In Leviticus 11 & 12, we enter the chapters on purity and how the people God chose and set apart can remain ceremonial clean so God can continue to dwell among them. They are about to enter the land of Canaan which is a very sinful, idol worshiping nation with pagan rituals. God intends to do everything possible to keep His people safe and set apart as His. They are given lists of animals that they should and should not eat or touch so they may remain pure. Israel's diet was a physical repre...
Dec 28, 2022•13 min
In Leviticus 9 & 10, Aaron and his sons have been ordained and are ready to get to work. The offerings and sacrifices are received and God accepts them and His glory comes. God is inside the holy tent and they are finally able to approach God again. When Jesus came to earth, He had a way of flipping things upside down and He does here too. Jesus approaches us and calls to us. He invites us in with open arms and asks us to approach Him. Whether in worship or judgment, God's glory will be disp...
Dec 27, 2022•12 min
In Leviticus 7 & 8, further instructions are given for the guilt and peace offerings. The priests are symbolically being made holy on the inside but what is symbolic for them at this time, becomes real and true for us today because of Jesus. We are made holy and pure from the inside out when we accept Jesus as our Savior. The priests are ordained and set apart to carry the prayers of the people to God. They are to be the hands and feet of God for the nation. As sinful as we are, God still wa...
Dec 26, 2022•15 min
In Leviticus 5 & 6, the sins that would require a sin or guilt offering are explained. The offerings deal with the affects of the sinner as well as the sinnee. Sin is costly, has consequences, and affects our relationship with God as well as those around us. Confessing our sins helps us be less likely to repeat them. God made a way for forgiveness from their sins - even before Jesus came to offer the final sacrifice for us once and for all. Forgiveness is not free, Jesus paid a very high cos...
Dec 23, 2022•13 min
In Leviticus 3 & 4, we see the peace offering and sin offering. The peace offering is another free will offering. It would bring forgiveness and restoration to relationships. After the fat was burned, they would eat together so they could enjoy fully forgiven fellowship with each other and God. The fat was the best part of the meat. God gave His best when He gave us Jesus and He also wants the best of us. He gave 100% for us, and thinks we are 100% worth it. The sin offering was the 1st requ...
Dec 21, 2022•14 min
In Leviticus 1 & 2, we start the journey into a priest's manual. A sacrificial system was established and it shows us what religious life looked like for the family of God at that point in history. The cost of sin is death. Something has to die for sins that are committed. When they would commit a sin, they would offer a sacrifice - a burnt offering. The whole animal used in the offering was burnt in the "I'm sorry" offering. It was the costliest sacrifice. Jesus paid the final price once an...
Dec 20, 2022•14 min
In Exodus 39 & 40, the clothing for the High Priest and his sons are completed and the Tabernacle is assembled exactly how God commanded it to be done. The incense altar is the closest table to the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle. The closest we can get to the Lord right now is through our prayers. He wants us to have time with Him in our lives and build that foundational, intimate relationship. God's presence fills the Tabernacle and His presence in the form of a cloud also leads and guide...
Dec 19, 2022•16 min
In Exodus 37 & 38, the Ark of the Covenant is built. At the cover are the place of atonement and the mercy seat. Cherubim are placed with their wings pointing up to heaven. Atonement and mercy come from God and God alone. The table for the Bread of Presence holds 12 loaves of bread for each of the tribes of Israel. Jesus is our Bread of life and He wants fellowship and intimacy with us. The Lampstand is the only source of light in the Tabernacle. It resembles the Tree of Life. Jesus is our l...
Dec 18, 2022•15 min
In Exodus 35 & 36, a free will offering is taken and people's hearts are moved so much to give to God and invest in the Tabernacle that they have to actually tell them to stop giving. Before they start building, God again reminds them to rest on the Sabbath. God wants them to not only rest their bodies, but wants time with them to build their relationship with Him. God fills a gifted craftsman with the Holy Spirit and he leads, guides, and teaches others in the building of the Tabernacle. We...
Dec 17, 2022•16 min
In Exodus 33 & 34, God decides He is going to send an angel in His place with the Israelites as they travel on to the Promised Land. He is frustrated with their stubbornness and rebellion. Moses continually spends time with God and knows he cannot lead the people without God's presence with him. God reveals His name - Yahweh - and His character to Moses. They have a close, intimate relationship and are on a first name basis. God is compassionate, merciful, slow to anger, filled with unfailin...
Dec 16, 2022•16 min
In Exodus 31 & 32, God appoints the people who will be the craftsmen in charge of building the Tabernacle and all the things He commanded to be made. He then reminds them they must rest. They must not dishonor the Sabbath and need to stop working to rest and replenish. The Israelite people were held captive for over 400 years in a pagan culture filled with idol worship. They were not used to a God who couldn't be seen regularly and had to be worshiped in faith, trust, and patience. They got ...
Dec 15, 2022•16 min
In Exodus 30, an incense altar is built so incense can be burned around the clock. Like our prayers, a sweet aroma is raised up to God night and day. A set atonement price is to be paid every year to atone for their sins. The price is set and equal for everyone regardless of income. Jesus paid an equal price for every one of us when He died on the cross for us. He died on the cross so every one of us can have the opportunity to have freedom from our sins and atonement for all eternity. A washbas...
Dec 14, 2022•10 min
In Exodus 29, Aaron and his sons are cleansed, purified, and go through an ordination process to prepare them for entrance into God's presence in the Tabernacle. A visible sign of their sin being transferred out of them is seen in the sacrifices. Their entire lives are dedicated to God. Everything they hear and do and wherever they go will be focused on God. Blood is used in the cleansing. Jesus died on the cross as a final sacrifice for us and when His blood was shed, we were cleansed once and ...
Dec 13, 2022•10 min
In Exodus 28, we see the priests are set apart for the Lord as they prepare to approach the presence of God on behalf of the nation. The design of their clothing bears resemblance to the Tabernacle in the material and colors used. Aaron and his sons would bear the weight of the nation on their shoulders and hold the nation close to their hearts as they approached God on their behalf. The clothing will also offer them protection. We now have the Holy Spirit - God's presence - residing right with ...
Dec 12, 2022•10 min
In Exodus 26 & 27, God gives specific beautiful details on how to build the tent of the Tabernacle where the Ark of the Covenant and God's presence will travel with His people. God wants more than anything to dwell with His people. The Ark is placed behind a second curtain and most of the nation will not always get to see the Ark. God wants His people to have faith and trust knowing that He is with them - even if we can't always see Him. We can trust and know that He is in our midst. To appr...
Dec 10, 2022•13 min
In Exodus 24 & 25, God's people say "yes" to God and agree with His covenant. They desperately want to obey God. Their allegiance is in the right place but their confidence lies in themselves and their ability rather than God. It will falter time and time again. They need continuous altars after the laws in order to make it. Jesus gave us the ultimate and final altar when He died for us on the cross. His altar makes us righteous and cleanses us so we can run boldly to the throne of God and d...
Dec 10, 2022•16 min
In Exodus 22 & 23, God lays out some guidelines and rules on how to live with each other and treat each other in society. God's heart and character of justice with compassion are shown in the laws given. God wants a society where people are treated fairly and justice is upheld honestly and truthfully. He wants a society where the marginalized are provided for and never taken advantage of. He directs us to not gossip, bend the truth or oppress anyone ever. He wants us to fix our hearts and ey...
Dec 08, 2022•14 min
In Exodus 21, some civil laws showing how to get along in the context and culture of the time are pointed out. They did not have jails, banks or a money system like we do today. If someone owed another person a debt, they would work for that person to pay that debt. If a thief had to repay a debt to someone, they had to work to pay it back. If people were struggling with poverty, they would offer to work for others in exchange for food and shelter. There were no laws to protect these people. The...
Dec 07, 2022•15 min
In Exodus 19 & 20, the Israelites are brought into the Mosaic Covenant. It's a bilateral, conditional covenant with "if-then's". It forms a relationship with God and mankind. If they agree to obey God, they will represent God to the world. When Jesus fulfilled the law, He made it possible for all of us to enter His plan and be set apart to represent Him to the world. God then gives us the top 10 list for obedience - the 10 commandments. The first section gives us instruction on how to love G...
Dec 06, 2022•16 min
In Exodus 17 & 18, the Israelites are traveling on through the wilderness and become thirsty. Rather than praying and trusting God who has already shown them miracle after miracle, they grumble and complain yet again. Moses cries out to God and God answers by having Moses strike a rock which causes water to gush out. Just like when the side of Jesus was pierced on the cross and water and blood came pouring out of His body. Jesus is the rock of our Salvation. In our thirst, we can call on Jes...
Dec 03, 2022•14 min
In Exodus 16, God's people are found to be complaining and grumbling yet again. They have quickly forgotten the life they were just saved from and Who it was that saved them. They forget the misery of slavery and the almighty strength of God. God wants to provide for His people and He wants them to trust He will provide. God gives them a double portion on the 6th day so they can have food prepared and ready for the 7th day. This is a gift from God. After being in slavery 430 years with no rest, ...
Dec 01, 2022•10 min
In Exodus 15, God's people have just been rescued from their oppressors in the most miraculous way. They did absolutely no fighting to win this freedom, God did everything. God's rescue is reflected in their song of heartfelt, honest expression as they sing praise to God for their deliverance out of oppression. When we go out into the world, the song of the cross that delivers us from death's grip should be on our lips. We are redeemed, we are rescued, we are set free from sin. God values us, Go...
Nov 30, 2022•11 min
In Exodus 13 & 14, the Israelites are called to remember. Remember the mighty power of God and all He did to rescue them. We are called to do the same in our own lives. Remember the past as we head into the future and tell the people in our lives all that God does in our lives. Do not forget we are redeemed and we belong to God. God takes the Israelites on a detour. They have some battles ahead and are not yet ready to face them. They need to learn to follow God's lead and trust Him complete...
Nov 29, 2022•16 min
In Exodus 12, the first Passover happens. The plague of death is hitting Egypt since they still refuse to repent and turn to God. God rescues His people by having them sacrifice a blemish-free lamb and painting the blood across their doorposts with a hyssop branch. Hyssop is a symbol of cleansing and purification. Jesus was our ultimate and final sacrifice - completely sinless. He was offered vinegar wine on a hyssop branch when he was dying on the cross for us. Death passes over God's people in...
Nov 28, 2022•18 min
In Exodus 10 & 11, God shows Pharaoh that he is not God, oppression is wrong, and sin has clear consequences. We cannot compromise with sin. Sin devours all the good things in our lives. Sin leads to darkness, death, separation, oppression, and isolation. God leads to light, freedom, forgiveness, eternal life, community, and unity. God desires us to tether our hearts to God's heart rather than anything in this very temporary world. God brings forth justice and reconciliation to sin and injus...
Nov 27, 2022•13 min
In Exodus 9, God brings a plague against the livestock of Egypt. The Egyptians worshiped their livestock yet enslaved people and treated them horribly. God wants His people free from oppression so they can worship Him. God wants us free from sin and oppression in our lives so we can freely worship Him with all our hearts, minds, and souls. God sees that Pharaoh is not going to change his heart regardless of multiple chances and warnings. In the next plague, God steps in and confirms Pharaoh's he...
Nov 26, 2022•12 min
In Exodus 8, God brings forth plagues of frogs, gnats, and flies as direct attacks against their false gods. The magicians mimic the first two plagues but only God has the power to stop the plagues. The magicians were unable to mimic the 3rd plague and even they cried out to Pharaoh saying "This is the finger of God!" - even the magicians get it and realize who God is and that He is present. Pharaoh still refused to listen and hardened his heart. After the 4th plague, he is starting to learn who...
Nov 25, 2022•11 min
In Exodus 7, Aaron throws down his staff in front of Pharaoh and it turns into a serpent. The magicians then turned their staffs into serpents too but Aaron's staff swallowed up all of theirs. Satan tries to mimic God and tries to trick us into believing false gods and idols in our lives. God is the only true God and is greater than anything. God should remain the greatest thing in every area of our lives. God brings the 1st of 10 plagues. The Egyptians refuse to repent and turn to God and are a...
Nov 24, 2022•10 min
In Exodus 5 & 6, Moses talks with Pharaoh letting him know why he was there, Who sent him, and what the mission is - to bring God's people back to Him so they can once again worship Him. Pharaoh refuses to listen to Moses and instead makes the work harder by making totally impossible demands from the Israelites. Pharaoh is similar to Satan and sin and Egypt is like the world we live in. Sin does not let go of us easily and wants to keep our time and attention off God and worship. The Israeli...
Nov 23, 2022•14 min
In Exodus 3 & 4, we see a rescue mission being set forth. God wants to rescue His people out of where they are and bring them into where He plans for them to be. God appears to Moses in a burning bush that refuses to be engulfed in the flames. He tells Moses that he is being called to go back to Egypt and rescue God's people from the hands of Pharaoh. God refers back to His covenant yet again. We get a glimpse of God's heart as well as the call on Moses' life. Moses doubts - like heavily. He...
Nov 22, 2022•16 min
