Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

Mom, this is taking forever!  Imagine this being said by your young children with sighs and groans as you teach them how to do a task in ways that will help them later.  Imagine how they draw out the word f-o-r-e-v-e-r and say it in a way that takes forever!  I can still hear their voices even now in my memories. 

We were planting a garden as a family.  It was a lot of fun—in the first ten minutes.  In planting a garden in a new place, it takes a lot of prep work.  First, you must till the soil while taking away the rocks and weeds that you do not want in your garden. Then you hand rake getting the soil ready for seeds to be planted.  If you have ever planted a healthy garden, you know all the rest of the steps.  Our children just wanted to get it done and go back to what they knew best—playing, riding bikes, and being kids without responsibilities.  As parents, we wanted them to learn skills that would last a lifetime. 

(Sidenote:  Today, our oldest daughter and family have a garden that is admired by many and produces enough veggies for the neighborhood where they live! “And the beat goes on…”)

It is time for Moses, the leader of God’s Chosen people to come back down the mountain upon getting instructions from God over the past forty days and nights.  What he comes back to is nothing short of childish behavior, people wanting their own way, reverting back to the ways of the Egyptians—minus the cruel slavery they seem to have forgotten.  “Moses is taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r…so let’s build a god we can see.”  Oh my, are we like the Chosen at times?  How quickly we forget God in times of waiting and frustration.  Friends, we must confess, we are just as childish at times.

Exodus 32, The Message

“Make Gods for Us”

When the people realized that Moses was taking forever in coming down off the mountain, they rallied around Aaron and said, “Do something. Make gods for us who will lead us. That Moses, the man who got us out of Egypt—who knows what’s happened to him?”

^2-4 So Aaron told them, “Take off the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters and bring them to me.” They all did it; they removed the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took the gold from their hands and cast it in the form of a calf, shaping it with an engraving tool.

The people responded with enthusiasm: “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from Egypt!”

⁵ Aaron, taking in the situation, built an altar before the calf.

Aaron then announced, “Tomorrow is a feast day to God!”

⁶ Early the next morning, the people got up and offered Whole-Burnt-Offerings and brought Peace-Offerings. The people sat down to eat and drink and then began to party. It turned into a wild party!

^7-8 God spoke to Moses, “Go! Get down there! Your people whom you brought up from the land of Egypt have fallen to pieces. In no time at all they’ve turned away from the way I commanded them: They made a molten calf and worshiped it. They’ve sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are the gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt!’”

^9-10 God said to Moses, “I look at this people—oh! what a stubborn, hard-headed people! Let me alone now, give my anger free reign to burst into flames and incinerate them. But I’ll make a great nation out of you.”

^11-13 Moses tried to calm his God down. He said, “Why, God, would you lose your temper with your people? Why, you brought them out of Egypt in a tremendous demonstration of power and strength. Why let the Egyptians say, ‘He had it in for them—he brought them out so he could kill them in the mountains, wipe them right off the face of the Earth.’ Stop your anger. Think twice about bringing evil against your people! Think of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants to whom you gave your word, telling them ‘I will give you many children, as many as the stars in the sky, and I’ll give this land to your children as their land forever.’”

¹⁴ And God did think twice. He decided not to do the evil he had threatened against his people.

^15-16 Moses turned around and came down from the mountain, carrying the two tablets of The Testimony. The tablets were written on both sides, front and back. God made the tablets and God wrote the tablets—engraved them.

¹⁷ When Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting noisily, he said to Moses, “That’s the sound of war in the camp!”

¹⁸ But Moses said,

Those aren’t songs of victory,
And those aren’t songs of defeat,
I hear songs of people throwing a party.

^19-20 And that’s what it was. When Moses came near to the camp and saw the calf and the people dancing, his anger flared. He threw down the tablets and smashed them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made, melted it down with fire, pulverized it to powder, then scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.

²¹ Moses said to Aaron, “What on Earth did these people ever do to you that you involved them in this huge sin?”

^22-23 Aaron said, “Master, don’t be angry. You know this people and how set on evil they are. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. This Moses, the man who brought us out of Egypt, we don’t know what’s happened to him.’

²⁴ “So I said, ‘Who has gold?’ And they took off their jewelry and gave it to me. I threw it in the fire and out came this calf.”

^25-26 Moses saw that the people were simply running wild—Aaron had let them run wild, disgracing themselves before their enemies. He took up a position at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is on God’s side, join me!” All the Levites stepped up.

²⁷ He then told them, “God’s orders, the God of Israel: ‘Strap on your swords and go to work. Crisscross the camp from one end to the other: Kill brother, friend, neighbor.’”

²⁸ The Levites carried out Moses’ orders. Three thousand of the people were killed that day.

²⁹Moses said, “You confirmed your ordination today—and at great cost, even killing your sons and brothers! And God has blessed you.”

³⁰ The next day Moses addressed the people: “You have sinned an enormous sin! But I am going to go up to God; maybe I’ll be able to clear you of your sin.”

^31-32 Moses went back to God and said, “This is terrible. This people has sinned—it’s an enormous sin! They made gods of gold for themselves. And now, if you will only forgive their sin. . . . But if not, erase me out of the book you’ve written.”

^33-34 God said to Moses, “I’ll only erase from my book those who sin against me. For right now, you go and lead the people to where I told you. Look, my Angel is going ahead of you. On the day, though, when I settle accounts, their sins will certainly be part of the settlement.”

³⁵ God sent a plague on the people because of the calf they and Aaron had made.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Their leader, Moses was learning from God how to live for God and with each other.  The people could not wait for this learning to take place.  They wanted to get on with life in their own ways. “Let’s skip the steps of growing and get on with our new lives of freedom” they seem to be saying.  Let’s just do what we know.  We think the same thoughts when we are challenged with waiting on God while He grows us from the inside out.  We have little patience for how God prepares the soil of our hearts, getting rid of all that does not belong there.  We want our way and we want it now.  The first lesson God teaches new believers is often, wait, chill, listen, and learn from God in the stillness and quiet of the wait.

Admit it.  We want to party as much as the Israelites!  Growing in God’s ways are hard, tedious, and sometimes we fail.  We don’t like to fail.  It is much easier to go our own way thinking our way is best, thinking we have control—until we don’t.  When tough times come and wise decisions of life or death need to be made, who do we turn to for help?  Do we revert back to childhood with what we knew before God by avoiding our problems altogether, hoping they will just go away? 

Do we act childish in the wait for God’s leading?  Yes, this is the toughest of all.

Why did Israel commit such an evil act at such a glorious time in their history? To begin with, they were impatient with Moses who had been on the mountain with God for forty days and nights, and impatience is often the cause of impulsive actions that are sinful.

Israel didn’t know how to live by faith and trust God regardless of where their leader was. Whether Moses was with them or away from them, they criticized him and ignored what he had taught them.  When we avoid, turn away and reject the steps of growing spiritually with God, we will fall to the plight of Israel in childish behaviors while our faith falters and wilts on the vine of our existence.  Have you “been there, done that”? I have.

Israel’s lust for idols was born in Egypt and still worked in their hearts. Aaron fed that appetite by giving the people what they wanted. Much is being said these days about “meeting the felt needs of people,” but here was a nation that didn’t know what its needs really were.

As leaders, we are tested!

In leadership, the difficult experiences with our people either make us or break us, and Moses was about to be tested. God called Israel “your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,” as though the Lord were abandoning the nation to Moses, but Moses soon reminded Him that they were His people and that He had delivered them. Furthermore, God had made a covenant with their forefathers to bless them, multiply them, and give them their land. Moses intended to hold God to His word, and that’s what God wanted him to do!

Sin is always costly, and Israel’s sin had not only led to the death of thousands of people, but it had robbed the nation of the presence of the Lord in the camp and on their pilgrim journey to the Promised Land.

As believers, we must stay as close to God, draw near to Him, abide in His Presence and He promises to abide in us!  We must be so close that we hear the slightest whisper of His voice.  Be childlike in faith. Avoid being childish in behavior.

Lord,

May we never forget what you have done to save us from our sins.  May we never shun the lessons we must learn from you as we grow in our relationship with you.In Jesus Name, For Y

God does not tell us to be and do something without helping us to achieve what He has told us to do.  God knows us.  God knows exactly what we need when we need it. 

When God made it apparent that He was calling Randy and I to leave Oklahoma to pursue his will and plan for us in another place, He made His Presence known to us in all kinds of ways with each step in the move.  He provided a buyer for our home, jobs that would provide for our family, along with soothing and comforting the family we would leave behind.  God sent us helpers and mentors to make the move and to settle in our new place.  Before we left, God even sent a new, young missionary to our garage sale to obtain all my teaching supplies so she could do God’s will in Russia!  You cannot tell me God is not in the details!  God loves all the details of our lives; His Word says so!  He proves it to us over and over again!

Friends, there are so many ways that God has provided as we follow His leading, day after day, year after year.  Our faith in Him is consistently blessed by God in so many ways, then and now, that there is not enough time to tell you!  Be sure of this truth.  When God says go, go without hesitation. When God says stay, put yourself in park and look up to Him for your next steps.  It is in “park” that we learn the most about Him!

Know this for sure, wherever God guides He WILL provide all we need to fulfill His will for each one of us.  Randy and I are living testimonies of God’s love, mercy and grace along with His provisions and protection.  He picked us up and dusted us off when we fell and created lessons from the failures while giving us more strength for the next step in our journey!  Yes, God is like that!  His blessings are greater still when He is growing His character traits in us.  He blesses us with challenging situations that cause us to lean into his wisdom, insight and understanding and learn from those growth times.

God also provides rest when we need it most.  We need rest.  If God rested, who are we to think we don’t need rest?  God commands rest to Moses as a way to take a breath and allow God to make us holy.  “‘Above all, keep my Sabbaths, the sign between me and you, generation after generation, to keep the knowledge alive that I am the God who makes you holy. Keep the Sabbath; it’s holy to you’”.

Camp on these thoughts—

God sent His Son, a part of Himself, to come to earth to be Son of Man and Son of God.  Jesus showed us how to live and to love, really love— not for selfish gain but because of God’s love for us.  “We love God because He first loved us.”  “Without God we do not know love—or God,” John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, relates to us throughout his gospel about Jesus.

Jesus, Son of God, was without sin.  Jesus, Son of Man, lived among the sinful in need of rescue.  Jesus saw, heard, and felt the real needs of God’s created as He walked in the neighborhoods of Israel.  As Son of God, directed by His Father, He healed, encouraged, loved and led people back to Truth—who is God.  He was the One and Only who could restore the relationship between God and man. 

This same God is directing Moses now with how He will provide for His Chosen as they learn and grow in their wilderness journey. 

Exodus 31, The Message

Bezalel and Oholiab

^1-5 God spoke to Moses: “See what I’ve done; I’ve personally chosen Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur of the tribe of Judah. I’ve filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him skill and know-how and expertise in every kind of craft to create designs and work in gold, silver, and bronze; to cut and set gemstones; to carve wood—he’s an all-around craftsman.

^6-11 “Not only that, but I’ve given him Oholiab, son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan, to work with him. And to all who have an aptitude for crafts I’ve given the skills to make all the things I’ve commanded you: the Tent of Meeting, the Chest of The Testimony and its Atonement-Cover, all the implements for the Tent, the Table and its implements, the pure Lampstand and all its implements, the Altar of Incense, the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering and all its implements, the Washbasin and its base, the official vestments, the holy vestments for Aaron the priest and his sons in their priestly duties, the anointing oil, and the aromatic incense for the Holy Place—they’ll make everything just the way I’ve commanded you.”

Sabbath

^12-17 God spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites, ‘Above all, keep my Sabbaths, the sign between me and you, generation after generation, to keep the knowledge alive that I am the God who makes you holy. Keep the Sabbath; it’s holy to you. Whoever profanes it will most certainly be put to death. Whoever works on it will be excommunicated from the people. There are six days for work but the seventh day is Sabbath, pure rest, holy to God. Anyone who works on the Sabbath will most certainly be put to death. The Israelites will keep the Sabbath, observe Sabbath-keeping down through the generations, as a standing covenant. It’s a fixed sign between me and the Israelites. Yes, because in six days God made the Heavens and the Earth and on the seventh day he stopped and took a long, deep breath.’”

¹⁸ When he finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, he gave Moses two tablets of Testimony, slabs of stone, written with the finger of God.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God guides and provides people and materials to do what He has commanded Moses to do.  He does that for us.  We need to listen to God before we do anything for God.  Follow His lead!

God provides a time to rest in Him, thinking of Him, thanking God for all He has done.  The Sabbath is a time set aside to “take a breath of holiness” that comes only from God who stopped to breathe after creating the world we live in!

“Yes, because in six days God made the Heavens and the Earth and on the seventh day he stopped and took a long, deep breath.”

STOP right now and take a long deep breath in Jesus Name and ask God to give you what you really need—more and more of Him!  Exhale all that is wasteful thinking.  Inhale the breath of God!

Lord,

This is my prayer for all of us who believe on Your Name, lean on Your Wisdom with a desire to live in relationship with You—God, our Father in Heaven.  May we see your glory at work today, notice, and praise you with all that is in us.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen!

Who doesn’t love the smell of your favorite fragrances wafting in the air? Good smells draw you in and cause you to stay.  Fragrances are memory boosters of past good times and experiences!  To this day I love the smell of fresh bread, so I make homemade bread.  It’s therapeutic!  It makes me happy and peaceful in my thoughts. The smell of fresh bread reminds me of my Grandma Lacquement whose bread everyone wanted.  I can still see her in my thoughts in a cloud of flour around her huge mixing bowls, hair tied back, in her small kitchen.  I remember church bake sales when people asked first for Grandma’s bread. Her bread sold out in a matter of minutes.  Only then would people look at the other baked goods on the table.  This was a labor of love for Grandma.  She loved making people happy.

God created our senses for pleasure and for protection.  Our senses of smell, sight and touch help us to distinguish between what is good for us and what is not.  Have you ever asked your spouse to “smell this to see if it is bad” when you have already smelled and know for sure it is bad?  Our smelling mechanisms are used in a variety of ways, right?

Dear Friends, God loves good fragrances wafting in the air, too.  He created them!  Now God tells Moses how to mix His created spices and herbs for incense to add to oils to burn.  (No, this is not a commercial for essential oils, but I do use them!)  God speaks to Moses about what is good and what is not.  But most of all, God commands obedience in the way the Israelites are to worship Him in truth. 

This is going to be new for God’s People.  God wants to come and meet with them.  With sweet smelling fragrances, He prepares the environment around the Tent of Meeting.  God wants to be their God, their only God, which is the opposite of the Egyptian way of many gods that generations of God’s People have grown accustomed to in slavery to the Pharoah.   Now they are free, delivered, redeemed to serve only God whose love is limitless.

 Exodus 30, The Message

The Altar of Incense

^1-5 “Make an Altar for burning incense. Construct it from acacia wood, one and one-half feet square and three feet high with its horns of one piece with it. Cover it with a veneer of pure gold, its top, sides, and horns, and make a gold molding around it with two rings of gold beneath the molding. Place the rings on the two opposing sides to serve as holders for poles by which it will be carried. Make the poles of acacia wood and cover them with a veneer of gold.

^6-10 “Place the Altar in front of the curtain that hides the Chest of The Testimony, in front of the Atonement-Cover that is over The Testimony where I will meet you. Aaron will burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he polishes the lamps, and again in the evening as he prepares the lamps for lighting, so that there will always be incense burning before God, generation after generation. But don’t burn on this Altar any unholy incense or Whole-Burnt-Offering or Grain-Offering. And don’t pour out Drink-Offerings on it. Once a year Aaron is to purify the Altar horns. Using the blood of the Absolution-Offering of atonement, he is to make this atonement every year down through the generations. It is most holy to God.”

The Atonement-Tax

^11-16 God spoke to Moses: “When you take a head count of the Israelites to keep track of them, all must pay an atonement-tax to God for their life at the time of being registered so that nothing bad will happen because of the registration. Everyone who gets counted is to give a half-shekel (using the standard Sanctuary shekel of a fifth of an ounce to the shekel)—a half-shekel offering to God. Everyone counted, age twenty and up, is to make the offering to God. The rich are not to pay more nor the poor less than the half-shekel offering to God, the atonement-tax for your lives. Take the atonement-tax money from the Israelites and put it to the maintenance of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial fund for the Israelites in honor of God, making atonement for your lives.”

The Washbasin

^17-21 God spoke to Moses: “Make a bronze Washbasin; make it with a bronze base. Place it between the Tent of Meeting and the Altar. Put water in it. Aaron and his sons will wash their hands and feet in it. When they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the Altar to serve there or offer gift offerings to God, they are to wash so they will not die. They are to wash their hands and their feet so they will not die. This is the rule forever, for Aaron and his sons down through the generations.”

Holy Anointing Oil

^22-25 God spoke to Moses: “Take the best spices: twelve and a half pounds of liquid myrrh; half that much, six and a quarter pounds, of fragrant cinnamon; six and a quarter pounds of fragrant cane; twelve and a half pounds of cassia—using the standard Sanctuary weight for all of them—and a gallon of olive oil. Make these into a holy anointing oil, a perfumer’s skillful blend.

^26-29 “Use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the Chest of The Testimony, the Table and all its utensils, the Lampstand and its utensils, the Altar of Incense, the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offerings and all its utensils, and the Washbasin and its base. Dedicate them so they’ll be soaked in holiness, so that anyone who so much as touches them will become holy.

^30-33 “Then anoint Aaron and his sons. Consecrate them as priests to me. Tell the Israelites, ‘This will be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations.’ Don’t pour it on ordinary men. Don’t copy this mixture to use for yourselves. It’s holy; keep it holy. Whoever mixes up anything like it, or puts it on an ordinary person, will be exiled.”

Holy Incense

^34-38 God spoke to Moses: “Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha, galbanum—and add pure frankincense. Mix the spices in equal proportions to make an aromatic incense, the art of a perfumer, salted and pure—holy. Now crush some of it into powder and place some of it before The Testimony in the Tent of Meeting where I will meet with you; it will be for you the holiest of holy places. When you make this incense, you are not to copy the mixture for your own use. It’s holy to God; keep it that way. Whoever copies it for personal use will be excommunicated.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

After a long day of working in the yard on a hot day, the smell that emanates from my body is pretty disgusting.  Is this the time to go to dinner with friends?  No!  I am not fit for seeing anyone until I clean up.  I bathe and put on fresh smelling fragrances before being with anyone.  Isn’t that pretty much what God is telling His Chosen?  Clean up your thinking and behaving, keep the lamplights burning, and add fragrance to your lives by focusing on Me so I can come near you and meet with you—teaching you with help every day in ways that no other gods or humans can.

I’m reminded of Paul teaching believers what it means to smell good to God with our lives!  Jesus, was the “incense” of our redemption.  He is the One and Only who set us free from the bondage of our sins.  Our sins stink.  Jesus’ cleaned and bathed us in the blood of his sacrifice for us.

“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”  Ephesians 5:1

Want to smell good to God—Love like Jesus loves us! 

What is the best example of the way He loves? The death of Christ on the cross, which became an offering and a sacrifice to God for us.  Oh friends, the way that God loves is so different from what we normally see that the Scriptures even use an entirely different word to describe it—”agape”.

As you have heard perhaps many times before, the Greek language included at least four different words which might be translated “love.” Each of them describes love in different forms and to different degrees. For now, center on this agape love.  When Paul tells us in verse two that “Christ loved us” he used the word agape which refers to a giving, sacrificial love, a love that gives without asking for anything in return, an unconditional love that loves no matter what. This is a love that depends entirely on the one who loves and not on the merit or response of the one loved.

A great example is found in Romans 5:8—“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This love is a love that represents “a self-emptying self-sacrifice”, not thinking of self at all but of others.  That’s the kind of love Paul is talking about when he thought about Jesus dying on the cross. On the cross, Jesus freely gave of Himself for our sakes. On the cross, Jesus sought our good rather than His own good. On the cross, Jesus made sacrifices on our behalf. On the cross, Jesus gave without asking or seeking anything in return. 

Jesus told his believing followers to take up their cross and follow Him and love like He loves them.  Living in this way is what smells good to God and makes Him smile. 

I want to make God smile, don’t you?

Lord,

I want my thinking and my behavior to smell good to you.  I cannot do this on my own, only by your power working in me.  I know that the only way to transform my life is to give you my life—all of it.  I’m yours, Lord.  Make me into what you created me to be and do from the very beginning.  Help me to love like you love me.  I want to smell good to you, dear Father.  May even this prayer of humility from my heart be a pleasing aroma to you this morning.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

Why are some things complicated and others easy to understand and easier to do? 

Why do you suppose God commanded Moses to appoint and anoint priests for the tent of meeting? 

And why did Moses have to follow each detail exactly the way God said?

God is teaching His People how to BE His People who love him back with how to love each other.  He now is teaching them how to worship Him with sins covered and absolved. 

Egypt has many ways to worship many gods.  We’ve said it for the last few days and we will say it again:  God took His People out of Egypt, now God is taking Egypt out of His people in all kinds of ways.  God does that with us, too.  He takes away our sins then works on our hearts to keep us from returning the sins that held us in bondage.  God says He will abide in us as we abide in Him.  What a relationship now and forever!  What hope and assurance to be one of His children with the promise of life eternal with Him!  Hold that thought as we read the great Exodus as God teaches His newly freed people!

Exodus 29, The Message

Consecration of Priests

^1-4 “This is the ceremony for dedicating them as priests. Take a young bull and two rams, healthy and without defects. Using fine wheat flour but no yeast make bread and cakes mixed with oil and wafers spread with oil. Place them in a basket and carry them along with the bull and the two rams. Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.

^5-9 “Then take the vestments and dress Aaron in the tunic, the robe of the Ephod, the Ephod, and the Breastpiece, belting the Ephod on him with the embroidered waistband. Set the turban on his head and place the sacred crown on the turban. Then take the anointing oil and pour it on his head, anointing him. Then bring his sons, put tunics on them and gird them with sashes, both Aaron and his sons, and set hats on them. Their priesthood is upheld by law and is permanent.

^9-14 “This is how you will ordain Aaron and his sons: Bring the bull to the Tent of Meeting. Aaron and his sons will place their hands on the head of the bull. Then you will slaughter the bull in the presence of God at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Take some of the bull’s blood and smear it on the horns of the Altar with your finger; pour the rest of the blood on the base of the Altar. Next take all the fat that covers the innards, fat from around the liver and the two kidneys, and burn it on the Altar. But the flesh of the bull, including its hide and dung, you will burn up outside the camp. It is an Absolution-Offering.

^15-18 “Then take one of the rams. Have Aaron and his sons place their hands on the head of the ram. Slaughter the ram and take its blood and throw it against the Altar, all around. Cut the ram into pieces; wash its innards and legs, then gather the pieces and its head and burn the whole ram on the Altar. It is a Whole-Burnt-Offering to God, a pleasant fragrance, an offering by fire to God.

^19-21 “Then take the second ram. Have Aaron and his sons place their hands on the ram’s head. Slaughter the ram. Take some of its blood and rub it on Aaron’s right earlobe and on the right earlobes of his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Sprinkle the rest of the blood against all sides of the Altar. Then take some of the blood that is on the Altar, mix it with some of the anointing oil, and splash it on Aaron and his clothes and on his sons and their clothes so that Aaron and his clothes and his sons and his sons’ clothes will be made holy.

^22-23 “Take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the innards, the long lobe of the liver, the two kidneys and the fat on them, and the right thigh: this is the ordination ram. Also take one loaf of bread, an oil cake, and a wafer from the breadbasket that is in the presence of God.

^24-25 “Place all of these in the open hands of Aaron and his sons who will wave them before God, a Wave-Offering. Then take them from their hands and burn them on the Altar with the Whole-Burnt-Offering—a pleasing fragrance before God, a gift to God.

²⁶ “Now take the breast from Aaron’s ordination ram and wave it before God, a Wave-Offering. That will be your portion.

^27-28 “Bless the Wave-Offering breast and the thigh that was held up. These are the parts of the ordination ram that are for Aaron and his sons. Aaron and his sons are always to get this offering from the Israelites; the Israelites are to make this offering regularly from their Peace-Offerings.

^29-30 “Aaron’s sacred garments are to be handed down to his descendants so they can be anointed and ordained in them. The son who succeeds him as priest is to wear them for seven days and enter the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place.

^31-34 “Take the ordination ram and boil the meat in the Holy Place. At the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, Aaron and his sons will eat the boiled ram and the bread that is in the basket. Atoned by these offerings, ordained and hallowed by them, they are the only ones who are to eat them. No outsiders are to eat them; they’re holy. Anything from the ordination ram or from the bread that is left over until morning you are to burn up. Don’t eat it; it’s holy.

^35-37 “Do everything for the ordination of Aaron and his sons exactly as I’ve commanded you throughout the seven days. Offer a bull as an Absolution-Offering for atonement each day. Offer it on the Altar when you make atonement for it: Anoint and hallow it. Make atonement for the Altar and hallow it for seven days; the Altar will become soaked in holiness—anyone who so much as touches the Altar will become holy.

^38-41 “This is what you are to offer on the Altar: two year-old lambs each and every day, one lamb in the morning and the second lamb at evening. With the sacrifice of the first lamb offer two quarts of fine flour with a quart of virgin olive oil, plus a quart of wine for a Drink-Offering. The sacrifice of the second lamb, the one at evening, is also to be accompanied by the same Grain-Offering and Drink-Offering of the morning sacrifice to give a pleasing fragrance, a gift to God.

^42-46 “This is to be your regular, daily Whole-Burnt-Offering before God, generation after generation, sacrificed at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. That’s where I’ll meet you; that’s where I’ll speak with you; that’s where I’ll meet the Israelites, at the place made holy by my Glory. I’ll make the Tent of Meeting and the Altar holy. I’ll make Aaron and his sons holy in order to serve me as priests. I’ll move in and live with the Israelites. I’ll be their God. They’ll realize that I am their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I could live with them. I am God, your God.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

This was the complicated system for the atonement (punishment/compensation) for sins.  God, in His Holiness and Perfection, cannot occupy the same space as sin, darkness and unholiness.  So there had to be a system for man to take care of his sins before coming before God.  To be their God, there had to be a way to redeem the sin situation of His People so He could come into the camp.  Aaron and his descendants were chose to be those representatives that would remedy the sin problem through animal sacrifice whose blood would take man’s place for punishment of sins instead of his own blood.

God gave Moses this way to cover the sins of His People so God could come and reside with them.  Over the centuries of complying to this system, it was thwarted with carelessness, pride and greed.  Yes, over time, the Old way became flawed in the sacrificial system of animals along with power-seeking corruption among the priests in the selling and buying of the animals to be sacrificed. 

God knew it would happen. God had a New Plan of sacrifice designed from the beginning to bring His People unto Himself.  That Plan of Jesus, the ultimate, perfect, without sin sacrifice.  Jesus, born of a Virgin, was both son of Man and Son of God.  Jesus, though God, could live among sinful people and teach them the way to God because He was also enough son of man to live in the “neighborhood” of man—and his sins. 

So, at just the right time, as God told his prophets, Jesus, Son of God, would come to earth to be the sacrifice to not only “cover” over our sins but to get rid of them, once and for all, saving all men and women who believed in Him!  Why?  Because of God’s great love, unfailing faithfulness, unending grace and relentless mercy for His created.  Pause and thank God right now!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The New Way is to come with a sincere heart seeking to be with God forever.  Repent in Jesus Name of all our sins no wanting to return.  God hears.  Jesus saves.  We are redeemed!  Simple. 

So, why wait?  Jesus is at the door ready with God’s blessings of growing in His character with the assured hope of eternal life as well as help for every day life.  Our part?  Say yes to Him.  Then walk with God by giving our lives back to Him.  Can it be that easy?  Saying yes is as easy or as hard as you want it to be.  But make a decision.  Doing nothing is a decision made—and that’s a hard way to live, too. 

Friends, life isn’t easy.  We need God to help us in all areas.  He loves to help us, is always for us ready to guide us with powerful strength to help us get through all the troubles this imperfect world has to offer.  But we must say a heartfelt yes to Him.

Paul explains the daily walk with God, Jesus, and His Holy Spirit like this;

“Place Your Life Before God”

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”  Romans 12:1-2, The Message

Do this all in Jesus Name, For His Glory!  Yes and Amen!  May all we do be done in Jesus Name with His love in our hearts.

There are many today who believe that what you wear should not make a difference in who you are or what you are capable of being and doing.  Is that just wishful thinking?  Can we humans truthfully say that what we wear is how we are still judged today.  If I walk in to a room smiling, but with worn flip flops on my nasty unkept feet, wearing a t-shirt that has seen better days with jeans that need a good washing, what are your first thoughts about me? Nice smile?  Or would you shy away from me because of the smell along with a prayer to God to help me? What if I came into a room with clean clothes, fresh from a good shower with that same smile on my face, what would be your reaction as a first impression of me?   

“Dress for success” we have been told by our culture.  “Clothes make a person”.  Admit it, our thoughts about a person are based on first impressions of that person’s appearance.  Unkept means lazy to our culture.  Bathed with trendy clothing marks a person as a go getter.  But what if God chose your clothing, as His representative to His people, vests and cloaks with built in significance as a remembrance of what He has done? What if His clothing reminded you that your work is to minister to everyone for it is everyone of His People that God loves and cherishes? 

Mm, what to wear…Is what I’m wearing make me look fat—with arrogance?  Or is what I’m wearing inviting people to see Jesus in me?

Exodus 28, The Message

The Vestments

^1-5 “Get your brother Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites to serve me as priests: Aaron and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, Ithamar. Make sacred vestments for your brother Aaron to symbolize glory and beauty. Consult with the skilled craftsmen, those whom I have gifted in this work, and arrange for them to make Aaron’s vestments, to set him apart as holy, to act as priest for me. These are the articles of clothing they are to make: Breastpiece, Ephod, robe, woven tunic, turban, sash. They are making holy vestments for your brother Aaron and his sons as they work as priests for me. They will need gold; blue, purple, and scarlet material; and fine linen.

The Ephod

^6-14 “Have the Ephod made from gold; blue, purple, and scarlet material; and fine twisted linen by a skilled craftsman. Give it two shoulder pieces at two of the corners so it can be fastened. The decorated band on it is to be just like it and of one piece with it: made of gold; blue, purple, and scarlet material; and of fine twisted linen. Next take two onyx stones and engrave the names of the sons of Israel on them in the order of their birth, six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other. Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a jeweler engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in settings of filigreed gold. Fasten the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the Ephod—they are memorial stones for the Israelites. Aaron will wear these names on his shoulders as a memorial before God. Make the settings of gold filigree. Make two chains of pure gold and braid them like cords, then attach the corded chains to the settings.

The Breastpiece

^15-20 “Now make a Breastpiece of Judgment, using skilled craftsmen, the same as with the Ephod. Use gold; blue, purple, and scarlet material; and fine twisted linen. Make it nine inches square and folded double. Mount four rows of precious gemstones on it.

    First row: carnelian, topaz, emerald.
    Second row: ruby, sapphire, crystal.
    Third row: jacinth, agate, amethyst.
    Fourth row: beryl, onyx, jasper.

^20-21 “Set them in gold filigree. The twelve stones correspond to the names of the Israelites, with twelve names engraved, one on each, as on a seal for the twelve tribes.

^22-28 “Then make braided chains of pure gold for the Breastpiece, like cords. Make two rings of gold for the Breastpiece and fasten them to the two ends. Fasten the two golden cords to the rings at the ends of the Breastpiece. Then fasten the other ends of the two cords to the two settings of filigree, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the Ephod in front. Then make two rings of gold and fasten them to the two ends of the Breastpiece on its inside edge facing the Ephod. Then make two more rings of gold and fasten them in the front of the Ephod to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces, near the seam above the decorated band. Fasten the Breastpiece in place by running a cord of blue through its rings to the rings of the Ephod so that it rests secure on the decorated band of the Ephod and won’t come loose.

^29-30 “Aaron will regularly carry the names of the sons of Israel on the Breastpiece of Judgment over his heart as he enters the Sanctuary into the presence of God for remembrance. Place the Urim and Thummim in the Breastpiece of Judgment. They will be over Aaron’s heart when he enters the presence of God. In this way Aaron will regularly carry the Breastpiece of Judgment into the presence of God.

The Robe

^31-35 “Make the robe for the Ephod entirely of blue, with an opening for the head at the center and a hem on the edge so that it won’t tear. For the edge of the skirts make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet material all around and alternate them with bells of gold—gold bell and pomegranate, gold bell and pomegranate—all around the hem of the robe. Aaron has to wear it when he does his priestly work. The bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place and comes into the presence of God, and again when he comes out so that he won’t die.

The Turban, Tunic, Underwear

^36-38 “Make a plate of pure gold. Engrave on it as on a seal: ‘Holy to God.’ Tie it with a blue cord to the front of the turban. It is to rest there on Aaron’s forehead. He’ll take on any guilt involved in the sacred offerings that the Israelites dedicate, no matter what they bring. It will always be on Aaron’s forehead so that the offerings will be acceptable before God.

^39-41 “Weave the tunic of fine linen. Make the turban of fine linen. The sash will be the work of an embroiderer. Make tunics, sashes, and hats for Aaron’s sons to express glory and beauty. Dress your brother Aaron and his sons in them. Anoint, ordain, and dedicate them to serve me as priests.

^42-43 “Make linen underwear to cover their nakedness from waist to thigh. Aaron and his sons must wear it whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the Altar to minister in the Holy Place so that they won’t incur guilt and die. This is a permanent rule for Aaron and all his priest-descendants.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God dresses Aaron and his sons with symbols of His love, mercy, rescue, judgement and grace.  So what are we “wearing” today?

The variety of stones on the breastplate suggests the variety of people in the church, all of them precious to God. Each of the tribes had its own distinctive outlook and personality, and no two were alike. Some were quick to go to battle, while others stayed home (Judg. 5:13–18). Some were easy to work with, while others liked to argue and be important (Judg. 8). Yet the Lord loved them all and the high priest had to minister to them all.

Twice in this section the priests were warned that they might die if they didn’t fully obey the Lord’s instructions and wear the right garments. In other words, God’s servants must walk in the fear of the Lord and be careful to obey Him and give Him the glory.  Jesus came to give life and teach truth.  His disciples wrote down what is the most important to God based on what Jesus deemed the greatest commandments:  Love God with all our hearts, minds and souls.  Love each other like loves us.

John the Baptist was the first “priest”, called of God to preach the coming of the Lord, our Messiah, someone much greater than himself, who dressed counterculture in the world.  John preached in simple clothing that most religious leaders repelled.  John wore animal skins, ate locust and wild honey down by the river so he could immediately baptize those who repented to God!  Impressive to the well-dressed?  Hardly.  The priests of Jesus day now dressed to represent their own pride and arrogance—to opposite of God’s intent.  All meaning and significance was lost through centuries of generations of priests.

So, God called John who preached humility and repentance.  John introduced a new way of thinking to a world that had forgotten God altogether.  He preached about Someone who would change the world forever.  This Someone was Jesus, Son of God, the One and Only sent to take away the sins of the world.  With Jesus came the Good News of a new way of thinking, talking, loving and behaving—a new way to dress for “success” in God’s Kingdom.  Paul explains to believers, who are ALL priests, all “ambassadors (representatives) for Christ”, exactly what this looks like:

“Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.”

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:10-17

Dear Friends, this is how the smile on our faces form!  Our smile represents the smile of God on us, living in us, being His chosen representatives to a world who needs a Savior.  It is no longer what style of material clothing we wear, it’s how we dress our hearts, minds and souls.  May the smile of God bless you today as you read and meditate on His word.  Point the way to Jesus!  And smile!  Our smile opens the door to hearing about Jesus.  My prayer for us…

In Jesus Name, For His glory, so others will know, Amen!

Shine
Make ’em wonder what you’ve got
Make ’em wish that they were not
On the outside lookin’ bored
Shine
Let it shine before all men
Let ’em see good works and then
Let ’em glorify the Lord

Shine, by Newboys

If you have ever been camping, you know how important light is when it gets dark and you are making your way to a bathroom.  Yes, we are talking about tent camping!  Our young family did for a few years.  It was a cheaper way for us to take our “party of five” to places within our budget.  One of those trips was to Yellowstone National Park.  What an incredible trip!  The mountains and lake were so pristine and breathe takingly beautiful to see! 

But then there was that sign on the road to our campsite.  “No soft-sided camping in this area.”  Why, because of bears!  We went a few miles outside Yellowstone Park to find a great place by a beautiful stream.  The sign said, “Not a bear area.”  At that time, we had upgraded to a popup tent trailer.  This mom felt safe—until I laid my head down to overthink our situation.  This thought came to my mind, Bears cannot read, how do THEY know this is not a bear area?  So, I kept our Coleman lamp burning the rest of the night.  Somehow, I felt that this light in the darkness would keep us all safe.  The rest of the family got a good night’s sleep.  I kept watch for bears!

The Israelites have been camping for awhile in the dessert wilderness while God is teaching Moses how to lead His People, the Chosen, to walk in God’s ways by His provision.  Moses is receiving a “seminary” education on the mountain with God, Himself, for 40 days and 40 nights.  So, what is happening to the people while Moses is being schooled?  We will get to that later, but for now let us center our thoughts on the construction of the Altar along with the command to keep the lighted lamps burning.  See, I’m not the only one who thinks light is important and protects us from the darkness!

Exodus 27, The Message

The Altar

^1-8 “Make an Altar of acacia wood. Make it seven and a half feet square and four and a half feet high. Make horns at each of the four corners. The horns are to be of one piece with the Altar and covered with a veneer of bronze. Make buckets for removing the ashes, along with shovels, basins, forks, and fire pans. Make all these utensils from bronze. Make a grate of bronze mesh and attach bronze rings at each of the four corners. Put the grate under the ledge of the Altar at the halfway point of the Altar. Make acacia wood poles for the Altar and cover them with a veneer of bronze. Insert the poles through the rings on the two sides of the Altar for carrying. Use boards to make the Altar, keeping the interior hollow.

The Courtyard

^9-11 “Make a Courtyard for The Dwelling. The south side is to be 150 feet long. The hangings for the Courtyard are to be woven from fine twisted linen, with their twenty posts, twenty bronze bases, and fastening hooks and bands of silver. The north side is to be exactly the same.

^12-19 “For the west end of the Courtyard you will need seventy-five feet of hangings with their ten posts and bases. Across the seventy-five feet at the front, or east end, you will need twenty-two and a half feet of hangings, with their three posts and bases on one side and the same for the other side. At the door of the Courtyard make a screen thirty feet long woven from blue, purple, and scarlet stuff, with fine twisted linen, embroidered by a craftsman, and hung on its four posts and bases. All the posts around the Courtyard are to be banded with silver, with hooks of silver and bases of bronze. The Courtyard is to be 150 feet long and seventy-five feet wide. The hangings of fine twisted linen set on their bronze bases are to be seven and a half feet high. All the tools used for setting up The Holy Dwelling, including all the pegs in it and the Courtyard, are to be made of bronze.

^20-21 “Now, order the Israelites to bring you pure, clear olive oil for light so that the lamps can be kept burning. In the Tent of Meeting, the area outside the curtain that veils The Testimony, Aaron and his sons will keep this light burning from evening until morning before God. This is to be a permanent practice down through the generations for Israelites.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

The altar was a significant place of sacrifice for sin.  Animals without blemish will be sacrificed on this altar to “cover the sins” (atone the sins) of God’s people.  Jesus who was perfect, without sin, did that for us, once and for all.  There is a significant difference, however.  Jesus takes away our repented sins, justifying us, “just as if” we had never sinned.  “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103) AND God remembers our sins confessed and repented no more!  We cannot keep asking God to forgive us for a sin we already confessed as we ask for forgiveness, because He has already forgiven and forgotten that sin!  Wow.

Dear Friends, the only “altar” believers have today is Jesus Christ Himself, who bears on His glorified body the wounds of the cross (Luke 24:39; John 20:20; Heb. 13:10). As a holy priesthood, we “offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5). We present to Him our bodies (Rom. 12:1, 2), our material wealth (Phil. 4:18), praise and good works (Heb. 13:15, 16), and a broken heart (Ps. 51:17).

“Outside—Keep the light burning!”  Once we proclaim Jesus as Savior and Lord of our lives, who is the Light of the world who is in darkness, we must keep His Light in us burning brightly and consistently!  His Light in us not only keeps us safe from the wolves among the sheep, but His light in us points to way for others to find their way from darkness to Jesus, the Light of the World!  “This is to be a permanent practice down through the generations for Israelites” and for us!

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  Matthew 5:13-16, NIV

ONE WAY IN—

There was only one entrance to the enclosure and therefore only one way to get to the altar of God. When God puts up a fence and assigns the way in, nobody has the authority to question it or change it. Jesus claimed to be the only door (John 10:9) and the only way to God (John 14:6), which explains why Peter said, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). In today’s pluralistic society, many people like to think that every way is acceptable to God, but that attitude leads to death (Matt. 7:13–27).

Our Father God in Heaven,

Thank you for making a Way, the One and Only Way to you possible through you, dear Jesus!  I love you with all my heart, mind and soul.  Thank you for teaching me the finer points of your story from Genesis, the beginning, to the Revelation of your coming back again with everything in between.  I may not understand it all, but I know enough to know I need you every hour with your light burning consistently and forever in me!  I’m yours. I’m listening and learning.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

Where is your Holy Place?  Where is that special place where you and God can commune each day?   Where is that place where you can be quiet and listen to Him with a heart that waits in anticipation for what God has to say to you?  Who begins each day with you then sings over you as you lay your head on the pillow at night?  Who is with you throughout the day?  All these questions to ponder are related to our heart condition as we call on God, in Jesus Name.  God may be calling us even now to come and meet with Him! 

Are we listening for His invitation to join Him?  Are ready to enter into close communion with the Holy of Holies?  Jesus, His Son made it possible for us to come boldly to God with anything standing in our way.  Jesus torn down the curtain that stood between God and man when the One and Only rescued us and brought us out of evil’s hold on our hearts, minds and souls by taking our place for our sins. 

Remember Jesus.  Remember, pausing to think about what He did for us as God tells Moses the specifics of building a place for Him to dwell with His Chosen in the wilderness.  Today we are the dwelling in which God, Jesus and His Holy Spirit reside. God tells us exactly how to build our lives as the Sanctuary where He dwells in us.  All because of Jesus.  Today, we who believe are His Chosen.  Hold that thought.

Exodus 26, The Message

The Dwelling

^1-6 “Make The Dwelling itself from ten panels of tapestry woven from fine twisted linen, blue and purple and scarlet material, with an angel-cherubim design. A skilled craftsman should do it. The panels of tapestry are each to be forty-six feet long and six feet wide. Join five of the panels together, and then the other five together. Make loops of blue along the edge of the outside panel of the first set and the same on the outside panel of the second set. Make fifty loops on each panel. Then make fifty gold clasps and join the tapestries together so that The Dwelling is one whole.

^7-11 “Next make tapestries of goat hair for a tent that will cover The Dwelling. Make eleven panels of these tapestries. The length of each panel will be forty-five feet long and six feet wide. Join five of the panels together, and then the other six. Fold the sixth panel double at the front of the tent. Now make fifty loops along the edge of the end panel and fifty loops along the edge of the joining panel. Make fifty clasps of bronze and connect the clasps with the loops, bringing the tent together.

^12-14 “Hang half of the overlap of the tapestry panels over the rear of The Dwelling. The eighteen inches of overlap on either side will cover the sides of the tent. Finally, make a covering for the tapestries of tanned rams’ skins dyed red and over that a covering of dolphin skins.

^15-25 “Frame The Dwelling with planks of acacia wood, each section of frame fifteen feet long and two and one-quarter feet wide, with two pegs for securing them. Make all the frames identical: twenty frames for the south side with forty silver sockets to receive the two pegs from each of the twenty frames; the same construction on the north side of The Dwelling; for the rear of The Dwelling, which faces west, make six frames with two additional frames for the rear corners. Both of the two corner frames need to be double in thickness from top to bottom and fit into a single ring—eight frames altogether with sixteen sockets of silver, two under each frame.

^26-30 “Now make crossbars of acacia wood, five for the frames on one side of The Dwelling, five for the other side, and five for the back side facing west. The center crossbar runs from end to end halfway up the frames. Cover the frames with a veneer of gold and make gold rings to hold the crossbars. And cover the crossbars with a veneer of gold. Then put The Dwelling together, following the design you were shown on the mountain.

^31-35 “Make a curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. Have a design of angel-cherubim woven into it by a skilled craftsman. Fasten it with gold hooks to four posts of acacia wood covered with a veneer of gold, set on four silver bases. After hanging the curtain from the clasps, bring the Chest of The Testimony in behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Holy-of-Holies. Now place the Atonement-Cover lid on the Chest of The Testimony in the Holy-of-Holies. Place the Table and the Lampstand outside the curtain, the Lampstand on the south side of The Dwelling and the Table opposite it on the north side.

^36-37 “Make a screen for the door of the tent. Weave it from blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. Frame the weaving with five poles of acacia wood covered with a veneer of gold and make gold hooks to hang the weaving. Cast five bronze bases for the poles.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

The Dwelling is full of meaning.

“Honor and majesty are before Him,” wrote the psalmist. “Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary” (Ps. 96:6). The tabernacle was a tent, but it was a tent like no other! The strength of His sanctuary is revealed in its construction, and the beauty is revealed in its adornment.

The curtain and furnishings are significant. 

What Old Testament believers had in the tabernacle, and later in the temple, God’s people today have in Jesus Christ. The furnishings and the ceremonies point to Christ and reveal the many glorious aspects of His character and the salvation He gives to all who trust Him. Every spiritual need of the Israelite people was met in the provisions of the tabernacle, and in Jesus Christ we have everything that we need for “life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3).

Between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, the inner curtain (veil) hung from gold hooks supported by four pillars. It was embroidered with cherubim in white, scarlet, blue, and purple. Hebrews 10:20 says that this curtain typifies the body of Christ, for when His body was offered on the cross, the curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom (Mark 15:38).

“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split,” Matthew 27:51

Matthew, Mark, and Luke documented the tearing of the veil in the temple after Jesus’ death on the cross. 

• “The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom,” Mark 15:38 reads. 
• Luke wrote, “for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two” (Luke 23:45). 
• John simply records Jesus’ last words, “It is finished,” and “with that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30).

The Apostle Matthew left a historical trail of Jesus’ death by recording the events that immediately followed. John, perhaps tied in knots of emotion as he remained at the foot of the cross with Jesus’ mother as He died, can only move on after mention of His Savior’s last earthly breath before the crucifixion. 

This is proof that the curtain that separated mankind from the space where God met to hear and atone man’s sins in no longer a barrier to the Holy of Holies.  Jesus’ death and resurrection made it possible for us to come boldly to the throne of God and talk with Him.  Anytime, day or night.

We cannot emphasize this enough! Jesus, who is God the Son, went to the cross by His own free will in submission to God the Father. He came to earth to save us from the sin that separated us from the presence of God. “The tearing of the curtain that separated the sinful people from the holy presence of God signifies what happened when the flesh of Jesus was torn,” John Piper preached, “The tearing of Jesus’ flesh secured the reconciliation between God and his sinful people. That is what the tearing of the curtain signified.”

Could this be why God is so specific in the design of His Dwelling place?  God knows who is to come!  For now, it is a sturdy, designated place that will travel well with His People.  The Dwelling and the contents will remind His people that He is with them wherever they go as well as what He has already done to rescue them.  Everything inside points to Jesus!

God will train priest from the tribe of Levi to be his representatives in the Dwelling. Jesus is our High Priest who not only reconciled our sins, making us right with God by His own sacrificial blood, but cleared the way to God’s Holy Presence!  No curtain stands in our way to God!  Now all who believe and are redeemed have been designated as Christ’s representatives, (priests of the Good News) who tell His story of salvation, pointing the Way to Him!  (2 Corinthians 5:20)

The old has gone, the new has come.  Believe and be saved for eternity!  The risen King is building a new temple—not a tomb of cold, lifeless stones but a spiritual house of living stones. Jesus is assembling a people from the four corners of the earth, “all nations”, washed clean and taught to follow him.

The best news is this: we are his temple, His Dwelling place.  He goes where He sends.  We are his planted garden multiplying and filling the earth. His Presence will never depart from this living temple, for Jesus promised: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).

Lord prepare me
To be a sanctuary
Pure and holy
Tried and true
And with thanksgiving
I’ll be a living
Sanctuary, oh for You…

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen!

Whoever said, “God is not specific with what He tells me, so I do not know what to do”, haven’t studied the book of Exodus that is filled with just how specific the God of Creation and Divine Design can be!  God has a reason for every detail in our lives because He knows what lies ahead.  He knows exactly what we will need spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally to follow Him, allowing His best work to done in and through us!

Take some time to read and imagine the detailed work that is to be done to remember who God is and what He has done for them.  And what else does God’s Chosen have to do in the wilderness, but to build?  On any “road trip”, we parents give our children things to keep them busy so they will center their thoughts on the joy in journey instead of fighting with each other for sport, right?!  Mm, maybe, there’s more to this part of the story… 

Exodus 25, The Message

Instructions on the Mountain: The Offerings

^1-9 God spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites that they are to set aside offerings for me. Receive the offerings from everyone who is willing to give. These are the offerings I want you to receive from them: gold, silver, bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet material; fine linen; goats’ hair; tanned rams’ skins; dolphin skins; acacia wood; lamp oil; spices for anointing oils and for fragrant incense; onyx stones and other stones for setting in the Ephod and the Breastpiece. Let them construct a Sanctuary for me so that I can live among them. You are to construct it following the plans I’ve given you, the design for The Dwelling and the design for all its furnishings.

The Chest

^10-15 “First let them make a Chest using acacia wood: make it three and three-quarters feet long and two and one-quarter feet wide and deep. Cover it with a veneer of pure gold inside and out and make a molding of gold all around it. Cast four gold rings and attach them to its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other. Make poles from acacia wood and cover them with a veneer of gold and insert them into the rings on the sides of the Chest for carrying the Chest. The poles are to stay in the rings; they must not be removed.

¹⁶ “Place The Testimony that I give you in the Chest.

¹⁷ “Now make a lid of pure gold for the Chest, an Atonement-Cover, three and three-quarters feet long and two and one-quarter feet wide.

^18-22 “Sculpt two winged angels out of hammered gold for either end of the Atonement-Cover, one angel at one end, one angel at the other. Make them of one piece with the Atonement-Cover. Make the angels with their wings spread, hovering over the Atonement-Cover, facing one another but looking down on it. Set the Atonement-Cover as a lid over the Chest and place in the Chest The Testimony that I will give you. I will meet you there at set times and speak with you from above the Atonement-Cover and from between the angel-figures that are on it, speaking the commands that I have for the Israelites.

The Table

^23-28 “Next make a Table from acacia wood. Make it three feet long, one and one-half feet wide and two and one-quarter feet high. Cover it with a veneer of pure gold. Make a molding all around it of gold. Make the border a handbreadth wide all around it and a rim of gold for the border. Make four rings of gold and attach the rings to the four legs parallel to the tabletop. They will serve as holders for the poles used to carry the Table. Make the poles of acacia wood and cover them with a veneer of gold. They will be used to carry the Table.

²⁹ “Make plates, bowls, jars, and jugs for pouring out offerings. Make them of pure gold.

³⁰ “Always keep fresh Bread of the Presence on the Table before me.

The Lampstand

^31-36 “Make a Lampstand of pure hammered gold. Make its stem and branches, cups, calyxes, and petals all of one piece. Give it six branches, three from one side and three from the other; put three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with calyx and petals, on one branch, three on the next, and so on—the same for all six branches. On the main stem of the Lampstand, make four cups shaped like almonds, with calyx and petals, a calyx extending from under each pair of the six branches, the entire Lampstand fashioned from one piece of hammered pure gold.

^37-38 “Make seven of these lamps for the Table. Arrange the lamps so they throw their light out in front. Make the candle snuffers and trays out of pure gold.

^39-40 “Use a seventy-five-pound brick of pure gold to make the Lampstand and its accessories. Study the design you were given on the mountain and make everything accordingly.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God spoke to Moses.  He speaks to us today who believe and trust in Him.  We must listen to every detail.

God still gives specifics.  He gives us His Word so we can study His design for our lives and then do everything that He says.  I’m reminded of one of my favorite Psalms—

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
    for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
    for to you I entrust my life.
⁹ Rescue me from my enemies, Lord,
    for I hide myself in you.
¹⁰ Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
    lead me on level ground.”

Psalm 143;8-10, NIV

AND Psalm 119…

“I have hidden your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you.
¹² I praise you, O Lord;
    teach me your decrees.
¹³ I have recited aloud
    all the regulations you have given us.
¹⁴ I have rejoiced in your laws
    as much as in riches.
¹⁵ I will study your commandments
    and reflect on your ways.
¹⁶ I will delight in your decrees
    and not forget your word.”

Psalm 119:11-16, NLT

GOING DEEPER INTO THE DESIGN WORK—

With that thought in mind, let’s go a bit deeper in the significance of the design.  God was about to fulfill His promise to be Israel’s God by coming to the camp of Israel to dwell with His people.  In order to do this, the Lord needed two things: a place for His glory to dwell and servants to minister to Him in that place.  Yes, what God does!  He always involves us!

Whenever God does a work, He has a plan for that work, whether it’s building the tabernacle or the temple, a local church (Phil. 2:12), or the individual Christian’s life and ministry (Eph. 2:10).

God warned Moses to make everything according to the pattern revealed to him on the mountain.  Why?  Good question.  With the help of Warren Wierbe, Theologian, we learn that the earthly tabernacle was built to God’s specifications. God’s Word reveals that this is “a copy of the heavenly tabernacle where our Lord now ministers to and for His people (Heb. 8:1–5; 9:1). The Book of Revelation mentions an altar of burnt offering (Rev. 6:9–11), an altar of incense (Rev. 8:3–5), a throne (Rev. 4:2), elders (Rev. 4:4, 5), lamps (Rev. 4:5), a “sea” (Rev. 4:6), and living creatures or cherubim (Rev. 4:6, 7), all of which parallel the main furnishings of the earthly tabernacle. It’s a basic principle of ministry that we follow the pattern given from heaven, not the pattern of this world (Rom. 12:2).”  I know, right?!

The cover of the ark, traditionally called the “mercy seat,” had a cherub at each end and their wings overshadowed the ark. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest was permitted to enter the Most Holy Place (traditionally the “Holy of Holies”), where he sprinkled the blood of the sacrifices on the ark’s cover (Lev. 16:13). This made atonement for Israel’s sins for another year (Lev. 16:29–34). These actions were a foreshadowing or type that was not fully understood until later events made it clear. The fulfillment of this type was when Jesus Christ died once for all for the sins of the world and took away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Heb. 9:11—10:14).  (Wierbe)  Thank you, Jesus!!

The loaves are called the “showbread,” literally “bread of faces.” The presence of twelve loaves of bread in the Holy Place couldn’t help but remind the priests that they were serving the twelve tribes of Israel, God’s chosen people. Through these loaves, the twelve tribes were presented before God, and God was present with them in their camp, beholding their worship and their daily walk.

There’s also a sense that the loaves remind us that Israel was called to feed a hungry world the spiritual bread the Lord had given them. They gave the world the Word of God which is bread (Matt. 4:4), and the bread speaks of Jesus (John 6). Paul compared the church to a loaf of unleavened bread (1 Cor. 5:1–8; see 10:16, 17), and our task is to preach the Word and tell sinners about Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life.  Yes, God always involves His people—we who believe are His Chosen today.

God knows

What was done by the priests in the sanctuary was done for the Lord and before the Lord. It mattered not that the people in the camp were ignorant of what the priests were doing, because God saw it all, and their task was to please Him. The most important part of a Christian’s life is the part that only God sees. If God is pleased by what He sees, and our consciences are clean before Him, then we don’t have to worry about what people think or say about us. He will accept our ministry and bless each one of us with His growing character.

Lord,

Yes, and amen!  What you do in us is miraculous!  When we really believe what you say is really real, then our lives change and are transformed!  We mess up but you come and repair the damage and restore us to a right relationship with you.  You never change in your love and faithfulness toward us.  I know.  I am a life that was changed and is still transforming.  For this alone I am grateful to you.  To you be the glory forevermore.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

Before anything of significance happens in our lives of serving God, we must climb the mountain to meet with God, to hear and understand what He wants.  Dear friends, when God calls us to climb, climb.  If we jump start life on our own, life gets more and more complicated.  God is not a confusing God nor He is hiding anything from us.  Jesus knew this about God because of being His Son. Jesus lived a simple life on earth being with God then doing what His Father said.  Before his ministry to the world began, He also “climbed a mountain” in the wilderness to be with God for forty days and nights.  Significant to Moses’ command to climb?  Yes!

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  Matthew 3:16-17

You and I both know the feeling and emotions after saying a loving, uncompromising yes to God’s call for a specific work.  I don’t know about you, but I am giddy with excitement as I trust God with nothing held back.  It is knowing without doubt that I’m in God’s holy presence, pleasing Him that sends my soul into the heavenlies.  I see only God in these moments!  I know He is there and will never leave me in this work.  I know He is pleased as I align my thoughts and actions completely with Him.  It is truly a spiritual mountain high!   

But then God must teach us through tests and trials to prepare us for His work in the valley below the mountain of helping others know and follow Him, too.  He led Jesus, immediately after revealing to the world through baptism who He was, to the wilderness to fast and pray—and be tested.  It is in the wilderness that we, too are tested and taught.  (If Jesus had to go through it, then…)

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    and they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.  Matthew 4:1-11

The evil of this world, the prince of darkness, is no match for Jesus, Son of God, Savior of our souls.  Jesus is Son of Man and Son of God at the same time so He is tested.  Jesus then begins the mission that God sent Him to accomplish.

God calls Moses to meet with Him.  Moses must climb the mountain alone.  He will go beyond the other leaders and climb higher still to be with God alone.  God will teach him and prepare him for the hard stuff of serving him in the days ahead.  Israel, who are childish in their faith, will need a strong leader who has been with God to teach them to walk in God’s ways. 

What was it like to be only with God for forty days and nights?  Jesus knew for He was there, too.

Consider this thought…When it is time for Jesus’ final act of completing His mission to save the us, Moses and Elijah meet him on mountain where Jesus, for a moment, is with God and transformed by God.  What was Moses telling Jesus? 

“After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.  Matthew 17:1-3

Relax in the thought that God knows.  God created all and is in all.  God is in control.  Let go, let God.  He knows what He is doing.  He ties up all the loose ends.  He teaches us as He challenges us to grow in His love because of His mercy and grace.  As Paul, another leader God called out of darkness and into the Light of His love, writes; “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

Climb the mountain when God calls. Learn from God and revel in His Presence. Trust and obey until His Son, Jesus declares, “Well done, good and faithful servant, well done!” 

Keep climbing…Are we there yet?

Exodus 24, The Message

^1-2 He said to Moses, “Climb the mountain to God, you and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. They will worship from a distance; only Moses will approach God. The rest are not to come close. And the people are not to climb the mountain at all.”

³ So Moses went to the people and told them everything God had said—all the rules and regulations. They all answered in unison: “Everything God said, we’ll do.”

^4-6 Then Moses wrote it all down, everything God had said. He got up early the next morning and built an Altar at the foot of the mountain using twelve pillar-stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he directed young Israelite men to offer Whole-Burnt-Offerings and sacrifice Peace-Offerings of bulls. Moses took half the blood and put it in bowls; the other half he threw against the Altar.

⁷ Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it as the people listened. They said, “Everything God said, we’ll do. Yes, we’ll obey.”

⁸ Moses took the rest of the blood and threw it out over the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has made with you out of all these words I have spoken.”

* * *

^9-11 Then they climbed the mountain—Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel—and saw the God of Israel. He was standing on a pavement of something like sapphires—pure, clear sky-blue. He didn’t hurt these pillar-leaders of the Israelites: They saw God; and they ate and drank.

^12-13 God said to Moses, “Climb higher up the mountain and wait there for me; I’ll give you tablets of stone, the teachings and commandments that I’ve written to instruct them.” So Moses got up, accompanied by Joshua his aide. And Moses climbed up the mountain of God.

¹⁴ He told the elders of Israel, “Wait for us here until we return to you. You have Aaron and Hur with you; if there are any problems, go to them.”

^15-17 Then Moses climbed the mountain. The Cloud covered the mountain. The Glory of God settled over Mount Sinai. The Cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called out of the Cloud to Moses. In the view of the Israelites below, the Glory of God looked like a raging fire at the top of the mountain.

¹⁸ Moses entered the middle of the Cloud and climbed the mountain. Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Embrace God.  

Listen for the Voice of God.

Live in gratitude for what God has done through His Son to save us.

Embrace the tests and trials that grow us for what is next on our journey to help others know Jesus, God’s Son so they also can be saved for life!

Climb the mountain!  Go to the valley as God’s Holy Spirit leads.  God is with us.  Jesus assured us, “I am with you always”, as he left earth for heaven.

Run from temptations.  We have help!  “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 

Run to God!

Can we readily and unequivocally respond with “Everything God says, we will do”?  The proof will be readily seen by God who sees the motivations of our hearts and by His people who will see our behaviors.

Lord,

You are God, we are not.  There is no one like you!  You give us all we need through every test and trial.  You teach us the right way to go that helps us as we point the way to you for others.  You attend to us when we need it most.  I love who you are and what you have done in my life as you continue to fine tune what you are still doing in me as your instrument.  Thank you, Lord.  I’m yours.  I’m still climbing the mountain to you.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

We continue in our journey with God’s People as they trudge through the wilderness being taught by God through Moses.  Moses merely passes on what God tells him to say.  God took His People out of Egypt.  Now God is taking Egypt’s ways of living out of His people!  Most of what we are reading present God’s Laws of living with each other with justice for each other.  God’s Laws protect and provide healthy ways to live.  You will notice that most of our laws today are based on Mosaic law.  That’s why the basic foundation sounds so familiar to us.

After centuries of men seeking power, who twisted the meaning of God’s Law though abusive behaviors while using the Law to defend themselves, then adding to the Law in favor of themselves; God’s Son, Jesus came down from heaven to explain what God intended from the beginning.  Then he fulfilled God’s Law by explaining how we relate to God and each other by laying down His life for ours.  Jesus explains—

“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.”

“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”  Matthew 5:13-16, MSG

Jesus came to complete God’s Law—

“Don’t suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures—either God’s Law or the Prophets. I’m not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in a vast panorama. God’s Law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God’s Law will be alive and working.

^19-20 “Trivialize even the smallest item in God’s Law and you will only have trivialized yourself. But take it seriously, show the way for others, and you will find honor in the kingdom. Unless you do far better than the Pharisees in the matters of right living, you won’t know the first thing about entering the kingdom.”  Matthew 5:17-20, MSG

Jesus clearly stated that He had come to honor the law and to help God’s people love it, learn it, and live it. He would not accept the artificial righteousness of the religious leaders. Their righteousness was only an external masquerade. Their religion was a dead ritual, not a living relationship. It was artificial; it did not reproduce itself in others in a living way. It made them proud, not humble, and led to bondage, not liberty.

We do not obey an external law because of fear. No, believers today obey an internal law and live because of love. The Holy Spirit teaches us the Word and enables us to obey. Sin is still sin, and God still punishes sin. In fact, we in this present age are more responsible because we have been taught and given more light!

It is the attitude of the Heart—

God’s Laws teaches us what to do as we relate to each other.  Jesus fulfilled all the Laws with how to BE as we love and relate to God, each other and even our enemies. 

Exodus 23, The Message

“Don’t pass on malicious gossip.

“Don’t link up with a wicked person and give corrupt testimony. Don’t go along with the crowd in doing evil and don’t mess up your testimony in a case just to please the crowd. And just because someone is poor, don’t show favoritism in a dispute.

^4-5 “If you find your enemy’s ox or donkey loose, take it back to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, don’t walk off and leave it. Help it up.

⁶ “When there is a dispute concerning your poor, don’t tamper with the justice due them.

⁷ “Stay clear of false accusations. Don’t contribute to the death of innocent and good people. I don’t let the wicked off the hook.

⁸ “Don’t take bribes. Bribes blind perfectly good eyes and twist the speech of good people.

⁹ “Don’t take advantage of a stranger. You know what it’s like to be a stranger; you were strangers in Egypt.

^10-11 “Sow your land for six years and gather in its crops, but in the seventh year leave it alone and give it a rest so that your poor may eat from it. What they leave, let the wildlife have. Do the same with your vineyards and olive groves.

¹² “Work for six days and rest the seventh so your ox and donkey may rest and your servant and migrant workers may have time to get their needed rest.

¹³ “Listen carefully to everything I tell you. Don’t pay attention to other gods—don’t so much as mention their names.

* * *

¹⁴ “Three times a year you are to hold a festival for me.

¹⁵ “Hold the spring Festival of Unraised Bread when you eat unraised bread for seven days at the time set for the month of Abib, as I commanded you. That was the month you came out of Egypt. No one should show up before me empty-handed.

¹⁶ “Hold the summer Festival of Harvest when you bring in the firstfruits of all your work in the fields.

“Hold the autumn Festival of Ingathering at the end of the season when you bring in the year’s crops.

¹⁷ “Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Master, God.

¹⁸ “Don’t offer the blood of a sacrifice to me with anything that has yeast in it.

“Don’t leave the fat from my festival offering out overnight.

¹⁹ “Bring the choice first produce of the year to the house of your God.

“Don’t boil a kid in its mother’s milk.

* * *

^20-24 “Now get yourselves ready. I’m sending my Angel ahead of you to guard you in your travels, to lead you to the place that I’ve prepared. Pay close attention to him. Obey him. Don’t go against him. He won’t put up with your rebellions because he’s acting on my authority. But if you obey him and do everything I tell you, I’ll be an enemy to your enemies, I’ll fight those who fight you. When my Angel goes ahead of you and leads you to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, I’ll clear the country of them. So don’t worship or serve their gods; don’t do anything they do because I’m going to wipe them right off the face of the Earth and smash their sacred phallic pillars to bits.

^25-26 “But you—you serve your God and he’ll bless your food and your water. I’ll get rid of the sickness among you; there won’t be any miscarriages nor barren women in your land. I’ll make sure you live full and complete lives.

²⁷ “I’ll send my Terror on ahead of you and throw those peoples you’re approaching into a panic. All you’ll see of your enemies is the backs of their necks.

^28-31 “And I’ll send Despair on ahead of you. It will push the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites out of your way. I won’t get rid of them all at once lest the land grow up in weeds and the wild animals take over. Little by little I’ll get them out of there while you have a chance to get your crops going and make the land your own. I will make your borders stretch from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and from the Wilderness to the Euphrates River. I’m turning everyone living in that land over to you; go ahead and drive them out.

^32-33 “Don’t make any deals with them or their gods. They are not to stay in the same country with you lest they get you to sin by worshiping their gods. Beware. That’s a huge danger.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

In Matthew 5, Jesus took six important Old Testament laws and interpreted them for His people in the light of the new life He came to give. He made a fundamental change without altering God’s standards: He dealt with the attitudes and intents of the heart and not simply with the external action. The Pharisees said that righteousness consisted of performing certain actions, but Jesus said it centered in the attitudes of the heart. Likewise, the Pharisees had a list of external actions that they deemed sinful, but Jesus explained that sin came from the attitudes of the heart. Anger is murder in the heart; lust is adultery in the heart.  Gossip fuels all sinful behaviors that lead to death.

Jesus defined our enemies as those who curse us, hate us, and exploit us selfishly. Since Christian love is an act of the will and not simply an emotion, Jesus has the right to command us to love our enemies. After all, He loved us when we were His enemies (Rom. 5:10). We may show this love by blessing those who curse us, doing good to them, and praying for them. When we pray for our enemies, we find it easier to love them. It takes the poison out of our attitudes and removes the evil from our hearts.  Love drives out fear and multitude of other sinful behaviors!

Let our first thoughts in the morning, of actions and reactions to the world be the love of Christ in us.  When we do, our world of doubt, fear, anger, jealousy, bitterness are diffused and eventually dissipate. 

The Law convicts.  Jesus saves!

Be a breath of fresh air to an imperfect world who needs Jesus.  Add seasonings of gentleness, kindness, love, mercy and grace.  Allow God’s Light to shine brightly through us, reflecting from us, in ways that navigate the lost to being found in Him.  Yes!

Lord,

Your Law actually teaches us how to love each other more as we live in harmony with each other.  But The Law does not save us, you save us—by forgiving us when we are disobedient to what you say is right and good.  When your Holy Spirit enters into our being, we begin to grow in our relationship with you that continually perfects our relationships with each other in the Light of your Love.  Thank you, Jesus, for fulfilling the Law of love, mercy and grace in all who believe.  I am one who believes.  I am yours.

In Jesus Name, Amen