Daily Reading
Daily Thought
Reading through Exodus would not take as long if Moses would stop repeating himself. He wrote God’s instructions, such as “make the ark of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, with four rings of gold and poles of acacia wood, to these exact dimensions” (Exodus 25:10-14), then he repeated the same instructions with the Israelite’s obedience, “We made the ark of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, with four rings of gold and poles of acacia wood, to these exact dimensions” (Exodus 37:1-5). Moses wrote how God wanted the tabernacle designed, then he wrote everything all over again when he described how they built it. All the details, over and over, repeating the same words. What God commanded and what the people did in response were the same. That is obedience.
Moses and the people of Israel were learning to obey God, down to the very details. “This Moses did; according to all that the LORD commanded him, so he did” (Exodus 40:16). Moses wanted this emphasized to the Israelites (and to us), so he repeated the details, because the details are important.
Many centuries later, Jesus said, “”If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). His final instructions to his disciples included, “make disciples …teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). One of his disciples, John, reminds us, “By this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments” (1John 2:3). The details are important.
Daily Prayer
My Lord my God, Your ways are so good. They take me the right direction in life. It baffles me why I don’t follow them always, because when I get off Your path, I find myself in trouble. Help me keep my eyes on You. Remind me that I belong to Your Kingdom, not to this world.
I pray, God, that I would shine Your glory into a dark world that needs the light. Like salt, that I would bring out the best and preserve goodness. To do this, Father, I must love Your Word and follow it. May I be as devoted to you as you are devoted to me already. May I delight in you as you delight in me already. May I love because you first loved me.
Amen