or a residence for God to dwell, because if you are a Christian God resides in you. We are the church. A body of Believers. We no longer require a priest to intercede on our behalf. When Jesus died He became the High Priest, and we became a priesthood.
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)
Day 42 Ex 36-38
Well, we have sort of reviewed all this “building the tabernacle readings” over the weekend so I was sitting here reading, well, I am going to be honest…skimming. Then I noticed that each paragraph starts with…made out of acacia wood. So I looked it up, isn’t that what everyone did (just kidding). It is all made out of acacia wood. We read back in Genesis 22 what seems like forever ago, of Abraham taking Isaac up to sacrifice him on the alter. Do you remember what happened?
Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. (Genesis 22:13)
A substitute was provided to save him. A replacement would be offered. God provided the ram, caught in the shrub. For those of you who were not on the blog yet, go back to January 19, click here. The parallel of Jesus in this story is remarkable. Jesus is symbolic of the ram. The one that will be sacrificed to save. So picture the rams head, caught in a shrub. Possibly Acacia?
I thought you would find the picture of acacia wood quite interesting….
Look at those thorns!
They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. (Mt 27:28)
They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. (Mark 15:17)
The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe (John 19:2)
Everything in the tabernacle is a foreshadow of Jesus, our Redeemer. Our way to God. Our mediator. Is it possible that the ram’s head was covered in the very same type of wood that would later be on Jesus head. Could it be the same as the Burning Bush, could it be the very thorns on Jesus the day He died for us? I could be wrong, but the parallel is beautiful anyway. I am not going to pretend to think we can figure the whole Bible out. He wrote a book so deep that all these methods and studies don’t even scratch the surface! So keep diggin in!
Day 41 Ex 33-35
- Tent of Meeting
- The New Tablets
- Tabernacle instructions
This chapter picks up with the end of the Golden Calf scene. Are you feeling God’s personality here? We are made in His image so our personality comes from Him. Have you ever been so angry that you say to your kids “You better get out of my sight before I kill you” or “I brought you into this world, I can take you out”. The difference here is, God really can.
The Tent of Meeting is beautiful. The Lord spoke to Moses as a man speaks with his friend. I sat back and thought why? Why does Moses have this “friend” relationship with Him? I have a friend, she would kill me if I mentioned her name, she is that close with God because she meets with Him so often. Like any relationship it takes being together to bring closeness. For some reading this they are like “what in the world are you talking about?? I am talking about praying and spending time with God hether it be quietly, or in His Bible, or listening to music that is praising to the Lord…Time with just Him. What I learned this weekend is, He is always in the Tent waiting for us, we just need to meet. The verse that fell on my heart was:
Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” Ex 33:15
What a great verse to pray! God if you are not down this road, please don’t send me. It will help us to know where God is in our lives. See the thing is, we need to pray that because most times we won’t see Him till after He passes. After He puts us somewhere we will see His glory AFTER the fact. Notice when Moses was put in the cleft of the rock, he didn’t put himself there…God put him there.
Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”
The radiant Face of Moses. I know you know people that have this! God is so glorious that when you are with Him, whether it is in His Bible, or in prayer, or in deed, you just have a glow about us. That is His. When I sing His Praise, or spend time with friends breaking down scripture,or just sitting still I just feel the radiance on me. I strongly believe it is something that God uses to draw people to others. I know I am drawn to it on others! Shoot, that is how I met half my friends…I see that glow on them!
The materials for the Tabernacle:If you skimmed this or just read the title and decided not to read it…READ IT. Oh is it so good. First you might be thinking…Where in the world are they getting all these gems and gold…The last thing to happen when they Israelites were leaving Egypt WAS they were given clothes and jewelry.
This chapter is so Rich! I am sure you picked up that in 3 small paragraphs the word WILLING was repeated 5 times and then talked about freewill. The materials brought to the Lord are not something we are required to do. Not money, or donation, or deed or volunteer. Everything we do should be because we are willing to from the heart. Free will offerings, I think this is something that some people need to think about. Why do you give? Why do you attend church? Why do you serve? He only wants us to bring what we are willing to, to Him. But when we do with the right heart, the Lord brings us in .
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Cor 9:6, 7)
Day 40!! Exodus 30-32
- Tabernacle continued
- Bezalel and Oholiab
- Breaking the Law
If you buy a “spiritual journey” book, they are usually 40 days to complete. I started MANY of them, by some great authors, Donna Partow, David Nasser, Rick Warren….I start them all. Truth be told, I never complete them. Actually the only studies I do complete are ones that meet weekly and I am held accountable for them.
So we are on our 40th day! People, my heart is just getting started! I know we are going to have chapters and seasons that it might get a little tough but this first 40 days was just dipping our toe in! Personally I feel like we have been reading for 140, but that is just because the amount of scripture we have dissected or weaved together is so much (but so good). No 40 day book would have done that.
Chapter 30 The Tabernacle was put in the center of the Camp, as God wants to be in the center of our Life. The tabernacle was only about 15 ft tall, but when compared to the tents it was a large structure. God should be that known or seen in our life today through Jesus, our High Priest, our Mediator to God.
Chapter 31…flip back to the beginning of Chapter 28. We talked about the men God gave wisdom to, in order to build all this. Well, now we know their names, Bezalel and Oholiab. They were filled with the Spirit, given a gift to do this, by the Lord. A great reminder that when we are called to do something in the Lord’s name, He will provide the talent behind it.
The Sabbath: I am really starting to pick up on some repeats here. Of course if the Lord states something it is important (we all can hear), however if He starts repeating it….uhhh (we need to Listen, not hear). This is the fourth time God is talking about the Sabbath. He knew we would struggle with it. The Sabbath has several purposes. First and foremost, it is a day to remember the Lord. It is a day to rest physically and emotionally. It is a day to recharge and refresh. (If you don’t have the song “this is the day, the Lord had made…. on your ipod you are so missing a good one).
In the New Testament it becomes quite the controversy when Jesus “works” on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day to do job’s in HIS name, for others, as Jesus did. I think of it this way, if we cannot take a day to rest in Him, or to teach our children His ways, or to serve as He intended us to, or to recharge with our family…then maybe He will change our week to a 6 day week (He could do that in a blink). Sometimes we get what we ask for.
The Golden Calf
If you were trapped on an island and could only take one chapter with you (tear out one page of the bible) which would it be?? This is mine. Weird huh. EVERY time I read chapter 32 God shows me something in it about myself. I am tempted NOT to write anything on it. The lessons we learn here are immeasurable. God’s Mercy here is outstanding. God’s personality is so real! Where would I begin? Idolatry? Peer pressure? Disobedience? Test of faith? The power of Prayer? God’s unbroken covenant? God’s emotions? Rationalizing our actions? Purification required? punishment in His timing?
Actually, I am going to Not write on this chapter. Know how hard that is for me! I have spent more time in this chapter than any other in my 3 years of owning a Bible. I would feel like I could rob you of hearing from God directly if I commented on it.
With that said, the first time I read it I was CONFUSED like you would not believe! There is a lot in it. So please use the comment section for sharing, questioning, praising the Scriptures in Chapter 32 or any Chapter or Book from the last 40 days!
Maybe tomorrow after God has given you what this chapter means in this season of your life, I will comment on what it means for me “this time”. I just love how you never read the Bible the same twice.
Day 39 Ex 28-29
Only 2 Chapters today. But very full ones.
- The Priestly Garments
- Consecration of the Priests
Let me just give you a picture to help with this
So Aaron and his sons, (we noted earlier that they are from the Levi tribe, so they are called Levites), are being chosen here as the priests. Let me just give you a nugget…the next chapter is called LEVIticus…hmmm wonder what that is going to be about. (Sorry but the Bible is so fun). So they are chosen by God to be the priests (Aaron is the High Priest…more on that I am sure later) and they are to wear garments made by skilled men who God gave them wisdom…God gave them the skills, gifted them, on how to make the garments.
The priests were to wear these garments into the tablernacle The priests were our representatives. Jesus is now our High Priest. Each stone has the name of one of the tribes of Israel on it. 12 in all. This is a memorial before the Lord, to remember the burden they carried for them.
28:30 says they “put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the LORD. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the LORD.” I looked up some cross references on them in Leviticus and Numbers, they best guess in these are are 2 stones that the priests would use to receive guidance from the Lord. They may have said Yes/No, or Curses/Perfections, but they were a way for the Lord to guide them (like when we were kids we would use an 8-ball to see if a boy liked us….Yes Todd, girls really did that)
Chapter 29 Consecration of the Priests. God had said if the Israelites listened and obeyed all He has said, that they would all be priests. LOL (peggy, that means laugh out loud)…I guess they didn’t. So God appointed a priesthood. If this interests you,click here to see the Geneology. What you are looking for is the Green triangles. You will see they start with Aaron, the first priest, and follow ONLY the Levites.
I read all this and Thanked the Lord for creating me on this side of the cross! On the other hand, the reverence, and the respect is beautiful. The Lord was setting His people apart from all others, as we are today in fact. How we approach the Lord here is symbolic in today’s world BUT He always intended the principals to remain. Cleansing, sacrifice, offering are all part of our relationship with the Lord.
And take some of the blood on the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Then he and his sons and their garments will be consecrated. (Exodus 29:21)
In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Heb 9:22)
It takes the blood of the sacrifice to consecrate us. No where does it say “the deeds” “The acts” “the kindness” ” I am a good person” of the priests. Our salvation is ONLY given to us by God through the Blood that consecrates us. I know I sound like a broken record, and I am sorry, I just know that there are so many people that think their sin is keeping them out of Heaven (well sort of) but we cannot change that. Look in 29:14…this little bitty sentence….5 words….
“It is a Sin offering”!!!!
We end this reading with instruction that the people are to come and worship, and make an offering for their sin, and sacrifice, be set apart, cleanse…. and then the Lord uses a profound word. THEN
Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God. (the last verse of the day)
Today is the end of day 39 and we end with this?? How wonderful! (How God ordained) 40 is such a significant number in the Bible, God uses 40 as such a “preparation of the heart”…It rained for 40 days on Noah, Moses goes up the Mountain for 40 days (twice!), David prepared for Goliath for 40 days, Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days, people will change after 40 days in the Promise land. When we go to bed tonight we will wake up on day 40…I just know God has changed our hearts in this 40.
Day 38 Ex 25-27
- Tabernacle Instructions
- I Put Tabernacle pictures at the bottom of the blog…scroll down.
- Click this site to print out a handout
http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/files/lwcF_wmn_AWH_Tabernacle.pdf
Click here for the reading (lots of clicking today)
I felt overwhelmed just reading it, I couldn’t imagine actually getting the instructions. I am just going to take a deep breath and take this one paragraph at a time. First, what is the Tabernacle? And Second, I think I am going to rent the Raiders of the Lost Ark, I just could not help but think of it.
By the way, there are some great great studies on the Tabernacle (I have heard). The Tabernacle is a symbol of God’s presence in a place where they can go to worship him. The tabernacle (Dwelling place in Hebrew) was a likeness of heavenly things. It was a pattern. By the way, the pattern was later used to bulid the Temple. The Tabernacle was representative of certain ideas God wanted to impress on us AND a foreshadow of the Christian faith.
All of this is going to be repeated in a few days (not kidding). So let’s take it in once. Process it and in a few days dig a little deeper.
___________________________________________________
Chapter 25:
The Ark:
The Bible describes the Ark first. This will actually go inside the Tabernacle. This is where God would dwell in a cloud above the cherubims (angels). On this cover, called the “Atonement cover” the High Priest would make atonement for the sins of all the people once a year. The day of Atonement. We will read more about this in Leviticus 16…I am just going to peel off 1 layer at a time. I want to define the word atonement just in case; it means the reconciliation of God and mankind; making amends for an offense; cleansing.
What is IN the ark you ask? Four items: the two stone tablets of the 10 commandments, the pot of manna (to show generations to come) we talked about the other day, and Aarons’ staff. (Read Numbers 17:1-11)
The Table of acacia wood (which I know a ton about this wood from my dear friend Janice) was for the Bread of the Presence. The Priests would put 12 loaves of bread on the table for the 12 tribes of Israel. The loaves would be replaced every week. A reminder and gratitude that God is our provider. He gives us our manna, our daily bread.
The Lampstand, doesn’t it sound pretty, we know it today as the Menorah (used 75 pounds in gold to make this). The Light is the Word. God’s guidance. A foreshadow of Jesus. (There are a TON of written in red scriptures flowing through my mind right now) I know we could dive into all this for hours, and I encourage you to!
____________________________________________________
Chapter 26
I am reading Chapter 26 (well sort of skimming) and I get to verse 33 and I hone in.
Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Put the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place. Place the table outside the curtainon the north side of the tabernacle and put the lampstand opposite it on the south side.
The Tabernacle was made up of 2 rooms. First, the Holy Place, then the Most Holy Place. The Ark is placed in the Most Holy Place. The priests entered the Holy place daily to commune with God and to tend to the altar of incense, lampstand, and the bread on the table. The MOST Holy place was where God dwelt. Only once a year, On the Day of Atonement, the priests would go behind that curtain and make an atonement for our sins. The tabernacle was covered with a large tent made of animal skins. Israelites could bring their offering into the courtyard, but only the priests and High priests entered the tabernacle. (We are going to learn all about this this coming week)
IF all of this confuses you, just get this…They had access to God once a year. Jesus became OUR High Priest. When Jesus let himself die on that cross (made atonement for us) we where given the Holy Spirit and that curtain was torn down (from top to bottom….think about that)
We have become the priests! We have access to the Lord. What a privilege! (Read 1 Peter….oh it is soooo good)
With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:37-38)
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. (Matthew 27:51)
___________________________________________________________________
Chapter 27: The altar of burnt offering: This was used to burn the animal sacrifices to remind ourselves that we need forgiveness. This is where the Israelites could bring an animal as an offering. We will learn more about this in Leviticus but the alter was to be kept burning all day and night by the fire from the Lord.
God’s Tabernacle was large in scale (compared to their camp tents) because God is large. The tabernacle was the continuous presence and reminder of God so that they people would be obedient and faithful. We no longer need that tabernacle because IF you have Christ in you, by the means of the Holy Spirit, He is our presence and our reminder that God is faithful and approachable.
The courtyard. Look below at some of the pictures so you can visulaize this. If you google the topic you can find tons of diagrams and pictures too. The courtyard is before the tabernacle. The courtyard had the altar of burnt offering (Bronze Altar) the bronze basin. This is where there priests would wash their hands and feet before making a sacrifice or entering the tabernacle. This symbolizedcleanising and purification before the Lord.,
I leave you with some pictures (my mom needs to see things so I assume others might too) But for many this is a busy weekend. We will be spending more time on this. This was just 3 Chapters. If you have some time tonight, grab your Bible (New Testament) and read Hebrew Chapter 10.
Day 37 Ex 22-24
- The Book of the Covenant
Chapter 22, 23 and 24. I hate to say this, but I am shocked that I enjoyed that. Yesterday I peeked ahead and thought…well tomorrow might be a bit boring. I hung on “almost” every word. How do I know this is the Book of the Covenant. Because I’m smart. Just kidding (really kidding) because it said it in Chapter 24 Vs 7 “The Book of the Covenant”. What do we know about Covenant? Must be sealed with blood. In the old testament, they are to make a sacrifice for atonement for their sins (did I say that right? I am starting to talk like my friends!) The animal is the substitute for ourselves. One life must be sacrificed to save another. This chapter (24) in the bible is quite beautiful. You see the “seal” from the blood of the covenant. Just as Jesus was our replacement for our Sin.
Chapter 22 and 23 was God showing how the commandments should be implemented. You may have read them and though they didn’t apply to you but they actually do. Society has changed but these principals have not. Here are some of them: Religion and civil law comes from the Lord, human life has value, do not punish people more then the crime committed, class distinction is prohibited, protect those who cannot protect themselves.
Did any of the laws actually impact you. Here are the ones that I underlined
“Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt. (Ex 22:21)
“Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt. (Ex 23:9)
I KNOW this is backwards but one of the loneliest places to be in life is a new christian. You are a complete alien. Not of the new world,not of the old. Someplace in between. (By the way there is a GREAT casting crowns song that explains that a lot better). SO being stuck in the middle. Dealing with all that heart change and you don’t know which way to go sometimes, then the next chapter helped that even more.
Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices (Ex 23:24)
Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.” (Ex 23:33)
We have read about this before. God really takes note to our “neighborly” (friend) influences. Who we hang with will snare you. Look what happen to Lot just from living near Soddom.
If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites.
The core of this is obedience. IF you listen and YOU do…I will bring you to your promise land. God’s Angel prepares a way…..am I on that path?
Day 36 Ex 19-21
- Giving the Law
- The 10 Commandments
- The book of the Covenant pt 1
I think in times past if I read here in the Bible I knew what was coming so I skimmed 19 to get to 20. But this time I had to pay attention so I picked up on 19 as quite HUGE.
Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
If you obey me fully and keep my covenantsthings would happen. They would be His treasured possessions, they would be a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. Sounds easy enough? How long will Israel keep an unbroken covenant? uhhhh not long I bet if they are human!
Chapter 20. The Ten Commandments. These are not just a list of “rules” to live by. They have a purpose then, and now. When you read them you will see that the first 4 pertain to our RELATIONSHIP with God. The last 6 pertain to our relationship with people, which God cares deeply about. The commandments are also paired up into categories…God, Religion, Family, Humanness, and Social Life. I have often spoke of the 10 commandments as “Well, God gave them to us to show us that we ARE sinners and we need Jesus. (Which is true). Actually, I am not sure how you felt when you read them, I never realized I almost broke them all! PLEASE note that NOWHERE in Chapter 20 does it say “well people, Try to live by these, and as long as you try, you’ll go to Heaven” Many of you reading this might be thinking…Some think that? YES MANY think that!
The 10 commandments are so much more than just showing us we are sinners, they really are a vehicle to become MUCH closer to God and each other. All of us till this point have written or thought “I had no idea all this lying, deceit, sex, violence was in the Bible” God gave US (at the time the Israelites) the 10 commandments so that they would clean up, and live more according to God. The reason I say US…meaning all of Us, is because Jesus repeats all the commandments to us. So YES they are still rules for us today.
I know I am going a little long today but may I just say (again) that in James it says
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says…….But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
Pray that your heart changes reading the commandments SO THAT you may be closer to God and OTHERS by keeping His ways. So take a minute to re-read all 10 of them. Psalm 119:18 says Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Click here. If you are NOT SURE what one of them means for the Israelites and/or in today’s times…please ask. I didn’t really “get” them all at first.
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. (Psalm 19:7)
The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. (Psalm 119-72)
After the 10 Commandants you find the Bible starts reciting how to handle situations. This is Called the Book of the Covenant (20:22-23:33) This is the APPLICATION of the 10 commandments. Examples of how they should be used. Wow, it read different to me this time. I always read them as “Well, this is how the Israelites need to live”. Many of you have heard of the Old Testament referred to as the Canon, the Old Testament Canon. Canon means “reed” or “measuring stick”. God is laying out the handbook for us. This Bible is our Manual. “If God intended life to be a do-it-yourself project, he would not have left instructions” (my favorite mug). I now recall all that hoopla on whether or not he 10 commandments should be allowed in our government buildings. Remember that? At the time I was pretty liberal and I said NO WAY!…You don’t mix Church and State! Now I still say NO Way, you don’t put the 10 Commandments in the courts….You put the WHOLE Bible!!
If you feel like reading ahead…READ ahead. The Lord says I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees;I will not neglect your word. May I recommend a moment of just sitting and being still, and reading Psalm 119. The law is mentioned in it 25 times and it is surly one of the prettiest things you can read with God.
Extra reading: Here are a list of 10 scriptures from the words of Jesus. You should look them up. Click on them….they will sound familiar after re-reading the 10 commandments.
Matthew 4:10, Luke 16:13, Matthew 5:34, Mark 2:27,28, Matthew 10:37 , Mathhew 5:22, Matthew 5:28, Matthew 5:40, Matthew 12:36, Luke 12:15,
Day 35 Ex 16-18
- Manna and Quail
- Water from the Rock
- Jethro visits Moses
Chapter 16: Trust me when I say you never want to read the Bible with me. A friend of mine was over last night and we read this chapter together. I am NOT kidding when I say it takes me hours to read 1 chapter. Here is sort of how it went..”Desert of Sin? Seriously? Where is that? Hey let’s get some maps out? What is that in Hebrew? Skull? She says….Isn’t that the name for Calvary? Hey let’s look that up. Mountain looks like a skull?..where is that in the Bible….before you know it we went from Manna and Quail to the New Testament Gospel….That somehow lead to…Did Pharaoh die in the red sea? to some how putting in the movie Moses and flipping through the plagues and to make sure Aaron was the one holding the Staff….By 11 pm we moved on to the next paragraph. LOL! I often wonder if she will ever come back over??
Sorry, back to the Bible: Chapter 16, The Lord is going to rain down Manna from Heaven. They are to gather just enough for that day. Not leave any until morning except to gather a double portion on day 6 so day 7 you could rest in the Lord. Simple enough? I read this when they could not follow this simple instruction and said “what is wrong with these people??”….yet we have it soooo much easier. We get “Love your God with all your heart soul and mind” and we struggle with that! This reading had tons of great cross references! (My poor friend had to look them up for me as I looked at maps….yeah, she might not be coming back)
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
In verse 32 Moses is instructed to keep some of the manna for generations to come, so they can see the bread the Lord gave them. Later in Hebrews 9:4 it says Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.
Chapter 17: The Amalekites are the first to attack the Israelites. Flip back to that riveting Chapter 36 in Genesis (Esau’s descendants). Verse 12. We noted Amalek, the son of Eliphaz (friend of Job) and his concubine. Joshua is introduced here. Joshua is Moses servant. Joshua (click here). This story really made me sit back and think. It said a lot to me about pastors, church leaders, mentors. When He/She tires we should lift him up. Support them.
QUESTION: Why was God to blot this battle out of Memory under Heaven?
Chapter 18: Jethro visits Moses. Moses is sharing the difference the Lord is making in His life. Are you??
Day 34 Ex 13-15
- Consecration of the Firstborn
- Crossing the Sea
- The song of Moses and Miriam
- Complaining in the Desert
Why this consecration (dedication, or considered belonging to the Lord) of the firstborn males?
The LORD said to Moses, “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal.”
God saved the lives of each firstborn, therefore they belong to the Lord. This was done as a reminder of this as an observance, to teach generations to come. Jesus was Jewish so he was consecrated according to the Law too.
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”)(Luke 2:21-23)
Crossing the Red Sea.(Most of you are picturing the movie huh!) SO the Israelites had this pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud. This was with them the entire journey. Much like our Holy Spirit is with us. Just like them, day or night we have a pillar to guide us. We just have to open our eyes to it. God today part the Seas for us. But do we recognize His hand on those moments. We should not miss His glory in our everyday life. Stuck between the Mountains and the Seas, we call out to Him for Help…and then our Sea parts. When we get on the other side of that Sea, do we do as the Israelites did? DO we STOP and praise God for delivering us from our circumstance? Do we recognize His outstretched arm?
The crossing of the Red Sea not only delivered them from the Egyptians but in vs 31 of Chap 14 the Bible says it also was to gain the trust of the Israelites. Read John 2:11 referring to the miracles Jesus performs
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.
The song of Moses and Miriam. This possibly is the oldest recorded song. When you read it, and many might have sort of glazed over it (not you of course) It is a wonderful way to give thanks to the Lord. If you have time, re-read it today as an extra reading but read it as YOU saying it to the Lord. Think of a sea He parted for you in life, that you want to thank Him for, OR if you are stuck between the desert and the sea, Praise Him anyway knowing you trust that he WILL part it. Don’t think of Moses, but read it in the first person. Here are some other versions this time.
NIV in Spanish (Ya never know)
