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Glad you’re back with us today. As we finish Exodus, I want to use some broad strokes condensing the “headlines” of the chapters, but also point out a few “special moments” God has with Moses and His people that seem to “break up the narrative”, so to speak. Our hope is to gain a little more “memorable access” to what all went on in this season of Moses attempting to Finish Well! Now in hopes that this will provide a quick review & give a reference to the book of Exodus by chapters, here is my version of the “shorts” of Exodus, at a glance. And I hope that by dividing them once again by “days of the week” to read, it won’t be overwhelming as a “one day read”. So take your time and even ADD YOUR OWN comments of things you hope to keep “memorable” as you reflect on this incredible account of the first 2/3’s of Moses’ life! Now there might be an occasional QUESTION appear just to interrupt your reading. Some of them might be best in personal reflection and others might lend themselves to a small group discussion or talking them over with a friend at Coffee Crossing, where I am right now (You’re welcome, Alan! Love you, buddy!). So here we go, here we go, here we go! MONDAY….. 1…Israel’s OPPRESSION & SLAVERY God waits until He hears the prayers of His people before He moves to rescue them. QUESTION….As James 4:2 says, “you have not because you ask not”, have you ever thought maybe God waits til we bring it up and really mean it? 2a…the BIRTH & ADOPTION of Moses A family realizes they have a “special” child from God. They “cooperate” with Pharoah (Moses did get thrown in the water), but also “facilitate” a multicultural adoption. 2b…a MURDER & a MARRIAGE Those things usually don’t follow each other so closely, but Moses discovers you CAN both run & hide! But in doing so, you have to give up on returning to your family if you value your life. And God provides a new family to add to his original one he would one day reunite with. 3-11…the CALLING & the CONTEST After 40 years of shepherding for his father-in-law, Moses hears the voice of God in a “burning bush”. He argues and resists, but God makes him “an offer he can’t refuse”, so to speak, and guess who’s back in town! And it’s a “showdown”. Someday it will be Elijah and the Prophets of Baal, but today it’s God Himself and a hard-hearted leader named Pharaoh. It costs Pharaoh dearly, but he had no one to blame but himself. You can refer to our devotional a couple of weeks ago to review the “Plague by Plague” complete with “color commentary” for you ESPN sports lovers! It’s amazing how God patiently, yet persistently & extensively pursued His Chosen People! 12…the PASSOVER & the EXODUS Passover is the “Superbowl of all Jewish holidays” according to my friend Gordon Kushner. God leads His people out of Egypt with a mighty hand. There’s blood on the doorframes that will one day resonate with the people when they see the Lamb of God crucified on an old rugged cross! God brings His people into freedom, just as He promises to do for those who would call on the name of His Son, Jesus today! It was a very “hurried” leaving of Egypt. There was a deep SERIOUSNESS at this point in the finale of the plagues. Up til now they were about loss of crops and inconvenience, but now it’s about a child’s life. Every firstborn in the nation, but God’s people were spared. What house received life? Those with blood on the doorframes. What homes received death? Those without the covering of the blood. QUESTION….Do we as Christians believe that Jesus is the only way to forgiveness & heaven? Or have we been influenced by our culture thinking perhaps God “grades on the curve”? (Talk amongst yourselves) 13-15a…CONSECRATION & CROSSING (of the Red Sea) God says to listen up before you have your backs up against a wall of water. And don’t forget,God says, “the firstborns belong to Me”. After that reminder, the big miracle comes about that allowed God’s people to “walk across the sea on dry land”. Proof that “God will make a way where they seems to be no way” from the song we would sing back in the 90’s by Rory Noland. MUSICAL BREAK……”PHAROAH, PHARAOH” (for the Church Camp Kid & 60’s music lover in all of us) TUESDAY….. 15b & 16…Sweet WATER, Sweet BREAD & Sweet MEAT God immediately sweetens the bitter water within 3 days after the journey began. Yes, they grumbled. That’s going to be a recurring theme in this book and Numbers and Deuteronomy and unfortunately even in the New Testament Church and honestly I expect we’ll struggle with that to some extent “this side of heaven”. And after the sweetening of the water, comes the daily “manna” (which I believe was like the best SOPAPILLAS you’ve ever had with honey). Free every morning and double dip on Friday! But that wasn’t enough for the spoiled former Egyptian residents. They had to have some quail. I get it. Every time I order Veggie Fajitas, it seems like something is missing! But God is AT THEIR SERVICE and has their best interest at heart. 17a…WATER from the ROCK This will continue from time to time in the desert and wouldn’t you know it? More griping. To the point of some wanting to stone Moses! Notice what God does next. He said to TAKE SOME ELDERS with you and your STAFF and STRIKE the rock in front of everyone and I’ll make water come out again. They’re all witnesses. They’re all in on it. God calls leaders out of the fray & out of the “complaining constituency” lest they be pulled in to the negativity of the devil, which apparently is his MAIN tool to discourage the plans and people of God. QUESTION…..the elders made Moses feel supported and appear not alone before the people. How important is it to have a united spiritual front of leaders in your church fellowship? In your small group? In your home? Who has been a great “UNITER” in your spiritual life giving you support at times? 17b…Joshua “STEPS Up” as Moses’ arms are “HELD Up” Later on in the Bible, if Saul would have only gone to Sunday School a little more often and heard this story, he would have followed the Lord wholeheartedly and not made a mess of his ministry & calling. This is Joshua’s first battle and they’re winning AS LONG AS Moses’ hands are lifted to heaven. He’ll need support from Aaron & Hur before it’s over, but in doing so, theyovercome the Amalekites. Notice they are the ones who picked the fight with God’s people. Israel is right out of slavery, no Basic Training in combat yet, and God’s people have to move from their “shepherds staff to swords”. And the Lord vows to have His people blot those enemies out someday. As I mentioned, Saul was later given that task but went rogue and lost his seat at the table. Joshua is showing promise as an apprentice in becoming a great leader someday. We shall soon see! 18…a Mentor, a Coach & a FATHER-IN-LAW (delegate or die) Boy is this a tough one to learn, especially if you aren’t sure who you can trust, as I’m sure Moses was being reluctant to “distribute the responsibility” to other trustworthy potential leaders. But Jethro saw clearly how big a task God had called his son-in-law to do. He was DELIGHTED at the goodness of Moses’ God. But we all have “blind spots”. And we hate to hear about them! But we need to. Moses takes the suggestion to “select, train, & empower but oversee” to heart and God blesses that. QUESTION…..Anything you need to “hand off” today? Not dump. Not dish-off. But delegate and still maintain oversight of. They say for leaders, that you’re either “working IN it, or working ON it”. Sometimes you’ve got to get 30k feet in the air to see it. WHAT do you need to perhaps “let go of” more on your to do list if you have that luxury? And to WHOM would you “entrust” that to gradually? Just wondering….. 19…the BIG 10 “pregame” talk in a word is “PURIFY” There’s always a “come to Jesus” meeting that needs to happen (even before Jesus came to earth)! It’s almost game day with the 10 Commandments being given the next day and God says,“you need to demand pure hearts of My people as we enter into this holy time”. He reminds Moses that they are His “treasures possession” and will be a “Kingdom of Priests” on His behalf. They were to consecrate themselves, wash their clothes, put on their “Sunday best” and keep a respectful distance from the mountain our of reverence for the Lord. And you might notice in verse 15 they were to refrain from sexual intimacy before this event. Reminds me of my friend, who is also a retired pastor, whose wife, years ago sold Tupperware”. Maybe some of you might remember that product. It was sold like Pampered Chef and other things thru parties in homes. He said his wife did so well that she was awarded a T-shirt, which said, “NO SEX, NO SUPPER….JUST TUPPER, TUPPER, TUPPER”. Yea, he didn’t think it was funny either! God meant business and wanted to get their attention & I believe He did! WEDNESDAY…… 20…WRITTEN in STONE What an incredible moment of God revealing His heart of holiness for His people! The “finger of God” cutting out words like a laser in the unhewn rock! An exhilarating and terrifying moment I would think for Moses. The vertical relationship with God followed by every category of “horizontal relationship command” we would encounter and His expectations of each one. The perfect description of “character and integrity” at its best….HIS best! And thank God for His AMAZING GRACE when we realize how far we fall short of His holy standards! 21-23a…FINEPRINT to the Commandments God now begins to communicate “expectations “of our behavior with servants, personal injury,justice issues, protection of property, social responsibilities, justice & mercy, Sabbath laws, & Festivals. I’ve always heard that Genesis 1 is a “telescope” of God’s creation and Genesis 2 is a “microscope” of it. If that’s the case, then these chapters are the microscope & the applications of God’s holy law. It’s the further explaining of what holiness looks like. 23b…my ANGEL will GO BEFORE YOU Now this jumps off the page in the midst of God’s expounding of great promise and provision! They’re about to go into enemy territory of all the groups that end with the letters, “ites”. God is saying you’re about to begin to go on the OFFENSE, not just defending your families, but being proactive and resisting the idolatry and unholiness of these “people groups” you will encounter. Notice He says they were to NOT BOW DOWN to their gods, but DEMOLISH them. And God would put His blessing on their food & water if they WORSHIPPED Him. He also would take away sickness & miscarriages from them and give them a full life span! He’s also going to send the HORNET ahead of them to push out the enemy nations “LITTLE BY LITTLE”, not all at once. Reason being, they have to be built up before they can take possession of the land. Sounds like God is telling His teenager, he’ll get to drive that car someday when he’s “proven He’s capable, but not yet”! Israel is being nurtured. It’s going to take a whole lot of patience on Moses’ (and God’s) part. But God is ALWAYS going ahead of His people! 24…CONFIRMING the COVENANT (from a distance w/paper & pen) Nothing like putting it in writing and sending the Israelite nation one big DOC-U-SIGN to make this kosher, binding and official. The 4 leaders, Moses & Aaron & Aaron’s 2 sons, Nadab & Elihu, along with the 70 elders of Israel go up and get to see the Lord, at least in a safe & limited way. How cool is that! Six days the mountain is covered with cloud & glory before the 40 days that Moses enters the cloud, which was much more impressive than going in the cornfield of “Field of Dreams”, with all due respect. And now Moses has the GLOW, that “radiant encounter”, that will one day fade begins. QUESTION….I’m just wondering. Do you ever feel that “longing for the next close encounter” with God? Anxiously awaiting next weekend’s service? Or next week’s small group fellowship? Or the next service project or seasonal event to invite a friend to? The next extended time of worship? Or maybe just as simple as Moses had this “closeness with God”? Maybe tomorrow’s prayer time or period of reading Scripture? How would you “categorize or describe” the next intimate moment with God that you anticipate? 25…FUNDING the PROJECT by those “whose hearts are prompted” I love how God gives us the language we need. Are we to feel “coerced” when it comes to offering time in church? And are pastors to cast a huge vision calling for great sacrifice from the people? Well, no, to the coercion. But “maybe, in a special situation and need” on the 2nd question. This was one of those times. And we’ll eventually see that God’s people come thru. Actually, they do to the point they would eventually be told to “stop passing the plate”, we’ve got enough! What a great announcement that no preacher I know has ever gotten to make! God simply qualifies the command with it being for “those whose heart prompts them to give” at least in the NIV of the Bible. 26-30…TABERNACLE and PRIESTLY details Five chapters of a lot of detail (all very important, just hard to concentrate on and read after a big meal) concerning the elements in this temporary/mobile house of worship God was asking them to build. Garments, altars, oil, & a courtyard all followed by directions of how to “consecrate the priests”. Burning bulls and putting blood on ear lobes and big toes and thumbs. It doesn’t get any better than that for a Jr High boy in Sunday School! 31…Gifted Guys…. BEZALEL & OHOLIAB (skill & ability in arts & crafts) God makes special mention of 2 gifted guys in the nation who were called to “do what they were made to do”. These fellows are “designers”. In my opportunity thru the years to work with churches, and primarily Northside in this regard, I found the architects, builders, and “subs” to do fascinating work. But make no mistake, you need “design” people AND “building” people. Sometimes there are companies who do both but usually it’s not the same person! At least not on the scale that would be needed for a sizable project. God knew “It Takes 2”, long before Marvin Gaye sang that song! QUESTION….So I hope you know YOU have a special ability as well! Maybe not like these two guys in designing the Tabernacle, but “your calling is based on your gifting”. Yes, you can quote me on that! I’m not the first pastor to say that in an appealing way. Where can you serve in a MEANINGFUL way? Notice I said meaningful. You don’t want me in the “car maintenance” ministry. You don’t want a people-person in research, either. Serve where you’re gifted, but remember “volunteers are recruited”, while “leaders are appointed” (not self-appointed). Just saving you some time and heartache. So where are you serving? Are you happy? Are you on a team of sorts? If not, dive in and try out an area under the authority of who’s over that ministry. You’ll find the right fit if you keep serving. Even if you change areas from time to time. And it might be you’ll make a close friend in the Kingdom in the process! THURSDAY…… 32…the GOLDEN CALF (Moses’ anger / Aaron’s Excuse / People’s Sin & Plague) We seem to have a head of steam up and the Law is given, people are on board and have some skin in the game, & some miracles are provided when needed. And just when we’re rockin’ & rollin’ the wheels come off! What in the world? Moses is up the mountain and there’s no cell coverage. We think he’s OK, but who really knows? Is God done with him and we’re gonna get some bad news? What’s taking so long? So they “put a gun to Aaron’s head” and him to design a god. An idol. Are you kidding me? How many times do we have to talk about this? Oh, heck, no! But Aaron acquiesces and gives in. And boy, did he ever have a lame excuse! He asks the people to bring him some gold, which would have been given for the Tabernacle. Remember the devil ALWAYS sees what God has and what His true intention is, then steals it on some level. And Aaron fashions a “calf” which seems to remind the people of their time in Egypt and they fall into what the NIV calls “revelry”. I looked it up rather than make something up. It’s definition is “lively and noisy festivities, especially when these involve drinking large amount of alcohol.” I’ve always heard even back as a kid that the problem with alcohol is it makes you “see double and feel single”. That became a problem for Israel with Moses up the mountain and Aaron at the helm. Aaron’s excuse? I threw in some gold and out came this calf! Wow! How long did it take for you to formulate that response, Aaron? Please tell me you didn’t A.I it! But in his defense, we’ve all been stupid. But stupid has a price. And in this case, it cost the lives of 3k Israelites. Not to mention replacing the 2 original tablets of the 10 commandments, no longer in MINT condition! God told Moses to go on without Me, I’ll send my angel, but I can’t be around them right now. Another heartbreak for the Creator of the Universe. But He’s not done with His people yet. Nor will He ever be! Thank Him for that! 33…Joshua Stays at the Tent as God Shows Moses HIS GLORY We’re in a “spiritual recovery mode” now. The people read about God’s disappointment with their behavior on Facebook and are now mourning & took off their jewelry. That’s a start. This was their response to hearing God’s decision to “think about it” as to how to discipline them. He referred to them as “stiff-necked”. I think that’s putting it mildly! The next part of the story is really touching for me. It’s how Moses would go to the Tent of Meeting when he wanted to talk with God. And people would stand and worship when they saw that happen. They keyed off the presence of the “Pillar”. Joshua wouldn’t leave that place. The sign of a true spiritual partner for a leader! Alignment. Loyalty. Spiritual sensitivity and humility. Joshua…..you are the “friend that sticks closer than a brother”! Everybody needs a friend like that! Can I get an AMEN? And the next moment is even more moving. Moses tells God, “we have to take this relationship to the next level”. I need to see You, Lord. Up close and personal. And God allows that one time privilege, declaring WHO and WHAT He is….”compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” Verse 6 is so powerful. And yet verse 7 is pretty scary, saying, “Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sins of their fathers to the 3rd and 4th generations.” Wait a minute! Does that mean God holds a grudge? Nope. It means “sin has a residual effect”. It doesn’t go away easily. It’s the power of modeling. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. It’s addicting. It can get a foothold on us, which implies we’ve lost the opportunity to “Run, Forrest, Run”! And yet God can DELIVER us from the bondage of that EVEN IF there are those CONSEQUENCES and lingering effects. 1 John 4:4 says, “Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world” (meaning the devil). FRIDAY…… 34a…NEW TABLETS / CHARACTER of God & “don’t show up empty-handed God starts over again with the 2.0 version of the Big Ten and gives further exhortation to Moses on how He wants the idols and altars of their pagan neighbors to be destroyed because He doesn’t “share the Gold medal” at the podium of the Olympics with anyone or anything else! He ALONE is God! 35b…the “MO-GLO” (Moses’ face glows w/radiance from the glory of God) You know those times you’ve seen other people come back from Florida after spring break and you’re jealous because of their tan? This GLOW that Moses had by being in the presence of God and being affected by His radiance blew COPPERTONE, HAWAIIAN TROPIC, BANANA BOAT and PANAMA JACK off the map! Moses gave an update to the people on God’s behalf, but at the end of his talk, his glow was too much for them to gaze upon. They had to VEIL his face. There seemed to be a sharp contrast between Moses’ capacity for being in the presence of God and the people’s capacity for that same thing. Moses couldn’t get enough of God. The people had to wear shades to take the edge off. QUESTION…..Wouldn’t it be something if we “deepened our capacity” for the things of God and the presence of God! Think of a way you want to BEGIN to do that or CONTINUE to do that…..OK, I’m listening. Tell me…..how? 36-39a…More TABERNACLE, SABBATH & PRIESTLY Stuff We’re getting close to the end now! I can see the finish line! The two design/build guys are mentioned again this time with “the ability to TEACH OTHERS” & what they are now to do. They’ve set the standard they way God wanted it done. Now let’s multiply that gift as they mentor others! And here’s the passage that tells us the offering is now TOO BIG! What a great recovery Israel had after that “Golden Calf” thing! At least so far, they’re doing OK. 39b…Moses INSPECTS the Work After a little more “coverage” of the details of the Tabernacle and priestly stuff, Moses has his “walk through”. I think they call it a “punch list” in new construction terms. I’m not sure what that actually means. I know the essence of it is, “here’s the stuff that’s wrong and needs fixing before we buy”. But I wonder if it meant, if they DON’T fix it, somebody’s gonna get PUNCHED? Moses seems to be fine with everything. Verse 43 says, “Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them.” Ahhhh. Now we can bring it on home in the final chapter of Exodus. 40…the SET UP, the DRESS UP (of the Priests) & the GLORY of God Now all that’s left to do is bring everything in & “Bus driver, move that bus”, as we said earlier! What an incredible task to undertake. Everything in its place. Everything with its purpose. Moses was “hands on” as he oversees the final steps and in verse 33, “finishes the work”. In verse 34, the cloud covers the Tent and God’s glory now fills the Tabernacle. So much so, Moses couldn’t enter it! In the final commentary of Exodus, it’s written that in all their travels, when the cloud lifted, they would set out. But if the cloud didn’t lift, they stayed put. Wouldn’t it be great if we WAITED on the Lord with such sensitivity! We don’t have a visible “cloud by day and fire by night”, but we DO have His Holy Spirit WITHIN us, His Word BEFORE us and His People NEARBY! May we follow wholeheartedly, being led by His Spirit, so at the end of our days, it might be said that we as God’s people “finished well” together! Love you guys. And we’ll get around to Leviticus soon enough. We’ve still got 40 years of the desert to get thru and with all the HEADACHES the nation of Israel will cause Moses to have, he’ll be quoting Chevy Chase in “Christmas Vacation” soon with, “WHERE’S THE TYLENOL?” See you next week! Be blessed!
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