Today's Reading and Stuff -- Saturday, 10 February 2018

Double digits on the date.  Progress!  39° here now, which is the "high" for the day.  But, we're now at 10 hours 26 minutes of "day", with tomorrow set to be 2 minutes 28 seconds longer.  Making more progress.  An 11 hour "day" in just a few weeks.   Trying to be positive.
38 days until Spring.

We were on schedule to go over to Wife's nephew's place this morning and "watch" their kids.  Mom and next-door niece are doing a craft show today, and he works weird hours so he needed to get some sleep.  Alarm went off around 06:00 and we started to get up and dressed, when we got a message from him.  He got off work early last night (home around 01:00) so he got some sleep and we didn't need to come.  So, we're staying in.    Yes, it's above freezing today (by about 7 degrees, for a little while) but it's not exactly June weather.  Wife's all congested and not exactly energized.
The boy cats are both still sick with something.  We stumbled on some antibiotics that are intended for pets, so now Wife is scheming a way to get them to take them.    I suggested a visit to the taxidermist but that was not viewed as an acceptable course of action.  Made sense to me.



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Today, Exodus 31 and 32

Check out what's being said in 31.  We sometimes pay lots of attention to the big names of the faith.  The Pauls, the DL Moodys, the Billy Grahams, and so forth.  They have been mighty for the Lord, and that's a good thing.
But in truth, so much of the Lord's work is being done in quiet corners.  The ones who reach out to the lonely and lost, the ones who toiled in back rooms translating Scripture into other languages.  Those who sit by the bedsides of the ill, and tell the families of the love of the Lord.  And a million more.  The Lord has a role for each one of us, and the mention here of Bezaleel reminds us that those who work with their hands, using the skills the Lord provided, are equally able to serve His purposes.  To quote the Bible Gateway, Bezaleel [Bēzăl'eel]— under god’s shadow. 1. The chief architect of the Tabernacle to whom was assigned the design and execution of its works of art.  He was faithful and skilled in his particular calling.  As we all should be.

Exodus 32 is also compelling.  How quickly we forget what the Lord has done, right before our eyes!  The same people who had seen the Lord's judgments against Egypt, who had been led out of slavery, who had crossed the sea on dry land, who had been provided manna for food and water from the rock in the desert, were willing, eager even, to forget the Lord and to follow their own follies.  Sadly, that sin did not die out with them.
And there is a contrast here.  Moses came down from the mountain, bringing the Law.  And the result was THREE THOUSAND dead!  A terrible thing.  The stench of the body of just one person is awful.  I know.  Three thousand in a limited space would be ghastly, an odor of sin and death.
Now contrast this with the account in Acts 2:41.  The Spirit fell upon the gathering.  And many were saved.  How many?  THREE THOUSAND.  Coincidence?  Remember 2nd Corinthians 3:4-6.  Yes, "the law killeth, but the Spirit giveth life".  True.

Exodus 31

 1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:

3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,

4 To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,

5 And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.

6 And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;

7 The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle,furniture: Heb. vessels

8 And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense,furniture: Heb. vessels

9 And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot,furniture: Heb. vessels

10 And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office,

11 And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.

12 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.

14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.holy: Heb. holiness

16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

Exodus 32

 1  And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

2  And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.

3  And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

4  And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

5  And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord.

6  And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

7  And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:

8  They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

9  And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:

10  Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.

11  And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?the Lord: Heb. the face of the Lord

12  Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.

13  Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.

14  And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

15  And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.

16  And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.

17  And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.

18  And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.being…: Heb. weakness

19  And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.

20  And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.

21  And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?

22  And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.

23  For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

24  And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.

25  And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)their enemies: Heb. those that rose up against them

26  Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

27  And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.

28  And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.

29  For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day. 

30  And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.

31  And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.

32  Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin―; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

33  And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

34  Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.

35  And the Lord plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.