Dana Hagstrom – Page 355

Exodus 20:22-26 – What About Altars

What image comes to mind for you when you see the word, “altar”? Do you imagine a pile of rocks in the middle of the desert? Do you picture a piece of furniture at the front of your worship center or sanctuary? Interesting thing about altars. They were to be the site of a sacrifice or burnt offering.

The altars we see today are not designed for that purpose. In fact, most of them are probably made out of wood, and to slaughter an animal and burn it would cause the altar to go up in flames, too. God makes it clear here to build an altar wherever he (God) causes his name to be remembered. It is also clear he wants raw stone and not crafted stone. He also wants no steps leading to the altar.

Exodus 20:18-21 – The People’s Reaction

Read Exodus 20:18-21

Can you remember a time when you were fearful? I mean, you were really scared! Imagine the people standing in the wilderness, listening to the thunder and ram’s horn blast. When you put two and two together and realize that the God of the universe is coming to you, it can be a little intimidating, to say the least.

They were quick to let Moses take the fall and be the one who faced the fire. They wanted to hear what God had to say but wanted to hear it from Moses. They feared for their lives. I loved Moses’ reply, didn’t you? ” Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”

Exodus 20:12-17 – God’s Rules for Life – Part Two

Read Exodus 20:12-17

In the last post, we saw how God prescribed for us how we are to love and honor him. The rest of the 10 Commandments focus on relationships and respecting other human beings. God gives us several different ways to do that. By breaking these Commandments, we sin. We sin in other ways, too, but these are the biggies.

I’m not going to spend a lot of time on “sin” because that is a HUGE subject. I could devote a whole series to sin. But we do need to remember that sin is sin. None of it is good in God’s eyes. I, for one, don’t believe there is a hierarchy of sin. It’s all bad. In our human terms, we would tend to say that someone who kills another (one of the top 10) is worse than someone who gossips about another. Both are bad.

Exodus 20:1-11 – God’s Rules for Life – Part One

Read Exodus 20:1-11

It was time that God put a few rules into place. His people had gone this long living their own way, doing their own thing. That is, outside of being oppressed into slavery. So that they would be prepared for entering the Promised Land, there needed to be some boundaries for behavior. The first and most important were to love, honor and respect God.

There was a gift included, too. God wanted us to have a day of rest. It would be a day to honor Him and do no work. I don’t know about you, but having a day of rest sounds very appealing. We work so hard at our jobs, at keeping a home, at raising children, at volunteering. Sometimes we forget to play and pray. God wanted to make sure we didn’t.

Exodus 19:1-25 – Obedience

Read Exodus 19:1-25

For the setting of today’s reading, it has only been 2 months since the Israelites left their oppression in Egypt. Think back 2 months in your own life. What were you doing 2 months ago? Does it seem like just yesterday or an eternity? If you’re like me, it seems like a distant memory, but at the same time like it was here only yesterday.

That’s the perspective here. It was time for God to reveal himself to the people even more than he already had. If you’ve been reading along, you know that in past two months God has given them manna and quail, he provided guidance through a cloud of fire, he has given them Moses as a great arbitrator and leader, and so much more. Now it’s time for the people to meet him.