The Coming Savior, Day 35 A willing heart. Read Exodus chapter 35. Several places throughout scripture, God talks about offerings. We learn more about what makes up an offering and what the Lord looks for with offerings. Here, we understand that the intent and the heart behind the offering matters. God requested that the people of Israel bring an offering to help with the building of the tabernacle. However, people were only supposed to bring an offering if they were willing. Now, an offering is different than the tithe. The tithe was something that God mandated be brought to him no matter what. But an offering, that was over and…

The Coming Savior, Day 34 The characteristics of God. Read Exodus chapter 34. We see many things in this chapter. Moses experiences the consequences of his sin. God describes himself. We also see the result of a relationship with God. Of all those ideas today, what struck me is the idea that God describes himself. God tells Moses who he is and describes himself to Moses as loving, compassionate, and slow to anger. He also explains that he will punish sin and that evil cannot stand in his sight. Often, we struggle with those two concepts going together. In our minds, someone is either loving or they are judgmental. For…

The Coming Savior, Day 33 Teach me. Read Exodus chapter 33. Throughout this chapter, Moses and God are having a conversation and Moses is desperately trying to learn more about God. Moses wants to understand him better and be able to be closer to him. As a result, that makes this statement. He asks God to teach him so that he can love him and worship him better. When was the last time we asked God to teach us something? While most of us will admit that we don’t know everything, we generally want to learn it ourselves. We aren’t asking God to teach us. However, God is the one…

The Coming Savior, Day 32 Accountability. Read Exodus chapter 32. Exodus chapter 32 is the chapter that may be one of the most famous from this entire book. The people of Israel lose track of Moses. They become unsure of who their leader is, and so they decide to create their own god. They have Aaron create a golden calf for them to worship. As we read through the entire story, no one wants to take accountability for their actions and for their sin. God ultimately goes through and punishes the people, first by having the Levites kill several of them and then next by a plague. Finally God makes…

The Coming Savior, Day 31 God-given talent. Read Exodus chapter 31. As God is giving all of the instructions and directions on how to build this incredible tabernacle, it can seem overwhelming to figure out how all of those things would have been accomplished. Here’s the secret in this chapter. God gave the skills and talents needed to be able to accomplish his will to individuals. God gave them what they needed. God never gives us anything to do that he does not also equip us to be able to do. Every task and every purpose that God sets before us, God also enables us to accomplish it. When we…

The Coming Savior, Day 30 What do you smell like? Read Exodus chapter 30. God is getting down to the specifics with the people. When it comes to the altar and the sacrifices and the most holy places at the tabernacle, there were some things that were specific to that area alone. One thing, there was a special perfume that was only to be worn by the priests. God gave them instructions how to make it, and anyone else who made or wore that perfume who wasn’t a priest was to be cut off from the rest of Israel. So what do you smell like? The people would have been…

The Coming Savior, Day 29 How do you make things holy? Read Exodus chapter 29. In this chapter, we read all of the different ceremonies and processes that Aaron and his sons went through in order to be considered holy and in order to make the tools and utensils and the altar holy. A lot went into that process! Still, no matter what Aaron did, he could not actually make things holy. Only God could do that. When we look at our lives, we are broken. There is nothing that we can do to make ourselves Holy. God is Holy and only he is able to take the broken pieces…

The Coming Savior, Day 28 The Lord as the decision maker. Read Exodus chapter 28. The instructions continue, but this time they involve Aaron and his son’s. God was giving specific instruction on how the people were to communicate with him. Aaron and his sons were going to be the mediators between the people and God. So, Aaron needed a way to communicate with God. God created Aaron’s wardrobe in order to specifically help Aaron remember his responsibility and keep those decisions and the importance of them at the forefront of his heart and mind. How do we keep our decisions and communication with God at the forefront of our…

The Coming Savior, Day 27 A part for everyone. Read Exodus chapter 27. Reading through chapter 27 of Exodus today, it amazes me the skill of the craftsman who were called upon to work on the tabernacle. Yes, God gives people amazing abilities to do phenomenal work with things like gold and silver. However, I loved this verse because it is such a great reminder that God desires everyone to participate period no matter what your skill level Even if you aren’t the one who makes the oil, you can deliver the oil to the tabernacle. God had a place and a purpose for every single person. There was a…

The Coming Savior, Day 26 Separations. Read Exodus chapter 26. As we move further through the explanation of the building of the tabernacle, we start to see a common theme. God tells the people to create separations between areas. God creates boundaries around areas that he wants to be holy. This is such an interesting practice because it actually speaks to the need for the coming savior. When there are separations created between areas, then they are not unified and whole. God needs the people to understand that their sin and lack of holiness actually is what is creating the division between the areas. God cannot allow their unholiness to…