[NOTE: For those who are continuing the 1-year Bible reading plan we started on April 1, 2018, just go to the end of this entry and you will find the Day 299-Mark 9-12 summary!]
Exodus 31-33 offers us a great deal of action, and much of it shows us the fickle nature of human beings. God had already done such amazing miracles in Israel’s presence, but as we see, the people were quick to transfer their allegiance to other gods. First, in chapter 31 God appointed two men: Bezalel and Oholiab to oversee the construction of the Tabernacle. God gifted them spiritually and physically with the special skills they would need to oversee the project. We’re also told all the craftsmen of Israel were given special skill for completing the project. At the end of chapter 31, God presents additional instructions concerning the Sabbath. They are stringent to say the least. Anyone who was caught breaking the Sabbath was to be executed. Why such harsh punishment? Remember, God was establishing Israel as His holy people. One of the most common distractions from following God is putting our work before Him. The timing of the instruction is interesting: God has just instructed Moses to have the Tabernacle built, a project ordained by God, and then God gives additional instructions concerning the Sabbath. It is possible God realized even when we’re engaged in His work, we can transfer our allegiance from serving Him to serving the work. That’s a subtle distinction, but vital to remember. We can never let the work of God become more important to us than the God for whom we work!
Exodus 32 offers us the clearest example of the fickleness of God’s people. Moses was gone for 40 days. That is an extended time for a leader to be gone, but Moses had left Aaron and Hur in charge, and the people knew Moses was on the mountain with God. They weren’t in a hurry to get anywhere. Yet, the people cried out to Aaron, because they didn’t think Moses was coming back. They wanted some “gods” to worship. Amazing, isn’t it? The one, true God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt. At that very moment, God was giving instructions for the people to Moses. Even so, the people had to have a god to worship. This is so instructive to us. We live in an era when many people deny the existence of God, but always remember: we were created by God to worship Him. If we don’t worship Him, we will worship something or someone. Atheists worship themselves, or science, or hedonism, or some form of order, even if its anarchy. The Israelites abandoned God, and Aaron went along with them, forming a golden calf to worship.
Moses showed his leadership of the people, when God told him to go down the mountain, because the people had rebelled. When God told Moses, He was going to destroy the Israelites and form a new people from Moses’ line, Moses interceded for the people, and God relented. After Moses entered the camp and called those faithful to God to stop the rebellion, the Levites sided with Moses, and killed 3,000 Israelites. Once again, this might seem extreme to us, but the alternative would have been to let the people worship false gods. Finally, Moses interceded again for God not to destroy the Israelites.
As we move to Exodus 33, we are told of Moses’ practice of going to the tent of meeting, to talk with God. Each time Moses entered the tent, the people of Israel would stand outside of their tents in reverent attention. One of my favorite statements in the history of Israel comes in this chapter. We’re told God spoke “face-to-face” with Moses as a man speaks to a friend. Wow! Imagine having regular face-to-face meetings with God! The chapter closes with God showing Moses His glory, which is one more affirmation of the closeness of the relationship between God and Moses. Thank God, literally, thank God for Moses’ faithfulness, humility, and leadership over Israel. While Moses had his faults, a lack of loyalty to God and the people was not one of them.
As we return to Mark 8, let’s focus on the healing of the blind man in Bethsaida. (In our first reading of Mark, we focused on Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah. Feel free to review Day 8’s post if you want to return to that reflection.) What has always stood out to me in this moment, is Jesus’ need to touch the blind man twice to heal him completely. Ordinarily, it took one touch or one word for Jesus’ healing power to be effective. Why two touches in this case? We can’t say for sure, but it seems likely to me, Jesus’ second touch was more for our benefit, than it was a lack of power on His part. Many times, we pray for others, or for our own needs, and if the only examples we had from Jesus’ ministry were of immediately answered prayers, we might think our faith is too weak, or we’re being disobedient, or something else was hindering our prayer. A lack of faith and disobedience do hinder our prayers, but sometimes we need to pray through a situation twice, three times, or more. I have had prayers that took many years to answer, and some I am still waiting for God to answer in the way I am praying He will.
As we pray, we know God is faithful and powerful. Therefore, we pray with confidence, and if it takes a second “touch” or a third or more, we continue to pray, knowing God always has our best in mind. He desires to give us what we ask as we keep Him first in our lives.
Day 299-Mark 9-12
In Mark 9-12 Jesus’ ministry turns toward Jerusalem. Mark 9 was literally the “high point” of Jesus’ earthly ministry, as He was transfigured on a mountain top with Moses and Elijah. As we continue forward Jesus tells the disciples a second and third time He is going to be betrayed, arrested, condemned, crucified and buried, but He will rise on the third day. Each time the disciples fail to understand and show more concern for their own benefit than what Jesus was telling them. In Mark 11, we read of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, and of the moment when the people recognize Him for who He is. This marks the beginning of “Holy Week,” the last week of Jesus’ life before His death and resurrection.