Meditation

12/11/2019

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.’” (Exodus 19:10-11)

God had chosen the “house of Jacob,” the people of Israel to be His holy people. He was entering into a holy covenant with His people, yet they want to hear Him speak and then would be willing to commit themselves to Him through Moses.

God’s response was to tell Moses to go and consecrate the people today and tomorrow; to have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day He would come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. These instructions are simple and pointed. Those who appear in the presence of the Lord should show their respect in outward appearance as well as inward attitude.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Precious Abba, this story from Exodus reminds me that way too often, we place demands on You that reveal our lack of respect towards You. Your response to this story puts us in the proper position, that when we come before You, we are to do so respectfully dressed, and with an attitude of humility. We come before Your throne of grace, and make demands that are unrealistic and certainly not in a manner that would elicit Your favorable response. Clothes are one thing, but You truly look at our hearts and minds, and know what it is we are coming to you in the first place. If it is within His will, a favorable response will come, if not, we didn’t need it in the first place. So today Abba, we seek You to be the primary focus of our daily lives, and that our service should honor our relationship with You at all times. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

“Honesty is not only the best policy, it is the will of GOD!”

KNOWING GOD:

“Take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head.” (Exodus29:7)

Aaron and his sons were to be consecrated to be God’s anointed priests. There was a series of things to take place for them to be fully ready to be priests. One of them was to ceremonially wash them in the Tent of Meeting, take their garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breastpiece; fasten the ephod on him by its skillfully woven waistband,; put the turban on his head and attach the sacred diadem to the turban. Finally to the eh anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head. Anointing set aside the priests for sacred duty in God’s place of worship. The symbolic action represented the community’s prayer to God to accept the work of the anointed ones as they represented the community before God.

I AM:

“Prayer, Holiness of God”: (Leviticus4:-1-35)

The sin offerings in this chapter were mandatory. The higher the office of the one bringing the sacrifice, the more specific are the instructions and the more costly the sacrifice. The offerer identified with the animal being slain by laying hands on the head of the animal. In each case, all the blood of the animal had to be shed. Forgiveness was assured. Forgiveness has been assured for us by Christ’s sacrifice. Our prayer of repentance asking for forgiveness appropriates Christ’s sacrifice in our lives.

Second Thought of the Day:

“The commander of the Lord’s army replied, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.’ And Joshua did so.” (Joshua5:15)

Remember in Exodus 3, when Moses went up on the mountain and was looking at the burning bush, and God spoke to him out of the bush? He said to him, “Moses, Moses, and Moses said to God, Here I am.” God said to him “take off your sandals, for the place where yo are standing is holy ground.”

The holiness of God is the absolute difference between God and man. Holiness belongs to God alone. Anything else called holy is so because of its association with God. The ground on which Moses stood was called holy because God was present and speaking to Moses through the burning bush. Moses exhibited fear at the presence of God. Holiness makes us mindful of our lowly status as a creature compared tot he Almighty One, who created us and holds our life in His hands. Clear?