DAY SEVEN (Exodus 29 – 40)

2 things really jumped out at me in the Day 7 reading:

One, that the priesthood was a very messy job. Standing between God and men and offering sacrifices all day long meant that they were always bloody.  I’m not sure it’s any different today, and as all believers are called to be priests, we’ve got to understand that ministry is going to be messy and we’d better be covered in the blood of the sacrifice, which, of course, is Jesus.

Two, Exodus 32:2-6 was hard to read.  Not only did Aaron make a golden calf, but he told the people that the new idol was the god who delivered them from Egypt.  Unreal.  And verse 4-6 are 3 verses of unbelievable moral and spiritual failure.

DAY SIX (Exodus 15 – 28)

Somewhere in the middle of Exodus 15 I had the brilliant idea that it would be interesting to keep a running total throughout the Old Testament of how many times the people of God grumbled and complained. Somewhere in the beginning of Exodus 17 I gave up.  They complained way too much, and it reminded me way to much of myself.

After reading about the wisdom of Jethro in Exodus 18, I decided that we need a man like that at The Gathering.  Administratively minded, humble, and aware of the power of God and the importance of the priest.  Of course, I’d like him to stay with us and not leave like Jethro did.

Lots of stuff in chapter 19 about the mountain of God and how Moses had to literally put barricades around it so the people wouldn’t touch it and die.  Interesting.  I think the biggest takeaway from this chapter for me was that you can’t be set apart and holy without being set apart.  Most American believers are way too concerned with being relevant that they never stop to wonder if they have any power.  From what I can tell in this chapter, the power of God created relevance and separation, and that’s a weird concept in today’s church culture.

If all of us were a bit more concerned with personal responsibility instead of personal liability, we might not need lawyers. (Exodus 22:1-15)

Never, ever, forget where you came from. (Exodus 22:21)

Find excellence and put it in a place where it can shine. (Exodus 27:16)

DAYS FIVE SIX (Exodus 1 – 15:18)

It only took until Day 5 for the plan to seem as tough as it probably is.  A long day found me reading the final 10 chapters that the plan called for late before bed, which meant that there was no time for doing a lot of note-taking as I read.  I am seeing the benefit of reading a lot of the Bible in a short amount of time (for starters, it really helps to see the continuity of Scripture), but I also see the downfalls. One busy day can put you in a real bind, and that can cause you to shorten the amount of reflection that should go along with the reading.

Anyway, on to the thoughts about the Day 5 reading:

I was amazed at conversation that Exodus 1:10 refers to where all the Egyptian leaders got together to come up with some plan about what to do with God’s people.  I’d like for God to move so mightily in our culture that it sparks those kinds of conversations today.  “These guys are growing so rapidly that we’ve got to figure out how to handle it.  If we don’t try to stop them, they may very well take over!”  A cultural takeover.  Now that’s a plan!

Moses always had the heart to free his people, but he had to wait to have the timing, too.  That’s a tough lesson to learn, and he failed while learning it. Failure isn’t the end, though. (Exodus 2)

Exodus 3:3 – I want the fire of God to burn in me so brightly that it would cause others – like Moses – to be drawn to it.

Exodus 5:22-23 – Leadership is frustrating sometimes.

Exodus 14:11 – There will always be plenty of graves in Egypt, and so the only outcome possible when we choose to return to the former things that God has delivered us from is death.  I’m choosing life, and the new direction that leads to it.