Day 50: Ordination and New Wine

Exodus 29, 30 and Mark 2

The passages for today tell us about the Ordination of Aaron and his sons as the first priests of the Israelites. In Mark, Jesus gives hope to the people and challenges them to accept the new wine in new wineskins.

Exodus 29

This section is dedicated to the Ordination of Aaron and his sons. I will say, I am glad that such ordination rituals are not in place today! I’m not sure that I would have done well with blood placed on my ears, sprinkled on my garments, etc. I also really don’t like raw meat, so this would have been hard, to say the least.

Again we are given extreme detail of how the preparation for the ordination was to be conducted because it was to be the first ordination of the Israelites. This section continues to set them apart from the people they will come into contact with in the Promised Land.

Here we see the priests’ share of the sacrifice being introduced. We also have the number seven, the number of completion, once more. Seven bulls to be sacrificed, one a day for ordination. Fourteen lambs sacrificed, two a day, for seven days to atone for the altar.

God states that these provisions are to make things holy so that God may dwell with the Israelites in the tabernacle.

Exodus 30

More worship instructions are given regarding an altar for incense, atonement money, ritual washing, and recipes for anointing oil and incense. These are to set the people and their worship, apart. The significance of the recipes is that some things are to be used by God or for God only. While these scents were seen as pleasing, they were not to become common. They were to be associated with worship only.

Mark 2

Jesus continues on his travels and arrives in Capernaum. Great crowds gather and a group of men who seek healing for their friend, dig a hole in the roof and lower him before Jesus. Jesus tells the man that he is forgiven, based on his friends act of faith. This has always held interest for me. How much influence do we have on other peoples’ lives? Can our faith bring others to healing? How are we recognizing that in the church today?

The scoffers say that Jesus cannot forgive sins, God alone claims that privilege. Here Jesus boldly claims that same right with an act of authority, by forgiving sins and telling the paralyzed man to get up and walk.

Jesus is criticized throughout Mark for the company he chose to keep. He spent time with the “undesirables.” I wonder how much time and effort we put into reaching the undesirables of today with the love and message of Jesus. How often do we enter into relationship with such individuals or groups?

Jesus speaks about new wine and wineskins. Wine would stretch the wine skin over time and therefore a new skin, with elasticity was needed. If you poured new wine into an old wineskin, the wine skin would eventually burst. We cannot live our faith the exact way others do, those wine skins are used. We must not be afraid to be stretched and challenged by God’s word and Jesus’ love and the Holy Spirit’s call each and every day.

Day 49: Instructions for Worship and Jesus Heals

Exodus 27, 28 and Mark 1:23-45

These passages continue to teach the Israelites how to worship. Jesus in Mark shows people the power of God.

Exodus 27

Here we find more instructions for worship. These have to do with the courtyard that is to surround the Tabernacle, the place for worship, and with the things to be kept in the bounds of the worship space.

Worship of God was a new thing to the Israelites who had been kept a slaves and not allowed to worship with freedom. Step by step God is offering ways to set themselves apart in their worship.

How are we set apart in our worship?

Artist interpretation of Priestly Robes

Exodus 28

God gives instructions here on clothing for worship, specifically the priests clothing for worship. There is mention that God gave tailors specific wisdom about how to make these unique garments. This helps us to see that worship does not only involve the priests, but without the gifts of all of God’s people, worship is incomplete.

Mark 1:23-45

Jesus is walking around with his disciples on the Sabbath. He casts out an evil spirit. He then goes and heals Simon’s mother-in-law and she gets us and serves, also on the Sabbath. This is where the grumbling against Jesus begins.

Jesus becomes popular and moves on from that place throughout Galilee. The Spirit of God cannot be kept in one place. He heals people because he is moved by compassion.

One particular man is cleansed from Leprosy by Jesus’ touch. Jesus tells him to go quietly to the priest and be declared clean, but the man goes out into the streets sharing his good news. Jesus can then no longer enter anyplace openly and becomes an outsider, having to stay in the lonely places outside of towns.

Even then people flock to go outside, where Jesus is. Jesus will not let the evil spirits he casts out speak because they know his identity and in Mark, Jesus tries to keep his identity as the Messiah quiet.

Day 48: Curtains and a New Kid in Town

Exodus 25, 26 and Mark 1:1-22

These chapters give us a lot of details about curtains and building. Mark opens the curtains to share Jesus’ story with a story of John the Baptist.

Exodus 25

Moses is to ask the people for gifts to begin building the Tabernacle. Remember how God allowed them to plunder Egypt of Gold and other precious things? Now these items are asked to be returned to God to build the place of worship. God says only those whose hearts prompt them to give should give. These precious metals and materials are then to be used to build the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle.

The instructions for the Ark and the tabernacle are very complex. Honestly I have a hard time imagining them. I have found a couple of artist interpretations to share with you.

Above and Below, Artists' renditions of Ark of the Covenant

Above and Below: Artists' rendition of Tabernacle and surrounding courtyard

Exodus 26

This chapter is all about curtains, specifically the curtains to build the Tabernacle. It is important to note that this was the beginning of faith for the Israelite people. Metaphor and Material had a very close connection. The symbolism found ion these items would have been very important to developing religious identity. The Tabernacle, with all its curtains, and the Ark were designed to be able to move with the people. This was to remind the people of God’s continual presence with them. God did not live far away, but wanted to dwell within their camp.

Mark 1:1-22

God is seeking in Exodus to draw closer to the people. In the Gospel of Mark, like the other Gospels, God draws nearer to humanity than ever before by becoming the Emmanuel, God with us, in Christ Jesus.

Mark is the most direct and shortest Gospel. It opens up with the statement that the Messiah is coming and John the Baptist, in all of his wild weirdness is leading the way. Jesus is baptized by John and immediately is driven away by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights of temptation. Immediately is Mark’s favorite word, by the way.

The first words Jesus speaks in Mark are “The time has come- the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe.” Jesus’ ministry will be unlike anything the people have seen before. It will call people to turn from their ways, yes even their ways they think are righteous, and turn toward God.

Day 47: Laws of Worship and Resurrection

Exodus 23, 24 and Matthew 28:

These chapters introduce us to some of the laws of worship for the Israelites. These laws were to help differentiate between the worship they had known and seen in Egypt and worship of the one true God. In Matthew, we are given the account of Jesus’ resurrection.

Exodus 23

The laws for worship and living are continued in this chapter of Exodus. Verse 9 reminds the people for a second time to not oppress the alien in their midst. This is one of God’s laws repeated time and time again in scripture.

God gives the Sabbath laws, decreeing that even fields get a rest one out of every seven years. Rest is a necessity it would seem, even for the soil. Why do we struggle so much in actually taking a day of rest and worship ourselves?

God declares the celebration of three festivals, Passover, Harvest and the Ingathering (or end of growing season) I was recently asked why we do not celebrate these festivals in our Christian faith. We choose to celebrate each Sunday as a remembrance of the resurrection and we celebrate the birth, death, and resurrection of the Lord annually. This is a way that Christians began differentiating themselves from those who did not accept Jesus as the Messiah.

Exodus 24

Aaron and Moses along with 70 elders are allowed to go up the mountain. They saw God and lived to tell the story. There is a beautiful description of seeing God’s feet resting on a sapphire or lapis lazuli. Moses goes up to the very top to speak with God and is there 40 days and 40 nights.

Matthew 28

Three days have passed and the women are going to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body. There is another earthquake and when they arrive they find the stone rolled away and the guards is shock. An Angel stands there and tells them Jesus is risen! He tells them to tell the others to meet Jesus in Galilee. The women leave fearful, yet full of joy.

Along the way they meet Jesus. They cling to him, worship him. Jesus then tells them to tell the disciples to gather in Galilee. They run to the disciples and spread the Gospel message.

Meanwhile the guards find their ability to speak and move. They go to the priests and tell what they saw. The priests bribe them to lie about what they have witnessed. And a rumor spreads that Jesus’ body was stolen from the grave.

When the disciples and Jesus gather in Galilee some believe and others doubt. Jesus gives the great commission to them all. Even those who held doubt. Even when we question or are unsure, we are to continue in the work, trusting that God’s got this.

Day 46: Laws and The Faithful Few

Exodus 21, 22 & Matthew 27:51-66

These passages continues to offer up laws for the building of the community. We also are told of the events that happened alongside the death of Christ.

Exodus 21:

This section of Exodus gives us laws for daily living. It is important to note that these laws were the beginning of the system of justice, of living with one another without another government having control for the first time in 400 years.

The Bible speaks here of the practice of slavery. Slavery was part of the cultural context of the day, and these passages are ways of addressing that painful reality. The Bible does not promote or encourage slavery, though it does not call specifically for it to be abolished. This is disheartening for me. I so wish there was a blanket policy laid out saying “No slavery, no one owns anyone else!”

The rules for female slaves are different than those for male slaves. This, in its own odd way, was seen as a way to protect women. Women could not own property, they had to be cared for and these laws kept them from being set aside when their husbands or masters grew tired of them or wanted to trade-in for a newer model.

I also find it interesting to note, the eye for an eye passage actually has to do with injury to a pregnant woman when two men are fighting. Another level of protection for women.

Exodus 22

Personal Injury laws shift now to property dispute laws. This part of the text reminds me a bit of the controversial “Stand your Ground law” in Florida and other States. Here, however, you could not kill a thief in the daylight without being found guilty of murder. This kept you from holding a thief overnight and torturing him until morning. It also made it clear that if you could identify the thief then that is the avenue to pursue rather than killing him.

Matthew 27:51-66

This passage tells us that Jesus’ death could not have gone unnoticed. There was darkness at mid-day, there was an earthquake, the curtain of the Holy of Holies was torn in two from the top to the bottom, and oh, yeah, dead people came out of their graves and walked around!!!

The women are present throughout Jesus’ death and watch to see where Joseph, the secret disciple, takes Jesus. They are the faithful Few who do not leave Jesus’ side. Perhaps that was because they really had nothing left to lose.

The religious leaders were more concerned about the resurrection rumors than the disciples because they had the tomb sealed and a guard set in place for three days. They knew that Jesus was more than an itinerant preacher.

Day 45: Covenant and Death

Exodus 19, 20 and Matthew 27:27-50

These chapters in Exodus and Matthew cover the giving on the renewing of the covenant with Israel and the death of Jesus. Both speak to the work God is doing in the world, in very different ways.

Exodus 19

God offers the covenantal agreement to the people. This is not going to be a one sided relationship. God seeks the participation of the people in the covenant. The people answer in verse 8 “We will do everything the Lord has said.” They are committing themselves to the covenant with and therefore relationship to God.

God gives instructions for the people to not set foot on the Holy Mountain of the Lord. God did this to show a difference between God, the one God of Israel and the many gods of Egypt and the surrounding areas. Those gods/idols could be touched, seen, handled, or manipulated. God wanted to be certain that God’s status as other, Holy was accepted.

In the Christian faith we hold dear, we are not only allowed to approach God, but invited through Jesus to draw close. This contrast is made through God entering our world as Jesus and coming close to us as the Emmanuel.

Exodus 20

God spoke the 10 commandments to all of Israel. They all heard God speaking and were so terrified of the thunderous noise that they begged God to speak through Moses alone. I wonder how often I’ve missed the opportunity to hear God speak because I’ve been afraid to listen.

The 10 Commandments are rules for living out faith in community with God and others. We humans, left to our own devices will always look out for ourselves. These rules give a way to live in community setting the wellbeing of the whole above the desires of the individual.

Matthew 27:27-50

Jesus is turned over to a legion of soldiers and they proceed to mock and abuse him. I have never noticed the detail that he was struck repeatedly on the head with a staff. I am greatly disturbed by these images.

Jesus is offered gall and wine to dull the pain of crucifixion, but once he tastes it he refused to drink. All of the pain was felt that day. Jesus was not dulled in any way when he faced the cruelty of the cross.

As a youth I was told that part of Jewish education would have included the memorization of Psalms. The 22^nd Psalm in particular was one that mother’s taught their sons. I am not sure of the accurateness of this thought, but I often think of Mary, watching Jesus die and hearing him call out the first lines of that Psalm. How it must have broken and blessed her heart.

Day 44: Manna and Murder

Exodus 16, 17, 18 and Matthew 27: 1-26

These chapters give us the story of Manna from heaven and Murder of the king of heaven and earth. They are an odd paring, but they show how humans can mistake manna, something holy and other, for something that needs to be destroyed or murdered.

Exodus 16:

The whole of the assembly of Israelites grumble against Moses and Aaron. How quick we are to complain to our leaders! Moses points out to them that they are really complaining to God. But in God’s mercy, God tells them they will receive meat and twilight and bread in the morning. The camp is overrun with quail at twilight and in the morning a strange substance is left after the dew. The people call it manna, meaning what is it. God gives specific instructions to gather only enough for each person and no more or less. Those who gathered more manna than they should, when it was weighed, found it was the amount allowed. Those who gathered less than their share found that the manna was just the amount required per person.

God told the people to only take the manna they needed for each day. Anything kept would spoil so it could not be saved or horded. On the day before the Sabbath they could gather twice as much to save for the next day. God fed them this way for forty years!!!

Exodus 17

Again the people grumble and complain against the Lord. Even though God has miraculously provided food every day, twice a day, the people complain that they do not have enough water. God sends Moses to a rock in Horeb which he strikes with his staff. The rock pours out fresh water. God has provided Manna, meat and now water.

I think some of Moses’ frustration with the people begins to show here, as illuminated by the name he gives this rock fountain. He calls it Massah and Meribah, which mean testing and quarreling. I think it is meant to remind people every time they get water that even though they tested God and quarreled, God provided. Perhaps they need to remember God’s provisions! (Perhaps we do as well!)

This chapter also shows us a battle between the Israelites and the Amalekites. The Amalekites were descendants of Esau, a nomadic warring tribe. Joshua is told to take a group of men to fight them while Moses goes to the top of a hill to watch and to hold his hands up. As long as his hands are held high, the Israelites win, but once he lowers his hands the tide turns. Aaron and Hur help Moses keep his arms up. It is important for us to help our leaders as they do what they are called to do. We need to be their support system.

Exodus 18:

Jethro returns Moses’ wife and son’ to him. There is a great feast and an air of celebration with this visit. I admire Jethro and Moses’ relationship. They do not spend time walking around like puffed up roosters, trying to jockey for position or prominence. Instead they seem to recognize that they can learn from one another.

Jethro becomes a believer in the one true God. Moses gains much needed administrative and management skills.

By spreading the workload Moses not only frees himself up to do other important tasks, he also spreads the teachings of God among the people and gives them shared responsibilities for what occurs. We are not to do everything on our own. We are not functioning as we should as a people of faith if we are not sharing leadership, responsibility and love with one another and our neighbors.

Matthew 27:1-26

As the sun rises the religious leaders decide to put Jesus to death. They turn him over to Pilate, the Roman governor. Upon hearing this, Judas tries to back out of his betrayal, he wants to return the money he has been given and renege on his accusations. The leaders refuse to accept his funds and he throws them on the floor and goes out to hang himself.

Sometimes we cannot stop what we have put in motion. It is wise to think through things before we act.

When they have received the money the leaders made an odd statement. They call it “blood money.” That phrase is usually associated with turning over an innocent person. By this comment they seem to be admitting to plotting to murder and innocent man.

Pilate does not want to turn Jesus over to be killed. His conscious seems to tell him Jesus is innocent. Pilate’s wife tells him to have nothing to do with Jesus because of a dream she has had. Yet Pilate offers the people an exchange. Jesus or Barabbas. The innocent man or the actual rebellion leader. The crowd cries out for Barabbas to be saved and for Jesus to be crucified. Pilate seems surprised, but working within any government I don’t see how he could be shocked when people make bad choices. Ultimately it is Pilate’s fear of the crowd that leads him to release a known criminal and to hand Jesus over, after flogging him for good measure.

Day 43: Songs and Sleep

Exodus 14, 15, & Matthew 26:36-75

These chapters offer us songs and sleep. The songs come from Moses, Miriam and the Israelites. The sleep is sponsored by our beloved Disciples, who just cannot seem to get things right!

Exodus 14:

God sends the Israelites in a new direction, changing the way they anticipated going, much like a key change in any number of songs. The destination is the same, but the path becomes different. God says this change is needed to show the Egyptians that God is real.

I find verse 19 interesting. I had not noticed the mention of the Angel of the Lord going with the Israelites before. While Angel can also be translated messenger, so perhaps this is Moses, I’m just surprised by its use here. The Angle who had gone before now moves behind as does the Pillar of cloud that has been their guard.

Moses listens to God and raises his hands to part the sea. This is translated Red Sea in some versions, but Sea of Reeds might be a closer translation. For hundreds of years people have tried to explain this occurrence by weather patterns, tsunamis, etc. I think that when we try to explain it away, we lose what was intended. There are a lot more things that trouble me in scripture than the miraculous parting of the waters.

 Exodus 15:

In this chapter we are given the songs of Moses and the Israelites as well as Miriam. I will admit to frustration at this chapter, because we get what appears to be a whole song by Moses and the Israelites and then we are given the first line only of Miriam’s song. What’s worse, is her song is an echo of the first line of Moses’ song! I think that the writer calls her a prophetess which is great, but then negates her influence by not giving her and the women more of a voice.

The grumbling of the recently freed Israelites begins early, right after they are saved from the army. They cannot find good water and so they whine and complain once again! God gives them sweet or fresh water by having Moses throw a stick into the water.

They are then led to Elim where they find 12 springs and 70 palm trees. Once again we are given highly symbolic numbers designed to show us God’s provision for God’s people.

Matthew 26:36-75

We watch Jesus and some of the disciples head to Gethsemane. Jesus goes here to pray, to have a real and honest human heart to heart with the Father. He asks the disciples, including Peter, to wait and pray. He finds them 3 times sleeping instead of praying. I wonder how often I am guilty of sleeping, or sleep walking through situations that should be prayed through?

Jesus is arrested, surprisingly not by the Romans, but by the Jewish religious leaders. They come with swords and clubs. Jesus says that he is not leading a rebellion but they came armed to take him. Acts of non-violent disobedience are far too often met with violence from the other side.

At the revelation that Jesus is not leading a rebellion, the disciples all flee. They desert Jesus. How often do we flee when the Jesus we see or encounter is not the one we expected?

Jesus is before Caiaphas, the High Priest, and the Sanhedrin, all night long. They ask for witness after witness and cannot find anything to charge him with based on their testimony. Finally they ask Jesus point blank if he is the Messiah, and he honestly answers that he is the one they are expecting. The truth is too much for them to bare. They beat him and mock him.

I have seen far too many of us, myself included, face truth with mockery and hate instead of love.

Peter denies Jesus three times as Jesus had said would occur before the cock’s crow. I wonder how many times I’ve denied Jesus before my morning cup of coffee.

Day 41: COntinued Plagues and Two Flocks

Exodus 9, 10, 11 & Matthew 25:31-46

These chapters give us the continuation of the plagues in Exodus. They are really frightening plagues to me. We also learn of a division of two flocks, the sheep and goats. This too can be a bit scary.

Exodus 9:

The fifth of the plagues is the plague on livestock. All of the Egyptians flocks are killed, but not even one of the Israelites livestock dies. What a contrast this is from Joseph’s day. At that time Pharaoh had entrusted his own flocks to the Israelites care. God continues to favor his people.

The sixth of the plagues is the plague of boils. People are covered in painful boils. The boils are so bad that Pharaoh’s magicians cannot stand in Moses and Pharaoh’s presence because of their suffering. Pharaoh refuses to listen.

The seventh of the plagues is the plague of hail. Hail poured down upon the land destroying the barley and other early crops. Goshen, the land of the Israelites is spared from this storm. Pharaoh confesses his sin the Moses and begs for the storms to end. Moses prays to God once more, and the hail stops. But Pharaoh sins once more, refusing to let them leave.

Exodus 10:

The eighth of the plagues is the plague of Locusts. There has been such extreme loss and now God sends out these bugs to devour what little is left. Pharaoh is advised to let them go, but says let only the men go. The plague comes and Pharaoh is still stubborn.

The ninth of the plagues is the plague of darkness. The darkness lasts for three days, but the Israelites have light in the places they lived. Pharaoh says that the men women and children can go, but the livestock needs to stay put. Moses does not agree and Pharaoh tells him to leave and never return.

Exodus 11:

The tenth of the plagues is the plague of the firstborn. Before Moses leaves Pharaoh’s presence he tells Pharaoh that God will bring the death of all firstborn of Egypt, from Pharaoh to a slave, but will spare the children of Israel. Moses then leaves and goes to give instructions to the Israelites.

Matthew 25: 31-46

This is the story of the sheep and the goats. Jesus has taught that self-giving care for others is the heart of the revealed will of God in the Torah. Jesus lives this out in his own actions. When we respond to need or fail to respond to a need, we are responding to Christ, or failing to respond to Christ. This apocalyptic moment calls us to remember the covenant faithfulness of the One true God.

Jesus the Christ has come, there will be no other supplementary revelation until this same God who is revealed in Jesus is revealed at the end as the One and Only God.

Day 40: Plagues and Parables

Exodus 7,8 & Matthew 25:1-30

These sections of scripture speak of plagues, horrible occurrences that will shake the nation of Egypt. Matthew offers us an interesting perspective on bridesmaids.

Exodus 7:

We are told that Moses is 80 and Aaron is 83 when they begin this journey together. I find it very interesting that Aaron throws down his staff, not Moses, and it becomes a snake. The magicians do the same thing, but Aaron’s staff eats their staffs. That would have been a sight to see. Then Moses turns the water of the Nile into blood, the first of the plagues. But Pharaoh’s heart is hard and he does not even attempt to negotiate a peace, yet.

Exodus 8:

We come to the part of Exodus that so many of us remember from Sunday school, the Plagues!  The second of the plagues is frogs. Pharaoh begs for the frogs to be taken away, they are covering everything. He agrees to let Israel go worship and so Moses asks God to end the plague. Once they are frog free, Pharaoh reigns his promise.

The third of the plagues is the plague of gnats. Gnats were more than a nascence, they were unclean. They swarmed everywhere. For the first time Pharaoh’s magicians could not mimic this sign and openly tell Pharaoh that this is the work of God, but Pharaoh will not listen.

The fourth of the plagues is the plague of flies. God sends flies to cover everything. However, for the first time, God makes a difference between the Egyptians and the Israelites. The land of Goshen is free of flies. Moses agrees to pray for Pharaoh and end the plague with the promise that they can go worship. Pharaoh is not a man of his word.

Matthew 25:1-30

This section gives us two parables. The Parable of the 10 virgins and the Parable of the talents. Matthew is found of allegory and this seems to be what he is using here. The bridegroom symbolizes Jesus. The virgins symbolize the church and the oil symbolizes the fruits of faith. The point of this parable is that we must be told that half are foolish and half are wise, we cannot judge them by their outward appearance or description. We only learn as the Bridegroom is delayed just how unprepared they are. There is futility in these women running out in the middle of the night to buy oil. No stores will be open. Being ready in Matthews Gospel is living the kingdom life now.

The same is true for the Parable of the talents. The servants here are challenged to take the money of the master and oversee it while he is gone. Two of them invest the money, giving it out and returning a profit. But one buries the funds, not wanting to loose what little he has. The landowner returns and finds that he has some good and faithful servants, but also learns that one servant did nothing with what was given to him. Matthew seems to be saying here that what good is our salvation if we do not share it with others in any way we can?

Day 39: Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs

Exodus 4, 5, 6 & Matthew 24:29-51

These passages of scripture speak to signs. Miraculous signs of God’s power with Moses and Aaron. Signs that point toward the culmination of the world as we know it. These signs are often misunderstood and taken out of context.

Exodus 4:

God gives Moses Aaron as a mouthpiece to help convince Moses to go to Egypt. He also promises signs and wonders. He makes the staff turn into a snake, makes Moses’ hand be leprous then clean, and turns water to blood. Moses agrees to go.

On the way we have one of the most disturbing passages of scripture to me. Apparently God is angered at Moses and tries to kill him on the way to Egypt. I don’t know how to take this. Perhaps Moses fell ill and the people thought it, as most other illnesses, was God’s judgement? Perhaps Moses was showing of his signs as parlor tricks and it made God angry. We are not told. What we are told is how Zipporah intercedes.

Zipporah, daughter of the head priest of Midian, takes matters into her own hands. She circumcises their son and touches Moses with the blood. This harkens back to the practice initiated at the covenant with Abraham. Here again a woman acts as a redeemer just like Pharaoh’s daughter, Moses’ mom and Miriam have previously.

Exodus 5:

Pharaoh does not react kindly to Moses’ request to leave Egypt to properly worship. He makes things unbearable for the Israelites as payback for the request. He tells them to collect their own straw for bricks and does not lessen the quota or give more time to accomplish that quota. The Israelites are unhappy with Pharaoh, Moses and God.

When we hear that God has a plan for us we often assume it will be easy. Here is an example of how God’s ways are not our ways. Things will not necessarily be easy to do, but that does not mean God is not at work in the hard times.

Exodus 6:

God tells Moses again that he will save the people. Moses tells the Israelites and they do not believe him. It is hard to listen to someone who grew up in the palace and then fled the country for forty years.

We are then given the genealogy of the Levites. These are the credentials for Moses and Aaron. This allows some ties later between the Levites and the priests.

God says he will call the people out by their divisions. In this instance it is believed that refers to their tribes.

Matthew 24:29-51

Matthew continues his discourse on the end times. The signs that will be noted before things change. He speaks of returning to primal chaos, that the world will no longer be ordered as it is in his day. This event will happen with the coming of the Son of Man. These passages reflect with Daniel 7:13 and Zechariah 12:10. Both of these speak mourning leading to repentance and ultimately to service of God. This might be what Matthew is referring to here, that people will learn the truth and be moved to repent and commit acts of mercy.

What is clear to Matthew is that the end of the world will come in Matthews’s time. And while the world did not end in his lifetime, I don’t think he got it wrong.

The crucified Jesus is already the Christ, the persecuted church is already the elect, but this reality, this new reality, is hidden except to the eyes of faith. I don’t believe that these verses point only to the ultimate return and reign of Christ. I think they tell us that the new reality the kingdom of God is at hand. And how do we live that kingdom? By doing deeds of mercy, forgiveness, and peace. In short, by living as kingdom people now.

Day 38: A New King and the End of the World

Exodus 1, 2, 3 & Matthew 24:1-28

These chapters tell us about a new king in Egypt taking control who did not know Joseph or the story of Joseph. This new King, or Pharaoh, didn’t know his history books and so made drastic changes in the policies of the day. In Matthew Jesus, our new king, gives us words about the end of the world that might make many of us nervous.

Exodus 1:

A new King who knew Joseph not comes into power in Egypt close to 400 years after the Israelites have moved there. He decides that there are too many foreigners, too many Israelites. He is motivated by fear, afraid that they would one day over power the Egyptians. Remember that in Genesis they had been honored guests given the best of the grazing land in Goshen and even asked to care for Pharaoh’s flocks. This all happened while the rest of Egypt was enslaved by Pharaoh after the famine.

This Pharaoh who does not care about the favored status, becomes afraid of losing power. He is so afraid that he orders the Midwives to kill every male baby at birth. These brave midwives do not fulfil his order, telling the Pharaoh that the Israelite women give birth before they can get to them. They are resisting in any small way they can.

Exodus 2:

This passage tells us of the family of Moses’ origin. He is a Levite by birth. When he is born his mother hides him for as long as she can in their house. When she can no longer do that, she builds a wonderfully constructed basket boat to hide in the reeds to keep Moses safe.

Miriam watches over the basket to make sure Moses is well. The Pharaoh’s daughter finds the bay and Miriam is quick to offer up her own mother as nurse to care for the child until he is weaned and can be brought to the palace. God used these women as agents for salvation.

Moses was not the holiest of men. We learn that he committed murder and hid the body, but once he is found out he flees. He does however, seem to have an inherent sense of justice, for when he sees the seven (there is that number again) daughters of Reuel being bullied by the other herdsmen, he defends them and waters the flocks for them. Reuel, also called Jethro welcomes Moses into his tents. Moses marries Zipporah, one of Jethro’s daughters.

Exodus 3:

Moses sees a bush burning but not consumed by fire and goes to take a closer look. He is told he is on holy ground. God names Godself for the first time “I am who I am” or “I will be what I will be” The God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel reveals Godself as a stable, secure and infinite God, Yahweh.

God commands Moses to return to Egypt to set God’s people free. God promises to make the situation one that is so uncomfortable for the Egyptian oppressors that they will be so glad to see them go that they will give them many gifts.

Matthew 24:1-28

Jesus speaks to the disciples about the destruction of the Temple. It was destroyed approximately 40 years later in 70 CE. Jesus speaks to his followers telling them that there will be many who come claiming to speak the truth, claiming to be the Messiah, but they are not to be trusted.

This section of Matthew is apocalyptic literature. It is so hard for us to understand because we don’t really have anything that equates to it today. The closest I can imagine we have is the genre of dystopian science fiction. Deliberately dark and overwhelming scenes intended to make the reader/hearer understand truths they might not recognize in their own context.

The Apocalypse, or end of days, end of the world, is not on a set timetable. Jesus tells them do not look for the future of the “second coming”. Jesus is already among us, the Messiah has arrived and is ushering in the kingdom of God.

Day 37: Blessings and Woes

Genesis 49, 50, & Matthew 23:23-34

These chapters talk of blessings and woes. Jacob takes the opportunity to give blessings to his sons before he dies. However, some of them don’t sound like great blessings. Jesus gives a list of woes for those who have claimed to follow God, yet are blind to true faith.

Genesis 49:

Jacob prophesies while giving fatherly blessings to his sons. These honestly do not sound like words I would want my father to say to me on his death bed. It shows us that as much as we may not like it, our actions today will have an effect on our future tomorrow. We do get a glimpse that it is possible to change for the better. Judah had not lived the holiest of lives, but he changed becoming a righteous man and the head of a tribe that would give us King David and King Solomon and eventually Jesus.

Genesis 50:

Jacob is mourned for seventy days in Egypt and the seven more after his body is taken out of Egypt to be buried. Again we have the numbers 7 or 70, indicating competition. They carry Jacob to be buried in Canaan along with many Egyptian officials and higher ups. This is a state funeral type event.

Joseph’s brothers fear that the death of Jacob will end the kindness shown to them by Joseph. He replies with my favorite verse in Genesis, verse 20 “What you meant for evil God used for good.”

Joseph lived 110 years and asked for his bones to be carried away when the people of Israel eventually make their way back to the Promised Land.

Matthew 23:23-29

Woe to you. . . Straining out a gnat but swallowing a camel. This idea talks to how obsessed they were with religious purity externally but had lost perspective on the heart. Jesus mourns the fact that the religious leaders of the day have turned away from the heart of the law, an expression of God’s love for us and our love for neighbor.

Day 42: Passover

Exodus 12, 13 & Matthew 26:1-35

These passages give us the Passover, both from its inception to Jesus’ celebrating it with his disciples.

Exodus 12:

The instructions given are very clear. Each household is to get one lamb. If your household is not big enough to consume that much, then share with another household so that all can eat. The lamb can be sheep or goats, which I don’t remember reading before. On the 14^th day of the new first month of the year they are to be killed at twilight, roasted with bitter herbs and eaten with unleavened bread before sunrise. There are even instructions on how they are to eat, what they are to wear, etc. There is so much detail here about not only the first feast, but how to continue to celebrate the feast, that I have to wonder if this is like Jesus declaring the ritual of communion as he serves it the first time. Or is this a part of putting the liturgy of the people written down at a later time.

They are also told to put the blood of the lamb on their doorposts and door tops. This will be a sign to God that Israelites dwell there and the angel of death will pass over them.

Pharaoh and the people of Egypt beg the Israelites to leave as they learn that every one of them has experienced a death in their families. The Egyptians give them everything that they ask for. The Israelites had lived in Egypt 430 years.

Exodus 13:

We are given the Passover as a reminder that God had spared the firstborn of their people and flocks.

God calls them out, but does not take them on the most direct path, because they were not strong enough for battle. This should remind us that the route we take may not be the most direct, but God is leading. God led as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The presence of the Lord was always visible to the Israelites.

Matthew 26:1-35

This passage begins by telling us the Passover is in two days. A woman in Bethany anoints Jesus with Perfume. In Mark and John she is named as Mary, the sister or Martha and Lazarus. This is an act of worship and of acceptance of the death Jesus will face in very short time.

Judas makes a plan to betray Jesus while Jesus is making plans to celebrate the Passover. At the celebration, held at the house of a certain man, Jesus tells the disciples that one of them will betray him. Judas seems shocked and asks if it is him. Jesus replies that it is Judas. Then Jesus begins what we have come to call communion. He tells them to eat the body and drink the blood of the covenant. Jesus says he will not eat of the bread or drink the wine until he drinks with them again in his father’s kingdom. It is important to note that in Matthews account, Judas is still in the room during communion and participates with the other disciples.

Jesus then predicts that they will all fall away. Peter is having none of that and says that he will die with Jesus. Jesus then tells him he will deny Jesus three times before the morning comes. It is a painful scene, I cannot imagine what these people were going through. I want to be hopeful, knowing the rest of the story, but when I read this I can only focus on their fear and anxiety over what might happen next.

September 21st Sermon

Exodus 16:2-15

            I want to share with you today one of my most precious possessions. I would not give anything for it, and it brings me such joy and happiness to look at it. Isn’t it lovely? Isn’t it perfection? Perhaps I appreciate it as only a mother can, because when I see this I see one of the best works of art, the loving spirit of the child who drew it and the hope of what it represents.

            Do you see it? Maybe I should turn it this way, or this way? No this way. No? You still find yourself asking “What is it?” It, my friends, is a picture of my family, the first time my then 4 year old daughter Sara ever drew her family, all five of us together. It is love and it feeds me when I need to remember that I am loved.

Have you ever been to those desert places? Those moments when you are running on empty and nothing seems to be working out? Perhaps it’s in your work life, you feel stuck in a routine that doesn’t feed you creatively, or with coworkers who seem to drain the life and energy right out of you. Perhaps it’s in your personal relationships, where your significant other seems to be distant at best, or perhaps you are still looking to find someone to share your life with, or mourning the loss of the one you gave so much of yourself to that you feel not quite whole, empty, now that they are gone?

            That empty feeling, that desert wilderness feeling, that is where the people of God find themselves this week in our lesson from Exodus. They have been brought through so much. They have been rescued from slavery; they have witnessed God’s miraculous drying of the red sea and the destruction of their foes by God in order to keep them safe. And now they find themselves in the desert wondering “What happens now?”

            God has delivered them, has promised them a land flowing with milk and honey and on this promise alone they have packed themselves up and wondered into the wilderness to find, well wilderness.

            Where is the prosperity? They ask. Where are the good things God promised? We’ve come a long way, but how much further is it?

            This attitude shouldn’t really shock us. After all there is a reason the saying “better the devil you know then the devil you don’t” came into being. The Israelites are not really prepared for the journey. They don’t want to wait they are impatient for things to change for the better right now.

I can relate to that feeling. Staring something new and wanting so much for it to work out, that if it even seems to waver a bit, I am broken hearted. I think that’s one of the reasons I have tried so many different hobbies, from painting to scrapbooking, to knitting to crochet. If I’m not successful at it fairly quickly I get discouraged and give it up.

It’s in this discouraged state of mind that things from the past get painted as way better than they actually were. As they begin to grumble about the present and reminisce about the past they begin to change perspective. All of the sudden they are remembering things that are not true, romanticizing what happened before.

“Has God taken us out of the land of plenty so that we can starve in the desert?” They ask “We were at the fleshpots of Egypt, decadent, rich more than enough, and now we have nothing! We would have been better off as slaves; at least there we had food!”

Richness? More than enough? Man, the Hebrews had idealized slavery hadn’t they? They didn’t know what to do with themselves, how to care for themselves as free people and so they found themselves wanting to return to the slavery they knew.

This happens far more often than we care to admit in our world. People, men and women, return time and again to physically and emotionally abusive relationships because they cannot envision a way for things to be different. Because they have bought into seeing themselves as slaves, rather than beloved children of God. It happens in our job situations, where we fear so much the loss of provision that we will stay at the most harmful of positions in order to have a paycheck. It happens in our religious lives as well. We romanticize the past, because we fear the future.

It’s in this climate that God smiles down on the Israelites and offers them bread from heaven. Sustenance from above, flakes of stuff that fell to the ground with the morning dew. And when the Israelites saw it they said “Thanks be to God, we have been saved!”

Oh, wait, that’s not what they said. They said “What is it?” Manna, manna from heaven really means “What is it?”

It was unlike anything they had ever seen before. When they looked at it, they did much like many of us do when a child brings us there prized drawings “It’s lovely, it makes my heart smile, but what is it?”

Mahatma Gandhi once said “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” This was true for the Israelites in the desert. They were so hungry, so much in need of hope and reassurance of God’s presence that they could no longer see God with them. They did not feel the love that had been shown before, in all of the miraculous things that they had been brought through. All they could see was their emptiness; all they could hear was the rumbling of their bellies. So God appeared to them as the one thing they needed, as bread.

They grumbled, they complained and God fed them! Did you hear that? They voiced their genuine fear, their honest complaints before God and God provided. Not only did God provide this mysterious “what is it food” but also quail to eat in the evening. God provided enough for each day for each person, for 40 years!!!!!!!

What a mighty God we serve. What an amazing Lord we have. God listens to our grumbles, listens to our fears our concerns and responds with enough. Time and time again. With enough to keep us healthy, with enough to keep us whole, with enough to stay the course, until we reach the Promised Land.

God appears to us as what we need, whether that is bread, water, an arm to lean on, a hand to hold, a job, a church, whatever we need! And God is still providing our daily bread, sustaining us as we make this journey into the place God has called us to be.

Does that mean things will always be easy? No. Does it mean that we will always know which direction we are headed? No, after all the Israelites followed God as cloud by day and fire by night and still wandered for 40 years. Does it mean that we will never be alone? Yes. We may not always see or feel the manifestation of God, but we are not abandoned. Day in day out God hears the people cry out and day in day out God provides, even in the smallest of things, like manna from heaven.

“What is it?” It is God’s grace, sufficient for all, sufficient for you, sufficient for me. Thanks be to God!