Brothers and Sisters,
“Every blessing comes with a challenge,” we remind ourselves often in our fellowship at Maranatha Grace Church. Usually, because we are people of habit, we do not enjoy getting out of our comfort zone. But often God’s blessings in our lives force us to move onward.
As our church is about to move from one location to another location, every day during the next 21 days we will be reading two chapters of the book of Exodus.
On Sunday May 21, 2017 by the grace of God we move.
Hello:
Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 1 Exodus 1 & 2 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
8 Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. 9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.” (Exodus 1:8-10)
23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them. (Exodus 2:23-24
No one and no circumstances can stop God’s blessings in the lives of his people. Pharaoh tried to stop God’s blessing by putting the Israelites under a harsh slavery, but he failed miserably. The biblical story tells us that “the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread (1: 12).” For the Israelites, as it is for the Christians, problems are nothing but opportunities for God’s glory to be manifested.
When our problems seem unbearable, the Holy Spirit comes besides us to intercede in our behalf. The word of God says, “The Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26). In desperation the people prayed to the Lord, but God had already set in motion a means of deliverance for them. “God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob (2:24).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 2 Exodus 3 & 4 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
21 “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.” (Exodus 3:21-22)
29 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31 and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. (Exodus 4:29:31)
God cared a great deal about the Israelites, he had seen their misery and heard their cry, but his main objective in freeing his people was that they could worship him in all freedom. The proof of Moses call was in his future worship of God on the holy mountain, ”God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain” (3:12).”
What is the proof of our calling? May we be true worshipers who worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him (John 4:23). “And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped (4:31).”
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello;
Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 3 Exodus 5 & 6 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’” 2 Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:21-22)
2 God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself fully known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. (Exodus 6:2-5)
It is a great burden for someone to acknowledge God as creator, omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent, but at the same time to ignore his precepts. Therefore, to ease their conscience most people who find themselves in that situation just declare that they do not believe in God, they are atheists. Pharaoh hardened his heart because of pride and disobedience, “I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go (5:22)”
Pharaoh had no excuses, the right thing for him to do should have been to ask Moses. Likewise, presently mankind has no excuses to say that they don’t know the Lord, because God has spoken forcefully to us in the person of Jesus Christ. “In these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe”(Hebrews 1:2).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 4 Exodus 7 & 8 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
8 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.” (Exodus 7:8-9)
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 2 If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs on your whole country. (Exodus 8:1-2)
We don’t have a staff like Moses and Aaron to perform miracles, but we do have the Bible and the authority of the promises of Jesus to perform great acts of deliverance for the wellbeing of our brothers and sisters. Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).
God cares deeply about his creation, especially mankind created in his image and his resemblance. God our perfect Father wants to see us well. The Psalmist wrote, “The Lord be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant” (Psalm 35:27). That’s why Jesus empowers us to heal one another in his name, “they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well (Mark 16:17-18).” God blesses us so much, so that we may worship him (v.1).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 5 Exodus 9 & 10 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses. (Exodus 9:33-35)
24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” (Exodus 10:24-26)
Most often it is when people are in a difficult situation that they seek out for God. There is nothing wrong to turn to God in a difficult situation. The important thing is what we do when the pain subsides. Pharaoh reneged on his promise to the Lord regarding the people of Israel. He had promised to let them go, but he refused to keep his promises when he saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased. As a result, his heart became hardened. This is a warning to all of us, if we keep on postponing our promise to the Lord our heart may become insensitive to the affairs of the Lord.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 6 Exodus 11 & 12 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
The Lord said to Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. 2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” 3 And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people. (Exodus 11:1-3)
33 The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders. 35 The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. (Exodus 12:33-36)
We can never lose what’s ours. God will always make it up to us.
13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. (Genesis 15:13-14)
More than four hundred years after the promise of Genesis 15, the circle is closed, the promise is fulfilled in Exodus 12.
May the Lord richly bless you!
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Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 8 Exodus 15 & 16 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
15 And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, 26 saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.” (Exodus 15:25-26)
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” 10 And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 And the Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’(Exodus 16:9-12)
The Lord is everything for his people. Here, he is shown as their healer and their provider. Erroneously, many people, even Christians, think because we have a modern healthcare systems, with great medicines and procedures, we no longer need to turn to God for healing. This is a great mistake. A short visit to a hospital will reveal to anyone the inadequacy of modern medicine. We need to take God at his word, we need to trust him, and obediently accept everything that he offers to us. Lord, we receive you as our healer.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 9 Exodus 17 & 18 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
5 The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:5-7)
21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” (Exodus 18:21-23)
“Is the Lord among us or not?” Why was that question such a bad question? It was wrong because it opened the gate to all kind of mischiefs. It opened the gate to unbelief, to fear and quarrel. Only the awareness of the presence of God can anchor us humans to the truth of our existence. God created us, he loves us and cares about us.
Do we often make the same mistake that the Israelites made, putting the Lord to test? Do we doubt of the presence of the Lord among us, while he tells us that he will never leave us, nor abandon us (Hebrews 13:5 ). He who cares about even the ordinary details of our lives such as the number of hair on our heads, will always be there to help us. We honor the Lord by trusting him in all situations.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 11 Exodus 21 & 22 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
15 “Anyone who attacks[c] their father or mother is to be put to death. 16 “Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnapper’s possession. 17 “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. (Exodus 21:15-17)
21 “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.22 “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. 23 If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless. (Exodus 22:21-24)
All Christians must be very grateful to God that we are no longer under the Law but under grace. The exigence of the Law shows that it is humanly impossible to keep the Law. However the Law was good, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. (Galatians 3:24). Christ is the end of the Law, in order to bring righteousness to everyone who believes. (Roman 10:14).
The Law shows us God’s holiness and our own sinfulness. When we look at the Law, we see how inadequate we are to save ourselves, we acknowledge our need of a savior. And we turn to Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. The Law also shows to us the compassion of God. God has a special in his heart for the foreigner, for the poor, the widow and the fatherless.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 12 Exodus 23 & 24 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
25 Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, 26 and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span. (Exodus 23:25-26)
17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. (Exodus 24:17-18)
The Lord Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (John 4:23). Why does God seek these kind of worshipers? He seeks them to bless them, to bless their food and water, to take away their sickness, and to give them a full life span.
God wants to bless us abundantly. Besides, the Bible declares that we are already blessed, we are already healed. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). “By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
Worship the Lord your God (v. 25) corporately (in the church) and individually (in the prayer closet) is the guaranteed delivery system to receive those stored blessings.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 13 Exodus 25 & 26 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give. 3 These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; 4 blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; 5 ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather[a]; acacia wood; 6 olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 7 and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.8 “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. 9 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. (Exodus 25:1-9)
30 “Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain.” (Exodus 26:30)
Everything we give to the Lord belongs to the Lord in the first place. He expects the best from his people because he has already given them his best. Not only he expects them to just give, but he wants them to give joyfully. “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). God loves a cheerful giver because he is a cheerful giver, he enjoys giving good things to his children.
“Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain.” As temple of the Holy Spirit, the Christian’s life needs to be patterned on Jesus, the model that has been shown to us. God is generous, we must be generous; “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45).
May the Lord richly bless you!
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Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 14 Exodus 27 & 28 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
20 “You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. 21 In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel. (Exodus 27:20-21)
2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. 3 You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. (Exodus 28:2-3)
The last few chapters of Exodus may not be very fun to read, but they are very important readings for the Christian. It is very instructive to note the elaborate instructions given by God for the construction of the tabernacle, and for everything that pertains to the service within. God is no longer concerned with a tabernacle made with human hands. In the New Covenant, we are God’s temple, the Holy Spirit dwells in us. The description of the tabernacle, God’s dwelling among his people, gives us an idea of how precious we are in the sight of God, as temple of the Holy Spirit.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 15 Exodus 29 & 30 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. 45 I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. 46 And they shall 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. (Exodus 29:44-46)
17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, 19 with which Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. (Exodus 30:17-19)
Every group has the leaders it deserves. The leader as the reflection of the people is demonstrated both in politics and in the church. It is more so in the church since the Lord himself provides the leadership to the church. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11).
The elaborate costumes and rituals for Aaron and his sons were meant to tell the people that God takes his ministers very seriously. It also meant to the priests consecrated unto the Lord to take their calling very seriously. Ezekiel 44:30 shows the reciprocal relationship that must exist between the people and the priest. “Ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.” The people blesses the priests, and in return the priest blesses the people.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 14 Exodus 31 & 32 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. 6 Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you. (Exodus 31:1-6)
15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. (Exodus 32:15-16)
It is reported that Martin Luther, the great Protestant Reformer said: “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” It seems at first so counterproductive to spend so much time in prayer when one has so much to do. But “One day in God’s courts is better than a thousand elsewhere” (Psalms 84:10). God can make people who stay in his presence very smart. Remember the comments of the Jewish leaders toward Peter and John, “These unschooled, ordinary men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
For the construction of the tabernacle which was both a spiritual and physical object, God filled Bezalel with the Holy Spirit in order to lead the task of construction. The Holy Spirit made Bezalel, Oholiab, and a lot of other skilled workers smart. The Holy Spirit is the teacher par excellence. We too will be made very smart to accomplish any task that God has given us. All young people need to be reminded of the truth, “it is not only what they know, but more importantly who they know – Jesus – that will guarantee their success.”
May the Lord richly bless you!
Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 17 Exodus 33 & 34 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
17 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” 18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” (Exodus 33:17-18)
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. (Exodus 34:29-32)
Moses’ heart desire was to see the glory of the Lord. We too can see the glory of God with one condition: Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40). Do you believe?
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 18 Exodus 35 & 36 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
30 Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— 32 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 33 to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts. 34 And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers. (Exodus 35:30-35)
1 So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded.” (Exodus 36:1)
It is the second time in Exodus that we read about the calling of Bezalel, Oholiab, and the rest of the skilled people. When the Bible repeats something twice it is a way to reveal a profound truth that the people need to internalize. The truth is that God does make people smart. Everyone who has been baptized in the Holy Sprit has at his disposition great faculties to accomplish any task that he has been called to perform.
The biologists and the psychologists may disagree with that thruth. They ignore or they don’t know of the Holy Spirit factor; they see smartness only in terms of genes and environment. But here we have it clearly demonstrated that God makes people smart. Any person who is called to do a work can call on the name of the Lord who through the Holy Spirit will make him smart to accomplish the task.
May the Lord richly bless you!
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Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 20 Exodus 37 & 38 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.2 He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it. 3 He cast four gold rings for it and fastened them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 4 Then he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. 5 And he inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it. (Exodus 37:1-5)
They built the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits high; it was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. They made a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar were of one piece, and they overlaid the altar with bronze. (Exodus 38:1-2)
The reading of the word of God is one of the most important activities in the life of a believer. Every verse of the Bible is full with significance. Why does the Bible give us minute details of the tabernacle and its furnishings? It shows us the value that God puts on his dwelling. The cost was astonishing, no expense had been spared to provide a dwelling worthy of the Creator of the universe. We are now his dwelling, the temple of the Holy Spirit. We can only imagine how precious we are on the sight of God.
May the Lord richly bless you!
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Book of Exodus Challenge – Day 21 Exodus 39 & 40 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
42 The Israelites had done all the work just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 43 Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them. (Exodus 39:42-43)
34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.n36 In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; 37 but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. 38 So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels. (Exodus 40:34-38)
GOD'S BLESSINGS ON MARANATHA GRACE CHURCH ON HER NEW JOURNEY!
The work of the Lord had to be done exactly the way the Lord required it. Total obedience and dedication brought blessings in the lives of God’s people. Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them (v. 43). Their biggest blessing was the presence of the Lord with them day and night (40:38).
The Israelites walked by sight, but we walk by faith not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). The presence of the Lord was as real to them as it must be for us today, since we believe his promise, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
May the Lord richly bless you!