Time in the Word: Exodus 34, Proverbs 20

As I read this today, two big ideas came into focus. First…the mercy and grace of God to renew a covenant that we have broken. Yes…I know these events happened thousands of years ago…but God has not changed…and for that matter…neither has the character of people. We blow it and God is merciful, gracious and good. He restores those who are fallen. Notice in the verses (34:6-9), the God’s character precedes the request for forgiveness. God does not “forgive” in response to our asking…we ASK in response to knowledge of God’s forgiveness.

The second big idea…which also follows the proclamation of God’s character…is the fact that we are to “give no quarter” to sin and sinful influences (34:11-17). When we make allowances for sinful influences, we set ourselves up for failure. Holiness is radical…and it requires a radical response toward unholiness.

Proverbs 20:7 is the takeaway today. “A righteous man who walks in his integrity, how blessed are his sons after him.”

Time in the Word: Exodus 33, Proverbs 19

In this chapter, we find the people being instructed to proceed to Canaan. However, the Lord stated that His presence would not go with them since they were obstinate (33:3).

Now remember that the people had been complaining all of this time about the condition in the desert. They would rather have been enslaved in Egypt than be in the desert. Now God tells them to proceed to the land of promise, only that He will not go with them. (I see this as another great test of faith and also as an example for us today. )

What is it that makes the Promised Land so promising? What is it that makes the People of God so different from all other people? Moses states that it is the presence of God (33:13-16). Moses says, if You do not go with us, we’ll stay here, because You are the reason we exist.

Then Moses says some powerfully instructive things for us:

The evidence of God’s favor is God’s presence. (The evidence of God’s presence is God’s power.)

Knowing God is more than knowing God’s Name. (33:13). It is knowing and keeping God’s ways.

God ‘s presence is the power in our witness of God (33:16).

God’s graciousness toward us is connected to our obedience to Him. We do not earn His favor, but He certainly is no rewarded of disobedience; so, our obedience is somewhat connected to His presence, power, and grace in our lives.

God’s graciousness is also seen sometimes in what God does not reveal to us about Himself (33:20-23).

God’s grace and compassion is wholly His call and completely according to His initiative (33:19). At the same time, God is responsive to our petitions for Him to be gracious and compassionate.

I know it is Old Testament…but we can learn a lot from Moses and these people. I fear that we get comfortable without the presence of God. I fear that sometimes we move forward in our “wisdom” and expect God to bless it by joining us. I fear that we manufacture “God sightings” at times to give the appearance that God is with us…when He has been gone for quite some time. I fear that we have, at times, lost our hunger for His presence…as if we are okay without Him. Then…we simply spiritualized our feelings by acting like we should be content with some anemic idea of what it is to walk with God. I fear that the world looks at us while we claim to be “blessed” by the power and presence of God…and they see us an an “emperor with no clothes.” They KNOW that there is nothing different about us. Finally, I fear that we won’t do the necessary and humbling things that we must to experience the power of God with us.

Proverbs 19:16 is the takeaway today. “He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is careless of conduct will die.”

Time in the Word: Exodus 32, Proverbs 18

This chapter in Exodus is one of the most sobering for me…as a pastor. In the time Moses was absent from the people, they came to convince Aaron that Moses was probably dead…and he (Aaron) needed to act like a leader and make them a god to lead them out of the wilderness at Sinai. [Now...I doubt this took place out of the blue and all at once. I imagine there was an ongoing "meeting" of smart guys coming to Aaron to "counsel him" on what was wise for the people. {smile}] They wore him down and convinced him of their need for an idol. (Now they were just reverting to their own experience in Egypt. They had the “truth” of God’s Word…but that was at war with the experience fo their cultural experience. It is not that they set out to offend the God of Heaven…but they never really got that far into the conversation. Their lack of obedience and lack of reverence for God’s Word was offensive…but their intent (I imagine) was not to offend God.)

God pointed out that these were Moses’ people (vv.7-8). Yes they were God’s people. Yes God had given instructions. Yes it was God’s instructions that were being violated…but they were Moses’ people. [God wanted Moses to OWN the responsibility for these people. He was not to be disconnected from them. He was not above them. He was their leader.] [It would seem to me that some leaders lack the commitment to their people that God expects. For some of them...the people are an assignment. They are a duty station. They are a necessary "evil" until the leader moves on to the next ministry. NOT SO! God wanted to cement in Moses' mind that these were his people.]

Notice that God, after reaffirming that these were Moses’ people, threatened to destroy them and start over. Moses objected and argued that doing so would defame God’s Name! (Moses interceded for these people for the glory of God’s Name.) And now we see the intended motivation for every godly leader…lead YOUR people in the right path for the glory of God’s Name. Doing so (contra to Aaron’s actions) means not taking an opinion poll from the people. People cannot lead themselves…lest they not need a leader at all. It means NOT acquiescing to political pressure or personal fears. It means doing the right thing…if only understood by you and God alone. PERIOD!

Notice 32:21. “Aaron, what did these people do to you (that was so bad) that you would lead them to this destruction (which they willingly asked for)? WOW! What a convicting question.

Aaron’s lack of action as a leader led the people to cast off restraint (32:25) and to begin acting as if they were in charge of themselves. What a horrible commentary. The results…and yes, I believe this is reflective of the leader’s inaction as well as the actions of the people…is the death of 3,000 men of the people (32:28).

The next major statement that strikes me is in 32:32. “God, if you won’t forgive them…then condemn me as well.” [Now there is a leader who knows that these are his people.]

Proverbs 18:17 is the takeaway today. “The first to plead his case seems right, until another comes and examines him.”

Time in the Word: Exodus 31, Proverbs 17

I love days like today. I was two words into the chapter and God spoke almost audibly. Today…you get to listen into the conversation.

“Moses…I appointed Bezalel…and equipped him for the task of overseeing the construction of the Tabernacle…but as for you…go and tell the people to observe the sabbath” (31:1-3, 12-13). [Translated...I have a big job to do...but you're not to do it...I have other things for you to do.]

As I read this…I was reminded that God had key players for His mission…and I may not be one (at least for every task under heaven). I am a key player for the task He called me to. It might not seem all that cool. After all…people can see a building, or check the balance in a checking account…but they rarely see the influence of a pastor. They don’t know what he does between Sundays. (Yes…most of us work between Sundays too.)

God has key roles for all of us…and we cannot do all of the roles…even if we want to. The fact that God told Moses that this wasn’t his job…makes me think that Moses was a take charge kind of leader. He was willing and eager to roll up his sleeves and get busy. Yet…doing so would have been detrimental to the project and would have discouraged the EQUIPPED guy…by not letting him get involved.

Now this is different from some power-broker from the congregation standing up to tell Moses to let him build the tabernacle. (Yes…those guys live in the church today too. They also live under the rocks in a lot of corporations. They want power and they want influence…and they want to be in charge…so they tell others in all to kind ways, “He just needs to let go and let us do this for him…so he can focus on more ‘important’ things.” Beware of that guy (those guys). They sound spiritual…but they are usually like snakes sunning on a log. Let them have their way or get too close to them…and you’ll get bit.

The responsibility for the project belonged to the leader. It was divinely bestowed. When God wanted diversification in leadership, He raised up a qualified leader and then told Moses to use him. Big difference between God instructions and the little reptile’s power grab.

LEADERS…beware. Sometimes God speaks on these matters through less than supernatural means. Yes…here He spoke to Moses directly…but just recently He delivered the same type message through Jethro. A good leader should be keenly aware of his own weaknesses and shortcomings. Doing so does not make him weaker; rather, it equips him to not FALL for the temptations that play on those weaknesses. [NOTE: I personally know my own personality type and my -nearly OCD- perfectionism. As such, I struggle releasing and delegating. I confess this often to God and to others in my organization. Doing so...doesn't make me weaker (though some use it as ammunition to harass me with and to justify their own narcissistic-driven power grabs); rather, it serves as one of the first questions I ask myself when an opportunity to delegate arises.

LEADERS: Listen carefully to the other message here...Moses was quick to act. He was not a lazy leader or a weak leader. He wasn't a consensus guy. He served the interests of One. He waited to hear from God and then spoke. When he did...it was often uncomfortable. He did not always know how things would turn out, nor was he always abreast of what God had been up to. He acted. Leaders act. They are not lazy. They don't mask inaction in some "quasi-spiritual" rhetoric. They work hard, act decisively, and give an account.

[Stepping down from my soapbox]

31:13, 16 leapt off of the page today. There is a perpetual command to observe the Sabbath…period. It is the day that Sovereign God rested and in celebration of His finished work of creation, He directed us to do so as well. We celebrate the sabbath, not by talking about it…or by agreeing intellectually. We celebrate by observing. We act obediently…because God said so and He still says so today.

[SHORT SIDENOTE: I think we can get wrapped up in trying to justify our own sinful preferences by twisting the Word of God into a pretzel. There is a principle called the "perspicuity" (simplicity) of Scripture, meaning that the simplest reading is often the intended meaning. If you have to do Scriptural gymnastics to get to your point, or to justify your actions...you probably are working too hard and going "WAY WRONG."

Proverbs 17:9 is the takeaway today. “He who conceals a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends.”

Time in the Word: Exodus 30, Proverbs 16

This chapter of Exodus has two prominent features. First is the requirement for the altar of incense which was to be burning constantly before the Lord. The burning of incense is easily understood as the offering of prayers (in our current context). We are to constantly pray…or “pray without ceasing”…to quote the Apostle Paul.

This altar was holy to the Lord…also carried with poles and was consecrated for the purpose fo the incense offering only. Once per year, the High Priest would make atonement on it, but every other time of the year…the incense was burned on it.

The second feature relates tot he anointing oil. Each person in the community was to contribute equally and annually…a half shekel for this purpose. The anointing oil was special…unique only unto this purpose before the Lord. It was to anoint the instruments and the sanctuary and those who ministered there. It was never to be duplicated in any other place or manner…and was never to be touch by a layman.

These two things should serve to remind us of how serious God takes His holiness. He is holy. He specifies just exactly how we are to approach Him. It is not debatable. It is not mitigatable. It is…what it is.

I think sometimes…we take God’s holiness too lightly. We reduce Him to being like us…as if we were the standard of goodness that God would require. His standard of Holiness is perfection…and it is for us…to be quite honest…unattainable. We cannot achieve perfection…therefore, we cannot (in our efforts) become acceptable to God. This creates a quandary of sorts…a situation whereby we are hopeless apart from outside assistance. Therein lies the truth of the cross and Christ’s atoning work. He has saved us.. and we can be saved in no other way…because He alone was (and is) perfect. Only He could offer Himself as a substitution for us…since only He was/is perfect.

Yes…Aaron had to offer atonement on the altar once a year, every year; however, Christ offered Himself once…for all (past, present, and future.) He is not continually crucified or re-crucified or paying again for our sins at Mass…He accomplished perfectly the redemption of God AND maintained God’s holiness standard.

So…what does this mean for us? Should we be fatalistic in our thinking? (I cannot be perfect so why try?) Should we be boastful and arrogant in our position as those who were redeemed and are secured by Christ’s “once for all” act? (I am saved I will do what I wish and it will not affect me…sicne Christ saved me completely). Or…and I would argue RATHER…should the work of Christ draw us to a place of humble adoration and a decision to embrace perpetual and increasing obedience to Him as He reveals our path day unto day?

Living for God is a one time (justification) and ongoing (sanctification) decision. It is a yieldedness and a continual yielding.

Proverbs 16:1 is the takeaway today. “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer fo the tongue is from the Lord.” [Hmmm...that will give us much to consider this day].

Time in the Word: Exodus 28-29, Proverbs 15

Wow! Reading this today, I felt as though I was there…in the moment. The details of the garments for Aaron (the High Priest) and his sons (the priests) are very specific. There are tremendously symbolic pieces fo the garments…from the royalty of the blue/purple, to the stones for each fo the tribes, to the judgment of God understood in the casting of the Urim and Thummim. (NOTE: It would be easy to be lost in the details of the material. I have gone deep into the weeds there myself at times; however, if we pull up a bit, there are some principles that are humbling and strike a sense of awe…at least for me as a pastor of a congregation.

The Priest (which is admittedly different from the role of a pastor today as it relates to sacrificial intercession, but similar in the role of teaching, shepherding, admonishing, and explaining God’s position/perspective), carried memorials on his garments of the names of every tribe of God’s people. They are God’s people, but the Priest was/is responsible to bear their names before God perpetually. The priest not only bore their names, but his breastplate consisted of 12 stones…one for each of the tribes. This rested over his heart. In addition, he bore in his pocket of the breastplate, the Urim and Thummim (think of casting dice) which represented the judgment of God…also over his heart.

In the heart of the Priest is both the responsibility to bear the names of God’s people before Him…and the responsibility to bear the judgment of God before the people. He is a true intercessory.

EXCURSION: In the Protestant tradition  and particularly in the Baptist faith (my own) we strive to minimize the role of a pastor as intercessor and mouthpiece of God’s judgments. We accentuate the “priesthood of every believer” and the “SOLE ROLE of Christ as Mediator between God and man. [All of these things are correct!!] However, there is still something significant in responsibility for the modern-day pastor. He still has an enormous responsibility before God.

This “idea” is made more clear in the 29th chapter on consecration. Notice that the Priest was set apart to minister to God (29:1, 44, et. al.). He is not a hireling or representative of the people. He represents the people before God, but he also represents God before the people…and he ministers/serves God exclusively! Yes, EXCLUSIVELY. [NOTE: This makes Aaron's sin of the golden calf that much more comprehensible when we consider that he chose in that moment to acquiesce to the demands of the people rather than to represent God.]

The ordination (public) and consecration (private) of the priests to God is serious business. They were set apart. Their food (provision from God) was not even to be touched by an non-priest because it is Holy (29:33).

In addition, the altar (where the priest interceded on behalf of the people before God in MINISTRY TO GOD) was also consecrated and everything that went onto the altar was also set apart as holy. No common/base/profane thing could ever touch the altar. [POINT/NOTE: You cannot separate the consecration of the priest from the altar and vice-versa. The priest existed to minister at the altar and the altar existed for the priest to minister.]

REFLECTION: It strikes me how little respect we show sometimes for both the altar and for those who minister at it. We seek (at least in this Western context) to reduce it to a geographic location and the minister to some form of hireling…forgetting that the church is not a business or an organization…but is first the meeting place with God. [Yes, I know that we can meet with God anywhere and that as believers, God lives in our hearts; however, there is still something significant...if not difficult to define...about the corporate worship location, where God's people assemble to meet with and hear from Him.

FInal thought: Once God consecrated the priests and the place, He promised to meet with His people there...perpetually...as they came to enter into His presence. If there is no presence of God (i.e. His Glory 29:43) then there is no promise. If there is no reverence for the place, then there is no Glory. [More to say...but I'll leave it there.]

Proverbs 15:3 is the takeaway today. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good.”

Time in the Word: Exodus 25-27, Proverbs 14

In these three chapters we find specific instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle, that is…the place where God would dwell among His people and where they would meet with Him. This is sometimes referred to as the Tent of Meeting…or other terms, but is speaks of the place which would be established at the center of the camp wherever the people of Israel stopped. A couple of principles I observed in reading these instructions:

• God was specific about the how and where of worship. Worship is not man’s idea. It is prescribed duty and a response of delight. We are DUTY BOUND to worship God. [Now I chose those words because they grate against much of our Western mindset...and against the flesh that we wrestle with daily. When we do not worship, we are DERELICT in our Duty. When we worship in a manner other than that which is prescribed by God, we are deficient in our worship. The only acceptable worship to God is that which is according to His prescribed manner.] This being said, authentic worship is more than duty…it is delight. It is a heart response to a Holy God. It is not motivated solely on the fact that God demands it; rather, it is motivated by the fact that God deserves it, and we desire it, and we gain from it personally. When we worship, we benefit from having entered into the presence of God.
• The materials for the construction of the Tabernacle were precious resources…gold and bronze and acacia wood…animal skins and fine material. These were provided BY THE PEOPLE who worshipped God and called on Him at the Tabernacle…and they were to be given as each man was moved in his heart. [Notice that there was no plea to other congregations or collection buckets at intersections. In essence, God said..."I will move the heart of man to give as I desire and each man should give that." Now this drives CONTROL guys and SPREADSHEET guys NUTS! You cannot plan for the "X Factor" of God's moving in a person's life. You can only seek to know what God says...and do that. It of ten stretches us because God moves in ways that are FAR BIGGER than us...in ways we cannot explain. He is, after all, God!] There is another assumption here…”from every man whose heart moves him…” (25:2) implies that each gift was different and that every man was engaged in this. This isn’t the action of ONE GUY or TWO FAMILIES…it is the cooperative act of the community…each doing as his heart is moved.
• The operative Word throughout this construction is HOLY! God set each requirement so that it would not become easy to obey. He made the details precise. He ordered the Ark to be carried on poles so that man would not touch it. He ordered a separating veil/curtain between His presence (The Holy of Holies) and the realm of the priests (The Holy place). He required bread on the table and oil in the lamps continuously.
• The maintenance of worship…the provision of oil, bread, offerings for the priests (which we will see later) was all prescribed to come from the people who worshipped here (27:20-21). It is not provided by an endowment or interest of savings. The provision of these “maintenance” resources is also WORSHIP.

APPLIED/ REFLECTION: How is your worship? Is it according to God’s prescribed manner…or does it more closely resemble something you designed? Are you obedient to the moving of God on your heart? Do you own the responsibility for the “tabernacle” of your corporate worship? Do you provide for the resources for maintaining corporate worship according to God’s prescription? [What I have come to KNOW is that we can, if we're not careful, reduce worship and the ministry in and through the local church to something programmatic, or event driven...rather than seeing it as it is designed and demanded by the Lord of the Church.]

Proverbs 14:6 is the takeaway today. [As you read, consider that a scoffer is one who denies God His rightful place.] “A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge is easy to one who has understanding.”