January 21 - Exodus 32-34
This is one of those passages of Scripture that prove to me that the Bible is the Word of God, because no man could have made this up. Even though the events described are so incredible the Spirit within me bears witness that this is exactly how it was. My heart overflows with emotion just to read and think about Moses and the Israelites here. How could they so quickly turn from the Living God to an idol after walking across the Red Sea on dry ground? How could Aaron be such a willing participant in this horrible sin, since he had been chosen to be God's priest? Of course, the answer is that Satan is strong, and the flesh is weak, but it never ceases to amaze me that we turn away from God so quickly. In a flash they broke the first two commandments. God's anger burned against them because of their sin. Moses interceded. God relented. Then, Moses got so angry he broke the tablets. What a heart breaking scene, but it happens every day in the lives of individuals and groups of people.
We can get a good view of God's character here. He hates sin. Even when Moses says to God, "blot me out" instead of them. God does not punish the innocent. He plagued the people because of their sin. When God says He will not go with them to the Promised Land, Moses prays in the tabernacle of meeting. God comes to speak with him face to face, and we see the mercy of God. Because of Moses' favor with God, He decides to go with them. Moses wants to see His glory, His presence. God shows him as much as he could handle. That is what I want for our church. Even though we are not a perfect people, I want to see us seek the Lord so completely that He will reveal His presence to us. My face may not shine like Moses' face, but I want it to shine from the inside because of the filling of the Holy Spirit. I want God to decide to go with us to the Promised Land. How about you?
Moses spends 40 days with the Lord fasting and receiving instructions. The instructions are the same as before. It is not anything new. It is sticking with God's original commands. We need to remember that. Too often we are looking for the latest fad or trend in Christianity to light a fire under us. We don't need anything more than what we have. We need to sit at His feet in love and say yes to all His Word says to us. We need to humbly submit to all of those things we already know we should be doing. Most of us don't need to learn anything new so much as we need to practice what we already know.
We can get a good view of God's character here. He hates sin. Even when Moses says to God, "blot me out" instead of them. God does not punish the innocent. He plagued the people because of their sin. When God says He will not go with them to the Promised Land, Moses prays in the tabernacle of meeting. God comes to speak with him face to face, and we see the mercy of God. Because of Moses' favor with God, He decides to go with them. Moses wants to see His glory, His presence. God shows him as much as he could handle. That is what I want for our church. Even though we are not a perfect people, I want to see us seek the Lord so completely that He will reveal His presence to us. My face may not shine like Moses' face, but I want it to shine from the inside because of the filling of the Holy Spirit. I want God to decide to go with us to the Promised Land. How about you?
Moses spends 40 days with the Lord fasting and receiving instructions. The instructions are the same as before. It is not anything new. It is sticking with God's original commands. We need to remember that. Too often we are looking for the latest fad or trend in Christianity to light a fire under us. We don't need anything more than what we have. We need to sit at His feet in love and say yes to all His Word says to us. We need to humbly submit to all of those things we already know we should be doing. Most of us don't need to learn anything new so much as we need to practice what we already know.