Exodus 25:21,22

Exodus 25:21,22 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. Besides the Tabernacle tent, God gave Moses directions for the items that were to be put into the Tabernacle. There were incense holders, which held a sweet-smelling, smoldering fire. There were tables which held fresh loaves of bread, reminding us of Jesus, the bread of life. The Tabernacle also had a golden candlestick. We are told that Jesus is the light of the world. He commands us to be lights just as He is. But the most important piece of furniture was the Ark of the Covenant. It was a beautiful chest-like box that held only three items: a bowl of manna, the stone Ten Commandment tablets, and the rod that Aaron had used. Then the Ark had a lid with the forms of two angels on each end. Their angel wings were outstretched and almost touching each other in the middle. This lid was called the Mercy Seat. The Mercy Seat was where the priest sprinkled the blood once each year on the Day of Atonement. God was giving us a picture in the Old Testament of how He would pay for our sins in the New Testament. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is our atonement.

Exodus 25:1,2,9

Exodus 25:1,2,9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it. The Lord God gave Moses the plan for the Ark of the Covenant, for the Tabernacle, and for all of the instruments and priests’ clothing that went along with them. It is interesting that all of them were symbols of the Lord Jesus Christ, their Messiah, Who would come almost thirteen hundred years later. God gave Moses the specific instructions and then told the Children of Israel to give of their gold and silver and other materials to build the Tabernacle. He Told Moses exactly how big to make the Tabernacle and what materials to make it out of. After they made the entire Tabernacle, God instructed the priests how to pack it up and how to move it. The Tabernacle was one giant tent because the Children of Israel were traveling through the Wilderness on the way to the Promised Land. But God wanted a place for them to come to Him and to worship Him while they were on the way. The Tabernacle was a moveable place to worship God which was replaced later by the Temple that was built by King Solomon, David’s son. We don’t worship God in a Temple now; we worship God as a Spirit. We can pray to God and worship Him anywhere and anytime. What a blessed privilege!

Exodus 23:9-12

Exodus 23:9-12 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard. Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. Our verses remind the Children of Israel to remember the Sabbath day. Back in Exodus 20:11 we are told that God created everything in six days and rested on the seventh just to give us the example that we should work six days and rest on the seventh. We need a day of rest and we need a day to think about God and remember Him. So, do you think it took God six days to make everything? I don’t think so! I think God worked a few seconds and then waited until the next morning to work another few seconds. It took Him six days because God wanted to give us an example. So you work at schoolwork for five days and then you have the day off on Saturday. Wrong! You should work six days! You should clean your room on Saturday and help your dad mow the grass and help your mother with the laundry. Your parents may not have to work at their jobs on Saturday, but they have to work at home on Saturday. And what about the Sabbath Day? Should we rest on the Sabbath Day? Well, Sunday is the Lord’s Day and we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord on Sunday. Three times in the New Testament it mentions that the Christians were together on the Lord’s Day. The Jews honored the Sabbath Day, and we as Christians honor the Lord’s resurrection day, Sunday. And still, it is important to rest and recharge our bodies by resting one day a week.

Exodus 22: 29-31

Exodus 22:29-31 Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me. Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me. And ye shall be holy men unto me ... You may remember the verse we had earlier that said that God gets the first fruits and the firstborn of man and beast. Our verses today remind us that God should be honored first. The Israelites were not to wait to give God their offerings; they were to give God what was due to him right away. Even when their first child was born, it was holy to God. They were to offer a redeeming sacrifice for the firstborn child right away. Or as in the case of Moses and Samuel, they were to be holy and given to God to become priests to God. God expected His people Israel to be holy, and God expects us His New Testament people to be holy too!

Exodus 22:20-24

Exodus 22:20-24 He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed. Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. Our verses for today are dealing with fairness again. God will not tolerate us to put anything above Him. God is the Creator of the Universe and He alone deserves our worship. And God expects us to be kind to the homeless and widows and orphans. If we take advantage of the poor, they will cry out to the Lord and He will hear their cry. God will get even. He sees everything and will make everything right. Some men may get away with wickedness for a while, but God sees and knows all. And God will assuredly judge them, either in this life or the life which is to come.

Exodus 22:1,4-6

Exodus 22:1,4-6 If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double. If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man's field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution. If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution. Our verses for today have to do with fairness. If someone steals something and the theft is found out, he has to restore what he took at least double. If a farmer carelessly lets his animals free to eat in another man’s field, he has to restore from the very best of his own fields. If someone is burning thorns and the fire gets out of control and burns his neighbor’s field, he has to pay for the damage that he has accidentally caused. The judges of the city are to decide what is right. Our verses remind us that we must be good neighbors. And when something bad happens, we should take responsibility for the harm that we have caused. Fair is fair.