Day 20 – September 27, 2023: Exodus 26-32

I do hope that you made it through these passages today. The first section dealt with the creation of the tabernacle which was the moveable temple. It is in the tabernacle where the arc of the covenant was to be placed so that the presence of God would be obvious by the Israelites as they made their way to the promised land. After that we see the vestments of the priests is covered. It was important to recognize that those who were going to be going before the presence of the Lord were dressed appropriately and in a manner that was dignified before the Lord. I wear a robe in the first service but it is not meant to be interpreted as the robe that Aarong and his children wore. Rather, the robe, for me at least, is to hide the messenger so that only the message from God would be seen. It is also very nice because people are not noticing and commenting on what the pastor is wearing on that day.

Finally there is the story of Moses receiving the ten commandments which were given back in chapter 20. He receives them in stone and they were written by the finger of God. That’s a pretty neat image and one that we see clearly in Michaelangelo’s Sistine chapel depiction as God creates Adam by stretching out his finger. The story of the golden calf is legendary. Remember that God has made up his mind to kill the Israelites and to further the people of Israel only through the children of Moses and Joshua. Remember Moses took Joshua with him up the mountain. But Moses beseeches God to save the people, and God does. The people had made a golden calf that they worshipped under the leadership of Aaron. Moses throws down the tablets, but God replaces them later. What a great reminder that when there is an absence of leadership, or when there is bad leadership, even, or maybe especially, the people of God go wild.