What a difference a day makes! One day the whole nation was celebrating God’s glorious presence and the next they are worshiping an idol (the “golden calf”). One day they are walking close to God and the next they have completely abandoned him. In our lives we may not see these extremes, but these patterns of becoming warm and cold toward God happen to all of us at some time.
In Exodus 33 we see God’s response… judgment. Had it not been for Moses’ interventions, they would have lost their relationship with God. In chapters 33 and 34 we also see the stark contrast between the people and Moses in the way they approached God. Moses had a personal and intimate relationship with God. In verse 33:33 God told Moses, “I know you by name.”
In these chapters Moses is a picture of Jesus. He has a personal and intimate relationship with God and He is our go-between with God, just as Moses was to the people. But Moses could not do for Israel what Jesus does for us because Moses was a man with all the same imperfections as all his fellow Israelites. As the writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews notes:
4:14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe.15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
In these chapters of Exodus only Moses can approach God. Now we all can approach God and never have to be far away from him again.
Psalm 42
Where do your thoughts turn when you are down? The writer of this Psalm was dealing with the difficult circumstance of being constantly harassed by his enemies. Their constant taunts were really getting to him. How did he get past his problems?
His thoughts turned to better times when he felt close to God and then he remembered (verse 5)…
Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!
God had not moved. God’s power to help him had not diminished. This Psalm reminds me that when I am really discouraged there is one constant… God’s never failing love for me.
Ecclesiastes 11
In verses 1-6 the theme is life’s uncertainty. Living wisely means that we should do all we can to limit that uncertainty but we know we cannot eliminate it. Invest your time and money wisely, work hard when the opportunity is there, and leave the rest to God.
Verses 7-10 provide advice about life for everyone from 9 to 99 years old. For the old “rejoice in every day” (verse 8) and for the young “enjoy every minute of it” verse 9). Enough said!
Acts 21
In this chapter we see the beginning of the final drama in the book of Acts. Paul has now returned to Jerusalem after his 3rd missionary journey that took him through what is now Turkey and Greece. He returned to Jerusalem even though many had warned him that trouble was waiting for him there. After his report to the Jerusalem church leadership team, they asked Paul for a favor. Because many of the Jewish Christians had heard rumors (that were all false) that Paul was teaching openly against the Jewish customs, the church leaders asked him to accompany 4 young men who were Jewish Christians through a Jewish ceremony at the temple. When some Jews who were not believers in Jesus saw Paul in the temple they started a full blown riot and encouraged the mob to kill Paul. He was rescued by the Roman soldiers who were stationed nearby and as the chapter closes Paul is about to speak to the crowd.
One question that puzzles me as I read this is why did Paul keep going toward Jerusalem when he was told it was too dangerous (and as we see, the concerns for Paul’s safety were right on target)? You have to keep reading in Acts (and other books like Philippians) to find the answer. One thought that kept Paul going through this and other ordeals to come is found in Philippians 4:12-13 “I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
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