Thurs.’s Devo - We Choose Jesus

Read: Exodus 34:1-35:9; Matthew 27:15-31: Psalm 33:12-22; Proverbs 9:1-6 God told Moses to cut two more tablets of stone since he broke the last two. He was to bring them to the top of Mt. Sinai. I wonder how heavy those stone tablets were. *** The Lord came down in a cloud and stood with him and proclaimed who he was: The Lord, merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. He will not clear the guilty but punish them up to the fourth generation. *** Moses asked the Lord to please go with them even if they were sinful and rebellious. He prayed for forgiveness and for the Lord to take them for his inheritance. *** God promised to make a covenant with them and do marvelous things that had never been done before with them. He would drive out all the “ites” before them so that they wouldn’t make a covenant with them and become like them - idolatrous. *** They were not to make gods of cast metal. They were to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread for a week in the month of Abib. Their firstborn were the Lord’s, even their animals. If they had a donkey, they could redeem it with a lamb. If the donkey was not redeemed, his neck must be broken. (This means that a stubborn person can only be saved by the blood of the Lamb. If the stubborn person was not redeemable, he will be made to bow in the end, resulting in his eternal death.) *** They were to rest on the seventh day from their work. They were to observe the Feast of Weeks 50 days after First Fruits. And, they were to observe the Feast of Ingathering or Tabernacles at the end of the year. These feasts were the three times a year that all the males were to come before the Lord. If they observe his feasts and bring their offerings to the Lord, he would cast out their enemies who lived in the land and enlarge their borders and protect them from their enemies. *** Their sacrifices should not be offered with leaven which stands for sin. The lamb of Passover should be eaten that night and nothing left till the next day. Jesus was completely consumed on the cross for our sins. They were not to boil a young goat in his mother’s milk. (This is mentioned three times in the Bible: here, Ex. 23:19, Deut. 14:21). I think it means that a child is not to be set to follow in his mother’s sins. *** Moses stayed on the mountain with the Lord for 40 days and nights and when he came down, his face shone with God’s glory. It made the people so afraid of him that the had to end up putting veil over his face when he was with the people. He would remove the veil when he went before the Lord. *** Moses told the people that they were not to work on the Sabbath or they would be put to death. Neither were they to have a fire going in their dwellings on the Sabbath. The Lord asked for free-will offerings for the tabernacle. *** In Matthew, it was the feast of Unleavened Bread and it was customary for the governor to release a prisoner of the people’s choice. Pilate chose the most notorious prisoner to put next to Jesus, thinking they would surely choose Jesus who did good. His wife had warned him of a dream she had had and told him not to have anything to do with hurting Jesus who was an innocent man. *** The chief priests and elders persuaded the crowd to choose Barabbas. When Pilate asked them what they wanted him to do with Jesus, they cried, “Crucify him.” Pilate washed his hand in front of them saying Jesus was innocent and he was not going to be held responsible for what they were doing. But, then he released Barabbas to them and had Jesus scourged and delivered to them to crucify him. (I’m not sure Pilate could say he was released from responsibility.) *** Pilate’s soldiers took Jesus to Pilate’s headquarters and stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. They made a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They mocked him, spit on him and struck him on the head. Then they took the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him to be crucified. *** Lord, the shame you bore for us is inconceivable. Thank you for bearing our sin and shame on the cross. You, who knew no sin became sin for us. We glorify and praise your name.