Exodus 33:21-23 - Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”
I really like this passage. It really demonstrates the awesome glory and holiness of God. If you start feeling like God isn't all that important, read this passage, and you'll feel like you've been put in your place. There are a number of passages like this throughout the bible, like when God speaks to Job about measuring out the foundations of the earth, or some of the Psalms as well. The majesty and wonder of God knows no bounds. I am so utterly grateful that he has shown me love!
Showing posts with label Exodus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Exodus. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
The glory of God
Exodus 24:9-11 - "Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank."
These men sat with God, eating and drinking. What an amazing experience. And Aaron was there. I cannot believe that a few chapters later (I'm getting ahead of the reading) he goes down and makes a golden calf for the people, when a few days earlier he had actually seen God!
These men sat with God, eating and drinking. What an amazing experience. And Aaron was there. I cannot believe that a few chapters later (I'm getting ahead of the reading) he goes down and makes a golden calf for the people, when a few days earlier he had actually seen God!
Friday, January 14, 2011
The fear of the Lord
Some ramblings on the love and fear of God:
We all know that God is love. Did the Israelites know that? God is unchanging, the same yesterday, today, and forever. But his dealings with the Israelites were through a bunch of laws. He said he would show love to a thousand generations of those who loved him, and punish only to the third and fourth generations of those who did wrong, which he did. But could they really see that God was love, even in the midst of the law, and that God was interested in changing their hearts, and not just in governing their way of life?
I've heard that Jews don't see the law as a burden, so maybe as an outsider looking in I'm misunderstanding this, but Jesus seems to have made God's heart for relationship a lot clearer through the New Testament than God did in the Old Testament.
My main point is this: I'd like to come to be a better understanding of a full dimensional God who is understood in the New Testament reality, but through the lens of the Old Testament.
We all know that God is love. Did the Israelites know that? God is unchanging, the same yesterday, today, and forever. But his dealings with the Israelites were through a bunch of laws. He said he would show love to a thousand generations of those who loved him, and punish only to the third and fourth generations of those who did wrong, which he did. But could they really see that God was love, even in the midst of the law, and that God was interested in changing their hearts, and not just in governing their way of life?
I've heard that Jews don't see the law as a burden, so maybe as an outsider looking in I'm misunderstanding this, but Jesus seems to have made God's heart for relationship a lot clearer through the New Testament than God did in the Old Testament.
My main point is this: I'd like to come to be a better understanding of a full dimensional God who is understood in the New Testament reality, but through the lens of the Old Testament.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
An oral culture
As I was reading Exodus 10 to 12, I thought about how repetitive the passage seemed. Then I recalled what I had heard elsewhere. The Israelite culture was mainly oral, as no one really read or wrote back then. Information was passed along via the spoken word. In order for the Israelites to remember the crucial directions from God, it needed to be repeated a number of times. That is why we may find some passages to be information overload, but they originally served an important purpose of making sure that God's people knew what they had to do.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
God almost killed Moses
Key verses
Matthew 10:29-31 - Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Exodus
It's a good thing that God had a pharaoh come in that didn't know Joseph, or else the Israelites may have stayed there forever in peace with the Egyptians and not shone as a light to all nations.
Exodus 4:24 intrigued me because we just read about God being friendly to Moses, talking to him and giving him a mission to carry out, and then in verse 24, God is about to kill Moses, but Zipporah intervenes. I read a few commentaries online, and Wesley's notes interested me the most, largely because of the way he phrased his statement regarding the relationship between God and Moses [see bolded part below].
"It seems the sin of Moses, was neglecting to circumcise his son, which perhaps was the effect of his being unequally yoked with a Midianite, who was too indulgent of her child, and Moses so of her. The Lord met him, and, probably, by a sword in an angel's hand, sought to kill him - This was a great change. Very lately God was conversing with him as a friend, and now coming forth against him as an enemy. In this case of necessity Zipporah herself circumcised the child without delay; whether with passionate words, expressing the dislike of the ordinance itself, or at least the administration of it to so young a child."
Matthew 10:29-31 - Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Exodus
It's a good thing that God had a pharaoh come in that didn't know Joseph, or else the Israelites may have stayed there forever in peace with the Egyptians and not shone as a light to all nations.
Exodus 4:24 intrigued me because we just read about God being friendly to Moses, talking to him and giving him a mission to carry out, and then in verse 24, God is about to kill Moses, but Zipporah intervenes. I read a few commentaries online, and Wesley's notes interested me the most, largely because of the way he phrased his statement regarding the relationship between God and Moses [see bolded part below].
"It seems the sin of Moses, was neglecting to circumcise his son, which perhaps was the effect of his being unequally yoked with a Midianite, who was too indulgent of her child, and Moses so of her. The Lord met him, and, probably, by a sword in an angel's hand, sought to kill him - This was a great change. Very lately God was conversing with him as a friend, and now coming forth against him as an enemy. In this case of necessity Zipporah herself circumcised the child without delay; whether with passionate words, expressing the dislike of the ordinance itself, or at least the administration of it to so young a child."
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