This week we finish Exodus and begin Leviticus. I will
finish my notes on Exodus in this post.
The Israelites have escaped slavery. They have food and
drink. God has proven that He will provide for them – and now it’s time to get
back to serious worship. God sets rules for regular worship, including a
regulation for contribution to the work of the church. Each man was to give an
equal amount. It didn’t matter what the man’s financial condition – all were to
give equally. (I wonder what would happen in our churches if everyone gave
equally every week? Or what would happen if everyone would give something
every week?)
God also reiterates the need for a Sabbath of complete rest
and dedication to Him. Do you take a complete Sabbath every week? Do you
make time for God and rest one day out of seven? Or is your Sunday just as busy
as every other day, with chores, shopping, sports… oh yeah, and church? How would
your life change if you took a day of Sabbath rest?
Moses is still up on the mountain with God. He’s been there
for less than 40 days – and in that time, the people become restless and worry
that they won’t see Moses again. They demand Aaron help make a physical
representation of a “god”. Aaron agrees, and the people give up some of their
gold to make a golden calf. The real God
is not amused and He threatens Israel with disaster. Moses reminds God of His
promises, and God relents. Moses is so angry that he breaks the tablets which
God has given to the people. Moses asks Aaron what happened and Aaron tells a
partial truth.
Moses asks the people to declare their loyalty to God. Those
who were not loyal – about 3,000 – were killed! God does send punishment for
the people’s sins – a plague.
Next, God tells the people that He will send an angel ahead
to conquer their enemies, but He will not go because they are “stiffnecked”.
God still speaks to Moses (wow!). God tells the people to refrain from making
treaties with the people they meet, because the people will become a snare. He reminds
the people to tear down all the idols of any people they meet. This reminds me
that I need to be in the world, but not of the world. I am to remain holy and
pure to God. God also reiterates the need to celebrate the three festivals He
has instituted, and promises that as long as those festivals are celebrated, no
one would covet the land.
Moses goes up to the mountain for another 40 days. His face
becomes radiant after speaking with God, and because of that he must wear a
veil over his face. Does my face become radiant when I speak of God? Do
I have joy and peace from my Christian walk that is evident on my face? How
about you?
And one of my favorite stories…
It’s time to build the tabernacle. Moses tells the people to
donate whatever they want. The people respond – and it’s the only time recorded
that people were told to stop
giving!
And all
the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from
his work which they wrought. 5 And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring
much more than enough for the service of the work which Jehovah commanded to
make. 6 And
Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the
camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of
the sanctuary. So
the people were restrained from bringing. 7 For the stuff they had was
sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much. Ex 36:4-7 (ASV)
Wow! The people were so grateful that they gave too much.
Can you imagine a pastor saying that today? Of course not. Most people don’t
even give a tithe (10%), much less enough to be sufficient for all the work.
The next time you go to a restaurant and leave a tip, think
of this… that tip is probably more, percentage-wise, than the “tip” you leave
in the offering plate every week. If you can tip a waitress 15-20%, why can’t
you give God at least 10%?
The end of Exodus astounds me. Look at the number of men
wandering in the wilderness – 603,550. Add the women and children. This tribe
of Israel is a huge group of people!
As a metal artist, I marvel at the designs that are
discussed. I know what it takes to form bronze, silver and gold pieces with our
current technology and can’t imagine trying to do it without electricity and
modern kilns. But adding to that wonder is the sheer volume of the work:
2,193 pounds of gold
7,544 pounds of silver
5,310 pounds of bronze
Not only did they lovingly craft an entire worship center
without once plugging in to an outlet, they then had to carry 15,000 pounds of
metal around every time God moved them. And then there was the wood, the cloth,
the …
(and we complain when we have to pack up our air conditioned
car to go to church on Sunday?)
I’m amazed at the sheer volume of the Exodus. But more than
that, I’m in awe of the magnificent God who was able and willing to fulfill a
centuries old promise and bring His people, His UN-faithful and UN-grateful people,
out of bondage and toward the land He promised to them.
Tomorrow we begin Leviticus. I will try to post a little
every day to encourage you to stick with it. It will take eight days to read
through the book – and you will be surprised, I think, with what you’ll find!
We can read the Bible through in a year – together!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for taking time to comment!