The World's Greatest Letter Begins With The World's Longest Introduction

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We begin a new book today—Romans! Normally, our readings are assigned Monday-Friday, but since today is the first day of a new month, it seemed appropriate to kick off our Romans study today. Each day’s post will go live at 3:30 AM and—for those of you on my email list—will be emailed out at 4:00 AM.

The opening letter below appears in the print version of this reading guide.  We include it here. (Today’s scripture reading can be found after the SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 header below.)

AROUND THE YEAR AD 57…

Around the year AD 57, a Christian missionary pastor and leader named Paul wrote a long letter to a network of house churches that had formed in Rome. Paul had never been to Rome (though he had met some of the Roman Christians previously), so he wrote his letter to introduce himself and his message to the Roman church.

Paul wrote his Letter to the Romans during one of his missionary journeys around the eastern Mediterranean. (He was probably in the city of Ephesus—which is in modern-day Turkey—when he wrote Romans.) At the period in which he wrote, Paul had been a missionary church planter for about twenty-five years, and he was planning to return to Jerusalem with a major financial gift he had collected from among his Gentile churches to give to the poor and persecuted Jewish church in Jerusalem. Paul intended that gift to be a sign of the unity of the church, since Paul understood that the church of Jesus was open to both Jews and Gentiles—“to all who believe.” [Romans 1:1] After delivering the gift, Paul’s plan was to stop off in Rome on his way to Spain, where he wanted to continue his church-planting ministry. By sending his letter, Paul hoped to make himself more familiar to the Roman Christians before visiting them in person.

WHAT IS PAUL’S LETTER TO THE ROMANS ABOUT?

Romans is a long, complex letter that is the result of Paul’s decades-long thought about Jesus and his missionary work for Jesus. In it, Paul explains what the Gospel means and how it should affect the everyday lives of the Roman Christians. In his letter, Paul is answering the question, “What does it mean that a Jewish man named Jesus was crucified and raised again?”

WHAT IS THE “GOSPEL”?

“Gospel” is the Old English translation of a Greek word that we transliterate as euangelion—pronounced “you-ahng-GELL-lee-on”—which means “good news” or “good tidings.” You know the story of the Battle of Marathon, how the messenger ran 26 miles to Athens to bring the breathless news of the great Greek victory over the Persians? The message he was bringing was euangelion—it is good news about something that has happened in the world, and it wasn’t originally a religious word, but a political word. In fact, the early Christians adopted it for their purposes because they understood that what had happened with Jesus was news about something amazing that had taken place, that it was (to quote the angel in Luke’s Gospel),

“Good news of great joy that will be for all the people!” [Luke 2:10]

This good news was carried from Jerusalem by followers of Jesus all over the world. When it came to the Anglo-Saxon people in what we now call England, the martyrs and missionaries translated it into the tongue of that place. They called their message “gospel.”

The early Christians called the Jesus news “gospel,” and they also came to call the documents that contained that news “Gospels.”

For Paul, the Gospel is the news that God has been faithful to His promises to Israel and that Jesus has carried those plans to fulfillment. Now, because of Jesus, the blessings of God are available to everyone who trusts God, both Jew and Gentile.

WHAT IS “ISRAEL”?

When Paul uses the term “Israel” he is not referring to the modern nation-state of Israel. Rather, when Paul uses the term, he is referring to the covenant people of God, descended from Abraham. Israel is God’s special people, and the story of Israel is told in what we call the Old Testament. The story of the Old Testament is that God chose one man—Abraham—and his family—Israel—to be His special representatives to the world. In shorthand, when Paul used the term “Israel,” he means “people of God.”

WHY IS THE OLD TESTAMENT KEY TO UNDERSTANDING ROMANS?

You cannot understand Romans if you don’t understand the story of Israel in the Old Testament. This is because Paul—who knows the Old Testament backwards and forwards—believes that Jesus is the fulfillment of everything the Old Testament was about, even and including undoing the effects of Adam’s sinful choice in Genesis chapter 3.

IF GOD KNEW THAT ISRAEL WOULD SIN, WHY DID HE CHOOSE THEM?

Paul wants the Romans to understand that the Lord did not make a mistake when He made Israel the chosen nation. Yes, Israel sinned, but Paul will explain in his letter how God was using Israel the entire time to prepare for Jesus and to bring blessing to the entire world.

SALVATION IS NOT ABOUT GOING TO HEAVEN WHEN YOU DIE

In his letter, Paul will explain that God’s ultimate plan is to fix everything that’s wrong with the world. Yes, the sacrificial death of Jesus means people can be forgiven of their sins and escape the consequence of their sins, but forgiveness is the means to the end God has in mind, not the end in itself. In fact, the end God is working towards is to restore humanity to its original, God-given position: to rule over Creation in God’s name. This is deep stuff, and Paul won’t get there until chapter 8. In this commentary, which I am calling Romans Part 1, we will cover chapters 1-7. (Chapter 8 will have to wait until Part 2.) Here, Paul is going to explain how all of humanity—including God’s people, Israel—was actually enslaved to sin, and that Jesus came to save everyone who would believe, both Jews and Gentiles. By doing what no one else was able to do, Jesus permanently defeated the power of sin and death and has inaugurated the New Creation that God is working towards.

Romans Part 1 will not be an easy read, but it will be worth it.

WHY READ ROMANS?

Because Reading Romans Will Help You Know God’s Will for Your Life

In Romans 12:1-2, Paul says that if we want to know God’s will for our lives, we need to have our minds transformed:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. [12:2]

We are all affected by ideas, and the way to transform your mindset—your thought-patterns—is to focus the right ideas.

Romans, in all its depth and complexity, is exactly the kind of thing that can transform your mindset, if you are willing to put in the work and seek to first understand and then to think about what Paul is saying. We are going to take the next several months and work through this life-changing letter bit by bit.

Be consistent.
Be curious.

If you do those things:

1. You will understand both what Paul is saying and why the early church was unstoppable;
2. You will be different because you’ll see the world and your place in it according to God’s point of view.

Let’s GO.
Andrew Forrest

 

Sunday, September 1

Romans 1:1-7

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 
 

Paul begins his letter with a long “From” section. He has never been to Rome and didn’t found the Roman church, so he lays out his credentials and summarizes the Gospel while he’s at it.

The Gospel:

• Was predicted and promised in the Old Testament;
• Was about God’s Son, Jesus, who was an Israelite, descended from King David;
• Jesus was proved to be God’s Son by the Resurrection, when the Holy Spirit raised Him from the dead.

Paul is an apostle of Messiah Jesus. (“Messiah” is a Hebrew title; “Christ” is a Greek title—both words mean the same thing: “Anointed One.”) This Jesus was the one to whom the entire Old Testament was pointing; He was born to a Jewish family and then raised from the dead. Paul’s whole mission is to tell people about this Jesus so that they will trust Jesus with their lives, because what God has done in Jesus is going to fix everything that’s wrong with the world.

Paul is writing to the Roman Christians, who, though they come from different backgrounds, are now the “holy ones” (that’s what the word “saints” means).

Do Not Conform. Be Transformed.

Paul begins his great letter by explaining that God’s plan to save the whole world has been at work for centuries, leading up to the Resurrection of Jesus. Think of all that happened in those long centuries—wars and emperors and pyramids and exile—and all the while God was at work.

It’s very easy to believe that the headlines tell the whole story, but they don’t.

Be encouraged: God is at work today!

 

TONIGHT - Romans Kickoff Bible Study

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I will be preaching and leading a study at Asbury through Paul’s Letter to the Romans all fall. The kickoff Bible study is TONIGHT (8/28) in the Asbury Sanctuary, 6:30-8:00 PM. Going to be out of town? First of all, cancel your plans. Secondly, the study will be live-streamed.

Dinner is available beforehand starting at 5:00 PM.

 
 

Asbury is a Bible-reading church. Reading and loving the Bible is a central goal and value for us, because reading the Bible will change your life.

 

In Romans 12:1-2, Paul says that if want to know God’s will for our lives, we need to have our minds transformed:

 

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.[12:2]

 

We are all affected by ideas, and the way to transform your mindset—your thought-patterns—is to focus the right ideas.

 

Romans, in all its depth and complexity, is exactly the kind of thing that can transform your mindset, if you are willing to put in the work and seek to first understand and then to think about what Paul is saying.

 

So, as I mentioned above, this fall we will be reading through Romans as a church at Asbury. I’ve put together a reading plan that parcels out a small amount of reading for each day, Monday - Friday (though our reading plan STARTS on this Sunday—don’t miss that!); each day there is that day’s Scripture reading, and then I’ve written some commentary to help you get the most out of your reading. What I am calling Romans Part 1 will cover chapters 1-7 and will take us through the month of September.

 

This is going to be good.

 

Pick up your Romans book at Asbury this weekend so you can start with us on September 1. Readings start on SUNDAY this week!

  • If you live in Dallas, email Sandie and she’ll tell you how you can pick yours up for yourself there in town.

 

Each day’s reading is posted here at 3:30 AM, and if you are on my Bible mailing list, it will be emailed to you at 4:30 AM (Central Time).

 

I Need You To Circle These Dates On Your Calendar

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Friends, I hope you have been blessed by our Summer Of Prayer. The Spirit is moving, testimonies continue to come in, and we are pumped to dive into Romans in a few weeks. You need to circle this date on the calendar:

 Sunday, September 1.

That’s the day our Romans reading plan begins.

It’s not an overstatement to say that the Apostle Paul’s Letter to the Romans is the most influential letter ever written; we are going to be reading and studying it all fall at Asbury. 

Reading Romans will change your life, and I want to challenge you now to make the commitment to start with us on Day One.

Whether you will be in the pew or out of town on that Sunday, circle 9/1 in your calendar and commit to completing that first day’s reading.

Lots more info to follow, but I wanted to get that date out to you.

 
 

To get the most out of our reading of Romans, we’ll have an all-church Bible study on Wednesday, 8/28, 6:30-8:00 PM in the Sanctuary.

Dinner available beforehand, 5:00-6:30 PM.

We have only three Bible studies scheduled for this fall, so clear your calendar now and plan to join us on:

August 28, October 2, and October 30

These Bible studies have become important for our church—don’t miss!

 

There Is A Problem In The Last Verses of Exodus

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Exodus 40:34-38

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

 
 

We’ve been reading Exodus for six months. Forty chapters! We’ve read:

· How the children of Israel were enslaved by Pharaoh;
· How Moses was spared by the Lord and then sent by the Lord to lead His people to freedom;
· How the Lord sent the plagues and brought judgment on the so-called gods of Egypt;
· How the Lord delivered His people through the Passover and the Red Sea;
· How He brought them to Mount Sinai to commission them as His representatives to the nations;
· How He made a covenant with them and gave them the Ten Commandments and the Law;
· How the Lord instructed the people to build the tabernacle so He could dwell in their midst;
· How the people rebelled and worshipped the golden calf;
· How the Lord remained faithful to His covenant;
· How Moses led the people to finally construct the tabernacle,
· And how on New Year’s Day it was finally completed, one year after they left Egypt!

And then, finally, the glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle!

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. [Exodus 40:34]

And then we read this astonishing verse:

And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. [Exodus 40:35]

After all that, Moses is unable to enter the tent! Why?

Well, we’ll have to read on to the next book of the Torah, Leviticus, which explains how to properly worship the Lord.

Here, the reason Moses is unable to enter the tent once the glory of God has come in the midst of the people is because of their sin. They still aren’t ready to come close to the Lord. Though Moses on his own has been communing with the Lord, when he is in the midst of Israel their sin makes it impossible for him to enter the Lord’s presence.

How can people enter the Lord’s presence?

We’ll have to read on to find out, but ultimately the story of the Old Testament is that the Lord himself will have to pay the price and reconcile people back to Him. Jesus is the way that we enter the presence of God.

For six months we have been reading through Exodus. There are many lessons that I’ve learned through our study, but today perhaps the most important one for me is that the Lord is at work in the world, rescuing and shaping men and women to be His representatives to the nations. He has given us what we need and there is work for us to do.

In the end, everything will be okay.
If it’s not okay, then it’s not the end.
And if it’s not the end, then the Lord still has work for us to do.

Let’s GO.

 

Pick up your Summer of Prayer Guide now!

 

NOTE: I will not be sending out daily readings until we begin Romans on Monday, August 19. In the mean time, I personally am going to continue reading one psalm a day, every day. Here’s the schedule going forward:

6/22/24

Psalm 140

6/23/24

Psalm 141

6/24/24

Psalm 142

6/25/24

Psalm 143

6/26/24

Psalm 144

6/27/24

Psalm 145

6/28/24

Psalm 146

6/29/24

Psalm 147

6/30/24

Psalm 148

7/1/24

Psalm 149

7/2/24

Psalm 150

7/3/24

Psalm 1

7/4/24

Psalm 2

7/5/24

Psalm 3

7/6/24

Psalm 4

7/7/24

Psalm 5

7/8/24

Psalm 6

7/9/24

Psalm 7

7/10/24

Psalm 8

7/11/24

Psalm 9

7/12/24

Psalm 10

7/13/24

Psalm 11

7/14/24

Psalm 12

7/15/24

Psalm 13

7/16/24

Psalm 14

7/17/24

Psalm 15

7/18/24

Psalm 16

7/19/24

Psalm 17

7/20/24

Psalm 18

7/21/24

Psalm 19

7/22/24

Psalm 20

7/23/24

Psalm 21

7/24/24

Psalm 22

7/25/24

Psalm 23

7/26/24

Psalm 24

7/27/24

Psalm 25

7/28/24

Psalm 26

7/29/24

Psalm 27

7/30/24

Psalm 28

7/31/24

Psalm 29

8/1/24

Psalm 30

8/2/24

Psalm 31

8/3/24

Psalm 32

8/4/24

Psalm 33

8/5/24

Psalm 34

8/6/24

Psalm 35

8/7/24

Psalm 36

8/8/24

Psalm 37

8/9/24

Psalm 38


 

We Begin At The End

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Exodus 40:1-33

40 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 3 And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall screen the ark with the veil. 4 And you shall bring in the table and arrange it, and you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. 5 And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 6 You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, 7 and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court.
9 “Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy. 10 You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar may become most holy. 11 You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. 12 Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water 13 and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. 14 You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them, 15 and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”
16 This Moses did; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did. 17 In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. 18 Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars. 19 And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 20 He took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark. 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 22 He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil, 23 and arranged the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 24 He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, 25 and set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 26 He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil, 27 and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 28 He put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 29 And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 30 He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, 31 with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. 32 When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the Lord commanded Moses. 33 And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.

 
 

Dates matter in the Bible. Those of the kind of details we skip over because they don’t mean anything to us right away, but they are important.

So, when was the tabernacle is completed?

In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. [Exodus 40:17]

The tabernacle was completed on New Year’s Day (according to the calendar of Israel). The reason this is significant is because of what we earlier learned about the Israelite calendar:

1The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. [Exodus 12:1-2]

The Lord resets the calendar of Israel to begin again with the Passover. It’s like the Passover starts a new period of their history.

So, it is significant that the tabernacle is completed one year later, at the beginning of a new year. The tabernacle’s completion, narrated here at the end of Exodus, is a new beginning for the people.

Life is here beginning again.

But how the book ends will shock you!

 

Carrying The Names

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Exodus 39:1-43

39 From the blue and purple and scarlet yarns they made finely woven garments, for ministering in the Holy Place. They made the holy garments for Aaron, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
2 He made the ephod of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. 3 And they hammered out gold leaf, and he cut it into threads to work into the blue and purple and the scarlet yarns, and into the fine twined linen, in skilled design. 4 They made for the ephod attaching shoulder pieces, joined to it at its two edges. 5 And the skillfully woven band on it was of one piece with it and made like it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
6 They made the onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold filigree, and engraved like the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the sons of Israel. 7 And he set them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod to be stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
8 He made the breastpiece, in skilled work, in the style of the ephod, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. 9 It was square. They made the breastpiece doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth when doubled. 10 And they set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle was the first row; 11 and the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold filigree. 14 There were twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They were like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. 15 And they made on the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. 16 And they made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. 17 And they put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. 18 They attached the two ends of the two cords to the two settings of filigree. Thus they attached it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 19 Then they made two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. 20 And they made two rings of gold, and attached them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 21 And they bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it should lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece should not come loose from the ephod, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
22 He also made the robe of the ephod woven all of blue, 23 and the opening of the robe in it was like the opening in a garment, with a binding around the opening, so that it might not tear. 24 On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. 25 They also made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates all around the hem of the robe, between the pomegranates— 26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate around the hem of the robe for ministering, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
27 They also made the coats, woven of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons, 28 and the turban of fine linen, and the caps of fine linen, and the linen undergarments of fine twined linen, 29 and the sash of fine twined linen and of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, embroidered with needlework, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
30 They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription, like the engraving of a signet, “Holy to the Lord.” 31 And they tied to it a cord of blue to fasten it on the turban above, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
32 Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished, and the people of Israel did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses; so they did. 33 Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its utensils, its hooks, its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; 34 the covering of tanned rams' skins and goatskins, and the veil of the screen; 35 the ark of the testimony with its poles and the mercy seat; 36 the table with all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; 37 the lampstand of pure gold and its lamps with the lamps set and all its utensils, and the oil for the light; 38 the golden altar, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the entrance of the tent; 39 the bronze altar, and its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin and its stand; 40 the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs; and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; 41 the finely worked garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons for their service as priests. 42 According to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the people of Israel had done all the work. 43 And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them.

 
 

I love the thought of the high priest carrying the names of the tribes of Israel on his breastplate when he ministers before the Lord.

We no longer need a high priest, because Jesus is the ultimate high priest who makes atonement for us.

Now, He sends us out as “priests” and representatives of God to the world.

I think, therefore, that one of the things we should do when we gather for worship is bear the names of others before the Lord. We should come to worship ready to intercede and pray for people who are in need. It’s a beautiful thought—bearing the names of others on your heart and lifting them up before the Lord.

For whom will you be interceding this week?

 

When's The Last Time You Took Care To Get It Exactly Right?

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Exodus 38:1-31

38 He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. Five cubits was its length, and five cubits its breadth. It was square, and three cubits was its height. 2 He made horns for it on its four corners. Its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze. 3 And he made all the utensils of the altar, the pots, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the fire pans. He made all its utensils of bronze. 4 And he made for the altar a grating, a network of bronze, under its ledge, extending halfway down.
5 He cast four rings on the four corners of the bronze grating as holders for the poles. 6 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. 7 And he put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it with them. He made it hollow, with boards.
8 He made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting.
9 And he made the court. For the south side the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits; 10 their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 11 And for the north side there were hangings of a hundred cubits; their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 12 And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their ten pillars, and their ten bases; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 13 And for the front to the east, fifty cubits. 14 The hangings for one side of the gate were fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. 15 And so for the other side. On both sides of the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three bases. 16 All the hangings around the court were of fine twined linen. 17 And the bases for the pillars were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. The overlaying of their capitals was also of silver, and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver. 18 And the screen for the gate of the court was embroidered with needlework in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It was twenty cubits long and five cubits high in its breadth, corresponding to the hangings of the court. 19 And their pillars were four in number. Their four bases were of bronze, their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals and their fillets of silver. 20 And all the pegs for the tabernacle and for the court all around were of bronze.
21 These are the records of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, as they were recorded at the commandment of Moses, the responsibility of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 22 Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord commanded Moses; 23 and with him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer and embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen.
24 All the gold that was used for the work, in all the construction of the sanctuary, the gold from the offering, was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 25 The silver from those of the congregation who were recorded was a hundred talents and 1,775 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary: 26 a beka a head (that is, half a shekel, by the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone who was listed in the records, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men. 27 The hundred talents of silver were for casting the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil; a hundred bases for the hundred talents, a talent a base. 28 And of the 1,775 shekels he made hooks for the pillars and overlaid their capitals and made fillets for them. 29 The bronze that was offered was seventy talents and 2,400 shekels; 30 with it he made the bases for the entrance of the tent of meeting, the bronze altar and the bronze grating for it and all the utensils of the altar, 31 the bases around the court, and the bases of the gate of the court, all the pegs of the tabernacle, and all the pegs around the court.

 
 

The Israelites are given specific details about the construction of the tabernacle, and they punctiliously follow them. It is important for them to get it right when it comes to the things of the Lord.

When is the last time you approached worship with that sort of specific concern to get it right? When’s the last time you worked hard to memorize a specific verse and know it perfectly? When’s the last time you made a specific plan to get the most out of going to church on a Sunday?

One of the lessons of Exodus to us is that, regarding the things of God, the small details matter.

How can you tend to a small detail today?

 

Our Final Week Of Exodus Readings!

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Exodus 37:1-29

37 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half was its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. 2 And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold around it. 3 And he cast for it four rings of gold for its four feet, two rings on its one side and two rings on its other side. 4 And he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold 5 and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark. 6 And he made a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half was its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. 7 And he made two cherubim of gold. He made them of hammered work on the two ends of the mercy seat, 8 one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat he made the cherubim on its two ends. 9 The cherubim spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat were the faces of the cherubim.
10 He also made the table of acacia wood. Two cubits was its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. 11 And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made a molding of gold around it. 12 And he made a rim around it a handbreadth wide, and made a molding of gold around the rim. 13 He cast for it four rings of gold and fastened the rings to the four corners at its four legs. 14 Close to the frame were the rings, as holders for the poles to carry the table. 15 He made the poles of acacia wood to carry the table, and overlaid them with gold. 16 And he made the vessels of pure gold that were to be on the table, its plates and dishes for incense, and its bowls and flagons with which to pour drink offerings.
17 He also made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered work. Its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers were of one piece with it. 18 And there were six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; 19 three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. 20 And on the lampstand itself were four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers, 21 and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out of it. 22 Their calyxes and their branches were of one piece with it. The whole of it was a single piece of hammered work of pure gold. 23 And he made its seven lamps and its tongs and its trays of pure gold. 24 He made it and all its utensils out of a talent of pure gold.
25 He made the altar of incense of acacia wood. Its length was a cubit, and its breadth was a cubit. It was square, and two cubits was its height. Its horns were of one piece with it. 26 He overlaid it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And he made a molding of gold around it, 27 and made two rings of gold on it under its molding, on two opposite sides of it, as holders for the poles with which to carry it. 28 And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
29 He made the holy anointing oil also, and the pure fragrant incense, blended as by the perfumer.

 
 

This is our last week of Exodus. In chapters 25-31 the Lord provided instructions for the building of the tabernacle, so that He could dwell in the midst of His people. Their rebellion and idolatry in the golden calf incident (chapter 32) interrupted this plan, but the Lord remained faithful and here we finally have the account of the construction of the tabernacle.

Take the time today to read slowly through this account, maybe over lunch or as a family during dinner. What does this tell you about the Lord? What jumps out at you?

 

When People Are Too Generous

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Exodus 36:1-20

36 “Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the Lord has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.”
2 And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. 3 And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, 4 so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, 5 and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” 6 So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, 7 for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.
8 And all the craftsmen among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains. They were made of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns, with cherubim skillfully worked. 9 The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains were the same size.
10 He coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another. 11 He made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain of the first set. Likewise he made them on the edge of the outermost curtain of the second set. 12 He made fifty loops on the one curtain, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was in the second set. The loops were opposite one another. 13 And he made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains one to the other with clasps. So the tabernacle was a single whole.
14 He also made curtains of goats' hair for a tent over the tabernacle. He made eleven curtains. 15 The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains were the same size. 16 He coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. 17 And he made fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain of the one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the other connecting curtain. 18 And he made fifty clasps of bronze to couple the tent together that it might be a single whole. 19 And he made for the tent a covering of tanned rams' skins and goatskins. 20 Then he made the upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood.

 
 

Remember, the repetition in chapters 35-40 is important, because it’s a sign that the Lord didn’t abandon the Israelites.

Here, when the people are tasked with bringing their offerings to the master craftsmen Bezalel and Oholiab, they are so generous that Moses has to ask them to stop!

2 And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. 3 And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, 4 so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, 5 and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” 6 So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, 7 for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more. [Exodus 36:2-7]

This is exactly the right response to the Lord’s faithfulness to us—abundant generosity!

How can you show your gratitude to the Lord by being generous today?

 

When The Most Boring Part Of The Bible Becomes The Best Part Of The Bible!

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Exodus 35:1-35

35 Moses assembled all the congregation of the people of Israel and said to them, “These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do. 2 Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. 3 You shall kindle no fire in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day.”
4 Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “This is the thing that the Lord has commanded. 5 Take from among you a contribution to the Lord. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the Lord's contribution: gold, silver, and bronze; 6 blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; goats' hair, 7 tanned rams' skins, and goatskins; acacia wood, 8 oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 9 and onyx stones and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.
10 “Let every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the Lord has commanded: 11 the tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its hooks and its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; 12 the ark with its poles, the mercy seat, and the veil of the screen; 13 the table with its poles and all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; 14 the lampstand also for the light, with its utensils and its lamps, and the oil for the light; 15 and the altar of incense, with its poles, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the door, at the door of the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering, with its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils, the basin and its stand; 17 the hangings of the court, its pillars and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court; 18 the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court, and their cords; 19 the finely worked garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests.”
20 Then all the congregation of the people of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21 And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the Lord's contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments. 22 So they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to the Lord. 23 And every one who possessed blue or purple or scarlet yarns or fine linen or goats' hair or tanned rams' skins or goatskins brought them. 24 Everyone who could make a contribution of silver or bronze brought it as the Lord's contribution. And every one who possessed acacia wood of any use in the work brought it. 25 And every skillful woman spun with her hands, and they all brought what they had spun in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. 26 All the women whose hearts stirred them to use their skill spun the goats' hair. 27 And the leaders brought onyx stones and stones to be set, for the ephod and for the breastpiece, 28 and spices and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. 29 All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord.
30 Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, 32 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, 33 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. 34 And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.

 
 

As you read through chapters 35-40, you are going to think, “Haven’t I read this before?”

And the answer is, YES.

Exodus chapters 35-40 repeats much of the material in Exodus chapters 25-31, the instructions for the construction of the tabernacle. In chapters 25-31 we read of the instructions for the tabernacle, whereas in chapters 35-40 we read of its actual construction.

Why the repetition?

Remember, while Moses is on the mountain receiving the instructions for the tabernacle, the Israelites are below creating the golden calf. Moses then goes down the mountain and has to deal with their sin, and the tabernacle doesn’t get built.

Even though the people don’t deserve it, the Lord remains faithful to them, and He renews the covenant and begins again.

Here, then, the fact that we are told that the tabernacle is constructed is a remarkable sign of the grace of God. Despite their sin, the Lord is committed to dwelling in the midst of His people and His instructions are actually carried out.

What might at first seem like the most boring part of the Bible is in fact one of its best parts—human sin doesn’t ultimately stop the purposes of God!

 

The Shining Face Of Moses

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Exodus 34:29-35

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. 32 Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.
34 Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, 35 the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

 
 

You are what you love.

That is, who or what you focus on and spend time with shapes you.

If you spend time with violent, vulgar companions, then you will become violent and vulgar.

This is why it’s so important that we take the Apostle Paul’s words seriously:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. [Philippians 4:8]

The most true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy thing of all, of course, is the Lord. The more time you put your attention on the Lord, the more luminous you will become. The most important need in the world today is people who are becoming more like Jesus because they spend time with Him.

How much more light and life might the Lord have for you, if you would just spend more time with Him?

 

An Opportunity To Start Over

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Exodus 34:10-27

10 And he said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.
11 “Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 12 Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. 13 You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.
17 “You shall not make for yourself any gods of cast metal.
18 “You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt. 19 All that open the womb are mine, all your male livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep. 20 The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before me empty-handed. 21 “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. 22 You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end. 23 Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.
25 “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover remain until the morning. 26 The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.”
27 And the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

 
 

Because of the sin of the golden calf, the Lord here restates the terms of the covenant. He is in essence starting over again with the people.

One of the great blessings of being a Christian is the opportunity the Lord offers us to start over. Every time we confess our sins in church, we receive forgiveness, are set free from the past, and can begin again.

How can you start over again today?

 

How My Sin Affects My Children

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Exodus 34:1-9

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. 3 No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” 4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. 5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. 9 And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

 
 

Exodus 34:6-7 is one of the most important passages in the Bible. It is repeated over 20 times in the Old Testament.

6“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” [Exodus 34:6-7]

What I find interesting is that though our sin will affect the generations after us, nevertheless the Lord contains the damage to only the third or fourth generation.

 

How Can You See God and Live?

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Exodus 33:12-23

12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ 13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” 14 And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”
17 And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” 18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

 
 

The Lord is pleased that Moses wants to be close, but He tells Moses that “man shall not see me and live” (v. 20). There is something about the spiritual power of God that the human mind cannot approach without being destroyed—He’s too bright for us.

But, with the Incarnation, the Lord has come close to us. Look what the Apostle Paul has to say about Jesus:

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. [Colossians 1:15-20]

 

The Tent Outside The Camp

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Exodus 33:7-11

7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. 9 When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. 10 And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. 11 Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

 
 

Although we have read of the instructions for the tabernacle—which will be set up in the midst of the Israelite camp—it has not yet been actually constructed. And, because of the Israelite idolatry, the Lord does not immediately come into the midst of the camp. Rather, Moses puts a tent up outside the camp, and he goes there to be with the Lord. Joshua is there to stand guard at the tent, and the people go there to seek the Lord. The Lord has not abandoned the people.

I think this is a good way of thinking about the consequences of our sin today—the Lord will not abandon us, but one of the consequences of our sin is that it puts up a barrier between us and the Lord. The Lord’s desire is to be close, but our sin pushes Him away.

This is exactly the way sin works between parents and children. A father wants to be close to his children, but when they tantrum and misbehave, it makes that kind of closeness temporarily impossible.

 

The People Leave WITHOUT The Lord

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Exodus 33:1-6

33 The Lord said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give it.’ 2 I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” 4 When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. 5 For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.’” 6 Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.

 
 

There is a consequence for sin. Yes, the Lord is slow to anger and quick to forgive, but nevertheless there is a consequence for our rebellion.

Here, the consequence is that the Lord sends the people forward without His presence. Remember that the purpose of the tabernacle is to provide a way for the Lord to be in the midst of the people; their idolatry has made the Lord’s presence unsafe for the people. Because it is the Lord who has won their victories, the people mourn—how can they possibly move into the Promised Land on their own strength?

 

Moses Sacrifices Himself For The People

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Exodus 32:15-35

15 Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. 16 The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” 18 But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” 19 And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20 He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.
21 And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” 22 And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”
25 And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord's side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. 27 And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’” 28 And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. 29 And Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”
30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.” 33 But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. 34 But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.” 35 Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.

 
 

The narrator goes out of his way to tell us that Joshua was not with the people during the golden calf incident. Rather, he was waiting for Moses halfway up the mountain. The reason this is important is because Joshua is the successor of Moses, and we learn here that he has clean hands, so to speak.

Aaron’s weaselly speech shows us his character:

21 And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” 22 And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.” [Exodus 32:21-24]

It's as if Aaron says, “It’s not my fault—the fire did it!”

The consequence of the idolatry of the people is severe: death. Moses enlists men from his tribe—Levi—to help root out the idolaters. This action by the Levites earns them the privilege of being the permanent class of priests in Israel.

The incident concludes with Moses asking for the Lord’s forgiveness, and offering himself:

But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written. [Exodus 32:32]

Moses here totally identifies with the sinful people. A true leader stands in the gap for his people, which is what Moses does here. In this way he is a forerunner of Christ, who dies on behalf of a rebellious and idolatrous people.

P.S. Note that the tablets were written on the front and the back, and that there are two tablets. In the ancient world, one copy of the treaty-covenant would reside in one people’s temple, and the other copy would reside in the other people’s temple. Here, both copies are intended for the ark of the covenant. Moses, when he sees the golden calf, breaks the tablets, in essence saying that the covenant has been broken.

How can you pray for a leader today?

 

A Leader Stands In The Gap For His People

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Exodus 32:7-14

7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”
11 But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

 
 

Moses is up on the mountain with the Lord; meanwhile the people are brazenly committing idolatry below.

The Lord tells Moses what has happened and declares His intention to destroy the people and start over again with just Moses himself.

Moses, however, pleads with the Lord to spare the people and remember His commitment to Abraham.

The Lord has brought Moses into the problem—how do you remain faithful to sinful people? I think in some ways Moses here passes the test—rather than abandon the Israelites and take the Lord’s offer to strike out on his own, Moses commits himself to the people. He has grown so much since his early days leading the people in Egypt!

As we shall see, Aaron is a model of weak, cowardly leadership, whereas Moses shows us what godly leadership is like—a leader sacrifices himself on behalf of his people.

 

The Golden Calf

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Exodus 32:1-6

1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

 
 

Some background is in order.

· Adam and Eve rebel against the Lord in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) and the ruined state of the world results (Genesis 4-11).
· But the Lord does not give up on humanity; rather, He begins again with one man—Abraham—and promises to use that man’s family to bring blessing to the entire world (Genesis 12:1-3).
· Abraham’s family (now called the children of Israel) becomes enslaved in Egypt.
· The Lord sends Moses to Egypt and with power brings them out of slavery to the foot of Mount Sinai.
· At Sinai, the Lord makes a covenant with the people and tells them that they will be His representatives to the nations. They agree.
· The presence of the Lord is still up on the mountain, and the people are afraid to go up.

18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. [Exodus 20:18-21]

· So, Moses goes up into the presence of the Lord, while the people stay below. On the mountain the Lord gives Moses additional laws to help the people live rightly and gives specific instructions about how the Israelites can feel safe to approach the Lord.
· The Lord is like the sun—the source of light and life and power, but if you aren’t careful His glory will burn you up.
· The goal with the tabernacle is for the presence of the Lord to dwell in the midst of the people!

And, with all that in mind, we come to the incident of the golden calf.

Moses has been up on the mountain, and the people begin to panic, even though they can see the Lord’s presence on the mountain!

So, they come to Aaron and ask for an idol they can see and control.

32 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” [Exodus 32:1]

Aaron, who comes across as weak and cowardly in this entire episode, acquiesces to their demands. He does not remind them of the Ten Commandments or otherwise remonstrate with them.

2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” [Exodus 32:2-3]

Note that Aaron makes the idol, but it is the people who immediately name it as their delivering god. Have they forgotten everything they saw with their own eyes that the Lord did for them?!

It’s almost as if Aaron is trying to save face by pretending that the idolatrous worship is really worship of the Lord and so he declares a feast day to the Lord!

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” [Exodus 32:5]

The narrative has set us up for the presence of the Lord to come and dwell with the people, just as it was in Eden. But, now with the idolatry of the golden calf, everything will have to be reset.

Sin has consequences. How can you flee from sin today?

 

Even Building The Tabernacle Doesn't Trump The Sabbath Command

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Exodus 31:12-18

12 And the Lord said to Moses, 13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”
18 And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

 
 

We’ve been reading detailed instructions for the building of the tabernacle and its sacred equipment and furniture, but all these instructions are concluded with a reminder from the Lord of the importance of the Sabbath.

The point is clear: even important “religious” work is not more important than the rhythm of work and rest.

Why is it, again, that we think our work is too important to cease one day a week?