We continue on in Exodus with reading about the exquisite, beautiful stone inlaid clothing that Aaron and his sons will wear before entering the Tabernacle to go before the LORD”S Presence with the sin of the people, making sacrifices for those sins, and offering the prayers of the people. We are amazed at the details of this special clothing for the LORD’S priests that are specifically designed by God. Each piece, every stone has meaning.
As I read about what each garment layer and robe will have sewn in, I am wondering about how heavy these robes and headgear are going to be and how many people it will take to help them get dressed before going to the Tabernacle?
Then I think about Jesus, God come down to man, Jesus. Jesus who came to us with nothing on his back as a helpless, venerable infant, later “wrapped in swaddling cloth”. Jesus who wore the clothes of commoners as he grew to be a man. Jesus, our High Priest, who carried our sins in his heart because WE were on His mind. Jesus who then carried our sins on a cruel cross on his back, after the flesh was beaten and whipped from him. That cross, as well as his heart, had to be heavy…and filled with excruciating pain. Yes, no exquisite robes…just a cross. Heavy. Heavier, but payment complete.
The Tabernacle is where God will meet His people. Aaron and his sons have been chosen and set apart to serve the LORD and represent Israel before Him.
The end of Chapter 29 summarizes, “I will meet the people of Israel there, and the Tabernacle will be sanctified by my glorious presence. Yes, I will make the Tabernacle and the altar most holy, and I will set apart Aaron and his sons as holy, that they may be my priests I will live among the people of Israel and be their God, and they will know that I am the LORD their God. I am the one who brought them out of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am the LORD their God.” Exodus 29, NTL
What is God’s Story telling us about Him today? God still wants one thing…to be with us. He wants us to love Him back the way He first loved us. He made a Way, Jesus. Accept that your debt is paid. Believe in His promise to always be with you. Behave in ways that give Him glory and praise. Love God. Love Others. It’s revolutionary. It’s counter culture. It’s refreshing to the world who is longing for unconditional Love and Truth. Jesus. THE Way, THE Truth and THE Life. In that order. Know the Way, live the Truth, then we have life, full and abundant life!
Dear Heavenly Father, You made a way for Israel to be with You in a very elaborate way. You set apart a priestly generation to represent the people before You. But they were not perfect. Then Jesus, Your Only Son, our Perfect High Priest, came to fulfill every law and promise, to show us how to live it out, and then once for all, paid our debt of sin. Thank you for salvation. Just thank You for freedom. I believe. I trust in You alone. Help us, by the Power of Your Holy Spirit to behave like we say we believe. Help us to love others as we love You. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Our oldest daughter was chosen to be in show choir many years ago when she was in middle school. We were so proud of her. Her grandparents and some of our friends came to the first performance. She even had a short solo in one of the songs! Video cameras were running. (We still have it on film!) Curtains! Action!
Wait a minute, where IS she? The curtain puller could not get the curtains completely pulled back! Throughout the whole performance we could only see her arms moving from behind the curtain during the dance and song routines! I’m laughing out loud as I write this, many years later. I felt sorry for the poor curtain pulling kid who couldn’t allow us to see our daughter.
God designed curtains. Many curtains were built according to God’s specifications in the construction of His Tabernacle where He would reside with His People. The most important curtain of all was the one that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
“When the inner curtain is in place, put the Ark of the Covenant behind it. This curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.” Exodus 26, NLT
ONLY the designated high priests, chosen and set apart by God, could enter. Aaron was the first high priest, along with his sons. Very specific garments, each piece with extreme meaning were constructed for him. He was to wear all of it for he would be entering “The LORD”S Presence”.
“These must be worn whenever Aaron and his sons enter the Tabernacle to approach the altar in the Holy Place to perform their duties.” (Read all of Exodus 28!)
The people would not be able to go where Aaron and his sons went. They would not be able to see God or go into His Presence.
The curtain. Important. Then Jesus, the Highest of all Priests, came to earth, died for our sins, defeated evil and rose again. The “curtain” was torn in two pieces. The curtain no longer keeps us from God’s Presence among us. Because of what Jesus Christ did for us, we can boldly go, on our knees, before the God of Heaven! No curtain between us! Oh, dear Jesus, THANK YOU!!
“…we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.” Hebrews 4, NLT
PRAISE GOD! Jesus, His Son is our Perfect High Priest! No curtains, only redemption by the blood of the Lamb!
“…no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He has to be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was. That is why Christ did not exalt himself to become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him, ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.’ And in another passage God said to him, ‘You are a priest forever in the line of Melchizedek.'” Hebrews 5, NLT
“While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could deliver him out of death. And God heard his prayers because of his reverence for God. So even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.” Hebrews 5, NLT
No more curtains! We see as much as our hearts accept in obedience to Him!
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for sending Jesus to earth as our eternal High Priest, our advocate. Thank you. Just thank you. We are humbled by what You have done in and for us. Thank you.
In Jesus Name, yes in JESUS Name, Amen.
FOLLOWING GOD…EXACTLY AS HE SAYS!
As a teacher, we tell our students to do every assignment with very specific directions. We want them to do it in a predetermined order so that they will do it correctly and more easily, too! When they don’t follow the EXACT directions, they get into trouble, the assignment is not done well, and they are discouraged. We remind students it is not because you are less intelligent, you just need to back up and follow the directions.
“Who needs directions?”, many people will say as they will be putting together all the toys that have “some assembly required” this season. No, by nature, we don’t seem to want to follow the directions. We just want to look at the pictures and guesstimate how it should all go together. In fact, there is a certain pride that comes with assembling something without looking at the directions! Dangerous.
God spends forty days and forty nights with Moses, going over the VERY specific directions of how His new “sacred residence”, His Tabernacle should look. FORTY days and nights! That is not surprising the God knows it will take that long to explain what He wants EXACTLY, in understandable terms, to we humans! ; )
“I want the people of Israel to build me a sacred residence where I can live among them. You must make this Tabernacle and its furnishing exactly according to the plans I will show you.” Exodus 25, NLT
God will not only TELL Moses but will SHOW Him EXACTLY what He wants. So, I am imagining God showing him drawings, pictures, if you will, as well as telling Moses every detail of the construction! Moses apparently “took notes” because Exodus 25 through 27 outlines each specific detail of the construction of this “home for God”.
What so we learn about God in His Story today? When God tells us that we are about to do a “new thing” for Him, are we attentive enough to do EXACTLY as He says. Are we tempted to cut corners, as some students do to get the “assignment” over with quickly without paying attention to detail? When a plan doesn’t come together, is it God’s fault? Where God guides, He provides. He provides the EXACT plan, the resources, and the people IF we follow His plan. We need to ask Him first, listen, trust and obey.
Dear Heavenly Father, You are God and we are not. Your plans are specific and doable. Our plans are mere folly. We are listening as we hear You speak to us about doing a “new thing”. We want to follow YOUR lead in all ways. We will NOT plan then ask You to bless those plans. We are asking You FIRST, then following Your EXACT instructions. Yes, LORD, what do YOU want done? We are your servants. We are listening. In Jesus Name, Amen
OBEDIENCE BRINGS US CLOSER TO GOD!
I am always amused at young students who ask can we do this or that which is usually a way around the rules of the classroom. Sometimes I will answer, “Yes, you can do that but the consequences are…” It is then that they begin to understand WHY they must obey the rules as stated. But we are not like that, are we? Do we look for ways around what God, in His Law and through Jesus, fulfilling that Law, has taught us? Do we say, “I don’t understand, so I will do this?” And worst of all, are we flippant with thoughts of, “Oh well, Jesus will forgive me so I will do this” because we know we will get away with it? There are always consequences.
As I read through the chapters in Exodus this morning, another, completely different lesson comes to me about God and His Story. God is explicit in every detail when He explains the Law to Moses. He gives every possible circumstance of infraction of the Law that might occur with the resulting consequences. We laboriously read through all of that and wonder how that applies to us! (Check out Exodus 21-24)
Moses then tells the people ALL that God has told him and the people respond readily with, “We will do everything the LORD has told us to do.” (Exodus 24, NTL) Then Moses writes all the regulations down and READS “the Book of the Covenant” to the people. They respond, again with, “We will do everything the LORD has commanded. We will obey.”
God and His people. He loves them. They love Him back and are willing to obey. This is good!
THIS is what impresses me this morning. Because of this love and the attitude of obedience from His people, God allows the leaders to come closer to Him!
OBEDIENCE brings us closer to God’s Presence! Wow!
“Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the leaders of Israel went up the mountain. There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a pavement of brilliant sapphire, as clear as the heavens. And though Israel’s leaders saw God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they shared a meal together in God’s presence!” Exodus 24, NLT
As we share a meal of THANKSGIVING with our families tomorrow, we will rejoice and be thankful for God who brings us closer and closer to Him as we love, trust and obey Him more and more. Oh, to be standing in God’s Presence! “Standing on the Promises of God, My Savior!” “Trust and Obey, for there’s NO other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to TRUST and OBEY!” Yes, my heart is overflowing with songs of praise for His Presence AND His Promises of “I’ll be with you”!
Yes, as we share our meals together, may God be Present! That’s what I will be most thankful for…His Presence!
“And He walks with me and He talks with me…and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.” (And I’m singing…)
Dear Heavenly Father,
Draw near to us as we love, trust and obey. Thank you.
In Jesus Name, Amen
MOSES ENTERS WHERE GOD WAS
When I go into a classroom as a sub teacher, the first thing I do is establish who I am (former teacher) and what I am going to do for them (teach). I give them only two statements. The first is “When I am talking/teaching, you will listen/learn.” This is followed by the second statement, “We will respect each other.” Then I pull them to a gathering place to explain and give examples of what those statements mean for them, so that we will have a great day together.
As we finish reading God’s spoken commandments in short sentence form, we find that the next thing God does is bring Moses where He is to explain in detail what is meant by the commandments.
“As the people stood in the distance, Moses entered into the deep darkness where God was. And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Say this to the people of Israel….'” Exodus 20, NLT
God spoke to Moses, His chosen leader, about the details. Moses will spend his lifetime, sharing those details to a stubborn people. God begins with how to worship Him. “Build altars in the places where I remind you who I am, and I will come and bless you there.” Exodus 20, NLT God even tells Moses what the altar should be made of and how it should be used.
As I read this, I think of how the classroom is a microcosmic version of God’s Story of His Law to help His people Love God, and Love Others. Simple. Every classroom has “laws” which are upfront understandings so that optimal learning can take place. (Those classrooms that are consistent in this form of behavior are the most successful!) God has given His laws with the same understanding so all will go well with us.
God’s churches who love God AND love others as the foundation with Jesus Christ as the Head, the “cornerstone” of that foundation, are the churches God blesses. “Build altars in the places where I remind you who I am, and I will come and bless you there.” Does your church remind you consistently of Who God is? Do we, as God’s church, trust God’s chosen leaders to give us the details of His law, will and purpose each time we meet together?
Just as the students listen to the teacher, we need to listen to God’s leaders who have entered into the deep darkness with God, then listen to the details of how to be more and more like Jesus and do what please and glorifies His Name! It shows when a leader has been with God first before relaying His message to us. We must consistently pray for our leaders to stay true to God’s Word, His message to us!
God’s Story. Truth made simple by Him for us.
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for Your Word that teaches the “details”. Help us to be more like You. Help us to then do what pleases You, what you keep reminding us through your prophets…”to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with You” (Micah 6:8, NLT). Yes, thank you for the details. There is no reason, no defense, if we sin, but when we do, thank you for forgiveness of those sins through Jesus Christ, Your Son, the Only Way back to You. We love you, LORD!
In Jesus Name we pray, Amen
THE TEN – IT’S A WRAP!
God, Himself, came to Moses and God’s people to instruct them of His commandments, the laws that were established to guide and protect us, but the people were trembling in fear as they heard Him speak directly to them.
When God speaks, are we listening? Do we tremble at the still small whisper of His Voice when He guides and answers our prayers? It has been my personal experience, that when God speaks, it does cause me to tremble. That’s how I know it’s Him! I am not afraid of His Words and guidance, but I am in awe when He speaks and humbled that He would speak. To me.
I think of those intimate times with God, those turning points in my life, as I read what the people said after God, Himself, came to speak to them in such a mighty way. When people ask me today, when will we know if it is Jesus when He comes back? I laugh a little inside at the question. God’s Story tells us unequivocally that we all will KNOW when He comes! There will be NO ONE who can duplicate that way He will come. Until then, you can also know when He speaks to your heart.
Yes, if you find, focus and follow Jesus, He will speak to Your heart in a way that you will KNOW it is Him. He promised the Holy Spirit would be His way of speaking to us, guiding us, to know Him more and behave in ways that please Him.
“When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the horn, and when they saw the lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.” Exodus 20, NLT
“And they said to Moses, ‘You tell us what God says, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us. If he does, we will die!'” Exodus 20, NLT
Okay, is that not like us today? Out of unhealthy fear of not really wanting to hear what God has to say about our actions, we would rather hear Him speak through someone else so that we don’t deal with God ourselves directly. Somehow, we think that might lessen the power of God’s Words and commandments. I know, silly, isn’t it?
But our human nature is to hide. (Remember Adam and Eve?) Many of us sit in the pews, Sunday after Sunday, to “hear what God has to say” and our first thoughts might be…I hope Harry heard that! I hope Sally takes that to heart!…without considering that God might be speaking directly to us. When we “get it”, we tremble.
“‘Don’t be afraid,’ Moses said, ‘for God has come in this way to show you his awesome power. From now on, let your fear of him keep you from sinning!'” Exodus 20, NLT
What does God’s Story tell us about Him? God desires to move into every part of our lives. He wants to talk with us. He wants us to listen. He gave us a Wonderful Counselor, Jesus Christ, to pay for our sins so we have the awesome privilege to boldly come right into the throne room of God, Himself. Yes, we tremble at the thought. But we are encouraged. God listens.
Dear Heavenly Father, Your Word sent us on a journey of thought that causes us to be completely yielding to You. We tremble. We are humbly thankful for You and all You provide. We tremble at the thought that You love us so much, you died for us. We are in awe that You are so interested in us and that You listen and then You speak to us. Thank you. Just thank you. I’ll be listening, Lord, all day long.
In Jesus Name, Amen
