Exodus 29-30

Stay with it!  Some of these chapters get a bit tedious.  You don't need to carefully read every line to get the sweeping message.  The exacting and precise instructions let us know that God is to be approached with holiness and reverence - and with humility that simply responds, "Yes, Lord."  No one will be able to say, "But I didn't know what God expected."  

Read it here.

Exodus 27-28

What must these garments have looked like?  Wow!  And God left nothing out - He demanded that they make these with exacting specifications.  Two things that especially stick out to me:

• "Whenever he enters the sanctuary, Aaron is to carry the names of Israel's sons over his heart."
• On Aaron's turban "you are to make a pure gold medallion and engrave it, like the engraving of a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD."

God's nature of Love and Holiness demonstrated right there on Aaron's priestly garments.

These descriptions speak of God's incredible creativity and also His worthiness of our elaborate worship!

Read it here.

Exodus 25-26

Things get a little...er...exacting at this point.  All the details!  But don't forget, these are the plans for the place that God will meet with His people.

"I will meet with you above the mercy seat...I will speak with you from there." 

Think about this: When Jesus died, God RIPPED the veil of separation from top to bottom (Luke 23:45). No more barriers.  Free access to God through Jesus!!!

Read it here.

Exodus 23-24

God promises to send His angel before His people to protect and guide them as they make their way to the Promised Land.  But He was also there to make sure that they fully obeyed God in everything.

God's presence is a great comfort and also a great motivator to stay on the path!

Read it here.

Exodus 21-22

“You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to Me, and I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless."


Almost seems like God seeks to protect the most vulnerable.  


Read it here.

Exodus 19-20

The 10 Commandments.  Massively important.  But the build-up to Exod. 20 is equally epic.  It is such a fantastic combo of God drawing near His people ("I carried you on eagle's wings") to God distancing Himself from His people ("Don't go up on the mountain or touch its base").

The Law is like that.  It reminds us of God's tender care and provision AND it reminds us of His standard of holiness and righteousness.  May we tremble at the Lawgiver and run to Him for deliverance.

Read it here.

Exodus 17-18

Moses is possibly the strongest and most effective leader the world has known.  But he possessed pronounced humility.  Thus when his father-in-law had some wisdom to pass on, Moses was all ears.  He listened and put it into practice and was blessed for it.  He wasn't too proud to heed the advice of others.

God, keep us humble.  And when You send us people of wisdom, give us ears to hear.

Side note - man, I love our church.  I am surrounded by Jethro-types.  What a gift!!!

Read it here.

Exodus 15-16

God's people are delivered from bondage in epic form.  Their response is to burst into a song of worship, recounting the great things God had done for them.  Then they encountered a hurdle (just three days later).  Their response?  Trust in the God who has proven to be powerful and faithful?  Sing their new worship song?  Nope.  They got ticked off and grumbled.  And grumbled again.  And grumbled again.

Sheesh.  Where have I heard this story before?  Hmm... am I looking in a mirror?

Read it here.

Exodus 13-14

Look for the emphasis on fathers telling their children about the great things God was doing for them.  That's the pattern: Each generation is to tell the story of deliverance to the next generation.  Who is hearing of the greatness of our God from you?

And then there's the epic parting of the Red Sea.  Fantastic!  Even the Egyptians were forced to offer the stunned confession .. "Yahweh is fighting for them!"

God seemed to be saying, "I will do whatever it takes in order to rescue My people!"  And He proved that  about 1,500 years later!

Read it here.

Exodus 11-12

Passover!  This one is huge.  Don't miss this big, blinking, neon arrow pointing us to the future Passover Lamb that would come centuries later.  I found something today that I'd never noticed before.  In 12:38 we are told that in addition to the Israelites, an "ethnically diverse crowd" also followed the Lord and was delivered out of Egypt.  How COOL is that?!?  God was reaching into all nations with His deliverance.

Man, this story is awesome!

Read it here.

Exodus 9-10

What would it have been like to see plagues and hail fall upon an entire nations EXCEPT for the exact location of the people of God.  It was like they had a protective force-field over them.  Cool, huh?  Could God have made this any more obvious?  Some of the Egyptians are defecting toward God (9:20) - but not many.  The drama continues...

Read it here.

Exodus 7-8

It is amazing what God can do right before our eyes - yet our hard hearts refuse to acknowledge Him.  Pharaoh is not alone.  He's in a LONG line of people who reject what is glaringly obvious.  I think the dense, pungent smell wafting from the heaps of rotting frogs would have done it for me ... or would it?

Oh ... Happy Valentine's Day : )

Read it here.

Exodus 5-6

Wow...things got really bad on the way to God's promises being fulfilled.  Hmm.  So God doesn't promise us a "happy life" as part of His redemption?  The raw prayer that Moses prays in 5:22-23 is pretty cool.  What a great story.

Read it here.

Exodus 3-4

It was a long and bumpy ride from Moses' beginning as a rescued baby, to becoming a Prince, to becoming a fugitive, to becoming a reluctant deliverer.  I guess God is not in a big hurry to get His plan accomplished.  (Note to self!)

Keep looking for the miraculous ways that God keeps assuring His people that He is the ONLY God (no matter how many rival "gods" they'd grown accustomed to in Egypt).

God heard His people's cries.  He is responding in faithful love.  And it will be a dramatic rescue.  But it PALES compared to the Greater Deliverer that Moses points us to!

Read it here.

Exodus 1-2

Okay, let's go back and pick up the story where Moses left off in Genesis.  Did I mention that Moses wrote the first five books of the OT?  We call them the Pentateuch ("penta" = five).

In Exodus we start with the birth of Moses - one of the most memorable stories in the whole OT.  Look for stuff you didn't pick up in the Hollywood versions.

And again, this is God's story - not Moses' story.  What do learn about GOD in these pages?

Read it here.

Jonah

Ready to take a plunge deep into your OT?  Let's go WAY toward the back and read the book of Jonah today.  Just a short book - easily read in one sitting.

Don't let the story-book version color your understanding.  There's way more in these pages than the fable-like version we grew up on.

Main question to ask yourself ... What does this little book tell us about God?  Make a list - it will really deepen your faith in Him.

Read it here.

Psalm 4, 5, and 6

The psalmist did not always live a "happy life" if you're counting circumstances.  That's the beauty of the psalms.  You get a real man with real pain in his life who is calling out to God through it all.

As you read these psalms ask yourself, "Which of the people in these psalms most describes me?" Am I prayerful or am I proud?  Am I looking to God or am I self-sufficient?  Am I watching expectantly for God, or am I ignoring Him and acting as if there is no God?"

Let the psalmist lead you in prayer today.

Read it here.

Psalm 1, 2, and 3

Variety is good when reading through the OT.  Instead of starting in Genesis and working our way to Malachi straight through, we are going to take a "creative journey" through the OT.

Today we'll take a look at Psalm 1 which describes the happy and blessed man - tapped into the life-giving Word.

Psalm 2 points us to Jesus - the King, the Son, and the Final Judge (in whom we can find refuge).

Psalm 3 reminds us that even if the world assails us, our Shield is God and He will sustain me!

Read the Psalms here.

Genesis 49-50

Joseph lived his life to the very end exhibiting grace, wisdom, and forgiveness. What a legacy! Even when his brothers would have "deserved" revenge, Joseph left all that to God. What a great hero of the faith - a man to follow. And by faith he realized that there was a GREATER STORY that God was writing. This wasn't about Joseph - this was about God ... and his last words display that.

Read it here.

Genesis 47-48

Jacob lived to be 147 years old! Holy cow! Would you want to live that long? His eyes were privileged to see a lot. And then right at the end he does another shocking thing. And it seems to be directed by God. Hmm. God doesn't seem to mind coloring outside the lines. Keeps us alert and flexible and responsive to Him. Don't ever think you can put God in a box!

Read it here.

Genesis 45-46

Even after years of conniving and lying, God was willing to forgive this family and use them to preserve an entire nation. God is faithful! And Joseph was trusting in Him. So should we.

Read it here.