Monday, February 25, 2008

PUT IT IN WRITING

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

"Then he said to Moses, "Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him." When Moses went and told the people all the Lord's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the Lord has said we will do." Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said." Exodus 24:1-4

As we enter Chapter 24, God is ready to seal His covenant with the people of Israel. He had provided the people with a lot of guidance and direction through Moses which included the Ten Commandments and the reinforcing case laws. The people of Israel were expected to follow God’s directives in complete obedience to Him.

The beginning verses have God telling Moses to "come up to" Him but not alone. He was to bring his older brother Aaron as well as Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel. Nadab and Abihu were the next two high priests in line after their father and the elders were summoned to represent the twelve tribes. Interestingly enough, this is what elders do today in the church…represent their respective congregations in spiritual leadership. The elders being there was to be representative of God’s covenant being made with all the tribes people.

Notice that Aaron, his sons and the elders were only allowed to go so far with Moses and then were to "worship at a distance". Only Moses was allowed to have the special honor and privilege to approach the Lord. And the people were to stay behind all together.

So given this direction, Moses first addressed the people of Israel, telling them "all the Lord's words and laws". As we have seen, there were a lot of them so it must have taken awhile. After Moses finishes, we see a remarkable response by the people who say "with one voice", ‘Everything the Lord has said we will do." Notice that the people never ask a question, not even for clarification of a point. It’s as if they perfectly understood everything the very first time they heard it.

I wonder if the people of Israel truly understood everything that was expected of them. I mean, the Lord was asking them to do a lot and there were a ton of commandments and laws they were to adhere to. Yet, they asked no questions.

Question: Do you perfectly understand everything the Lord expects from you? Unless you’re studying the scriptures every single day, your answer to this question cannot possibly be yes. For inside the books of the bible you will find God’s instruction manual for life…and life everlasting. And we only have these scriptures because people in biblical times wrote down what God expected. Notice that this is what Moses did as soon as He received the words of the Lord.

Question: Do you write down what the Lord says to you? Do you hear Him speaking to you every day? Are you even listening for Him or entering into conversation with Him?

I can tell you from testimony that God is ready to speak to your heart, mind and soul every day. You just need to turn your life’s focus over to His will and way for your life. Day after day as I sit to write these blog entries, I begin with a blank Microsoft Word document and somehow end up with something of substance that blesses so many people who read my entries. Where does this substance come from? Only from the Lord as He speaks to my heart each and every day. And as He does, I, like Moses, write down "everything the Lord had said".

This Lenten season, why not start to make this part of your daily reflection and meditation as you prayerfully study the scriptures and enter into daily communion with the Father? When God speaks it’s important so write down everything He says to you…and then share it with others so they can be blessed by the same words.

If you do this, I think you’ll find that your daily spiritual time with the Lord will be greatly enhanced as you’ll have a record of all that the Lord has said to you so you can know what He expects and be able to proclaim, "Everything the Lord has said I will do."

In Christ,

Mark


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