l.a.

The arrangement of the furniture seems to show us the steps we need to take to enter into the presence of God. We start our communion with God in prayer. At the bronze alter, we confess our sinfulness. We have already acknowledged that we desperatly need a savior and we find Him in the Lord Jesus. We confess our sins before God and man so we may change our ways and be forgiven. I don't think that this can transpire without thankfulness and appreciation for the forgiveness of sins. This leads to the laver, which is where we worship a God of mercy and righteousness.

The Holy of Holies is significant in that it is a representation of the throne of the Most High God. It signifies the presence of God. Because God is a Holy God and cannot be in any defiled place, it is holy. I do not think it could stand before a Holy God if it was not. God did not actually sit on it, it was merely a representation of His Holy Throne, but it did signify His presence. It is the place He designed to meet with His people.

The camps were all laid out according to ancesteral lineage; God pays close attention to His people's heritage. All their camps face the tabernacles, on all sides. They all face the center, which is where God dwells in their presence. They are to move in the order of their camps when the time comes to do so. The layout should have spelled out the revelation that God is their center, both physically and spiritually. Also, that God is a God of order and He expects things to move with purpose and discipline. The Levites and priests camped closer because they were the caretakers of the tabernacle and were the ones called to stand in His presence and prepare sacrifices.

The people of Israel had just left a 400 year bondage and, it seems as though, it was so much easier for them to go back to the familiar than to change. For some reason, they chose to forget the power of God that they witnessed and bring back the ways of the Egytians, which was idolatry. Perhaps Aaron was tired and did not want to fight with the people or maybe he wanted some glory for himself, as he would give the people what they wanted and gain their favor. Aaron did not seem to recognize the sovereignty of God; he may have believed that the people had favor and their loyalty to God's words were not of utmost importance. I can only imagine God's dissapointment at their actions; He had led them out of Egypt through a series of great miracles that were witnessed by all His people, but they chose the bondage of sin and death over His life giving words. Today, many churches are lead away by idols of pride, acceptance and wealth. Too many churches water down the Word in order to gain the acceptance of the people who insist that a merciful God could not possibly punish someone for mere disobedience. There are some churches that have accepted the sin along with the sinner, not acknowledging that the way of sin leads to death, leading many astray for the sake of high attendance and offerings.

God is the Provider. If He leads you somewhere, you can rest assured that He will provide. When God led His people to a place that they were naturally sustained, there was no need for futher supernatural means. As we all live in this corrupted human condition, there is always the risk of certain things happening when we are provided for. One is that we end up taking credit for it on our own. We forget to give God the glory for our blessings. Another thing that often happens is we begin to desire more. When we become secure in our provisions, it is often our nature to covet material items that, we don't necessarily need, we just want.

I believe that a leader, when preaching the Word of God, is criticized and this criticism is directed against the Lord. There are times when people do not want to listen to the Word and try to pass it off as 'judgemental' or claim that a truly merciful God will not let any perish. There are times when leaders can take the Word out of context and be grumbled against for misinterpreting the real message in the text. This would lead to grumbling against the leader, as it does not truly represent God's spoken truth. I think that leaders take complaints so personally because they consider their job as leading others to Christ. When there are instances that this doesn't happen, they feel they have 'missed the mark' and were not led by the Spirit. Leaders who seek their hearts and know they used the Word to reveal God's truth need to learn to give it all to God and trust Him with the results.

During the Exodus, the people grumbled and complained because of their lack of faith in God's plan revealed to Moses. Though they saw the miracles, they didn't believe that God's plan would take place in His perfect timing. People in crisis want to see an end to their trials immediately; it is in the waiting that our faith is revealed. When we have to wait, our faith is tested. It is our corrupted nature that diminishes our faith and causes us to look harshly at our circumstance and blame ourselves, God, or whoever else we can that we cannot see an end to our trials. I know I tend to try to take matters into my own hands and do what I think is best in a situation. Sometimes, I put forth effort to try to change my circumstances, or try to help another which does not bear any fruit. It is important, especially in those times, to put the issues at the foot of the cross and acknowledge that I cannot even find my way out of a paper bag without His help. Have mercy on me for my lack of faith! Trust in the Lord in your trials; He will always do the best thing for you. Speak praises for your trials, knowing that they will add to your faith. Believe with your heart and words that He will rescue us from us and lead us on the right path for our lives. "- in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist." Romans 4:17

I think that some of the hardest reasons there are in confrontation is that they are often met with a negative attitude. Many will try to pass off judgement as your opinion or arrogance. In these days when so many value 'political correctness' to tell someone what they are doing is wrong according to the Word of God,' is met with different perception. Many times this will lead to division between the body. True repentance means you have to change and, well, change is hard. Many will argue that God's love is extended to all, but leave out the important part about obedience. When we choose to ignore sin in another's life, many ill effects can occur; we may send a wrong message that God will tolerate sin because of His undying love. The greatest consequence of ignoring sin is jeapordizing another's spiritual growth which will lead to an eternal life of truth and righteousness under the reign of the Mighty God and the Lamb.

Perhaps Moses blamed God because things did not work out the way he acticipated. He may have been expecting 'instant results' for the task at hand. For me, this is good news. God forgive me for doubting your Word when things do not turn out the way I expected or take longer than I anticipated. In your perfect timing do I gain faith and patience. Moses and Aaron are stubborn when they are met with, yet more tribulation. They want to 'throw in the towel' when things don't go their way. It is a stubborness that seems to stem from, 'well, that didn't work. I'd rather do nothing than do this wrong.' They were depending on things to go their way more than depending on the Word of God. God knows His perfect plan; He has revealed to us the whole story, from beginning to end. He knows that an unbelieving heart needs to be taught that following the will of God requires trials and tribulations. Only in testing does our faith grow. God has to command His will to show Moses and Aaron that as the Lord speaks, so shall it be.

I think Jesus wanted us to realize that it is not His way to put ourselves before others. If we are to be His disciples, we need to be in the habit to put Jesus, and others, before ourselves. How frustrating we must be to Jesus. It seems it is our nature to think of our needs, then God, then others. We have to make a conscious effort to train ourselves to be like Jesus, and it is only with His help and grace that we could ever gain victory! Just like any skill, being a disciple of Jesus takes lots and lots of practice to reach from glory to glory. It is not something you want to put off; of all the things we are promised in God's Word, tomorrow isn't one of them.