Tag: Celebrations

Morning Musing: Exodus 34:18, 22-25

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“Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. You are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, as I commanded you, for you came out of Egypt in the month of Abib. . .Observe the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the agricultural year. Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory. No one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God. Do not present the blood for my sacrifice with anything unleavened. The sacrifice of the Passover Festival must not remain until morning.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

There are eleven federal holidays in the U.S. The oldest four are Christmas, New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Independence Day. Labor Day, Memorial Day, and Veteran’s Day were added later. Three of the days (Washington, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Columbus) celebrate specific individuals. More recently, progressives have sought to convert Washington’s and Columbus’ days to President’s Day and Indigenous People’s Day, but neither of those are officially federal holidays. The latest addition to the list is Juneteenth, celebrating the Emancipation Proclamation. What we celebrate as a people helps to define for us what we consider most important. As God continues to review the covenant with Moses, He makes sure to mention the celebrations He wants Israel to have. Let’s talk about what we celebrate.

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Morning Musing: A Special Day

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“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding; furthermore, if you call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

There are some moments you don’t know are going to change your life. It’s not until you look back on them later that you realize just how profoundly different you are than you might have been because of them. Some moments that you think are going to change your life, wind up not mattering very much at all. Then there are the moments you know will change everything, and that’s exactly what they do. When I woke up 16 years ago, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was walking into one of those moments. I was right. Nothing has been the same since, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Today, my oldest son turns 16. Indulge me a few moments as I just get to be a proud dad.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 23:14-17

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“Celebrate a festival in my honor three times a year. Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you are to eat unleavened bread from seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because you came out of Egypt in that month. No one is to appear before me empty-handed. Also observe the Festival of Harvest with the first fruits of your produce from what you sow in the field, and observe the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field. Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What kind of celebrations do you have as a regular part of your family’s rhythm? Are they all calendar holidays, or do you have some that are more personalized than that? Those celebrations, whatever they happen to be, are more significant than you might realize in terms of shaping your understanding of the world and how it works. Celebrations like that give us a framework for what we understand to be true. This doesn’t necessarily mean they help us get the truth right, but they create a belief framework for us. In the same way, they frame out for us what is right and what kinds of things are important. When God was going through the process of establishing Israel as a people, He gave them instructions to create some regular celebrations as a part of their rhythm. Let’s take a look at the first real introduction He gives to these here.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 12:1-2, 11

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“The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ‘This month is to be the beginning of months for you; it is the first month of your year. . .Here is how you must eat it: You must be dressed for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the Lord’s Passover.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

In John’s Revelation, when the last apostle is recording his vision of the various judgments that will culminate in the end of the world, in two of the three series of seven judgments, the final judgment is silence. Just as we are approaching what we are sure must be the end of everything, we are greeted instead with silence in heaven. Read in context and on its own terms, the moment is truly jarring because of how very unexpected it is. That’s a little like what we get here. We are ready for God to unleash His full fury on the Egyptians. Instead, we get something rather different from that. Let’s begin something new today as we explore together how God finally fulfilled His promise to bring His people out of Egypt.

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