Category: Digging in Deeper

Digging in Deeper: Exodus 32:7-10

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“The Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Go down at once! For your people you brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them; they have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and said, “Israel, these are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”‘ The Lord also said to Moses, ‘I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone, so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever known someone who liked to play the Devil’s advocate in a debate setting? Are you that person? Some people just like taking the other side in a debate. Even if they don’t really believe in the position, they’ll stake it out simply because they like arguing. I bring that up because this next part of our story is hard to understand. All the players switch roles in ways that are confusing at best. If we are not sufficiently grounded in our understanding of their character outside of this story, we are going to struggle to make any positive sense out of it. Let’s take a look at God’s getting angry with Israel.

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Digging in Deeper: Proverbs 17:27

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“The one who has knowledge restrains his words, and one who keeps a cool head is a person of understanding.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We never know what tomorrow will bring. Sure, we have our predictions, and sometimes those predictions are fairly reliable because of a consistent pattern in the past. But we don’t really know. Sometimes things go like we expect. Sometimes we find ourselves treading through territory we could have never imagined we would have to navigate. Had you asked anyone in my town a year ago what the state of things would be today, they would probably not have guessed they would be where they are right now. Things have been a bit…unsettled of late. Let’s talk today about why as well as some things we should keep in mind when thinking about it or responding to it.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 31:18

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“When he finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

In one of the funnier scenes from Mel Brooks’ History of the World Part 1, Moses (played by Brooks himself) comes down the mountain with the holy tablet of the Law. Except, unlike in the Exodus story, he is carrying three tablets instead of two. He announces that he has brought the people these fifteen commandments from the Lord. Then he drops and breaks one of the three tablets. Thinking on his feet, he quickly corrects himself to announce that he has brought the people these ten commandments from the Lord. Everybody knows about the law tablets that Moses brought with him down the mountain. Here is where we first learn about them. Let’s talk about what’s going on here.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 7:15

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“For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

As a parent, you quickly learn that every different age your kids go through has its challenges, but also its joys. They’re adorable when they’re babies, but you don’t get any sleep. Toddlers are great comic relief, but the tantrums get pretty old. When they’re in the no man’s land of early- to middle-elementary school they’re the most fun because of how much they are drawn to just play, but that’s also when they can start to become little punks. Well, I’ve got two right now that are teenagers. (Now there’s a sentence that makes you start feeling old…) Teenagers have attitudes. And emotions. In spades. But they are also reaching the point that they are starting to be able to meaningfully process the world around them in ways that reflect real critical thinking. You can start having an actual conversation with a teenager in ways other stages don’t quite allow. They also ask good questions that desire real answers. Today’s post is the result of one of those good questions. Maybe you’ve asked this one before. Here are some of my thoughts.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 31:12-17

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“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell the Israelites: You must observe my Sabbaths, for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, so that you will know that I am the Lord who consecrates you. Observe the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Whoever profanes it must be put to death. If anyone does work on it, that person must be cut off from his people. Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord. Anyone who does work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. The Israelites must observe the Sabbath, celebrating it throughout their generations as a permanent covenant. It is a sign forever between me and the Israelites, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever gotten so focused on doing something that you forgot why you were doing it in the first place? I am a pretty task-oriented person. When I take on a project, the only thing I want to do is to finish that project and to finish it well. I can easily lose sight of just about everything else except the project resulting in no small amount of completely understandable frustration for the people around me. God had finished giving Moses all the instructions Israel needed to build the tabernacle. It was time for them to get to work on it. Before they got started on it, though, He took a second to remind Moses not to let the people lose sight of what mattered most. Keep that in mind as we walk through this challenging passage.

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