Day 7: Exodus 25-40

I want to start this post by discussing yesterday's reading for a little bit. I once read a book that looked at the exodus from an interesting angle.

The author wrote about how the laws and everything was teaching the Hebrews how to "be human." He talked about how for 400 years the Jews had been slaves and had never been able to make decisions for themselves.

This idea keeps popping in my head as I read what God is teaching the Israelites here at Mount Sinai. For the first time in history, Israel is their own country.

Abraham through Jacob, they were just a family who followed God and were blessed by God. Then, Joseph brought them to Egypt. Then, that generation died and the new Pharaoh's made Israel their slaves.

This is the mindset of Israel as they wander around the Desert of Sin. Even when the grumble and complain about wanting to go back to Egypt, it is because they don't know how to live on their own.

And so, I think the author is mostly right when God stops them at Sinai and teaches them how to be a nation.

It brings me back to the old saying "Everything I ever needed to know, I learned in Kindergarten." Israel is learning how to play nice and fair. They are learning how to worship God. They are learning how to treat other people. It's like Kindergarten...

The key verse for me appeared many times, but I chose Exodus 31:12 Then the LORD said to Moses.

I like randomness of it being in the middle of the reading, but it really sums up these 16 chapters. God is talking and Moses is writing down.

I think Brad's message yesterday has been in the back of my mind as I read this. God is speaking to Moses the whole time. He keeps bringing up laws and how to live.

Meanwhile (back at the ranch), the Hebrews are making a golden calf. God is literally in their sight. All they have to do is look up to the top of the mountain and they can see God. God is speaking to them, audibly (indirectly... but audibly none the less).

And Israel just completely ignores God. I mean read Ex. 32:1, When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him."

The get so impatient waiting for the God who brought 10 plagues on Egypt, split the Red Sea so they could walk on dry land, provided water for 2 million people out of a rock, "rained down" manna every morning so they had food, landed quail in their camp for meat, led them through the wilderness not with a map but in a cloud that they could all see and that turned into fire at nighttime. And who they can literally see the glory of WITH THEIR EYES AT THAT VERY TIME!!!

Wow, I don't know what to say. I mean seriously. How do I describe this? I'm not going to eve attempt. This is why Hebrews only calls them "that generation."

But really, are we any different?

We know that God created the universe, sustains the universe, created all 6.7 billion people on Earth, and knows every detail about them. We know that God is Eternal and in fact, invented time. We know that God promises to care for us.

BUT... how do we usually respond? We try to live life our own way. We don't trust that God is in control.

All we have to do to understand that God is BIG is to walk into an airport. Every time I travel I realize how much bigger the world actually is. When I look at the big board of arrivals/departures and I see all these city names, I realize that there are millions and millions of people in each of these cities and God knows their name, future, number of hairs on their head, zits on their face, their salary, the square footage of their house, their cell phone number, everything about them (even more than they know).

I can't even read all of the locations, but God knows it all.

And so, why do I not trust God? Why do I try to live life on my own? There are only 2 options: I can either live like there is no God and hope and pray that He doesn't exist or live my life in the comfort and peace of knowing it is ALL in His hands.

I choose option 2...

Tomorrow begins some light reading in Leviticus... I'm reading 1-9.