The Highlighter [Exodus 21-Leviticus 5]

This week I read Exodus 21-Leviticus 5. Here's what stuck out to me.

Exodus 22:31 You are to be my holy people.
Ultimately, this is what God wants. I feel like many of the commands God has for us can be summarized into this one verse, be my Holy people.

He wants us to be his. He wants us to be Holy. Christlike, set apart. As we walk this earth, we are to be different.

One of the most challenging things I've ever heard comes from one of my favorite authors. Think about this question: Why has it become so hard to pick a Christian out of a crowd?

I love that quote for a number of reasons. I take that back. I'm not really sure that I love it. I love how challenging it is to my life and to others, but I don't like the truth that is embedded in that question.

As God's holy people, we need to stand out. Be in the world, not of it, as the New Testament says. But that's not until October-Novemberish :-)

Exodus 23:33b because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.

That was certainly the case for the nation of Israel. However it is also the case for you and me. It is important to keep in mind that idolatry isn't limited to worshiping golden statues. Idolatry can also be worshiping our money or addictions. We must rid ourselves of anything that keeps us from the one, true God, our father.

Exodus 29:45 Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them.

Exodus 33:14 My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.
This verse comes right after one of the most challenging chapters of the whole Bible for me. I've always found Exodus 32 hard to read, mostly because I'm glad I'm not Moses. If I'm Moses coming down from Sinai and I see what the Aaron and the rest of the Israelites are up to (The Golden Calf) I'd probably scream and say "OK, God, just zap them dead now." Turns out, three thousand of them did die (32:28)

God took care of them and what did they do? They turned away from Him. Thankfully, God (and Moses) have (had) more patience than I do. In the chapter after that (33) we see the above phrase. It is such a comforting phrase to me. God's Presence was with them as they set out. God's Presence is with us on our journey as well.

Exodus 39-40 as the LORD commanded Moses/him
Phrases that are often repeated usually stick out to me. As I read the last 2 chapters of Exodus I underlined every time the above phrase appeared. Assuming I didn't miss one, I counted 18 times this phrase appears.

From that...we see how important it is that we follow every single command/detail/footnote that God gives us. With God, detail is important. We can't say to any of His commands "Oh, that's not important." Rather, we must follow them EXACTLY. Cross every "t" and dot every "i". Let's follow His commands with the same determination and attention to detail that Moses did.

Leviticus 5:5 When anyone is guilty in any of these ways, he must confess in what way he has sinned
I find it interesting that this verse jumped out at me. Confession was a part of the sin offering process. Obviously, because of Christ's death on the cross we no longer have to sacrifice an animal. However, confession is still an important aspect of our journey to repentance. The animal sacrificing stopped, but the confessions continue.

That's what stuck out to me this week! God Bless!