Into God’s presence: Exodus 33 – Leviticus 13

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

In these first weeks of Bible reading we have seen how God began to deal with mankind one person at a time. A Noah, or an Abraham, or a Jacob. Then he expanded that connection to involve a group, the family of Jacob, and finally the whole nation of Israel. Now as the book of Exodus closes, one year has passed since God delivered the Israelites from Egypt. God has established his presence among them, and he shows them a way to come safely before him. God makes it possible for this sinful rabble to enter his holiness. It requires a place, the tabernacle, a series of commandments they and their priests must obey, and a set of offerings to remove their guilt. Through their obedience to this process their uncleanness will be made pure, and their commonness will be made holy. Then and only then will their consecrated representatives gain entrance to the most holy place of God’s presence.

The tabernacle is all gold on the inside yet covered in an organic skin, foreshadowing the day when our mortal bodies will house the Holy Spirit. The offerings made before the tabernacle demonstrate a needed progression from admission of sin, to devotion of the whole self to God, to an experience of peace and fellowship. But no sooner do the offerings begin than two of the priests, Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, are struck down by God for improper worship. From the start God stresses the necessity of obedience and a proper spirit of worship. Yet the years to come will show how quickly the Israelites descend into a spiritless external observance without heart.

But Jesus changes everything.  New covenant. Not on stone but on our hearts. New tabernacle. Not a building for God presence but his spirit in us. New access to God. Not just a few consecrated priests who can enter God’s presence, and then but once a year, but access for all believers at all times.  The old covenant and tabernacle served their purpose, however, by showing our need of salvation and the inadequacy of our human efforts.

Jesus says, “I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf (John 16:26-27)”. In other words, I’m not going to insert myself between you and the Father, as though you can’t go to him directly. Why? “The Father himself loves you.” This is astonishing. Jesus is warning us not to think of God Almighty as unwilling to receive us directly into his presence. By “directly” I mean what Jesus meant when he said, “I am not going to take your requests to God for you. You may take them directly. He loves you. He wants you to come. He is not angry at you.” … So, come. Come boldly. Come expectantly. Come expecting a smile. Come trembling with joy, not dread. Jesus is saying, “I have made a way to God. Now I am not going to get in the way.” Come. – John Piper

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Exodus 33-Leviticus 13. Next week I will write about Leviticus 14-Numbers 2. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Exodus 33-Leviticus 13.

Exodus 33-34: Reflections of Glory

Exodus 36-38: The tabernacle: gold with skin on

Exodus 40: If you build it …

Leviticus 1-4: Wrongs righted

Fat and your heart: Leviticus 7

Dangerous worship: Leviticus 10

To eat or not to eat: Leviticus 11

From Egypt to Sinai: Exodus 13-32

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

The journey from Egypt to Mt. Sinai took, according to tradition, 45 days. Five days later Moses received the law, so Pentecost, 50 days after Passover, is forever tied up with the law in the Jewish observance of the feast. The Israelites were at Sinai another 40 days as Moses spoke with God. Such a short time and yet so much happened.

• Pharaoh’s army was destroyed
• God provided water and bread (manna) even as the Israelites grumbled
• God gave the Ten Commandments and other laws
• Moses confirmed a covenant between God and the Israelites, and they agreed to obey the law
• Instructions were given to Moses on the construction of the Ark and Tabernacle, and on the attire and consecration of the priests
• The people turned away from God to idol worship when Moses was delayed on the mountain

We see some great contrasts here: the miraculous provision of God and the grumbling of the people, the devotion of Moses compared to the idolatry of the Israelites, his faith and their doubt. Important concepts are introduced: manna, which becomes the bread of life; the mercy seat where God comes to confer forgiveness, the idea of God dwelling or tabernacling with men. We see another type of covenant introduced: not the unconditional covenant whereby God promised the land to Abraham, but a conditional covenant that requires the people to obey God.

Perhaps most important of all, we are shown the plans for the earthly tabernacle. I say earthly because it is only a representation of the actual tabernacle in heaven. The earthly tabernacle points to the heavenly tabernacle, as the writer of Hebrews explained.

But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. Hebrews 9:11-12

Many of the laws that we will read in the coming weeks have one purpose, to allow a sinful people to approach a holy God. Through these rules things that were polluted became clean, and things that were common were consecrated and made holy. Only then could a sinful person come before God’s presence. Praise the Lord that now believers have that dwelling place of God, that spiritual taberncale, that Holy Spirit, within us, and each believer may by God’s grace come into his presence continually.

“There He stands, clothed not now with linen ephod, not with ringing bells, nor with sparkling jewels on His breastplate. But arrayed in human flesh He stands; His cross is His altar, His body and His soul the victim, Himself the priest. And lo! before His God He offers up His own soul within the veil of thick darkness that has covered Him from the sight of men. Presenting His own blood, He enters within the veil, sprinkles it there, and coming forth from the midst of the darkness, He looks down on the astonished earth and upward to expectant heaven and cries, ‘It is finished! It is finished!’ That for which you looked so long is fully achieved and perfected forever.” Charles Spurgeon

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Exodus 13-32. Next week I will write about Exodus 33-Leviticus 13. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Exodus 13-32.

Exodus 13: Learn to remember

Exodus 16: Will God give me what I need?

Exodus 20: The lure of idols

Exodus 23: Who decides what’s right?

Exodus 25: Sanctuary

Exodus 28: Standing in the doorway

Exodus 30-32: Faith in the unseen

A Nation Meets God: Genesis 43-Exodus 12

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

Four hundred years pass, and Israel is no longer a family, or a clan, or even a tribe, but a nation of over a million people. As Halley said in his Bible Handbook, God took one man, Abraham, and from that man he raised up a family, the family of Jacob with his twelve sons, and from that family he formed the nation of Israel. The Old Testament at its heart is the story of how God grew that nation, and then from that nation took one family, the family of David, and from that family raised up one man, Jesus of Nazareth.

But that is still to come. Now God is dealing with the infant nation of Israel. The people of Israel are crying out in their slavery and oppression. The time has come for God to reveal himself to this nation, and he does so by telling them his name and by showing them his power. He will no longer be just the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He will be their God as well, a personal God, and he makes it personal by giving them his personal name. He is I AM, the self-existent, eternal, unchanging LORD or Jehovah.

God’s actions are just as important as his name in making himself known to Israel. The things he does for them, from the ten plagues to their deliverance from Egypt, demonstrate his sovereign power. He is able. There is nothing he cannot do. His actions also demonstrate his love and concern for them. He is willing. This dual nature of God became a recurring theme for the Psalmists, as in Psalm 59:16.

But I will sing of Your power;
Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning;

This section closes with a foretelling of God’s plan of salvation for the entire world. God causes the death angel to pass over each family of Israel because of the blood of a lamb. The event becomes a yearly feast to memorialize God’s act of deliverance, but it also establishes a pattern so that years later Paul can acknowledge that “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; therefore let us join the feast.” For us, as for the children of Israel, God is able to save. And he is willing, because he loves us. We only need to do as the Israelites did and cry out to him for deliverance.

It is a sign that the Lord is coming towards us with deliverance, when he inclines and enables us to cry to him for it. – Matthew Henry

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Genesis 43-Exodus 12. Next week I will write about Exodus 13-Exodus 32. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Genesis 43-Exodus 12.

Genesis 44 – A selfless act that changes everything

Genesis 46 – A man, a family, a nation

Genesis 50 – A word that isn’t in the Bible

Exodus 3 – The personal God

Exodus 4-6: Moses’ practical atheism

Exodus 7-9: A Hard Heart

Exodus 12: More than a baby

From Jacob to Joseph: Genesis 25-42

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

Two men occupy the bulk of the narrative this week. The first is a complicated schemer who grew up in a God-fearing family but had to run away from home before he had a personal encounter with Jehovah. His vision of the stairway to heaven convinced him of the reality of God, but Jacob’s relationship with God was more of a wrestling match than a peaceful union. Jacob prospered financially, but his spiritual progress was much more uncertain. A look at his brood of violent sons makes one wonder if any devotion to God was on display in Jacob’s home.

Yet one of his sons was very devoted to God. The Bible says of Joseph, repeatedly, that God was with him. He is held up as an Old Testament example of Christ-likeness. Joseph experienced none of his father’s prosperity in his early life but he still remained faithful to God. He was not the schemer but was schemed against, yet in the end he extended grace and mercy to those who tried to harm him. He became the savior of his family in a time of great danger. More importantly, his righteous actions changed them, brought them together, and set the stage for God to extend the blessing of his relationship to a whole family or tribe rather than one individual.

I am encouraged to see how God accomplished this in spite of Jacob’s weaknesses.  Joseph’s faith was a large fruit that grew from a seed of faith in Jacob’s heart. Joseph, in turn, helped plant a seed in Egypt. That seed would grow into a family first and then later a nation of men and women devoted to God. Rather than being discouraged by the ups and downs of Jacob’s faith, I am thankful for the launching pad it provided for the miracle of Joseph’s righteous life.

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Genesis 25-42. Next week I will write about Genesis 43-Exodus 12. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Genesis 25-42.

Genesis 25 – Don’t play favorites

Genesis 28 – Each one must find God

Genesis 30 – Christians should be a blessing to others

Genesis 32 – Praying the promises of God

Genesis 37 – A dreamer and his brothers

Genesis 39 – Finding good in a bad situation

Genesis 41 – What makes a man wise?

Faith vs. Flesh: Genesis 1-24

You can find a one year Bible reading plan here.

The Bible’s beginning is epic. As Walk Through the Bible summarizes it, there is the Creation, the Fall, the Flood, and then the rise of the Nations. Throughout all this tumult God makes relationships with individuals, but the effort reveals two kinds of persons: those who walk by faith and follow God, and those who walk in the flesh and reject God. Sometimes the same person will follow one of these paths at one point in his  life only to switch to the other later. God, thankfully, continues to deal with men despite their failures. Genesis is the book of beginnings, and God, by grace, continues to give men the chance for a new start throughout the events of the book.

Adam and Eve failed to keep faith and instead believed Satan’s lies. They sought power, pleasure, and possessions rather than the promises of God. Cain rejected God but Abel offered his sacrifice in faith (see Hebrews 11). After Abel’s murder his brother Seth was born, and Seth’s descendants began to call on the Lord (Genesis 4:26). Cain’s descendants followed the way of the flesh. Enoch walked with God. Noah found favor with God and God used him to begin to deliver mankind from the curse put on the earth. Following the flood godless men began to try to make their own way to heaven at Babel, but God dispersed them into many nations.

Abraham is the pinnacle of faith in these first chapters, but even Abraham tried to have it both ways. His two sons were a living picture of this struggle. Ishmael was the child of the flesh. Isaac was the miracle child. Yet Abraham is remembered more for his faith than his failings.  As Genesis 15:6 records it, Abraham believed God’s promise, and for that reason alone God reckoned him as righteous. Abraham’s faith is proven when tested on Mt. Moriah at the intended sacrifice of Isaac. This section closes with the story of Abraham’s servant searching for a bride for Isaac. He, also, lived a life of faith, declaring when he found Rebekah that the Lord led him all the way (Genesis 24:27).

The struggle between faith and flesh lights up all these early stories in Genesis and sets the tone for much of the Bible. But note here, as you begin this year long study, that God deals with one person at a time. There is not yet a Godly nation, and barely a godly family, but all that will come in time.

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Genesis 1-24. Next week I will write about Genesis 25-42. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Genesis 1-24.

Genesis 1 – The days and seasons that frame creation

Genesis 5 – Noah lives up to his name

Genesis 9 – The promise keeping God

Genesis 15 – Faith is righteousness

Genesis 17 – Only what’s done through God will last

Genesis 19-21 – Actions have consequences

Genesis 22 – Put to the test by God