Exodus 27 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence          The tabernacle was the place where earthy, sinful men could meet with the Lord.  Of course, most men and women were never able to get that close to God in ancient times, for only the priests could enter the Holy Place, and only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement.  The closest an ordinary person could come to…

Exodus 26 by Pastor David Groendyk As was mentioned in the previous chapter, the tabernacle is the place where God was to dwell in the midst of Israel (25:8). After reading about some of the objects that would be within the tabernacle, our chapter today describes the construction of the building itself. Don’t get lost in the details though; remember the bigger picture. This building was God’s home with Israel. If you’re a (very!) careful…

Exodus 25 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson “Worship-where it is done, how it is done, by whom it is done, with whom is done, with what it is done – would dominate the the rest of the Sinai covenant, that is the law through the rest of Exodus, through all of Leviticus, and up to Numbers 10:10,” writes Stuart in his brief introduction to chapters 25-31:18 in his commentary on Exodus.  Further he writes, “Worship…

Exodus 24 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence           After Moses gives a summary of the Law of God to the people of Israel, he initiates, at the Lord’s behest, a covenant ceremony to bind the Israelites to the Lord their God, promising that if they keep God’s laws then they will become a nation of priests and his treasured possession.  To solemnify the proceedings, the Lord calls Moses and Aaron, along with his…

Exodus 23 Devotional by Pastor David Groendyk As we read through the various laws in the first half of this chapter (vv. 1–19), I’m reminded of Micah 6:8: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” So many of these laws could be boiled down to one of those three ideas:…

Exodus 22 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”  This is the cry of God found throughout the Bible.  This verse was also a favorite of Martin Luther King Jr. as he and others called on our nation to be consistent in America’s pursuit of justice.  Inspired by Holy Spirit through the mouth and pen of Amos (5:24), this truth resonates within our heart…

Exodus 21 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin In this chapter, Moses delves into what is normally considered to be judicial or civil law as opposed to pure moral law.  God’s moral law such as is codified in the Ten Commandments is a set of laws that are universal and unchanging based on the very character of God and are the basis of morality for men and women in every culture.  Israel’s civil laws, on the…

Exodus 20 Devotional by Pastor David Groendyk Exodus 20 is one of the most well-known chapters in the Bible because it contains the Ten Commandments. It would be easy to write a separate devotional for each of these commandments on their own, but instead I want to highlight two features of this chapter. The first feature of this chapter is that there is actually a much bigger scope for each of the Ten Commandments than…

Exodus 19 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence          Mount Sinai is where God first revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush and called him to go back to Pharaoh to lead His people out of Egypt.  Now that the Israelites had been liberated from their slavery, Moses is leading them back to that same mountain in order to meet with God and to enter into a covenant with Him.          Through Moses, the Lord reminds…

Exodus 18 by Pastor David Groendyk A quick and easy outline of Exodus that I like to remember is: God delivers his people (chapters 1–18) God demands of his people (chapters 19–24) God dwells with his people (chapters 25–40) (I’m taking that outline from a pastor/theologian/author named Dale Ralph Davis. In fact, lots of this devotional is shamelessly stolen from one of his chapters in a book called The Word Became Fresh. Everyone should read…

Exodus 17 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence When the Egyptians had cornered the Israelites at the Red Sea, it was the Lord who would fight for his people and deliver them from the hands of their enemies.  The Israelites merely stood and watched as the Lord did a wondrous work in their midst.  That was an extraordinary monergistic work by God showing that He didn’t need the help of the Israelites to defeat the Egyptians.  Of…

Exodus 16 by Pastor David Groendyk The end of chapter 15 is baffling and disappointing, but it’s not uncommon. How often do we forget about Christ’s salvation and do something God hates? Every time we sin after being saved, we’re acting like Israel did in complaining about the bitter water. And the same way this will be a recurring problem for Israel, it’s a recurring problem for us. The big sin Israel commits in chapter…

Exodus 15 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Although Marah sounds prettier in the English tongue than does Mathoq, no self-respecting Jewish parent would name their daughter the former since it connotes “bitterness” whereas the latter signifies “sweetness.”  But if you remember, in the book of Ruth, Naomi asked the women in Bethlehem to call her Mara since the Lord had dealt very bitterly with her in the deaths of her husband and her two sons. In…

Exodus 14 by Pastor David Groendyk Many critical scholars have tried to disprove the historicity of the crossing of the Red Sea, claiming that we’ve never managed to find any hard evidence that it happened. But hard evidence is not what we base our trust in God’s Word on; we base it on the fact that God said it. There’s no reason for us not to take God at his word when he recounts the…

Exodus 13 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence To consecrate a person, place or thing is to declare it to be sacred, to set it apart from ordinary use and to dedicate it to the service of God.  In v.2, the Lord tells Moses to consecrate all the firstborn creatures in Israel whether man or beast in commemoration of the Lord’s redemption of the firstborn of Israel living in the land of Egypt during the time of…

Exodus 12 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson I would like to point out the truth behind Exodus chapter 12.  One might use the word presuppositions if you like longer words.  I don’t think anything I point out will be new to you but we always benefit from reminders.  Some of these are also just observations you should not miss.  Treat these are goads to prod your thinking in deeper dimensions. God tells us how to…

Exodus 11 Devotional by Pastor David Groendyk Although Pharaoh has sworn that the next time he sees Moses he’ll kill him at the end of chapter 10, we see Moses making another speech in the king’s court again in chapter 11. It’s possible that the events of chapter 11 are taking place around the time of 10:28, in which case the war between Yahweh and Pharaoh has escalated to the point of mutual death threats.…

Exodus 10 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence In the first exchange between Moses and Pharaoh in this chapter, Pharaoh is finally amenable to allowing the men of Israel to leave Egypt but it unwilling to let the little ones go.  This seems to be the common tactic of governments that have turned away from the rule of God’s law.  The higher-ups realize that they cannot change the hearts and minds of adults very easily, but they…

Exodus  9 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson The narrative regarding the plagues is fascinating as God confronts the idolatry of the Egyptians. God is having his way with Pharaoh.  God hardens Pharaoh’s heart for His own purpose.  There are many reasons why the exodus happened the way it did.  One, we know the Hebrews would not have gone on their own.  Once they left they seemed to look with longing on their days of slavery.…

Exodus 8 Devotional by Pastor David Groendyk Creation itself is being used by God to show Pharaoh and Egypt the supreme power and authority of Yahweh over everything. Today’s chapter describes the second, third, and fourth plagues brought upon Egypt. Over the course of these three plagues, Egypt’s situation gets more and more desperate, and the rulers start to recognize more and more the power of Yahweh. The second plague is frogs that infest the…

Exodus 7 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence   What takes place in this particular chapter has caused much consternation throughout the years for many believers as well as unbelievers, for this is the first time in Scripture where the reader learns that God actually hardens the hearts of some men.  Nineteen times in the book of Exodus we are told either that the Lord would harden the pharaoh’s heart, had hardened his heart, or that somehow the…