← Don't Miss This Study
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Hi there. Welcome to Don't Miss this, a scripture study podcast with Dave Butler and Grace Freeman.
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Each week we point out things in the scriptures that we love and think you don't want to miss.
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Thanks for listening. Hi there. I'm Dave Butler.
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And I'm Grace Freeman.
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Welcome to Don't Miss this. We're so excited because you've been waiting a whole week for me to go through the first line. This is the best day ever for of the timeline. We're in the Old Testament this year. If you're just joining us, we go through the scriptures and point out things that we think you don't want to miss in here. Hopefully at the end, you are more endeared to the Lord. That's our number one goal and that you just love scriptures and. Yeah, so because we're the Old Testament, it's kind of tricky for a lot of people. So we developed this timeline. If you're new, you don't know everyone else. You know, you've been just cruising along with us. I'm enough. If you're listening, I'm moving a gigantic timeline I'll hold in. And that's why. Okay, thanks, Grace. And Grace is going to put on today's. You have to put it right side up. It's a mountain. Thank you. That is Mount Sinai is what that is. So look, we finished the first row of the timeline and this is where I think it's awesome because some of the things that happened in the first part of the Bible are going to. Are going to show up right here with Mount Sinai. So let me show you what I mean. So you see, we started with the Creation, then there was the Garden of Eden. This is how everything was meant to be. And then we got into the Noah story. And that kind of shows you that. Hold on. There was a problem with humanity that needs to be redeemed. Tower of Babel. We can't do it on our own. Then God calls this family and the stars represent Abraham and he says, I'm going to make a covenant with this family and you are going to take the message of hope, the gospel message to all the world. And he renews it with Isaac and then again with Jacob, who has 12 sons. And that comes the expansion of this family that we call the House of Israel or the children of Israel or the tribes of Israel. One of those boys is Joseph, and they sell him off into Egypt, and then they end up moving to Egypt because remember, all the grain is there. When Joseph does the seven years of saving and they Move into Egypt. Well, then you flip over into Exodus, and they are slaves in Egypt. And the last two times we've been talking about the deliverance of them. And the Red Sea is up there and they have been set free. And now God takes them and to Mount Sinai, which is interesting to look at this and see they were enslaved. Look, look at the pictures, how there's chains. And then to some people, Mount Sinai also represents chains. Right. Restrictions and bounds. It's interesting that I, I set you free. And last time, five different times through five different scenarios, God sets them free. Sets them free. Sets them free to give them rules. It's kind of like the United States. It's like we won our freedom and the first thing we did was make a bunch of rules, a constitution. Right. Which is at first sounds, oh, a little bit opposite of what you would think to do with freedom. But I think we all know, and we'll see right here in the chapters today what God is doing in Mount Sinai. So this is where he is going to create and renew this covenant responsibility and covenant relationship with the whole house of Israel. The one he made with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, he is now going to renew with the whole house of Israel. And some Bible scholars think we're about 2 million people big at this point. 2 million people went through the Red Sea, which is crazy. Yeah. Those kind of numbers I can't do. And at Mount Sinai, God is going to establish them as the new house of Israel, essentially. I mean, they are, but just like, okay, now you are going to take this responsibility that I gave to your family back to your great, great grandfather Abraham, and I need you to take this blessing into all the world. Problem is, they've spent the last 400 years in Egypt, so God has to prepare them for that purpose. So he takes them to Mount Sinai, which, by the way, is, most Bible scholars think, the same mountain that Moses had his burning bush experience on. So God calls Moses to be holy at that mountain, and now he's going to call the children of Israel to be holy at this. At this mountain. So open two things you want to open, open them up to Exodus, chapter 19 is where we're going to be. And then also in your journal to this page, covenant expectations and covenant relationship. And every time we fill something into the covenant relationship box, covenant expectations make sense. When you put things in there. I want you to think these are the privileges of a covenant relationship, that certain kind of relationships have certain kinds of privileges. Right. Depending on the nature of the relationship, that relationship is Able to mature and it's a. And you're able to enjoy a deeper relationship is such a privilege. But that requires something, right? So these are the privileges of the relationship. That's what you're going to write in the right column. Okay, so now we have all that set up. Let's jump into this one. And I just, in verse three is your first teaching that Moses went up unto God. There's something, of course, you have to ascend a mountain in order to do it, but there's a Hebrew word that's called aliyah. It means to go up. And they talk about this in. When they talk about coming to the land of Israel. No matter where you are in the Holy Land, they say you go up to the temple. Like there is physically, you would walk up steps. And physically they're walking up a mountain. But there is a lesson here that he's teaching. It's like, I want you to ascend. I want to exalt is a synonym for ascend. He's like, already we're seeing. My intention is to take you to a higher place. You were in Egypt, and now I want to take you up. Is there's a lesson, I think, in the fact that it happens at a mountain. And this is what he says. Verse 4. You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bear you on eagle's wings, and I brought you unto myself. I know that the Lord wants to establish, first, I set you free. You're free. You don't owe anything to the Egyptians anymore. And I think you can say the same to us. Like, I've set you free from sin and from death. You are free. I've already done that. I already paid the price. Now, verse five, and it even starts with the word now. Now, therefore, okay, I set you free if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, then. And I circled those two words in my scriptures in verse five. If you want, then I can take you from free to something even better. I've already done that for you. And now, if you want, if you obey my voice, if you trust me, I can take you higher, I can turn you into something. And that's what he is about to explain. But I just love that the whole context of Mount Sinai and commandments and covenant relationship is all God saying, if you'll let me, if you'll hand me your heart, watch what I can do with it. And I think he gives us that verse for to say, remember how I set you free, I open oceans, I can bring frogs outlift like I can do amazing things and I answer prayers. So I wonder if you trust me enough to enter into this covenant relationship with me. I've shown you what I can do. Now if you'll obey my voice and I forgot the other thing and keep my covenant. Look what I look at what I could do and he's about to list that right here where you could.
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Yeah, well I think it's really important to realize that that's what he wants you to know. Very first is before anything else he wants to say. I think it's so sweet that he wants to look and say, remember who I am. Remember what I'm capable of. Remember what I can do for you. That's how he wants to start. Yeah.
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It makes me think I used to wonder why. For those who are temple going members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, you'll know this. If you're not, let me just spill you in. In the temple. The mountain of the Lord we make covenant promises to with the Lord but before we make any covenant promises, there is a retelling of the creation story and there's a retelling of the fall story. And I think the reason we do that over and over and over again one is to see what God can do with the creation story. Look, I can take the messy, just inky blackness, chaos and I can turn it into something beautiful. Imagine what I could do to your marriage. Imagine what I could do with your life. Imagine what I could do with your potential. Is seems to be the story of, of the creation. A generous gift giver with all power. And then the fall story tells us they make mistakes and God is ready and willing to redeem the mistakes. He's like so, so you need to understand this. I'm all powerful and I'm all merciful. Now do you want to enter into a covenant relationship with a God like that? I think that's actually one of the reasons that we, we get that retelling 100%.
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And I think it's so interesting that you brought up even like on the timeline that there's like chains representing being bound and like forced and having no choice. And then all of a sudden three spots later on the timeline is Mount Sinai, which we associate with commandments. And it's so fascinating to me that sometimes we think of those the same way that we like in our mind we're like oh yeah, because God wants to hold us back. And at the very beginning of chapter 19 he's like no, no, no, I want to Set you free. I did set you free. I proved that that's my goal. So if you know that I'm capable of setting you free, then realize what I'm really doing. And I think that that's the biggest thing that happens for me in, in chapter 19 is that you start realizing that maybe these commandments aren't set, aren't set, and aren't given to us to hold us back, but maybe there's something different. God is trying to teach us about commandments. And I would even dare say relationship, because that's how this starts in chapter 19 is this whole thing, the entire time is about a relationship between us and God. And I think once we start talking covenant relationship, we immediately go to our relationship with God. But think the easiest way to, like, understand it and teach it and learn about it is to look at a real life, just like a regular relationship. And I think about it. I actually got this text from a girl today, and she was like, listen, I'm going through the temple on Saturday, and I'm panicked and I don't, like, I. She's like, I've done tumble prep. I've done a million things. Like, I've studied. I've gone to the church's website, like, but like, I just, like, woke up this morning and I'm so nervous about it. Can you talk me through it? And I was like, yes, duh. And this is what I told him is I was like, listen, before you even think about your relationship with God, think about a regular relationship. And even, like, if you just think about someone, that I think is the easiest way to think about it in a romantic relationship way. But some people are like, wait, this is confusing my mind. But it's going to teach you a good lesson. Because if you think of someone you have a crush on and you think about that relationship, there is zero expectation there. You can have a crush on them and it's fun and it's exciting and you hope they ask you on a date, but you have no idea what your plans are going to be. Friday night, they could talk to you. They could not. You text them. You have. They have no obligation to text you back. There's no reason that they have to text you back. Which is why you don't want someone to be your crush forever. Because at some point after someone's been your crush for so long, your heart says, wait, I want more than this. I don't want to text you and wonder if you're going to leave me on read. I need you to respond to me. And then you're going to say, wait, I want to date you because I don't want you to have the freedom to talk to anyone else. Because that's hard to have a relationship with someone that's going to talk to eight other people. So this is not going to work. I want to be able to text you and expect a response. So then you say, I want.
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And I would say, and yes, you can have a relationship, but it's not going to be the kind that you want. It will not be a relationship with privilege.
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And it'll be anxious.
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Yeah.
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And you'll miss out on things that you could have had if there were expectations.
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Yeah.
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So then you decide to date, and the expectations grow, but so does the love. What happens when expectations grow is there's more like solidness. What's that real word?
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Yeah. No.
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Is that right? Okay. There's like. It's like a little bit more solid. You can trust it. You're not anxious. Every single day when you wake up thinking, what's going to happen in that relationship? I'm so worried. I'm so nervous about it. It grows. That is a normal progression for a relationship to the point that by the time you decide that you want to get married, you get to say, I expect you to be faithful to me and I expect you to help me provide for our family. I expect you to text me back, if I'm marrying someone, I want to know that if I text them, they're going to respond. That's like base level. Okay. Like, you can go through and say, I want to have these expectations because I know how much better a relationship could be with expectations. And that, to me, is why the Lord introduces expectations in chapter 19. It is not to force our hand. It is not to put us back in chains. He set his people free. Why would he want to chain them up again? That's not the goal. Here he is looking and saying, I'm at the point that I want a better relationship with you. And that comes with expectations. Not to course your hand, but to make it a better relationship.
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Yeah. Yeah. And I would say, let's look. Okay, so let's start looking at some of those things. Go back to verse five. If. If you'll let me. Essentially, this is a proposal. Verse 5 is a proposal. And keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me. P.S. the Hebrew of that word, treasure is. Is means it's the private property of a king. It's something that he just. It's his personally. It's not for, you know, used for the kingdom or whatever his. The crown jewels. He's like, I can turn you into a treasure. And verse six, you will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. I can turn you holy. I can turn you into a treasure. I can exalt you. I can. I can make you to become something different. But that's. That's going to require some things. Right.
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As any relationship would. Yeah. And then he's going to look at them and say, so here's how this is going to go. If you are ready for that type of relationship with him, which I think is important.
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How the words even there.
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Yes. And be ready against the third day. I love that he's like, listen, if you really want to be ready for this, if your heart is ready for this, which is a really important thing to realize. Like, I think in a covenant relationship, it's like, have that mindset. Be like, okay, I get choice. Being ready is free will. That is you getting to choose. You want to progress the relationship. Then he looks and he says, okay, in verse 10, you are going to be. You are going to need to be sanctified. You are going to need to take even, like, your cleanliness to another level. And then in verse 12, it says, and you need to set bounds. There's gonna be some things you need to do. You need to be sanctified and you need to set bounds. It says them both in one verse. In verse 23, if that's like, interesting too, to have them together. For some reason in my brain, it just was. I just liked to see that. And I have just been thinking about that so much because it seems like the expectations in the covenant relationship I have with the Lord is the same, is he's gonna look at me and say, I need you to sanctify yourself. I need you to set bounds. And it's interesting to me, those two words set bounds. Because I think so often right now it's like a little bit like. Of like a trend, I think, in relationships to talk about boundaries with people. And I, when I read that, I was like, oh, I wondered, the Lord wants to, like, have boundaries in our relationship? And I was like, oh, of course he does. Because boundaries are what protects the relationship. But it's not boundaries between me and the Lord. It's boundaries about me and everything else in my life. And really, to have the type of relationship with the Lord that he can turn you into the person he dreams of in verse 5 and 6, that he can really take you and transform Your life, there's going to be need. There's going to need to be boundaries in your life to allow him to do that. And I, like, sat down after I read this, and I was like, oh, I wonder what boundaries I need to make in my life to have a better relationship with the Lord.
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That's such a good question.
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Yeah.
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And I. I'm debating. And maybe I will. I'll just give us our word of the week right now, because any of this could. I think when we see this word, we want to remember both sides of this right before we get into some of the details of it. The word is keep. And it comes from Exodus 19, where he just says, if you will keep my covenant. But I love that the word keep means to hedge about, to guard, to protect. So on one end, we are going to kind of protect that relationship, put bounds, hedge it about. But really, it's God who's doing it. God is keeping us. He is hedging about. Guarding, protecting, preserving is what that Hebrew word means. Saving to make sure is what that word means. And that's his intention. Like we talk about, we keep covenants, but it's go. It's. Covenants are a way that God keeps us right. That he's just like in. In this space is where I can exalt you and turn you into a treasure and turn you into a. Into a. Into a holy people.
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And let me just say this, because nothing has changed the way that I've seen the word keep quicker than this. And if you do a lesson on the poster every single week, this. This would be my lesson if I was teaching anyone. Honestly, this would be my lesson is there's that one scene in sandlot. Have we talked about this before?
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No. But you're now.
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Okay. Yeah. No, that's why I felt like maybe we talked about it is there's this one scene in sandlot, and there's this new boy, and he's not really good at baseball. Sandlot's a baseball movie, in case you've never seen it. Which, first of all, that is.
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Should be the 11th.
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It's fine. Everyone stop the video. Stop this video right now. Press pause. And it's a movie about baseball. And it's all these little boys that are, like, on a little baseball team. And one, there's like this new boy, and he's just not very good, and he wants to be on the team. So he shows up at the baseball field and he goes. And he doesn't even have a glove or anything. And he's in the outfield, and he's terrible, and he's not going to catch it. Everyone knows that. And no one on the entire baseball team wants in there, except for one boy, the best boy. And he is like, you know what? I'm going to help you. And he walks right over to the little boy who's terrible at baseball, and he's like, listen, here's what you're going to do. He said, use my mitt. And he gives him the mitt and he puts it on his hand. He's like, you're just going to keep your mitt open. It's going to come right to you. You're going to catch it. It's going to be great. And it just works like magic. And he catches it, and he's so excited. Everyone's like, oh, my goodness, how did that happen? Is the best day of that little boy's. Like, you could just see it on his face. And then they walk home, and they walk home together. And right before the new boy on the baseball team gets to his house, he looks back and he's like, oh, hey, you forgot your glove. Thanks so much for, like, letting me use it. And the. The good boy, like, the cool boy, like, the popular boy, looks back at him. He says, no, go ahead, keep it. And he, like, takes the glove, and you can see on the face, like, on that little boy's face, like, how much that meant to him. And that changed for the rest of my life, the way I see the word keep, especially when it comes to keep the commandments, because in that moment, the word keep, like, that boy was not just gonna let that glove sit on his shelf and forget that it ever happened. That boy was not gonna throw the glove in the garage and just be like, oh, yeah, like, that's. That's important. But, like, not that big of a deal to me. Like, whatever. That boy's not going to throw that. That glove in the garbage. That glove meant everything to that boy. And when he hear the words keep it, he said, I am going to put this on my nightstand so if I wake up in the middle of the night, I can check to make sure it's still there. And it meant everything to him. And to me. That is what I love about this word, keep for us. To God, and God to us, that when he looks and he sees a relationship with us, he says, I'm going to do whatever I can to keep this sacred. And he is going to ask us to do the same thing for no reason other than he knows what we're capable of when we do and treasure it and love it. And I love these words, guard, protect, attend to, observe, preserve, save. That is what that little boy was going to do with the glove. That should teach you everything you need to know about keep the commandments and what it means. But what I was saying is if you were teaching this, I would show that clip. I would look that clip up on YouTube and I would show that clip. And if you are teaching little kids, grown up kids, anyone that you want to talk to about it, it would be so easy to pause it right there and just be like, what do you learn about keeping. Like the. What do you learn about the word keep based on this clip? And they'll have such good insights.
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Yeah, because you keep a treasure. Yes, you do. And in this context, the relationship is the treasure. And God's asking us to keep that relationship, guard that relationship, protect that, use these synonyms and, and. And use the word relationship, preserve that relationship, save that relationship. And. And then it just. That word comes alive. Well, the bounds of that, at least some of them are in chapter 20. And this is the. It's a famous chapter. It's where the Ten Commandments are. And a lot of us are familiar with them. But these are going to be some of the. The. What do you say, the boundaries or whatever. The. What it's going to take for God to exalt these people. Right? To help them reach their potential. And remember, remember. I think we got to remember God wants to use this family to take the rescue story to the world. And so he says, in order to fulfill that purpose, I need to mold you into something. Egypt has molded you into something, and now I need to mold you into something. And that's what these are. But I. My favorite part of chapter 20 is a repeat of what we saw in 19, and it's verse two. He says, I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, thou shalt. Okay, I just think he again gives context for who it is that's asking and who it is that's setting these bounds. The one who set you free, who has your best intentions in mind, is now giving you these commandments. I promise you that they are for your good.
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So, so good. And then he's going to go through and give us the Ten Commandments. And we have learned these since we were kids in primary. Some of us might not be able to name them off the top of your head. It's okay, we're all still learning. It's going to be fine. And you can go through. And I think you can have so many discussions on what does this look like and how do we apply this, and what are the bounds that I have within all of these commandments that I want to make sure to keep my relationship with the Lord. And I think all of those are really good discussions. But what I think is so interesting is that these people are going to get 613 laws within the span of this book. Okay? This is not. Like, these are 10, okay? And, like, you can, like, remember them on your fingers and the, like, hand motions that they teach you in primary now it's going to be helpful. But by the time you get to 613, it's like, oh, my goodness, like, all. Like, I don't even remember the 10. I'm just going to be 100%. I was like, I quiz the other day and I couldn't even think of all of them. I can't even do 10, 613. What's going to happen? I have no idea. That can't be my business, okay? Like, I'm just doing my best. And it just reminds me of that moment in the New Testament when someone goes up to Jesus and just says, what? What's the greatest commandment? And I always think in my head, why would someone ask that? And we know, like, he's like, trying to tempt him and he wants to get Jesus, like, in like, a tricky situation and see what he says. But what I really think is that I, if I ask that question, because I want to say this, I'm kind of overwhelmed and I'm not doing my best, and I slip and I fall, and sometimes I can't do 613 things, and sometimes I can't even do 10. But I'm really, really trying. So what is the most important so that I can make sure, if nothing else, I'm doing that. And Jesus looks back and he just says, oh, easy. Love God, love people. If you're doing that, you're going to be fine. And he says, let me tell you why. Because all 611, or however many there are, we don't even need to put a number on them. However many other commandments there are, you'll be doing them if you make sure you're doing those two things. As long as you're loving God, and as long as you're loving people, the rest are going to fall under that category. And you, I think, like, I did this maybe once in seminaries. I'm Thinking go through all those 10. And sometimes it's a cool discussion to say, like, okay, like, which category does this fall under? Loving God, loving people? Why do you think that? What's your thoughts? How does this love people? How does this love God? And I think those are really cool things to discuss, but I think one of the most tender to me is that that is just bring those that story from Jesus and read it as you go through these and just like, sit down and talk and be like, why do you think Jesus cares so much about us loving God? And why do you think he cares so much about us loving people? And how do all the other commandments fit into that? And I think that there's something to me about the fact that we do have a God that cares, that we have boundaries and that he's going to set bounds and that he's going to give us commandments and he's going to hope that we keep them because he wants to have that level of relationship with us. But he's also going to say, I know what's most important. And if you're doing this and just getting a little better every single day, that's the goal of all of this anyways.
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Yeah, okay, you. So you have the commandments when you get into, we're not going to spend much time in 21 and 22 and 23. But you can read the headings and kind of see, like, oh, he is giving them. Here are the bounds. Here's what it looks like to live as a people who are going to take the rescue story to the world. Right. The word worthy could be translated from scripture as fit for a cause. God is a cause for these people, and I need to sanctify you for that cause. I need to prepare you for that purpose is what he's trying to do. And so we're skipping chapters where he's kind of giving some of those throughout it. And then you get to chapter 24, and we're not going to spend much time on it. But I do think it's a neat chapter to understand that Moses comes down from the mountain who tells everybody, here is what. Here are the. Here are the covenant expectations. And then they all commit to live them. And then once they commit to live them, Moses says, I will return and report. And he goes back up the mountain to go learn more. Right? So it's that same thing that Grace was teaching. Are you ready for this? And that progression of relationship. So 24four shows us that there's a progression to our relationships which I think is sweet that God is just, you're not going to run yet. Let's first learn to take our first steps. Okay? And then he's going to move us through. So seeing chapter 24 helps us understand the nature of those covenants, that we are going to grow into them. I. We have some friends who just had a new baby and were super overwhelmed with having a new baby with some of, you know, about. And I said, don't worry, that baby will essentially sit there for three months.
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It's going to be fine.
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You know, and then they'll start to crawl, and then they'll start to walk, and then they'll start to run, and then they'll start to climb. But there's time. You have time to, like, grow into being a parent. And I love seeing in verse 24 that there are these moments where God says, like, okay, you got these. Okay, can you lift those? Yes. All right, now let's move on to the next ones. And it shows, like, just a. A gentle hand holding through this relationship. Now let's turn to chapter 31, because this is a famous chapter. Oh, by the way, these chapters in between that we're not looking at, these are the instructions for the tabernacle in the wilderness and for probably the ordinances that would be performed there. He's going to give them all the instructions first. And then next time's lesson, we'll talk about the building of it.
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But.
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And so we're going to say that because they kind of feel like a repeat. But these are the instructions first. And then next time we'll build the tabernacle. Okay, so that's all those chapters in between. So 32, we're going to chapter 32. And Moses is up in the mountains. And it says when the people saw that Moses was delayed, that he was up there for 40 days, by the way, they go to Aaron and they say, we want you to make us a God. And Aaron has the idea of everybody takes off your gold jewelry and put it into the fire and we're going to make a golden calf. Now, there's clearly a lot of cultural Old Testament things going on here about why, why they did that, what is going on, what the big deal was. And. Right. All of. All of those things. Simply stated, they just promised they would make no graven images, and then in 32, they make a graven image. So whatever the cultural context is of things that are probably more complicated, and all stories are more complicated than meets the eye. Right? Especially mistake stories. But the fact of the matter is there is a rebellion in chapter 32. There is a mistake in chapter 32. And what we're interested in is how does the Lord respond to people who break their covenant and expectations. And I think that's what's powerful to. To learn here. First, the best verse that's in here is, okay, 22, where he says, these people are set on mischief. And then 24, he said. Aaron said. I said to anybody, if you have any gold, let them break it off. And they gave it to me and I put it into fire and out came this cow. Just like, listen, we did it. We did it. Being too. Which is. Which is sweet. And I think that's actually true. I mean, except for on. On rare occasions, you know, like, there are. I'm. I just. Even though this feels like an excuse, I also want to say to Aaron, listen, same brother, you know, like, there have been mistakes I've made. And, and I. And, and. And the line I want to say, and I babble to get there, like Aaron does, is I, I, I, I. I didn't intend that. I did not intend for that to happen.
- [31:22]
B
Well, and this time, for the first time, like, I don't think you. I can, like, really speak for, like, what these people were really thinking. But it's so interesting to me that they went up to Aaron and they said, hey, can you make us gods that go before us? Because Moses, he was doing that for us. He was getting us revelation from God. But now he's gone. Like, he's been dumb our bread. We're like, we have to forget about him. And I just, like, thought like, oh, like, I wonder if, like, in their heart that, like, actually did seem like a little bit like, good intentions, that they were like, wait, I don't want to be like, I want God to speak to me.
- [31:51]
A
Yeah.
- [31:52]
B
Like, I want to have a chance to do that. Like, what. He's not even doing that for us anymore. And it was like the first time that I paused and like, like, talk a lot of garbage on that. And they were like, they're so dumb. Like, like eight chapters ago. Like, get a hold of yourself. Like, you've got this for at least eight chapters and then say, oh, just humans.
- [32:09]
A
Yeah, right, right. And. And we don't know exactly what's happening. The Lord does wax hot against them. It says in verse 11. And there's an interesting conversation that I think this is worth noting. I read in a. In a Bible commentary this line that verses 11 through 14 is a poetic representation of what God should do, but doesn't. Because the way that it's written is that the Lord is so angry with his people. And then Moses says to him, turn from thy fierce wrath and repent against this evil. Verse 13, Remember Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the covenant that you swore to them, that what you would do with them and their seed, this is their seed. So remember that covenant. And then it says, In 14, the Lord repented of the evil which he had thought to do to his people. This is clearly a poetic conversation. That's a poetic representation of what God should do is grow hot and angry and forget about them. And then Moses reminds them, remember that promise that you made? He's like, oh, yeah, I remember clearly he remembered. The point of this is it's a poetic representation to say God should have just let them go at this point and say, okay, then. Then we're done. You broke it and it's over. And. And I'm. I'm through with you. Instead, he remembers the covenant it. And he keeps that relationship. He cherishes, he treasures that relationship. And he says, a mistake is a mistake. It doesn't mean it's the end of this relationship. Are there consequences? Yes. And I think when they melt down the calf and pour a little bit into drinks and make everybody drink it, that's a. Whether that actually happened or not. Maybe it did. My mom used to maybe drink hazos when I say bad words and bite the soap or whatever this happened. But there are consequences, of course, to breaking our promises, right? There are natural consequences to every single one of those, to mischief. And we see that in this chapter also. But we see the Lord also then saying, but I'm going to forgive that sin. And I think that's what we see in chapter 33.
- [34:30]
B
Absolutely. Because it almost feels like this moment, that chapter 33, it feels like the don't worry, I'm not giving up on you. And after the mistake and after the disaster and after Aaron's feeling guilty and all people are like, oh, my goodness, what. What's next? What's next? What's next? Chapter 33 is a God who doesn't give up actor mistakes, who says, no, we're going to keep going and it's going to be okay. Don't worry.
- [34:54]
A
And can I pause you for a second? And these verses that I wanted to make sure people got at the end of 32, where he says in 29, Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord and that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day you have Sinned a great sin in verse 30. But I will go up unto the Lord, and I shall make an atonement for your sin. Clearly, Moses is becoming this a shadow and a. And a. And a type of Jesus here as this person who negotiates right there. But I love the 29 is similar to what we got in chapter 19. Sanctify yourselves on this day. And consecrate and sanctify can be synonyms with each other. And so I just love that we're coming back. He's coming back. He's like, oh, we come back into this covenant relationship the same way we entered into it. And I just love that he's like, consecrate yourselves today to the Lord. What happened with the cow was yesterday, but today reconsecrate yourself, re. Sanctify yourself and end of 29, that he may bestow a blessing upon you this day. You have not ruined the relationship, and you have not canceled or negated the blessing.
- [36:06]
B
Yeah, it is.
- [36:07]
A
Sorry, no, in the middle.
- [36:09]
B
That's right.
- [36:09]
A
That's oxen.
- [36:10]
B
So that's so good, because it really does feel like it's this. I just like that they're one right after another. And one of my very favorite moments with the Lord happens in chapter 33. It's one that I think about, honestly, all the time in my everyday life, because I Love that. Chapter 32 was a mess. And there was disasters and there was things that needed to be repented of, and there was problems and problems and repentance and sanctification and all sorts of things. And then chapter 33, God says, okay, and now what? Let's keep going. And Moses goes. And verse number nine, he goes into the tabernacle and he starts talking with the Lord. And then you see this in verse 11.
- [36:48]
A
And. And I was gonna say in verse one, there's even. Even, like, go forward words.
- [36:53]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [36:53]
A
People want, okay, depart and go up, hence. Right. Remember, I have. Remember I have a promised land for you.
- [36:58]
B
Yeah.
- [36:59]
A
Yeah.
- [36:59]
B
You didn't. You didn't.
- [37:00]
A
You didn't cancel those. No, wrong word. What word? Am I trying to think?
- [37:06]
B
Yeah, that's correct.
- [37:06]
A
And I'm gonna even send an angel.
- [37:08]
B
That's what I was gonna say. He's like, oh, and just in case you're worried about getting lost, don't worry, I've still got you. Yeah. Also give. Also give and give and give and give. And there is a land.
- [37:17]
A
Sorry.
- [37:18]
B
Yeah.
- [37:18]
A
Go into a landflow. The best blessings are still ahead of you. It's just. It's it's so great. Can. Can I just. Let me throw this in real fast. Can I. Sorry, I meant chapter 20, verse 20. Let's go back for just a second. Because the Lord, the people, when Moses was on the mountain, saw thunderings and lightnings, and they heard the noise of a trumpet, and the mountain was smoking, and they felt like the presence of God was so scary, they don't even want to go up into it because, like, oh, and I love. In 20, Moses said to the people, fear not, for God has come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, and that ye sin not. That sometimes he does things in a manner that help us avoid. He'll speak so harshly against that sin. But Moses's advice is, oh, don't be afraid of him. And we've shown. We've seen today so many reasons not. And then here's some more coming.
- [38:16]
B
So good. And so you have a corruption. No. And keep going and keep going. We're not sad. And then by the time you get to verse 11, it's the sweetest thing that's ever happened in my whole life is the Lord. It says, the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And what I love the very most is that the problems and the messiness of chapter 32 didn't restart the relationship with Moses. It grew it. And then all of a sudden, by chapter 33, the Lord looks at Moses and says, you're my friend. And what happens with a friend is you go through hard things, and sometimes you mess up, and sometimes you have to figure out problems, and sometimes you have to have hard conversations. That is a friendship. Which means that in all of those moments, the Lord doesn't say, that's going to disqualify you from a relationship with me. He says, that's going to turn you into my friend. And sometimes when I'm having a prayer, I'll sit there and I'll start, like, kind of like making my prayer, saying my prayer, and I'll think, like, oh, like, maybe I should bring that up. And, like, my first instinct, he's like, oh, I don't know if I want to get into that. And then that verse comes into my mind, and I just always think of, he spoke. I, like, don't repeat the verse. I'm not great at memorizing verses, but I love to think that the Lord spoke to Moses face to face like a friend. And sometimes it allows me to open my heart up a little more and talk about things that I don't really talk about with any other people. And sometimes it allows me to say, you know what? Like, I want to talk to you like, you are my very best friend. And it's so tender to me that the conversation they have is really, really sweet. You need. You need to make sure that you read chapter 33 and start with verse 9 and go all the way to verse 23. But one of my very favorite parts of it. And you might have a favorite part to do it, but one of my very favorite parts of it is that the Lord looks at him and he says, listen, I know you, and I will go with you. I promise I will. In verse 14, he says, I know everything about you. I've got it. And Moses brings that up to him. He's like, listen, I am going with you because you're my friend. Why would I not go with you? And then it's kind of funny because you get this moment when the Lord speaks face to face with Moses. But then right after that, he's going to go through and in verse 20, say, verse 20 is going to say, you cannot see my face, for no man will see me and live. And it's like, wait a minute, like we just did that. But I think it's so sweet to go right before that and read what the Lord says to Moses, because he says, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. And I will be gracious to whom I'll be gracious to, and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And I think that there are some moments that our conversations with God will be face to face, like he's our friend. And there will be some moments when we can't see him as good. And to me, in those moments, the promise that his goodness will still be there. And if we can't see him, don't worry. Look for his goodness, because it's a promise that you'll find it.
- [41:25]
A
That's so awesome. And I. And remember, that promise is 14. My presence shall go with thee. Is that. It's that kind of quintessential promise. Whenever you see that line, it's almost like the representative promise of all the promises to covenant Israel. It's almost code language for that. And it's so awesome in. In chapter 34, verse 1. I love the way it's written without the JST, where he says, Hew the two stabbed tablets of stone like unto the first. Now, if you read in the JST, we find out that some. There were some things missing from the new tablets that were on that were not on the last tablets. And there is going to be now additional laws and commandments that we're going to get into. I think next time.
- [42:12]
B
Yeah.
- [42:13]
A
Right. Something that we call the Law of Moses. And I love this line from the Doctrine Covenants where it says this. Moses plainly taught this to the children of Israel in the wilderness and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God. But in they hardened their hearts and they could not endure his presence. Therefore he says he took Moses out of their midst and the holy priesthood also. So there were some things that were taken away. But then the next verse is awesome. And the lesser priesthood continued. Continued. And I think we're going to read what it is that he had. Continue. And I love number one, that there's a remaking. It feels like a renewing of the covenant, but in a way that they can keep it. Almost as if, like, oh, you couldn't keep this fullness of the tablets. Let me make two new tablets. And these are ones that you can. And let me put some more guardrails in place to help you do that. You really were in Egypt. I. And a long time. I got you out of Egypt in one night. But it might take the full 40 years to get Egypt out of you. And I'm here for the journey. And let's. Let's create this, what Paul calls a school master. A teacher for you. A teacher version of the law. Training wheels is what he puts on in verse 34. And I think that that's. It's so great. And so he hewed two new tables of stone like unto the first in verse four. Then Moses rose up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai as the Lord commanded him. And he took in his hand the two tables of stone. I love this line. And the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there. I just love that there is this. We weren't ready to meet you up here, Lord. So the Lord will descend down to where you are and give you the laws and commandments that are going to help you to ascend. And then this is one of my favorite verses. And it's also. If you talk to people of the Jewish faith, they say these verses describe the character of the Lord. This is kind of like the John 3:16 of the Old Testament, essentially. And it says this. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed the Lord. The Lord God is merciful, gracious, long suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, that after you read everything that happened, hopefully that is your conclusion, that he keeps mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgressions and sin that will no means clear the guilty, right? But his mercy will be for thousands. And I just think that's, that's a part of what Grace was saying about a relationship, right? There are expectations, and when we break them, there are consequences. But. But we have a God who is merciful and gracious, long suffering and abundant in goodness and in truth, and keeps mercy for thousands and forgiving iniquity. And I, I just think how good is our God is what I think. When, when, when you get to the end of this, even chapters that could feel like we said at the beginning, oh, is this, is this Chains? Is. He's just trying to control and it's like, no, he is trying to keep his treasure. He is trying to protect, to save, to, to preserve and guard the thing that is most precious to him. And that is you and I.
- [45:56]
B
So good.
- [45:57]
A
Yeah. So awesome. Okay, tabernacle next time. And more of the law of Moses gets better and better, y'.
- [46:04]
B
All.
- [46:04]
A
See you next week. If you want to follow along in everything we're doing, you can find us on Instagram at Don't miss this study, at this week's Grace, and at MrDave Butler.
- [46:12]
B
And if you want to subscribe to the app or get our weekly newsletter, all of the information can be found@don'tmissthisstudy.com
- [46:18]
A
See you next week.