Welcome reading friend! Even brief readings like these each day can guide my mind. Enjoy.
18
Exodus 28:29-30
“Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment over his heart when he enters the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually. “You shall put in the breastpiece of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the LORD; and Aaron shall carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the LORD continually.
The clothing of the priests was supposed to reflect all of the heart things that God wanted from His people. Their decisions (Urim and Thummim) were supposed to be placed under the authority and purview of God.
19
Exodus 29:43-46
“I will meet there with the sons of Israel, and it shall be consecrated by My glory. “I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to minister as priests to Me. “I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God. “They shall know that I am the LORD their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them; I am the LORD their God.
Fire by night and a cloud by day. Yahweh was above His people, before His people, and connected to His people in supernaturally connected ways.
20
Exodus 32:4-6
“He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
Chilling. Israel often fell victim to a wandering heart. This is not one of their finest moments. As mentioned before, Israel had spent 430 years in an idolatrous land. It took a short period of time to get Israel out of Egypt. It took much longer to get Egypt out of His people.
21
Exodus 33:10-11
When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent. Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
Moses and Joshua represented the people before Yahweh. This “face to face” concept is evidenced throughout the God Story. (2 John 12)
22
Leviticus 1:2-4
“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When any man of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd or the flock. ‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD. ‘He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.”
Atonement was the purpose of the sacrifices. It is the way God chose to “cover” the sons of Israel. The people would learn about blood sacrifice and be prepared for the ultimate sacrifice: the coming of Messiah.
23
Leviticus 7:37-38
This is the law of the burnt offering, the grain offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering and the ordination offering and the sacrifice of peace offerings, which the LORD commanded Moses at Mount Sinai in the day that He commanded the sons of Israel to present their offerings to the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai.
Each offering accomplishes a purpose for the sons of Israel, and each offering has something to teach Christ-followers. Take a shot at correlating them 🙂
24
Leviticus 8:10-13
Moses then took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and set them apart. He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them. Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him. Next Moses had Aaron’s sons come near and clothed them with tunics, and girded them with sashes and bound caps on them, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Likewise, each of the worship utensils represented some aspect of setting themselves apart for God’s purposes. Check out Psalm 133-134 here – really cool! You can also listen to a great song while you read (click it).