Faith Chase Episode 6: Leviticus 14 – Numbers 2

Hello! Welcome to Episode 6 of the Faith Chase Podcast. I’m Heather Tabata, and this podcast is about making our faith real in everyday life.

Last time, we ended with talking about how God gave the priests instructions to check people for leprosy. We’ll pick up in Leviticus 14 as God gave instructions on how people with leprosy who were healed could be cleansed.

If someone was healed of leprosy, that person was supposed to offer a sacrifice. Then he was supposed to wash his clothes, shave his hair, and wash himself, and then he could come back into the camp. He was supposed to stay outside his tent for another week, and then shave his hair and wash his clothes and himself one more time, and then he was considered clean.

God also told them what to do if a house had a leprous plague. The priest would inspect the house, and if there was a plague the house was closed for seven days. When the priest checked the house again, if the plague had spread, they replaced the stones that were affected, scraped the house, and got rid of the bad stones and the dust. They replastered the house, and if the plague came back again, they destroyed the house and threw away the building material.

Leviticus 15 gives more public health related laws. If anyone had a bodily discharge, they were considered ceremonially unclean and went through a purification process including washing themselves and their clothes.

In chapter 16, God gave instructions for a yearly day of atonement. The priest was to make a sacrifice for his and his family’s sin, and then he would offer a sacrifice for the rest of the people. They sent a scapegoat out into the wilderness on that day too.

The nations around Israel worshipped false gods and offered sacrifices to them. The Israelites had a tendency to pick up their practices, like with the golden calf they told Aaron to make while Moses was on the mountain with God. Leviticus 17 explained how the people were only supposed to offer sacrifices at the tabernacle, and not out in the fields, to help keep them from idol worship.

God gave laws about relationships in chapter 18. He instructed the Israelites to avoid sexual intimacy with any close relative. Verse 21 says, “And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.” This referred to the way the Ammonites worshipped the idol Molech. It was a huge statue with outstretched arms, and a fire would be started in its stomach. When the arms were hot, children would be placed on them to be sacrificed to the idol. God hated this, and it is part of the reason He was so adamant about His people staying separate from the other nations. He didn’t want them to be influenced to do this.

Verse 22 says, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” God’s plan for intimacy involved a man and a woman as their own family unit.

The chapter ends with a warning for the Israelites to keep themselves pure, or they would lose the land. God explained that He was going to cast the people living in that land out as the Israelites entered it.

For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants. – Leviticus 18: 25

Chapter 19 gave more instructions about how the people were to treat each other. There are a lot of laws here, so we’ll touch on the highlights. In verse three, God commanded them to respect their parents. Verse four commanded them to not worship idols. Verses nine and ten said they weren’t to harvest the corners of their fields of crops or gather every grape on the grape vines; they were to leave some for the poor and strangers.

God told them in verse 11 to not steal or cheat each other. In verse 14, God showed concern for people with disabilities. The people were instructed to not curse people who were deaf or cause someone who was blind to fall down. Verse 15 told them to be fair in their judgment and to be partial neither to the poor or rich.

God wanted the people to be considerate of each other. He forbade gossip in verse 16, and in 17 and 18 he commanded the people to not hate people, seek revenge, or hold a grudge.

Verses 26 and 28 deal with the dark arts. They were instructed to not practice divination or soothsaying. They were also not to make cuttings in themselves for the dead or marks on themselves. This was a way that the pagans would gain power from the dead to use in witchcraft, and God did not want the Israelites to do this. In verse 31 He also told them not to go to mediums to communicate with the spirit world. Communication with the dead is definitely possible; if it wasn’t, there would have been no need for God to tell the people not to do it.

In verse 35, God commanded the people to deal fairly in business. Their measurements in length, weight, and volume were to be honest so that they didn’t cheat people in buying and selling goods.

Chapter 20 listed punishments for some of the sins God warned the people about. Sacrificing children to the false god Molech, committing adultery, and practicing as a medium were all punishable by death.

God gave more regulations for the priests in chapter 21. They were not to touch a dead body except for immediate relatives. They also weren’t allowed to cut their beards or make cuts on themselves. Who they married was important too; they were supposed to choose wives from the Israelites.

Aaron’s descendants were told in chapter 22 not to touch anything that was holy or eat the portion of the sacrifices set apart for them while they were ceremonially unclean. Sacrifices offered as a vow or for thanksgiving had to be perfect. God wouldn’t accept anything that was damaged.

Chapter 23 explains the feast days God instituted. The seventh day of the week was a Sabbath day of rest. They also celebrated the Passover and Unleavened Bread, which reminded them of how God brought them out of Egypt. The feast of firstfruits was celebrated at the beginning of the harvest season. The Israelites were to take some of the first of the crops to offer to God, and they weren’t to eat any of that harvest until they did this. The fest of weeks was fifty days later, and they were supposed to sacrifice bread and several animals.

The feast of trumpets was on the first day of the seventh month, and they were supposed to make an offering on this day too. The tenth day of that month was the day of atonement that they celebrated as a solemn sabbath day. The feast of tabernacles was on the fifteenth day of that month, and for seven days they were to offer sacrifices. On the eighth day they had a convocation with a sacrifice. For those seven days, they were supposed to stay in booths they made from tree branches to remind them of how the Israelites stayed in booths after they left Egypt.

Some of the things in the tabernacle had special instructions. The lamp was supposed to always be burning from oil. Even when it was dark, the priests had to keep it lit. Every Sabbath the people were supposed to offer bread on the gold table.

Chapter 25 explained that the people were to allow the land a sabbath rest. Every seventh year, they weren’t supposed to tend their fields or vineyards to let the land rest. Every seventh sabbath year, or every fiftieth year, was the year of Jubilee. That year, they were also to let the land rest. If land had been sold, it went back to the original owner. If they bought or sold things among each other, the price depended on how close it was to the year of Jubilee, because possessions went back to the original owner.

In the sixth year, there would be enough food to store to last until the next harvest was ready, because they didn’t cultivate the land in the seventh years. I think that God wanted to teach the people the value of resting. It’s hard to keep all aspects of life in balance. The responsibilities of school and work can become overwhelming and consume our lives if we let them. Having a year where they didn’t harvest food would also be a lesson in trust. It’s one thing to know God said He would provide for you, but it’s another to take Him at His word and let Him do it.

In the beginning of chapter 26, God instructed the Israelites to not make idols to worship. He promised them that if they would follow His commandments, the food they grew would last them from one season to the next, they would have peace, and they would grow as a nation. He also promised to walk with them and to keep them as His people.

But if they weren’t obedient, they would have diseases, and their enemies would defeat them. God didn’t threaten the people with these consequences just to be mean. In verse 18, God said that if after those things they didn’t repent, He would bring seven times worse to them. The purpose was punishment for behavioral correction, not vengeance alone.

If they didn’t change, God said He would keep the land from growing food for them. And if they still didn’t repent, God would bring seven times worse. He would send wild beasts that would kill children and livestock. If they didn’t change, He would bring seven times worse. He would allow their enemies to defeat them. If they didn’t repent, God would bring worse, and the famine would be terrible. God would destroy their cities.

I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste. ~ Leviticus‬ ‭26:33‬

Even then God doesn’t completely write them off. He says that if the people repent and accept their guilt then He would remember their covenant.

Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. ~ Leviticus‬ ‭26:44‬ ‭

Chapter 27 gave instructions on how to dedicate a person or animal to God.

That’s it for this episode! Thanks for joining in. Head over to the blog site, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, and let me know your thoughts on the reading from this episode. What stood out to you? What questions do you have? If you’re enjoying the podcast, don’t forget to subscribe so the next episode can come straight to you, and feel free to tell a friend. On to the next reading!

 

Faith Chase Episode 5: Exodus 33 – Leviticus 13

Hello! Welcome to Episode 5 of the Faith Chase Podcast. I’m Heather Tabata, and this podcast is about making our faith real in everyday life.

I’d like to start off with saying thank you for listening, and especially for the encouragement you’ve given me to keep the podcast going. That isn’t why I do this, but it’s nice to know that this time is well spent if someone benefits from it.

Last time, the Israelites had just sinned against God by making an idol and worshipping it. Instead of destroying them, God let them keep going. That didn’t mean He wasn’t mad.

For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you.'” – Exodus 33:5

God talked to Moses, the Bible says the way a man speaks to a friend. Even though God was furious with the people, He recognized that Moses was trying to do what was right and didn’t lump them all in together. Moses asked God to remember that the Israelites were the people God had chosen, and God agreed that He would continue to go with them.

God told Moses in verse 17, “for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.” It’s awesome to think that God knows us individually and recognizes us even by our names. He takes the time to care for us, and that should motivate us to be more careful how we live for Him.

After that, Moses wanted to see God, but God told him that nobody could see His face and live. So God passed by Moses and let him see His back. Imagine how close Moses and God were for Moses to be comfortable enough to remind God that He had chosen the Israelites and ask to see Him.

In chapter 34, God told Moses to bring two new stone tablets to Mount Sinai. They talked again, and God told Moses to destroy the places other nations used to worship idols as they went through the land. Moses wrote the Ten Commandments on the new stone tablets.

Moses was with God on the mountain for 40 days. When he came down, his face shone, so he would cover it when he talked to the people and take the veil off when he talked to God.

In chapter 35 God directs the people to start making things for the tabernacle. He’d given specific instructions about how to make it and with what. It would have been an elaborate tent for worship. Both men and women, any who wanted to, could help with the work. It’s interesting that it’s specified that the people who were willing contributed.

Just like then, today God doesn’t want people to go through the motions of doing His will for us. The only way we can please Him is if it’s what we want to do.

God gave people the wisdom to do the craftsmanship of the tabernacle, and in chapter 36, the people contributed materials as they wanted to. They had more than enough, and Moses actually told the people to stop bringing supplies because they had too much. They used acacia wood covered in gold and a veil of blue, purple, and red thread.

Chapter 37 tells about the ark of the covenant. It was a gold covered box made of acacia wood that would have been close to four feet long, and a little over two feet wide and tall. It had rings at its sides to put poles in to hold to carry it. On top of the ark was a gold mercy seat the same size as the box, and on top of it were two gold cherubim with their wings spread facing the mercy seat. They also made a table for some of the offerings, a gold lampstand, and an altar for incense for the tabernacle.

The clothes for the priests were intricate too. Chapter 39 tells how they were woven with gold, blue, purple, and red thread. On the shoulders there were two onyx stones engraved with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. The breastplate had twelve gem stones set in it and each one had the name of one of the twelve sons of Israel engraved on it.

They brought everything they had made to Moses. He looked at it all and saw that they had done it the way God told them to, and Moses blessed them.

Chapter 40 tells how on the first day of the second year after they left Egypt, they put the tabernacle together and anointed it with anointing oil. God stayed over the tabernacle in a cloud during the day if He wanted the Israelites to stay where they were, and the cloud was taken up on days they were to travel. At night fire stayed over the tabernacle, and this continued the whole time they traveled.

Now we’re moving right on to Leviticus! Chapters 1-4 tell about the different types of offerings the Israelites were supposed to give: burnt, grain, peace, and sin. There are detailed instructions about how they were supposed to present this to God.

One thing in particular stands out to me: what they offered was supposed to be flawless. God wanted the best they had. It’s the same with us. God doesn’t want our leftovers. He wants us to give Him our time purposefully. It’s easy to take care of school, jobs, and family and intend to do things for God in the time that’s left, but life has a way of getting in the way. Let’s try to plan time to study, pray, and reach out so we don’t just give our faith whatever is left.

Leviticus 5 talks about sin offerings. God has always given people standards of what is morally acceptable. If the Israelites didn’t follow His standards, they were to make an offering for forgiveness. God told them to offer a lamb if they sinned. Even in this situation, when they had failed God, He shows grace. He made allowances for what people were able to do. If they couldn’t provide a lamb they could bring two birds, and if not they could offer flour. God never expects more of us than we are capable of. This way, whether a person was rich or poor, they could still follow God’s will.

If someone sinned against another person and caused them to lose something, Leviticus 6 says they were supposed to give the value of whatever was lost, plus 20%, to the other person. It wasn’t enough just to give back what had been lost. To make it right, the person needed to give more than they’d gotten through sinning.

God’s concern for His people continues in chapter 7. He makes provisions for the priests. Their job was to take care of the tabernacle, worship services, and sacrifices. So God set aside part of the sacrifices to be for their food.

Reading through the instructions for the sacrifices, it’s easy to think that God is sitting on high just waiting for people to mess up. And He does demand justice, because He is perfect, but with God’s justice always comes grace. God is perfect, and the reward He has promised is perfect. So how can He let people who aren’t perfect be part of it? He gave the Israelites, and later us, a way to be accepted again when we mess up. We can’t take away what we have done, but God basically says if we follow His will, He will take us anyway.

Chapters 8 and 9 tell how Aaron and his sons made the first offerings and began the priesthood. They offered the first sacrifices and stayed in the tabernacle for a week to be consecrated. After that week was finished, they made offerings again. Aaron had to not only make sacrifices for atonement for the people, but he had to for himself as well. Even though he was their religious leader, he wasn’t perfect, and he didn’t claim to be. He had to acknowledge that he sinned and needed forgiveness just like the rest of the people.

It’s the same today. Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Being a preacher or Sunday school teacher doesn’t make someone perfect, and you don’t have to be perfect to preach or teach. True, preachers and teachers should be somewhat mature Christians, but they will come up short too. When they do, let’s be as ready to forgive them as anyone else.

In Leviticus 10, Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, offered incense in a way that God hadn’t told them to. This was part of worship, and they went around God’s plan. As a result, they died.

And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.'” So Aaron held his peace. – Leviticus 10:3

God demands respect from us, and rightly so. He created us out of love, and for us to disregard His will is rebellion. So, yes, everyone is going to sin, and we should be ready to forgive each other when we do. But sometimes we will still suffer the consequences of our sin.

God continued to give Aaron instruction in how to fulfill his role as priest. God told him to not drink alcohol when he went into the tabernacle. The reasons that He gave were so that Aaron could distinguish between what was holy and what wasn’t and to be able to teach the Israelites what God told them through Moses.

Chapter 11 gives dietary laws for the Israelites. They were allowed to eat meat from animals which both had split hooves and chewed cud. God permitted them to eat fish if they had fins and scales. There was a long list of birds they weren’t to eat, many of which ate carrion. They were also allowed to eat locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers.

The animals that they weren’t allowed to eat, called unclean, were also not to be touched if they died. If a person did touch a dead animal whether it was unclean or not, that person was considered unclean until that evening. He was supposed to wash his clothes, and after that evening would be ceremonially clean again.

God gave instructions on cleanliness after giving birth in chapter 12. A new mother would be considered unclean for seven days after having a son and for two weeks after having a daughter. Then after time for purification, 33 days with a son and 66 days with a daughter, she could bring an offering to the priest and be ceremonially clean again. Here, clean or unclean didn’t refer to spiritual health; these guidelines were for health reasons.

It also wasn’t to punish a woman for having a daughter. If girls were looked at as inferior, He could have changed what was required in sacrifice for girls compared to boys, but He didn’t. According to David Macht’s “A Scientific Appreciation of Leviticus 12:1-5,” Hebrew commentators gave the reasoning as women having postpartum blood flow longer after having a girl than a boy. There is also some evidence that there are more toxins longer in the blood of the mother of a daughter than of a son. So God wasn’t looking down on females; He was likely looking after the health of the mothers.

The medical instructions continued in chapter 13 regarding leprosy, which was a terrible and contagious disease. The priests were given directions on how to examine a person who might have leprosy to determine if they needed to be quarantined for the safety of the people.

Thanks for joining for Episode 5! I hope the podcast is encouraging for you. Head over to the blog site, or Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, and let me know your thoughts on the reading from this episode. What stood out to you? What questions do you have? If you’re enjoying the podcast, don’t forget to subscribe so the next episode can come straight to you. On to the next reading!

Faith Chase Episode 4: Exodus 13 – 32

Hello! Welcome to Episode 4 of the Faith Chase Podcast. I’m Heather Tabata, and this podcast is about making our faith real in everyday life.

Thanks for listening in! It’s been a month where life keeps happening, so I’ve gotten a little behind with the posts, but I’m going to try to catch up and get back to Tuesdays. I hope your month is going well!

Last time we left off with the Israelites leaving Egypt. The night before they left they ate the Passover meal, and God commanded them to observe this every year.

It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt. – Exodus‬ ‭13:9‬ ‭

God wanted to make sure that they wouldn’t forget what He’d done for them. It would always be in front of them, on their minds, to encourage them to keep the faith.

God led His people on the way with a cloud during the day and a column of fire at night. He was always there with them. God told Moses that Pharaoh wouldn’t just let them go.

“Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.” And they did so. Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”” – Exodus‬ ‭14:4-5‬ ‭

Pharaoh had been using the Israelites as slaves, and when they were gone, Pharaoh regretted losing his workforce. So he took 600 chariots and chased them down. The Israelites saw them coming, and they were afraid. They told Moses they would’ve been better off staying in Egypt. They’d just seen the miracles God performed to get them out of slavery, but they were so quick to lose faith that He would take care of them.

And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.” – ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭14:13‬

The cloud that stayed in front of them moved behind them so it was between them and the Egyptians. It was dark to the Egyptians, but it gave light to the Israelites that night. Moses reached his hand over the sea, and God separated the water that night with a strong wind. He divided it so that there was dry ground, and the Israelites walked between a wall of water on either side.
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Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” – ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭14:24-26‬

It happened just like God said. The Israelites crossed over on dry land, and God brought the sea over the Egyptians. When the Israelites saw what God had done, it strengthened their belief in Him. God doesn’t ask us to accept him based on blind faith; He gave proof to people in the Bible and He gives proof to us today that He is God.

After that Moses sang to praise God. He mentioned how God overcame His enemies in the Red Sea crossing. Then he said something really interesting.‬ ‭

Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders? – ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭15:11‬

Notice how Moses mentions “the gods?” God doesn’t claim to be the only being with power. He claims to be the only all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present Being with power. There are other false gods, like the ones the Egyptians worshiped and who the magicians got their power from to mimic the plagues God sent, but they’re inferior to the eternal God.

So after the Red Sea crossing, the people walked for three days through the wilderness, and the only water they found was bitter so they couldn’t drink it. They complained to Moses asking what they should drink. Moses went to God.

So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them… – ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭15:25‬

God told them that if they would listen to Him and do what was right, that He would protect them from diseases He brought to the Egyptians. Notice the verse says God tested them.

Remember how testing is different than tempting? God didn’t want them to fail; He wanted to strengthen their faith. Before the Israelites would have a chance to go into the land God promised them, they would go through harder times than this. Maybe this was a way to start getting them ready for it. But their attitude wasn’t good. Instead of remembering that God was powerful enough to split a sea, when they were thirsty the Bible doesn’t say they asked God for water and trusted He could and would give it to them. They complained.

As they kept traveling, the people got hungry. Again, rather than pray to God and ask for His help, they started complaining.

And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” – ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭16:3-5‬

So God sent them quails in the evening, and in the morning, there was bread on the ground.

And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. – ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭16:14‬

Notice how God said He was going to test them? God was going to send plenty bread every day, and He told the people to gather enough for one day for everyone in their household. Then for the Sabbath they would gather twice that much so they didn’t work on the seventh day. This would show whether they really trusted God to send the food every day.

Well, the first day God sent it, they measured what they gathered. Whether a person had brought in a lot or a little, it worked out that each person ended up with enough food for one day. Moses told them not to leave any of it until the next morning. It would be natural to want to keep a little extra that first time the bread was sent, wouldn’t it? Especially after they hadn’t had a lot of food while they traveled?

That’s what some of them did. The next day, some people had tried to keep it overnight, and the leftovers had worms and stank. So every morning could only get what they needed for that day, except for the sixth day of the week, which was Friday, they got extra for the Sabbath rest on the seventh day. And on Saturday, the food that they’d prepared from the day before didn’t go bad. For forty years, that’s how the Israelites got bread, until they got to the land God gave them for a home.

As they were traveling, it happened again that there wasn’t anything to drink. What did they do? They argued about it with Moses and complained to him. They didn’t ask God for it.
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And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” – ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭17:3‬

Moses asked God what to do, and he said that the people were about ready to kill him by stoning him. They were asking whether God was with them or not. God told Moses to go to a rock in a place called Horeb and hit the rock with his rod, and God would make water come from the rock.

Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, heard about everything God did for the Israelites. He came to visit Moses and brought Moses’ wife and their two sons. Moses told him about how God brought them out of Egypt and what He’d done to Pharaoh.

And Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them.” – Exodus 18: 10-11

God could have brought the Israelites out of Egypt by simply making them appear in the land He would give them, but He didn’t. And one reason was to give evidence to people that He is the one true God. Jethro acknowledged that there were other gods, and a lot of people in that area served them, but this convinced Jethro that God was greater than them.

The next day, Moses went out in the morning to be a judge for the people and settle their disputes. He was gone all day until the evening. Jethro saw how much Moses did and gave him some advice.

Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself… Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. – Exodus‬ ‭18:18‬, 21

Moses listened to Jethro and ran things that way. Jethro didn’t tell Moses to let the people fend for themselves or delegate all the work. Moses still was involved with the people, but he couldn’t handle everything all on his own.

It’s a good lesson for us today, too. Whether we’re talking about church, a job, or a family, it’s not healthy for one person to do all the work. For one thing, it’s not good for that one person; they’ll wear themselves out. It’s also not fair for people to just coast along on what other people are doing. I highly recommend all of the chapter, but let’s look at one verse from 1 Corinthians 12 in the New Testament. God gives instructions for how the church is supposed to function.

 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. – I Corinthians‬ ‭12:12‬ ‭

The Israelites kept traveling on to the wilderness of Sinai. God gave them a promise:

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. – Exodus‬ ‭19:5‬

Let’s pay attention to this promise. It’s conditional: if the Israelites follow God, then He would keep them as His people. The people told Moses they would obey God, and Moses told God. Then God planned with Moses that He would meet Moses on Mount Sinai.

Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. – Exodus‬ ‭19:18‬

The people were warned not to go up on the mountain. God met Moses there and taught him the Ten Commandments and laws to govern their society. Among these were laws to protect servants and women. Moses came down from the mountain and told the people God’s requirements, and they agreed to them.

Moses went back to the mountain, and he was there for 40 days.

The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. – Exodus‬ ‭24:17‬

God gave Moses instructions for how to build the ark of the covenant and the instructions for how to keep the tabernacle to worship God. The descriptions were precise and beautiful.

Let’s look at one in particular. Inside the tabernacle, which was a tent for worship, a room was set apart that only the priest could go in, and then only certain times a year. It was where God would stay, and it would be sectioned off by a veil.

And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy. – Exodus‬ ‭26:33‬ ‭

This veil will be important later on when we get to the New Testament. I’ll give you a hint: it has to do with Jesus’ crucifixion.

Aaron and his sons became the first priests, and the offerings were instituted. The people had to sacrifice animals and food to God regularly plus on special occasions or when they sinned. The sacrifices weren’t for their sins being forgiven though; they were just rolled ahead.

And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God. – Exodus‬ ‭31:18‬ ‭

Before we go on to what happened when Moses came down from the mountain, let’s think about something. We’ve talked about how God gives evidence that He is God. The documentary, Mountain of Fire: The Search for the True Mount Sinai, is interesting. It follows two men looking for Mount Sinai. They find a mountain in Saudi Arabia that has a lot of similarities to the Mount Sinai of the Bible.

One characteristic of this mountain is that the base up to almost the top is the same desert brown as the surrounding mountains. The very top is black, unlike the surrounding mountains. In pictures, there’s a clear divide between the two colors, and the rocks on top look charred. Like the top of the mountain was on fire. We don’t know for certain if it’s the Bible’s Mount Sinai, but it has a lot of uncanny similarities if it isn’t.

While Moses was on the mountain, the people got antsy.

Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for 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.” – ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭32:1‬

Again, they placed too much emphasis on Moses and not enough on God. They talked about how Moses brought them from Egypt and they don’t know what had happened to him. After the miracles God had done, why couldn’t they have said that even if something happened to Moses, God could still take care of them? But they looked to false gods that they could make. They brought gold to Aaron, and he made a gold calf that they set up as an idol. They made sacrifices to it.

God told Moses to go down from the mountain because the people had corrupted themselves. God was ready to destroy them for losing faith in Him.

“Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.” – ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭32:10‬ ‭

God was ready to make a new nation from Moses’ descendants. If Moses had agreed, he could have been rid of the people who had caused him so many problems and had the honor of being the patriarch of a new nation. But he said:

“Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” – ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭32:13‬

Because of that, the Bible says God relented from what He would have done to the Israelites. Moses went down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments God had written on stone tablets. When he saw the calf and the people dancing around it, he was furious, and he threw the tablets and broke them.

He asked Aaron what he had done. Aaron replied that Moses knew the people were set on evil. Aaron said they brought him their gold, he threw it in the fire, and the calf came out. Really?! Can’t you just imagine Moses’ face?

God told Moses that he was going to punish the people who had disobeyed Him, but Moses would lead the people on to the land God had promised them.

That’s it for this time! Next time we’ll finish Exodus and talk more about the laws God gave the people. I hope the podcast is encouraging to you. Head over to the blog site, or Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, and let me know your thoughts on this week’s readings. What stood out to you? What questions do you have? What would you have done in Moses’ place? Don’t forget to follow the podcast to catch the next episode. On to the next reading!