June 5 - Day 12; Numbers 21-31

As I started today's reading I had a challenge focusing. I found myself stopping and pausing along the way which isn't conducive to reading such a large chunk of scripture at once. Yet, I suspect it was the way God was telling me that there was something important I should pay attention to here.

I got hung up at the very beginning with the story of Balaam and Balak. I always marvel at how a donkey could talk and what exactly would I do if one of my animals started talking to me? But lest I digress...

I started to reflect on God's ability and his sovereignty. Balak - a Moabite - became worried because he saw the "strength" of the Israelites and what they'd done to other people groups. He was recognizing that the Lord's blessing was on these people and consequently he became nervous for himself and his people.

Pause #1: Isn't that how people around the world today react to God? Whether they know it is His power or not, they become scared for them self. Maybe you're already a believer and know God as your friend Regardless you know what I'm talking about. When you truly have that inspired moment, when you recognize there is a power bigger than yourself - in fact a power so great that you can't even fathom it - don't you become just a little scared? Suddenly you don't seem so important. Suddenly I must - even for a moment - admit I am not in control. The difference is believers will worship God in this moment of humility. However, unbelievers or those weaker in their faith, will react like Balak and try to take control.

So Balak enlists Balaam into his plan. Balak's plan was to have Balaam curse the Israelites. Instead we see Balaam receiving God's instruction through a donkey.

Pause #2: God can penetrate the heart of any unbeliever He so chooses. Balaam was not a believer in God. He was a Moabite. He was a sorcerer of sorts. Yet God in His sovereignty can use all of creation at His disposal to get our attention. What an awesome God He is!

Then I read on to see Balaam delivering his oracles to Balak.

Pause #3: Balaam was physically unable to speak anything other than what God has placed on his lips. God in His sovereignty will deliver the words to us at the times we need to speak them if we truly seek Him. Even when we're facing opposition or persecution. (Remember Balak could have his way with Balaam and ultimately probably have him killed.) He can make the lowly strong and wise!

When Balak didn't like what Balaam had revealed, he kept trying to change the location or the message. Ultimately he thought the more of the Israelites Balaam was able to see the more likely he would be to curse them. Yet God's message is unchanging and His protection of His people remains.

Pause #4: Isn't this the way the world reacts to the sovereignty of God today. Though we know God to be unchanging, the world continues to manipulate the message and try to bend God into something He is not. By changing perspectives or manipulating His words people constantly are trying to make God something He is not... but yet His truth shines through and His will is revealed.

After all of this, I was ready to stop but I was only 1/2 way through the reading for today. There is still more that God wants me to know.

As I got to Numbers 27 and was reading about how God told Moses to take Joshua with him and have Eleazor commission him and ultimately transfer authority over to Joshua. It says that the Lord told Moses to take Joshua because he was a "man in whom is the spirit."

Pause #5: Lately I've been worried and distracted a lot by what people are saying about me as an employee and my "professional career." How am I being perceived? Am I progressing in my responsibilities? Do people see me as a "go to guy?" Consequently I've become disgruntled and dismayed about my future and my ultimate purpose in life. Bottom line - I've become very focused on the praises of man. Yet when I read this I'm reminded that God is not focused on all of those things I'm concerning myself with. What He is truly concerned with is the spirit within me and how I allow Him to work through me. After all, I just said Sunday in church in response to the sermon that I wanted to make God my ultimate employer and here I am just a mere 5 days later worried about man. God's leadership selection criteria so much different that the evaluation of man. Let me become more preoccupied with what You're saying about me than with those in my place of employment.

Then I began to wonder, how was Joshua ready to take over such responsibility? Ultimately I had to remind myself that Moses truly wasn't ready either when He took over, but God had equipped and prepared Him adequately. Yet, Joshua seems ready to go now. He's got the spirit, the bravery etc... all good qualities for a leader. However, I was reminded to look a back in scripture for some of the first mentions of Joshua to trace his path of preparation. I found it back in Exodus. Chapter 17 records that Joshua fought the Amalekites and the Lord specifically told Moses to make sure Joshua heard that the Amalekites would be wiped off the earth (Ex 17:10, 13-14). Exodus 24 tells us that Joshua went up the mountain with Moses to meet with God. And finally Exodus 33:11 - As Moses was meeting with God in the Tent of Meeting, he would take Joshua with him. We see here in this text that Joshua would see Moses speaking with God "face to face as a man speaks with his friend" AND that Joshua would not leave the tent when Moses did. What was he still doing in there if he wasn't listening any more? Perhaps he was practicing and talking to God himself.

Pause #6: Lots to learn from here. First of all, the younger generation needs to not only see - but hear - their elders talking to God face to face. (ie: praying out loud.) I've become so convicted of that by being a father of two small toddlers. We've really been encouraging them to pray out loud lately. And at first they were very hesitant because they weren't sure how to, but then when they tried they mimicked many of the prayers that we've said over them since they were babies. They use some of the exact words and phrases. I don't want them simply to repeat my prayers but just as they need to be taught how to speak, more importantly they need to hear what conversational prayer with their Holy Father sounds like. When I heard them pray the first few times, I realized how "routine" my own prayers sounded as they were replayed for me through their mouths. I also realized how non-conversational they sounded. I certainly wasn't speaking to God "face to face as a man speaks with a friend."

Pause 6a: Secondly here, I recognize now that Joshua was chosen for this job long before he recognized he was chosen. It may seem that he was groomed for the position by Moses. Certainly Moses did what he could to help Joshua see how a Godly leader received instruction from the Lord. Yet Joshua developed the heart attitude and a friendship with God on his own. Why else would he have stayed in the tent longer? Perhaps I've been chosen for a job that I'm not yet aware. Perhaps part of my lesson is to drink up the opportunities I have to watch Godly leaders soak up their instruction from the Lord, attempt to apply it myself and develop this kinship with my heavenly Father as well. Today, I choose to look less at this job as a destination and more as a training ground and sanctuary.

June 4 - Day 11; Num 8-Num 20

Recently at work, I received what I deemed to be unjustified feedback. It was based on perceptions and not on reality. Yet the reality exists that if you object to feedback of any sort, you develop yet another stigma that you are not open to feedback and are difficult to work with. So needless to say I was a bit discouraged in my pursuit to make a difference in my workplace and for the people I've been privileged to lead.

That is why in today's reading I can so easily identify with Moses. Here he has been giving his all for the Israelites. Moses has been talking and walking with God and enjoying some fabulous intimacy with Him. Moses has literally been risking His life and asking God to forgive and have mercy on the stiff necked Israelites. Time and time again, regardless of how Moses has helped the people, they complain. We don't have enough food... here's Manna... we don't have any meat.... here's some quail. We don't have any water... and on and on it goes. Until we see Moses finally start to break. Num 11: 11 we see Moses asking the Lord, "Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you may put the burden of these people on me?"

When I read these lines it was almost like I was speaking them myself. I feel the same way right now. I used to view my job as a blessing and a great pleasure to serve the Lord in this way. Now I see it more as a burden. It seems no matter how good I do or how hard I work, good just isn't good enough. The usual, "atta boys" aren't flowing quite as freely. The informal pats on the back aren't there. And yet, it seems as if I've been working as hard as I have in quite some time. I'm sure this is how Moses felt. Moses goes on to argue with the Lord, "I cannot carry all of these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now..."

Then later on in the same passage we see the Lord answering back... vs 23... "The Lord answered Moses, 'Is the Lord's arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you."

This is the truth I needed to hear today. How quickly I can become short-term focused when I receive short-term feedback. I've felt the Lord leading me and equipping me in this role. The decisions I've attempted to make, I've also attempted to seek His will on them. Granted - probably not enough though. Yet, when I become the focus of the feedback and it is not all positive my viewpoints turn from blessings to burdens. I've only looked at the length of my arm to provide. I've neglected to look at the length of the Lord's arm to provide. Lord, help me realize that you are the one in control. I cannot expect the world to recognize you, nor give me praise because I'm a God-follower. Yet I know that your truth will prevail. I will trust you for the results in my team and in my family. The focus is not me... but to your glory.

Now let me again project forward. The end of today's reading culminates in the death of Aaron and that the Lord has told Moses and Aaron both that they will not enter the Promised Land themselves because of their rebellion against the Lord at Meribah. Could it be that the start of Moses' rebellion came from the fact that he took his eyes off of the Lord and started putting them on himself way back when the people's grumbling got him down? Let this be a lesson for me as well. If I let the grumbling take my eyes of my eternal purpose, I will loose the blessing of seeing the harvest You've called me to cultivate. Let me find joy in all circumstances especially in those that don't seem very joyous at the time like receiving unmerited feedback. Let me trust in You at all times as my source of joy and provision - knowing that you will deliver your promises to the faithful.

June 3 - Day 10; Lev 26 - Numbers 7:89

I'm recording this blog posting from my desk while on my lunch break at work. I was reflecting on my role as a leader in my company and in my home as I read today's reading. I find myself often in conflict between my responsibilities as a husband, father and employee. There always seems something that seems to be dropped or out of balance.

In my role as a manager one of the challenges I was facing today was how do you measure success? And all too often in business it is measured by a number. So today as I close out Leviticus (the instructions for the priests) and enter Numbers I see God's hand in helping us understand the relationship of obedience and numbers. In Lev 26, we see both God's telling Moses the rewards He has in store for the Israelites if they choose obedience to the Laws and decrees and also telling Moses the consequences of disobedience.

God has just made some very serious promises here to the Israelites. But how will they know on what side of the promise they are? Who is judge and jury of this? And ultimately we see God answering that by leading into the book of numbers. Obedience is measured in the "numbers." God has set up the rules... and now they must decide if they want to obey.

Now please don't read this posting wrong. I'm not suggesting that obedience always results in material blessing or increasing of the numbers. Certainly God can and has done that in the past. But as God judges obedience He's concerned not only with the group average, but the individual score.

God does keep individual scores. He shows that to us in the opening section of Numbers. He instructs Moses and Aaron to take a census. It is important to know who is where. God knows at all time how many of us there are. Not a one of us is unimportant to Him. He not only knows our number, but He knows where we belong and to whom we've been given. He points out to us in this book as well the importance of family. I was impressed with how he not only counted the people but recorded to which tribe the were a part of. Furthermore, He gave Moses instructions for how to keep the tribes together in their campsites. Family is a primary way in which God creates order in the world today.

Let me draw some applications of my own from this. While man (and my employer) may be interested in the numbers I turn in and they are using this to evaluate success or failure, God is using a different kind of numbers. He knows who I am - out of the whole wide world - He cares about me. I am more than a number to him. He has given me a name and placed me in a tribe. He has given me this tribe and family to help me discover His plan for my life and to walk this journey with. He has given me the responsibility of family to help me help him keep order in this world. He told us in the end of Leviticus what we would get if we obey... and he told us what we would get if we disobey. If I were to judge my success as a leader - as a God follower- in relation to the promises He made what score would I give myself? Do I see more blessings or curses in my life. He is letting me choose to obey or not. So I cannot complain if life is not the way I would want it, because in all likelihood, I'm not completely obedient to him.

I see some even deeper applications here. God laid down the instructions for worship to Moses. 12 times we see the tribes present their offerings to the dedication of the temple in Numbers. 12 times they were exactly the same. To a tribe, the people obeyed exactly as God had commanded. But let me dig and expand a little deeper. It's not written here, but can you imagine some of the conversations that must have gone on behind the scenes. What if you were the person responsible for raising the goats? And the tribe wanted to take your best breeding goat and dedicate it as a sin offering? You'd probably argue a little. :Please take this nice one over here, he's of the same genetics just has the wrong color. Or how about this one over here, he's even better genetics but has a bad leg and can't walk very good." Can you hear yourself arguing about what He's calling you to give up for the sake of tribal obedience? What if it were your sliver plate that they wanted to give away? Now you don't have a matching set. What if it were your whatever...... would you willingly give it? Perhaps in a "family" of sorts, the vote would be cast and you'd be overruled. So the "family" might look obedient but is the spirit of every person in the family obedient to God's instruction? God didn't just record the numbers of the tribe's collective sacrifices and offerings. He started with recording their individual numbers and to which tribe they belonged. God knows if my "tribe" is obedient. He knows whether we've offered the right sacrifices or if we've accepted his offering of salvation. BUT He also knows my individual heart. He knows who I am. He knows if I'm just going through the actions of giving my sacrifices... or if my actions are indicative of a spirit of worship. The danger here is I belong to many "tribes." Is every tribe I belong to obedient to His instruction? My work team, my extended family, my immediate family, my friends, etc.... Then within each of these tribes, what is my heart attitude toward the sacrifice He is asking me to give? When I see it this way, I recognize a great need for repentance in the many tribes I belong to, collectively and individually.

June 2 - Day 9 Lev 14:8-Lev 25:54

When reading this book, I must remember that Leviticus is a book of instructions. Primarily instructions for priests. What is the priest's responsibility? It is to lead the people and more importantly to intercede on their behalf to a Holy and righteous God. I must remember that in the days in which this book was written, Priests were much different than the leaders of our modern churches. Today we have pastors and ministers who lead the people and shepherd them in their relationships towards Christ. In those days Priests were the only ones ordained to perform the rituals and rites that kept the relationship peaceful between a holy and righteous God and an unruly and selfish people.

These instructions seem so detailed and so laborious. Yet that reminds me that God demands holiness and 100% righteousness. To live in His presence is to cast off ALL sin. Literally in Levitical days we see Priests who could loose their life because they didn't follow God's instructions completely. And likewise we see people who lost their lives because they chose to rebel against the practices prescribed by the Priests. I'm sure it would change my actions completely if I were a priest in those days. Not only would I be burdened by the sins going on around me... I would be agonizing over others sins because I know that I might lose my life or God's judgement may be enacted against a disobedient people if they weren't called into a right relationship with Him.

God demands cleanliness. God demands purity. God demands righteousness. He does this because these are His character traits. He cannot tolerate any less. All of His instructions to Moses for the Priests were to set up these rules for cleanliness, purity and righteousness.

This makes me realize how sloppy I've gotten with my Agape lately. I know that I sin and that people around me sin... but how often am I willing to call out the sin and help them pursue righteousness? Not willing to offend, I often ignore the sins of many for the sake of a few. Jesus certainly didn't. As my High Priest, He decided to take care of it once and for all, so that I might not have to pay with my life. The least (and the most) I can do is to make sure others know not that they are lost in their sin only, but that there is an answer... a remedy for their sinful state. His name is Jesus.

In Lev 20:23ff I find the best summary of all of this passage. "Keep my decrees and laws and follow them, so that the land where I am bringing you will not vomit you out. You must not live according the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all of these things, I abhorred them. But I said to you, "You will possess their land; I will give it you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey. 'I am the Lord your God, who as set you apart from the nations.'"

What God was promising the Israelites is true of us today. While he is not leading us as people through the desert literally, He is leading us through the desert of this world. We are a wandering stiff necked people. We stray from His path and deliberately grumble against Him. Yet, He has promised us an inheritance in Heaven. "A land flowing with milk and honey." Yet heaven cannot tolerate sin. We must be holy. We must be righteous. We must be pure. We must be clean, to enter Heaven. If we are not, the land He has prepared for us will "vomit us out". You see dear friends, this world is not about our happiness. It is about "driving out these things" and helping us pursue Holiness so that we might achieve his inheritance.

Won't you let your High Priest intercede on your behalf today so you might achieve Holiness too?

June 1 - Day 8

I must admit as I started Leviticus today I had a bad attitude. I was thinking... "here we go." As traditionally this has not been the most exciting book of the Bible for me to read. I remember going through it in BSF several years ago and I was fascinated how much it pointed toward Christ and the New Testament. Yet, I get lost in what sacrifice is for what and who can eat it and what to do with it.

This time as I was reading it more for the story and less for the symbolism I found myself thinking very similarly to yesterday. There is so much detail here and it is all instructions from God to Moses, how in the world did they ever remember it all. Just like the instructions for the tabernacle we see God telling Moses, and Moses telling the Priests and the priests doing as God instructed. We also see the consequences of doing what God didn't instruct... in the examples of Nadab and Abihu who paid with their life for offering unholy fire.

As I was wrestling with what God was teaching me today a familiar phrase came new to me... Lev 11:44 and again in Lev 44: 45... "I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy... therefore be holy, because I am holy."

I must remember at all times God did not call me to be happy. Certainly the priests on their own accord couldn't have been happy killing animals and disposing of guts all the time. Yet, because they served the lord, the recognized that it wasn't happiness God was after it was Holiness. And Holiness demands a sacrifice. In this case, there were multiple types of sacrifices. Is it not any different today? How the world has it all wrong. Many people pursue happiness... and in the process forfeit their holiness. I often pursue happiness and forget that God is not interested in my happiness.... He is calling me to be holy because He is holy and that is the only way I can have true fellowship with him.

A real practical application today. This morning I was awakened at 5:00 on a Sunday by my 3 year old. She was coughing and couldn't go back to sleep. I'm not real happy at 5:00 am anyway but evermore so on a Sunday morning. What made it worse was that the alarm wasn't due to go off until 5:45. Since it was already 5:00 it wasn't hardly worth it to go back to bed until 5:45 and I knew if I slept in beyond that I wouldn't have time today to spend in the Word and praying. Likewise it always seems if I don't prepare myself and seek God's protection for our family on Sunday mornings, Satan attacks our family as we prepare to head off to church... but that is a different story. So here I am at 5:00 grumbling about not being happy... and I read this and realize God could care less right now... He has things He needs to tell me.. and it is all about pursuing Holiness. That certainly got my attention and made my reading much more practical.

Now it is after 10:00 pm on Sunday night and I'm preparing myself for the workday to come tomorrow morning. I certainly don't feel happy about returning to work tomorrow because I know the piles of things I left on Friday afternoon are still there waiting for me. Yet I know that God isn't interested in my happiness. However I choose to pursue Holiness and will seek Him as I end today and start tomorrow because He alone is my hope and strength.

May 31 - Day 7

As I approach the end of Exodus in today's reading I found myself skimming the reading at first. I've read it before and either the stories are familiar or I wasn't finding them that interesting. I stopped and prayed and returned to my reading by asking God to reveal to me what was He trying to express to me in this reading. And there was a lot!

As Moses went up the mountain to meet with God and he was receiving the instructions for building the tabernacle, they were given in such detail. God had only given Moses the stone tablets with the 10 commandments on them but nothing else was written down. So I wrote in the margin of my Bible, "How in the world does Moses remember all of this?" Then as the reading moved on, we see Moses relaying these instructions to the Israelites. And it is nearly identical to the instructions he received directly from God! Then later in the reading we see the Israelites actually building and constructing the tabernacle and the elements for worship. They adhere to the instructions exactly. I was amazed. Somehow Moses had to remember it and be able to instruct others to accomplish this. I was thinking Moses must be quite the man to remember all of this and manage this level of a project! But then something struck me... From chapter 39 on - at least 16 times a phrase is recorded that says "as the Lord commanded," or "as the Lord commanded Moses." 16 times!! At church Gary (our pastor) always says, if it is repeated... it is important! So I started pondering the significance of this phrase. At first I thought perhaps this is just reiterating that God gave Moses these commands on the mountain. Certainly God did command Moses then. Yet, I think there may be something more. Because after Moses received the instructions but before everything was built, scripture also tells us about Moses going to the Tent of Meeting, about God showing Moses His Glory, and how Moses would literally glow after meeting with God.

Moses had established the Tent of Meeting in Ex 33: 7. "Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away..." Some distance away... Moses knew it was important to withdraw from the chaos and meet with God. It tells us that God would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Wow! So while Moses received the commands on the mountain once, he was also meeting regularly with God. I wonder what they were talking about? If it were me, I'd be asking God lots of questions about all these instructions making sure I got them all OK. Regardless of what they talked about, the principle I draw from this is that God's instructions may be given once, but it takes a consistent routine and a deliberate effort to have regular conversation with Him. In this ongoing dialogue, God will reveal to me what He wants me to do in precise detail. Though the task of building a tabernacle seems daunting when looked at in entirety, it is plausible that Moses was meeting with God on only one detail and one decision at a time. "Now what about that Ephod again? Is that a sapphire or a ruby that is supposed to go there? Oh yea, you said it should be an onyx. Thanks for correcting me..." I can just hear this conversation. Application to my life is this - when I look at the tasks God has laid before me or when I ponder my life's purpose and importance it seems daunting. How can I ever achieve all that He wants me to be? By taking them one decision and one action at a time and regularly meeting with My God on that issue I can expect that He will talk to me too. Yet I have to put Him first and put myself in a position - outside the camp - to hear His voice. I must be outside of my selfishness - outside my concerns - outside the distractions and noise of my daily grind. Where is my tent of meeting? Also, I cannot read His Word once (e.g. meet with Him once on the mountain), and expect that I'll retain it all. Yet the more regularly I consume His Word and the more regularly I ask Him about it, the more I'm giving Him a chance to help me prevent putting rubies in the place of onyx.

Second warning I received is from the Golden Calf incident. There are of course the usual applications from this story and I must admit, I know them but do I apply these warnings regularly? Do I have other gods before God? Am I fashioning an idol out of something I have in my life? These warnings beg that I apply them more, but this is not the new warning I received.

Exodus 32:27 says that after Aaron made his feeble excuse for why he allowed this to happen, Moses called everyone together and asked for those who were "for the Lord" to come to him. He then further asked them to become an instrument of God's judgment and kill brothers, friends and neighbors - presumably those who participated in the Golden Calf folly. 3000 people died as a result! No matter how bad things have been in my life and how much I knew someone else was lost in their sin, I can't imagine what it would be like if God told me I had to kill them because of their rebellion towards Him. Now come with me as I try to apply this to today's world. Not the killing of brothers directly, but the fact that if you have any god before God, He will get even. He is a jealous God. The instruments of His judgement are many and may come from areas we might never suspect. How many people today around our society snub their nose at the very mention of God -- let alone placing Him above all else in their life?? How many people let something or someone else become their god or their idol? God has told us from the beginning that this is not just dangerous ground but deadly ground. I see that as more and more people ignore His warnings, His creation is groaning displaying His judgement on a decaying society. The only hope we have is for those in His protection to call sin by its rightful name and ask those lost in their own Golden Calf Folly to repent. To return to Him and acknowledge Him as God. I certainly don't want to be asked to kill anyone I care about (neighbor, father, son, etc.) but isn't that what I'm doing by allowing them to continue to live in their sin without helping point them to Jesus? Who will I attempt to introduce to Jesus today so they can know God as their God?

May 30 - Day 6

Dear God,
You were preparing me for today's reading even as yesterday began. Here in Indiana, we are experiencing some of those "perfect" days of Spring. They came a little later than usual this year and the temperatures are now in the high 70's with the bright blue skies and puffy white clouds. These are the days people write poems about. As I was walking out of my house yesterday morning our dear neighbors were walking past on their early morning walk. I remarked to them how beautiful the day was and then continued on by saying that this was the "perfect day" and I was disgruntled about how it had taken so long for the warm weather to arrive and how much I wasn't looking forward to the really hot sticky days of summer. My dear neighbor responded by saying, "I bet the Good Lord surely gets tired of us." And I knew at the moment I was standing on holy ground and that You had just spoken to me through her.

Today in my reading I'm reminded of how much I'm like the Israelites. Despite the many miracles you revealed yourself through, they continued to grumble. You led them out of captivity and they grumbled. You led them through the Red Sea and drowned the Egyptians. They praised you momentarily but only a few paragraphs below they were grumbling again. Time after time they missed the miracle of your revelation and provision for them because they were so focused on themselves and the way they wanted the world to be. I recognize now that my dear neighbor was just preparing me to identify with how easy it is to praise you when you're giving me what I want, but how slippery it is to start grumbling when your provision doesn't meet my expectations. I miss the miracle of you when I focus on my self.

Secondly I was reminded that you were with them in all circumstances. You provided your pillar of fire and your cloud of covering for them as they wandered through the desert. These served functional physical and spiritual purposes and were a visual reminder that You were the one directing their path. Yet they also came to expect this as an entitlement rather than a blessing. They truly missed you because they thought they deserved You. How often I explain away Your presence in my life rather than celebrating the miracle that it truly is. I can explain away the beauty of the creation because scientifically I understand the chemistry or biology behind it. Yet I miss the miracle that You were the one who created atoms and cells that enabled it all to come to be. Please forgive me.

Throughout this reading you also reaffirmed to me many of your physical qualities.

• You are patient and long suffering. You continued to provide for the Israelites despite their grumblings and lack of respect towards you.
• You are to be feared. Ex 20:20 states that "God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." Please help me establish a healthy fear of you.
• You are a God of order. You outlined the commandments. You deigned the instructions and rules to maintaining order. You gave elaborate instructions on the construction of the tabernacle, priestly garments, and elements of worship.
• You are a God of provision. You enabled Moses and Aaron to do things that they wouldn't have been able to do on their own. You provided manna and meat for the Israelites. (Actually this reinforced a point I've made in earlier posts about helping me understand between my needs and my wants. Ex 23:25 states, "Worship the Lord your God and his blessing will be on your food and water." It doesn't say your blessing will be my material gain (or my wants...) rather it says it will be on my needs (my food and water.) Help me realize you provide for all my needs.
• You are an omniscient, all powerful God. You are in control of everything. You tell the Israelites in Ex 23:27ff that you will drive out their enemies. However you won't do it all in one year because the land would become desolate and overrun with wild animals. Even though you could smite all evil in the world with a single stroke of your hand, you are perhaps even using this evil for our benefit because without it we wouldn't know your provision in the way we have the opportunity to today.

How I praise you for who you are and what you reveal to me daily. Help me focus on myself a little less so I can see you a little more today and every day after.