We are working our way through the book of Exodus. Just reading the book is something like taking a journey that has very different stops along the way. From chapters 20-30 there is a great deal of specific instruction and commands that come directly from God. Speaking to Moses on Mt. Sinai, God gives Moses the guidance for personal behavior that we call the Ten Commandments. He then expands the ten commandments into detailed and very specific laws to regulate property and relationships between people. God is also extremely detailed and specific in His commands regarding sacrifice, worship and obedience to Himself. God also gives scores of specific directives regarding the design and construction of the Tabernacle, where priests would come before Him daily to offer sacrifice. There is a great deal of symbolism in all of this but one observation that I make is that God has very specific plans in mind for our lives and our behavior. His commands also show that He is an absolutely holy God and cannot be approached lightly, or without cost. The elaborate instructions for the Tabernacle made obedience a focused and intense process that called for a significant outlay of time and attention. It is a good lesson for us that our walk with God is not a light thing. It calls for a commitment of time and attention. We have a tendency to go our own way and, perhaps, the commands and laws of Exodus are a detailed reminder that there is another way to go, the way that comes from our own Mt. Sinai in Heaven.
Exodus 20 Then God gave the people all these instructions:
2 "I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
3 "You must not have any other god but me.
blessings,
Rob Smith
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