Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
What if you were asked to write down all the key guidelines and the code of ethics which form the lifestyle expectations of your family? Would there be any that are unique to your family? Now here’s a question that you’ll need to ponder for a moment… what if your parents had been asked to make the same list 40 years ago; and your grandparents the same list 75 years ago; and your great grandparents 100 years ago? And if it was possible to place all four of these family guideline lists beside each other, how much has changed in lifestyle expectations in your family over the past century? WHY has your family changed so much?
When Moses came down from his fifth Mount Sinai hike, he gave the people God’s guidelines which we looked at yesterday and Moses recorded for us in Exodus 21,22,23. God knew they were dramatically different from what any people in the world had as their lifestyle guidelines. Why? Because God’s people are unique!
I can’t imagine how these God given lifestyle guidelines sounded in the ears of these Israelites who had been living in the brutality of Egyptian slavery for several generations. Freedom is a wonderful concept, but only if free people can live in a mutually beneficial, mutually respecting society, where people are safe, would you agree? That’s what God was describing! Now it was time for these people to decide.
Moses recorded their historic, world changing answer with these words found in Exodus 24:3 “The people responded with one voice, ‘Everything the LORD has said we will do!“ Now wait a minute! Sometimes words are cheap and promises made are not worth the paper they are written on, am I right? But this time both God and Moses were taking God’s guidelines and the response of the people very seriously.
In fact, so seriously that Moses was going to call the people to a blood covenant oath, did you know that? Exodus 24 gives us that story and it’s quite remarkable. This was to be another defining moment for these freed Hebrew slaves. I urge you to look closely at what happened there at Mt. Sinai, as recorded in Exodus 24:3-8.
First, Moses wrote down what God had spoken on the mountain so generations to follow would have it, word for word! Then Moses called the people together for another encounter with God. Moses built an altar for sacrifice and worship, and he also set up 12 stone pillars at the base of Mt Sinai, one symbolizing each of the tribes of Israel. (Ex. 24:4)
Then as worship took place, sacrifices were made and Moses collected some of the blood from those sacrificed animals. With the people gathered, Moses read aloud the law God had given and Moses had recorded in Exodus 20-23. Once again the people responded, now for a second time: “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.” (Ex. 24:7)
And then Moses did something very significant. Exodus 24:8 says: “Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.” Oh my, a blood covenant!? It doesn’t get any more serious than that, does it my friends?
With smoke still rising from the sacrificed animals on the altar, and the blood splatters drying on the people, Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and 70 of the Israelite elders started hiking up Mt. Sinai, at God’s invitation, ready to meet with God! You can imagine the scene, can’t you? I can’t fully explain what Exodus 24:9-11 describes, but after that meeting with God, Moses and Joshua continued hiking higher on the mountain path. I presume they paused and looked back occasionally.
They saw those 73 trust Israelite leaders partway up the mountain, and the vast throng of more than 1 million people at the base of the mountain. And as they looked up the mountain, the cloud of God’s presence awaited them.
Moses recorded that for six days he and Joshua sat on the hillside outside the cloud, watching and waiting. And then on the seventh day they heard the voice of God invite Moses INTO the cloud! Can you imagine Joshua’s experience watching his mentor old Moses enveloped by the cloud vapor as Moses hiked higher?
Moses describes the scene with these words: “To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain. And Moses stayed on the mountain 40 days & 40 nights!” (Ex. 24:17,18) Yes that’s right, 40 days and nights, alone with God in the cloud on Mt Sinai! Did you know this is the first of THREE such 40-day encounters with God Moses had on this mountain? Over the next few days, we’ll look at the other two.
Moses recorded for us in the seven chapters of Exodus 25-31 what he experienced with God in that cloud during those 40 days! Yes, that’s right, 7 full chapters and these are very significant chapters for God was giving Moses the detailed plans for the unique worship relationship God wanted with His people.
It would require a special place, the Tabernacle, and many special artifacts to be used for worship of Holy, Almighty God! Never before had God given instructions to humanity regarding the worship God desired! God’s description was uniquely different from anything Moses had ever seen in Egypt! Exodus 25 has God’s design for the golden Ark of the Covenant, the Table of Shewbread and the golden Lampstands, which would be inside the Tabernacle. God described each of them in great detail.
But these were slaves, and they were in the desert, so two natural first questions would be:
1. Where would they find the materials for building these priceless artifacts?
2. WHO would have the skills and talents to fabricate them according to God’s specifications?
2. WHO would have the skills and talents to fabricate them according to God’s specifications?
God answered the first question by simply telling Moses: “You are to receive an offering for Me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give…” (Ex. 25:1-7) Ah, this was not a tax nor a demand from God. This was an invitation to bring a free will offering that would be an expression of heartfelt gratitude to God for all HE had done for them in their rescue from slavery and sustaining their lives while hiking through the desert! Do you remember those fleeing slaves were given cartloads of Egypt’s bounty as they fled that Passover night? (Ex. 12:35,36)
Now they had a decision to make? Who among them would bring some of that bounty as an expression of their thanks and worship to God? And who among them would be commissioned and anointed by God to fabricate these God designed things no person had ever seen?
As Moses heard God describe His vision for how His people would worship their Creator and their Rescuer from slavery, what do you suppose Moses was imagining? The bigger question was: how would their worship of Almighty God change these slaves into being a people of God?
Oh, we need to pause right here and ponder all this, for if you and I have been rescued from our inescapable SIN slavery by Jesus, how should our worship of Jesus be affecting change in us? What changes is God the Father, God the Son Jesus and God the Holy Spirit seeking to accomplish in us?
As always, the “Grand Narrative” link below has more great study notes and discussion questions to further your spiritual growth, and here’s a great worship song for our experience today; and I’ll meet you here again tomorrow.
Today’s Scripture: Exodus 24 & 25.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Exodus 25
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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