"Exodus"

I jotted this down a few weeks ago, thought I had lost it, but just found it again. I tried not to edit too much, but maybe it'll make some sense.

I discovered that the "bible app" on my ipad has a feature that will actually read the Bible aloud to you. It’s really cool! The guy with the accent can make it sound a lot better than my voice in my head.  I took this as an opportunity to start actually reading the Bible, I mean more than the few scriptures for morning devotion.  After much deliberation on where to start, God said "just start in the beginning." So I did - Genesis 1.

Now Genesis is a fascinating book, full of great stories that really hold your interest. The same for Exodus - well, the first half of it anyway. After the children of Israel are led out of Egypt and begin their wandering in the wilderness, God begins to talk to them and teach them the things they will need to know and do when they reach the Promised Land. It may sound interesting, but it’s not an exciting read. I tried to skip it, but God wouldn’t let me. So I read it...all of it. And even though I still couldn’t tell you exactly how the tabernacle was put together, how big it was, or how many curtains were on each side or how many loops were on each curtain, I did learn a few things:

God will provide.
As detailed as His instructions were for building the tabernacle, He had already put people in place to accomplish each part. He didn’t set out all the specifications, then say "oops, sorry, you don’t have anybody who can handle brass, so you’re just left out." He gave them everything they needed.

God wants what He wants - no exceptions.
God set out the details of how the tabernacle was to be built. Never once did He say, "oh that might be too hard" or "just do whatever is easiest for you." No, He wanted it built to His specifications, no cutting corners or slacking in workmanship.

God makes a way.
When setting out how the sacrifices were to be carried out, everyone was to give bulls, rams, lambs, kid goats, etc. "according to their number, after the manner." A few times, though, he said that if a person did not have a certain bigger animal and didn’t have the means to get it, they could bring a smaller animal (like a pigeon). He did not cast out the lowly.

God sees every person, individually.
When counting the numbers of the different tribes, every person was counted and noted. He didn’t estimate and say "the tribe of Ruben has about this many, and the tribe of Benjamin has about this many." He counted each individual person and knew them by name.

God acknowledges every sacrifice.
There were twelve tribes, and they were all to give a specific sacrifice. Even though every sacrifice was the same, each is recorded and written in His Word. Each was special and given for a reason. Everything we do for Him, no matter how repetitious it seems to us, He takes notice.

Don’t get so caught up in the little details that you miss the big picture.
God gave a lot of statutes and commandments and specifications of how to build things and when to do things and who was to sacrifice what, etc., etc. But all the people had to do to get to the land He promised them, was to follow the cloud in the day and the fire at night, stop when it stopped and move when it moved. If they did that, the rest would just fall into place.

God has a purpose for everything.
No matter how boring it seems; no matter how many times the same thing is repeated over and over; no matter how many times you ask him to let you skip this part and move on to something else and He says no - there is a reason. If I had not read all the minute details, I would not have understood the importance of what comes after.

God will see you through.
I have made it slowly through Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, and am now reading Deuteronomy. So far Chapter 4 is my favorite. I look back now and know that I needed the foundation. I had to go through the rough part to get here. It could not be skipped. And the best is yet to come.

Kitchen Sink Revelation

A woman's work is never done.  That's what I thought this morning as I sat down and made my to-do list and shopping list for the day.  There is always that never-ending cycle of dishes and laundry.  Something's always dirty and needing to be washed.  Some are clean and just need to be put in their proper place.  And it's in the middle of this busyness, God speaks to me and tells me how much folding laundry and washing dishes is so much like my spiritual life.  

To me, there is nothing so satisfying as the bottom of the clothes hamper.  It's empty!  Laundry is done....well, more like caught up...at least for the moment.  This is a daily thing.  There are things we wear daily that need to be washed often.  This is needful and expected.  Yes, it can get overwhelming at times.  But I've often found that those overwhelming times come when I've not stayed on top of the pile.  I've skipped a day or took time to "relax" instead of doing what needed to be done.  Oh me.

My weakness, the thing that NEVER seems to be DONE - cleaning the kitchen.  I hand-wash some dishes, and some go in the dishwasher.  (wow, I just realized there's a whole other message in that.)   It hurts me to wash dishes.  Just standing there, repetitive motions, gives me a backache.  (guess that's what I should use the dishwasher for.)   When I start washing, it seems like it will be forever before I'm done.  But when I get down to that last pot or skillet, wouldn't you know it - it won't come clean.  It needs to soak a while.  So I leave it sitting, thinking I'll go sit down and rest a few minutes before I try to tackle it again.  Next thing I know, the 10:00 news is on and I've still got a load of laundry to fold and that pot is still soaking...only now it's sitting in nasty, cold, greasy water...and I'm just too tired to deal with it right now.  So I leave it, only to pile up the daily breakfast and lunch dishes on top of it the next day, and come supper time...there sits the pot I need to use, dirty.  So I wash it, cook, and start the process all over again.

I'm not yet sure why God showed me this.  I guess it just seems there is always that one thing (whatever it is) that always stands in the way of my clean kitchen.  That dirty pot stands between me and my peace.