Moses has been at the top of Mount Sinai forty days and forty nights receiving the Ten Commandments, as well as instructions regarding the tabernacle and the priests. “Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, ‘Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’”  So Aaron, the one who should be leading the people to worship the Lord, makes a molded calf to please the people, and he builds an altar before it, where the people worship the golden calf and engage in sexual immorality. 

Since the Lord sees everything, He tells Moses to go down from the mountain because the people have corrupted themselves. The Lord says He wants to consume these stiff-necked people and make Moses a great nation without them. However, Moses intercedes for the people and the Lord relents. 

When Moses comes down with the stone tablets, he finds the people engaging in pagan rituals, including orgies, worshiping the golden calf. Out of anger, Moses casts down the stone tablets and breaks them. Then he turns the calf into powder and makes the children of Israel drink it. When Moses questions Aaron, Aaron blames the people saying they made him make the calf. Aaron says he took their gold and cast it in the fire and out popped this calf. But the truth is that Aaron made the golden calf for the people because he was more concerned with pleasing the crowd than pleasing the Lord. And since sin against God always has consequences, the Levites team up with Moses and the Lord, and they kill about three thousand people who continued in their idolatry without repentance. 

Then Moses goes back to the Lord to intercede for the people once again – “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if You will, forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.” Moses offers his life for the guilty sinners, but God doesn’t require Moses to give his life. God is sending His Son to do for the people what Moses can not, to live a perfect life and to be the perfect final Sacrifice. But God does say, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.” The Lord is not going to judge the nation as a whole, but He will judge individuals. So God sends a plague on the people and tells Moses He will send an Angel to go before them into the promised land because God can not be in the presence of these stiff-necked people! But Moses refuses to go without the Lord. The Lord ultimately honors Moses’ request to continue with them and says to Moses, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

Moses goes back up Mount Sinai another forty days and forty nights with two new stone tablets. God tells Moses to instruct the people to destroy the pagan altars, break the sacred pillars, and cut down the wooden images when they enter the promised land – “for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”

Did the children of Israel learn their lesson against idolatry with the golden calf incident? Keep reading to find out. (Exodus 32:1-34-35)

Today the Lord gives very specific instructions for the seven day process of consecrating the priests. As part of the ritual, the priests are to have the blood of a slaughtered animal placed on the right ear, right thumb, and right toe. Commentaries say that the blood on the ear covers the priest for the hearing of His word, the blood on the thumb covers the priest for the labor for the Lord, and the blood on the toe covers the priest for walking in His ways. 

After the consecration of the priests, the priests are to continue offering daily sacrifices, morning and evening – “This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet you to speak with you… I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them.”

God also gives instructions for building the incense altar – “And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you.” The Lord says Aaron should burn incense every morning and evening as a “perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.” The altar of incense also symbolizes the prayers from the children of God. When we enter the Kingdom Era, King David is going to cry out to the Lord – “Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice” (Psalms 141:2). At the end of the story, in the End Times/ New Beginnings Era, John will write about a vision of heaven he receives from the Lord where Jesus, the Lamb, is being worshiped – “Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” (Revelation 5:8, 8:3). The altar of incense is also where, once a year on the Day of Atonement, Aaron is to anoint the horns of the altar of incense with blood from the atoning sacrifice. We will read more about the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16. The Lord goes on to say that you shall not offer strange incense on the incense altar. Soon in the story, Aaron’s sons are going to disobey God by offering profane incense, resulting in a disastrous outcome. 

After the Lord gives Moses the instructions for building the tabernacle, we read that the Lord has also gifted certain people to complete the task. The Lord says, “I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you.” So the Lord not only gives us works to complete, He also gives us all that we need to complete those works. 

The last instruction He gives today regards the Sabbath – “Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.” Soon in the story, someone is going to disobey this instruction as well, also resulting in a disastrous outcome. And later in the story, the Pharisees are going to turn this day of intended rest for the people into an overwhelming burden for the people with their extra laws. So Jesus will rebuke the Pharisees saying, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). Jesus knows that God’s laws are intended to help His people and point them to their need for a Savior, not burden them.

The reading ends with the Lord giving the tablets of Testimony to Moses – “And when He has made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.” But what were the people doing while Moses was on the mountain? We will find out tomorrow, so keep reading. (Exodus 29:1-31:18)

Today the Lord tells Moses to ask the children of Israel to bring supplies for the building of the tabernacle – “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering… And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.” God loves a joyful giver who gives willingly from his heart. Paul is going to confirm later in the story when he writes to the Corinthians – “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

The Lord gives Moses instructions for the tabernacle, the portable temple, which is broken down into three sections: the Outer Court, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place. The outer court is where the sacrifices will be offered. The Holy Place will contain three items: 1) a table for the showbread, 2) a lampstand with seven lamps, and 3) the altar of incense (in tomorrow’s reading). The Most Holy Place will contain the ark, and on top of the ark will be the mercy seat. The Lord says, “You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.” We will learn more about the ark and the mercy seat in a few days.

Then the Lord selects Aaron and his sons to “minister to Me as priest”, and He gives specific instructions for their priestly clothing called the ephod. As part of the instructions the priests are to place stones on both their shoulders and on the breastplate of judgment with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel engraved in the stones. The Lord instructs the priests to be properly dressed “when they come into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place, that they do not incur iniquity and die.” Therefore, the priests will wear bells around the hem of their robes so the people on the outside of the tabernacle can hear the sound of the bells ringing and know that the priests are properly dressed and performing the sacred rites on their behalf.

The Lord is working His redemption plan through Jacob’s sons, the twelve tribes of Israel. Through these tribes, the Lord will magnify His Holy Name and keep alive His promise of the Savior to come. One day the people will not have to carry around a portable temple. One day the people will be the temple – “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Later in the story, after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven, He will pour the Holy Spirit upon the believers, making their bodies the temple. But for now, the Lord has chosen the tabernacle as His meeting place while we await the arrival of our Savior. 

Keep reading to see how the tabernacle will become a temple building, and then Christ will come and buy His people with His blood making our bodies the temple of the Holy Spirit. (Exodus 25:1-28:43)

God gives further instructions regarding the care of His people, who would normally be overlooked by society: virgins, strangers, widows, and orphans. He also tells the people that three times a year they should keep these three annual feasts: in the spring, the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover), in the summer, the Feast of Harvest (Pentecost), and in the autumn, the Feast of Ingathering (Feast of Booths or Tabernacles). These feasts will be further explained in Leviticus 23.

Then the Lord says to His people that an Angel will go before them to bring them into the place the Lord has prepared for them. He instructs the people to obey the Angel, and if they obey, the Lord will be an “enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.” God says He will cut off all the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and the Jebusites and drive them out of the land. However, “I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.” Once again, the Lord promises to act on behalf of the Israelites, but it is not going to be a quick and easy process. 

God instructs the Israelites to obey His commands when they enter the promised land – “For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.” The Lord warns the people not to make covenants with the people around them nor serve their gods because He knows this will lead to their destruction. Remember what happened when Seth’s descendants, who were calling upon the name of the Lord, began intermarrying with Cain’s descendants who were walking outside the presence of the Lord? Their hearts turned from the Lord to evil and wickedness, which led to their destruction by the flood. 

God desires for His people to obey His instructions because He knows His instructions are for their good. He also knows that there are severe consequences that come with disobedience. So when Moses relays all of the Lord’s instructions to the people, they say “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.” But will they really? Keep reading to find out. (Exodus 22:16-24:18)

Today the children of Israel receive the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are basically a summary of the over six hundred commandments given in the Old Testament. The first four of the Ten Commandments relate to our relationship with the Lord, and the last six commandments relate to our relationship with one another. The purpose of the commandments is 1) for the people to realize their own sin, 2) to protect us from ourselves and each other, 3) to show God’s grace and mercy, and 4) to further reveal God’s holiness. No one can perfectly keep the commandments except the One to come, Jesus Christ. The Ten Commandments point us to our need for a Savior as Galatians 3:24 says –  “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” 

The Lord instructs Moses to say to the children of Israel, “You shall not make anything to be with Me – gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. An altar of the earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen.” God is making a way for His people to have a relationship with Him, but they must approach the Lord His way, through a blood sacrifice and trusting in the promise that He made in Genesis 3:15, that He is sending a Savior. It is our faith in the Lord that pleases Him as Hebrews 11:6 says – “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Being a good rule follower does not save you; we are saved by grace through faith. We saw this with Abraham as he was declared righteous long before God gave these commandments (Genesis 15:6). 

However, the closer you draw to the Lord, the more you desire to walk in obedience (1 John 2:5, 1 John 5:3). Anyone following Christ is on this sanctification journey, and no one is going to do it perfectly, but it will happen progressively. And although our righteousness is not based on works but solely based on faith, the Christian life is not a passive life. Later in the story, Paul say to Christians, “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins” (2 Peter 1:5-9).

Paul is also going to write, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is out of faith, a gift we have been given from the Lord, that we desire to exercise self-control, show kindness, add to our knowledge of the Lord, etc. Our faith drives us to active obedience, putting sin to death and walking in the Spirit. 

In addition to the Ten Commandments, the Lord gives Moses instructions regarding the treatment of servants, personal injury cases, and the protection of property, which highlights that God is a just God and He values all life. We will continue to see how God is in the details of all things during the Exodus Era, so keep reading. (Exodus 20:1-22:15)

Today the Israelites journey into the Wilderness of Sin and begin complaining about the lack of food and water. They reminisce about the “good ol’ days” back in Egypt where they sat by pots of meat and ate bread till they were full. Was it really that great for them in Egypt? In the midst of their fleshly cravings, they are romanticizing an Egypt that did not exist for them. The Israelites are neglecting to remember that they were slaves and Pharaoh was killing their baby boys. But once again the Lord provides for His grumbling group by sending them manna and quail. He also gives them specific instructions about gathering food to teach them to trust in His daily provisions; a lesson not easily learned by the Israelites.

When the Israelites camp at Rephidim, they complain again to Moses about the lack of water. The Lord tells Moses “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” This supernatural flowing water from a rock points to the Savior Jesus Christ who is coming to give living water. Later in the story, Paul is going to write about the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, and he will say, “all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:3-4). And when Jesus arrives on the scene, He is going to stand and shout to the crowds “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38). This living water is the Holy Spirit that He will pour upon those who believe in Him.

However, after God supernaturally provides water to the Israelites from a rock, the Amalekites attack Israel. Remember the Amalekites? Descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother (Genesis 36:12.) This is when we meet Joshua. Moses tells Joshua to take some men and fight back against the Amalekites. “And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.” Keep your eye on Joshua because the Lord is training him for an important task down the road. 

Once the Amalekites are defeated, the Lord tells Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” And forty years later, the Lord will remind His people – “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget” (Deuteronomy 25:17-19). The Amalekites will show up again later in the story. Will the Israelites obey the Lord? We will find out as the story continues to unfold.

When Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, comes to visit Moses with Zipporah and their two sons, Jehro gives Moses some wise advice. He advises Moses to appoint men to help him manage the people and carry the burden – “If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.” 

We end the reading today with the Lord at Mount Sinai, where He is going to give Moses commandments and instructions for the people, so keep reading. (Exodus 16:1-19:25)

God leads the people out of Egypt but not using the quick route. The Lord takes them the long way, by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” We have seen that God’s ways are not always easy, but He is always in control and working behind the scenes for our good. 

So the children of Israel depart Egypt carrying Joseph’s bones as promised, and the Lord leads them by day in a pillar of cloud and by night in a pillar of fire. But when the Egyptians pursue them, the children of Israel question Moses – “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?” The children of Israel are on a faith journey too. They can’t see what the Lord is doing behind the scenes, so they lash out at Moses. However, the Lord is going to take them into the wilderness and teach them how to walk by faith, but it isn’t going to be an easy process. It never is, but oh how it’s so worth it! 

So Moses tells the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” And that is exactly what happens. The Lord again works on behalf of the Israelites and delivers them through the Red Sea, crushing their enemies. Then Moses and the children of Israel sing a beautiful song of worship and praise to the Lord. And Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, leads the ladies in worship and dance. 

But – three days later – no water. The praise stops. The complaining starts. The Lord provides, as He always does. How long will it take Israel to learn to trust the Lord in the midst of difficult circumstances? Keep reading to find out. (Exodus 13:1-15:27)

Today we read about the final three plagues: locusts, darkness, and death of the firstborn. The Lord says to Moses, “About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again. But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.”

God instructs the children of Israel to take a male lamb without blemish on the tenth day of the month and says, “Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it… And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.” And any house under the blood will be passed over by the plague. 

God tells the Israelites to keep this day as a memorial so they will never forget what the Lord has done for them; and the Lord gives them instructions on celebrating the Passover. “So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.”

The Lord strikes all the firstborn in Egypt that are not under the blood of the lamb, and there is a great cry throughout Egypt. The Egyptians urge the Israelites to leave quickly, but first the Israelites plunder the Egyptians as God instructed Moses (Exodus 3:22). They leave with great possessions as the Lord told Abraham would happen (Genesis 15:13-14). 

“Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. A mixed multitude went up with them also.” So we see that anyone who puts their faith in the Lord by being under the blood of the spotless male lamb is brought out of Egypt. This is a foreshadowing of Jesus, the ultimate spotless Lamb, whose blood will be shed to save us from far more than circumstantial, worldly oppression. Jesus will be nailed to a cross and shed His blood so that we may be restored to the Father and have the hope that is only found in Christ – the hope of a transformed and eternal life. Jesus is on His way, but next up, the Israelites escape through the Red Sea, so keep reading. (Exodus 10:1-12:51)

Today we read about seven of the ten plagues: blood, frogs, lice or gnats, flies, livestock, boils, and hail. The magicians of Egypt could perform the first two plagues, however, it probably would have been more helpful if the magicians had turned the blood back to water and had gotten rid of the frogs instead of increasing the number of frogs. But luckily for the Egyptians, the Egyptian magicians’ magic stops after the second plague. And the magicians come to the realization that “This is the finger of God.” 

We also see the Lord setting His people apart during the plagues: 

• “I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. I will make a difference between My people and your people.” 
• “And the Lord will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.” 
• “Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.” 

God desires for His people to be set apart from the people around them in a way that attracts others to the hope we have because of our relationship with the Lord. When Jesus arrives on the scene, He says we should be set apart as a light in this dark world – “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). Soon in the story, the Lord will give the Israelites laws to live by and instructions on approaching Him through the sacrificial system. However, that doesn’t mean that others, outside of the chosen Israelites, who have faith in the Lord can’t become one of His people. Did you notice in Exodus 9:20-21 that some of Pharaoh’s servants are starting to fear the Lord? We will see that a mixed multitude of people, including some non-Israelites as well as the Israelites, will escape Egypt, so keep reading. (Exodus 7:14-9:35)

Today God instructs Moses to return to Egypt, and He calms Moses’ fears by letting him know that the ones who wanted to kill him years ago, after he murdered the Egyptian, are now dead. So Moses leaves Midian with his wife and sons and heads toward Egypt. On the way, God seeks to kill Moses because he neglected the sacred rite of circumcising his sons, the act that symbolizes God’s covenant with His people. God is going to use Moses to teach His people His laws, so it is of utmost importance that Moses, their new leader, obeys them. 

Then Moses reunites with his brother Aaron, and together they share with the children of Israel all the words of the Lord. Moses performs signs in the sight of the people to help increase their faith. “So the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.”

When Moses and Aaron ask Pharaoh to let the people go to worship the Lord, Pharaoh refuses, as God said he would. Then Pharaoh increases the Israelites workload and beats the officers for not making quotas. Now the Israelites are in even greater distress, and Moses is questioning the Lord about why He sent him. God responds to Moses,“Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” 

The Lord tells Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.’”

Since God always does what He says He is going to do, this is exactly what will eventually happen. However, we see that the Israelites’ circumstances get even worse before God delivers them. The Lord is less concerned about our immediate comfort and more concerned about displaying His glory to the world. But God assures the Israelites that He will deliver on His promise to rescue them – “I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under your burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage.” And He will, but it is going to be God’s way and in His timing. 

Be sure to take note of the genealogy of the Levites. The Lord will assign them a special role once the Israelites flee Egypt. Keep reading to see God’s rescue plan unfold. (Exodus 4:18-7:13)