E22 Exodus 32 - The Bad Art Incident

Let's put Exodus 32 and the whole "golden calf incident" in perspective"
The Lord has just commissioned Moses up on the mountain to build Him a place so that He can dwell among His people.  That is His true desire.  To be close to His people....His own special people and treasured possession, those He loves.  And what kind of house would a Creator- The Creator- of heaven and earth and everything in it- dwell in?  Well, a very well designed place.  Divinely designed.  This place had major craftsmanship, major design sense and artistry.  It makes sense that a God who is a Creator would dwell in a creative atmosphere.  So he commissions artists on whom he is gifting with all the wisdom and revelation that they need to bring these plans on paper into a glorious reality.  This is what the Lord does in Exodus 31:
1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 "I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, 5 and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship. 6 "And behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan ; and in the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you: 7 the tent of meeting, and the ark of testimony, and the mercy seat upon it, and all the furniture of the tent, 8 the table also and its utensils, and the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, 9 the altar of burnt offering also with all its utensils, and the laver and its stand, 10 the woven garments as well, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, with which to carry on their priesthood ; 11 the anointing oil also, and the fragrant incense for the holy place, they are to make them according to all that I have commanded you." 

There you have it.  Every piece of  furniture, every piece of thread, every utensil, oil, and metal.  They were all the product of artistry and beautiful in every way.  I would have loved to have seen that house.  
And here in Exodus 32 after calling and commissioning the people of God to create an environment of beauty and creativity for Him to dwell in, He stops to warn Moses, that these very people have defiled themselves.  
You see we think that it's all about the calf and we want to harp on about idols.  But, I think that God's disappointment and Moses anger, were very much about the use of their gift.  You see we've all been gifted by God.  Both in the natural and in the spirit with gifts of the Spirit.  But, it is completely within our own decision how we will use the gift God has anointed us for.  What will we do with the abilities that He has called and commissioned our lives with?  Will we use them for our own purposes?  for instant gratification, selfish gain?  When the wait is too long, and we don't see God's plans for our lives materializing in the way we expected or when we expected them to, do we take the thing that He has anointed us for and use it our own way?  We sound somewhat like spoiled children, like the Israelites did in this chapter of Exodus: "Thanks God for the gift of artistry, but, now your way is just taking way too long, I've got stuff to do with this talent."  Moses had been on the mountain for 40 days and nights and for all they knew he could have been dead.  But, instead of believing the voice that first called them, they returned to their own devices.  I think the real measure of a woman or a man is not what you do when God is speaking, but, what you do when He is silent.  Let us say as Moses did "we will not go from here unless You go with us."  That all of our decisions would not be made out of frustration or out of our own human logic.  Moses had given the Israelites instructions to "wait here." Maybe that is part of the lesson to learn in this chapter.  Not take what God is giving us and run.  Let our prayer be, "Lord help us to wait on You, and not turn to our own devices or our own logic, even when Your plan seems unclear.  Help us to stay committed to Your plans for our lives, knowing that everything You have gifted us with is for a purpose, Your purpose." 

E21 Exodus 19,20 – God’s Intention For The 10 Commandments

What did God want when He gave The Ten? What was His desired outcome? I guess the best question is, why did He give them out in the first place.

The good thing is that God reveals his intention for the law before he spelled it out. To God it was important for us to know why He was doing this. So before assembling the people of Israel to literally hear the Law with their own ears, God himself gives the reason for establishing the Law. God desires us to be His "treasure possession…a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (Ex 19:5-6) God wants us to be his treasured possession, and for us to want him to be our treasure. Ultimately, God desires to be desired.

The Ten is how this God-desire is lived out in our lives. And in fact, with the help of the Holy Spirit this God-desire is we are becoming together (1Pet 2:5). God wants us to truly be His, not just simply try to behave like it. Doesn't the First Commandment sound like, "I desire that your desire me more than anything!"

We are told what God is looking for; us wanting to be what God is looking for, that the essence of worship! David summed it up this way: "I desire to do your will, Oh my God; your Law is within my heart" (Ps 40:8). David was bringing more than obedience, he was bringing his desire.

God desires us to desire him! Jesus, I desire you. Holy Spirit help me to desire you.

E20 Exodus 13-14 - Born Into Battle

Are we born-again into a paradise or into an epic struggle for humanity? We are told that the Israelites left the land of captivity armed for battle (Ex. 13:18b). If the pillar of cloud and fire was leading them out (Ex 13:21,22); why the need for weapons?

The exodus from Egypt parallels our own exodus and deliverance from the captivity and slavery of our sin. We can educate ourselves on own deliverance by studying their exodus. We are not born into paradise. This is not heaven; this is earth, and while we are here we have an adversary who will oppose our progress. More importantly, while we are here, God expects to fight (1 Tim. 6:12)

We are born-again into a great struggle for the souls of humanity. When we walk with God, we march with the Spirit (Gal 5:25). We are provided battle-armor and we are expected to wear it (Eph. 6:11-17). Where we live, there is no demilitarized zone.

The exodus began and ended with battle. From the deliverance from captivity to the possession of the Promised Land there was battle and struggle. Should we expect our spiritual lives to be any different?

Stay alert, fellow soldiers.

E19 Exodus 12 – The Transcendence of Remembrance

Why does God place such an emphasis on remembrance? God even establishes remembrance as a form of worship.

Before the Lord led the Israelites out of Egypt, He gave them instructions to remember. God placed a higher priority in remembering the deliverance than on the deliverance itself. He even gave more instructions and commands on the remembrance itself rather than the deliverance.

The repeated words on this passage are: commemorate, celebrate, observe.

Commemorate. To commemorate means to remember together, Passover was not for individuals it was for the community. Nothing sticks to memory banks like communal experiences. To God is important that we celebrate faith as a group than as an individual (its better for us, too!).

Celebrate. Do you find it interesting that God has to command us to celebrate? You would think that would come naturally to us. But, we have been commanded by God to: enjoy and delight ourselves in our faith. To God is important that we celebrate in the things He wants us to do. Make no mistake, Passover was a feast!

Observe. Our man-made holidays usually celebrate past events [Independence Day, Memorial Day, etc.] We don't have any holidays about the future! But you know God is doing more than pointing at the past. I love the transcendence of the Scriptures; the Israelites were not just being thought to observe the past, they were being prepared for the future! In preparing the lambs for Passover they were being prepared for the Lamb of God (John 1:29, Rev 15:3). By observing the past, we can see the future!

At Passover Jesus brought both fulfillment and promise. After during the Passover meal Jesus instituted another standing ordinance for us, the Lord's Supper. In breaking the bread, we remember and experience his broken body. In drinking the cup we celebrate the new covenant in His blood. In the whole experience we are not just observing and remembering his death, but more importantly we are proclaiming his future return!

Its important to note that once again, the command to remember the cross came before the deliverance itself. Jesus commands us all to: "Remember Me."

E18 Exodus 6-11 – Humility or Humiliation: Its Our Choice

The struggle of Moses and Pharaoh is an epic confrontation in the Bible between humility vs. arrogance. Moses was the most humble man on the face earth (Numbers 12:3). And, his nemesis Pharaoh,  was the personification of arrogance.

Ten times Moses confronted Pharaoh, ten times Pharaoh "hardened" his heart; and suffered the consequences. Eventually, The most humble man, confronted the most arrogant man with one question from God: "This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? (Ex. 10:3)

That question cuts right to us. How long will we refuse to humble ourselves? From the story we deduct that Pharaoh's biggest problem was not sin or immorality; His biggest problem was arrogance.  God can work with a sinner, He cant work with the arrogant.

What if our biggest problem is not sin? We can become so focused in managing our sin that we neglect its root cause, arrogance. Ask yourself, do you spend more time in confession (and guilt) than on intentional humility?

The story is the ten plagues is not just a story of God leading out the Israelites out of Egypt; its also a story of God reaching out to an arrogant man.  Before the plagues began God declares their purpose: that "the Egyptians will know than I am the LORD (Ex 7:5, 9:16) God was reaching out to Pharaoh.

When we refuse to humble ourselves (1Pet 5:6), we force God to humble us. When we do it it's called humility; when God has to do it its called humiliation. Its our choice!