Exodus 32:17-20 - There is a noise of war in the camp

32:17,18

Joshua was with Moses, so had no part in the rebellion. When he heard the noise in the camp he thought there was a battle of some sort going on. This is an indication of the extent to which the people had let themselves go. It then became apparent that it was actually the sound of singing, the people were singing with great exuberance to this useless idol. People can commit themselves with great gusto to all sorts of evil and wrong ideas.

32:19,20

In 32:10 we read of the Lord’s wrath burning hot, now we read of Moses’ anger burning hot. Moses had a problem with anger, but his anger was not always misplaced. Anger is not always wrong, indeed there are many things that we are right to be angry about. Here Moses was angry that the people were rebelling against the Lord. So he understood something of the Lord’s anger. The problem with our anger is that even when it may start out as righteous anger, it can so easily become unrighteous anger. This could be seen as symbolic, though I think it is more likely that Moses did it in a fit of rage. Of course, there may have been a mixture of the two. He then destroyed the calf, burning it down and grinding it to powder. Then he made the people drink water with the remains of the calf in it. 

Romans 2:16,17 - God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus

2:16

2:14 and 15 have been a slight digression, Paul returns to the main thrust of the argument. The judgement he has been talking about will take place when God judges the world through Jesus Christ. Someone may be able to put on a front, convincing others that they are righteous, but ultimately it is God that they will need to convince, and God knows absolutely everything that we think and do. There are a couple of very important points here. One is that judgement will take place through Jesus Christ. We hear very little of Jesus the Judge, yet the Bible is clear that He is the judge. Secondly, this is part of the gospel. Judgement is part of the gospel!

2:17

These words are directed specifically against Jews who considered themselves better than others. Paul’s words bring out some of the attitudes of some of the Jews. An interesting question is who are these words directed against? Given that the letter was to the church it would seem likely that they are aimed at Jewish Christians, and that Paul is, in part, dealing with the Jew-Gentile issue within the church. However, a lot of Romans is written in a polemical style, and one where Paul is answering supposed critics. This is made clear later on where Paul deals with rhetorical questions. So it is equally possible that Paul here is more answering the question asked by Jews (Christian or not) as to why the gospel is needed. So here in 2:17 we learnt that they relied on the law and boasted in God.  They might have been better to boast in the Law and rely on God.

Exodus 32:13-16 - And the Lord relented

32:13,14

Moses clearly knew that God had made promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and knew them in some detail. How would Moses know this? It is likely that things were passed down orally, and they may have been written down as well. Whatever the case we see that Moses was living by the word of God. He was not “in it for himself”. Likewise, while the gospel brings many benefits, it must be the word of God that guides us. And this not just in terms of promises here and there, we need to have a sense of the bigger picture of God’s plans and the heart of God. Moses could have thought that the Israelites deserved to be wiped out, and at one level he would have been right. They had experienced so much, and yet rejected God at the first opportunity. Instead Moses was committed to God’s overall plan. “The Lord relented ...” This is taken to be an “anthropomorphism”, i.e. expressing things in terms of the way humans act and react. God never intended to wipe them out, He knew what Moses would do, and we see how closely God involves men in His plans.

32:15,16

Moses returned from the mountain, carrying the two tablets of stone. These would have been quite small tablets, and there was writing on both sides. The tablets had been created by God, and the writing on them was the writing of God. Men chose to worship a useless idol, when they could have had the very words of God Himself.

Romans 2:14,15 - They are a law to themselves

2:14

So Paul has shown how in condemning the Gentiles the Jews were actually condemning themselves as well. Now he puts a reverse slant on it. So when the Gentiles do the things that the Law requires, even though they do not have the Law, “they are a Law unto themselves”. This latter phrase is used in common parlance, but is totally misused! We use it to mean someone is one of a kind, living life their way. What Paul means here is that the Gentile is doing good. The Law did not create what was good. Good and evil were good and evil long before the Law came in. E.g. murder has always been wrong, just look at Cain and Abel.

2:15

The Law, meaning here a sense of what is right and wrong, is written on men’s hearts. All societies have very similar moral codes. Muder, lying, theft are all wrong everywhere. Marriage is seen as a good thing. Now no society keeps these things well. Sometimes in societies there is a complete breakdown. In some countries corruption is utterly rampant, in others violence dominates.In the West there is an increasing breakdown of respect for marriage and sexual morality. All people have a sense of right and wrong.

Exodus 32:9-12 - That my wrath may burn hot against them

32:9,10

The term “stiff-necked people” is repeated several times in the Old Testament, and is an accurate description of the Israelites (along with all mankind!). God now calls on Moses to leave Him alone, and God would pour out His wrath on the people. The people would perish, and God would make a great nation out of Moses. As we know, and will soon read, God did not do this. This is what He would have done if nothing else was to happen, but something else was to happen.

32:11,12

That something else that was to happen was Moses pleading with God. God ties His plans in with the actions of men in a most intricate way. Even the whole plan of salvation was tied in with a man, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Moses reminds God (not that God needed reminding) that He had brought them up out of Egypt with great power. If God did destroy them, then the Egyptians would say that God has “rescued them only so that He could destroy them. Moses calls on God to relent from His anger. 

Romans 2:12,13 - It is not the hearers but the doers

2:12

All of us are subject to judgement by God. Here in Romans Paul says that they are actually quite right in saying that the Gentiles would perish. They didn’t have the Law, they, for the most part, did not live good lives. There was an awful lot of immorality. While they did not have the Law, they would “perish apart from the Law”.  The Jews did have the Law, so they would be judged by the Law. The Law that they were so proud of would condemn them.

2:13

This makes a fundamental point. Having the Law in itself was of no advantage. The advantage it did give them was showing them how they should live, but if they did not do these things then they would perish, just like the Gentile sinner. The Law says we are righteous if we do the things that the Law requires. So instead of treating the Law as a kind of good luck charm, they should have treated it as a light, both showing them how to live, and showing up how far short of God’s ways they fell. In the same way, going to the “right church” is of no use, nor is hearing the gospel unless we believe the gospel.

Exodus 32:7,8 - Your people have corrupted themselves

32:7

Moses was absent and did not know what was happening with the people. However, God did, of course, know what was happening. Everything we do is done in the sight of the Lord. Everything anyone does is done in the sight of the Lord. It is interesting that God says “your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt”. Ultimately it was God who brought them out of Egypt. God initiated the release, and it was God’s power that released them. Yet God involved Moses, and Moses was then intimately connected with God’s actions. God involves us most closely with His plans. The people had corrupted themselves.

32:8

So how had they corrupted themselves? Most fundamentally they had turned away from the Lord’s commands, and they had done this by making a graven image and worshipping it.  They had declared that the golden calf was their gods who had brought them out of Egypt. The people were now living a lie.

Romans 2:6-11 - God shows no partiality

2:6-8

God will “render to each one according to his works”. I.e. the judgement will not be based on what we think of ourselves, or any supposedly clever arguments, but will be based on truth and reality. 2:7,8 could be seen as being rather difficult for the evangelical perspective, for on a superficial reading could be taken as implying a salvation by works, but this is not what Paul is saying. “Well-doing” includes repentance and trusting in Christ’s work on the cross. However, trusting in Christ does not mean we don’t do anything! Such a concept is totally alien to the Bible. So the person who is aware of his own unrighteousness and trusts in Christ’s righteousness will be “patient in well-doing”. The person who is self-righteous is self-seeking. They are not obeying the truth and such a person will receive “wrath and fury”.

2:9-11

We now get an “impartiality statement”, and here it starts to become clear that Paul is aiming primarily at the Jews. They thought they were blessed. And indeed they were, but they drew the wrong conclusions from that. “There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil”. This applies to both Jews and Greeks. “Greeks” essentially means non-Jews, or Gentiles. Likewise, for everyone who does good there will be “glory, honour and peace”. “For God shows no partiality”. This is the key message that Paul wanted to get over here to the Jews. They were very good at seeing all the faults in the Gentile world, but failed to see the sin in their own hearts.

Exodus 32:3-6 - And made a golden calf

32:3,4

So Aaron collected all the gold and fashioned a golden calf out of it. The golden calf was probably a structure coated with gold. The “calf” was probably actually a bull. Once completed it was declared that “these are your gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” What nonsense! And we see why God gave the commandment. They could either worship the true God who had actually brought them out of Egypt, or they could worship a useless model of a bull or calf. This is a clear example of the stupidity of man when he rejects God.

32:5,6

Aaron continues to be fully involved in the rebellion, one of its most enthusiastic proponents. Remember he had had a leading role in working with Moses to bring them out of Egypt, yet he had understood nothing. Just because someone has a leading role in the church or some mission of the church does not mean that they actually have any faith. Conversely there can be seemingly insignificant people who have genuine faith. So Aaron builds an altar before this monstrosity and inaugurates worship services before the thing. Note that the “service” had many of the trappings of a true worship service, yet it was an utter offence to the Lord.

Romans 2:4,5 - You are storing up wrath for yourself

2:4

“God will forgive me”, “That’s His job!” “Do you presume on the kindness, forbearance and patience?” God is indeed kind, forbearing and patient, but we easily draw the conclusion, usually implicitly, rather than explicitly, that that means I can get away with sin. The correct conclusion is that God’s kindness is meant to lead me to repentance. This needs to be a part of our thinking at all times, it also needs to be part of our attitude in evangelism. There is a common thought these days that we must not mention sin, for it might put people off! Might make them feel guilty. Part of the purpose of the gospel is to make us aware of our guilt! Now when someone is convicted there are essentially two things that can happen. One is that they will react against it and harden their hearts. The other is that the Holy Spirit is at work in them and it leads them to repentance, and so to receive forgiveness from God.

2:5

“Because of your hard and impertinent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself”. This is addressed to those who were confident of their own righteousness, especially the Jews. They stressed how bad other people were, neglecting their own sinfulness. While this may make someone feel better for a while, it is a foolish road to take. If we deny our own sinfulness then all we are doing is storing up wrath for ourselves. For on the “day of wrath” God’s righteousness judgement will be revealed. In our day we could apply this to matters of sexual behaviour. Those of us who hold to the clear Biblical teaching on these matters are branded as haters, and those who support the modern “morality” (which is actually immorality) consider themselves morally superior. There will come a day when God’s righteous judgements are made known, and everyone will see the truth on that day. 

Exodus 32:1,2 - Make us gods who shall go before us

32:1

Moses had faith in God, along with many faults, but he was genuinely committed to the Lord. Aaron and most of the people were not. Most of the people had just gone along with things, “going with the flow”. As soon as Moses went away they fell away. Moses had gone to see the Lord (not permanently!), and had told the people what was happening, Aaron and others certainly knew what was happening. The people saw Moses as the man who brought them out of Egypt. We can make the same mistake with pastors, ministers, evangelists etc. What matters is what God is doing. We should respect and honour the people through whom He works, for their task will almost always involve much hard work and suffering, but our faith must be in the Lord Himself. The people had little or no understanding. The people wanted “gods” that they could see, so they wanted Aaron to make an idol for them. Remember that in the ten commandments the people are explicitly told not to make a graven image of God.

32:2

Aaron did know what was happening with Moses, yet he offered no resistance to the people’s rebellion. It is not the job of a leader to go along with whatever the people want. Sadly this is what many church leaders do, going along with either the people in the church, or society at large. We are to serve the people, but we are to serve as God’s servants. We are to lead the people in the ways of God, not the ways of the world. Instead, Aaron tells the people to take off their gold rings. This probably included a lot of the jewellry that the Egyptians had given to them when they left.

Romans 2:2,3 - Do you suppose that you will escape judgement?

2:2

“We know that the judgement of God rightly falls on those who practice such things”. 1 Peter 1:17 says that God judges impartially. The Jews were keen on thinking of themselves as morally superior to the Gentile world. Self-righteousness is something we always need to be aware of. We see evidence of sin in other people, and we will often be right, for everyone is sinful. But the religious person then so often draws the conclusion that they are worthy of condemnation and that we are better than them. The world draws a different, but equally wrong, conclusion. The world’s conclusion is that we should never say that any sort of behaviour is wrong, this usually only applies to sexual behaviours. The correct response is, yes their behaviour/attitudes are wrong, I need to look at myself, I need the grace of God.

2:3

It is very clear that Paul is thinking of those who judge others. He also sees this as something that the Jews are particularly prone to. Part of the reason the Jewish leaders hated Jesus was because He told them they were sinners in need of forgiveness. Judging others can bring a sort of comfort to us, for we think we are better than them, and that feels nice. However, Paul reminds them that God is a just judge, and if we rely on our supposed righteousness we will not escape God’s judgement.

Exodus 31:1-18 - It is a sign forever

31:1-11

These are the last two “appendices” to the Tabernacle description.  In Ex 28:3 we read of God having filled people with a spirit of skill. Here we get two particular individuals, with the primary focus on Bezalel, being filled with “the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence ...” Bezalel was given specific abilities to “device artistic designs”. Oholiab is also mentioned by name, but 31:6 makes it clear that this goes wider, with others having been given the ability to do the required work. So we see here that the design of the tabernacle was God’s design, with quite specific details being given. However, Bezalel was given the ability to device artistic designs, and several others were also given abilities. When we read that God does something, it does not mean that men are not involved. It is important for us to appreciate this, especially in seeking to understand predestination and the sovereignty of God. It is not a matter of something being all God or all man.

31:12-18

The final section is on the Sabbath, specifically the seventh day Sabbath. This is given great importance. It was a sign of the relationship between God and the people of Israel. “It is holy for you”. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. There were very serious penalties for those who broke the Sabbath. As well as being “holy for you” (31:14), it was also “holy to the Lord”.  It was a reminder that the Lord created the heavens and the earth, and rested on the Sabbath. 

At the end of all this God gave Moses the two tablets of stone with the Ten Commandments, which had been written by the finger of God.

Romans 2:1 - You have no excuse

2:1

Romans is the most “theological” book in the Bible (I know they are all theological!). However, while it contains great amounts of deep theology, it was not written as an academic treatise. It is written in a more polemical style. The sinful state of man described in the second half of Romans 1 is the sort of thing that the good Jew would heartily approve of, even take great delight in hearing. Now Paul turns his attention to the Jews. Much of the material in chapter two could be applied to any self-righteous person, but 2:17 onwards makes it clear that it is directed primarily at Jewish readers. In some ways this is like Amos 1 and 2 where Amos begins by judging various surrounding nations, and then turns his attention to Judah and then to Israel. Note that the judgements in Rom 1:18-32 are true, and it gives an accurate description of sinful man.

“Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges”. Now our world today loves the words “do not judge”, but the problem here is not that the things outlined in Romans 1 are not true, nor that they are not subject to judgement. Right at the start Paul says the wrath of God is being revealed. The problem was people thinking they were not guilty, we're not in need of grace. It is like Jesus’ teaching in Luke 13:1-5 where the lesson that Jesus told the people they needed to learn was to fear their own guilt. So Paul tells them that when they pass judgement they condemn themselves. Not because the Gentiles were not guilty, but because they themselves were just as guilty.

Exodus 30:17-38 - It shall be a statute for them forever

30:17-21

Next we get the bronze basin. This was to be used for washing. The priests would be involved in the sacrifices so would need to wash! Failure to do so carried a heavy penalty, death. Coming into the presence of the Lord was not something that was to be taken lightly.

30:22-38

We now get very detailed instructions for the anointing oil and incense. The tent of meeting and the ark of the covenant were to be anointed with the oil. The table and its utensils were also to be anointed. “Whatever touches them will become holy”. You might say that whoever touches Jesus becomes holy, but that is maybe stretching things! The anointing oil and incense were special and were not to be used for anything else. Anyone who tried to make similar compounds and use it outside this purpose was to be cut-off. A similar penalty applied to the incense.

Romans 1:30-32 - But gave approval to those who practise them

1:30,31

The list is expanded for two more verses! These things are the fruit of a godless society, and we can see many of them at work in our own society, which does not bode well for the West. In truth, when an individual or a society chooses to reject God it is choosing to reject life and peace, and death and strife will be the inevitable results.

1:32

Men have an inherent sense of what is right and what is wrong. The rejection of God begins with a declaration that they are trying to attain much the same things that a Godly society would have, yet without God. So they claim to seek justice and fairness, and prosperity for all. But they don’t see any need for God and think that they can achieve these things without God. For a time things may seem OK, but then corruption will seep into society. In the West today we see the “culture of death” at both ends of the age scale. We see an alarming erosion of free speech, and an increase in authoritarianism. Many of the “liberals” are horrified and what they see happening. Indeed, I find it fascinating that nowadays there are many areas where feminists, atheists, liberals who support gay rights and others are arguing for the same things that Christians are with regard to “cancel culture” and the like. Sadly, there are also some so-called Christians who argue for the same things as the illiberal society.

Exodus 30:1-16 - It is most holy to the Lord

30:1-10

Cole describes chapters 30 and 31 as an appendix to the previous few chapters. They fill in various details to the description of the tabernacle that we have had so far. This starts with the Altar of Incense. We are back to the highest quality materials, with gold back on the inventory. This altar was to be placed “in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony”. It was to refilled with incense every morning. As well as proscriptions on what was to be done there are also prohibitions (30:9). We could perhaps draw a general lesson from this. Since incense was good, then someone may have thought that any incense offering was allowable, but this was not the case. In the same way there are those who argue that since love and marriage between a man and a woman is a good thing, then any sort of “marriage” is allowable. This is not the case!

30:11-16

“When you take a census ...” We know that one of David’s greatest mistakes was taking a census, this shows that taking a census was not automatically a bad thing! Each person was to make an offering of “half a shekel”. This would later become known as the temple tax. The offering was the same for rich and poor “to make atonement for your lives”. The cost of atonement is the same for all of us, regardless of our worldly status.

Romans 1:28,29 - God gave them up to a debased mind

1:28

We get the third “God gave them up” in this verse, the previous two were in 1:24 and and 1:26. People chose to refuse to acknowledge God, so He gave them up to a debased mind. 1:24-27 have been dealing with homosexuality, we should take on board what it says, but we should also note that homosexuality is not the only sin! Paul has used it as an example of the depravity of man, and God’s judgement upon man. 1:18-23 dealt with man’s refusal to acknowledge God, or give thanks to Him. Here we are back to essentially the same root problem, and its effects are described in a much broader way. Why does it say “a debased mind”? The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 1:7). It is the essential foundation of true understanding. If we reject God then we are building on a foundation of sand, with the inevitable results.

1:29

The verse begins with the most general of evil: “all manner of unrighteousness”. Rejecting God leads to a general collapse in an individual and in a society. The list then gets more specific. “Evil, covetousness, malice”. “Evil” is, of course, fairly general, but then we get to covetousness and malice. In Romans 7 Paul will use covetousness as an example of how sin can rule in a person. Gossip also gets a mention. We may think that covetousness and gossip are not the greatest of sins, but they can be at the root of other sins. Coveting something can lead to someone taking evil actions (stealing, violence etc), and it is one of the ten commandments. Gossip can be a spark that leads to all sorts of trouble.

Exodus 29:1-46 - Consecration of the priests

29:1-46

Lot’s more details! This time focusing on the consecration of the priests. There are some points that are interesting, amidst all the blood! The priest had to be cleansed, both by washing and by sacrifice. We are a royal priesthood (1 Pet 2:9) and before we can serve we have to be cleansed.  In the case of Aaron and his descendents, this process had to be repeated over seven days, stressing the completeness of the process. We do need to appreciate that we cannot come to God without purification, the cross and the blood are absolutely essential.

29:43-46 are most interesting, expressing the purposes of God. The place of meeting would be sanctified by the glory of God. Man’s “glory” sanctifies nothing, it is only God’s glory that can do that. Aaron and his sons would be consecrated. In Christ we have been consecrated for service to the Lord. “I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God” (29:45). This is the oft repeated phrase in the Old Testament, ‘I will be their God and they will be my people.’  “And they shall know that I am the Lord ... that I might dwell among them”. God’s purpose is to dwell among His people, and He wants us to know who He is.

Romans 1:25-27 - God gave them up to dishonourable passions

1:25

Why are they subject to this judgement? “Because they exchanged the truth for a lie”. They chose to worship the created rather than the creator. People are all for us having the freedom to choose, but are far less keen on our taking the consequences of our decisions.

1:26

We now get specific mention of homosexual acts. I have written quite extensively on these verses in my previous run through Romans, so I will just give you the links to these, rather than going over the same ground again.

1. Romans 1:26,27(a) - Homosexuality: Biblical and Cultural Background

2. Romans 1:26,27(b) - Homosexuality: What the Bible Says

3. Romans 1:26,27(c) - Homosexuality: Some Pastoral Comments

This verse is the only direct reference to lesbianism. 

1:27

Paul implies that homosexual relations are unnatural. Such a thought is found offensive by many today, but it clearly does go against the natural design in nature. The reproductive value of gay sex is zero, and the health risks are greater. It is also worth noting that it says “consumed with passion for one another”. One of the arguments that is often brought out is that Paul is only speaking against pediastry, where an older man takes advantage of a younger man. Paul’s teaching is not limited to that situation. First of all, the previous verse has talked about lesbianism, and here he talks about men having given up on heterosexual relations and having lust “for another”. There is no hint at all that this is talking about pediastry, but about people having lust for people of the same sex and indulging in mutual sexual activity. The Bible very clearly says that homosexual acts are wrong.

“Receiving in themselves the due penalty for tier error”. God’s gift of sex is for marriage between one man and one woman. Within that context it is a blessing, outwith that situation it causes no end of problems. And we should note that the vast majority of sexual sin is heterosexual in nature.

Exodus 28:1-26 - The Priest's Garments

28:1-26

We now come to the priestly garments. Initially Aaron and his four sons were to serve as priests, though two of these sons would die for offering unauthorised fire (Nadab and Abihu, Lev 10:1,2). The garments are of high quality and they were “for  glory and for beauty” (Ex 28:2). There are a number of details of the garments that we are highly unsure about. In Ex 28:3 we read that God has filled certain people with a “spirit of skill”. The distinction we tend to draw between “natural” and “spiritual” gifts is nowhere near as clear cut as we sometimes imagine. What we might think of as natural gifts can be spiritual gifts.

Perhaps the most important element of all this is that the priest was representing the whole nation of Israel (Ex 28:9,10,21). Christ has entered the true holy of holies on our behalf and He does so on our behalf. Christ is always in the presence of the Father, and He stands there reminding the Father of us.

What exactly the Urim and Thummim were remains something of a mystery, but they were used in decision making. It seems that they somehow were  a matter of throwing lots. Throwing lots for decision making does occur in the Old Testament (e.g. Prov 18:18) and even once in the New (Acts 1:26), though there is no record of it occurring again after that. We should also note that the throwing of lots was not thought to be a chance process, rather the outcome was in the hands of God (Prov 16:33).

Romans 1:23,24 - God gave them up in their lusts

1:23

Instead of worshipping the immortal God, the one who actually created all things, and keeps all things going, men chose to worship images supposedly of God. These images resembled men or creatures of various sorts. When man rejects God he exchanges the worship of the true God for something that devalues life and humanity. So today in the West the most common view I suppose is to say that we got here by chance. So this robs us of any true meaning and leads to us treating each other inhumanely. Human life is not valued, we see this at both ends of the spectrum. The right to kill life in the womb is considered a “human right”. In parts of the US partial-birth abortions are allowed. At the other end of life there are repeated moves to allow euthanasia. This is argued for on humanitarian grounds, and no doubt many of its advocates are well intentioned  (as were some of the early proponents of abortion). Well-intentioned, but seriously misguided. In countries where euthanasia has been legalised, such as Belgium, Holland and Canada, the grounds for euthanasia have steadily expanded, and even young people can be killed.

1:24

“God gave them up”. This phrase is repeated several times in this passage. It can be taken in various ways, and all of them contain some of the truth. Three interpretations are (Gardener):

1. God lets them experience the inward consequences of their actions, these being the consequences of the destructive effects of sin on their souls;

2. God let’s them experience the outward consequences of their sin;

3. God makes deliberate acts of judgement on them.

All three of them contain elements of truth. 1 & 2 are very similar, but one concerns the destructive effects of sin on our souls, or personalities; while the other relates to the outward consequences, e.g. The greater prevalence of disease for the sexually promiscuous. 

Exodus 26 and 27 - The Tabernacle

 26:1-37

We now get more intricate details on the tent, or tabernacle, itself. I don’t have much to say about this, you can read Overall the tent was about forty five feet long, fifteen feet wide and fifteen feet high. It was made of good quality materials, as were the fixtures and fittings. The ark of the covenant (or testimony) was placed in the Most Holy Place. The Most Holy Place was to be separated from the Holy Place. We know that at the cross the curtain of the temple was torn in two (Matt 27:51). Under the Law there was a separation that could not be breached. The mercy seat was to be placed on the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place, so even mercy could not be fully attained under the Law, though the promise of mercy was there. This would be consistent with  New Testament teaching.

27:1-21

The detailed description of the tabernacle continues. The description moves out steadily from the holiest place outwards. The materials become of steadily lower quality as we move outward. For instance, bronze has now taken over from gold. The horns could be used for tying sacrificial animals to (Ps 118:27). Adonijah clung to the horns of the altar (1 Kings 1:51).

In Ex 27:21 we are told that Aaron and his sons were to keep the lamps burning before the Lord evening till morning. This reminds us of Jesus’ parable of the wise and foolish virgins. We are to maintain our fervour for the Lord, as Rom 12:11 commands us. If we are passive or careless then we will find that our zeal quickly fades. We need to make a conscious effort. This is why developing habits of bible study, prayer, going to church etc are so important.

Anyway, I have little of any value to say about this chapter, so I will stop there.

Romans 1:21,22 - They became futile in their thinking

1:21

The problem is not that evidence for the existence of God is lacking, it is that man has chosen not to honour God. Now the evidence for man refusing to honour God is as abundant as the evidence for a creator of the universe. Right back in Eden Adam and Eve refused to honour God when they went along with the serpent’s temptations. Nor do men give thanks to God. In the West there were once Christians foundations to society and we even did thank God, but that has all but stopped now. Man embarked on this rejection of God claiming we would be enlightened, that it was only naive and foolish people who believed in a God. But far from becoming wiser we have become more foolish. Our thinking has become futile and our hearts darkened. Societies that reject God and put man at the centre are not good societies.

1:22

“Claiming to be wise, they became fools”. This verse accurately sums up the state of the West, the US and UK in particular. The denial of the reality of biological sex is the most common example of this today. The reaction to the Covid pandemic further demonstrated the stupidity of modern man, and China is still demonstrating this to ever greater levels.

Exodus 25:23-40 - The Bread of the Presence

25:23-30

Once again, we are given the dimensions of the table, and other details of how it is to be made, with gold featuring heavily. In Lev 24:6 we will read of the twelve flat cakes of bread being laid upon the table, this bread was to be eaten only by the priests. Though in 1 Sam 21:6 we read of David and his men eating the bread. The “bread of the presence” was to be laid before the Lord on a regular basis. We are not given much in the way of clues as to the significance of all this.

25:31-40

Next comes the golden lampstand. It is to be made of gold and we are given great detail on the form that it is to take. Once again, no clues are given as to its significance, though there are references to the lampstand elsewhere in scripture. Zech 4:2 has a vision of a golden lampstand. The number seven, signifying perfection, figures, and oil often represents God’s spirit. Rev 1:20 includes a vision of seven lampstands.

Romans 1:19,20 - What can be known about God is plain to them

1:19

“For what can be known about God is plain to them”. Sometimes atheists claim that there isn’t enough evidence for the existence of God. Quite frankly this is nonsense. The more we look at the universe, from the smallest scale to the largest scale, the more clear it becomes that there is design behind it. Now this emphatically does not mean that scientific processes are involved. Absolutely not, scientific processes are part of the design! Nor, and this might upset some Christians, does it mean that random processes cannot be part of the design. Random processes can be part of a designed process with a specific goal in mind. Genetic algorithms are an example of this. However, that the universe was designed is clear to any right thinking person. 

1:20

The universe reflects many of God’s “invisible attributes”. Paul specifically names: His eternal power and divine nature”. We see a vast universe, and one with extremely powerful forces at work.We have been aware of these ever since the creation of the world, and the more we study the universe the more amazing it becomes. To say that all this happened just by chance takes a far greater leap of faith than to say that there is a creator. We see a very ordered universe. Some of these processes may be extremely complex, e.g. Quantum mechanics, but they are ordered, nevertheless. 

Exodus 25:10-22 - The Ark of the Covenant

25:10-16

We now get great detail on the making of the ark of the covenant. “Chest” is a better translation of “ark” according to Cole. It was to be about forty five inches in length, and twenty seven inches wide, and twenty seven inches high. I.e. a small chest. It was to be inlaid with gold. Its purpose was to carry the stone tablets. So the commands of God were to always be with the people, and were to be considered as holy. We should have the same attitude towards the Bible, the Word of God, and it is a terrible thing when churches consider the word of God to be of little account.

25:17-22

The Hebrew word translated “Mercy seat” literally means “cover”. The “Day of Atonement” comes from the same root, and refers to a covering over of our sins. The cherubim were angels with human faces. Our word “cherub” now refers to something or someone that is “sweet”. These cherubim were not sweet, but were angels guarding the holy things. This was the place where “I will meet with you”. There are a couple of points to note here. The first is that it is only through mercy, through forgiveness, that we can come to meet with God. The second is that God gives His commandments there. We come to God to learn

Romans 1:18 - The wrath of God is revealed

1:18

In chapters 1-3 Paul shows that both Jew and Gentile are sinners and under God’s judgement, and that all, both Jew and Gentile, can be saved by grace through faith. The things mentioned in 1:18-32 are aimed predominantly at the Gentile world, though that is not to say that the Jews were completely innocent of these “crimes”. “The wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness of men”. In 1:17 we read of the righteousness of God being revealed, now we read of the wrath of God being revealed. I have said this before, but will say it again, we need to understand the wrath of God. The wrath of God is not a concept that is very popular! There are even many in the church who don’t like it, and will even outright deny it. So here is a quick reminder of what the wrath of God is. It is both rational and passionate. It is an anger against sin and sinners that is utterly rational. Unlike human wrath, which so easily becomes an uncontrollable rage, God’s wrath is based on the truth of what sin is, what it does to the sinner, and what it does to others. It is also a passionate hatred. It is not merely mechanistic. We need to hold both aspects in view, the rational judgement on sin and sinners, and the passionate, but completely controlled, anger. “Who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth”. Sin suppresses the truth. We see this in various ways. With transideology the notion that someone can change their biological sex is so clearly untrue, yet people will do all they can to deny this truth. There is a mountain of evidence that children living in a stable family environment do better than those who don’t (on average, there are always exceptions), yet there is a tremendous reluctance to accept the self-evident truth.

Exodus 25:2-9 - Exactly as I show you

25:2

So everything is according to God’s ways and is utterly dependent upon Him. However, this does not mean that we are mere bystanders, far from it. In all God’s plans men and women are intimately involved. Even in the Son of God coming to dwell among us, Mary was involved in a most intimate way. So the tabernacle was to be built using the gifts that the people brought. These gifts were to be given voluntarily, a principle mirrored in 2 Cor 9:7. “Everyone whose heart prompts them to give”. The Hebrew literally says “whose heart makes him vow”. Our hearts urging and leading us to give.

 

25:3-9

These gifts were of many and various kinds, but all of them were gifts of good value. Given the plan, the people were to “make a sanctuary for me”. “And I will dwell among them”. This is the purpose of God, to dwell among His people. In Rev 21:3 it says “Behold, the dwelling of God is with man”. In Matt 1:23 it says “they shall call Him Immanuel”, which means “God with us”.

Everything was to be made precisely according to God’s plans.

Romans 1:17 - The righteousness of God is revealed

1:17

“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith”. There are many ways in which “the righteousness of God” has been interpreted. These include:

1. Righteousness of God is taken as a genitive of source, so it means that God’s righteousness is conferred upon people who believe. It is dealing with how an unrighteous people can be made righteous.

2. It is taken as a possessive genitive, so the righteousness that is part of God’s character is revealed. This idea is part of the new perspective approach. The Old Testament presents a big problem. God has chosen the nation of Israel, He has made all sorts of amazing promises to Israel, yet Israel was a disaster, repeatedly disobeying God and failing to trust Him. How could God possibly be righteous? Either He has to fail to honour the promises made, or He has to bless an unworthy people. The gospel shows how this dilemma is resolved, how the righteousness of God is demonstrated and maintained.

3. It is taken as a subjective genitive. God reveals how He is going to save people, how he is going to make them righteous.

In fact, there is no need to choose between the three, and there are areas of commonality between all three. God is revealed to be just and righteous, and we are made righteous. 

And this righteousness is from faith to faith, and this too is subject to various interpretations. The most common is to take it as meaning that faith is the means of attaining God’s salvation, faith is the only basis for salvation, sola fides. Another view is to see it as a progression, faith for the Jews, then faith for the Gentiles. Yet another view takes it as progressing from faith on God’s part to faith on our part. Paul then quotes Hab 2:4, “the righteous shall live by faith”, which emphasises our part. So it would seem most likely that the necessity of faith in our part, or the effectiveness of faith on our part is the focus of what Paul means.

Exodus 25:1 - The Lord said to Moses

25:1

We now get details of the tabernacle and the priesthood. These were given to Moses by God. The “temple” is built according to God’s instructions. To apply the principle to today, the church is to be built according to God’s plans. So it is to be built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 3:11; Eph 2:20). It is sad when we try to build the church on our own foundations. This can happen in various ways. The liberal “church” tries to do it by adopting the morals of the world, e.g. so called affirming churches, or sin-affirming churches as they are more properly called. This is an incredibly stupid approach to take. But it can happen in more subtle ways in Bible-believing churches. We can start relying on methods or gimmicks rather than the truth of God’s word and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 1:16 - I am not ashamed of the gospel

1:16

1:16 and 1:17 are pivotal in Romans. “I am not ashamed of the gospel”. In Mark 8:38 Jesus warns that if anyone is ashamed of Him and His words, then He will be ashamed of us when He returns in glory. Nowadays someone may wear a cross as an item of jewellery, but in those days one would never dream of doing that, for the cross was an object of shame. Crucifixion was designed to be completely humiliating for the victim. That is why in 1 Cor 1:23 Paul says that the cross was foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews. How could a man on a cross possibly be the saviour of the world? But that was the message that Paul preached, and he was not ashamed to do so. We need to present the gospel boldly. Why? And why was Paul not ashamed of the gospel? “For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes”. We are such fools when and if we put our hope in anything else, or present anything else as the means of salvation. Nothing else has the power to save. It is only God who can save, and He has declared that the gospel is the means of salvation. “To the Jew first and also to the Greek”. The gospel was declared first to the Jews, Jesus was born a Jew and ministered among the Jews. Then it was preached to the Gentiles (the Greeks). We should also never forget that the gospel has its roots in the Old Testament. Jesus is the Messiah who fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, without the Old Testament the gospel makes no sense at all.

Exodus 23:29-33 - Little by little

23:29,30

God now warns them that He will do this little by little. We would like our enemies to be defeated quickly, but God says He will do it more gradually. Why is this? “Lest the land becomes desolate and the wild beasts multiply”. We have seen this happen several times in our lifetimes. The Soviet Union collapsed but the land was taken over by gangsters and oligarchs. Gaddafi was overthrown in Libya, but the land is pretty lawless now and a dangerous place to live in. Iraq is another example. It is not just a matter of throwing out the evil rulers, but there needs to be good rulers to take their place.

23:31-33

God determines the boundaries. In Acts 17:26, speaking in Athens, Pauls says that God sets the times and the boundaries. So far we have read of God driving the enemies out, now He says “you shall drive them out”. We need to understand the order and the principles here. The way of rebellious man is to think that he can live independently of God. This is a deception that always leads to disaster. We are utterly dependent upon God, but that does not mean we do nothing or play no part in things. It is because God would drive out the enemies that Israel would be able to drive them out. Israel is warned again to have nothing to do with the ways of the nations, especially their idol worship.

Romans 1:13-15 - I am eager to preach the gospel

1:13

The Roman Christians may have felt a little left out, knowing that other churches had received lots of attention from Paul. This was not because Paul did not want to see them, but for various reasons he had been prevented from doing so. In our day the effects of covid restrictions prevented many people from seeing each other. Paul wanted to reap a harvest among them, this would mean seeing them grow in Christ. And he also saw Rome as a launch point for reaching more of the Gentile world.

1:14,15

Paul had a ministry to all Gentiles, "Greeks and barbarians”. Barbarians were considered to be less sophisticated than the Greeks (to put it mildly). The gospel is for all, wise and foolish. Rome, being the capital of empire, may have engendered an air of superiority among its people, such an air has no place in the church. So Paul was keen to preach the gospel in Rome. This would include preaching to both believers and unbelievers. The gospel is not just for the unconverted, believers need to hear it again and again, and in depth.

Exodus 23:25-28 - Worship the Lord your God

23:25,26

“You shall serve the Lord your God ...” Our natural approach to life is to focus on how we overcome the problems and enemies that we face. The Bible presents a rather different approach. The general approach is that God takes care of the enemies and problems, and we focus on serving the Lord. Obviously, this is a broad brush picture of things, but it contains useful truths. So here in 23:23 we read of God blotting out the enemies, in 23:25 and 26 Israel was to serve the Lord, and God would bless their food and water and take sickness away from them. When Jesus came to earth He took sickness away from people. There would be fruitfulness and long life.

23:27,28

We then come back to the enemies, and God promises to send hornets among them. Hornets were feared and could cause immense problems. Israel’s enemies would be thrown into confusion, and they would turn away from Israel. It is God who defeats our enemies. Israel would still be marching into the land, but it would be God who drives out the enemies.