Exodus 34
The Lord said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. 3 No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” 4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. 5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands,[to the thousandth generation] forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. 9 And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
10 And he said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.
11 “Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 12 Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. 13 You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.
17 “You shall not make for yourself any gods of cast metal.
18 “You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt. 19 All that open the womb are mine, all your male livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep. 20 The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before me empty-handed.
21 “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. 22 You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end. 23 Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.
25 “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover remain until the morning. 26 The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.”
27 And the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. 32 Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.
34 Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, 35 the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
One of my family, one who has lived with me, decided to debate the Scripture with me as we lugged things to the moving van.The debate became today's blog post. Is God mean and vengeful or the same ol God?
"The god of the Old Testament is irritable and mean."
"Oh, you mean the GOD ,who sent His Son Jesus, to redeem us."
"What? No. He's recorded as being mean and vengeful."
"No, that's an interpretation of Him that is flawed."
"Well, He's always killing off the people in battle."
"No, He's saving them and the Hittites were not found until the 1980s, Indians Jones style, by falling into the library of clay pots that not only described all the Biblical battles, but agreed with the Lord."
Yes, the LORD is so vengeful that HE - the Creator of the Universe - is willing to re-do the .... what ... the little document the laws of our plant are based upon.
"THE TEN COMMANDMENTS".
The next time you feel you do not measure up to the greats of the Bible, or anyone else. Remember - Moses threw a hissy fit
and destroyed
- THE TEN COMMANDMENTS -
An awesome thing HE does for you.
And how did the LORD, GOD, The Almighty take that ...
He came to visit Moses. To give Moses more of His glory than all others except His Beloved Son.
And we Are so filled with ourselves, we debate with ourselves and each other, all of us, why does HE do that - hurting the third and fourth generation? It isn't the LORD hurting the generations, it is the LORD blessing the generations and we create messes we want Him to sweep up.
I met a young 20 year old woman, today, who is sustained remembering her great-grandmother's house and how well it was pampered, loved, treasured, painted and cared for. The smell of the kitchen giving good meals. Other people own the house and had no skill, or perhaps desire, and the house has fallen into ruins. This young woman has a desire to provide her infant daughter with the things her great-grandmother taught her. And being a young woman enrolled in parenting classes, attending Church and Bible Studies - I know she will become the woman she wants to be - to teach her infant daughter.
This is the LORD, speaking to her heart. A heart of love for this new life she is responsible for. Her great-grandmother living in HIS laws knitting a new generation together in encouragement. Care and love in doing what is there to do.
What was true 4,000 years ago, is true today. Being the LORD, GOD, The Almighty, HE really does not have to put a PR spin on things.
He could have said,"Live your life by my Laws of Love, you will prosper!" Or HE could have given us a parable like this young woman. Reminding us that our lives touch others even after we are in Heaven.
Jesus decided to live our lives and gave us parables - remind me - did we do better with the continuation?
You can pick either of the ways to express this same piece of advice, but I'm pretty sure having the LORD proclaim HIS Love to thousands, or thousands of generations, is really
frankly
filled
with
astonishment
and
wonder.
There is wonder in Jesus, Himself, choosing to live our own life.
Just as the Same LORD GOD ALMIGHTY created a vision of awe for Moses, and for us, who look at that in wonder. The LORD HIMSELF telling Moses about Himself. Recreating the Covenant. He tried again in the second millennium sending pure grace upon grace. We have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus choosing to walk our path in this life.
Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Scripture saying God seeks us. Proclaiming GOD comes to us, reaches down gets HIS hands involved in life.
2 Samuel 22:17
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
Matthew 14:31
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
The Word of the LORD speaks all around us,
we just have to watch less television!
Finding ways to see HIS Word fulfilled around us. We tend to circle our thinking into tight orderly circles, and ignore greater issues. Remember the greater moments in our lives, He gives us. And ignore the Lucy's who would press on our head and tell us to look down. Let the Joy of the LORD fill you and remember, always, He loves you today - just as you are.
That is the miracle of the LORD, GOD, The Almighty allowing Himself to give more chances and with faith, hope and love.
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