Exodus 40: The last chapter in Exodus. God tells Moses to set up the tabernacle and everything that goes with it: the Ark of the Covenant, the table, lampstand, lamps, golden altar, screen, etc. Then God’s presence filled the tabernacle. I found it interesting that when God was there, no one, not even Moses, was able to enter it. This was strange to me because Moses was allowed to be in God’s presence in earlier chapters.
8/5 Reading (Exodus 37-39; Psalm 18)
This was a long day and I was really tired when I read this. I didn’t have much to say on these readings.
Exodus 37: The construction of all interior furnishings of the tabernacle occur in this chapter. This is pretty much a repeat of when God described everything to Moses.
8/4 Reading (Exodus 34-36; Acts 1)
Exodus 34: The chapter starts with God telling Moses to get two new stone tablets and bring them up to Mount Sinai so he can write on them again. I find what he said to Moses really funny: “‘Cut two tablets of stone like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you broke’” (Ex. 34.1). I just love that final little remark.
8/3 Reading (Exodus 31-34; Luke 24)
Yesterday I found out that I’m a finalist for the Sinai and Synapses fellowship. It’s a two year program where I would study and learn from others about science and religion. My interview is next Monday (8/7) and I’m excited about the possibility of doing this.
8/2 Reading (Exodus 28-30; Luke 23)
I’ve been pretty tired the past few days and I gotta admit, the readings from exodus have been challenging. The instructions are so lengthy and the details are a little overwhelming.
Exodus 28: Chapter is all about vestments for the priests, in this case Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. The vestments are pretty extravagant. The one thing that really stood out to me was the turban Aaron had to wear. We live in a time where there is a lot of confusion and hate towards people who wear turbans. This is based on a lack of understanding of the differences in religions as well as what the Muslim faith is about. It really is a shame that ignorance plays such a large role in our society.
8/1 Reading (Exodus 25-27; Luke 22)
Exodus 25: Time for the tabernacle and the first mention of the ark of the covenant. The description of how the ark is to be made as well as the furniture in the tabernacle is interesting. There is so much gold. I mean a bunch of gold. Yet, this seems opposite of what Jesus said. Jesus didn’t seem to want gold. I am curious as to why God wanted things in gold and Jesus didn’t. I just find this very interesting. I read that gold is supposed to represent the most holy, but does gold have a different meaning? Does it represent something else? Here is what the notes have to say:
7/31 Reading (Exodus 22-24; Luke 21)
Exodus 22: More ordinances and rules from God. The beginning ones (verses 1-15) are about loss of property, not including slaves. We then get to what happens if a man seduces a virgins and has sex with her (he either marries her or doesn’t, but in both cases, he pays her father). Sorcery and bestiality are punishable by death. So is sacrificing to another god. Now, this is where we get into the importance of helping those in need or less fortunate than you:
7/29 Reading (Exodus 19-21; Psalms 15-17)
Exodus 19: Moses and the people reach Sinai in this chapter. God tells Moses to tell the people that “if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples” (Ex. 19.5). God then tells Moses that he will come to him in the form of a dense cloud and he wants the people to witness it so they will continue to trust Moses. The people are told this will happen in three days, so they prepare. They are also told that they may not touch the mountain or they will be put to death. Moses also says “Prepare for the third day; do not go near a woman” (Ex. 19.15). As in, sex is not allowed. According to the notes this causes impurity. Based on all the sex going on in Genesis, I was a little surprised by this command.
Continue reading “7/29 Reading (Exodus 19-21; Psalms 15-17)”
7/28 Reading (Exodus 16-18; Luke 20)
Exodus 17 is where we hear about Moses striking a rock and getting water. In his first sermon on science and faith back in 2014, Father Kevin preached about this part of scripture. I put a little bit below, but will do a post on his sermons at a later date.
Exodus 16: Second crisis for the Israelites: lack of food. God decides to rain bread on them, but he decides to test them. He tells the people that they need to gather as much food as they need for each day, but no more. Then on the 6th day, they will take enough for that day and the sabbath. At twilight they eat meat, and the morning they gather their bread for the day. Some people try to hoard some bread on the first day and it goes bad. Some also try to gather food on the sabbath. God gets angry because some people fail to listen to him. They seem to at least learn for now. We also learn that they are in the wilderness for 40 years.
7/28 Reading (Exodus 16-18; Luke 20)
Exodus 16: Second crisis for the Israelites: lack of food. God decides to rain bread on them, but he decides to test them. He tells the people that they need to gather as much food as they need for each day, but no more. Then on the 6th day, they will take enough for that day and the sabbath. At twilight they eat meat, and the morning they gather their bread for the day. Some people try to hoard some bread on the first day and it goes bad. Some also try to gather food on the sabbath. God gets angry because some people fail to listen to him. They seem to at least learn for now. We also learn that they are in the wilderness for 40 years.