August 5

EXODUS 30

¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, ¹⁹ with which Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. ²⁰ When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering to the Lord, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die. ²¹ They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.”

                                                                                           – Exodus 30:17-21

EXODUS 30 THE BRONZE BASIN

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Revelation 1:15 mentions bronze: “his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.” It gives us a glimpse of God’s footstool. His bronze feet would crush Satan.

According to some commentaries, this allows followers into the outer court of the temple but no further into the holy places where higher levels of purification were required. When a priest enters the Holy of Holies without washing his feet, he would die (verse 20). Hebrews 12:29 tells us that God is a consuming fire that destroys any unholy thing in His presence. In Exodus 27, the altar of judgment was covered in bronze.

The washing of the hands and feet in these following verses would also foreshadow Jesus’ warning his disciples that they were to wash their feet before they approach him. When Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, it was an act of washing away their sins so that they could be in relationship with the heavenly Father through his humble act of cleansing.

Although some religious denominations literally follow the ritual of doing the physical cleansing of their hands, feet or bodies when entering their places of worship, they are following old traditions that devalue Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for everyone to be cleansed when they believe in him. It is the spiritual cleansing of our hearts that can only be purified by the Holy Spirit through the conviction of our sins through the precious word of God.

REFLECTION

·       How can we prepare ourselves to be worthy of God’s presence when we meet with him personally and corporately?

August 4

EXODUS 30

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹² “When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. ¹³ Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord’s offering. ¹⁵ The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the Lord’s offering to make atonement for your lives. ¹⁶ You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the Lord, so as to make atonement for your lives.” – Exodus 30:11-16

EXODUS 30 CENSUS & ATONEMENT

A census is the numbering or registration of people. It’s generally done for the purpose of taxation or military recruitment. Censuses are reported in the Bible in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. In these following verses, the reason for the census was to ensure that all God’s people, rich or poor from twenty years old and over must pay for a ransom for their lives which is also called “atonement.” The instruction to Moses was that when they are numbered in the census, they have to pay a tax of a half shekel when they give the Lord’s offering. The money paid will be a service done for the tent of meeting. According to gospelcoalition.org the function of atonement is ultimately the repairing and restoring of the relationship between the sinner and the Lord. It leads to peace and initiated by God himself.

Inspiredscripture.com comments that This was the first of three census counts that God would order for His people in the wilderness. While the second two counts were focused on men of fighting age, the first count included both men and women aged 20 or older. From these passages, we infer that 20 is the age of adulthood under God’s Law.

Why was it important to God for us to be numbered and pay atonement? I would say that it shows that God wants us to be aware of our role in his church and why our contribution matters in the building of his church. It is a way of being accountable to be in relationship with our Maker.

REFLECTION

• What lesson does the census and atonement teach us as Christians?