August 8

EXODUS 31

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. – Exodus 31:12-18

EXODUS 31 ON KEEPING THE SABBATH

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

The Lord gave us days so we can live our lives fully

He gave us six days to toil and one day for worship

Because he himself rested from work on the seventh day

He requires us to give that day to him to give him praise

Anyone who doesn’t keep the Sabbath is dishonoring him

That person is going to be cut off from among his people.

In our current world today, we are plagued with “busyness” and “workaholism.” It’s as if it is abnormal to rest and normal to just keep on and on with our work and whatever preoccupies us. These following verses remind us how God requires his people to keep the Sabbath day holy. It is easy for us to justify working on the Sabbath day and say to ourselves that “I am providing for my family.” But as Christians, are we not supposed to honor this stipulation that God expects from us? Why would anyone who claims they believe in God disregard this very important law? Why did God place a very harsh consequence against whoever will not keep this day to worship and praise him?

REFLECTION

• Why is it important for Christians to keep the Sabbath day holy?

August 7

EXODUS 31

The Lord said to Moses, ² “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³ and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, ⁴ to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, ⁵ in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. ⁶ And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: ⁷ the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, ⁸ the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, ⁹ and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, ¹⁰ and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, ¹¹ and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”– Exodus 31:1-11

EXODUS 31 GOD’S DESIGNATED CRAFTSMEN

When God instructed Moses with very detailed and specific materials to use for the artistic design of the altar, the tent of meeting, the ark, the mercy seat and all the furnishings of the tent, table and its utensils and the altar of incense and burn offerings, the holy garments, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, he already had two people in mind to have the abilities to execute the design. He appointed Bezalel and Oholiab to do all the execution of such intricate and detailed designs.

What a great God we serve! He thinks of everything, every detail and measurements of everything that was in his Holy Place. He provides for every design plan he thinks of. I am amazed at the details that the Lord specified in the building of all that is in his most holy place. There is always a symbol that would eventually all point to Jesus and what he is about to do to save mankind from sin and be reconciled with him.

I am so blessed with so much creativity. God has given me musical, painting, decorating, cooking, writing, communicating and teaching abilities. The Lord gives us an overflow of his gifts so that we can spread love and give him the glory. Bezalel and Oholiab were so blessed to execute God’s own designs.

REFLECTION

• How have you used your gifts/talents to bring glory to the Lord?

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?

August 3

EXODUS 30

“You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. ² A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. ³ You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it. ⁴ And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it. ⁵ You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ⁶ And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you. ⁷ And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, ⁸ and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations. ⁹ You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. ¹⁰ Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”– Exodus 30:1-10

EXODUS 30 PRAYER IS THE FRAGRANT INCENSE FOR THE LORD

The psalmist says in Psalm 141:2 “Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! Revelation 5:8 describes the prayers of the saints as incense, and the church is called a garden of spices. What a great picture that looks like! When we pray from our hearts fervently, we are lifting up a sweet fragrance of incense to the Lord and he is pleased with that.

Why was God very detailed in instructing the building of the altar and why did he require Aaron to burn fragrant incense on it every morning and at twilight? We may not have a literal altar of incense in the churches that we go to right now, but these are symbols that God reminds us that when Jesus died on the cross, he was the perfect sacrifice that appeased God’s wrath from our sins. Jesus’ death resulted in the physical temple to be a spiritual one, where the Holy Spirit resides in all the hearts of believers. We do not have a literal sense of an altar of incense, but our bodies are the temple and altar which need to be kept pure and holy so that we can pray and be in constant relationship with God.

REFLECTION

• What does verse 9 translate to us as believers after Jesus gave up his life for us?

August 1

EXODUS 29

²⁶ “You shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s ordination and wave it for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be your portion. ²⁷ And you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering that is waved and the thigh of the priests’ portion that is contributed from the ram of ordination, from what was Aaron’s and his sons’. ²⁸ It shall be for Aaron and his sons as a perpetual due from the people of Israel, for it is a contribution. It shall be a contribution from the people of Israel from their peace offerings, their contribution to the Lord.²⁹ “The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him; they shall be anointed in them and ordained in them. ³⁰ The son who succeeds him as priest, who comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place, shall wear them seven days.³¹ “You shall take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place. ³² And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket in the entrance of the tent of meeting. ³³ They shall eat those things with which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration, but an outsider shall not eat of them, because they are holy. ³⁴ And if any of the flesh for the ordination or of the bread remain until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.  Exodus 29:26-34

EXODUS 29 THE WAVE OFFERING

In the Mosaic Law, the wave offering is a symbolic act indicating that it was for the Lord (gotquestions.org).  In verse 27, this translation says that the breast of the ram was the one offered and waved to the Lord and the thigh portion becomes the contribution to the priest. According to gotquestions.org, a wave offering was a portion of a sacrifice presented to God, then released by God for the use of those involved in the sacrifice. The meat fed the families of the priests. The Levites served first the tabernacle and then the temple, fulfilling the obligation of the rest of the Israelites. Both were God’s provision for those who sacrificed themselves in service to Him. According to gotquestions.org, this is the only instance where part of the wave offering was consumed by fire in verse 25. The largest wave offering was of an entire tribe. Because of their loyalty during the episode with the golden calf (Exodus 32), God accepted the Levites in the service of His temple in place of the firstborn male of each Israelite family (Numbers 3:12).

REFLECTION

• What is the significance of the wave offering for us as Christians?
• How did Aaron foreshadow Christ as our High Priest?

 July 31

EXODUS 29

¹⁰ “Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. ¹¹ Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, ¹² and shall take part of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and the rest ofthe blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar. ¹³ And you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. ¹⁴ But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.¹⁵ “Then you shall take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, ¹⁶ and you shall kill the ram and shall take its blood and throw it against the sides of the altar. ¹⁷ Then you shall cut the ram into pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and its head, ¹⁸ and burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. – Exodus 29:10-18

EXODUS 29 THE HOLINESS THAT GOD REQUIRES

Moses was given instruction by God for the sin and burnt offering to the Lord. Since the altar of judgment had four horns located in the courtyard as mentioned in Exodus 27:2, the Lord specified that the blood of the animal was to be placed on the horns before the rest of it was poured out at the base. These requirements would be repeated throughout the book of Leviticus. In the bible, the horns symbolize power and refuge as mentioned in Psalm 18:2. So, the pouring of the blood on the horns would signify that they were given much more power. According to inspiredscripture.com, the transfer of sins from the sinner to the blood of the sacrifice also points us to what Jesus did for us. In Galatians 3:13, Jesus saved us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. The liver and the kidneys of the animals were burned. Our kidneys and liver are very essential organs in our bodies that keep us clean since they remove toxins in our bodies. They pull out toxins and waste from the blood, regulate blood pressure since it balances water and salt in the body. God requires holiness in his people since he is holy just as 1 Peter 1:16. In Isaiah 35:8, he mentions a highway called the way of the righteous. The unclean will not travel on it. They are only open for the righteous. The wicked and the foolish cannot pass through it because they are unclean. God requires holiness from us since he is holy.

REFLECTION

• Why can Christians not dabble in the ways of the wicked as Psalm 1 warns us?

July 30

EXODUS 29

“Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. Take one bull of the herd and two rams without blemish, ² and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour. ³ You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, and bring the bull and the two rams. ⁴ You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. ⁵ Then you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece, and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod. ⁶ And you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. ⁷ You shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. ⁸ Then you shall bring his sons and put coats on them, ⁹ and you shall gird Aaron and his sons with sashes and bind caps on them. And the priesthood shall be theirs by a statute forever. Thus you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.

                                                                   – Exodus 29:1-9

EXODUS 29 THE PROCESS OF CONSECRATION OF PRIESTS

After Moses was directed to have garments made for the priests, the next instructions were on the step-by-step process of sanctifying the priests. A bull and two rams that were spotless and without blemish including unleavened bread and cakes mixed with oil and also unleavened wafers smeared with oil. The requirement that theses bread and cake must be made from fine wheat flour was an important step as well. They were supposed to be placed in one basket and it shall be brought together with the bull and the two rams. The sacrificed animals foreshadowed Jesus’ unblemished body. He had no sin and was the perfect sacrifice to cleanse all of our sins. In 1 Corinthians 5:7, we are instructed to cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. Leaven symbolizes sin and so the priests cannot assume their roles if they were not cleansed from sin.

The next step is washing with water. They were supposed to do this in front of the tent before putting on the garments. Then they poured oil on their heads. Oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit. We can only be anointed if we believe that Christ has died for us to save us from sin. So, the priests were required to have this step done so they could now put on their garments and they were ordained to assume their roles.

REFLECTION

·       Why is consecration an integral process for all believers?