Exodus 25, 26

Exodus 25 begins the detailing of the plans for the Ark of the Covenant, (25:22) a place where God would meet with Moses. The ark held the testimony of the Law. On top of the ark was the mercy seat (v21). Annually the high priest would sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat to symbolically atone for the sins of Israel.

The blood of Christ is not symbolic. It really cleanses (Heb 9:11-14; 10:8-10). His invitation to us is to “come boldly to a throne of grace (3:14-16). He will still meet us there.

Exodus 24

Chapter 24 begins at Mt. Sinai with Moses recounting to the people God’s directions and their pledge of obedience (vs1-3) followed by a service of dedication (vs4-8). Moses then took his leaders including Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy elders to where they could see God (vs 9-11). “They saw the God of Israel and under his feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire. They saw the God of Israel and ate and drank.”

Encounters with God should make one rejoice but also tremble. In three months (Ex. 19), Israel had lost the “tremble.” The golden calf (Ch. 32) is a natural outgrowth of when the sacred is no longer sacred.

Matthew 21

“Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey ...” (v5). Jesus, fulfilling prophecy, entered Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna!” (v9). His first act was to cleanse the temple of those using it to make money (v12). He reclaimed it as a “house of prayer” and healed the lame and blind there (v14). But the religious leaders were indignant (v15, v23). Jesus’ confident teaching about God and God’s kingdom and his insistence on healing threatened their control, and they were ready to kill him (v38).

“Finally he sent his son to them ...” (v37). We don’t get to define or control God’s kingdom. Jesus showed us exactly what the Father is like, and our response is to receive and follow him.

Matthew 20

“Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (v28). Jesus’ parables about the generosity and grace of God were shocking (v1-16), as were his statements about what would soon happen in Jerusalem (v17-19). The disciples struggled to release their assumptions about the Messiah, including their traditional understandings of leadership and authority. Jesus warned that the human status they craved had no place in his kingdom; rather, his glory flowed from sacrifice and service (v20-28).

“So the last will be first, and the first last” (v16). Jesus, the divine Son, humbled himself to the point of death to win life for others. He calls us, his disciples, to follow him.

Psalm 14

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (v1). The psalmist knew that the source of “abominable deeds” and every kind of sin is what humans tell themselves in their hearts. Humanity has “turned aside” (v3) from God’s truth; “not even one” is completely righteous. Those who persist in denying God’s reality and rule end up “corrupt” and justify terrible things, like mistreating the poor (v6) and taking advantage of others (v4). But the psalmist had faith in God’s salvation (v7).

Salvation has “come out of Zion” (v7) for Jews and Gentiles alike (Romans 3:9-10). The Father saw the condition of our hearts and sent the Son to open the way to forgiveness and healing.

Exodus 21-23

“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him ... You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child” (22:21-22). After the Ten Commandments, Moses gave the people situational examples to demonstrate how the commandments applied to their real-life concerns. Most of the laws taught people to take responsibility for their actions and accept reasonable consequences. However, in the case of sojourners (foreigners), widows, orphans, and the poor, God directed his people to prioritize mercy.

“You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt” (23:9). Remembering how God showed us mercy when we least deserved it (but desperately needed it) changes how we treat those who are needy around us.

Exodus 19-20

“You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice ... you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples” (19:4- 6). Before giving the Law, God’s invitation to the Israelites was to a new relationship; he wanted them to be his “treasured possession”. The deliverance from slavery came first; the Law came afterward, to teach them to live as his people (ch 20).

“And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (19:6). Through Christ, we are rescued from sin and given a new purpose: to live as God’s holy people, obeying the voice of One who saved us (I Peter 2:9).

Exodus 18

“Moses' father-in-law said to him, ‘What you are doing is not good’” (v17). Moses’ limitations were obvious in the battle against Amalek, when he needed Aaron and Hur to hold up his arms (ch 17). Yet, he was still overestimating his strength, serving as the only judge/counselor/spiritual advisor for thousands of people. Jethro told him bluntly that this was “too heavy” a task and it would wear him out (v18). Jethro directed him to delegate authority to trustworthy men who could lead others well.

“If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure ...” (v23). Our culture values self-reliance, but God uses our limitations to reveal our need for others. No task is “too heavy” when we are not alone.

Exodus 17

“Why do you test the Lord?” (v2). The Israelites were understandably worried when they camped at Rephidim and found no water nearby. However, their natural thirst and concern quickly turned into grumbling, quarreling, and demanding water from Moses. They had forgotten the power of the God who had sent terrible plagues to make Pharaoh release them and had parted the Red Sea for them to cross. They panicked and attacked Moses: “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” (v3).

“Is the Lord among us or not?” (v7). God had not abandoned the Israelites, though they were camped at a difficult place. He had delivered them in the past and remained their Savior.

Matthew 19:16-30

“If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (v21). The young man with “great possessions” was willing to live an upright life and seemed eager to do even more to gain eternal life (v16). Yet he “went away sorrowful” when Jesus asked him to give up his wealth. The rich man wanted to keep his self- security (his wealth) and do good things, but Jesus asked him to surrender his whole life for the sake of “treasure in heaven”.

“Come, follow me” (v21). King Jesus calls us to leave behind the world’s false promises of safety and fulfillment for the true security of life with him (v28).

Matthew 19:1-15

“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?” (v4-5). The Pharisees came to Jesus with a tricky question about the legalities of divorce. But Jesus directed them to “the beginning” – God’s purpose for men and women before sin entered the world. Rather than focus on what was ‘permitted’, Jesus wanted them to remember what God desired.

The complications of life and “hard hearts” are part of reality, but Jesus teaches us to lift our eyes to “the kingdom of heaven” (v8,12,14). Remembering God’s good purposes re-orients us in his direction.

Psalm 13

“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” (v1). Like many people, the psalmist’s experience of suffering made him feel as if the Lord had forgotten him, or as if the Lord had turned his attention away. Even so, his faith causedhim to cry out to the Lord and ask “how long” his difficult times would last. His desire was for victory; he wanted the Lord to show up and bring life, rather than the death and despair of the enemy (v3-4).

“But I have trusted in your steadfast love ... he has dealt bountifully with me” (v5-6). We cry out in our dark times because we trust in God’s steadfast love. He is the faithful one, and he will not fail us.

Exodus 15-16

“The people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not” (16:4). After the miraculous escape through the sea, the Israelites found themselves without resources and panicked again. The text mentions their “grumblings” eight times! God’s answer was to provide manna from heaven, but they could not store it up; they had to gather it daily. The Lord wanted them to grow in trust and faith, not just be satisfied with bread.

“Morning by morning they gathered it” (16:21). Our lives are about more than food, shelter, and sufficient resources. The Lord invites us to trust him as Father, surrender control, and enter a life of faith and adventure.

Exodus 14

“For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness” (v12). When the last terrible plague convinced Pharaoh to release the Israelites, they marched out into freedom in the wilderness. But when they realized the sea blocked their path and the army was pursuing them, they panicked, thinking that their previous slavery was better than death. However, Moses told the people to “go forward” (v15), because “the Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (v14).

“Fear not, stand firm” (v13). Sometimes when we step out in faith, we are confronted by immediate obstacles and even threats. The Lord calls us to remain steady, on course, confident in God’s strength, not our own.

Exodus 13

“Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out” (13:3). The rescue from Egypt was Israel’s formative event, and they remembered it by a week-long festival as well as how they treated first-borns. These actions reminded subsequent generations that they owed their freedom to the Lord’s saving power. Later, they were given the Law and a home in Canaan, but it all started with God’s gracious rescue.

“It is because of what the Lord did for me” (13:8). Just like Israel, we remember and recount what God did for us. We can live as his beloved children because, while we were helpless, he rescued us.

Exodus 11-12

“At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt” (41:12). After four centuries in Egypt, the Israelites were accustomed to being the minority slaves; they knew little about the Lord (3:13). But the God of Abraham, source of life and death (12:33), interrupted history to save them. By faith, those who put the blood of a slain lamb on their doorposts, even “a mixed multitude”, were set free from the bondage of Egypt (12:38).

“The blood shall be a sign for you” (12:13). Years of bondage, terrible darkness, hopelessness and despair – nothing we face is stronger than the rescuing love and power of the Lord, our Passover Lamb.

Matthew 18

“Pay what you owe” (v28). The disciples asked Jesus “how often” they should forgive others, and Jesus answered with a parable. In it, even though an employer had forgiven his servant a large sum, the servant went on to violently demand what was owed him by someone else (v28-30). The servant refused to step out of the cycle of debt/blame/anger, even though he had been given mercy, Jesus warned his followers about thinking they could “get” forgiveness without repentance. Receiving the King’s mercy includes being changed by it (v35).

“Unless you turn and become like children ...” (v2). Our human nature wants to hang on to our grievances, rights, and power. Through Jesus, the Father invites us into a better life of forgiveness and mercy.

Matthew 17

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (v5). Peter, James, and John saw Jesus “transfigured”, bright as light; Elijah and Moses appeared and talked to him, and God the Father spoke from heaven. They struggled to understand how this glorious Messiah, beloved Son, was destined to “certainly suffer” at the hands of men (v12, 22). The disciples were “greatly distressed” (v23) at the thought of their Master – who had power over demons (v18) – being humiliated by his enemies.

“The sons are free” (v26). As beloved children of God through Christ, we are “free” and share Jesus’ secure fellowship with the Father. And like him, we are called to freely offer ourselves for the sake of the world God loves.

Psalm 12

“Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man” (v1). The psalmist was weary of the sinful ways promoted by his world: people lying to and manipulating one another, boasting about their own power, and declaring that no one was “master” over them (v2- 4). This prideful, winner-take-all world caused the needy to “groan”, and the Lord responded: “I will now arise” to rescue them (v5).

“The words of the Lord are pure words” (v6). The Lord is unchanging, totally trustworthy, perfectly revealed in Jesus Christ. He opposes the proud, values the humble, and cares about the needy and suffering. Even when our cultur

Exodus 10

“That you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson ... I am the LORD” (v2). God told Moses to demand the release of the Israelite slaves, not just for their own sakes, but for the sake of future generations. Pharaoh himself understood that the Israelites wanted a different future for their families – thus he refused to release their “little ones” (v10). But Moses repeated that the Lord wanted them to leave, adults, children, and even livestock for offerings (v26),

New generations, our “sons and daughters” (v9), need to know the story of God’s mighty acts of deliverance. The God that rescued the Israelite slaves from Egypt is more powerful than every threat, danger, and spiritual enemy we face today.