Exodus 19-40
Israel in the Wilderness
Week 9 September 16 – 20, 2019
Monday September 16
The 10 Commandments – Exodus 19-20
God gives the Israelites their first rules for following Him, which we now call the Ten Commandments. He then begins to give them additional rules for how to correctly worship Him. The Israelites had just come out of Egypt, a place with lots of gods, idols, and sin – and no knowledge or worship of the one true God. God begins giving His people instructions on how to follow Him and worship Him correctly, which was especially important because they had come from a place where He was not worshipped correctly, or at all. God had to teach them how to live their lives, what is right and wrong, and how to show love to one another and to God. Just like the Israelites, we live in a world and culture where people make up their own truth and decide for themselves what is right and wrong. It’s important that we remember that God – the creator of the earth and everything in it – is the only one who can really say what is right, wrong, and true. As we grow up we come to our own ideas of justice, truth, right, and wrong, but those ideas are not always correctly executed. Things like a desire for justice, fairness, and truth are good and are a reflection of our Creator who made us in His image. We need help to do these things correctly and who better to help us than the Creator himself! God’s rules are here to help us, not hurt us. It may be difficult to follow God, but He helps us along the way and is pleased when we do our best to obey Him. When you’re genuinely doing your best, you will intentionally apply His truth to every part of your life.
Activity: Applying God’s truth of every part of your life is a process that never ends. As new circumstances arise, relationships change, and we age, our lives are ever changing and giving us new opportunities to apply God’s truth. Is there something new in your life lately? How can you apply God’s truth and follow His instructions as you act in this area? Pray and ask God to guide you, committing to obey God above yourself.
With Children: Talk with your child about how we have opportunities every day to follow God. We want to follow God and He has given us some good ideas on how to do that. Talk about the ten commandments and ask your child which one they want to practice today. Help them stick to it, keeping things encouraging and positive, even doing it with them! You can practice telling the truth, worshipping God, not being jealous, whatever feels practical and achievable for the day. With young children, you can model these things for them and talk to the about doing the things that God tells us to do! No matter the age, pray with your child and ask God to help you all to obey Him and do the right thing every day.
Tuesday September 17
Giving the Law – Exodus 21-24
God gives the Hebrew people a lot of laws to follow now that they are free and no longer living in Egypt. When the Israelites were slaves, they had to obey the laws of the Egyptians, which were often unkind, abusive, and did not follow God’s way of doing things. As God gives these laws and penalties to the people, there is a long list, but it doesn’t include everything that could ever possibly happen. That would be an incredible list! Instead He is giving the judges examples on how to make the laws in accordance with the character of God. The laws were fair, kind, and did not allow for things like retaliation. God is teaching His people what He is like and how to be like Him. We may not have a written Biblical law for every possible situation, but we do have some great examples that we can apply practically if we truly try to understand and portray God’s character in our lives. We need to take care of each other, pay our debts, and treat everyone generously regardless of whether they are our friend or our enemy.
Activity: Is there a situation where you have been unkind to someone? Perhaps you have been dishonest and owe someone money, or you have said something against someone else and you owe them an apology. Have you allowed a spirit of criticism to rule your interactions with others or been unfair and judgmental? Whatever is on your heart, it’s time to make it right. God has made it clear that we are not to pursue retaliation and instead He expects us to treat others with the same love and forgiveness that He gives to us. So whatever it is, make it right.
With Children: God makes it clear that He wants us to be kind, loving, and fair to others, just like He is to us! What is one way that we can treat others that way today? Let’s practice saying we’re sorry when we do something wrong to someone else. Even when it’s an accident, we can apologize and make it right with the other person. With younger children, help them to say “I’m sorry mommy/daddy” when they disobey, hit, break a rule. A young child will not learn this in a day, but start practicing and they will soon learn the right words!
Wednesday September 18
Tabernacle Instructions – Exodus 25-29
The Hebrew people asked God for a representative, so he made Aaron and his sons into priests who would approach God on behalf of everyone. God desperately wants to commune with His people(everyone), so He made a way to do that! Even though we are fallen and sinful, God created a way to take our sin away and bring us back into relationship with Him. He wants to be present in our lives and have a loving relationship with every single person – every single beautiful soul that He has dearly created. By sending Jesus to the earth, God created the perfect sacrifice and we no longer have to follow the rules that were set out for the Israelites. Every person with salvation can now have the Holy Spirit, making whatever ground we walk on turn into Holy ground. God is very accessible to us now, and it’s important that we don’t forget that He is also HOLY and deserving of our reverence. The tabernacle instructions were very precise, making sure that the priests who entered the presence of God took it seriously. It was important that they be clean, disciplined, and respectful of the presence of God. While we no longer have to follow the tabernacle rules, we shouldn’t forget that we are now the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. We also ought to be clean in heart, disciplined in practice, and reverent in Spirit as we acknowledge God and invite Him into our everyday lives.
Activity: Worship God today and thank Him for being present and accessible. Thank the Lord for Jesus Christ and His perfect death and resurrection to save us from our sins. Listen to this song and sing along if you can: “Throne Room Song” – by People & Songs
With Children: Have your kids listen and sing along with you as well.
Thursday September 19
Tabernacle Instructions 2 – Exodus 30-34
God continues giving tabernacle instructions to Moses, telling him to use skilled workers in the building of the tabernacle and everything inside. What skills do you have that you can use to serve your church? Is there a special gift or talent that you have not made useful for the Lord? Consider how you can use your skills within your church as an offering to God. While Moses is away with the Lord, the Israelites get restless in their waiting to hear what their next move should be and fall back into their old way of doing things. They make an idol out of gold and worship the idol in the ways that they would have done in Egypt, instead of patiently waiting on God to send them His message through Moses. This makes God very angry, but He gives mercy and forgiveness to those who repent and commit themselves to Him. We see this is a pattern across the Old Testament and the New. People do the wrong thing, they sin against God and act rebellious, but He always gives them another chance. Ultimately God loves us and just like the Israelites, He always gives us the opportunity to renew our commitment to Him and be forgiven for our sins. This doesn’t mean that we escape the consequences of our sin, but it does mean that we can move forward with God on our side instead of being completely destroyed due to our own actions. God is always working and we must trust that even when we cannot see it, His plan is worth the wait. The Hebrew people wanted to worship God, but they didn’t know how so they worshipped an idol instead. Meanwhile, God was giving Moses precise instructions on how to worship Him correctly. Do you see where the Israelites went wrong? They didn’t trust God to give them what they needed to do the right thing, so they made their own way and many of them died because of it. You may be waiting on your own answer from God. Know that He is working to get everything perfect for you, so that when you get your answer it is the very best that it can be! Don’t settle for your own version, trying to force something to happen that isn’t directed from God. Wait, pray, and thank God for His perfect answer that you will receive when the time is right.
Activity: On a piece of paper, or in a journal, write down the question your are waiting to get an answer for from God. Some topics may be: marriage/dating, finances, healing/sickness, friendships/relationships, a job, parenting, education, or anything else in your life. Then write out your prayer to God, thanking Him for all that He is doing right now to get everything perfectly aligned and ready to give you the answer! Truly trust and believe that God is busy working on your behalf. He loves you and knows the right moment to give you your answer.
With Children: Help your child think of something important that they would like to ask for from God. Write it on a piece of paper and hang it where they can see, or add it to the list of things you regularly pray about together. When you pray, thank God for all that He is doing to get everything perfectly ready to answer this prayer. With younger children, you can pray for an attitude or behavior, or something specific that they need help with such as providing for a need. Pray aloud and encourage them to join you, even if it is just sitting next to you quietly while you pray.
Friday September 20
Tabernacle Construction – Exodus 35-40
As the Israelites built the tabernacle to God’s specifications, they each played a part. They began by joyfully giving of their resources. As we get our needs met by God, it is our joy to pass on the abundance to meet the needs of others! Then, those who had some skill worked to improve their skills so that they could build the tabernacle and the items for the priests, and do it well. Do you have a raw talent or skill that needs to be refined? You can offer what you have at the moment, but it’s not likely to be very useful unless you have disciplined yourself and developed yourself in this area. You have purpose in pursuing growth because it is not just to benefit yourself, but especially to benefit God. After the craftsmen honed their skills, they began to work according to the instruction that God had given to Moses and they did their the work well. When you offer your skills and talents to God, are you receptive to the guidance of your spiritual leaders? Do you acknowledge that God has given a vision to your pastor and that you are there as a part of that vision? Or are you prone to dictating your own ideas of what you like and want to offer, instead of what God has asked of you? Bezalel didn’t walk into the tabernacle with a bunch of curtains he had made his way. Instead he made sure that he followed the very detailed instructions passed down to him by Moses, who had received the instructions from God. We are all unique and we all have something special to offer, however it is important that we keep ourselves aligned with God’s plan instead of trying to push our own agenda. We are all working together to serve God and it’s important that we recognize that we each have our own part to play. If you have a skill or talent you would like to offer to God, start by praying to ask God to help you continue to developing yourself in this area. Then let your pastor or other ministry leader know that you would like to offer yourself in this area to help build up the ministry of God and fulfill the vision God has laid out. If you have ideas of how you can help, share them, but be open to the guidance of your leadership and do not allow offense or pride to creep in and distract you from your true motive of selflessly serving God well. The enemy would just love to inflame those negative feelings and derail you from serving God.
Activity: What is God telling you to do today? How can you unite with your church to pursue the vision God has given? There are a variety of skills and talents among God’s people and it is a beautiful thing when everyone can come together and pursue God, adding their unique contributions to make something greater than themselves! No offering is greater or lesser than another when it is all given joyfully.
With Children: Help your child identify a special skill or talent within themselves. Talk to them about how they can use that part of themselves to serve God and serve Him well. Maybe they have leadership qualities and can help lead a fundraiser for the missions ministry at church, start a kids Bible study, or help with the younger kids at church. Perhaps they are a gifted artist or musician and can help lead worship for their kids class, or draw the artwork for the church bulletin. If they have an eye for detail and enjoy making things clean and beautiful, encourage them to help clean their Sunday school classroom, pick up after a church event, or vacuum the carpets in the church foyer. Hold them accountable to whatever it is they decide to do and help them to do it well by supporting them as they work! For younger children, include them in your work at church and train them to do it well and with joy. As they grow they may find something that fits them better, or they might even have a passion for the same thing as you!
