In today's section we read
God provides food as the people grumble
The Israelites prevail against the Amalekites as Moses lifts up his hand
The people come to Sinai and the mountain is sealed off and made holy to God
God gives the 10 commandments
God sets out a civil code for living justly
God gives instructions for the tabernacle and its contents
Some thoughts that struck me:
In this section, we see how God provides in an amazing way on a variety of levels. He provides food (ch 16) and water (17:1-7). He provides safety in battle (ch 17:8-16). He provides clear guidelines for holy living (ch 20). He provides practical guidelines for ordering society (ch 21-23). He provides a way for the people to approach him in immense detail with the descriptions for the tabernacle (ch 26-28)
Boundaries are very important to God, and it something we increasingly in the 21st century rebel against. God instructs Moses to ensure there is a boundary around the mountain (19:12) and repeats the instruction even though Moses has already carried it out (19:21-22). He also says in 23:31 "I will fix your boundaries". We need boundaries, although we often resent them and try to move them or rebel against them. Following on from this, God instils order into worship and into the daily dealings of his people
God makes repeated promises (15:26; 19:3-6; 20:6; 20:24; 23:20; 23:25; 25:22), mainly conditional on their obedience, but not all of them. Particularly marked is the promise that He will be with them or go before them. Equally, I love the wording of 19:5-6 "Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.” The purpose of Israel is to be priests - ie to serve and minister to God and have him as the focus of their lives and activities, not wealth or power or conquest
Throughout the list of commands, the instruction returns not to worship other gods (20:23; 22:20; 22:28). Another recurrent theme is obedience and respect for parents (21:15; 21:17)
Justice is a key theme - there is the command not to mistreat foreigners and strangers in their midst (22:21; 23:9), not to neglect the orphan and the widow (22:22-24), to love justice and not to deny justice to people because they are poor (23:1-2,6, 7-8), but equally not to pervert justice by showing favouritism to someone just because they are poor (23:3)
The command is given to give the best of the first fruits to God (cf Gen 4:4) and a reminder that the firstborn belong to God (22:29-30; 23:16; 23:19)
There are repeated reference to glory of God being visible - in a cloud (16:10), on the mountain or in the wilderness. The most remarkable one however is Ex 24:10-11 "There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!" I can't really visualise this, but I think it must have been incredible, amazing and frightening. Do we have any sense of that sense of awe nowadays?
The price set in Ex 21:32 of 30 pieces of silver is for a slave killed by a mindless beast. What does that say about Jesus' willingness to be killed in obedience with his Father's will?
The high priest is told to carry the guilt of the people (28:38). This is necessary background to understanding Hebrews. Also useful to understand is the description in Ex 26:33 of the curtain separating the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom at the moment Jesus dies on the cross (Mt 27:51; Mk 15:38)
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