Exodus chapter 32.
I wrote 4 pages of notes today which is more than I usually do. I felt there was so much in this chapter. I'll try and highlight briefly, LOL.
1. Being impatient with God can result in terrible decisions. We tend to want to take things into our own hands if we have to wait for God too long. We must learn to wait upon the Lord.
2. Anyone can slip and mess up and fall into sin for whatever reason. When that happens people need grace, mercy, love and forgiveness. Sometimes the love is firm but it should never be hate for the person. We should never put them down. Putting people down never works to get them to change. It usually knocks them down mentally even further resulting in less of a motivation to change.
3. When we mess up, not if we mess up, we need to take responsibility for our actions and not lie or make excuses. Taking responsibility is a great step for healing and change.
4. It's easy for Ministry or life to get out of control and we need people on the outside to come and give us a fresh perspective on what they see. It's easy to become blind of Truth. People's input can get us back where we belong.
5. As the Levites were told to kill family, friends and neighbor. When called by God to serve him 100%, we will find opposition from family, friends and neighbors. We must be willing to face such opposition without turning from the Lord.
6. Moses loved the people so much that he was willing to sacrifice his own life before God that their lives might be saved. May we be willing to sacrifice our own lives for others because of our love for others and in wanting to see them saved.
7. There will be consequences for our sins and actions including here on Earth. And they're not always Pleasant.
8. When all is said and done, God wants to take us and refocus us on his calling and purpose for our lives. We can never mess up too much that God can't use us again. He will use us and he will lead us in the direction we are to go for him.
This chapter was difficult to read as it contained various things that were disturbing to me. The first was how quickly it seemed that the people chose to make an idol and turned away from God. Another was the thought that the future of the Israelites ultimately depended on Moses. God is very patient, but we see Him ready to wipe out the Istaelites at this point and just start over with Moses. The Levites being told to kill family, friends and neighbors wasn’t an easy thing to take either. Sometimes certain people try to claim that the God of the Old Testament is different than the God of the New Testament. The real true God is the same yesterday, today and forever, but this chapter does contain some strange things happening that are somewhat challenging to accept.
Patience…. I sometimes struggle with this.
PB …love everything you write, God speaks through you.
Ps … You, me, Karen, chineses ???
Jim, like you said I sometimes see God in a different light in the Old Testament than I do in the New Testament. While He seems different, what you said is correct, He is the same today as He was yesterday, and how He will be. It is so important to take the stories and the lessons from the Old Testament and apply it to our lives even though it may not see as positive or merciful as the New Testament. In this chapter we see Moses speak to God, asking for his mercy on them and not to wipe them out. It’s sad to read because they felt like Moses was gone too long, they worshipped an idol. Patience is important. Recognizing this world we live in is temporary and our immediate satisfaction and gratification will only take us so far. We need to be all in for God, all the time.