Victory in Christ

Moses brought to the Israelites very specific commands from God on how they were to offer sacrifices. “And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.” (Leviticus 1:1-3) The instructions continued on with many different types of sacrifices that they were to offer. That included burnt offerings, meat offerings, peace offerings, and sin offerings. Even if they sacrificed exactly as God commanded, there were limits to their benefits. “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:4) Only our Savior Jesus Christ could be that perfect sacrifice that has power to save us from our sins. What an awesome blessing that is for us today!

Today’s reading: Leviticus 1-4

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During Moses’ life he was able to get the true most powerful Word directly from the Source. “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:” (Exodus 40:1) We are still able to get the true most powerful Word from the Source just in a different format. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) 

Today’s reading: Exodus 39-40

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God gave Moses very specific instructions on building the tabernacle and everything related to it. Moses shared those instructions with the Israelites and they completed the work. “According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the people of Israel had done all the work. And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them.” (Exodus 39:42-43) These verses tell us they did ALL the work as it was commanded and they were blessed. They knew the importance of following every detail of this project and not leaving out or changing anything. God has given us the Bible as an instruction manual for our life. He wants us to follow every detail of His Word to live a life serving Him. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬)

Today’s reading: Exodus 36-38

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Moses shared with the people words from God to build His tabernacle. “Take from among you a contribution to the LORD. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the LORD’s contribution: gold, silver, and bronze;” (Exodus 35:5) And the list of things for them to bring continues on in the next few verses. Their contributions were to be done with “a generous heart” and it seems like that is just what they had. “And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do.” So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.” (Exodus 36:3-7)  Just like with the Israelites, God wants us to cheerfully give back to Him a portion of what He has blessed us with. “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Today’s reading: Exodus 33-35

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After Moses had been up on the mountain for a while, the people got impatient. They wanted Aaron to build them a god. He obliged and built them a golden calf from jewelry that they brought to him. We are told that Aaron directed them to bring him this gold and also that he was the one who carved the calf. (32:2-4) When Moses came down from the mountain and questioned his older brother about it, the story was a little different. “And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’  So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.” (Exodus 32:22-24) Aaron placed the blame on the people for making him do it and then claimed the calf just happened to come out of the fire. This was a man who had been left in charge of the people, but gave into their desires after just a few days. It takes strength to stand up for the truth when one is in the minority, but our desire should be to please God and not the majority. “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Col 3:23-24)

Today’s reading: Exodus 30-32

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God gave very specific instructions for the priests under the Old Law, even what they were to wear. Through Jesus Christ and His blood that was shed for us, we all can be priests today if we will obey His gospel. “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10

Today’s reading: Exodus 28-29

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Exodus chapter 25 starts with God telling Moses to ask the people for contributions to build a tabernacle for Him. “The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me.” (Exodus 25:1-2) The following verses down thru chapter 28 are very specific instructions on how God wanted this tabernacle and everything in it to be built. The details included sizes, types of wood and other materials, even the color of the garments to be worn by the priests. He also let them know that He would dwell there. “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:8) So why did God include this level of detail to be preserved in the Bible for us to read today? One reason may be that He wanted us to know the importance of worshiping and honoring Him by following specific details from His word. He probably also wanted to show the respect that was to be given to the place that He dwelled. We can compare this to what we read about His dwelling place with us today. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

Today’s reading: Exodus 25-27

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God gave Moses the laws that He wanted His people to follow. “Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.” (Exodus 24:3) In verse 7 we again read of the people promising to follow God’s word. “Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” (Exodus 24:7) It was not too long after this that the people built the golden calf because they became impatient waiting on Moses to return. Unlike the patience of the Israelites, God’s patience never ends. “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

Today’s reading: Exodus 22-24

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As He was giving what we know as the Ten Commandments, God let the people know a trait of His. “For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…” (Exodus 20:5) This was immediately following His statements that they were not to have any other gods nor any graven images. He knows that us humans can easily be pulled from serving Him if we have something else that we “worship”. Jesus made a similar statement in His sermon on the Mount. “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24) 

Today’s reading: Exodus 19-21

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Moses was the only judge over the problems of the people. He would sit all day long and listen to their disputes and apply the law to make a judgement. Jethro had some good advice for Moses.  “Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. (Exodus 18:17-18) Jethro’s suggestion was to find men to help him judge these issues. He was specific about who Moses should get to help him. “…men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe…” (vs.21) Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice and chose men to help him judge. Like Moses we cannot always handle everything ourselves and at times need help from those who also fear God.

Today’s reading: Exodus 16-18

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