Archive for category: GAMEtime Sharing

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 21:12-25. Let’s go!

Exodus 21:12-14 (NIV)
12 “Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death.
13 However, if he does not do it intentionally, but God lets it happen, he is to flee to a place I will designate.
14 But if a man schemes and kills another man deliberately, take him away from my altar and put him to death.

On verses 12-14: Here God continues to give to the Israelites through Moses laws that would help them begin to run as a free nation. Verses 12-14 talk about what happens when a person kills another. If the killing was intentional and deliberate, the law demanded that the killer be put to death. If the killing was not intentional, God would designate places (which later would be called cities of refuge) where the killer could flee to safety until the killer was given a fair trial.

Exodus 21:15-17 (NIV)
15 “Anyone who attacks his father or his mother must be put to death.
16 “Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death.
17 “Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.

On verses 15-17: Notice that God places cursing one’s parents on the same level as murder, at least as it relates to the required punishment! It goes to show how seriously God looks at how children treat their parents.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 20:18-26.  Let’s go!

Exodus 20:18-21 (NIV)
18  When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance
19  and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
20  Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
21  The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

On verses 18-21:  After hearing the voice of God directly for the first time, together with thunder, lightning, a trumpet blast and a mountain on fire, the Israelites are freaking out in fear.  They stay at a distance from God.  They tell Moses that instead of hearing God’s voice directly they would prefer that Moses hear from God directly and then tell the Israelites what the LORD is saying.  Moses reassures the Israelites that this encounter was a test (v20), so that they would fear God and not sin against Him.  

This passage marked the first time in the Old Testament a large group of people got to hear the voice of God directly.  In the New Testament, the first time a large group of people get to hear the voice of God directly, it’s when Jesus the Son of God is speaking to them.  The contrast is stark: in Exodus 20:18-26, God comes with terrifying thunder.  In the New Testament, God comes as a baby.  In Exodus 20:18-26, God motivates with fear.  In the New Testament, God motivates with love.  It’s the same God, but Jesus Christ changes everything, extinguishing the wrath of God with his blood shed on the cross, emphasizing God’s love and compassion for sinners, and expressing the power of God with his resurrection.  In Exodus 20:18-26, the atmosphere is dominated by overwhelming fear.  In the New Testament and in heaven today, because of Jesus, the atmosphere is dominated by overwhelming love.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 19:14-25.  Let’s go!

Exodus 19:14-15 (NIV)
14  After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.
15  Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.”

On verses 14-15:  In Exodus 19, there is a word that comes up repeatedly which we hardly use today in our daily conversation.  It’s the word “consecrated” (see for example verses 10, 14 and 22).   What does it mean to be “consecrated”? To be consecrated means to be set apart for a special, holy purpose. 

Why would God require the people to consecrate themselves before meeting Him (Exodus 19:10, 22)? And why did God say that He would break out against the people if they approached Him without first being consecrated (v22, 24)? It’s because God is holy. By “holy” we mean morally perfect, without sin, completely righteous and pure in every way. God is so holy, so righteous, and so pure that anything with sin would perish in God’s presence.

That’s why the people had to consecrate themselves. They would wash their clothes and abstain from sexual relations, not because dirty clothes and sex are sinful in God’s eyes, but as a practical way to get the people to focus on seeking God with special intensity and getting ready to encounter Him. 

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 18:13-27.  here are a few other lessons we can learn from this passage.  Let’s go!

Exodus 18:13-23 (NIV)
13  The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening.
14  When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”
15  Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will.
16  Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and laws.”
17  Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good.

On verses 13-23:  Jethro saw that as good intentioned as Moses was, it was not healthy or advisable for Moses to be a one man show and to personally judge every case that the people brought to him.  This would wear Moses out and it would also wear the people out in terms of making them wait far too long.  Jethro saw the inefficiencies in Moses’ system and suggested a better way, encouraging Moses to focus his role on teaching the people (v20) and representing the people before God (v19) and to delegate authority to trustworthy individuals with good character to deal personally with the people’s individual problems (v21-22).  Jethro’s goal was to lighten Moses’ load (“this will make your load lighter”), to raise up leaders who would be accountable to Moses and who could help share the work (“they will share it with you”), and to create a better experience for everyone so that “all these people will go home satisfied” (v23).

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage, Exodus 17:1-16, is full of powerful lessons, so many in fact that there’s probably one lesson for every hour of your workday today.  You may want to read this message in pieces, taking it in bit by bit throughout the day.  Get ready!  Let’s go!

Exodus 17:1-5 (NIV)
1  The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
2  So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?”
3  But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”
4  Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
5  The LORD answered Moses, “Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.

On verses 1-5:  Once again the Israelites grumble against Moses, complaining about a lack of water.  Moses asks God what he should do with these angry, grumbling people, and I like the LORD’s response to Moses.  The LORD tells Moses, “Walk on ahead of the people.” (v5) When people are grumbling, walk ahead of them.  Don’t become their follower, moving forward only when they move forward or going only when they tell you to go.  Walk ahead of them and you’ll see things that they don’t see and be better positioned to lead them.