Really, all you need is Him.

Although He gives and takes away, nobody can save you better than He.

Just believe.

-Love, GinniePark

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Memory Verse of the Week:

“They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.” – Exodus 29:46

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Respecting God’s Boundaries – Exodus 30:17-38

The Wisdom of Washing

17: “Then the LORD said to Moses,”

18: “’Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.”

19: “Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it.”

20: “Whenever they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minster by presenting a food offering to the LORD,”

21: “they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.’”

 

For God’s Use Only

22: “Then the LORD said to Moses,”

23: “’Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant calamus,”

24: “500 shekels of cassia – all according to the sanctuary shekel – and a hin of olive oil.”

25: “Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil.”

26: “Then use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law,”

27: “the tabernacle and all its articles, the Lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense,”

28: “the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand.”

29: “You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.”

30: “Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests.”

31: “Say to the Israelites, ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come.”

32: “Do not pour it on anyone else’s body and do not make any other oil using the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred.”

33: “Whoever makes perfume like it and puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from their people.’’”

34: “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Take fragrant spices – gum resin, onycha and galbanum – and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts,”

35: “and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred.”

36: “Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.”

37: “Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the LORD.”

38: “Whoever makes incense like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from their people.’”

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Reflection

The Wisdom of Washing (30:17-21)

Conventional wisdom tells us to wash our hands before eating or touching sensitive areas of our body like our eyes. The reason for this is because dirty hands can be a source of harmful germs that could potentially cause severe sickness, and in rare cases, even death. There is wisdom behind the practice of washing before meals. There is also wisdom in washing before worship – not the physical kind of washing, but the spiritual kind. Not washing before entering into the presence of the Lord could be hazardous to one’s spiritual health. Dirty souls that are stained with sin can bring the purging fire of God upon them, and when this happens, there is no telling if the person will survive. Playing with fire is always a bad idea, but it is even more foolhardy when it comes to the fire of God.

 

For God’s Use Only (30:22-38)

Imagine that someone posted the world’s best recipe for chocolate cake on Twitter or Facebook. Because the recipe was revealed for all to see, if anyone got the same ingredients and followed the same instructions, they too would have the greatest chocolate cake. But if the creator of the recipe said that the recipe was copyrighted and that no one else in the world was allowed to use it, how would people react? No one would stop themselves from using the recipe, just because the author said so. The temptation to use the recipe would be too great. Yet this is the situation in today’s passage. God gives the recipe for an outstanding oil and incense, but forbids anyone else from using it. This is to show the exclusiveness of holy and sacred things, but we can assume the temptation to use it for personal use must have been great.

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Application

-While all of life is worship, it is especially important to cleanse ourselves spiritually before we participate in corporate worship services and prayer meetings. There is a special dynamic in congregational praise that can be dampened by personal sin.

-There are certain rights that only God can claim and we cannot. This should not arouse jealousy but awe and reverence for God’s holiness, His complete and utter “otherness” from us.

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“The Pharisees obeyed the commandments in the letter, not in the spirit…they were curious to wash their hands, but cared not to purify their hearts.”

-Jeremy Taylor

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Washed Clean

When was the last time you took a shower or bath? For whatever reason, this is a question that many of us do not like to be asked. We immediately become self-conscious. “Do I smell? Do I smell bad?” In many modern cultures, showers are considered a necessity. In other cultures, they are considered a luxury. Even so, bathing is not a new phenomenon. It is something that most people, at any time or place, have at least been aware of.

In early times, frequent bathing was not a cultural norm. It should, then, be somewhat surprising to find a washbasin in the tabernacle. The washbasin certainly had a basic function of making things clean, but it also served an even greater function in revealing to us the supernatural nature of God. As Henry Law writes, “But there is water here to purify the will. Christ gives His Holy Spirit to work renewal and to conquer sin. What streams of comfort flow in the channel of the Word…” The Gospel echoes: He is made unto us, not only wisdom and righteousness, but sanctification too!

God knew that, even in the midst of giving His laws and His decrees, His chosen people, His people would mess up. We would become dirtied and stained by sin. And we would need to be made clean again. Thus, God sent us His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to cleanse us of our sins once and for all. And by His blood, we are made whiter than snow. 

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A Letter to God

Father in Heaven, cleanse me of all my iniquities.

Wash me with the blood of Christ, and anoint me with Your oil of gladness and healing.

May my life be dedicated for Your purposes only, to be spent for Your glory and Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen