Called by name

Exodus 35: 30-35, “And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.”

Even though there were plenty of voluntary gifts for construction the Tabernacle and the priestly garments, they would have been of no use if there wasn’t someone who could make all the beautiful things that were needed. The Lord had already prepared a man called Bezaleel with the skills and gifts needed to make all the wonderful things that were required to finish the Tabernacle and priestly garments. This give us an important fact about the Lord: when the Lord calls someone to a task He equips that person for the task. When the Lord has a job to be done He provides the person with the skill to complete that job. Bezaleel was skilled so that he could perform the work but also so that he could train and supervise team to complete the task. There was too much work for just one man so the Lord prepared Aholiab to be his second in command. It is comforting for people who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to know that He is sufficient for every situation that we face.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Whose heart stirred him up

Exodus 35: 20-29, “And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD. And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought them. Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD’S offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it. And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair. And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.”

The Lord didn’t force the Israelis, at that time, to give anything to Him, He relied on their gratitude. They had been delivered from slavery in Egypt, then the Lord saved them from Pharaoh’s desire to bring them back into slavery when they crossed the Red Sea. In spite of this they had complained about a shortage of water and a shortage of food but the Lord provided both food and water. When Moses went up to the mountain they sinned against the Lord by worshipping the golden calf. The Lord was merciful to them at that time and didn’t destroy them. Now they were ready to establish their ceremonial religion and the Lord relied on them to voluntarily give Him from the riches He had given them. They were all willing and filled with gratitude so they gave the Lord everything that was needed for the Tabernacle and all the priests clothing as well as the raw materials for the incense and the anointing oil. It is remarkable what a little bit of gratitude will do in our hearts.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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An offering unto the Lord

Exodus 35: 4-19, “And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying, Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate. And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded; The tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets, The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering, The table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread, The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light, And the incense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle, The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot, The hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court, The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords, The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office.”

Even though the Lord delivered Israel from slavery and made them rich by allowing them to take many years of back pay from the Egyptians, the Lord didn’t force them to give Him the raw materials to make the Tabernacle. He told them what was needed to make the Tabernacle and then asked them to give everything that they needed on a voluntary basis. They didn’t have to give anything back to the Lord, at that stage. However, if anyone was grateful to the Lord for the great gift of freedom then they could show that gratitude by giving to the Lord. The same is true today: we don’t have to do anything to earn God’s love but if we are grateful for His love then we can give Him our lives in response to this great gift. The Lord asks that we present our bodies as a living sacrifice, something that is holy and acceptable to God. Not because God needs us but because God has given us so much and that is the least that we can give Him in response.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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A Sabbath of rest

Exodus 35: 1-3, “And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.”

The Lord created the heavens and the earth in six days and He rested on the seventh day. This was purely an act of grace for our benefit (see Mark 2: 27,28, “And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.”) Even though the Lord gave us the Sabbath for our benefit there were some who would try and make their servants and slaves work on the Sabbath to get more work out of them. The Israelis had been slaves in Egypt and the Lord wanted them to remember this and the fact that He had given them freedom. One of the ways that they could enjoy this freedom was by celebrated the Sabbath with a day of complete rest.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Moses face shone

Ex 34: 28-35, “And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.”

While Moses was right to destroy the first set of tablets, containing the Law, that the Lord wrote in His own hand, it was appropriate that they have the tablets of the Law if they were to have an ongoing relationship with the Lord. Moses had to carve the new tablets and then write the Ten Commandments on them with his own hands. In this way, Israel would forever suffer the consequences of that sin, they would never again have access to the tablets that were carved and written by the Lord Himself. Moses remained on that mountain for forty days as he carved the words of the Law and heard what the Lord had to say to him. When Moses came down from the mountain, the reflection of the Lord’s presence was still on his face. This was so bright that the people were afraid to come close to Moses. Moses gave the information that the Lord had given him to the leaders of the people and then he covered his face so that the people would not be afraid of him. When Moses spoke to the Lord he took the facial covering off and when he spoke to the people he covered his face again.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Keep the feast

Exodus 34: 18-27, “The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt. All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male. But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty. Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end. Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning. The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk. And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.”

After Israel had been in the wilderness for almost a year (see Ex12: 6, “And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.”, Ex 40: 2, “On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.”) the Lord reminded Moses that they had to remember the price that was paid for their deliverance from Egypt. They offered a lamb to take the place of their firstborn children. Because the Lord saved the firstborn of Israel, the firstborn of their families and their clean animals had to be given back to the Lord as well. Instead of killing the animal they had to pay a fee to the priests. The Lord also reminded them about the festivals they were to celebrate so that they could remember all the good things that the Lord had done for them. They were to rest on the seventh day to honour the Lord and the fact that He made the world in six days and rested on the seventh day. They were also to rest at the end of the summer and give the Lord the best of their summer harvest. Every year, all the men were to go to the place where the Tabernacle, and later the Temple, was and honour the Lord God. They were also to keep leaven, or yeast, from their offerings because they didn’t use yeast in their bread when they escaped from Egypt. Yeast takes time to rise  and would have distracted Israel from leaving Egypt in a hurry while it affects the entire loaf as well. The wanted their firstfruits, that is the best of the harvest because Israel was His firstborn. They were also not allowed to cook a kid in its mother’s milk as this was part of ancient pagan practices. Moses was commanded to write these words down so that they would never forget what the Lord told them.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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I will do marvels

Exodus 34: 10-17, “And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee. Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.”

After the sin was confessed and dealt with the Lord met with Moses and then the Lord reminded Moses of the covenant, contract, that He made with Israel. He promised that He would do things that no one on the earth had ever seen before. In fact, the Lord had already done something that no one had ever seen before: He took Israel from slavery and established them as a nation in their own right. However, it was one thing for the Lord to take Israel from slavery and leave them in the desert, it was another thing for the Lord to give them a fruitful land with a functioning economy. The Lord already promised Abraham that He would give Israel the Land of Canaan but He waited in grace for the Canaanites to follow Him rather than following their old fertility religion. The Lord drove these people out of the Land because they had thoroughly debased the Land through their religious practices. This was why the Lord wanted them to have nothing to do with their religion. If they left the remnant of that religion in their Land there would always be a temptation to go after their ways and reject their True God, Who had delivered them from slavery. They were not even to intermarry with those people. When people marry from different religious backgrounds it is hard for each person to give up the things that they have done from childhood. In the end they will find some kind of compromise and this will lead to compromise in worshipping the Lord. However, there is only One True God and there is no room for compromise.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Merciful and gracious

Exodus 34: 5-9, “And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.”

The Lord commanded Moses to go up to the mountain and then the Lord came down and met Moses on the mountain. The Lord is unique and is both merciful and gracious. Mercy occurs when God keeps something from us that we have earned, like judgment. Grace, on the other hand, occurs when God gives us something that we don’t deserve, like salvation. The Lord is also longsuffering, which is the same as saying that He always takes His time to judge (Psalm 103: 8, 9, “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. Psalm 145: 8, “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.”) If we are willing to acknowledge and confess our sin, He will forgive us but if we choose to keep our sin then we will suffer the consequences. There are some sins that we commit, particularly sexual sins, and the consequences of those sins will affect our children, grand children and even our great grand children. However, the Lord is gracious and forgiving; Jeremiah talking about a future time, said, “In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.” (Jer 31: 29, 30) Moses knew that his people were stiffnecked and he prayed for the Lord’s grace to be upon them at all times.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Like unto the first

Exodus 34: 1-4, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.”

The Lord, Himself, carved the first two tablets of stone for the Law (Ex 32: 16, “And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.”) but Moses had to carve the second set of tablets after he broke the first set. Moses was right to break the first set of tablets with the Law because Israel had already broken the Ten Commandments that the Lord had given them. This meant that they were not in a position to receive the Law until that sin had been dealt with. However, they had to face the consequences of that first sin and live with inferior tablets of the Law. Even though we confess our sin and it is forgiven in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ we will have to live with the consequences of our actions. When Moses went up the mountain the first time he went with Joshua but this time he went alone. The Lord had already explained everything to him so he didn’t need to have another explanation, he just needed to be given the written information again.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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While I pass by

Exodus 33: 12-23, “And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.”

The Lord called Moses when he was a shepherd working in Midian. Moses did what the Lord commanded him to do and led Israel out of slavery in Egypt. However, Moses still had some questions and he felt confident, at that stage, to ask the Lord these questions. Moses wanted to know where he was going, after all he hadn’t been to the Promised Land before, and he wanted to know more about the Lord’s identity. The Lord promised Moses that He would go with Moses and Moses knew that he would not be able to achieve anything without the Lord’s presence. Moses wanted to see the Lord’s glory, after all he was doing everything he could to bring glory to the Lord’s Name. However, the Lord is not like any of the other gods, He is pure and holy and no man can look upon His glory and live. The Lord gave Moses the opportunity to see the back of His glory and placed Moses in a small cleft in the rocks and covered Moses while His glory passed by. We should understand that Moses was a man at that time and the Lord could only speak to him in a way that he could understand. The Lord is infinite and eternal and we cannot completely understand His ways so the Lord dealt with Moses in grace and allowed Moses to see what he could understand. The Lord always understands that we are just people, confined in time and space, and He always comes to where we are rather than demanding that we go to Him.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Unto his friend

Exodus 33: 7-11, “And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp. And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle. And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door. And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.”

The Tabernacle was designed to be pitched in the middle of the camp (see Numbers 2: 17, “Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards.” This passage actually talks about the people moving out of the camp but it tells us that the Tabernacle was in the middle of the camp with the Levites.) but Moses pitched the Tabernacle outside the camp because they people had sinned. This was to give the people an option of staying in the camp with their sin or moving from the camp to the Tabernacle to show that they wanted to serve the Lord. When Moses went into the Tabernacle himself the pillar of cloud descended on the Tabernacle to show that the Lord was there to communicate with Moses. When the Lord came down to the camp the people worshipped because they had repented of their desire to follow the false gods and wanted to follow the Lord. It is interesting to notice that the Lord spoke with Moses as a friend. It is interesting to note that the Lord Jesus Christ used this language when He spoke with His disciples before He went to the cross. (See John 15: 13-15, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”) God tells us what He plans to do because He treats us as friends. He also told Moses what He was going to do.

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Put off thy ornaments

Exodus 33: 1-6, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it: And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way. And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments. For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.”

The Lord intended to bring Israel to the Promised Land all along. Even though they sinned, He gave Moses the opportunity to plead on their behalf then He kept them from the consequences that they had chosen. Now that their sin was dealt with according to the Lord’s grace and mercy, He told Moses to take them to the Promised Land. This is one of the important issues in God’ method and plan: repentance and then a return to the way that He has chosen. The Lord used an important illustration here when He called Israel stiffnecked. Bullocks are used as beasts of burden but they need to be put in a yoke so that they can pull their burdens. If a bullock has a stiff neck, it won’t submit to the burden and is completely useless to anyone. Bullocks cannot breed and if they won’t act as beasts of burden all they can do is be turned into steak. If Israel wasn’t going to be worthy of the Lord’s high calling then they were no better than the nations that were in the Land before them and deserved the same punishment. The Israelis were told to take their ornaments off because they had used some of these ornaments to make the golden calf and the Lord wanted to remove that temptation from them.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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The Lord plagued the people

Exodus 32: 30-35, “30 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin. And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them. And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.”

After Israel sinned they had to make atonement. At that stage the ceremonies had not been set up so Moses went back to see the Lord and try to make atonement on their behalf. Moses was willing to admit that there was sin even though Aaron had tried to make excuses and blame others before. Moses was so completely committed to bringing Israel to the Promised Land that he was willing to have his name taken from the Lord’s book to save them. This was a huge step for Moses to take but he was a sinner as well and was responsible for sin that he had committed before. The Lord made it quite clear that everyone is responsible for the eternal consequences of their own sin. This means that each person has to make their own arrangements with the Lord to deal with their sin as well. The process is much easier now because the sinless Lord Jesus Christ was able to experience all the eternal torments of hell in our place so all we have to do is repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ then our names will be permanently etched in the Lord’s book. Even though the sin was dealt with in eternal terms the people still had consequences to suffer in the present. The Lord plagued Egypt because they had enslaved His firstborn and now Israel was plagued because they tried to go back to the Egyptian gods.

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Who is on the Lord's side?

Exodus 32: 21-29, “And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf. And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:) Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.”

Aaron was the leader in this sin against the Lord. Even though the people grew tired of waiting while Moses communicated with the Lord on the mountain and the people asked Aaron to make gods for them, he was responsible for leading this rebellion against the Lord’s rule. However, Aaron, like every other sinner alive today, wanted to avoid responsibility for his actions and blamed the people. He even tried to persuade Moses that the golden calf just appeared when he put the gold in the smelter. The people were also naked as part of their sinful worship of this golden calf. Moses set out to restore order but didn’t do it in his own name, he called for people who were on the Lord’s side to help him deal with this sin. The tribe of Levi was set apart from the rest of Israel to act as priests and Tabernacle servants so they performed their role in this matter. When Israel worshipped to golden calf they had usurped their role, apart from Aaron, so they were restored to the proper role before the Lord. The penalty for breaking the Lord’s Law in those days was death so the Levites executed the leading offenders in this sin. These people had chosen to reject the Lord and they suffered the consequences of the choice that they had, knowingly, made.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Moses anger waxed hot

Exodus 32: 15-20, “And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear. And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.”

As Moses and Joshua went down from the mountain where they were meeting with the Lord they wondered why they were sent down in such a hurry The people were celebrating because they had asserted their ability to define what was good and what was evil for themselves. Joshua though that the people had been attacked and the sound was that of war. However, Moses knew the difference between the sound of war and the sound of celebration because the people were singing. When Moses saw the golden calf he was very angry and smashed the tablets of the Law, that the Lord had carved and written on. Moses realised that they people were not worthy to have the Law at that stage and their sin had to be dealt with before they could have a holy relationship with the Lord. This is why he smashed the tablets. When the issue had been dealt with again and the people were clean once more then they would be in a position to make an agreement with the Lord to be His people. The first thing that Moses had to do was destroy the calf so that it would never be a temptation to the people again. He did by burning the golden calf and then making what was left after it was melted into powder. He put this powder on their water and made them drink it. This may sound strange and vindictive but when the gold had passed through the people and come out the other side it was unclean and could never be used to make any other god again.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Get thee down

Exodus 32: 7-14, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.”

When the problem got out of hand the Lord sent Moses down from the mountain to deal with the issue. The Lord had two options in this case, He could have immediately destroyed the entire nation for their sin or followed the course of action that He chose. But the Lord is gracious (“But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.” Psalm 86: 15) and chose to deal in grace. Moses was their leader so the Lord sent Moses to the people so that Moses could talk to them and bring them to repentance. The Lord explained to Moses that He should really destroy the people for this sin but He gave Moses the chance to plead on their account. Moses knew the Lord and the things that He had said over many years to Abraham and his descendants. Moses had the chance to remind himself of all that the Lord had said and done. Moses, was a good man and the Lord gave him the chance to plead for the people and then the Lord gave Moses what he chose. At that time Israel’s future was entirely in Moses’ hands and he chose to save them. The Lord told Moses what Israel deserved but when Moses made the choice for Israel the Lord saved them from the consequences of their sin. When we read that the Lord repented of the evil that He thought to do to Israel, it really means that the Lord acted in mercy and didn’t give them what they deserved.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Make us gods

Exodus 32: 1-6, “And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.”

There is a tension that resonates throughout the majority of the Bible. This tension began when Satan first tempted Eve in the garden. It is the tension that exists between true wisdom and false wisdom. The first time that we discover the concept of being wise in the Bible is in Gen 3: 6 (“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”) There was more to the temptation than just just knowing good and evil, there was also the temptation to be wise. The second time that we come across “wise” in the Bible is in Gen 41: 8 (“And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.”) In this case the Lord gave Pharaoh a message but he relied on earthly wisdom to find the meaning of the Lord’s message. Joseph finally came and delivered the true message from the Lord and Israel was saved from starvation. This shows us that false wisdom is defined by man while true wisdom is defined by God. Man’s wisdom boasts that he can define what is good and what is evil while God’s wisdom gives the true definition of good and evil. While Moses was on the mountain and the Lord was giving him true wisdom, Israel, under Aaron, decided that they wanted to make their own definition of good and evil. During this period they chose to define their own god and hence their own rules. These new rules even reached the stage where all the people were naked (Ex 32: 25, “And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)”). When Adam and Eve sinned they were ashamed because they were naked but these people were naked but they weren’t ashamed. This tension still exists today and every person who wants to follow the Lord has to take great care to submit to His wisdom and forsake all false wisdom.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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My sabbaths ye shall keep

Exodus 31: 12-18, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.”

Even though the Lord had been telling Israel, through Moses, how they were to follow their ceremonial regulations and how to make the hardware necessary for them, He returned to the true purpose of His plan. God has created us so that we might rest in the security of His love. The weekly Sabbath day was to be a constant reminder of the rest that we were created to enjoy. Even though we sinned and brought tension, restlessness and anxiety into the world, the Lord always remembered that we were created to know His rest and He put this reminder regularly before us. As long as the earth remains there will seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter and day and night (Gen 8: 22). As long as there is day and night, there will be a seventh day and there will be the reminder of the true rest that the Lord has in store for us when He finally makes the new heaven and the new earth.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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I have called by name

Exodus 31: 1-11, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee; The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle, And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense, And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot, And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office, 1And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.”

When the Lord has a task to be performed He always prepares a person for that task. We should not that the Lord deals with individuals or through individuals. When the Lord wanted to set Israel free from slavery, He called Moses, an individual, and worked through him to set the process in motion. When the Lord wanted to give Israel the Law, He chose Moses to come to the mountain and receive the Law then give it to the rest of Israel. Now that the Lord was ready for the Tabernacle to be built He prepared Uri the son of Hur to work with the metals to make the best possible instruments for worship and then the Lord commanded another man to be his helper. The first man was given the skills to supervise and oversee the entire work of making the instruments and the second man was given executive authority to make sure that everything was carried out to the exact specifications. Moses was too busy leading Israel and supervising the council while Aaron was High Priest and in charge of the tribe of Levi so they weren’t able to do these tasks. This is the way the Lord works today: He chooses specific people, with specific skills to perform tasks for His glory.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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