Matthew 5: 13-20 As a disciple of Jesus.. a citizen of God's kingdom .. we are meant to  reflect His character more and more as His Spirit changes us from the inside.. out. 

  Jesus teaches us two specific ways we will do this:

"You are the salt of the earth.. "  We have a good purpose as the Lord's salt.. to flavor and preserve this world with His truth.  If we aren't "salty".. if we aren't exhibiting His truth in our lives and with our words.. then we are "tasteless" and "good for nothing" Jesus says. 

"You are the light of the world", Jesus says.  As light we have a purpose and function.. "to shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."  We are light that must not be hidden in order to complete its purpose. 

As Jesus came to fulfill or satisfy the Law and the Prophets.. we are called to shine our lights on the Truth of His Word.. to add the seasoning of God's grace and goodness to our own callings as citizens of the Kingdom of heaven.  To do this, Jesus says we need surpassing righteousness.  We need His righteousness that we receive from Him by faith.. faith that has recognized our spiritual poverty and found blessedness in Christ Jesus our Redeemer.  Faith that has mourned our sin sickness and found comfort in our gracious Savior.  Faith in the One who humbled Himself.. and who has shown us the way to true humility and meekness.  Faith in our Lord who satisfies our hunger and thirst for His righteousness. 

Father in heaven, make my faith complete in Christ Jesus who is the author and the finisher of all faith. Make me salt that seasons my world with grace and truth by the power of Jesus who abides in me.  Let the light of Your salvation shine through my life.. my words and actions.. so that You are glorified!  I ask this in the Name of Jesus, my Lord and King. Amen.

 Matthew 5:8-12 

I see a progression through these pronouncements that Jesus is making.. as He comes to abide in us in our poverty and through our mourning and humbling of ourselves.. as we develop a hunger for Him and His righteousness and experience His mercy.. we become more like Him!  And we are indeed "blessed"!

In verse 8 Jesus tells us that there is a blessedness found in having a pure heart.  The only way we can have such a heart is to have Jesus abiding therein.  When He abides in us to such a degree that our hearts are made clean.. then.. He says... we shall "see God".  There is a wonder.. an awesomeness.. to this new reality. We cannot imagine any other way that this would be possible.. but Jesus blesses us with this privilege.  

Jesus then calls us blessed.. to be peacemakers.. to be called God's children and to reflect His character .. for He is the God of peace.  Jesus came as the "Prince of peace".. He came to make peace between sinful mankind and the Holy One.  He wants us to show others the way of this peace.. the way to Himself. (v9)

Verse 10-12.... Jesus teaches that even persecution "for the sake of righteousness" or because of Him... we find a blessedness. "Rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets before you." 

Father in heaven, You have given to us a perfect Savior who has come to make us new.. to do in us what we can never do on our own. Fill us with all the fullness of the Lord Jesus we ask.. rejoicing with thankful hearts that You are willing and able to perfect in us Your good purpose. Amen. 

 Matthew 5:6-7-   We begin to know Jesus more and more as we take in His words... as the Spirit opens our eyes and hearts to these truths.  Our "blessedness" begins when we confess our poverty of spirit and receive the gift of God's kingdom through Jesus Christ.  We have mourned and we have been humbled as we come into His holy presence and fall on our faces before Him. He begins to transform us as He abides in us and we in Him.. .

In verse 6 Jesus tells us that there is blessedness found in our "hunger and thirst for righteousness".  He has met us in our poverty and sorrow.. He has come into our lives to produce His desires in us..  He gives us an all consuming desire to be righteous before Him.. to please the Father.. to glorify the name that is above all names. It is Christ, Himself, who produces this hunger and who satisfies us with Himself.  He is our righteousness.  Only Jesus can satisfy that daily need.. and He does so with abundance! Praise His name!

Verse 7.. Jesus tells us that there is a blessedness in being merciful.  It is a quality that He has shown over and over again.. indeed His mercies are new every morning!  As He abides in us and we grow in the grace and the knowledge of our merciful Savior.. we reflect this precious characteristic. We receive mercy and we practice mercy.  James 2:12-13 "So speak and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgement will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgement."  Yes, there is a blessedness that can be seen and felt when we have shown mercy as well as when we receive it. 

Father in heaven, let Your name be exalted in all the earth! May Your will be done and Your kingdom come. Father, conform us to the image of Your Beloved Son.. in righteousness and in mercy.  My desire today is to be all that You want me to be.. Have Your own way in me today. Abide in me Jesus as I desire with all my heart to abide in You.  Amen. 

 Matthew 5 This is the sermon that Jesus preached.. probably more than once, I would think.  It is the culmination of every message.. full and complete.. exposing the Truth of what it takes to be God's child. Remembering that Jesus spoke these words to the multitudes and to His disciples.. to "teach" them what they had not learned from the religious leaders of that day..  that I want to hear what He wants to teach me this time.. as I once again mediate on this passage. 

What does it mean to be "blessed"?  Isn't it more than just being happy or satisfied?  Once commentary suggests that it speaks of a "quality of God".. of being indwelt by God with God's nature within...

Therefore we are blessed to be  "poor in spirit".. to know that we are utterly helpless.. and to be completely humbled at our inability to have any spiritual life except for the life of Christ that dwells within us.  That is a blessed state, for then and only then does He give us His kingdom.

We are blessed to be mourners. We have felt the grief of sin, or sorrow, and of death. That grief has led us to the One who comforts us with His Presence. He takes our sin and our sorrows.. our burdens.. our grief...and He bears them Himself.. It is in this precious abiding .. Christ abiding in us and we abiding in Him.. that we experience blessedness as He, Himself, is our Comfort. 

We are blessed to be "meek" or "gentle".. or "humble".  We have come to know the One who is greater, who humbled Himself on a cruel cross, who "although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:5-8)  What a blessedness to be conformed to His likeness!  Jesus says that we will "inherit the earth" as a result of this deep abiding with Him.  As we learn in Romans 8:17 we are "heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.." 

Father in heaven,  every spiritual blessing has come from You, our God and Father.  You have chosen us "before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before" You.  In love You have called us, adopted us, bestowed Your grace on us, redeemed us, and have made known the mysteries of Christ and Your eternal kingdom. We confess our poverty, we mourn our sin and failures, and we yield to Your Spirit that we might be gentle and meek as our Lord Jesus was and is.  Oh abide in us sweet Spirit of Christ we pray.. Amen. 

 Matthew 4  Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to a wilderness that was isolated and sparse.. " to be tempted by the devil."  .  There He fasted for 40 days and nights.  When he became hungry "the tempter came.." saying, " If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." 

Satan knew that Jesus was the Son of God.. didn't he?  Yet, he still tried to manipulate Him.  Do we doubt that he also tries to manipulate us?  He made Eve doubt in the garden.. but he could not make Jesus doubt in the wilderness! "Is is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." 

Jesus had no need to obey Satan's instructions.. He is the Bread of Life!  He is the Word that became flesh! He would not question His Father's provision. 

Satan tried to get Jesus to test His Father's promises to have the angels protect Him from falling off of the pinnacle of the temple.. but Jesus would not do that either..  Nor would He ever worship any one or any thing besides the Lord God.. especially not the lying devil... even for "all the kingdoms of the world". 

The angels did come to Jesus after the devil failed and left Him.  They ministered to Him there as He prepared to enter into the ministry that He had been born to do.. " and Jesus was going about in all Galilee teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people." (v23) 

 Jesus came to fulfill prophecy.. to bring salvation.. to rescue us from the deceiver.. and to bring us true life.  He didn't turn stones into bread.. but He became the broken bread.. the true Bread of Heaven.. that provides Life to all who will believe in Him.  Jesus did not throw Himself down from the temple to see if the Father would send the angels to rescue Him.. but He laid down His life on a wooden cross so that He could rescue us from the dominion of darkness!  Jesus did not take from Satan the kingdoms of this world in exchange for worship.. But, God will give Him the nations because they are His.. not Satan's to give.  Jesus is "the appointed heir of all things"! 

Father in heaven, may Your Spirit of wisdom and understanding.. of knowledge and strength.. fill us with the Truth of Who Jesus is.. "the radiance of [Your] glory and the exact representation of [Your nature.]." He upholds all things. He made purification of sins possible. He sits at the right hand of the throne on high. May we behold His majesty and splendor.. may we know His power and grace. Be exalted O God! We praise You, Lord Jesus!  Open our ears, Lord, so that we might hear Your voice and walk in the truth of Your Word. In the Name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. 

 Matthew 3  John the Baptist "came preaching"... His message was pointed.. " Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 

John was called to a specific ministry unlike any other... he preached, he baptized those who confessed their sins, and he made "ready the way of the Lord.. "  John dressed differently than others too.. "Now John himself had a garment of camel's hair; and a leather belt about his waist; and his food was locusts and honey." 

Yet, people came from all over to hear him and to be baptized in the Jordan river.  Even the Pharisees and Sadducees came to John, but he saw through their facades. He told them about the coming of the Messiah.. that He would "baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.. " That He would gather the wheat and burn up the chaff.. 

When Jesus came to John to be baptized, John humbled himself, wanting to be baptized by Christ instead. But, in obedience to the Father, Jesus asked John to allow it and he did.  "And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, and behold a voice out  of the heavens saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased'". 

The first public act that Jesus did.. was to submit Himself to the baptism of water by John's hands. Submission that pleased the Father and resulted in the coming  of the Holy Spirit upon Him..   Before ministry.. before miracles.. before the temptations.. Jesus came to John and was baptized.  He told John, "Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."  Notice the "us" in that statement.  John and Jesus together were fulfilling the Father's commands. The Spirit's presence confirmed that this was God's will.  John 1:31-34 tells us that John the Baptist testified that he saw the Spirit descend and that he knew that this is the Son of God.. the One who would "baptize in the Holy Spirit." 

Father, help us to follow Jesus by submitting ourselves to Your will in all things.  Help us to be overwhelmed.. baptized by Your Spirit.. led by Your Spirit.. and obedient to Your Word.. the sword of the Spirit.  Keep us in harmony with our fellow believers that in spiritual unity we my accomplish Your good and perfect will to the glory of Your Name. amen.

 Matthew 2 Several things strike me about this passage.. 

First... The chief priests and scribes knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.. they knew that the Magi had come to search for Him.. but they did not bother going to see for themselves. The foreigners wanted to worship this "king of the Jews".. but the Jewish religious leaders didn't even care.  Herod had ulterior motives, but he at least asked about the child. 

Second thing that strikes me is the prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus while He was a child, as noted by Matthew: 

Verse 6 " And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you will come forth a ruler, who will shepherd My people Israel."  This prophecy comes from Micah 5:2 which goes on to say "His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity."  

Verse 15 "Out of Egypt did I call My Son". This is a quote from Hosea 11:1b.  The interesting part is that the verse begins with "When Israel was a youth I loved him.. and out of Egypt I called My son."  Matthew is connecting the exodus of Israel with the coming of the Messiah. While Israel refused the love and blessings that the Father desired to pour out on them.. instead being rebellious and disobedient;  Jesus perfectly obeyed His Father's voice. 

Verse 18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be comforted, because they were no more."  This quote comes from Jeremiah 31:15.  The vision that Jeremiah is having is about the redemption of Israel..a prophecy of Israel restored.. where mourning is turned into rejoicing.. as God promises a new work.. and a new covenant. Matthew was speaking of the wicked acts of Herod who killed innocent children in an effort to kill the Messiah.  Jeremiah was speaking about how God would restore His people by His goodness and love.. which is exactly what He did through Jesus Christ. 

Verse 23 "He shall be called a Nazarene." This statement is not a direct quote from any Old Testament prophet. The Bible Knowledge Commentary suggests it may be associated with  Isaiah 11:1 "Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit."  The Hebrew word for branch is "neser" or "netser". The Bible Dictionary states that Nazareth means "Branch". 

Everything about Jesus should have been recognized by those who knew the Word of God.. but their eyes were blinded.  Yet.. the Magi saw the star and knew a King had been born and that He was much more than just an ordinary baby!

Father in heaven,  give us eyes to see the wonder and the majesty of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, who came to deliver all people from sin.. if we will call upon His Name.  Thank You for loving us so much that You would send Your only Begotten Son into this wicked world so that we might have salvation through His atoning sacrifice.  We worship Jesus.. our King as well as the King of the Jews.  He is King of kings and Lord of lords.. forever and ever Amen! May all glory and honor and praise be to You, the Lover of our  souls, our Father and our God.  Amen. 

 Matthew 1 Old testament or New.. it's all about Jesus! As I move from the book of Exodus to the book of Matthew, from  the completion of the first tabernacle in Exodus.. to the birth of "Immanuel.. God with us".  I rejoice in what an amazing God we serve!  He has always desired to dwell with us.. His people.. His children.. and He always makes a way. 

In Matthew 1 we are given the genealogy of Jesus from Abraham to Joseph, the husband of Mary.  It is always precious to me that Matthew includes "Rahab" who married Salmon and gave birth to Boaz and Ruth the Moabitess who married Boaz and gave birth to Obed,  nor does he forget Solomon's mother, "who had been the wife of Uriah".  It is a powerful reminder that God looks at the heart.. always.  

There are some on this list that we would like to leave off... like Rehoboam, the son of Soloman.. for he was not a good man or a good king..but, they are included none-the-less.  Just as we may look back at our own genealogies and wonder how God brought us to become the people we are.. and the grace that He has poured out on us that we should be His. 

Matthew gives us the brief version of Mary and Joseph's story. They were betrothed. She was "found to be with child by the Holy Spirit".  Joseph was kind and would have "put her away secretly"; but he was given a dream that changed his life.. " Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit". 

The Son  would be called "Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins." The begotten Son of God, "Immanuel" is God, the Word made flesh who came to dwell among us.. with us.. in us.. so that we could behold His glory "the glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth". (John 1:14)

Father, as You once filled the tabernacle in the wilderness.. You sent Your Spirit to fill all who will believe in Jesus Christ, Your only begotten Son.  How thankful we are for Your compassion and grace.. Your abundant lovingkindness.. that You would make a way for us to have forgiveness for our sins and righteousness through our Savior.  May our hearts stay yielded to Your Spirit and our eyes stay fixed on Jesus. Amen. 

 Exodus 38-40  "Now it came about in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was erected." (40:17)

Everything was completed, exactly as the Lord commanded.  It took most of the year to do it as the people stayed in Sinai while the work was done. When it was all set up and Aaron and his sons prepared and anointed, the Lord filled the tabernacle with His glory.  The pillar of cloud by day and fire by night ... now inhabited the tabernacle.  When the cloud lifted they would move.. when it stayed, they stayed. 

God dwelled with His people in the wilderness and gave them a place to come to Him.. to worship Him.. to begin to know Him. The splendor and majesty of the Lord Most High came to earth to make Israel a holy and sacred nation, set apart as His people.. to bless them and to make them a blessing to all the nations.  Yet.. sadly, they were still obstinate and rebellious people with hearts of unbelief and selfishness.. .

In the New Testament we see the Lord do a brand new work, sending Jesus Christ, the Son of God to dwell among us.. " and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." ( John 1:14)  

The Lord had filled the tabernacle.. and later Solomon's temple.. but He had also departed from it because of the sins of Israel.  But, He sent His Son, who came in the flesh, to die on a cruel cross, shedding His blood as the ultimate sacrifice. When Jesus ascended into heaven He left a promise.. He would send the Spirit who would fill.. not a tabernacle or temple made with human hands.. but Who would fill us who believe in and belong to Jesus Christ the Lord.. who have become children of the Most High God. 

Hallelujah! What a Savior! Our God is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth! Exalt His Name. Glory in His majesty and splendor! Give thanks with a most grateful heart.. 

Father, we do praise and worship You for You have come to dwell in us by Your Spirit.. How can we ever thank You enough?  We exalt You and give You all our praise. Amen. 

 Exodus 35-37  Moses brought everyone together for a congregational meeting.  The first thing that he spoke about was the keeping of the Sabbath day. A reminder of the covenant that they had made with the Lord.

  Then he spoke about taking up the contributions for the tabernacle.. ."Take from among you a contribution to the Lord; whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as the Lord's contribution: gold, silver, and bronze, and blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goat's hair, and ram's skin dyed red, and porpoise skins, and acacia wood, and oil for lighting, and spices for anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones, for the ephod, and for the breastplate.. " 

Again, I think about the fact that these people had been slaves in Egypt... with nothing to offer.. but God  had provided them with abundance as they left with gifts from the Egyptians.  As we read in chapter 36 they gave willingly.. so much that they had to be commanded to stop giving!

The Lord also appointed Bezalel and Oholiab to the work giving them "skill and understanding to know how to perform all the work in the construction of the sanctuary.. "  He also called for "every skillful and among you come, and make all that the Lord has commanded." 

"And everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him came and brought the Lord's contribution for the work of the tent of meeting."....  men came, women came, the leaders came.. hearts were stirred; spirits were moved and the construction was accomplished just as God commanded.

What the Lord commanded, He also provided.  He provided the materials, He provided the skill and understanding... and He also provided the Spirit that moved hearts and accomplished His purposes.  God's desire was to dwell among His people, so everything needed to be done exactly as He commanded.  Yet, He did not leave it to the "obstinate" people of Israel to do on their own.. He filled them with His Spirit so that it could be done as He had revealed that it should be done. 

What does that say to us today..  God's purpose for us is just as holy as the tabernacle was meant to be. We can trust Him to faithfully provide all that is needed to accomplish His good and perfect will in us.  Romans 8:28 reminds us ".. and we know the God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.. "  And what is His purpose?  ".. to become conformed to the image of His Son.. " 

The Greek word for purpose used here is "prothesis"  It means a setting forth or a proposal; an intention; specifically.. it is related to the showbread in the Temple.. as exposed before God.  The showbread represented the 12 tribes of Israel in the presence of the Lord. It was replaced with a fresh batch every week. It was the Bread of the Presence and would be eaten by the priests after being in the tabernacle for a week. As they ate it together it would be a reminder of God's Presence and His provision.  Are we called to be like that Showbread.. a reminder in this world that God is near.. that He provides.. that He will accomplish His desire in all who love Him.. including us?

Father, have Your own way in me.. in us... today. Amen. 

 Exodus 34  Moses was once again summoned to the mountaintop to meet with the Lord. He had to cut out two stone tablets to replace the ones he had shattered. But, this meeting was about more than the stone tablets.. "the Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the Lord." 

 Once again, the Lord came to Moses.. and as He "passed by" He revealed something more to Moses.. " The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers' on the children and on there grandchildren to the third and fourth generations. " (v6-7)

Moses fell on his face to worship the Lord and make his petition, " O Lord I pray, let the Lord go along in our midst, even though the people are so obstinate; and do Thou pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Thine own possession." 

Moses found favor with the Lord... Who renewed the covenant and promised to do great miracles in order to bring the people into the land of promise.  Moses was so filled with the glory of the Lord that his face began to shine. It shone so brightly that he had to use a veil when he spoke to the people. Only when he went into the tent to meet with God would he take the veil off. 

I love verse 6 of this chapter.  I love that God describes Himself in these terms.. compassionate.. gracious.. slow to anger.. abounding in lovingkindness.. forgiving and yet just. This description is something that King David clung to.. it is found in several of His psalms.. 86:15, 103:8 and 145:8 to name a few..It is also found in Nehemiah 9:17 and Joel 2:13.  This is a passage that fills our hearts with truth about the God we serve and love!  May we cling to these truths as we also come before Him in worship and in our petitions. 

Father in heaven, we hallow Your Name for You are our God who has made Your compassion and grace known to us through Jesus Christ the Lord as You sent Him into the world to become our Savior... The Lamb of God who was slain so that we could be forgiven of all our transgressions, iniquities and sins. Cover us with Your abounding lovingkindness, O God, so that we might walk in ways that find favor with You.  May our lives be led by Your Spirit and bring glory to Your name. We ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen. 

 Exodus 33 The Lord was prepared to send Moses and the people of Israel up into the promised land.. without going with them.  Moses couldn't  even fathom this possibility. He had grown accustomed to being in God's presence continually.  He knew God just about as much as any man could..  besides Christ Himself .... "Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend."  Moses did not want to lose this intimacy with the Lord. 

Moses pleaded with God ...  "I pray to Thee, if I have found favor in Thy sight, let me know Thy ways, that I may know Thee, so that I may find favor in Thy sight.. " Even though he had an intimate relationship with God.. he longed for more. "I pray Thee, show me Thy glory!"  God answered that prayer. 

The Lord had Moses stand on a rock.. then He covered him with His own hand and passed by Him, took His hand away and allowed Moses to see His back.  Moses found favor with the Lord and their relationship was even more precious.... and different than any other throughout history. 

The Lord said, ".. I have known you by name."  He listened to Moses' prayers and answered in HIs grace and compassion. He did go with Israel.. knowing that they were obstinate.. and knowing that a time would come when He would judge many of them. But, He went because Moses asked Him to. 

Father, may we also find favor in Your sight.  You do know us.. intimately. You know us each by name. We seek to know You more.. to see Your glory.. to hear Your voice.  We plead for Your Presence among us.. in our homes.. in our churches.. in our nation.  May it be said of us that we are Your people.  May Your grace and kindness flow over us, for we cannot do anything without You.  Jesus, You are the vine and we are the branches and we can do nothing without You . Abide in us and we in You we pray, in Your precious name. Amen. 

 Exodus 32  This  is such a terrible thing.. how the Israelites.. still camped at the mountain of God.. where He had spoken to them.. where the smoke and the thunder were seen and heard.. .demanded an idol to worship.  They had made a covenant with the Lord.. they agreed to the commandments.. to not make a graven image.. to have no other god.. But, here they were ready to worship  a piece of sculpture just a short time after making their vows!

What was Aaron thinking?  Not only did he make the idol, but he built an altar for it.  Then he lied about it! How could he become the High priest of the Lord?  No wonder the Lord was so angry with them all and ready to destroy the whole nation. 

If not for Moses.. they would have been annihilated.  But, Moses interceded for his people.  He "entreated the Lord his God, and said, ' O Lord why doth Thine anger burn against Thy people whom Thou hast brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?'"  Moses reminded the Lord that the Egyptians would say that  God brought the Israelites out of Egypt just to destroy them.  He reminded the Lord about the covenant the He had made with Abraham, Isaac and Israel.  And "So the Lord changed HIs mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people." (v14)

The sad thing is that when Moses went down from the mountain he carried the tablets that God had given him.. " And the tablets were God's work, and the writing was God's writing, engraved on the tablets." and Moses, in his anger, threw them down and shattered them. 

Moses destroyed the golden calf.  He burned it, ground it to powder, spread it over the water and made the people drink it! On top of that he called for any that would stand with him and the Levites gathered on his side. Then he gave the order for them to go through the camp and kill those who were still rebellious.. and 3000 men died that day. 

Moses went back up the mountain to try to make atonement for the people.  He asked the Lord to forgive them.. "But now, if Thou wilt, forgive their sin and if not; please blot me out from Thy book which Thou hast written!"   But, God would not agree to Moses offer to pay for the peoples' sins. "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My  book. " The punishment would be paid by the ones who deserved it. 

Only One man could make atonement for sin that God would agree to.. and that man was not Moses.. it is Jesus! What terrible and sad things have we done.. like Aaron and the Israelites?  Who will intercede for us?  As Paul wrote in Romans 7: 25  "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"  Because of Him, we find forgiveness and "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."  Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Father, thank You for giving us Your Son, to atone for our sins and to redeem us for Yourself. Thank You for not blotting us out of Your book!  Have Your way in us, Lord Jesus.  Keep us from evil. Keep us from unfaithfulness. Keep us from our own destructive ways. We ask this in the name of our only Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. 

 Exodus 31  The Lord "called by name Bezalel... and I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftmanship.."  Every thing that the Lord had described to Moses on the mountain would be made by men that the Lord equipped to do the work.  "and behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab.. and in the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you." (v2,6)

This is truly an amazing thing.. not only would they build the tabernacle with all its curtains and framework, but they would make the furnishings.. with wood and gold and silver and bronze. Also they would make the incense and the anointing oil.. and make the garments for the priests.  So much intricate and precise work only could be accomplished by the Spirit of God working in willing people. 

The second half of this chapter focuses on the Sabbath.  "You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you."  He calls it a celebration and a sign.  It is a holy day and a day of rest but more than that it is a gift that brings God and His people into a continual refreshing of their relationship. 

This is the same reason that we take the time to observe a day each week to worship the Lord. It is His day where we enter His house to worship Him. It helps us to deepen and refresh our relationship with our Father as well as with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are exhorted by the Scriptures to not forsake this gathering together.  And we are reminded in the psalms of David that coming to the Lord's house is to be a joyful gathering of praise and thanksgiving. "One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall  seek; That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple." ( Psalm 27:4)

Psalm 63:2 "Thus I have beheld Thee in the sanctuary, To see Thy power and Thy glory."  When David sought the Lord.. when he thirsted for Him like a man thirsts for water in a dry and weary land.. he found Him and was satisfied.  Oh that we might hunger and thirst for our God and run to His house so that we might encounter His power and glory! 

Father, draw us into Your holy Presence.. may we experience Your power and glory every time we meet in the Lord's house. May we keep this time holy and precious.. when we gather together every Sunday to praise You, to be refreshed by Your Presence.. to see Your beauty.  Thank You for this great gift. Thank You for the men and women that You have equipped for the work of making a church worthy of Your Name.  Anoint and consecrate Your servants.. our pastors.. for the ministry for the body of believers. Thank You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 

 Exodus 30 gives the directions for the altar of incense and the laver for the priests to wash.  It also gives the directions for how to make the incense and the anointing oil.  All of these things were to be exclusively used for worship in the tabernacle.. " It is most holy to the Lord".  Everything that was consecrated by the anointing oil was considered holy and anything that touched the holy things would then be considered holy. 

The altar of incense was placed outside of the holy of holies..in front of the veil where the ark of the covenant would stand. The incense was to be burned both in the morning and at twilight.. when the lamps were lit and when they were trimmed in the evening.  

In Revelation 8 we read about another altar where incense is burned.. before the throne of God. ."and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel's hand."   The pure and holy incense that God required for His people touches the prayers of those who love Him.  Just as the Holy Spirit, as Ephesians 8:26 tells us, " helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." 

Father in heaven, holy and lifted up, let Your Name be honored in all of the earth.  Let Your Kingdom come in its fulness and power as Jesus reigns forever and ever.  Let Your will be done.. in me.. in Your people.. in all of the earth, as it is in heaven.  Let our prayers be mixed with the smoke of incense that comes before Your throne of grace.  Hear our prayers and the intercession made by Your Spirit who lives in us. We are full of weakness and do not know how to pray as we should, so pray for us Spirit of God, for You search our hearts and intercede for us according to the will of God.  Thank You for covering us with the lavish grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that we might be made holy. We our in Your hands. amen. 

 Exodus 29  This chapter describes the instructions that the Lord gave for the consecration and ordination of Aaron and his sons for the job of priests to the Lord.  This was a brand new way for people to come to God.  God intended to meet His people at the doorway to His tabernacle.  He intended for them to know Him as He dwelt among them.  "And they shall know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt; that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God." (v46)

Yet, before they could meet with the Lord, the priests had to be prepared.  To come any other way would  bring death.. 

God set aside Aaron and his sons for this task. They had to be washed, clothed in the special garments, anointed with oil and sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifices.  There was  a bull offered as a sin offering. There were 2 rams offered.. one as a burnt offering and one as a wave and heave offering.  The Lord called the burnt offering a "soothing aroma".  He proclaimed that a portion of the heave offerings would be used as a portion for the priests. 

This specific time of consecration and ordination lasted for 7 days.  Each day a bull was offered as a sin offering. Each day a lamb would be offered in the morning and one at twilight.  A grain offering and a libation were offered with the lambs. This would become a continuous offering from this time forward. 

When the atonement was completed the altar would be considered "holy" to the Lord and nothing unholy should ever touch it. 

We no longer have to bring blood sacrifices into a tent or temple.. we don't have to come before a priest from Aaron's line.  We come to know the Lord our God through the Lamb of God,  Jesus Christ, who offered Himself as the final offering fulfilling every requirement that the Lord commanded. 

Father in heaven, we thank You for the salvation that comes through Jesus.  He washes us clean. He anoints us with holy oil.  He paid the sin offering and has made us holy before You by His blood.  Keep us from all unrighteousness that we might come before You morning and evening.. blameless to stand in Your holy presence and to know You as the Lord our God.  In His name we come . Amen.

 Exodus 28 Great detail was given to Moses for the garments for the High Priest ( Aaron) and for his sons.   Verse 2 " and you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty." 

God gave workmen skill and wisdom to create the garments that He required.  There would be nothing like it among the people of Israel or anywhere else. Every part of the garment was made precisely according to God's plan. Everything had significance, for example:

There were onyx stones, engraved with the names of the 12 sons of Jacob mounted on the shoulders of the high priests garment.. " And you shall put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for a memorial." (v12)  Besides this, there was a breastplate attached that would be over Aaron's heart.. with 12 precious stones.. each engraved with the 12 names of the "children of Israel"..  also for a "memorial before the Lord continually".  This breastplate was called the "breastplate of judgement".  Added into this breastplate were the "Urim and Thummin".. two stones that were used by the High Priest in certain situations.  According to Strong's concordance the meanings of these two words may be Urim=lights; Thummin= truth. "And they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goes in before the Lord; and Aaron shall carry the judgement of the sons of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually." 

One more significant piece of the High Priest's garment is his turban which was attached to a gold plate, which was engraved with the words "Holy to the Lord".  "And it shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall take away the iniquity of the holy things which the sons of Israel consecrate, with regard to all holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead; that they may be accepted before the Lord." (v38)

This makes me think of our Lord.. the true High Priest.. who wore a crown of thorns as He carried our sins.. to take away our iniquity before the throne of grace.  He carried our names with Him.. He carried our judgements with Him.. He carries us.. over His heart "continually".  Oh, how wonderful is our Savior, our Great High Priest.. because of Him we are "accepted before the Lord"! 

Father in heaven, thank You for such a Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, Your one and only Son.  Thank You that He has brought us before You and continually prays for us, never forgetting or forsaking us. Help us to be filled with the Truth and the Light of Your Word by Your Spirit of wisdom and understanding.  Let the beauty and glory of Jesus Christ fill us and cover us.. as we stand on Him, our solid Rock and firm foundation.. to the praise of Your Holy Name. Amen.

 Exodus 26-27  These chapters give the exact details for the building of the tabernacle and the tent surrounding it. Everything needed to be made exactly as the pattern that Moses was shown on the mountain. 

I'm not a builder or architect, so it is hard for me to envision this tabernacle just from reading these directions. But..  I am so impressed with it all!  It must have been so beautiful with all the gold and the curtains and the furnishings.. Yet it was also so practical.. the coverings to keep it warm and dry in rainy weather or cool and shady in the heat.  It was made to take apart and be carried as they traveled. It would have been become fairly easy to move it and put it back up again at the next stopping place. 

What is also interesting is that every resource was provided as God gave this assignment to Moses and the people.. including the workmen to do it.  The men of Israel had been making bricks and building Egyptian buildings for years.. they had a great deal of knowledge about building, but this would take a whole different set of skills.. carpentry.. metal work.. weaving.. etc. And God gave them the abilities to do what He required. 

This "tent of meeting" was going to be vital to Israel because this would be where they would draw close to their God. The priests  would go into the tabernacle every single day and night. The people would bring their gifts and offerings here on a regular basis.  It had to be functional. It had to be moveable.. and it had to be kept holy.  And, beyond that.. God made it beautiful so He could fill it with Himself . 

This makes me think about what the Word says about us .. our bodies being temples of the Holy Spirit. God has a plan that is perfect.. in beauty and in purpose.. for each of His children.  He provides the resources to  build us into the Image that is above.. the Image of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  He has used things in our lives to shape us and then He chooses to use us to draw others closer to Himself. 

Father, fill us with Your holy presence!  Come O come and fill us now. Amen