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57 “… for it is an awesome thing that I do with you.”

 Exodus 34:10

 God makes a covenant with His people and tells them that there will be nothing like it is all the earth. It will generate awe and wonder from everyone who hears of it. It will be beyond any human idea or any thought processes of human beings. God is going to put on a demonstration of His power that will show His amazing love and grace like nothing else. It was conceived in the past ages of eternity before the world was made and was a compact between the three persons of the godhead. The Father the Son and the Holy Spirit worked together to make a plan to save rebellious man even before man and women were created.

 The Eternal Son of God was to come into the world and give His life as a ransom for the people that God had chosen for Him. God was going to save a huge family of people who would be brought safely to heaven through the shed blood of the Redeemer. No human being could think of such a rescue mission nor have the ability to carry it out. It was the most majestic and gracious act of God that there could ever be, that sinful people could now be redeemed and brought near to God. Sin could be forgiven and peace between God and man restored, now and forever. It was the greatest act of salvation ever and is open to all who will repent and believe.

 Sinner, will you not bow your knees to Him who has provided such an escape from certain hell?

Saint will you not willingly obey every day and follow your Lord closely?

 

56 “They have turned away quickly out of the way which I commanded them.”

Exodus 32:8

 How quickly and readily we turn away and doubt! We hit a minor health issue in our life, and we start to allow the devil to persuade us that God is not for us. Our thoughts can so easily undermine our faith and cause us to have distress and fear. We do fear the Lord because of who he is, but we relate to Him as a loving Father and not as a judge. We keep closely to the Scripture which is the touchstone of all instruction, encouragement and comfort.

 The Israelites of old were so easily and quickly deflected from their love for God, that they made the idol of the golden calf when Moses was on the mountain with God. They quickly prostrated themselves before the falsehood and forgot all that God had done for them, failing to rehearse their faith and gain the help of God. We can be like this too and find ourselves looking to the things of this life for comfort and strength and confidence. We must look to the Lord and build our faith in Him on a day to day basis. The structures of life are built around us by the Lord and He keeps the way of His servants, directing their feet to good things and to true love and devotion to Himself, which results in growing faith.

 Let us keep away for the lies of Satan who would try to take away our faith in God and put it somewhere else. We rest all our cares on the Lord and look to Him for confidence and the strength to carry out our tasks. We do not listen to the flattery, but the Word of God as it comes to us daily. Let us make straight paths for our feet and stay close to the Lord.

55 “…a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.”

 Exodus 30:8

 The incense speaks of the prayer that goes up before the Lord perpetually from His people. We are to be in the place of prayer always and be ever available to make petition to the Lord for ourselves and others.

“Pray without ceasing.”

1 Thessalonians 5:17

 This is the commandment of the Lord that the incense of prayer may be always before His altar and mercy seat. We gain access into His presence through the shed blood of Christ the Lamb of God and we are to offer our prayer to Him always. Let us not be cut off from our God without prayer and be always seeking His benefit in all our activities. We do not always pray as we should but we have a great High Priest who intercedes for us and will pray for us when we cannot pray for ourselves. 

“I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one.”

John 17:15

How comforting to know that our Saviour prays for us and the Holy Spirit also intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. We are surrounded by prayer and the Lord will guard us and guide us in all circumstances. We are truly a blessed spiritual nation under God and He will bring us all safely to our inheritance in heaven. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus our great High Priest. 

54 “HOLY TO THE LORD”

 Exodus 28:36

 These precious words and glorious title were etched into a plate of pure gold and was put on the front of the High Priests turban. This was to be his waking concern, the glory of living in holiness to the Lord.

 This must be our constant concern if we are to make progress in our Christian lives and find the peace of serving our God and glorifying Him every day we live. Our thoughts must be full of the Lord and able to interpret the circumstances of our lives as God would have us do. We must train our mind to think clean and godly thoughts and not to fall into worldly ways of thinking. This will impact on our behaviour, and we will not seek restitution from the world, but in the Word of God.

 God is HOLY. He will not tolerate any sin and neither should we. We find it very easy to justify ourselves and argue ourselves into sinful practices. We must be different to this world. If we are seamlessly fitting in, we should be asking questions of our Christians life. We must know the Scripture and spend time in it every day and prolonged periods each week as we study with God. The Word of God is also HOLY and we can depend on it to judge our activities, our mindset and attitudes. We must conform to the Lord and not our own selfish ways.

“because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:16

 

53 “The twelve stones are to correspond to the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.”

 Exodus 28:21

 In this Scripture God is giving instructions about the makeup of the breastplate that the High Priest will wear when he is fulfilling his duties in the temple of God. God gives specific instruction about the size and design on the breastplate for it signifies the church of Christ and the names of His people who will be in that church. Not one will be left out and every one is precious to Him. It is easy to feel we are not good enough to be on the heart of God, but God has chosen each one of is people through out all time and each one will come to Him and be blessed with salvation and sanctification to Him. Our names are written on the breastplate of Christ and He ministers for us in the holy temple of God.

 Each stone on the breastplate signifies the twelve tribes of Israel. Not one is left out and each one gleams with the preciousness of the value God puts on it. This is so encouraging to the struggling believer who is fighting with the giant of self-worth and is feeling cast down and disheartened. We are not good creatures and have rebelled against our God, but He has so graciously sought us and has brought us to Himself so that we gain ultimate worth as His children. He has dealt with our sin and has cleansed us from all of its stain, that includes shame and guilt, and has raised us up to be mighty in His kingdom. We may feel low, but God is over all and will give us the necessary tools to help us overcome our thoughts and feelings and bring us safely to safe ground again.

 Do not be disheartened dear believer, His love will follow you and strengthen you everywhere you go.

52 “…pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.”

 Exodus 27:20

The lamp with the oil of the Holy Spirit was to burn constantly in the temple of God. The people were to make the oil out of pure pressed olives, and it was a symbol of the purity and power of the Holy Spirit that made the lamps in the temple burn brightly. So may the pure oil of the Holy Spirit shine in our lives continually and witness to the presence of God and His deep work in our hearts and minds.

“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you.”

 John 14:26

 The work of the Holy Spirit brings the things of God to our mind when we need them. We must be constantly in the Word of God that we might learn the Scripture and be ready for when it is necessary for us to access it. The Holy Spirit comforts and teaches us the deep things of God as contained in the Bible. This is what makes us strong and makes our lives shine out for we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. The Christian is different and always alert to the leadings of the Spirit and so will be obedient and kind in all circumstances.

“However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come.”

 John 16:13

51 “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold.”

 Exodus 25:17

 There is no better place of refuge than to find ourselves at the mercy seat of God. It is a place of pure gold and a place where all our requests can be met. When we find ourselves surrounded by hurt and the dark night of depression folds in on us, we can find sure relief with our glorious God. It is a place of great value, top value for it is made of pure gold.

“Let’s therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace for help in time of need.”

 Hebrews 4:16

 God invites us to draw near with our needs and wants and tells us we can find a refuge in Him. The Lord is so kind and provides for us when we address Him at the seat of mercy. It does not matter what kind of circumstances we may be facing in our lives, the mercy seat is always available, morning and night. Our God never sleeps, nor is remiss, but we have full access to the throne of grace because of the love of our Saviour Jesus. He will never turn us away or make us feel guilty about taking His time. He is the omniscient and omnipotent God and can deal with all our situations no matter how complex.

 Let us make full use of this wonderful resource God has provided for us and take Him at His word and come to Him.

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

50 “Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest,”

 Exodus 23:12

 It seems fashionable in these modern days to treat the day set apart for God as any other day. The justification for it is the scripture that we are not under law but under grace. This is a false application of this divine truth. We are to work six days and receive our money and on the seventh day to rest and set it apart for God and the service of His kingdom. God promises rich blessing to all those who honour His day and set it apart from the other days of the week.

 We are to work and fill our lives with activity and service and then rest on the day for God. It is good to obey the Lord and make the Lord’s day a separate and special day so that we can focus on Him and worship and serve Him. It is a glory to His name and shows we are conscious of His presence and bidding. Let us not please ourselves and make it a holiday for fun, but set it aside to meet with God and worship Him in His holy house. We should not do the things that we normally do on a weekday, but seek to make the day for God special and sacrosanct.

“God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work of creation which he had done.”

 Genesis 2:3

 Here at the beginning of creation, we have the mandate for making the day for God a day of rest from our usual activities and focusing on our Saviour and Lord.

 

49 “eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,”

 Exodus 21:24

 Thus says the Lord in all justice that we should pay recompense for the hurt we do to another person. The law is completely fair and holy and God commands that we follow it and obey its precepts.

 However, there is a greater covenant in force, through the death of Christ, that all who come to Him shall be saved. It is the majesty of grace that all who repent and believe are set free from the requirements of the law for Christ has died and set us free from it. Jesus has paid the greatest of prices for us that we might never have to suffer the just consequences of that law.

 The just requirements of the law of God were met in Christ as He gave His life for us on the cross. He took on Himself all our sin and uncleanness and purged it away so that we could be counted clean because of Him. He is the great sacrifice and the great High Priest who ever lives to intercede for us. He is our Saviour and is the only Saviour of the human heart. Only He can justify us as we come to Him in repentance and faith. There is no other way for He is the lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world. He is the instigator and price for that holy compact that was made in eternity that He should save a people for Himself.

“but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God,”

Hebrews 10:12

 Jesus is the only way to God for He is our great Saviour.

 

48 “You shall have no other gods before me.”

 Exodus 20:3

 This is a very clear and concise command and yet we stumble over it very easily. Our flesh and our spirit contend with each other for the preeminence in our life and cause us conflict. It is so easy for us to give in to the flesh because that is what we are by nature, and yet for the Christian who has the Holy Spirit within, there is inner and sometimes outer conflict. We find it easy to relate to the flesh and find it challenging to obey and serve the invisible God who relates to us through His Spirit.

 No matter how dearly loved or how precious something or someone is to us, they do not come before our regard and reverence for the Lord. We can easily fall into idolatry and find ourselves serving others and not the Lord. How easy it is for us to hold someone in our life dear to us and close to our heart, when that place belongs to our dear Lord Jesus. It is so easy to let the temporal into first place and all spiritual ways and feelings to over-ridden by the here and now.

 God knows what is best for us and He alone can tell us that He alone is to be our first and best. He can do this because He is the perfect God and knows that we are made for Him. We find our highest delight in Him and He will lead us into all right relationships with other people. We must trust in Him and give Him the top place in all our thinking and mediation.

“But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be added to you.”

 Matthew 6:33