Spiritual Clothing…

Read: Exodus 28-29
Marked: Exodus 28:4, “And these [are] the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest.

Like the garments the priests wore, believers are clothed in the garments of salvation and robes of righteousness according to Isaiah 61:10. Ephesians 6:13-16 likewise details the armour of God which believers wear and which parallel the priestly garments including a breastplate, a head covering, and a sash or belt.

The priest was to be attired in these clothes to serve before God. Similarly, the believer is not to leave any part of the full armour of God unworn. Each article of clothing for the priesthood had significance as does each part of the armour of God.

To do the work of God we must be properly clothed and Christ provides the garments we need for salvation and righteousness to do His work.

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The Inviting Presence of God…

Read: Exodus 25-27
Marked: Exodus 25:21-22, “You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which [are] on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.”

The ark of the Covenant had a lid on it which was called the mercy seat. God said this is where He would meet with Moses; His presence would be there.

I find it comforting that the ark, covered in gold, and having a seat is something like a throne, yet it is not a throne of judgment but a seat of mercy. It would be intimidating to go before God as He sits on a throne of judgment, but inviting knowing I can come before my Creator as He sits on a seat of mercy.

Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Grace, mercy, and help. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Don’t Follow the Crowd…

Read: Exodus 22-24
Marked: Exodus 23:2, “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert [justice.]”

We all want to belong, but we should be careful who we belong to, and who we follow. Adam followed Eve in disobedience to God and into sin.

The behaviour of a crowd is sometimes different from the normal behaviour of the individuals within it. Social scientists call this mob psychology and studies show that individual responsibility is often lost and decreases proportionately to the size of the crowd.

It is said there is strength in numbers. But given the right circumstances moral weakness is amplified in a crowd. 1 Corinthians 15:33 reminds me that evil company corrupts good habits.

When I am turned aside by a crowd to pervert justice and follow populate opinion, or a false report, then I sin.

No Other Gods…

Read: Exodus 19-21
Marked: Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”

Any kingdom, government, or organization has laws or rules stipulating how to be a part of, and participate in its society. God’s Kingdom is no different. As citizens of the kingdom we recognize the supremacy of the King. But, that doesn’t always sit well with us.

God revealed Himself to the nation of Israel and made them His special treasure (Exodus 10:5). But later, we see they wanted more and asked for a king over them like the other nations (1 Samuel 8:5).

Over time men wanted power to control the king and governments came to be created. Still man wasn’t satisfied and wanted a say in government and democracy developed. But it still wasn’t enough.

Man still wants self determination, deciding who and what he will and won’t obey. And it all started with deciding that God wasn’t enough (Genesis 3:6). God spoke and we decided we knew better, wanted more, and wanting our own way.

Contention and Temptation…

Read: Exodus 16-18
Marked: Exodus 17:7, So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

From the outset, in Egypt, they had seen the power of God displayed. They had passed through the water. They were cared for in the desert, yet they grumbled and complained and said, “Is the Lord among us or not?” The place where they were was called Massah and Meribah meaning, contention and temptation.

When I forget all that God has done for me it’s only a matter of time before I begin to contend with Him or with others. Jesus is the Bread of Life and the Rock of my salvation. I should be content in Him. I have no reason to contend with anyone let alone God.

Christ has set me free from the things of this world. Christ has made me free, and in Christ I am free indeed (John 8:36).

The Sweet and the Bitter…

Read: Exodus 13-15
Marked: Exodus 15:1, Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: “I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!”

How is it I can worship and exalt God one minute and grumble and complain the next? The children of Israel had seen God move in a powerful way by parting the waters, allowing Israel to cross the sea on dry ground, and then covering the pursuing army of Egypt with the waters. Rightly the children of Israel rejoiced as they sang songs of deliverance (V1, V21).

But then came the waters of Marah and they grumbled and complained against God. The sweetness of victory was followed by bitterness a few days later.

How much do we trust God? In verse 26 God reminds us that no matter what comes our way we should trust Him and heed His voice, doing what is right in His sight regardless of our situation.

Comfortable in the Dark…

Read: Exodus 10-12
Marked: Exodus 10:21-23, Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness [which] may even be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

Metaphorically, the world is in darkness but doesn’t know it. It must have been terrifying for the Egyptians when darkness, a darkness which could be felt, came on Egypt for three days and the only light was in the dwellings of the children of Israel.

John chapter 1 tells us that Jesus is the light of men and that light shines in the darkness but the darkness didn’t comprehend it (V4-5). Darkness is oppressive, condemning, and John 3:19 says that when we reject the light of the love of God in Jesus we love darkness more.

You can get comfortable in the dark and not even realize it. I read once of cave explorers finding small fish and other creatures in the deepest darkest reaches of caves. These creatures had become so comfortable in the utter lack of light of their environment that, over time, they no longer needed their eyes and became blind.

Jesus has come to give light to the blind man and take us from darkness into the light (Luke 4:18; John 8:12).

The Fact and the Fake…

Read: Exodus 7-9
Marked: Exodus 7:10-11, So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the LORD commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.

Moses and Aaron do what God instructed and perform the signs He gave Moses to do. But the magicians, the practitioners of lies, did the same.

Jesus warns in John 8:44 that another power is at work in the world which lies behind all things counterfeit. This is Satan whom Paul says presents himself as an angel of light, but his works and the works of his ministers are counterfeit.

Never think that because the sorcerers we’re able to to do what Moses did that God’s signs are of no merit. Truth will always prevail. Learn to recognize the false and the counterfeit by knowing the truth. Truth will always set you free.

The Danger of Not Believing…

Read: Exodus 4-6
Marked: Exodus 4:8, “Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign.”

Jesus, in Matthew 12:39, says, that an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign. Man, unrepentant, still seeks after a sign. “Prove to me God exists. What evidence is there that I should believe?”

However, if we have eyes to see with we’d see that from the beginning God has given us signs. In the garden, the Eden of God, man cast down the sceptre of God’s Sovereignty over him and took hold of the serpent. But Jesus crushed the head of that snake and took up the sceptre again (Genesis 3:15).

Because of sin we are, like the leprous, deeply corrupted in the flesh. The only healing available for sin is the heart of God found in the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16).

Without the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5), through the blood of Christ (Mark 14:24), there can be no forgiveness of sin (Colossians 1:14). And all that remains for us is the wrath of God (John 3:36).

Here I Am…

Read: Exodus 1-3
Marked: Exodus 3:4, So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

God appears in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush and the bush burned, but was not consumed. Fire consumes and destroys, so to see this would have caught any ones attention. And Moses turned aside to see why the bush did not burn up.

God does amazing things amongst us but how many of us check it out? Our ignorance of God is amplified by our unwillingness to seek Him. God says in Jeremiah that those who seek God will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13).

What are we prepared to do to seek answers to questions for which there seem to be no natural answers? Are we willing to consider God may be calling us to turn aside and look?