{"id":20389,"date":"2022-02-20T22:00:25","date_gmt":"2022-02-21T05:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/exodus-34_10-20-copy\/"},"modified":"2022-02-18T15:44:08","modified_gmt":"2022-02-18T22:44:08","slug":"exodus-34_21-35","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/exodus-34_21-35\/","title":{"rendered":"Glowing from God\u2019s Presence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exodus \u00a034:21-35\u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Exodus 34:21-35.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Exodus 34:21-24 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign\u00a0LORD, the God of Israel.
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I 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\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 21-24:\u00a0\u00a0Once again God reiterates His command to the Israelites to work 6 days and to rest on the 7th<\/sup>\u00a0day, even during plowing season and harvest (v21).\u00a0\u00a0He 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).\u00a0\u00a0These two feasts, together with the Feast of the Passover, would mark three times when the Israelites were to appear before the LORD (v23).\u00a0\u00a0There must have been some Israelites who thought \u201cwe don\u2019t have time to rest or time to appear before God because we are too busy, especially during plowing season and harvest\u201d, but nonetheless the LORD tells the Israelites to rest on the 7th<\/sup>\u00a0day and to gather together 3 times before Him.\u00a0\u00a0God 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.\u00a0\u00a0God 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).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0We will at times be tempted to think, \u201cI\u2019m too busy to rest or to gather with my church family\u201d, but God calls us to trust in Him and His wisdom rather than trusting in ourselves and our wisdom.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Our own human wisdom would say, \u201cI can\u2019t afford to rest or gather with God\u2019s people\u201d, whereas God says \u201cseek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you\u201d (Matthew 6:33).\u00a0\u00a0So let\u2019s 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exodus 34:25 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“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.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 25:\u00a0\u00a0Since 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.\u00a0\u00a0Since yeast was a symbol for sin, the LORD wanted the Israelites\u2019 sacrifices to be free of yeast as a reminder that God is holy.\u00a0\u00a0Since 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.<\/p>\n

Exodus 34:26a (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 26a:\u00a0\u00a0Just 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.\u00a0\u00a0Since God gave His best to us, we want to give our best back to Him in loving response.<\/p>\n

Exodus 34:26b (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“\u2026Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 26b:\u00a0\u00a0Apparently during Moses\u2019 time a common practice among some of the nations surrounding the Israelites was to cook a young goat in its mother\u2019s milk, believing that somehow this would magically cause their people to be fertile and their livestock healthier and more plentiful.\u00a0\u00a0The 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.\u00a0\u00a0We 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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exodus 34:27-29 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then the\u00a0LORD\u00a0said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Moses was there with the\u00a0LORD\u00a0forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant–the Ten Commandments.
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When 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\u00a0LORD.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 27-29:\u00a0\u00a0Moses is up on the mountain again with the LORD, this time for 40 days and 40 nights, without eating bread or drinking water.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m inclined to think that this 40 day fast was not intentional but just happened as Moses was enjoying the presence of the LORD.\u00a0\u00a0It could be that Moses was so enthralled by God\u2019s presence that he didn\u2019t even think about eating or drinking.\u00a0\u00a0By 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.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When we encounter God, our lives are transformed.\u00a0\u00a0In particular,\u00a0when 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exodus 34:30-35 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them.
\n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the\u00a0LORD\u00a0had given him on Mount Sinai.
\n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.
\n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But whenever he entered the\u00a0LORD’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,
\n35\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the\u00a0LORD.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 30-35:\u00a0\u00a0Aaron and the Israelites were afraid when they saw Moses coming down with a glow on his face after spending extended time with the LORD.\u00a0\u00a0So Moses put a veil on his face to keep the people from freaking out.\u00a0\u00a0Moses 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\u2019s presence or when he was giving the Israelites God\u2019s commands (v34).<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0\u00a0In contrast,\u00a0when you understand and believe what Jesus Christ has done, how Jesus on our behalf fulfilled God\u2019s law, died on the cross and rose again, that veil is taken away so that you see God\u2019s glory clearly and you start to reflect God\u2019s glory yourself, looking increasingly more like Jesus Christ<\/strong>\u00a0(see 2 Corinthians 3:7-18).<\/p>\n

Thank You Father for how extended time in Your presence transforms us and causes us to radiate Your glory \u2013 one more reason why I need to spend time with You.\u00a0\u00a0May I not fall into the trap of ever thinking that I am too busy to rest or spend time with You.\u00a0\u00a0For it is You who is the source of every good thing I know, and You Yourself who is the greatest thing I know.\u00a0\u00a0Since You gave me Your best and deserve the best, may I bring my best to You, trusting that You will add everything I need.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Exodus 34:21-35.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Exodus 34:21-24 (NIV)
\n21\u00a0\u00a0“Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.
\n22\u00a0\u00a0“Celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.
\n23\u00a0\u00a0Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign\u00a0LORD, the God of Israel.
\n24\u00a0\u00a0I 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\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God.<\/p>\n

On verses 21-24:\u00a0\u00a0Once again God reiterates His command to the Israelites to work 6 days and to rest on the 7th\u00a0day, even during plowing season and harvest (v21).\u00a0\u00a0He 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).\u00a0\u00a0These two feasts, together with the Feast of the Passover, would mark three times when the Israelites were to appear before the LORD (v23).\u00a0\u00a0There must have been some Israelites who thought \u201cwe don\u2019t have time to rest or time to appear before God because we are too busy, especially during plowing season and harvest\u201d, but nonetheless the LORD tells the Israelites to rest on the 7th\u00a0day and to gather together 3 times before Him.\u00a0\u00a0God 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.\u00a0\u00a0God 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).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20391,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20389"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20392,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20389\/revisions\/20392"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}