I am struck by the simplicity and directness of these laws, and by their mercy, too. If at times they seem severe, the severity is on the side of the injured. It seems almost taken for granted that there will be respect for truth; without it, witnesses are meaningless and the whole structure of the law collapses. Undergirding everything in these laws is a sense that life is lived under the hand of God. All justice and judgment is in the end dependent on this conviction and on the quality of life that comes from it.
There is a restraint on power. In a world where slavery was practiced, these laws limited the slave owner; if he broke a slave’s tooth, the slave was set free in compensation for the tooth (21:27). At a time when women were subservient, protections were nevertheless provided (22:16-17). Perhaps the most helpless in society were the aliens, but they were to be treated fairly because “you were aliens in the land of Egypt” (22:21). And as for the poor, lend to them and do not take interest; and if the surety for your loan is your neighbor’s cloak, don’t keep it at night, for “in what else shall that person sleep?” (22:25-27).
And above all, there shall be justice. You shall not side with a majority (23:2), nor take a bribe (23:8), nor shall you even in pity be partial to the poor (23:3). Your fairness shall extend to the land, allowing it to rest every seventh year (23:10-11).
PRAYER: Give me regard, O Lord, for your commandments, so that I am fair to my fellow human beings and to all creation; in your name. Amen.
Find four or five examples of biblical laws dealing with common things that have their basis in a sense of justice or of divine purpose.
| EXODUS 24–26 | Week 5, Day 5 |
These chapters may bore a modern reader. Who cares, we ask, about the details of the ark of the covenant or the materials that went into the tabernacle with its table and lampstand and framework and curtains? Do these things matter to us today?
Actually, yes. Centuries later the writer of the New Testament Letter to the Hebrews will talk about these matters because he sees in them a foreshadowing of the new way of life in Jesus Christ. “This is a symbol of the present time” (Hebrews 9:9). The Greek word that in this verse is translated “symbol” is usually translated “parable.” Perhaps it will help if we will look upon these detailed descriptions as a physical parable of the glory and completeness that can be found in Christ.
So the Christian reader has an advantage over the ancient counterpart. The original reader knew the material was important because of the repeated command that it should be made “according to the pattern . . . which is being shown you on the mountain” (25:40; 25:9; 26:30). It is important for us because we have encountered the reality for which the original was only a shadow.
The intricate details of these chapters will also remind us that it is an awesome thing to appear before the Lord of the universe. Let it be done rightly and reverently, as befits such an engagement.
PRAYER: Lord of my life, give me a proper sense of your power and majesty, lest I become casual in your presence; to your glory. Amen.
What articles in a contemporary house of worship might seem comparable to the ark, the table, the lampstand, and the curtains?
| EXODUS 27–30 | Week 5, Day 6 |
To read these chapters faithfully and effectively, we have to move a distance into the world of the Jewish people. The altar represented so many things that ancient rabbis made each letter of the Hebrew name for altar the initial of a word, so the four letters would speak of forgiveness, merit, blessing, and life. The horn was a symbol of power and salvation; to take hold of the horns of the altar meant to lay claim on the power of God.
So, too, with the garments of the priests. The twelve stones on the breastplate, bearing the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, signified that the priest was always bearing the people before God in prayer; it is a quality that a parish pastor, at his or her best, would emulate. The priestly anointing was equally specific. Blood, the symbol of life, was touched to the ear of the priest, that it might be consecrated to hear God’s word; to the hand, so he might perform properly the duties of the priesthood; and to the foot, so that he would walk in righteousness (29:20). When he was sprinkled with blood, it reminded the people that atonement can be found for our sins, and when with oil, that there is light and joy in godliness (29:21).
And all of this, in the end, was that they should “know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them; I am the LORD their God” (29:46).
PRAYER: May my worship always end, O God, in the recognition that you are the Lord of my life; to your honor. Amen.
In these chapters, blood is often an important factor in worship. List three hymns that include references to the blood of Christ, to the covenant, or to Communion.
| EXODUS 31–33 | Week 5, Day 7 |
The Hebrew Scriptures look upon skilled craftsmanship as true wisdom; thus Bezalel and Oholiab are called by God and “filled . . . with divine spirit” (31:1-6). But talent is only as good as the use to which we put it. Even the best gifts of God can be made cheap and destructive. So it is that Aaron used his sacred office to collect gold from the people from which to make a golden calf. When Moses confronted him, Aaron first blamed the people (“They said to me, ‘Make us gods’ ” [32:23]) without acknowledging his own abdication of leadership, then blamed circumstances (“I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf” [32:24]).
Moses, too, had a talent. It is too complex to be easily defined, but it is available at least in a measure to every child of God. Moses chose to stand between the people and God, pleading their cause to God, and pleading God’s cause to the people. His commitment was so intense that he challenged God to blot his own name from the divine record if the people were to be rejected (32:32).
Moses’ prayer is effective: “The LORD said to Moses, ‘I will do the very thing that you have asked’ ” (33:17). Yet even so, Moses was not granted the favor of seeing God’s face. The ultimate reward of those who exercise Moses’ gift is that they will see God’s will accomplished in the world and will see a body of people (or a single individual) restored to communion with God.
PRAYER: Lord, help me know such concern for the welfare of others that I will plead their cause faithfully before you; in Christ. Amen.
What persons or what offices in modern Christendom might seem comparable to Bezalel and Oholiab?
Prayer Time
Let us list five specific places of worship for which we will offer prayer daily—for the people who worship there, for those who provide leadership, for the weary or the casual who may come.
How the Drama Develops EXODUS 13–33
In the drama of life as we experience it, no week is so crucial as the one that follows a climactic occasion—especially a climactic victory. Life’s great events are almost always followed by the routine, and it’s in the routine that we are so easily caught off guard. Israel had been in Egypt for 430 years, most of the time as slaves. Now they are free, headed to the land of promise.
But