So far this season, we’ve caught up with the Israelites from where we left off in Genesis and seen God’s faithfulness to His word and His covenant with Abraham back in Genesis 15.
We met a man named Moses who had a heart for rescuing God’s people, the Israelites. Moses’s story was complicated, but God chose him to rescue His people out of the land of their slavery and lead them into a land of abundance – The Promised Land.
After 400 years of oppression – right on time based on God’s promise to Abraham back in Genesis – God moved on behalf of His people and rescued them. He executed 10 plagues because one man refused to humble himself. When God finally broke his heart, Pharaoh did, indeed, let God’s people go, but changed his mind and tried to chase them down with his whole army. The Israelites thought they were trapped but God had a plan to fight for them and to take them through the Red Sea on dry ground.
Then, God leads His people to the wilderness – a place where He would test their faith after the miracles they saw Him do on their behalf. But the struggles of not having their basic necessities, like food and water, eclipsed all the miracles. So, God miraculously and supernaturally provided for them with bread in the mornings, meat in the evenings, and water in the most unlikely of places.
When they came to Mount Sinai, God called Moses to come up. There He made a covenant with His people and they promised to be obedient. Then, Moses went up higher on the mountain and God gave him the blueprints for a Tent – A Tabernacle – where He could dwell among the people.
God designed a tent with intricately details which we heard all about a couple of weeks ago, and then things went sideways.
Last week, there was a lot of drama in the camp AND on the top of the mountain. While Moses was away and buried in the cloud of God’s presence, the people became restless. They wanted a god they could see, and so Aaron obliged which made God very, very angry. Moses interceded for them and convinced God to relent in his anger, to be faithful to His people even though they were not, and to accompany them personally to the Promised Land because Moses was fully dependent on God to get them there. When we last left Moses, he was giving the instructions God gave him to the people. Let’s see what happens next in Exodus chapter 36.
Reflection Questions:
1. What stood out to you today? Did anything surprise you?
2. Where did you see God’s Spirit working?
3. What does that teach you about God’s character?