The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Exodus 29:46b,
"I am the Lord their God."
God decided he would redeem lost and fallen mankind from their sinful estrangement from himself. Adam and Eve, the first human couple, had sinned against the Lord and earned for all of us death, both temporal and eternal. Yet, God had made mankind from the depths of his desire to do so, and so he determined to redeem them from his own judgement of them for that sinful fall.
That determination of his was rooted in his pleasure that only those among mankind who wanted him would be welcomed into his family: only those who might embrace him in faith. Abraham had found favor with God because he manifested that very kind of faith he would look for in the hearts of mankind.
God's plan of redemption would not be at the expense of his sense of justice, and so he provided for the punishment due mankind vicariously through his own Son by having him enter into the human family to be sacrificed as that provision.
God determined to carry this out through the vehicle of a nation he would prepare for himself, a nation that he would send prophets into the world through, to inform mankind of his intentions, and a people he would bring his Son into the world through specifically for that sacrifice. Israel was chosen to be that people because of the faith their patriarch, Abraham, displayed and would become a model for all to view.
In fulfilling these things he made his covenant with Israel and began to prepare them to be instrumental in what he would do to redeem mankind. God made a covenant with this people on the basis of the laws he gave them, he provided for a tabernacle and a priesthood and a calendar of offerings and worship at the tabernacle to prepare them to fulfill the role he determined for them in his agenda of redemption.
After he provided his plans to Moses to carry out, he said they would know that he was the Lord their God, and as a summary statement at the end of this chapter he proclaims, "I am the Lord their God."
"I am the Lord their God."
God decided he would redeem lost and fallen mankind from their sinful estrangement from himself. Adam and Eve, the first human couple, had sinned against the Lord and earned for all of us death, both temporal and eternal. Yet, God had made mankind from the depths of his desire to do so, and so he determined to redeem them from his own judgement of them for that sinful fall.
That determination of his was rooted in his pleasure that only those among mankind who wanted him would be welcomed into his family: only those who might embrace him in faith. Abraham had found favor with God because he manifested that very kind of faith he would look for in the hearts of mankind.
God's plan of redemption would not be at the expense of his sense of justice, and so he provided for the punishment due mankind vicariously through his own Son by having him enter into the human family to be sacrificed as that provision.
God determined to carry this out through the vehicle of a nation he would prepare for himself, a nation that he would send prophets into the world through, to inform mankind of his intentions, and a people he would bring his Son into the world through specifically for that sacrifice. Israel was chosen to be that people because of the faith their patriarch, Abraham, displayed and would become a model for all to view.
In fulfilling these things he made his covenant with Israel and began to prepare them to be instrumental in what he would do to redeem mankind. God made a covenant with this people on the basis of the laws he gave them, he provided for a tabernacle and a priesthood and a calendar of offerings and worship at the tabernacle to prepare them to fulfill the role he determined for them in his agenda of redemption.
After he provided his plans to Moses to carry out, he said they would know that he was the Lord their God, and as a summary statement at the end of this chapter he proclaims, "I am the Lord their God."
This is the very statement that he makes over those who have responded to his offer of redemption. It is a statement that we need to fashion into a question for ourselves, "Is God the Lord of our lives?"
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
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