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January 24 + Daily notes & readings

DAY 24

I don't know how excited you'll get about today's reading.  But you should!  Moses will recite the law to the people.  And, the exciting part, God and the people will make a covenant.  Remember when God made a covenant with specific people before?  Now, the covenant is with all the people.  What a blessing that is to know God covenants with us all.

Today's video takes a look at that idea of covenant.



DAILY READINGS

Exodus 22-24 & Psalm 24

DAILY NOTES

Exodus 22:1-15
  • Laws concerning restitution of property.
Exodus 22:16-27
  • Laws concerning social dealings
Exodus 22:28-31
  • Laws for religious observances
Exodus 23:1-9
  • Laws regarding personal behavior
  • Notice how a person is supposed to commit to justice.
  • Within these verses about justice, there is mention of how one deals with 2 types of people: enemies and resident aliens.  
Exodus 23:12-13
  • Moses spoke of the sabbath before as a "holy rest."  It is also meant to be a relief for one's animals and servants.
Exodus 23:16
  • First fruits.
Exodus 23:21
  • God's name will continue to be with the Israelites.  Now, it will take shape/form/presence in an angel God will send to lead the people to Canaan.
Exodus 23:24
  • This is already another mention of not bowing to other gods or taking their name on our lips.  God knows how easy it is for us to turn to other gods.  We may do so because of fear, mistrust, maybe even ignorance.  When we do, God says we are setting a trap for ourselves (Verse 33).
Exodus 24:1-2
  • We continually see Moses' special role on behalf of the people and the unique place before God.
Exodus 24:3-8
  • A covenant is being made.  Moses tells the people what God requires.  The people declare what their part will be: All the words...we will do.  
    • The people even emphasize their willingness to be obedient to God.
  • Moses writes the law of God.  Later, God will give the stones with the law written upon them.  So, it's unclear what Moses uses now.
  • Blood is shed to confirm the covenant.  Think of it as signing on the dotted line.  Blood is dashed upon the altar and the people.  
Psalm 24
  • Entering the holy place is the question that sparks the beauty of this psalm.
  • Those who enter see/experience the King of glory (talk about a church service you want to be at!).

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

Reading passages about ancient laws regarding donkeys and oxen may seem akin to reading all those passages with all those hard-to-pronounce names of the Bible.  As such, we're quick to gloss over them.

That's understandable.  It's not the best way to approach scripture, but it's understandable.

You'll be doing a lot more reading about laws later on.  So, when you read those passages, look for what is important to them.  For example, in today's reading you probably noticed the word restitution repeated.  That means that our modern understanding can catch a glimpse of what was important to God and to the people through these laws.  And while specifics may change over time--don't get close to my oxen!--principles can be learned that can apply to our modern world.

Stay blessed...john

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