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For the week of 11- 17 November
Written by Jim Partridge
Saturday 11 November 2006
Exodus 34 v 10-11
Then the Lord said, "I am making this agreement with you. I will do miracles in front of all your people - things that have never before been done for any other nation on earth - and the people with you will see my work. I, the Lord, will do wonderful things for you. Obey the things I command you today, and I will force out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites ahead of you."
Notes
We live in a world that promises a lot, but delivers very little. We are bombarded with junk emails and post promising that "today could be your lucky day", but they rarely deliver.
In the passage today God is meeting with Moses on the mountain, they have just chiselled out two new stone tablets and God makes an amazing promise. He says to Moses, and the whole Israelite nation, "I will do things for you that have never been done for any other nation on earth, I will do wonderful things for you!"
What a privileged position to be in - where the creator God promises to do things amongst you that he has never done amongst anyone else. Why does God want to do this? He wants to do this, so that those who live amongst the Israelites will see how awesome he really is.
The amazing thing is God still wants to do this today. He still wants to do wonderful things in our lives so that the people who live around us will see how awesome he is. What might he do in your life today?
Prayer
Father God, thank you for wanting to do amazing things in our lives. I want my life to display how awesome you really are. Amen
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Sunday 12 November 2006
Exodus 34 v 12-14
"Be careful that you don't make an agreement with the people who live in the land where you are going, because it will bring you trouble. Destroy their altars, break their stone pillars, and cut down their Asherah idols. Don't worship any other god, because I, the Lord, the Jealous One, am a jealous God."
Notes
In yesterday's passage, we saw that God wanted to do amazing things amongst the Israelite nation. But there were some things that the Israelites needed to do in response.
There was a call to obey God's commands, and in today's passage we see that God instructs them not to make an agreement with the people who live around them. Basically God is saying, "I have called you to be a people set apart for me, so don't compromise and do what everyone else is doing and don't worship other gods."
God wants a people who are different, who are set apart, who don't just do what everyone else is doing. Sometimes we make "agreements" with patterns of behaviour or lifestyle choices that mean we are not that different to anyone else around us, and eventually, as this passage reminds us, these things tend to bring us trouble.
Following God requires more than that. As this passage reminds us, God is a Jealous God and wants our undivided worship.
Why not take some time to consider if there are things in your life that you need to "destroy", "break" or "cut down" in order to follow God more closely?
Prayer
Father God, I know you are worthy of all my worship. Help me today to make good choices so that I can truly live a life set apart for you. Amen
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Monday 13 November 2006
Exodus 34 v 15-17
"Be careful that you don't make an agreement with the people who live in that land. When they worship their gods, they will invite you to join them. Then you will eat their sacrifices. If you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters worship gods, they will lead your sons to do the same thing.
"Do not make gods of melted metal."
Notes
In yesterday's passage, God states that he is a Jealous God. Sometimes we find this aspect of God's character uncomfortable. How can God be jealous when he tells us not to be jealous?
The bottom line is this: God created us to worship him. He cares about the fact that we go and worships other things; he does not stand aside without care or compassion. He is jealous because he wants the praises of his people.
In Romans 1, Paul talks about the fact that men and women have become foolish and have exchanged the immortal God in order to follow images of birds and animals and other humans. Paul is saying, how ridiculous can you get? We have the opportunity to relate to and worship the immortal creator God, yet people end up worship blocks of stones and things made in the image of animals.
In today's passage, God states, "Do not make gods out of melted metal!" It would seem ridiculous to worship something made out of metal rather than the living God.
But fast forward a few thousand years - what does God say to us now? Do not make gods out of ... celebrities? Playstations? Football teams? Money? All these things can easily take our attention from the one true God - let's be careful not to allow that to happen.
Prayer
Father God, you are the one true God. Help me today to put to one side anything that I have allowed to become more important than you. Amen
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Tuesday 14 November 2006
Exodus 34 v 18-21
"Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast as I commanded you. Do this during the month I have chosen, the month of Abib, because in that month you came out of Egypt.
"The firstborn of every mother belongs to me, including every firstborn male animal that is born in your flocks and herds. You may buy back a donkey by paying for it with a lamb, but if you don't want to buy back a donkey, you must break its neck. You must buy back all your firstborn sons.
"No one is to come before me without a gift.
"You must work for six days, but on the seventh day you must rest - even during the planting season and the harvest season."
Notes
Today's passage sees God giving instructions to Moses about "the Feast of Unleavened Bread." These feasts were critical to the Israelite community because they gave fixed points during the year where they remembered and celebrated all that God had done for them.
This feast was to take place in the month of Abib, the month when the Israelites were freed from captivity in Egypt. God knew how quickly the Israelites would forget - the Old Testament is full of examples of how this nation lived their life without any reference to what God had done for them.
But forgetfulness is something we are all prone to. We can very quickly find ourselves blaming God, or feeling distant from God or doing stuff that we know God does not want us to do.
This all happens because we forget all the amazing things that he has already done for us. That's why being part of a church community is so important, because being with others to celebrate and worship God helps us remember.
Take five minutes now to think back on all that God has done for you. It's amazing, isn't it?
Prayer
Father God, help me to remember! Thank you for everything you have already done in my life. Amen
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Wednesday 15 November 2006
Exodus 34 v 22-26
"Celebrate the Feast of Weeks when you gather the first grain of the wheat harvest. And celebrate the Feast of Shelters in the fall.
"Three times each year all your males must come before the Lord God, the God of Israel. I will force out nations ahead of you and expand the borders of your land. You will go before the Lord your God three times each year, and at that time no one will try to take your land from you.
"Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me with anything containing yeast, and do not leave any of the sacrifice of the Feast of Passover until the next morning.
"Bring the best first crops that you harvest from your ground to the Tent of the Lord your God.
"You must not cook a young goat in its mother's milk."
Notes
I doubt there will be many of you today who are planning to cook a young goat in its mother's milk. Sometimes, when we read passages like this one - full of feasts and yeasts and young goats - we wonder how the Bible can be relevant to our lives.
However, in the middle of these verses God instructs all the Israelite men to come before the Lord as an act of worship.
There was a problem though - if all the men were together worshipping God, who would protect the land? Who would stop other nations invading it? God promises them that, if they do this, no-one will try and take their land; in fact there is a promise that he will expand their boundaries and influence. God is looking for worship first.
Other things, however important they may seem, can sometimes stop us from putting God first. In the New Testament Jesus says "Seek first the Kingdom of God…and all these things will be given to you". God requested that the Israelite men worship him; if they did this, he would take care of protecting the land. Jesus says seek his Kingdom first and other things will get sorted accordingly.
The summary is this: when you put God first you'll find that he is taking care of areas of life better than you could!
Prayer
Father God, I want to put you first in my life. Please help me not to get distracted by other seemingly important things. Amen.
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Thursday 16 November 2006
Exodus 34 v 27-30
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write down these words, because with these words I have made an agreement with you and Israel."
Moses stayed there with the Lord forty days and forty nights, and during that time he did not eat food or drink water. And Moses wrote the words of the Agreement - the Ten Commandments - on the stone tablets.
Then Moses came down from Mount Sinai, carrying the two stone tablets of the Agreement in his hands. But he did not know that his face was shining because he had talked with the Lord. When Aaron and all the people of Israel saw that Moses' face was shining, they were afraid to go near him.
Notes
This episode in the life of Moses is amazing. We read today that Moses stayed with the Lord for 40 days and nights and didn't eat or drink anything!
What was the result? As he came down the mountain his face was shining. Because Moses had spent so long with God, his very appearance changed. His face radiated and shined to such a degree that the rest of the Israelites were afraid to go near him. Things change when we encounter God.
In the book of 2 Corinthians, Paul makes reference to this encounter and says that we are being transformed with ever-increasing glory. Basically, as we spend more time with God, we become more like Jesus and therefore we are transformed. Our lives should radiate, should shine, should show a watching world that we are becoming more and more like Jesus.
What are your expectations when you meet with God? Do you hope that you will be different as a result? God wants to spend time with us to change us, transform us and help us become more like his Son.
Even now, as you take time to read these notes and pray, ask God to meet with you so that your life is different as a result.
Prayer
Father God, thank you that you care passionately for me and my life. I want to be more like Jesus - please transform me as I spend time with you. Amen
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Friday 17 November 2006
Exodus 34 v 31-35
But Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the people returned to Moses, and he talked with them. After that, all the people of Israel came near him, and he gave them all the commands that the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.
When Moses finished speaking to the people, he put a covering over his face. Anytime Moses went before the Lord to speak with him, Moses took off the covering until he came out. Then Moses would come out and tell the Israelites what the Lord had commanded. They would see that Moses' face was shining. So he would cover his face again until the next time he went in to speak with the Lord.
Notes
In yesterday's passage, we saw how Moses' face shone after he met with God. Today we read how this continued; whenever he met with God his face would shine. To respond to this, Moses wore a covering over his face.
Why did he do this? Was it because his face shone so brightly? Was it because he looked really scary? Some commentators say he wore a covering because the radiance faded as he was away from God and he didn't want the Israelites to see how it faded.
Fast forward into the New Testament and 2 Corinthians 3 where Paul says that we, as believers, now have un-veiled faces that reflect God's glory. Basically there is no need to cover up!
God has achieved such an amazing thing when he sent Jesus to die on the cross that our lives should fully display what he has done for us. And because Jesus' work was permanent and final, what he has done for us should never fade or become less radiant. Our lives should display the glory of God as brightly as possible!
How today, will your life display all that God has done for you?
Prayer
Father God, thank you for all you have done for me. I want my life to display your glory today. Amen................................................................................................