Some thoughts from this week’s reading:
- When we get to chapter 32, we read that the people grew tired of waiting for Moses to return from his journey up the mountain to meet with the Lord. The awe and wonder of hearing the trumpet blast, seeing the smoke and trembling mountain and the voice of God calling Moses up the mountain had faded away. The declarations that the people would follow everything the Lord told them to do were fading away as well. They pushed for a quicker solution, not considering that they were turning their eyes off of the Lord. In verse 32:8, we read, “They have been quick to turn away.”
**It is much easier to look at this account and see where the people needed to wait on the Lord’s timing and plan. It can be much harder to identify similar situations in our own lives. May we have soft hearts to keep going forward one small step at a time toward the Lord.
- As the scenes unfold with instructions on building the altar and the processes involved for the priests to follow, I keep seeing Moses. Moses was delivering the words of the Lord to the people. Moses was speaking up on behalf of the people after they turn away and the Lord was angry. From the time Moses was born, the Lord had a plan and purpose for Moses’s life. Moses was part of the Lord’s provision for his people. The Lord was always providing a way for his people to draw closer to him.
**In the midst of business, hardship or even daily routine that seems unremarkable, may we always take time to look and see the provision of the Lord. It may come in ways we do not expect. It may look much different than we are expecting it to look.
- I have always found it amazing to read about Moses meeting with the Lord and being in his presence. In verse 34:29 we read “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.” We, too, should be changed as we draw near to the Lord. It doesn’t mean we will smile all the time or that we will glow in a certain way. However, as our hearts and minds are growing steadily toward the Lord, there will be outward evidence.
**May our lives reflect that we have been in the Lord’s presence, not to impress others, but to bring glory to the Lord. May our lives point others to the eternal hope in Jesus.
Marge Woodson
