Monday after Quinquagesima Sunday
Posted on March 4, 2019 by under
Scripture: Exodus 24:1—25:9 (NKJV)
24:1 Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2 And Moses alone shall come near the LORD, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.”
3 So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the LORD has said we will do.” 4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD.
And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. 6 And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.”
8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.”
9 Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. 11 But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.
12 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.”
13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.”
15 Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain. 16 Now the glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
25:1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. 3 And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; 4 blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; 5 ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; 6 oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; 7 onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate.
8 “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. 9 According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.
Devotion
“All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.”
Israel began with every intention of fulfilling God’s Law, and that intention is admirable. In tomorrow’s reading we will see Israel fail by making and worshiping the golden calf. But Israel was full of sinners, so the vow was impossible for the nation to fulfill. There is no one who never sins and always walks perfectly in the Law of the Lord. Even if someone were to outwardly do all the Law required, that person would still fall short because of the sinful thoughts in the heart.
But our Lord is rich in mercy. He sent Christ to do what Israel, and we, could not. All the Lord had said, Christ did and was obedient, even to the point of death on the cross. He is the only one to do what Israel said they would do, fulling God’s Law externally and in the heart. Jesus loved God the Father and His neighbor perfectly. God applies this perfect righteousness to sinners when they believe the Gospel, that in Christ we have a gracious God who atoned for all of our sins.
We cannot do all the Lord has commanded. But Christ has, and His merits are yours by faith. Because you are righteous by faith, you can strive to walk according to the Ten Commandments, both in outward actions, and the thoughts of your heart. You don’t do this to earn God’s favor. You have that already by faith. You do this out of love for the God who has graciously done all things for you.
We pray: O Lord, we beseech Thee, mercifully hear our prayers and, having set us free from the bonds of sin, defend us from all evil; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
