I Corinthians 1:18-2:16

Dear RTB’ers,

Yesterday I commented that Paul had spent a year and a half in Corinth (plus a second trip some years later), so he knew the Corinthian people to whom he was writing. And to these people he wrote that not many of them were wise or strong or of noble birth (v. 1:26). Suppose we reverse his “not many”; then it follows that Paul knew that some of these people were wise, some were strong, and some were of noble birth. Imagine Paul speaking to us today, knowing all of us, and knowing that some are wise, some are strong, and some are of “noble” birth. What would he say to us? The same thing he said to the Corinthians: God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, … so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. (1:27-29) Paul is taking our pride out of the picture. Our pride is our foolishness, is our weakness, is low and despicable before God. Instead He offers us His Spirit: Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. (v. 2:12) And with that Spirit,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him” —

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. (v. 2:9-10) Setting aside our (my!) pride allows us to see God’s creation, including ourselves and all those around us in a wholly different light. Later we will learn that “the greatest of these is love” (I Cor. 13:13). I daresay that the lowest of these is pride. Your thoughts?

Blessings!

I Corinthians 1:1-17

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we jump back to the Epistles, to Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. We’ll spend about two weeks in I Corinthians, then take a two-week break with the Psalms, then spend another two weeks in II Corinthians. So we’ll have four weeks of the next six in Corinth, with all their gifts and problems.

You probably recall that Paul had spent 18 months in Corinth during his second missionary journey (Acts 18), working as a tentmaker alongside Aquila and Priscilla, in addition to regular preaching in the synagogues. So he knew Corinth well when he wrote these letters. That makes it more personal to me, as is the case with me when I read his letter to the Philippians, knowing that Paul and Silas had been beaten and imprisoned in Philippi. When he names names, we know that he knows these people personally.

So, today, one item stayed with me: I give thanks to my God always for you … as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (vv. 4, 7b-8) “Guiltless!” How can that be? I know myself; I’m not guiltless! That’s a fact, in this life. But at the day of our Lord Jesus Christ I will be guiltless! All my sins, all our sins, all everyone’s sins for all time, for all those who confess Jesus and receive His forgiveness, we will be GUILTLESS on that Day! Forgiven. Free. Clothed in glorious splendor. Whole. New. GLORY!! Not a bad beginning to I Corinthians!!

Blessings!

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See also: December 3 (2023) / I Corinthians 1-4

Exodus 39-40

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we end Exodus. What do you remember from Exodus? The Israelites’ suffering at the hand of Pharaoh? Moses’ birth and being raised in Pharaoh’s house? Moses’ fleeing Egypt and being called by God to return? Moses and Aaron and the plagues? The final plague, the blood on the doors, the Passover, the Israelites fleeing after plundering the Egyptians? The crossing of the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army drowning? The cloud by day and the fire by night? The manna in the Wilderness and water from the rock? The Ten Commandments and many other laws at Mt. Sinai? God’s instructions for the Tabernacle and all its contents and the priestly robes? The Golden Calf? Moses’ leadership and intersession for the people? New tablets? Sabbath regulations? The building of the Tabernacle and all its contents and the priestly robes? Finally, the Glory of the Lord filling the Tabernacle and the tent of meeting?

Quite a book, eh?

Blessings!

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See also: January 29 (2023) / Exodus 38-40

Exodus 37:10-38:31

Dear RTB’ers,

Many chapters and many months ago in our earlier Exodus reading we probably did not really realize what we were reading: The people of Israel had … asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. (Exodus 12:35-36) Yes, plunder! Today we see how that plunder was used. My computer Bible notes have a talent as 75 pounds. So 29+ talents of gold comes to nearly 2200 pounds of gold, just over a ton! The hundred+ talents of silver comes to 7500+ pounds, just under four tons, and seventy+ talents of bronze comes to 5250+ pounds, slightly more than 2-1/2 tons! That’s a lot of plunder!

Blessings!

Exodus 36:8-37:9

Dear RTB’ers,

Are pictures really worth a thousand words? When it comes to tabernacle structures, I’d say “yes”. In an e-mail that I sent a few years back, I noted that we have a drawing on page 99 of The Chronological Study Bible that is a fairly good artistic rendering of the tabernacle. You might want to look at that if you have the CSB. The larger “fenced” area is the “court of the tabernacle” (Exodus 27:9, ff.). The smaller structure inside the court is the tabernacle, which is composed of two parts, the “holy place” and the “Most Holy” place (Exodus 26:33).

I have imbedded another artistic rendering of the tabernacle below. Both the holy place and the Most Holy place were 15 feet wide and 15 feet high. The lengths were different, 30 feet for the holy place and 15 feet for the Most Holy place. So the Most Holy place was a perfect cube, 15’ x 15’ x 15’.

If a cubit is 18 inches, then these curtains are 42 feet long and 6 feet wide. How does a 42’ x 6’ curtain fit into the tabernacle structure? My understanding is that the curtains form the sides and roof. Each curtain goes up one side (vertically), then across the roof, then down the other side. That total distance would be 45 feet (15+15+15), but the curtains are only 42 feet, three feet short of the 45 feet needed. Presumably those last three feet would be tie-downs, to hold the curtains in place.

I love numbers.

Enjoy!

Exodus 35:1-36:7

Dear RTB’ers,

Two thoughts for today. First, the Sabbath. God is serious about His Sabbath. It was one of two items from the Ten that was mentioned in yesterday’s reading and now it’s the first item in today’s reading. Maybe He wants us to be (or get) serious about observing His Sabbath. Frankly, for years I tended to observe the Sabbath by going to church and not doing a lot of “heavy lifting”. Then an incident occurred when I was a graduate student at the University of Maryland. One Sunday morning I attended a church in Washington, DC that coincided with me reading Hebrews, especially the end of chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 4. I began to see God’s Sabbath rest more as a gift than a requirement – and I am not a person who dismisses gifts lightly. Beginning that following Sunday I rested from my studies and my homework and my teaching preparations (except for when classmates or students made a serious request of me to join them for a study session). Carol and I continue to observe God’s Sabbath rest. I encourage you to go to Hebrews and read from 3:7 to 4:13, about the Sabbath as a rest-gift rather than a requirement. It’ll change your focus.

Second item… We’re not there, but I think it’s pledging time at St. Andrew’s. Timely that we should be reading about the Israelites’ gifts for the construction of the tabernacle and all its contents and the priestly robes. I was struck by the people’s reaction to the call for contributions:

And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do.” So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.

Exodus 36:3-7

‘Nuff said.

Blessings!

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See also: January 28 (2023) / Exodus 35-37

Exodus 34

Dear RTB’ers,

We first saw the Ten Commandments back in Exodus 20. Today God gives Moses another set of rules for the Israelites to follow, with only two of the original ten included – not seeking other gods (vv. 12-17, Exodus 20:3-4) and honoring the Sabbath (v. 21, Exodus 20:8-11). In addition God sets three times of the year where the people are to honor Him in a special way, Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel (v. 23) – the Passover, the First Fruits, and the Ingathering. Finally, God demands that the firstborn males from the people and the livestock be devoted to Him. (More on that many weeks down the road…) It doesn’t seem to me that God was asking that much of His people, yet they had difficulty following Him. And, frankly, it’s true that God doesn’t ask that much of us (except that He asks for all that we have and are!), but we also have our own difficulties following Him. Another thought for the day…

Blessings!

Exodus 33

Dear RTB’ers,

We mentioned this “cleft rock” incident a few chapters ago and today we see it in context. Moses, again, seems to be looking for affirmation from the Lord that He will go with them and that He has chosen Moses to lead His people: For how shall it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? (v. 16a) You probably recall that Moses had a similar “insecurity” about leading the Israelites when God first approached him from the burning bush, how Moses tried to turn down God’s charge to him to confront Pharaoh. (See Exodus 3-4.) God gave Moses a number of assurances back then, but still Moses halted until God spoke firmly to him that he would go and that Aaron would be his mouthpiece. Today Moses sees God’s glory, but only His backside. Clearly, that was enough for Moses!

Today’s reading and the “burning bush” incident ought to move us to think about our own lives, as to what God has asked of us (or is now asking of us) and our reactions to His call. Have we rebelled or gently resisted or even hesitated a bit to where we know He is calling us? Right now I’m looking back on my own life, asking those questions. I’m going to continue to do that as I walk along today. Wanna join me?

Blessings!

Exodus 32

Dear RTB’ers,

I am touched by Moses’ leadership in this “golden calf” incident. First, when he sees God’s anger, he implores Him not to destroy the people for what they have done. But Moses implored the LORD his God and said, …“Turn from Your burning anger and relent from this disaster against Your people.” (vv. 11a, 12b) But his own anger against the people was real: And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. (v. 19) Still, Moses was able to contain his anger and do what he could to resolve their sin before the Lord. The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” (v. 30) Finally, Moses’ plea before the LORD includes a willingness to forego his own relationship with God: “But now, if You will, forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of Your book that You have written.” (v. 32) Moses’ offer of his own life calls to mind Paul’s admission in Romans 9:3, For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. What a fine example of Moses’ leadership we see in today’s reading.

Blessings!

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See also: January 27 (2023) / Exodus 32-34