Devotions

face bread

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 25:23-30

²³ “You should make a table of acacia wood. Its length should be two cubits, its breadth a cubit, and its height a cubit and a half.²⁴ You should overlay it with pure gold and make a border of gold around it.²⁵ And you should make a rim around it a handbreadth wide, and a border of gold around the rim.²⁶ And you should make for it four rings of gold, and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs.²⁷ The rings should be placed close to the frame, serving as holders for the poles to carry the table.²⁸ You should make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table should be carried with these.²⁹ And you should make its plates and dishes for incense, and its pitchers and bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you should make them of pure gold.³⁰ And you should place the face bread on the table before me regularly.

face bread

Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy elders had just had a communion meal before the LORD at Mount Sinai. Now, the LORD instructs the Israelites to construct a special table to go into the tabernacle to serve as a reminder of his continual presence. Fresh bread was to be regularly placed on that table. It was to be called “face bread”[1] In that special meal, those leaders saw God, and ate and drank. The table was to be a reminder that the covenant believers need not fear the face of the LORD, because he wants to have fellowship with them. The blood of the covenant has removed the barrier of fear.

LORD, thank you for your abiding presence. We come to you today boldly, enjoying fellowship with our Savior God.

[1] lechem panim.

Posted in atonement, communion, encouragement, fellowship, relationship with God | Tagged Exodus 25 | 1 Comment

the ark of the testimony

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 25:10-22

¹⁰ “They should make an ark of acacia wood. Its length should be two and a half cubits, its breadth a cubit and a half, and its height a cubit and a half.¹¹ You should overlay it with pure gold, covering it inside and outside. And you should make on it a border of gold around it.¹² You should cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four legs, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it.¹³ You should make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.¹⁴ And you should put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, using them to carry the ark.¹⁵ The poles should remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken away from it.¹⁶ And you should put into the ark the testimony that I will give you.¹⁷ “You should make a mercy seat of pure gold. Its length should be two and a half cubits, and its breadth a cubit and a half.¹⁸ And you should make two cherubs of gold; you should make them of hammered work, on the two ends of the mercy seat.¹⁹ Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. You should make the cherubs of one piece with the mercy seat on its two ends.²⁰ The cherubs should spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; the faces of the cherubim should be toward the mercy seat.²¹ And you should put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you should put the testimony that I shall give you.²² There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, I will speak with you about all that I will give you as commands for the sons of Israel from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony.

the ark of the testimony

The ark containing the testimony God gave to Moses was to have a central position in the sacred tabernacle – not spatially, but theologically. It had to be made out of the most precious material available because God’s interaction with his people is the most important reality. The testimony inside the ark was the symbol of that divine interaction, and the images of cherubs were facing that testimony, essentially providing a constant witness to its veracity. They were not facing outward, which would be the case if they were symbolizing the guarding of its contents.

The ark inside the tabernacle told the people of Israel that wherever they would go, God and his promises would go with them. Also, he would be among them to give them direction by providing commands. The people would not have to conjure up the LORD’s presence, nor speculate about his will.

Lord Jesus, you promised to be with us always, even to the end of the age. May we never doubt your presence, or feel the lack of your counsel all the days of our lives.

Posted in dependence upon God, relationship with God | Tagged Exodus 25 | 1 Comment

a sacred place

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 25:1-9

¹The LORD told Moses,² “Speak to the people of Israel, so that they take for me a donation. You should receive the donation for me from every man whose heart moves him.³ And this is the kind of donation that you should receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze,⁴ blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair,⁵ tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood,⁶ oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense,⁷ onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the sacred pouch.⁸ And let them make me a sacred place, and I will live in their midst.⁹ You should make it exactly as I am showing you according to the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture.

a sacred place

The LORD had commanded his people not to make an altar out of their silver and gold. He had commanded them not to fashion it with tools, but only to use earth or stones which had not been carved. So, why did he insist now that they make him an intricately fashioned dwelling place from their riches? Part of the answer lies in what the Mikdash[1] represented. It did not stand for what the people could do for God, but it stood for what God planned to do for them. The LORD intended to travel with them as they journey to the holy land.[2] Also, unlike the altar, which could be constructed by a single person, the mobile sacred place in the desert would be the result of the donations from all the people, as the LORD put it on their hearts to give. Some would donate the raw materials, and others would construct the tabernacle according to God’s plan. One farmer might plant, and another water, but God is responsible for the final harvest. In the same way, the tabernacle would bring glory to its designer, and would be sacred not because of its sources or its contents, but because of its inhabitant.

When our Lord Jesus came to earth to tabernacle among us for a while,[3] his appearance was also accompanied by gifts from great men. The gifts were of the same type as those the Israelites contributed for the tabernacle. But the great men who gave those gifts were not Israelites. They represented an new people the LORD was going to call to himself. A people from among all the peoples of the planet. When the LORD descends to take up his permanent residence among us, we will all be one tribe, one family. Also, when he does that, the sacred place in which he resides will be us.

LORD, come to dwell in our hearts today, as we journey toward the future which you have promised us.

[1] literally, the Holy place.

[2] Psalm 78:54; Zechariah 2:12.

[3] John 1:14.

Posted in giving, Jesus Christ, missions, worship | Tagged Exodus 25 | 1 Comment

preparing ourselves for his presence

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 24:12-18

¹²The LORD told Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.”¹³ So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God.¹⁴ And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And see, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them.”¹⁵ Then Moses climbed the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.¹⁶ The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.¹⁷ Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain before the eyes of the sons of Israel.¹⁸ Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

preparing ourselves for his presence

Moses is called back up to the mountain, giving instructions for Aaron and Hur to take over his judicial duties until he returns. The LORD has told him that he would be receiving another symbol of the covenant he had just made with the sons of Israel: the tablets of stone. But before that, Moses spends some quality time with the LORD, because there would be another symbol to be constructed. The LORD himself will etch the ten words into the two tablets, but he will give precise details to the people, and they are to construct the tabernacle. On the mountain, the LORD appears as a devouring fire. But his desire is to dwell among the people. A means to approach this holy, consuming fire GOD must be introduced. The ministry of Moses was in essence to carry the presence of God down the mountain with him, preparing the people to dwell with him in righteousness.

Christ brought the presence and glory down from heaven with him, but only for a time. His commands given to his disciples to follow were designed to prepare humanity for God’s permanent indwelling presence among us. When we are ready, the LORD himself will come down to earth to live among us. The way for us to prepare for that dwelling among us is for us to spend time in fellowship with him in prayer and in his word. So, we need to approach our LORD, not as part of our vocation, but preparing ourselves for his presence.

LORD, we come to you today, awaiting your instructions. Teach us how to prepare ourselves for your eternal presence.

Posted in commitment, discipleship, Moses, preparation | Tagged Exodus 24 | 1 Comment

joining up

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 24:1-11

¹ Then he told Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance.² Moses alone should come near to the LORD, but the others should not come near, and the people should not come up with him.”³ Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.”⁴ And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. He got up early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.⁵ And he sent young men of the sons of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD.⁶ And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar.⁷ Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will keep doing, and we will remain obedient.”⁸ And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “See, the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”⁹ Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up,¹⁰ and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the sky itself for clearness.¹¹ And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they saw God, and ate and drank.

joining up

In the ancient near east, when two tribes joined together they would form a covenant, and that covenant would be ratified by a mutual sacrifice and a mutual fellowship mean. That imagery went through the minds of the Israelites as the LORD called on them to make a covenant with himself by obedience to the ten words. The Book of the Covenant was the law code given to Moses by the LORD himself so that the sons of Israel would know how to obey the ten words. This gathering of Moses, the priests, and the elders was a visual demonstration to the community that the covenant had been made.

Covenants like the one made at Sinai were being made all the time between families at the time. The sons of Israel could not help believing that their status in the world had been significantly changed that day. They had joined up with the clan of God himself.

Thank you, LORD Jesus, for bringing us into your family, and symbolizing that new relationship with the new covenant meal.

Posted in communion, dependence upon God, fellowship | Tagged Exodus 24 | 1 Comment

following the angel

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 23:20-33

²⁰ “See, I am sending an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.²¹ Listen carefully to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, because he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.²² “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.²³ “When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I get rid of them,²⁴ you should not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you should utterly destroy them and break their pillars in pieces.²⁵ You should serve the LORD your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.²⁶ No one will miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.²⁷ I will send my fear before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you will come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs from you.²⁸ And I am sending hornets before you, which will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you.²⁹ I will not drive them out from before you in one year, so the land does not become desolate and the wild animals increase against you.³⁰ Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have multiplied and possess the land.³¹ And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates, because I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.³² You shall make no agreement with them and their gods.³³ They should not live in your land, or they would make you sin against me; because if you serve their gods, it will definitely be a trap to you.”

following the angel

The LORD had placed his guardian angel in the presence of his people, and he would lead them to victory against their enemies. The Israelites had two responsibilities – one positive and the other negative. They had to follow the leading of the angel, who would lead them every step of the way through the desert and into the promised land. But they were also responsible to avoid making any agreement (or covenant) with the present inhabitants of the land.

The LORD provided both direction and protection. He only asked that his people stay away from the very people who were already cursed, and on the LORD’s hit list. The idolatrous lifestyles of these people would be a trap for the Israelites, so the LORD put them off limits.

Today, the LORD has provided his Holy Spirit to give guidance to his church, and we will prosper if we follow his direction. But he has put no people “off limits” for us. Instead, this same Holy Spirit who is within us to guide us, urges us to seek the lost and bring them into the Son’s kingdom.

LORD, we seek to follow your Holy Spirit’s guidance, and obey his promptings to witness to the lost all around us.

Posted in church, commitment, evangelism, obedience | Tagged Exodus 23 | 1 Comment

celebrating provision

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 23:14-19

¹⁴ “Each year, three times you should keep a feast to me.¹⁵ You should keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Just as I commanded you, you should eat only unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because in it you came out of Egypt. No one should appear before me empty-handed.¹⁶ You should keep the Feast of Harvest, of the first picking of your crops, of what you sow in the field. You should keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your work.¹⁷ Three times in the year all your males should appear before the Lord GOD.¹⁸ “You should not offer the blood of my sacrifice along with anything leavened, or let any fat of my feast be left over in the morning.¹⁹ ” You should bring The best of the first picking of your ground crops into the house of the LORD your God. “You should not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

celebrating provision

The community was responsible to celebrate God’s provision regularly. These regular feasts were means of testifying to the way the LORD took care of his people. They were opportunities to witness about God’s miraculous deliverance in Egypt, and his ongoing promise to keep providing for his people – celebrated twice a year. The firstfruits feast celebrated the promise in faith, and the ingathering feast celebrated the fulfillment of the promise.

All of the males in Israel were required to attend these regular celebrations. No one was to stay home because this way no one would be considered too important to take time off for celebration. The LORD was teaching his people that he was the indispensable element for the provision of all things.

Pagan practices were also particularly prohibited – of these, three are mentioned specifically as examples. No leaven is allowed, because it symbolizes the old ways in Egypt. No keeping of leftovers until the next day, because – after all – the people are celebrating God’s trustworthiness in providing for their needs. The practice of boiling a goat kid in it’s mother’s milk was (in addition top being cruel) practiced by the pagans as a means of manipulating the gods to ensure a fertile flock. The LORD will not be manipulated. Unlike the pagan gods, the LORD is willing and eager to provide – as long as he gets the credit for the provision.

LORD, thank you for faithfully providing for us. You are our deliverer and our sustainer.

Posted in dependence upon God, faithfulness, witness | Tagged Exodus 23 | 1 Comment

the land Sabbath

Posted on September 30, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 23:10-13

¹⁰ ” You shall plant on your land for six years and collect what it produces,¹¹ but the seventh year you shall let it stop producing, lying fallow, so that the poor of your people may eat; and so that the animals of the field may eat what they leave. You should do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.¹² “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall stop; so that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the visiting foreigner, may be refreshed.¹³ “Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.

the land Sabbath

If I were ever tempted to add a ritual Sabbath to my spiritual routine, the temptation would come from passages like this one. Here the LORD instructs his people – once they get to the promised land – to let their crops on their land lie fallow one year out of seven. He does not specify the particular year, only it had to be the seventh year from the first harvest. Theoretically, that instruction should have resulted in every community in every location having fields where the poor or visiting foreigners could scrape up food – from the volunteer crops that came up during the Sabbath year.

This regulation tells us a great deal about the LORD. It shows how concerned he is for the poor and marginalized. It also shows that when good is done for anyone, it should be associated with his name. The only people capable of obeying this instruction would be the land owners – those who had enough property to plant several crops. Coming from slavery in Egypt, the Israelites thought of such a situation only happening to the wealthy, but in the promised land, this was to be the norm. And these rich landowners were not to take the credit for this generosity themselves, nor to let it be associated with any of the local pagan deities. The LORD alone was to get the credit for this kindness, as a witness to who he is. He is father to the fatherless, companion to the widow, defender of the downtrodden.

Unfortunately, I own no land. In fact, I own almost nothing. I cannot obey this instruction literally. But I can go out of my way to routinely help the needy. I can give to the person who asks for my help. I can set aside a portion of my income – and fellowship with others who do the same – to help the less fortunate. That is the kind of Sabbath ritual that I can keep in the LORD’s name.

LORD, show us how to demonstrate your compassion to the needy, and to do so in such a way that it testifies of your compassion.

Posted in church, compassion, consideration of others, kindness, missions, Sabbath, witness | Tagged Exodus 23 | 1 Comment

laws about conspiracy

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 23:1-9

¹ “You should not extend a false report. You should not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.² You should not follow the majority to do evil, nor should you bear witness in a lawsuit, stretching with the majority, so as to stretch the truth,³ nor should you be favor a poor man in his lawsuit.⁴ “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey getting lost, you should bring it back to him.⁵ If you see the donkey of one who hates you fallen under its burden, you should refrain from leaving him under it; you should rescue it along with him.⁶ “You should not stretch the judgment for your poor in his lawsuit.⁷ Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, because I will not acquit the wicked.⁸ And you should take no bribe, because a bribe blinds the seeing and turns the cause of those who are in the right.⁹ “You should not oppress a temporary resident. You know the heart of a temporary resident, because you were temporary residents in the land of Egypt.

laws about conspiracy

The community was responsible to work together to make sure that justice was experienced by all. But the temptation would be to side with the majority, or to side against one’s enemy, or to allow one’s peers to influence his thinking. The LORD would not have that kind of collusion going on in his community. Unity was not to be gained at someone else’s expense. Justice cannot happen when the majority gangs up on the outsider. Truth cannot prevail when the crowd is more interested in what they can together accomplish.

Believers have a responsibility to proclaim the truth, even when it is not in their advantage to do so. The Israelites were reminded that when they were in Egypt, a ruling majority oppressed them, and they could not get justice. Their rescue had to come from the power of the LORD, because the heart of the Egyptians was set against them. In the new community, justice and truth were to overrule the pressure to conform to the conspiracy of the crowd.

LORD, make us people of integrity, who do not bend to the flow of all the waters around us.

Posted in consideration of others, discernment, divisions, equality, honesty, judgment, unity | Tagged Exous 23 | Leave a comment

laws about giving

Posted on September 28, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 22:25-31

²⁵ “If you lend money to any of my poor people with you, you should not be like a creditor to him; you should not require interest from him.²⁶ If you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you should return it to him before the sun goes down,²⁷ because that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body; in what else would he sleep? Then if he cries out to me, I will respond, because I am compassionate.²⁸ “You should not demean God, nor curse a leader of your people.²⁹ “You should not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outpouring of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you should give to me.³⁰ You should do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it should be with its mother; on the eighth day you should give it to me.³¹ “You should be set apart for me. For that reason you should not eat any flesh that is torn by animals in the field; you should throw it to the dogs.

laws about giving

These rules were particularly applicable to the wealthy in the covenant community. Those with a bit more disposable income would be tempted to use it to their advantage, charging their neighbors interest on loans. The rich might also be tempted to think the normal societal rules about religious talk, or respect for leaders, or worship do not apply to them as they do to the little people. These rules were a reminder that the wealthy were definitely a part of the holy community, and it was particularly important for them to demonstrate respect for others and dedication to the LORD. If they did not do so, it would be defiling the whole community. It would be like eating the carcass of an animal that had been killed by other animals in the field.

LORD, the world is watching. May we be people who are beyond reproach, sharing with the less fortunate whenever possible, and so demonstrating our connection to you.

Posted in consideration of others, equality, genuineness, giving, idolatry, money | Tagged Exodus 22 | 1 Comment