Chronological Bible Study – Feb 10

What I Noticed Today (Exodus 33-35)

Exodus 33

In chapter 33, God establishes a meeting tent outside of camp to meet with Moses.

In verses 1-6, God rejects the people:

• The Lord told Moses to take the people he led out of Egypt and take them to the land the Lord had promised.

• The Lord promised to send an angel ahead of them to take them to the Promised Land, but He would not go with them because they were stubborn, and He might destroy them on the way.
• When the people heard this, they mourned and removed their jewelry and did not wear it from Mount Horeb on.

In verses 7-23, the Lord establishes an intimate relationship with Moses:

• Moses took a tent and set it up far outside the camp and called it the tent of meeting.
• It was a place where the people could go to consult with God.
• Whenever Moses went to the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend on the tent, and God would speak to Moses face-to-face, just as friends speak to one another.

• Moses has an intimate conversation with God (There are three sections each begins with “Moses said/responded” vv. 12, 15, and 18.)
  • Moses asks God to teach him His ways, so he can know God and find favor with Him. Moses also asked God to consider these people His people. God replied that He would go with Moses, and would give him rest.
  • Moses said if You do not go with us, don’t make us go. Your presence is what will distinguish us from other nations. The Lord responded, saying He would do what Moses had asked because Moses had found favor in His sight.
  • Then Moses asked to see God’s glory. God responded that He would show Moses His glory and goodness, and would be gracious and compassionate on whom He would have grace and compassion. But, said God, no one can see My face and live.
• Then God put Moses in a cleft of a rock and passed by so Moses could see the glory of God from the back.

Exodus 34

In chapter 34, God renews His covenant.

In verses 1-9, God replaces the tablets of the Law that Moses broke:

• The Lord told Moses to make two new tablets and come up on the mountain the next day.
• Moses did just as the Lord commanded and brought two new tablets of stone up on the mountain early the next morning.
• God descended on the mountain in a cloud proclaiming his name, Yahweh. He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and rich in love and truth, maintaining love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin. But He will not leave the guilty unpunished; they will suffer the consequences of their wrongdoing to the third and fourth generation.

• Moses bowed down before the Lord and worshiped. He interceded for the people once again, asking God to go with them even though they are stubborn. He asked the Lord to forgive them for their wrongdoing and sin and accept them as His people.

In verses 10-28, God renews His covenant with the people of Israel:

• The Lord responded He was making a new covenant and would perform wonders as had never been seen on earth before.
• He would drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
• The Lord warned them not to make treaties with people in the land as they would be a snare to them. Instead, they are to tear down and chop up their Asherah poles and sacred pillars.
• You are never to bow down to another god because Yahweh is a jealous God.
• Do not eat the sacrifices of the people in the land. Do not take their daughters as brides for your sons. They will cause your sons to prostitute themselves to foreign gods.
• Do not make cast images of gods for yourselves.
• Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread.
• The firstborn son and firstborn male livestock belong to the Lord and must be redeemed.
• You must labor for six days but rest on the Sabbath even during plowing and harvest times.
• You must observe the Festival of Weeks (Firstfruits) and the Festival of Ingathering. Three times a year, all the males must appear before the Lord.

• Do not present the blood of a sacrifice with anything leavened.
• The Passover meal must not remain until morning.
• Bring the firstfruits of your land to the Lord.
• Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
• God instructed Moses to write down all these words as a covenant He made with Moses.
• Moses was with God 40 days and nights without food or water.
• God wrote the Ten Commandments on the stone tablets.

In verses 29-35, Moses returns to camp, reflecting the glory of God:

• Moses descended from the mountain with the stone tablets, not realizing his face was shining from having been in the presence of God.
• When Aaron and the Israelites saw him, they were afraid to come near him, but Moses called out to them and told them all the words of the Lord.
• After he finished speaking, Moses put a veil over his face.
• Whenever Moses went to speak to the Lord, he would remove the veil and put it back on when he came out. He would then tell the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded.

Some thoughts for additional consideration:

• One of the challenges of being a leader and following God is that there will be times when people want the easy road, and the leader must remain strong and faithful to God’s direction. And, if a poor decision is made, a leader needs to take responsibility for their decisions!
• Do we get so stubborn and want our own way so much that we actually push God away?!
• God is both merciful and gracious in renewing the covenant.
• It is pretty easy to look at our society today and say that many have made covenants with foreign nations who don’t believe in God, they have worshiped other gods (money, power, etc.), they have intermarried with non-believers, and the result is that we are one generation closer to a depraved secular society.
• My prayer is that as I meet God every day that I would come away with a changed countenance. A countenance that would be noticeable to others. A countenance that would draw others to Christ!

Exodus 35-39

These five chapters describe the construction of the Tabernacle in great detail.

Exodus 35

Chapter 35 opens with Moses giving the people the instructions for the Sabbath again, then continues with instructions regarding the building of the Tabernacle.

In verses 1-3, Moses reminds the Israelites of the need to observe the Sabbath:

• Moses assembled the entire Israelites community and reminded them the Lord said they were allowed to work six days but must rest on the seventh. They were not even to light a fire (for cooking food) in their homes on the Sabbath.
• Anyone who does work on the Sabbath must be executed.

In verses 4-29, Moses gives instructions regarding the gathering of materials for the construction of the Tabernacle:

• Moses instructed the Israelites to take up an offering for materials to be used in the construction of the Tabernacle (vv. 1-4).
• Moses then called for skilled workers to come and prepare to make the furnishings, utensils, and garments needed for the Tabernacle (vv. 10-19).
• Then the Israelites left Moses and everyone whose heart was moved offered materials and services needed for the construction of the Tabernacle (vv. 20-29).

In verses 30-35, Moses appoints Bezalel and Oholiab as skilled workers to teach others:

• Moses told the Israelites the Lord had appointed Bezalel and Oholiab, whom He had filled with God’s spirit and wisdom with skills to work in all kinds of crafts. They also had been given the ability to teach others.

What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.

Tomorrow: Day 42 Exodus 36-38