Posts that reference the book of Exodus

He Would Have Passed By

Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. Mark 6:48

Jesus would have passed them by.

This statement always jarred me. Was Mark saying Jesus intended to leave the disciples struggling and straining, oblivious and unconcerned? I don’t think so.

Did he mean that Jesus had other plans, like going on across the lake, but He had to stop and bail the disciples out again? Like they were a bother or a hindrance? That doesn’t sound like Jesus.

But the Old Testament, I think, sheds some light on Jesus passing by. In Exodus 33 and 34, Moses asks for reassurance and reaffirmation from God and God graciously obliges. Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” Exodus 33:19

Then again, for Elijah. Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 1 Kings 19:11

In both cases, the Lord passing by included a glimpse of His glory and power, designed to encourage and empower His people.

What if…

What if … with the disciples frustrated, exhausted and at the end of themselves … Jesus intended to pass by, meaning to show them His glory just like Jehovah had done for Moses and Elijah? What if, in the same way Israel was not ready to recognize Jesus as Messiah, the disciples were not ready to see Him as He truly is? So He didn’t pass by.

The disciples had just watched Jesus create food. The bread and fish from feeding the crowd of five thousand plus hadn’t even digested yet. But as amazing as that miracle was, they didn’t get it. Mark says in verse 52 that their hearts were hard. Too hard to take it in. Their minds were closed. Why?

They were afraid.
They were distracted.
They were unbelieving.

Have there been times when Jesus “would have passed by” but I was too afraid of what was happening around me to take it in? Or too distracted by whatever crisis I was trying to manage on my own? Or too unwilling to believe that He is the great I AM?

I’m not sure I want to know.
Actually, I’m pretty sure I already do.

He is the Lord

By Paula Wiseman

And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians. Exodus 3:7-8

He has seen
He saw the breakup.
He saw your dream postponed or given up.
He saw your tears.

He has heard
He heard the diagnosis.
He heard about the layoffs and cutbacks.
He heard your cries.

He knows
He knows what you really meant when your words were misunderstood.
He knows how hard you tried.
He knows your frustration and your fears.

And He has come down
He’s not a spectator.
He left His throne to walk beside us through it all.
He came to deliver us.

He is the Lord.

The Temple

By Paula Wiseman

We tend to think of the Old Testament tabernacle and temple as places where the people came to worship God. While it’s true that worship occurred there, and rightly so, the tabernacle and temple were the places God chose to be present.

After painstakingly following God’s instructions concerning the construction and equipping of the tabernacle in the wilderness, Exodus 40:34-35 describes God’s presence in the form of a cloud moving in and inhabiting the place.

Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

Later, under King Solomon, a great temple was built. In 1 Kings 8:10-11, once again, God’s presence in the form of a cloud, moves in and inhabits the place.

And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.

In the New Testament, Jesus asserts that He is the temple, not the building where worship occurred, but the physical presence of God.

Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. John 2:19-21

After Jesus ascended to heaven, what happened to the presence of God?

An amazing thing happened. God chose to dwell in individual believers. We became the temple of God.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Often we read these verses as an encouragement to eat our veggies and exercise, or an admonition not to smoke or drink. Gotta take care of the temple, after all. And yes, we should be good stewards of the body, health, and life God has entrusted to us, but being a temple is so much more.

Remember, the temple is where God dwells. God has chosen to live IN us. Not in a faraway place. Not a place we only visit a few times a year. IN us.

As wondrous as the Incarnation is, the Indwelling is even more marvelous.

The glory that filled the tabernacle, the glory that filled the temple … lives in us. Moses couldn’t go inside, the priests couldn’t minister because the glory was too much. That glory was displayed on the cross and revealed in resurrection three days later.

That glory lives in us.

Exploring Exodus: Proclaiming His Name

By Paula Wiseman

And the LORD passed before [Moses] and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:6-7

This is God’s revelation of Himself.
Who He is.
What He does

The Self-Existent God
Merciful
Gracious
Longsuffering

Abounding in goodness and truth
Keeping mercy for thousands
Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin
By no means clearing the guilty
Letting the consequences of their actions and decisions play out.

This is the glory Moses asked to see.
This is the glory that filled the Temple
This is the glory Christ showed us.
This is the glory we can see for ourselves.

Because of what Jesus did.
Because of who God is.
He invites us to know Him.

God’s name is THE name worth proclaiming.

Exploring Exodus: Show Me Your Glory

By Paula Wiseman

Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” Exodus 33:18

“Show me Your glory!”
It’s almost too much to write about.
You see, the golden calf is in chapter 32.
The failure.
The wrath.
The judgment.

Then God tells Moses to lead the people without Him.
“I will not go up in your midst,
because you are an obstinate people,
and I might destroy you on the way.” (Ex 33:3)
And Moses has a crisis of confidence,
Of leadership, of purpose, of calling.

Moses asks, “Show me Your way.”
Lord, I don’t know what to do next.
God says, “I will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Ex 33:14)

Moses asks, “How will anyone know we are Your people,
Except that You lead us?”
Lord, how can I be sure You still want me?
God says, “You have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.” (Ex. 33:17)

But then Moses asks, “Show me Your glory.”
Lord, I want to know more than Your name.
I want to experience more than Your presence.
I want intimacy with You like I have never experienced before.
And I don’t want to leave this place until I am assured the relationship between us,
Between You and Your people is restored.
God says, “I will. I reaffirm My covenant name.
I will be gracious. I will show mercy.” (Ex. 33:19)

Why don’t we see His glory?

Perhaps because we don’t ask.
Or maybe because we are satisfied
And we don’t know how much we need it.

Don’t Follow the Crowd

By Paula Wiseman

You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. Exodus 23:2

Don’t follow the crowd.
That’s good enough advice on its own.
As believers we don’t line up with the world.
We’ve always been a minority.

This is bigger, though.
From the Hebrew, from the cultural context, it’s more like
Don’t follow a crowd because you’re afraid you’ll look foolish
Or weird, or backward, or bigoted,
If you don’t.

The second half is don’t take sides
When you have no personal knowledge.
It specifically applies to Israel’s beginning court system.
It applies more broadly to gossip …
To social media rants … To stirring the pot.
Just don’t.

God’s people must be brave enough
To make a stand apart from the crowd.
To stand for righteousness,
For grace, compassion, and love.
Even if that means
Standing alone.