READ IT! - Introduction to Exodus 25–31

Readings for this week:

Monday: Exodus 25

Tuesday: Exodus 26

Wednesday: Exodus 27

Thursday: Exodus 28

Friday: Exodus 29

Saturday: Exodus 30

Sunday: Exodus 31

Introduction to Exodus 25–31

God also gave specific instructions on how to build the Tabernacle… which is pretty much a great big tent in the center of the camp in which God’s Spirit came to dwell among his people.

The Israelites were already familiar with this design, because it followed the same pattern that the Egyptians used for their tents of worship. Except, instead of Pharaoh standing in the Holy of Holies as a god, Yahweh, the God of Israel, was there in His rightful place.

The Tabernacle was to be God’s tent among all of the tents of the Israelites, and God’s presence would dwell in this tent – in the midst of His people.

You see, God was trying to teach His people that he desires to live within us.

Here’s what the basic layout of the tabernacle looked like…

There were three sections: The Court, The Holy Place, and The Holy of Holies.

The front entrance led you into the Court where the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Bronze Basin for washing were kept.

There was then a door into the Holy Place where only the priests would enter with the Table of the Bread of Presence on the right reminding one of the manna from heaven and the Seven Branched Lampstand on the left reminding one of the burning bush.

Deeper in you come to the Altar of Incense, behind which is the veil leading to the Holy of Holies.

And within the Holy of Holies is where the Ark of the Covenant would be with the Presence of God resting between the cherubim.

And God said “I have filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, with skill to make everything I have commanded.” And Oholiab was his helper. And after these seven commands to build a house for God… the seventh day is declared a Sabbath of rest.

READ IT! - Introduction to Exodus 18-24

Readings for this week:

Monday: Exodus 18

Tuesday: Exodus 19

Wednesday: Exodus 20

Thursday: Exodus 21

Friday: Exodus 22

Saturday: Exodus 23

Sunday: Exodus 24

Introduction to Exodus 18-24

Chapter 18

So the Israelites went on their way towards Mount Sinai in the land of Midian. And Moses’ family came from Midian to visit Moses out in the desert. Moses told his father-in-law Jethro about everything that had happened in Egypt. And Jethro praised God and offered sacrifices.

The next day, Moses sat in the judge’s seat and all the people lined up to present their various cases and disputes to him. By the end of the day Moses was worn out. So Jethro showed Moses how to set up a proper system of courts and judges, saying, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.”

Chapter 19

Eventually, after three months of desert wandering, the Israelites finally came to the desert of Sinai and camped at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai is also known as Mount Horeb. We don’t know the location of Mount Sinai, but it is where God had first revealed himself to Moses.

And it is at Sinai that God meets with His people. And he makes a covenant with them. The Sinai Covenant added further to the Abrahamic Covenant. If Israel would be faithful to Him, God promised to make them into a “kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.”

And he appeared on the mountain in a great cloud of smoke, with lightning. And the people were afraid and wanted Moses to be their intermediary. Moses told the people what God said, and the people agreed that they would be faithful to the covenant.

Chapter 20

And God began to lay down his law, starting with ten basic commands.

1. You shall have no other gods before me…

Or in other words… even you should come across another god, don’t have anything to do with them… I’m number one

2. You shall not make for yourself an idol…

Or in other words… don’t exchange the creator for the created

3. You shall not misuse the Name of the LORD your God…

Or in other words… don’t give God a bad name by either your words or your actions…

4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy…

5. Honor your father and your mother…

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet…or in other words… don’t long to live someone else’s life… to have their clothes, their marriage, their property.

According to the text, the Israelites only made it so far before telling Moses to make God stop talking to them, because they were scared to death of the voice of God. And so Moses became the man in the middle, delivering God’s mail to his people… a prophet.

And as we’ll soon find out… Moses had a lot of mail to deliver.

And so here begins what is known as the Law portion of the Old Testament, from where the Torah derives its name. This section is made up almost entirely of long lists of laws that Moses delivered from God to his people… many of which sound pretty weird.

So let’s dive in a take a look at what comes after the Ten Commandments.

First, we have laws about idols and altars. First, don’t make idols. Second, don’t make your altars really fancy… And third… don’t climb up altars on steps… because ain’t nobody want to see up your robe.

Chapter 21

Next we have laws about Hebrew servants… which can be pretty much summed up in the command to: set them free after seven years.

Then we have laws about personal injuries such as “…take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.”

Chapter 22

And then laws on protection of property like… If you steal someone’s sheep, you must pay them back four sheep…

Then laws of social responsibility… where God says: “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.”

Chapter 23

Then we get to laws of justice and mercy… such as: “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.”

And then we get to The Sabbath Law, where god commands his people to… farm the land for six years, and let it rest in the seventh year… and work for six days, and rest on the seventh day

We then get a little break in the text from all the laws and God begins to tell his people what is going to happen in the future...

He says:

“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.”

And…

“I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.”

Chapter 24

The people said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do", and they offered sacrifices. The LORD told Moses to stay on the mountain and he was there for forty days and nights.

READ IT! - Introduction to Exodus 11-17

Readings for this week:

Monday: Exodus 11

Tuesday: Exodus 12

Wednesday: Exodus 13

Thursday: Exodus 14

Friday: Exodus 15

Saturday: Exodus 16

Sunday: Exodus 17

Introduction to Exodus 11-17

Chapter 11

After sending nine plagues against Egypt – and with Pharaoh hardening his heart and refusing to let the Hebrews go – God put to death all of the first born sons of Egypt.

And Pharaoh himself (who was worshiped as a god), as well as Min, the god of reproduction, and Anubis, dog-headed god of embalming, were all rendered powerless.

Chapters 12-13

God told the Israelites to kill a lamb and mark their doors with its blood. And when the angel of death saw the blood on the doors, he would “pass over” the house. This event came to be known as the Passover, or Pesach.

The death of the lamb pointed back to God’s promise to Abraham, but it also pointed forward to the death of Christ. The New Testament refers to Christ as “our Passover lamb,” because He died in our place. Also, Jesus was crucified during the week of the Passover celebration.

Now God gave specific instructions on how the Israelites were to celebrate the Passover from year to year. And the various elements of the Passover meal serve as symbols of how God rescued, and continues to rescue, His people.

Some examples include:

The Maror (which is often made with horseradish) and is a bitter dish, reminding them of the bitterness of their hardships.

Also, the Charoseth (which is often made with raisins, honey, and nuts) and is a sweet dish, reminding them of the sweetness of God's salvation.

Pharaoh told Moses to immediately take his people out of Egypt. And they left that very night. Through these ten plagues, God had defeated every last one of the Egyptian gods, including Pharaoh. The Israelites left Egypt so quickly that they didn’t even have time for their bread to rise... which is how the tradition of eating Matzah (a Jewish flat bread) began. The Egyptians took off their jewelry and gave it to the Israelites as they were leaving. And Some Egyptians even joined with the Israelites and left with them.

Chapter 14

And The Israelites made camp by the Red Sea. But Pharaoh changed his mind again and he pursued them in order to kill them.

But God Himself fought against Pharaoh and He appeared as smoke and fire to give darkness to the Egyptians and light to the Hebrews. He also sends His "wind" to divide the Red Sea so the Israelites can cross over to safety. He then lures Pharaoh into this trap, only to crush Pharaoh and his army with the waters of chaos.

Chapter 15

Exodus 15 is a song attributed to Moses and Miriam after God had destroyed Pharaoh’s army. The text of this song is likely much older than the texts of the rest of the Exodus story. The ancient Israelite understanding of this event was that God was making Israel into a new creation. The Red Sea, like all seas in the Old Testament, serves as a symbol of chaos and death. When God parts the sea, He does so with His “wind” or “Spirit,” (Hebrew: Ru’ach) bringing order to chaos.

And God condemns all other gods, represented by Pharaoh and his army, to be lost forever in the chaos, but He brings his people through to the other side - out of death and into a new life.

God led the his people out of Egypt and through the desert. He wanted them in the desert. He could have taken them along the coastal route, but He chose instead to lead them through the desert in order to test them. The desert is a place of testing because in the desert you cannot make it unless you rely completely on God. God didn't just want to see what His people believed and knew in their hearts; He wanted to see that belief put into action in their lives.

He appeared as a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night. After traveling for two days, God led the Israelites to a well. However, the water was bitter and they couldn't drink it. And the Israelites became angry and began to whine and grumble against Moses. So God told Moses to put a stick in the well, and the water became sweet. The place was named “Marah,” which means “bitter” because the water was bitter, and because the Israelites had a bitter spirit. The Hebrew root of the word "Marah" also refers to "deliberate, defiant disobedience."

The Israelites failed their first test. They showed God what was in their hearts... and their hearts were bitter. But God still chose to provide for their needs anyway, and he showed them that they needed to rely on Him to heal them of their bitterness, just as he turned the bitter water sweet.

God then led them away from "Marah" and they came to a place called Elim where there were twelve wells and seventy palms.

Chapter 16

Later, the Israelites began to whine and grumble against Moses again. They wanted the food that they had back in Egypt. And so God provided food for them. He sent bread from heaven for them each morning. And every evening, he sent flocks of quail through the camp.

When the Israelites first saw the bread from heaven lying on the ground, they said, “What is it?” They named the bread “manna,” which means “What is it?” The text says that the manna looked like “thin flakes of frost” ...so you could say God gave them Frosted Flakes every morning...

But God never gave them more than what they needed for the day – their “daily bread.” And when some of the Israelites tried to hoard the manna, it became infected with maggots. They were trying to rely on their own cleverness rather than on God's daily provision.

Chapter 17

God then led the Israelites to another desert where there was again no water and the people once again began to whine and grumble against Moses. Moses asked, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?” And Moses complained about them to God, claiming they were about to stone him.

So God told him to go hit a rock with his staff. And When Moses did so, water began gushing forth from the rock and everyone had enough to drink. Moses called the place “Massah and Meribah,” which means “testing and quarreling.”

Later, The Amalekites attacked the Israelites. They were the first people to declare war on Israel. While Joshua led the Israelites in battle, Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill and watched. Every time Moses lifted his arms towards heaven, the Israelites were winning, and every time he let his hands drop, they were losing. And Moses lifted his arms towards heaven all day long, and when he became too exhausted, Aaron and Hur held his arms up for him.

Joshua defeated the Amalekites, but he didn't do it alone. He had Moses' help... and Moses didn't work alone either, he had the help of Aaron and Hur. And none of them would have succeeded if it weren't for the help of God.

READ IT! - Exodus 10

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord.”

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields. They will fill your houses and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians—something neither your parents nor your ancestors have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.’” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.

Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?”

Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the Lord your God,” he said. “But tell me who will be going.”

Moses answered, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the Lord.”

Pharaoh said, “The Lord be with you—if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil. No! Have only the men go and worship the Lord, since that’s what you have been asking for.” Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.

And the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail.”

So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts; they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again. They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me.”

Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. And the Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea. Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.

Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the Lord. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.”

But Moses said, “You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God. Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord.”

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die.”

“Just as you say,” Moses replied. “I will never appear before you again.”

READ IT! - Exodus 9

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back, the hand of the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats. But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.’”

The Lord set a time and said, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.” And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go.

Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on people and animals throughout the land.”

So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on people and animals. The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me, or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go. Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’”

Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. But those who ignored the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.” When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree. The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.

Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said to them. “The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t have to stay any longer.”

Moses replied, “When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God.”

(The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom. The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.)

Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the Lord; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land. When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts. So Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.