God Bless~

And may God help me through my perilous, mood-swing-filled English teacher T^T

-Love, GinniePark

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Memory Verse of the Week:

"Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God." - Exodus 34:26a

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Repentance - Exodus 32:30-35

We the People

30: "The next day Moses said to the people, 'You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.'"

31: "So Moses went back to the LORD and said, 'Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have themselves gods of gold."

32: "But now, please forgive sin - but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.'"

 

Punishment

33: "The LORD replied to Moses, 'Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of the book."

34: "Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.'"

35: "And the LORD struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made."

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Reflection

We the People (32:30-32)

Though Moses is not guilty of idolatry, as the spiritual leader of Israel, he is responsible. It is one of Moses' most commendable character traits. Once set apart to be the leader of Israel, Moses never shies away from the burden of responsibility. In fact, as we have already seen, Moses includes himself among God's people and stands as their representative before Yahweh. In many ways, Israel is the incorrigible child, and Moses is the older brother who always stands in between the discipline of the Father. Moses repents on behalf of Israel, and his actions of purging the community of sin only prove his sincerity. He wants to be holy, and he desires Israel to be holy for God. The people are learning, and in their Exodus journey, they will continue to learn what it means to be a nation set apart for God. They are God's people.

 

Punishment (32:33-35)

God forgives His people and will continue to go with them, but that does not mean that He is going to let sin slide. When we are punished, it is not because God is spiteful; it is because God wants us to learn through punishment. Punishment reminds us that what we did was wrong. As God sends the plague amongst His people, He does not delight in their suffering. However, the lesson has to be learned. Getting a ticket for speeding in a school zone is a punishment that reminds us not to speed where a child can run out in front of a car which cannot stop in time. In the same way, spiritual idolatry and the worship of false gods have far more lasting consequences than a disease that plagues the body. Punishment, in other words, often prevents us from continuing down a dangerous and reckless path.

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Application

-We are also God's people through the new covenant. We must be unified and accountable for each other. How often do we pray for our church to be united? Today, let's make that a point of prayer.

-When we are punished for our sins, let's not be bitter or angry. Rather, let's see the tough love behind the punishment and try to be grateful for the spiritual vigilance of the one punishing us.

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"It is impossible for a man to be freed from the habit of sin before he hates it, just as it is impossible to receive forgiveness before confessing his trespasses."

-Ignatius

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Blot Out My Name!?

What is humility? In the Bible we see that it is an honorable characteristic, and so we think it is something that we should desire to have. But what is it? Is it self-pity and wallowing? If not, then what? Humility is not about being poor or trampled on. In Phillipians 2:3-4, we see that humility means that we value others above ourselves. Humility never focuses on self, but rather on the people around us, whoever they might be.

We find a clear example of this humility in Moses in Exodus 32:32. Moses pleads for the Israelites and says, "Please forgive their sin - but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written." His request may seem a bit strange. After all, who in their right mind would say that? But as J.R. Miller states, "The pleading of Moses for the people, shows what a great heart of love he had....It is doubtful if Moses himself knew precisely what he meant when he prayed thus. The prayer came out of a great heart bursting with sorrow and with love."

We see that Moses' attitude is similar to Paul's in Romans 9:3. He would rather sacrifice his own salvation than see so many people lose theirs. This allows an understanding of God's heart for us and exactly why Christ died for us. As Miller continues, "Jesus Christ not only was willing to lay down His life - but actually gave His life, making Himself an offering for sin, that He might redeem His people!"

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A Letter to God

Dear Lord, we are Your people.

You have set us apart to be Your own, and we delight in Your good Word.

Father, guard our hearts and keep us from evil.

Give us pure hearts and clean hands, and lead us into life everlasting. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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[A/N: I now actually can see why God made what happened in English class happen...You see, me and a small group of other people were supposed to re-enact different scenes of 'Othello' today, and I was the finale with my parnter, who was also one of my best friends. People said we did the best, although in my opinion we had a lot of flaws that were easily amendable. However, although people said those things and I was somewhat satisfied, I never thanked God automatically as I normally do when something bad turns out to be good. Maybe that was why He made my English teacher go berserk over the smallest things, thus leading everyone who performed today to perform a snippet of our scene again on Thursday, the official English final day...A punishment to remind me and other Christians present w/in the small handful that went today, that it really was through the grace of God that I survived through that. It wasn't anything at all that I did today. What a great lesson from Our Father ^^ Thank you, Heavenly Father~ And please, help me to feel your presence always <3]