January 4-5, 2013
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 32-40
OBSERVATIONS
What is God like? How do you experience God? Can each person decide what God is like for themselves… “God as we understood Him.” (from AA Twelve Steps, Step 3).
For centuries in Egypt, the Israelites were exposed to the worship of gods in the form of statues, including Apis the bull god, thought to be a former king that became a deity after death. Gods were considered to be localized, tied to the land they were worshipped in. In other words, the Israelites were not just changing their style of worship, they were putting their God under Egyptian rule. They were not just taking a little Egypt with them, they were going back to Egypt.
God is not shaped by us, God shapes us. God does not reflect our glory, we reflect God’s.
One of the lessons from the detailed instructions for the tabernacle is that God determines how people are to worship Him. This simple yet elaborate sanctuary – portable to show that God is not tied to one location – was filled with symbolism but no statues… for God cannot be reduced or limited to one form.
What do you notice in this passage?
APPLICATION
We do not use statues, but we do reduce or limit God by our ideas about God. God is always greater than our thoughts, God is better and bigger than we can think or imagine. Although there are things in this reading that leave me with questions, the basic sense I came away with is that I need to be very careful with my ideas about God, that I do not limit or dishonour God with what I think or say.
Instead like Moses I need to be open and eager for the awesome glory of God to be revealed to me, that I may glow with the glory and goodness of God.
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
God, forgive me for having poor or low or limited thoughts about You. May I see and reflect Your glory.
Jesus follower
trying to find His way
Observations:
How quickly the people forget the goodness of God. Freely they gave to make a false god in what they put their trust. The people tried to shape their own god to lead and guide them.
Mose was the ‘go between’ between the people and God – a mediator – also pleading for the people that the people are God’s people and that His presence is needed to be with His people or there will be no difference among the peoples o the earth.
The covenant is renewed – and once again the people will see the awesome hand of the Lord in the happenings on the earth. Just obey. Follow my commands.
The people who were willing brought freewill offerings to the Lord for the building of the tabernacle. And those who gave some willingly were asked to stop because there was more than enough for the building of the tabernacle. And as we see from the description of the tabernacle – it was large so their giving was great! Yet it was also portable – God was with them wherever they went. God can not be contained but His place among the people was fit for a king – the best of everything! They did as the Lord commanded – following His instructions. That is a refrain throughout – as the Lord commanded him.
The presence of the Lord was there in all their travels – the cloud and fire.
Applications:
What an awesome God I read about in the passage here. That God is also my God and I need to see that awesomeness every day in His presence for this is God’s world and in His leading. I must travel with eyes wide open seeing and seeking Him and my travels must be guided by His leading as He did for His people long ago.
And may I never limit Your power Lord, nor make another god to take Your place. Help me each day anew to place You first – Today God Is First (TGIF) – and help me to walk throughout this New Year following Your lead.
When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Refrain
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.
Refrain
Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.
Refrain
But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
Refrain
Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet.
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way.
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey
Israel soon forgot their God. Perhaps God was not yet real to them. They made a calf, and worshiped the calf. Aaron was complicit in this, but told Moses that people gave him gold, and after he threw it into a fire, a calf came out.
Moses was able to talk directly with God. He interceded for his people, going so far as to ask God to save his people, but to remove his name from God’s book. And apparently God was moved by Moses’ requests. I am interested in Moses request to see God’s glory. What is this about? How did Moses know about this? Moses certainly had a unique relationship with God.
A little more discussion on the Sabbath here. The Israelites were not even to light a fire on that day. And a mention of the feasts that they were to keep kind of adds to the reading from Matthew yesterday.
The Israelites were asked to stop bringing their gold, silver, bronze, etc because they had enough for the job. Maybe we will someday need to ask our church to stop bringing offerings, because we have enough. Usually our response to an abundant offering is to increase the scope of the project.
The courthouse seems huge. I imagine a cubit is ~ 2 ½ ft so the courthouse would be about 200 x 500 ft. As I look around my area that works out to about 10 building lots. And this was all surrounded by curtains. This would have held a lot of people coming out to worship.