Leaving Egypt Behind

Scripture: Exodus 32:25, Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control-for Aaron had let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies-…

Once a witness. Now a derision. Once proclaimers of God’s power. Now a subject for mockery.

Whether by choice, by accident, by coercion; our actions reflect upon ourselves, our families, our countries and our God. Emissaries of excess or emissaries of the Spirit.

“It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles,” Paul said, “Flee immorality.”

Out of control. Flaunting moral laws for self-indulgence. “We can’t help it. It’s in our nature,” we say disassociating ourselves from responsibility. Natural inclinations are not an excuse. Even the world of nature follows a code of rules.

Witnesses or comic material. We have the opportunity in our world today to be salt and light. To offer moral alternatives in an age of license.

Investigate my heart and mind, Lord, to weed out any immorality I harbor. I ask not to act in any way that causes an affront to Your name, in thought or in deed.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 25:20

Guard my soul and deliver me;

Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in Thee.

Leaving Egypt Behind

Scripture: Exodus 32:16, And the tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing engraved on the tablets.

Written creation. Majestic life. Teeming oceans, teeming insects, teeming cities, teeming stars. Flowers and grasses and shrubs and trees. Cactus to redwoods. Kittens to giraffes, worms to elephants. Parrots, crocodiles, penguins. Sand dunes, rain forests, ice caps. Mountains of lava, mountains of rock, mountains of snow. Streams tricking, rivers raging; wave tossed lakes, mud soaked ponds. Life in nature and universe declaring the work of God’s hands.

Written commandments. Moral law. Simple statements. Staggering commitment. Boundaries for community. Boundaries for conscience. Boundaries of wisdom and righteousness. Boundaries of judgement. “For there is no partiality with God. Who will render to every man according to his deeds.”

Written Christ. Manifest love. Ensconced in mortal flesh. Word of truth, word of grace, word of salvation. God Himself given as a gift to mankind.

Written covenant. Ministry letters. Ambassadors of love’s new commandment. “Being manifest that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.”

Written by God’s own hand.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 102:18

This will be written for the generation to come;

That a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.

Leaving Egypt Behind

Scripture: Exodus 32:1, Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

Moses delayed. The people of Israel demanded. Make us a god they insisted, to go before us. Impatient, indignant at the long wait, they chose a man-made substitute. A molten calf.

Chronos time. Set here and now. Structured, scheduled, streamlined. Straight historical time, ticking clock time. Man’s time.

Kairos time. Set in eternity. Spacious, substantial, sufficient. Searching time, expectant time. God’s time.

Some patriarchs lived in both. Moving through history they waited upon God’s promises. Joseph sat in prison waiting for God’s release. Noah waited in the ark. Abraham waited for an heir. And yet Jacob grasped at this inheritance too soon, Abraham begot Ishmael. And both suffered years of additional waiting as a result.

How can we keep our faith, Lord, from sliding into our solutions? How can we keep our eyes fixed on Your time instead of ours? The temptation is so strong, so enticing, to speed up answers, to solve situations our way. Like Israel.

Keep me, Lord from melting substitutes when Your answer delays. Keep me in Kairos time.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 27:14

Wait for the Lord;

Be strong, and let your heart take courage;

Yes, wait for the Lord.

Leaving Egypt Behind

Scripture: Exodus 31:6, And Behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you:

Appointed for a task. Equipped with talent, with knowledge, with skill. God appointed skills. Placed in hearts for a purpose. God knew by name and by assignment those equipped with necessary craftsmanship.

Created to create. What a joy to know our gifts and talents are God given in our hearts. Heart skill. Crafted into our makeup. “Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Thy book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.”

Apply our hearts to nurture, to practice, to use our skills diligently Lord. To be ready at Your call. To serve You in our crafts. To joy in creation. To be faithful. To respond.

Lord, assist me to live creatively, seeking to serve You through Your gifts in my heart.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 37:23

The steps of a man are established by the Lord;

And He delights in his way.

Leaving Egypt Behind

Scripture Exodus 30:37, And the incense which you shall make, you shall not make in the same proportion for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for the Lord.

Fragrant incense. For worship. For Aaron to burn every morning and every twilight. Fashioned separate. Fashioned holy.

Spices blended, spices beaten. Spice bold smoke. Saturating their senses, sanctifying their prayers.

Faith formed day. Structured around worship, prayers, labor. Another ceaseless offering. Beginning and ending with God. “And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand.”

Spoken prayers, silent prayers, searching prayers. Do I offer them to You with a holy awe, with a heart of worship? Do I invite You to begin and end my day and influence all the situations in between, or do I keep You at a distance? Separate compartments for worship and work?

Bathe my senses in Your Spirit, Lord. Anoint my prayers with Your spices that they may be acceptable.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 141:2

May my prayer be counted as incense before Thee;

The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.

Leaving Egypt Behind

Scripture: Exodus 28:3, And you shall speak to all the skillful persons whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister as priest to Me.

Service for the Lord starts with the Spirit of the Lord. Endowed skills. Endowed wisdom.

Aaron required consecrated garments to serve God and to serve his people. Accomplished craftsmen responded in ministry. They prepared their high priest, who, in turn, would act for them. A concert of abilities, gifts of the spirit of wisdom, selflessly given.

Spirit guided that their work would meet God’s standards. Spirit filled that God would be honored. “Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.”

Anchor my work in Your Spirit that it does not become self-seeking. May I faithfully serve whatever work You assign me, and do it unto You. Make my life, Lord, an offering of service to You.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 116:12

What shall I render to the Lord

For all His benefits toward me?

Leaving Egypt Behind

Scripture: Exodus 25:31, “Then you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand and its base and its shaft are to be made of hammered works; its cups, its bulbs and its flowers shall be of one piece with it.”

This lampstand for the tabernacle is all of one piece, made up of different parts and functions. Whole. One purpose. Paul describes believers as belonging to one Lord, Christ the Head, to which all the parts are to grow, fitted and joined together, supplying joints, “according to the proper working of each individual part.” One body.

The lampstand is pure. The lampstand is hammered work. Jesus, who knew no sin, emptied, Himself, became a bondservant of mankind, to identify with us; knows our temptations, knows our limitations, know our frame.

The lampstand lightens the holy place, the place of prayer, projecting light in different angles. Cast out shadows. Uncovers corners. Makes clear the center, “because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.”

The lampstand burns continually as a perpetual statute throughout the generations. A beacon. To guide. To direct. “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Jesus stands waiting for His people to come home.

Lord, please dispel all the darkness in me. May my center be so filled with You that I reflect Your light from the inside out.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 18:28

For Thou dost light my lamp;

The Lord my God illumines my darkness.