PSA Bible Reading Challenge 2023-2024

Peter once again self-identifies but this time as Simon Peter, which is a name that is more familiar to us than just Peter for this disciple.  He again appeals to those who believe in Jesus Christ, that’s us, to live our lives as worthy of our calling.  He lifts up the scene on the Mount of Transfiguration (you can find that story in Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, and Luke 9:35) when Peter, James and John went together and Peter made a fool of himself:  Lord, let us make three dwelling places so that Moses and you and Elijah can stay her for eternity.  The answer from God was basically, be quiet, this is my son with whom I am well pleased, and then the kicker, Listen to Him!

Those last three words are crucial for any of us.  We must ensure that our lives are a reflection of listening to him.  The second chapter is a warning against false teachers and how they will take people who are unsuspecting and make them into followers of destruction.  I can’t help but think that with the blending of this heresy called Christian nationalism, some of this is taking place.  People are being led to believe that God is calling a certain political way of thinking to take precedent over how Christ calls us to live.  

The final chapter brings us to an expectation that we all ought to have knowing that Jesus is coming back.  So much time has passed by now that the sense of urgency which the 1st century Christians felt, has somewhat dissipated.  When Peter is writing he is experiencing a very present and real expectation that Jesus could come back any day.  We ought to have that same feeling, but with the passing of time, it seems like that expectation has become less acute.  But nevertheless we must follow what Peter tells us to do in vs.17 and 18: …be on your guard…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

What a relief it is to make our way out of Exodus and the description of what they made so that Moses and Aaron and his sons would be outfitted appropriately.  Again, this Scripture describes them fulfilling exactly what God had commanded previously and so we are ready for the presence of the Lord to fill the tabernacle and to be the  presence of God in the midst of the people.  That happens at the end of this chapter, the cloud descends and resides in the tabernacle.  The people stay put on their journey to the promised land until the cloud lifts.  I would say mission accomplished, at least in regards to the tabernacle.

I love being able to read entire books of the Bible in one sitting.  Normally we would read a few verses, or maybe a chapter or two, but this morning we have an entire book of the Bible.  I Peter talks to those in the diaspora.  So, in 70 AD the temple would have been destroyed and all the Jews in Jerusalem and in that region would  have been dispersed because the Romans were blaming the Jews under Nero of uprisings against the Roman state.  The diaspora is simply the scattered Jews who left Jerusalem and settled elsewhere.  Since that time there has been no region ascribed to the people of Israel until after WWII and the creation of the nation of Israel, hard to believe.

So Peter’s primary emphasis is to ensure that those who are scattered abroad who are disciples of Jesus Christ act in a way that distinguishes them from the rest of the culture around them.  Not only were they not to sacrifice to idols, that is an obvious one, but they are to act in  way that they would not be identified as troublemakers and as people who were set against society and culture and so as a result would have to be constantly reprimanded for that.  Basically, Peter was saying, fit in without compromising your faith in Jesus Christ.  

Do not be brought before the authorities for doing something wrong, that is a bad mark against Jesus.  But if you are brought before the authorities because of your faith in Jesus, well, that can’t be helped, wear that as a badge of honor.  We are given lists of moral imperatives that we ought to follow.  It is a good reminder that in our society and culture, even today, we ought not to make anything more important than our following our Savior.  If anything within our life becomes more important than what Jesus teaches us, well, then we have moved the goal posts and maybe, just maybe, we are no longer worthy to be called his disciples.

Most of these chapters may seem like a repeat to you of the chapters before these that described what had to be done in order to make the tabernacle the way that God wanted it.  So the description has now switched to praxis and Bezalel and Oholiab put the commands of the Lord to work and created the tabernacle as it was commanded.  A few other things that we should lift up here in these chapters as well.

In 33 we find God commanding Moses to enter the promised land but tells him that as he makes his way through the hostile nations God will not be by his side, but feel free to go up anyway.  As you can imagine Moses was not a big fan of going solo without God by his side so he beseeches God to change his mind and accompany the people and Moses as they made their way through the hostile lands towards the promised land.  Moses is able to be in the real presence of God in a way that no other person is able to do.  

In 34 we find Moses being given the tables with the 10 commandments again.  A curious thing about this chapter is that we see Moses’ face shining when he comes down from the mountain and after every appearance that he has with God.  In art history, and in Hebrew, the word “shining” can also mean “horns” so there was a tradition that Moses had horns after he encountered God and so as a result put a veil over his face to cover his horns.  You will find below one of the more famous depictions of this which is in the Vatican today and was done by none other Michelangelo himself.  The youth and adult going on the Italy Mission Trip will be able to see this in person!

What a rollercoaster of a reading.  We begin with the first six chapters in this reading of a detailed accounting not only of the tabernacle and how it ought to be adorned, but also of the priests who are serving the people and how they ought to be adorned.  Keep in mind that the Israelites are still a nomadic people at this time, they have not arrived and settled in the promised land, so all that is described has to be picked up and carried from place to place.  All that they have to make in order to have a proper worship has to be carried from one location to the other.

Notice also how the priests are set apart.  This is part of the reason why currently at the traditional service I wear a robe.  There is certainly precedent!  I decided to skip the ephod and the breastpiece, a bit too cumbersome.  But there is certainly a sense that the Aaronic priests were set apart for their work with the Lord and the sacrifices that were demanded in order to set them apart are somewhat involved.  

The irony of this reading is that after six chapters of describing the detail that has to go into the structure where they are going to worship and the preparation of the people who are leading into worship, we find ourselves in chapter 32 with a very clear indication that the people are woefully inadequate to carry out the commandments that God gives to Moses on Mount Sinai.  

The making of the golden calf by Aaron for the people of Israel is a classic Bible story which comes about because the people become inordinately bored with their time while Moses is away.  Moses descends from the mountain not only with the commandments in his hands, but also with his head filled with details on what they have to do next to make the tabernacle, the place of worship, and to prepare the people to worship God in a correct way.  The creation and then the subsequent worship of a calf is not the first step in this process.  In fact, it almost completely derails the project all together.

Notice how Moses pleads for the people on their behalf that God would not destroy them, and then when he gets into the camp and sees how bad things are, that the people have run wild, he gathers up an army and does what God had planned to do in the first place, clean house.  He asks God to take his own life as a penance for the sin of the people, but God says no worries, carry on, I’ll find a time to punish them for their sin.  

The people of Israel are fully entrenched in their departure from Egypt and are making their way to the promised land, the land of Canaan.  Along the way God give them commandments to follow which we find in the chapters that we read today.  Chapter 22 speaks of protection of property and social responsibility.  Chapter 23 gives us the laws of justice and mercy along with the Sabbath laws and then an explanation of an angel that goes before the Israelites to prepare the way for them.  In 24 we have the covenant confirmed and it ends with Moses going up the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights.  That should sound somewhat familiar with the Noah and the ark and his family and animals as they were subjected to rain for 40 days and nights.

We finally see the construction of the tabernacle and the ark and the table and the lampstand all of which was used to worship God and to carry the covenant tablets.  How can you not think of Raiders of the lost Ark when you read this Scripture?  The details that God gives us extraordinary and the ability of the Israelites to make these pieces in the details that are explained is equally extraordinary.  

We then move on to our two psalms, each of which is unique.  The first would be called a lament as the author asks God not to punish him any longer.  “My soul is in anguish, how long, O Lord, how long?”  Then at the end of this psalm, like in almost every psalm of lament, we see God answer the author so that he is able to say: “The Lord has heard my cry for mercy, the Lord accepts my prayer.”  Something changed which allowed him to write this in confidence.

Psalm 146 is a typical psalm of praise, which is to be distinguished from a psalm of lament, they are on opposite ends of the spectrum.  The word praise is used many times to mark the current understanding of the author in regards to his approach to God.  It has to be all about praise.

We find ourselves in the midst of God giving His people the law both in our Old Testament and in our New Testament readings.  Moses in chapter 19 hears God’s word and prepares the people for the reception of the commandments which then come in chapter 20.  Every year for the pre-K class in our preschool I teach the children to learn the 10 Commandments by heart.  We use a much shortened version than what is here, for example: there is only one God, no idols, say nice things, obey the Sabbath, love your mom and dad etc.  Every year they are able to memorize it and they get a prize for it.  

Chapter 21 is an extension of even more commandments.  Did you know that by the time that Jesus was walking on the earth in the first century there were hundreds of laws that had to be followed which were contained in what was called the Mishnah.  These laws were interpretations of the Scriptural laws and covered absolutely everything.  It was the attempt of the religious people to ensure that there was nothing grey, but rather that every little thing would be covered by a law of God.

This is why in Matthew Jesus says that he has not come to tear down the law but to fulfill it because so many other laws had been added to God’s law that people felt absolutely in prison as they lived their lives.  Jesus beatitudes in Matthew 5-7 really encapsulate the way of life according to Jesus’ perspective.  It ought to be followed completely.  But if you really want to know the entirety of the law you can find it very simply in Matthew 22:36-40 where Jesus is asked what is the greatest commandments and he replies: “Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself.  All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.  Those are Jesus’ words.  We should follow them

We now get to one of the more memorable parts of the Exodus story, and that is the parting of the Red Sea.  Again, there are details to this story that potentially we did not see previously.  Did you know that the Egyptians had already caught up to them and they were in a bit of a stalemate before the Israelites crossed over to the other side.  The cloud, or as the Scripture states, the angel of the Lord, left its position in front of the caravan and moved to the back and plunged the Egyptians into darkness so that they could not overcome the Israelites.  Once they Israelites started moving across the dry land of the sea, then the Egyptians pursued them once again.

The death of the army of Pharaoh is classic and you would think that it would be enough to convince the people on this journey that maybe, just maybe, after 10 plagues, the parting of the sea, and other factors that seem to be obvious, God is in control and we are going to make it.  But repeatedly throughout these verses they complain about water, about food, about the desert and almost pine for the glory days when we had it good back in Egypt.  They seemed to have forgotten that they were slaves and here God is present in a visible, tangible way.

We end these chapters with Moses’ father in law setting up a circuit of judges who would decide minor matters and so thereby relieving Moses the pressure of having to decide everything by himself.  A pretty good idea which we have used in our government to make decisions.  We find ourselves at the doorstep of Mt. Sinai where Moses will meet God face to face.

Psalm 90 is a powerful Psalm which reminds us of the sin that we have committed and the forgiveness that comes when we confess our sin and recognize our shortcomings before the Lord.  

I love the order of this reading in that today we are able to see the entire story of the plagues and the escape from Egypt.  There is more to the escape, but at least we get to see all of the plagues.  Here is something that you may not be aware of.  The part of this story that is often forgotten is that Moses was only asking Pharaoh for permission to take the people of Israel out of Egypt for three hours so that they could worship their God and then return again.  It was like Gilligan’s Island where all Moses wanted was a three hour tour.  Now, we know that he would not have returned, but that was the request.  He didn’t request that he take the people of Israel away forever, even if that is what ended up happening.

An aspect of this story that is disturbing to some folks is why does God harden Pharaoh’s heart and is it really fair to Pharaoh if his heart was hardened how can anyone blame him for not wanting the people to leave?  Let’s be clear about this.  God is the potter, and we are the clay.  I say this not to discourage questions or wondering, but rather to remind us that we don’t really have that answer.  Is it fair?  Certainly not in our book it isn’t.  Is it fair that we deserve damnation for our sin and that Jesus died so that we would be washed clean?  No, it isn’t fair at all, but thanks be to God, God doesn’t deal with us according to our sin but rather to the grace and the love of Jesus.  I’m grateful that God treats us unfairly and gives us the grace we do not deserve.  I’ll take an unfair God any day.

This reading begins with the first plague and takes us all the way to the plague of the passover of the angel of death.  We have seen chapter 12 a little more closely in our Bible Study a week ago or so.  We saw the similarity between the sacrificed lamb whose blood was spread over the door posts, and Jesus as the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  

This reading doesn’t have the crossing of the red sea yet.  But we do see God leading the Israelites with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  How much of a relief would it be to have God’s presence in a visible and tangible way leading us day after day.  I could get used to that!

If you take the term Exodus at face value it simply means a departure.  This is the intent of the title and you will see the longest process of Exodus that we find in Scripture.  We basically pick up where we left off in Genesis.  Joseph brings his brothers and his father into Egypt in order to escape the famine and that is where they have remained.  But remember way back when God gave the covenant to Abraham and said that he would have the land of Canaan as part of the covenant.  Well, Canaan is not Egypt and so it is time for the people of Israel, God’s people, to head back to the promised land.

By now the people of Israel have become slaves to the Egyptians, and they are increasing in number exponentially which is a threat to Pharaoh.  So, a solution is to kill all the male children (does that sound like what Herod commands in Bethlehem in Matthew?), but he doesn’t get any buy in from the Hebrew midwives.  Moses is born, discovered in the water, taken into Pharaoh’s household, and basically becomes the son of Pharaoh.  But he knows his roots.

You know this part of the story, Moses, basically the son of Pharaoh, sees and Egyptian beating a Hebrew and he intervenes and kills the Egyptian, that is found out and he flees to Midian because Pharaoh is actually looking to kill him.  He gets married and lives a peaceful life as a shepherd in the deserts of the middle east.  Not a terrible life, but very different from being the heir apparent to the throne in Egypt.  Remember, his family and his people are still back in Egypt.

God hears the cry of the people of Egypt and in the iconic burning bush Scripture he calls Moses to deliver his people.  Moses objects to the point where Aaron is called in, his brother still living in Egypt by the way, and Aaron becomes his spokes person.  Now look at this strange Scripture in 4:24 where God looks to kill Moses and it is staved off by the circumcisions of his child.  This is huge.  We know that Moses would have been circumcised as a child in order to fulfill the commandments of the covenant, but he has not circumcised his children.

No one is going to be a part of God’s plan who does not follow through with what God wants them to do.  This was obviously something that God required of his people, obedience, and the fact that Moses’ child is not circumcised says something important about Moses’ status before God.  That is remedied and the story moves on.  Moses appears before Pharaoh and makes matters only worse to the point where the people of God, the Israelites, are wondering why in the world he had come at all.  We haven’t gotten to any of the plagues yet, but we are getting close.

And we are back!  A couple things happened at once which prevented me from posting as I would have liked.  The first is that I was on vacation until Thursday evening and honestly simply wanted to step away from the blog for a couple of days.  I did that, and now we are back on Thursday evening.  The second thing that happened was that our website is not allowing us to post things and so as a result I was not able to post on Thursday evening as I had planned.  Sorry about all that, but now we are back!

            Galatians, we find ourselves in what is probably the first book of the New Testament that was written.  It was written by the Apostle Paul.  Paul is a hugely important person in the Bible for a variety of reasons.   One of those reasons is that he wrote most of the New Testament.  He also has given us some of the most important theological truths that we find in Scripture, such as the foundation of the Reformation which is that we are saved by grace through faith.  Let’s look at it.

            Chapter 1 Paul greets the churches that he founded, especially the church in Galatia.  Here he is showing his credentials to his readers which is that he was raised as Pharisee and so had everything that anyone needed in order to be a first class disciple of Jesus Christ.  Chapter 2 gives us the basic tenet of the faith that we are “justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing works.”  This is crucial to remember anytime that we find ourselves that we deserve to get into heaven because we are “good people”. 

            Chapter 3 gives us what I believe is one of the more important verses in regards to how to run the church.  Look at vs.28 where we read: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer salve or free, there is no longer male or female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”  I have often used this verse in order to help people understand the calling of men and women to the ministry of ordination simply because Paul says that all are one in Christ Jesus.  Chapter 4 Paul once again speaks about the persecution that he experiences as a disciple of Jesus, which again should give him some street cred.

            Chapter 5 Paul gives a bit of a moral encouragement to be sure that we do not gratify the desires of the flesh.  This assumes that the desires of the flesh are inconsistent with the desires that God wants for us.  But that is not always the case.  God often gives us our desires and they correspond with his desires for us.  There is nothing wrong with that.  Chapter 6 Paul encourages us to bear one another’s burdens.  And just like that we have made it through Galatians.  Well done!  Let’s move on to Exodus.