Scott Moore: Welcome to the "Building Faith and Family" podcast with Steve Demme.  I'm your host, Scott Moore. Thanks for joining us today. Good morning, Steve. How  are you today? 

Steve: I'm warm, thankfully. I don't know how people literally live on the streets when  it's 20 degrees. I'm cold walking outside walking my dogs, and I am thankful for a  warm home. How are you? 

Scott: I'm good. 

Steve: I did the math the other day, and if you divide up all the chapters of the Old  Testament minus the Psalms, because the Psalms are grouped with the New  Testament, we have to read 397.7 verses per week. Our approximately 400 verses  today are from Exodus 21 through 32. Let's jump in and pray. 

Father, thank you that so much of the scripture is meant to be read, and it was meant  to be read by the average person. I thank you for the word of God that we have.  Thank you that we have it in our language. Thank you that we can read and listen to  it. We have all kinds of devices. 

I pray once again, though, that you won't let it go into airspace, so to speak, but that  you'll give us antenna that are spiritually attuned to your Spirit so that when we read  God's word, we're listening to the Spirit to quicken certain parts. I pray that you help  us to have that kind of antenna up today. 

Help us as podcasters, so to speak, to do it well, but let your word go forth in power.  In Jesus' name, amen. 

Scott: Amen. 

Steve: It says in Romans 7:12, "The law is holy, and the commandment is holy, and  righteous, and good."  

We read about the 10 commandments in Exodus 20, the second book in the Bible,  two times 10 commandments, 20. That's how I remember where it is. We're going to start in the 21st chapter today. Exodus 21:5-6, "If the servant shall  plainly say, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go out free,' then  his master shall bring him unto God and shall bring him to the door or onto the  doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve  him forever." 

Many years ago, I was introduced to this verse. A young lady at a Bible school stood  up to share a testimony, "I want to serve Jesus my entire life. Recently I went to the  doorpost spiritually with Him and asked Him to make me His bond servant forever." I  never forgot that. 

This was a physical thing that happened in the children of Israel's lives, but the  spiritual application is we want to serve Jesus all our lives.

Exodus 21 and following, there are several reasons why people can die. It says  whoever strikes his father or his mother or curses his father or mother shall be put to  death. You could look at that and say, "Oh, God doesn't have a high view of life." The point is He has an extremely high view of life. That's why if you do any of these  heinous sins, you pay the ultimate penalty. It also tells me that He has a high view of  family, because not only does He give us the commandment to do something  positive, "Honor your mother and your father so your days may be long in the land" Which is the first commandment accompanied by a promise, as Paul says in  Ephesians. The other side of it is don't strike your parents. Don't curse your parents.  Respect your parents. Honor them. That's His design. 

The reason God is laying this all out, is that this is a new nation. They don't know  anything except Egyptian culture, and He's recreating their culture and teaching them,  what's right, and what's wrong. 

I had to stick this one in there because it always makes me smile, and I've applied this  passage ‑ when a man opens a pit or digs a pit and does not cover it. I have done  construction projects, and hen I dig a hole, I think of that verse, and it makes sense. They didn't have streetlights, and headlamps, and flashlight apps on their phones  back in those days. If you're going to dig a pit, you better cover it up. If somebody's  walking around at night, you don't want them to fall in. It's very practical and solid. Exodus 22, God's saying, "Hey, make sure that you don't mistreat sojourners, for you  were sojourners in the land of Egypt, so have some compassion." Then he says, "Don't  mistreat widows or fatherless children." I thought right away, "This sounds like James.  This is pure religion, undefiled." 

Then He says, "If you do mistreat them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their  cry." Then the 27th verse, it says, "Because I am compassionate." Boy, a lot is packed  into that little phrase, "I am compassionate. I will hear people that cry to me.” Then in the 28th verse, this is still 22nd chapter, it says, "You shall not revile God nor  curse a ruler of your people." I don't know about you, but I thought about Paul right  there in the book of Acts. Apparently, he couldn't see very well, and he let the ruler  hear it for his hypocrisy. 

His brothers that were with him said, "Be careful. That's a ruler of the people." He  quoted this passage, for he knew the Bible, and he was applying it. The 23rd chapter, "You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk." I've never  been tempted to do that, but apparently, this is something that you shouldn't do. I  take it at face value. And if you ever go to the land of Israel, you will learn that they  have strict dietary rules about how you eat in their restaurants based on that verse. You have all the dairy on one side of the restaurant, and all the meat on the other  side. God forbid that you mix them . One of our group, when we were there, took a  dairy product over to the meat side, and there are people coming from around the  counter that were all excited. You'd have thought there was a riot.

20th verse. "I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to  the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice. Do not  rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for My name is in him." I had raised that question on a previous podcast because sometimes the angel, it's an  angel, sometimes it's God himself, and God wants you to treat the angel properly.  There's the explanation. His name is in him. The way you treat that angel is the way  you treat God. 

24th chapter. Jehovah said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain and wait there,  that I may give you the tablets of stone with the law and the commandment, which I  have written for their instruction." 

What I find interesting in this passage is the next verse, "Moses rose with his assistant  Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God." Joshua is like a man in the  shadows. 

I'm making this point because you'll note throughout Exodus and into Numbers,  Joshua is right where Moses is. Joshua was uniquely prepared to lead the people of  Israel after Moses passed because he was there on the mountain. He knew God. He  knew His voice. 

25th chapter. Now we're getting into the tabernacle. Eighth verse. "Let them make Me  a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst." God's heart, all the time. "I want to be  near My people. I want to dwell in their midst." 

Then He says, and I noted three times in our readings this week, "Exactly as I show  you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle and of all its furniture, so you shall make  it." When God begins to give instructions, He starts with the ark. 

We did 30 podcasts on the furniture and the construction of the tabernacle, and God  helped us by His Spirit to see Jesus. He starts with the ark, and then He a covering on  top of the ark. 

If you didn't listen to any of those podcasts, you won't know this, but I'll do it briefly.  Most translations ‑‑ only one that I found got it right ‑‑ but most of them say mercy  seat. When we examined the Hebrew, we never saw a word for seat. It's just mercy. As English speakers, as we think of mercy, we think of grace, mercy, chesed, loving  kindness, etc., but it's more than that. It's atonement cover. The word is kaphoneth  and the root is kaphar, which means life ransom, mercy, atonement.  The NIV correctly calls it the atonement cover, but it's more than a physical cover. It is  a covering and it does cover the ark, but it represents Jesus because mercy and truth,  the atonement cover and the ark met in Jesus. I like to call it the mercy, or the  atonement cover. 

Then you have the cherubim. The cherubim represent Eden and God’s presence. This  is where God dwelt in the first place. He communed with His people there. As you  move through the tabernacle, you come to the ark, you have the atonement cover on  top. You have the cherubim with their wings spread over top of the mercy. 

In the 22nd verse. "There I will meet with you, and from above the atonement cover,  from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with  you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel." This is the great objective, to hear God's voice speaking to us, on top of the ark and  the atonement, underneath the cherubim. 

You also have the Bread of the Presence, representing the 12 tribes, foreshadowing  the Lord's Supper, eaten by the priests. We did several podcasts on the atonement  cover, we did several podcasts on the bread of His presence or the bread of loaves. Then you have the lampstand representing the church. As I read it, I don't see a  golden lampstand, I see the church represented by that lampstand. The job of the priests was to fill it full of golden oil, make sure it was shining brightly,  which my mind quickly says, "Yes, fill us with your Spirit. Let our light shine before  men so that they can see your good works and glorify your Father Who is in heaven." In the 40th verse, "See that you make them after the pattern for them which is being  shown you on the mountain." Moses had a lot of work to do when he was on the  mountain for 40 days. He wasn't just exalting in being in God's presence. He was  learning. He was having explained to him how to build the tabernacle. Then I think the reason that God is so careful about this is because He wants people  to see Jesus. He wants them to see His son, and He's carefully laying the foundation  for that. In the Tabernacle the holy place is divided from the holy place, and you have  the altar. 

Aaron and his sons are in the 27th chapter, along with their responsibilities  concerning the things that are in the tabernacle. They tend it from evening to  morning. Part of Aaron's garments that have always impacted me are the shoulder  pieces of the ephod. 

I picture a vest that they put over Aaron, and it had two stones on it. On those two  stones, he had all the names of the children of Israel engraved. "You shall set the two  stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as stones of remembrance for the sons of  Israel, and Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah on his two shoulders for  remembrance." 

Every time he goes into the holy place, he's going to have this vest on. I can picture  him with his arms raised and saying, "God, I'm carrying Judah, Reuben, Levi,  Benjamin." He goes through all the 12 tribes, and they're all beautifully engraved on  these stones. I think, "Well, God has made me a priest of my home." On my chest, I have stones, Sandy, Johnny, Isaac, Ethan, Joseph, my grandchildren. I  pray for them almost every day, just like Aaron prayed for the sons of Israel. As I'm  telling you this, my hands are up. This is what priests do. 

Then these priests were consecrated, they were set apart, they were made special.  This was their job. Then you had the horns of the incense altar. There's a lot to that.  I've been doing a study on the horns of the incense altar. 

You'll see later in the Bible, you're going to find some bad fellows, hoping for mercy,  and they would run into the temple and grab the horns of the altar. Not only did the  altar have horns, the incense altar had horns. Fascinating stuff. 

Anointing oil. When I think of anointing oil, I think of the oil of the Spirit. As the  priests were anointed with oil, so we are anointed with oil. Their prayers, incense,  clearly mentioned in Revelation 5:8. It talks about the prayers of the saints, these big  bowls of incense. Every time we pray, I believe these prayers are being stored up. Now we get to the 31st chapter. This is fascinating because these are two fellows that  have been set apart. They've been consecrated, not as priests, you might say, not to  do the work of prayer, giving thanks, praising, teaching, atoning for their sins, and  interceding for people. Their work was to build the Taberncle. 

This was physical labor, and yet they were anointed for their work. That speaks to me  because I used to embrace a dichotomy. It was an incorrect dichotomy. As folks heard that I was working at Matthew‑U‑See as well as ministry, they said,  "Oh, you are bi‑vocational." I said, "No, no, no. There is no such thing as  bi‑vocational. Whatever we do, we do to the glory of God." 

Bezalel and Oholiab were anointed and set apart for construction, and artistry, and  weaving. These guys were good with their hands, but they still needed God's help. We  need God's help if we're going to be honorable electricians, if we're going to be  honorable teachers, if we're going to be anointed in the work that God gives us to do. Their names are beautiful. Bezalel, El means God, Beza means shadow. Bezalel means  shadow of God. He's building God's sanctuary where His shadow will be. Oholiab, Ab  means father, Ohel means tent. It means my father's tent. 

Not only were these men anointed for the work that they were doing, I believe they  were created for the work they were doing. Their very names tell us how God  designed them for these good works that they were going to do. 

Then it's a big chunk of the 31st chapter, "Speak to the people of Israel. Above all,  you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your  generations that you may know that I, Jehovah, sanctify you." 

What a good remembrance. This is not simply a day of rest. This is not just a day  that's separate, but this is a day to remember that God is the one that's sanctifying  you. He’s the one that's working in our heart, and the Sabbath is part of that. Very  strong passage. 

32nd chapter, "When the people broke loose." Now, really, a lot of this does not need  any commentary, but I thought I would mention this because the opposite of being  teachable is the description of these people, obstinate and stiff‑necked. That's what it  says in the ninth verse. 

They were obstinate and stiff‑necked. They had cast off restraint. These people were  out of control. They prevailed upon Aaron to make them their calves, and of course.  

Aaron was pathetic. He says, "I threw this stuff in the fire and this calf popped out."  He carved it. I'm disappointed in Aaron. 

Then Moses comes down the mountain, and he was full of righteous wrath. I've heard  people say, "Well, it's OK to be angry as long as it's righteous." Most of us don't know  what righteous anger is because we're mixed up with our own anger and our own  issues and we take it out on people. 

Moses was in the right, and he was beyond himself. This was the meekest man on the  face of the Earth. This is the man that his father‑in‑law could speak to, and he took  advice from people. That man, took that calf that they had made, he burned it with  fire, ground it into powder, scattered it on the water, and made the people of Israel  drink it. 

I would not want to be receiving the wrath of Moses. That's something. He tore up  their idol, burned it, ground it, put it on the waters, and made them drink it. This is the part that captures me almost every time, and I'm going to read from the  amplified version. The word that's translated consecrated, is only translated  consecrated one time out of all the places this word appears. Most of the time, it's  filled or fulfilled. Here's what it says. 

Moses comes down. He makes the people drink it, and then he says to the Levites,  'Come to me,' and the Levites did. They immediately gathered around Moses. Moses said, 'By your obedience to God's command, you have consecrated yourselves  today as priests to the Lord, each man at the cost of being against his own son and  his own brother, that the Lord may restore and bestow His blessing upon you this  day.'" 

He had called the Levites, and said, "Strap your sword to your side and go smite these  people. They have sinned grievously," and they did, and they killed several thousand  of their own brethren. I hardly know how to say it. 

Yet he tells them, "Because you listened to my command," one translation says,  "you've consecrated yourself, you've dedicated yourself to be a priest." It's like this is  your rite of passage. 

I'm not sure all that's in this passage, but something happened because they were  willing to put God's command first and be obedient to God as opposed to being  faithful to their family, you might say. 

This reminds me of what Jesus said in the Gospels. "If anybody comes to Me and does  not hate his father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, even  his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me  cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14).  

Matthew 10, says, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the Earth. I have  not come to bring peace but a sword, for I have come to set a man against his father,  and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter‑in‑law against her  mother‑in‑law, and a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 

"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever loves  son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever does not take up his  cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and  whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." 

I don't fully grasp all that happened that day. All I know was Moses called them to do  what they did, and had his blessing. Jesus said similar words, and it's hard to hear,  but we have to love God with everything in us, even more than those that are closest  to us naturally. 

The end of the 32nd chapter, I describe this section, sobering and magnificent. This is  after the people had sinned, Moses goes back up to make atonement for them, and  he said, "Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves  gods of gold. 

"But now, if you will forgive their sin, but if not, please blot me out of your book that  you have written." But Jehovah said to Moses, 'Whoever has sinned against Me, I will  blot out of My book. But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have  spoken to you. Behold, My angels should go before you. Nevertheless, in the day  when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.' 

"Then Jehovah sent a plague on the people because they made the calf, the one that  Aaron made." Sobering. God knew who sinned and He said they'll pay the price, and  then He sent the plague. You reap what you sow. 

Moses, goodness, what a heart. What a magnificent thing to say, "I love you with all  my heart, soul, mind, strength, but I love these people, too. If you can't find it in your  heart to forgive them, take me. Let them take my place." That is the heart of a  shepherd. That's the heart of Moses. 

It's a sobering passage, but it's stellar. It's beyond honorable. It's Christ‑like because  that's what Jesus said. He said, "Blot me out of your book so that these people can  live," and then He died in our place. OK, Scott. There you go. 

Scott: There is so much in here. 

Steve: We have to catch ourselves because I was reading through earlier transcripts,  and we say that every week.  

Scott: One of the things that jumped out at me was the angel. When God says, "My  angel will go before you," there's no discussion or anything about, "Well, what's an  angel? Do these exist?" Like we would have nowadays, or people in our culture might. It's accepted. Maybe there was a discussion somewhere that's not written down, but it  seems so accepted that, "OK, this angel is going to walk with you." I don't know why  that struck me. It just did. That didn't jump out at me before. 

Then with all the rules and stuff, we haven't even gotten to Leviticus and all the rest of  the law. This is just principles for living kind of stuff here. Already, you can see the  basis for laws that we have nowadays about things like manslaughter, and accidental  destruction of property, and workplace injuries, and things like that. 

Scott: All of it can be traced back to this. 

Steve: It's extremely practical. The thing is we have it in our heads that we have to  acknowledge, we think that we're smarter than the patriarchs, which is not true. God,  Who's giving him these laws, He created them, He designed them. He formed them,  and He knows how they're to operate. 

We need to take our hat off, so to speak, and bow down and say, "Thank you for your  word." As we began, "Thank you for your law, which is holy, and righteous, and good,  just like You are. Thank You that You're compassionate, and we want to be like You." Instead of kicking against the goad, so to speak, against the law, we need to be  saying, "Thank you. Wow. What a great word." That requires the work of grace. This has taken me places that I have not read as in detailed or you might say with a  special set of lenses because I know I'm going to have to teach on it. Now as I'm  reading through it, I'm making notes, I'm studying the Hebrew differently than I have  before. As always, the teacher gets more out of it than the student.  Father, thank You for teaching us. Thank You for giving us Your law, which is holy,  and righteous, and good. Thank You for Your commands. Thank You for Your  compassionate heart. Thank You for these glimpses into the early days, you might  say, the very beginning of our forefathers. 

I pray that You'll help us this week to heed Your law, listen with ears attuned and in  sync with Your Spirit. In Jesus' name, amen. 

Scott: Amen. That's our show for this week, folks. Thanks for joining us for the  Building Faith and Family podcast with Steve Demme. If you have a question for the  show, email Steve at spdemme@Gmail.com. Thanks for joining us. Have a great week.