I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 39-40.

The other day I wrote that I was not sure when the Tabernacle replaced the tent that Moses had been using as the “Tent of Meeting”, well in today’s passage you can see that I have never before noticed the existence of a “Tent of Meeting” before the Tabernacle because it tells us that the Tabernacle became the Tent of Meeting when it was first set up.  Now I find the initial setting up of the Tabernacle interesting.  The passage tells us that Moses set up the Tabernacle, but we know that he had to have help to do so (there is no way that one person set up the Tabernacle by themselves as described).  What makes that interesting is that a little later we have detailed descriptions of how the people who set up the various parts of the Tabernacle each time it was moved needed to be consecrated.  Yet, at this point, no one had been consecrated, except Moses (who was a special case).  Of course, at this point, the Tabernacle and its furnishings had not yet been consecrated either.  The point being that everyone needs to start their journey to righteousness from where they are now, not from where someone thinks they ought to be.

I did not expect this to go in this direction when I began writing this today.  Sometimes I find it kind of interesting to see where I end up when I write these.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 36-38.

I have said this a few times over the last couple of days, but my eyes start to glaze over when I read these detailed descriptions of the design and building of the Tabernacle.  I want to take a moment to say that I know people who react differently to these passages, people who read this description and are awestruck by the splendor of what is being described.  I admire those who have that reaction.  Having said the above, there is something even I can get out of this passage.  The people of Israel gave so much towards the building of the Tabernacle that Moses had to order them to stop donating.  Think about that, a people who had only a short time before had left a land where their ancestors had lived for over 200 years while being chased by an army, donated so much that they had to be told to stop donating.  But, there’s more to it than that, those who were working on the Tabernacle could have kept taking what they gave and used it for their own uses.  They could have even justified it as recompense for the work they were doing on behalf of the rest of the people.  They didn’t.  They went to Moses and asked him to tell people to stop giving.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 33-35.

We generally use the terms “Tent of Meeting” and “Tabernacle” interchangeably.  Yet, in this passage, the Tent of Meeting is described as existing before the Tabernacle was built.  However, we also know that later the Tabernacle was often referred to as the Tent of Meeting.  To the best of my knowledge it is never made clear when the Tabernacle replaced the tent which Moses initially used as the Tent of Meeting.  The change may have taken place as soon as the Tabernacle was consecrated, but I suspect that it happened after Moses began delegating the bulk of the task of judging disputes to others.

Whenever Moses spoke with God it caused his face to become radiant for some time period afterwards.  In fact, the radiance caused the people to be afraid to come near him.  As a result, Moses wore a veil over his face except when he went in to speak with God and while he was telling the people what God had told him.  I see a lesson here which I am striving to figure out how to express.  When we discuss what we perceive to be God’s message to people, we should do so face to face, with no disguises and nothing hidden.  However, when we find ourselves among those whose lifestyles we disapprove, we should not be constantly expressing our disapproval.  I really wish I could express that better.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 30-32.

There are some interesting points about the account of the golden calf and its aftermath.  First, Aaron and the people referred to it in the plural, even though there was only one calf.  Some scholars have suggested that the reference to the calf in the plural was a later addition to make sure people connected this incident with the calves which Jeroboam had made when he rebelled against King Rehoboam.  Personally I believe that they referred to it in the plural because they wanted to have a pantheon like the nations around them rather than just one God.

Second, the account tells us that Moses ground up the statue, mixed it with water, and made the people drink it before he calls the Levites to kill those who were committing idolatry.  There are several other aspects of the story which do not quite fit together.  To me it reads like the account was compiled from what several different people remembered.  The different people did not know where what they remembered fit in with what the others remembered.  So, the author of this stitched their stories together as best he could.  The camp would have been very large, so it would make sense that people only remembered portions of  what happened and did not know how they tied together with things which happened in other parts of the camp.  Another explanation for the way the account is constructed is possible. This also works logically because the camp was very large and people in one part would not have been fully aware of what was going on elsewhere.  This explanation goes like this: Moses ground up the calf and made those who had been celebrating and worshiping it near it drink it.  However, elsewhere in the camp were those celebrating and worshiping the calf who were unaware of what was going on there.  Moses sent the Levites to settle things down and they killed those who refused to give up their new “gods”.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 28-29.

Today’s passage is another one of those which cause my eyes to glaze over.  I know people who make sermons from the description of the priestly garments, and I admire them for that.  One problem with the fact that my eyes glaze over as I read this detailed description is that I miss things.  Today was the first time I realized that the breast piece which Aaron was to wear whenever he entered the Most Holy Place was the “breast piece for making decisions.”  That fact, for me, changes the significance of the twelve names of Jacob’s sons being on it.  When God was being consulted for a decision, those seeking God’s guidance were reminded that they represented the entire nation as they made decisions.  In the same way when we seek God’s guidance in making a decision we need to remember that others are effected by what we decide.  When we make a decision we must remember to seek what is best for all who are impacted by that decision, not just what is best for ourselves.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 25-27.

The detailed description of the Tabernacle and its furnishings contained in today’s passage carries little meaning for me.  However, there are a few things in this passage I want to highlight.  We will see if I get to them all.

First, I want to highlight that the donations for the building of the Tabernacle were purely voluntary.  People donated whatever their heart prompted them to give.  Second, and completely unrelated, Moses was shown a pattern for building the Tabernacle in addition to being given specific instructions.  I have always wondered if that pattern was an image of what the Tabernacle should look like, or something more like a blueprint (or a modern clothing pattern).

The final thing I want to look at is the description of the Tabernacle lamp stand, also known as a menorah.  Now, despite knowing that the description here referred to it as a lamp stand, I have always pictured it as a candelabra.  This is partly because every modern reproduction I have seen is a candelabra and not a lamp stand.  However, realizing that it is a lamp stand lends more significance to the command to set the lamps up to light the area in front of the menorah.  Candles give out light in all directions, but lamps, depending on the design, may give out more light in some directions than another.  I have no idea if there is any significance to this, other than that Moses was instructed to make sure the lamps were placed to light the area in front of the menorah, but it feels like there is.  It feels like the idea that the backside of the menorah was in shadow is significant.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 22-24.

Every year when I read this I search for what I want to write.   Unlike some passages it is not that I have trouble finding meaning in the passage.  Instead. I find that the commands given here do not easily get summed up in the few words I write in my blog each day.    After going over it a couple of times I had decided where I was going to start, but as I went back over the passage to find the exact verses I wanted to comment on I came across something someone had made a passing comment on that I found interesting.

In verse 22:18 it says, “Do not allow a sorceress to live.”  A few weeks ago someone told me that the Hebrew word translated there as sorceress would be better translated as “poisoner”, and that such a translation would make more sense.  I do not know Hebrew, so I did a little Internet searching this morning to see if that was true.  I found two separate lines of commentary related to that.  One set of sources supported that idea by comparing the Hebrew word to similar words in other ancient languages which are related to Hebrew.  This line of reasoning concluded that the word could be translated as “herbalist”, but with connotations which implied evil in a way which would be consistent with “poisoner”.  The other set of sources claimed the Hebrew word meant “mutterer of charms”.  They supported this by showing how it related to other Hebrew words used in the Bible.  Considering that I have never seen the passage translated as anything other than as “sorceress” or a word synonymous with sorceress, I believe the second line of reasoning is correct.  More importantly, the second line of reasoning connected this instance of the word, where the Hebrew word is feminine, with instances of a masculine form of the word (which have similar levels of condemnation for those who fall into this category).

I meant to write about the above and then go on to something else, but that took longer to flesh out than I expected.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 16-18.

I want us to think about this passage a bit and how we do similar things.  The people of Israel left Elim, which was a rather pleasant place, but would not support their numbers for very long, especially not with their flocks.  As they travelled in the desert, they complained about the lack of food.  So, God provided them with manna.  Now, let’s think about how this worked.  Those who needed a lot because they had a lot of mouths to feed, found that they had enough.  Those who needed less found that they only had what they needed.  Those who put some aside for the next day found that it spoiled by the next day, but there was more to be gathered the next day…except on the sixth day, when there was two days’ worth and it did not spoil over night.  Get that: five days a week there was enough manna for one days’ meals and if you tried to put some aside for the next day it spoiled. On the sixth day, there was two days worth of manna, and it did not spoil if you kept it for the next day.  Finally, on the seventh day there was no manna to collect.  This continued until they entered the Promised Land.

Despite receiving this daily and weekly reminder of God’s miraculous providence, when they came to a place without water they complained that they were going to die of thirst.  They had complained that they were going to die of hunger, and God provided.  They were still experiencing that provision in a way which should have reminded them daily, or at least weekly, of God’s great power.  Yet, now they were complaining about the lack of water.  How often do we do something similar?  All too often, instead of recognizing how God has provided for our needs, we fail to have faith that He will do so again.  We worry, fret, and complain.  Let us strive to trust that God will provide for us, as He has done in the past (and is likely doing in other aspects while we are complaining about a new problem).

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 13-15.

I am not sure where I am going to go with today’s blog.  The first thing which struck me was toward the end of the passage when God told the people of Israel, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, …, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians,…”  In the context one could easily conclude that the diseases mentioned are those from among the ten plagues.  However, I do not believe that is the case.  When one looks at the history of disease one quickly sees that when people begin to gather in cities disease becomes much more common place than when people live a more rural existence.  Interestingly, while population density plays a role in the spread of many of those diseases, most of them also spread as a result of human behavior.  So, if we do what is right in God’s eyes, we will be less likely to experience disease…and if we all, as a society, do what is right in God’s eyes, we will not experience those diseases at all.  This applies to all types of social ills,  The higher the percentage of people in a society who do what is right in God’s eyes, the fewer social ills the people of that society will experience.  The best part about this is that if we, individually, do what is right in God’s eyes, we ourselves will be less likely to experience the negative impact of many social ills.

NOTE: My title today is an oversimplification

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 10-12.

Every time I read this passage it feels like someone, perhaps the original writer, added some of the later descriptions of the instructions for the Feast of Unleavened Bread on to the instructions which Moses gave the Children of Israel before the first Passover.  I am not saying Moses did not give these instructions at that time, just that it feels like the instructions would have been more bare-boned, with the explanatory parts about celebrating in memory of this event left out.  It feels that way because the description of when they actually left indicates that it was sudden and urgent.  The meal they would have eaten needed to be one which could be prepared and eaten quickly and easily without using anything they would want to take with them.  My real point here is that we can easily miss the fear and urgency which the Israelites must have felt as they prepared to leave Egypt.  Something momentous was about to happen and they did not truly understand what was going on.   Moses had assured them that if they followed his instructions all would be well, but how could they be sure.  There will be times in our lives where we feel a little bit of what they were feeling that night.  I pray that you never feel more than a little of that feeling.