Day 36 – Exodus 19-21
Always the third day. Hmmm….. 🤔
✨There seems to be a recurring theme so far where God’s unveiled presence is overwhelming. To me, it’s like we are mere humans here on earth and are just physically and maybe mentally unable to absorb all of God’s magnificence; but we will see Him in full in the afterlife – so we strive. In Heaven, we will be changed. No longer in this limited human body. The progression goes like this, though: Exodus – don’t come near me; 1 John 3:2 – we shall see Him; Revelation 22:4 – we will see his face.
21:12 – “He who strikes someone so that he dies shall certainly be put to death.”
Akin to Genesis 9:6 – “Whoever sheds human blood, by man his blood shall be shed…” 🩸from Week One. Biblical support for capital punishment.
📚Learny-word-of-the-Day: Awl. An awl is a sharp metal spike with a handle.
📜The Ten Commandments!📜
1️⃣ No other gods
2️⃣ No idols
3️⃣ Don’t misuse God’s name
4️⃣ Keep the Sabbath
5️⃣ Honor your father and mother
6️⃣ Don’t murder
7️⃣ Don’t commit adultery
8️⃣ Don’t steal
9️⃣ Don’t lie
🔟 Don’t covet
A note about #5. Lots of people like to use that as a weapon. There are two verses your parents need to read before they hit you over the head with Commandment #5.
Colossians 3:21 – Fathers, do not antagonize your children, so that they will not become discouraged.
Ephesians 6:4 – Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Day 37 – Exodus 22-24
22:2 – If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no guilt for bloodshed on his account.
Is this a legal basis for the Castle Doctrine? 🏠⚖️Tennessee is a Castle Doctrine state, which means individuals have the right to use deadly force against an intruder in their home or place of business, and I guess in a car-jacking instance. I’m down with that. The 8th commandment says “do not steal”. So… oh, but the 6th commandment says “do not murder”! But murder and self-defense are two different things. Follow me for more vague legal advice that you should not take.
🗣️❌ Do not bear false witness. I have heard this all my life, and I understand it, but I think some people quote this and use it improperly.
So, for the people in the back:📣📣📣
Don’t lie.
Don’t slander.
Don’t gossip.
Don’t make false accusations.
Don’t twist someone’s words.
It’s about using lies and falsehoods to harm another person. We all need to be more careful about what we say, especially about other people.
“Do not follow the crowd in doing evil”. Hmm…. this is happening more and more everyday, eh?
“You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute”. Meaning, wrong is wrong, no matter the circumstance. It’s okay to feel sorry for Jean Valjean, but he still gotta pay the price for stealing that bread.
Ok, wait. So yesterday people couldn’t touch Mount Sinai or they would die, but today they get to eat and drink with God and could see Him? Make it make sense. 🤔
Well…. the only thing that makes sense to me is that they “saw” God✨….but God revealed Himself in a way they could survive. We will never see God in His full glory until we leave this earth.
⏳Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Sinai, and Noah spent 40 days and 40 nights on the Ark. The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years, Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days, Jesus appeared after the resurrection after 40 days had passed. I didn’t cry when I turned 30 or 50, but I cried when I turned 40. I don’t know what this means, but the number 40 gotta mean something. ⏳
Day 38 – Exodus 25-27
25:8 – “Have them construct a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them.” I mean – doesn’t this just blow your mind? The gift! God sets it up where He can be with the Israelites without harming them. But really – the awe that somebody (God!) loves us that much. What an amazing feeling to even read about this 3,000 years later…
The Ark of the Covenant is here! Lots of rabbit holes to go down on this one. Here is your Ark of the Covenant starter pack – you can go from Ethiopia to the Templars to King Arthur to Sir Galahad to Indiana Jones to the Vatican to the Rosicrucians to Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code“…. but my uneducated opinion is that “it” will never be found because it is no longer needed. God already walked among us as a human man. But that’s just me…. dig for rabbits on your own!
Tabernacle – temporary temple.
The veil of the tabernacle was blue, purple, and scarlet. The robe placed on Jesus before he was crucified was scarlet (Matthew) or purple (Mark and John), depending on what Gospel you are reading. I am not saying there is an intentional theological connection there, but when Jesus died, the veil at the temple was torn, just like Jesus’ body was. I don’t really care if this thought is written in books and discussed at conventions – because these are my thoughts and this my website. And I noticed what I noticed.
Day 39 – Exodus 28-29
Another color connection that I see. Yesterday it was the veil that was blue, purple and scarlet, and today it’s the priests’ robes. I still see the connection to the robes that were put on Jesus. 🟣🔴
“For glory and for beauty” – 28:2 – ✨This makes me think of the “argument” for dressing up for church. I’m not a dresser upper, but there seems to be a split on this issue. There are people who dress to the Nines for church, and I get that. To honor God. The pastor I watch every Sunday wears jeans and a T-shirt. I’m not for or against either way. Some of us just don’t have fancy clothes. Simple as that. I get it, though. Honoring the Lord.
📚Learny-word-of-the-Day: Ephod. 👕 High priest’s ceremonial vest. Sleeveless garment worn over the robe.
Day 40 – Exodus 30-32
31:18 – “stone tablets, written by the finger of God”. Made me think of the Sistine Chapel. God is a “hands on” kind of God…
The Golden Calf… smh. Moses is gone for 40 days, and Israel is already worshipping something they made with their own hands. That’s how ridiculous we are. That’s how quickly our hearts can wander. Get in the Word every single day, y’all!📖 That’s one way we stay close to the Lord.
Day 41 – Exodus 33-35
All the “ites”! It just means “a member of a people group”. It’s the “ian” of the ancients. Nashvillian, Memphian, Knoxvillian…. or like “stan” that means “land of” – Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan…. I suppose I am a Tennesseanite. 👥
🥛🍯”land of milk and honey” basically just means “land of abundance”, but there really is milk and honey there. Obviously all the livestock for the milk, but there are also bees for honey. The Hebrew word for honey can also refer to syrup from dates.
Moses gets to see the afterglow of God!✨✨✨
It kind of always bothers me when the Bible talks about punishment for following generations because of the sin of one person. So… I did a little digging. Remember 20:5 says “of those who hate me”. It sounds like loving God breaks the cycle! Plus, in Ezekiel 18:19-20 God tells us we will not suffer generational punishment if we practice justice and righteousness. Glad we got that cleared up.
📚Learny-word-of-the-Day: Asherim (Asherah poles). Wooden poles or carved trees 🌳associated with the worship of Asherah, a Canaanite fertility goddess. Obviously a pagan symbol that God frowns upon!
Well, I thought this was weird. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” First of all, it’s kind of mean anyway. Why would God even need to tell us this? Many scholars think this was a Canaanite fertility ritual. So this is just another way of God saying “don’t do it like the pagans”.
The tablets get a second chance! 🪨📜Moses was mad about the golden calf and broke the original tablets. But God basically tells to bring Him another set of tablets so He can remake them. You broke it, so now you gotta make another one. TLC mentions this in her recap: “You break it, you buy it!”😂
Day 42 – Exodus 36-38
All the gold🪙✨…. in Califorrrrrrrnia…. is in a tent in the middle of desertly hills … anyway. It don’t matter at all where you’ve played before, the Tabernacle🏕️ is a brand new game. (Thanks Gatlins….)
Main thing I got out of today’s reading is that God gave the people the skills to build this massive piece of temporary architecture. Which means, God gave me the brains to do my job, He gave Michael Jordan the skills🏀 to dunk from the foul line, He gave Cam Ward the skills 🏈to beat the Jaguars, Colts, and Texans in 2026, and so on. #TitanUp #AllGloryToGod🧠💪🙌