Exodus 34:21-35 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Exodus 34:21-35. Let’s go!
Exodus 34:21-24 (NIV)
21 “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.
22 “Celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.
23 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign LORD, the God of Israel.
24 I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the LORD your God.
On verses 21-24: Once again God reiterates His command to the Israelites to work 6 days and to rest on the 7th day, even during plowing season and harvest (v21). He also reiterates His command that they celebrate the Feast of Weeks, giving God the firstfruits of their wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering (v22). These two feasts, together with the Feast of the Passover, would mark three times when the Israelites were to appear before the LORD (v23). There must have been some Israelites who thought “we don’t have time to rest or time to appear before God because we are too busy, especially during plowing season and harvest”, but nonetheless the LORD tells the Israelites to rest on the 7th day and to gather together 3 times before Him. God wanted the Israelites to trust in Him rather than in themselves, to remember that the LORD is more important than their business of plowing and harvesting, and that the LORD in fact is the ultimate source of their success and prosperity. God promised that as the Israelites gathered three times before the LORD, He would not just protect their land but enlarge it and drive out the nations before them (v24).
What can we learn from this? We will at times be tempted to think, “I’m too busy to rest or to gather with my church family”, but God calls us to trust in Him and His wisdom rather than trusting in ourselves and our wisdom. Our own human wisdom would say, “I can’t afford to rest or gather with God’s people”, whereas God says “seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). So let’s rest, gather and celebrate the way that God commands us to, believing that not only will He protect what we already have, but that He will enlarge it too.
Exodus 34:25 (NIV)
25 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Feast remain until morning.
On verse 25: Since the life of the animal was in the blood, the LORD wanted the Israelites to treat the blood was sacred and not offer it as part of their sacrifices. Since yeast was a symbol for sin, the LORD wanted the Israelites’ sacrifices to be free of yeast as a reminder that God is holy. Since the Passover Feast was a time to commemorate the way God saved the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, the food for that feast was not to be kept until morning but should all be consumed as part of the Passover feast.
Exodus 34:26a (NIV)
26 “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God…
On verse 26a: Just as the Israelites were to bring the best of the firstfruits of their soil to the house of the LORD, so we want to bring our best offering to give to the house of God, our church. Since God gave His best to us, we want to give our best back to Him in loving response.
Exodus 34:26b (NIV)
26 “…Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
On verse 26b: Apparently during Moses’ time a common practice among some of the nations surrounding the Israelites was to cook a young goat in its mother’s milk, believing that somehow this would magically cause their people to be fertile and their livestock healthier and more plentiful. The LORD wanted the Israelites to steer clear away from this superstitious kind of thinking and as a precaution commanded the Israelites not to engage in this same practice. We must be wise and discerning about to what extent we adopt the practices that we see from the people around us, especially those who do not trust the LORD, lest we indirectly allow an attitude of self-reliance to replace our trust in God.
Exodus 34:27-29 (NIV)
27 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”
28 Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant–the Ten Commandments.
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD.
On verses 27-29: Moses is up on the mountain again with the LORD, this time for 40 days and 40 nights, without eating bread or drinking water. I’m inclined to think that this 40 day fast was not intentional but just happened as Moses was enjoying the presence of the LORD. It could be that Moses was so enthralled by God’s presence that he didn’t even think about eating or drinking. By the time he is done, 40 days have elapsed, he has two new tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them, and his face is glowing.
What can we learn from this? When we encounter God, our lives are transformed. In particular, when like Moses we spend extended time with the LORD and enjoy the sweetness of His peaceful presence, God fills the tablets of our hearts with His Word and we begin to radiate the presence of God ourselves.
Exodus 34:30-35 (NIV)
30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.
31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them.
32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai.
33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.
34 But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded,
35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.
On verses 30-35: Aaron and the Israelites were afraid when they saw Moses coming down with a glow on his face after spending extended time with the LORD. So Moses put a veil on his face to keep the people from freaking out. Moses would keep that veil on most of the time when he was with the Israelites and remove that veil only when he would enter the LORD’s presence or when he was giving the Israelites God’s commands (v34).
The Apostle Paul would use this as a picture to illustrate how if you only have the Law of Moses and the Old Covenant, your understanding of God and His Gospel will be darkened and your vision impaired, like seeing through a veil. In contrast, when you understand and believe what Jesus Christ has done, how Jesus on our behalf fulfilled God’s law, died on the cross and rose again, that veil is taken away so that you see God’s glory clearly and you start to reflect God’s glory yourself, looking increasingly more like Jesus Christ (see 2 Corinthians 3:7-18).
Thank You Father for how extended time in Your presence transforms us and causes us to radiate Your glory – one more reason why I need to spend time with You. May I not fall into the trap of ever thinking that I am too busy to rest or spend time with You. For it is You who is the source of every good thing I know, and You Yourself who is the greatest thing I know. Since You gave me Your best and deserve the best, may I bring my best to You, trusting that You will add everything I need. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
