The Book of Ruth

The Book of Ruth is a reminder to all of us that even if we don't hear from God on a daily basis, or understand what God is doing - God still has a vision and a plan for how our lives should be lived and even the impact that we can make in ways that we don't truly understand or see.

Although you never read about God instructing people to do things, like He did with Moses, Joshua, Caleb, and the Judges... you see people acting on faith based upon the laws that God set forth.

God allows for provisions of the poor and the widows by allowing them to glean the fields (Deut 24:19)

God also made a provision for the "kinsman redeemer" - where a relative could preserve the inheritance of a deceased family member - which results in Ruth being related to King David who establishes the King lineage that Jesus fulfills.

The important thing in this is that regardless of whether or not God speaks to you - we have His words and His promises, which He will always hold true. Let us struggle to be like Ruth, and not understand the benefit of the promises that God has made as well as struggle to follow God's plan... even if we don't hear Him speaking directly to us. God honors the plan that He has established, and it still hasn't changed today.

The Book of Judges

Judges is a very difficult book for me to read. In a lot of ways, when I read this book, parts of it mirror my life while other parts mirror the lives of people that I previously had served God with.

Moses has died. Joshua has died. The two strong leaders that the people had looked for in order to understand what God wanted them to do were no longer around. It's as if the people never had to worry about inquiring about God for themselves because they had strong leaders who were there to tell them and correct them.

With the death of these two iconic figures, and a new land things begin to fall apart.

God pleads with the people to be obedient. He tells them that if they will just serve Him, He will honor His promises, but warns them of the consequences of disobedience:

Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. And they called the name of that place Bochim. And they sacrificed there to the LORD.
(Judges 2:1-5 ESV)

God asks for obedience, instead - they give a sacrifice. The result of not wanting to invest personally, a whole generation arises that doesn't even know who God is!

And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel.
(Judges 2:10 ESV)

That's when the cycle begins. When people are oppressed, the cry out and God brings a judge to bring peace. As long as there is a judge in the land, the people seem to try to follow God.

The thing I like about the book of Judges is that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary thing. Just like today - if we just listen to what God is asking us to do, we - just like the judges can do wonderful things to advance the kingdom of God!

The people in the book of Judges struggle just like the people today. They can't see God - they need someone to "stand in His place" and hold them accountable.  An example of this is with a judge named Gideon. The people begged him to rule over it. Gideon realized what the true problem was and told the people:

 “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.”
(Judges 8:23 ESV)

Too many times, we as Christians look at our Pastors, Evangelists, and Ministers like we want them to rule over us - to tell us what to do. God desires to lead and to rule over each of us.


Judges is a pivotal book in the Bible, because from this point on people no longer think of God first. God still is true to His promises, but the people no longer serve God or pursue Him on their own.


Judges ends with this verse:


"In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." Judges 21:25


Honestly, that's no different than what we see on a regular basis - everyone is doing what's right in their own eyes.


Let us struggle to learn the lessons that have been taught in the Bible, and let's not live a life wandering in circles looking for the next great speaker or writer to stir our hearts to follow after them... I mean God. Let us understand that we have a priest and a king, named Jesus and let us do what's right in His eyes.


Amen 

Joshua - Struggle to be faithful

The book of Joshua begins with God giving a command to Joshua.


“Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. (Joshua 1:2 ESV)


It's as if God is saying, you have looked at man for too long. Remember, I am your king. Moses, was my servant. Don't mourn - go to the land that I have given to you - because I remember my promises.

During this time, God shows himself to be mighty. He makes the sun stand still, walls miraculously come down around the city of Jericho. The people seem to be unstoppable as they remember the laws of God.

The thing that gets me about the book of Joshua is not how God miraculously shows how invested He is in fulfilling His promises, it's the final speech that Joshua gives. It's as if man constantly is forgetting about God. Even though there a whole nation seemingly forgets about God, there are usually a few people that God points out that struggle to keep God in the forefront of their mind. No further thoughts are necessary. I want you to read what Joshua tells the people and see if there is anything you can learn from his attitude that will help you in your Christian struggle.


Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac. And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and afterward I brought you out.
“‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. And when they cried to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness a long time. Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, but I would not listen to Balaam. Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand. And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand. And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’
“Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods, for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”
But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.” Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.

(Joshua 24:1-28 ESV)

Deuteronomy - struggling to keep God first...

Deuteronomy, commonly called the 5th book of Moses starts differently than the other books. Previously, we see Moses telling us what God said pretty much without commentary. Here, it seems like there is this familiarity with God and the story starts changing into what Moses did, then what God did.

"At that time I said to you, I am not able to bear you by myself. The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven. May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he promised you! How can I bear by myself the weight and burden of you and your strife?" Deuteronomy 1:9-12

Although God was with them, and God set up His dwelling place with the people, and God led the people with fire by night and a cloud during the day, and God dealt with the rebellion of Korah (Numbers 16), and God gave the people manna and quail to eat... the story subtly changes to being centered around how man feels.

Now, some will say that the first 3 chapters were recounting the history of their journey in the wilderness. That's okay. The Bible is still God's story, and it represents to me the same struggle that we have: the challenge  in our lives is to remember to keep God first.

Deuteronomy 6 returns with the strongest statement about how man should react to God:

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Before Moses dies, he writes a song, or a psalm in Deuteronomy 32. I know it's a little long... but Moses knew God. God says that He spoke to Moses face to face. He didn't use dreams that needed interpretation - God spoke to Moses clearly. This song - is from the perspective of someone that had the closest relationship with God since Adam. Take a moment and reflect. I'm sure you will see the recurring struggle that man has with remembering to keep God first throughout.

As we read this, let's spend time this week really wondering if we keep God first.

  “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak,
and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
May my teaching drop as the rain,
my speech distill as the dew,
like gentle rain upon the tender grass,
and like showers upon the herb.
For I will proclaim the name of the LORD;
ascribe greatness to our God!
“The Rock, his work is perfect,
for all his ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
just and upright is he.
They have dealt corruptly with him;
they are no longer his children because they are blemished;
they are a crooked and twisted generation.
Do you thus repay the LORD,
you foolish and senseless people?
Is not he your father, who created you,
who made you and established you?
Remember the days of old;
consider the years of many generations;
ask your father, and he will show you,
your elders, and they will tell you.
When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,
when he divided mankind,
he fixed the borders of the peoples
according to the number of the sons of God.
But the LORD's portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted heritage.
“He found him in a desert land,
and in the howling waste of the wilderness;
he encircled him, he cared for him,
he kept him as the apple of his eye.
Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
that flutters over its young,
spreading out its wings, catching them,
bearing them on its pinions,
the LORD alone guided him,
no foreign god was with him.
He made him ride on the high places of the land,
and he ate the produce of the field,
and he suckled him with honey out of the rock,
and oil out of the flinty rock.
Curds from the herd, and milk from the flock,
with fat of lambs,
rams of Bashan and goats,
with the very finest of the wheat—
and you drank foaming wine made from the blood of the grape.
“But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked;
you grew fat, stout, and sleek;
then he forsook God who made him
and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.
They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods;
with abominations they provoked him to anger.
They sacrificed to demons that were no gods,
to gods they had never known,
to new gods that had come recently,
whom your fathers had never dreaded.
You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you,
and you forgot the God who gave you birth.
“The LORD saw it and spurned them,
because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.
And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them;
I will see what their end will be,
for they are a perverse generation,
children in whom is no faithfulness.
They have made me jealous with what is no god;
they have provoked me to anger with their idols.
So I will make them jealous with those who are no people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
For a fire is kindled by my anger,
and it burns to the depths of Sheol,
devours the earth and its increase,
and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
“‘And I will heap disasters upon them;
I will spend my arrows on them;
they shall be wasted with hunger,
and devoured by plague
and poisonous pestilence;
I will send the teeth of beasts against them,
with the venom of things that crawl in the dust.
Outdoors the sword shall bereave,
and indoors terror,
for young man and woman alike,
the nursing child with the man of gray hairs.
I would have said, “I will cut them to pieces;
I will wipe them from human memory,”
had I not feared provocation by the enemy,
lest their adversaries should misunderstand,
lest they should say, “Our hand is triumphant,
it was not the LORD who did all this.”’
“For they are a nation void of counsel,
and there is no understanding in them.
If they were wise, they would understand this;
they would discern their latter end!
How could one have chased a thousand,
and two have put ten thousand to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
and the LORD had given them up?
For their rock is not as our Rock;
our enemies are by themselves.
For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom
and from the fields of Gomorrah;
their grapes are grapes of poison;
their clusters are bitter;
their wine is the poison of serpents
and the cruel venom of asps.
“‘Is not this laid up in store with me,
sealed up in my treasuries?
Vengeance is mine, and recompense,
for the time when their foot shall slip;
for the day of their calamity is at hand,
and their doom comes swiftly.’
For the LORD will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants,
when he sees that their power is gone
and there is none remaining, bond or free.
Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods,
the rock in which they took refuge,
who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let them rise up and help you;
let them be your protection!
“‘See now that I, even I, am he,
and there is no god beside me;
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
For I lift up my hand to heaven
and swear, As I live forever,
if I sharpen my flashing sword
and my hand takes hold on judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
and will repay those who hate me.
I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword shall devour flesh—
with the blood of the slain and the captives,
from the long-haired heads of the enemy.’
“Rejoice with him, O heavens;
bow down to him, all gods,
for he avenges the blood of his children
and takes vengeance on his adversaries.
He repays those who hate him
and cleanses his people's land.”
(Deuteronomy 32:1-43 ESV)

So what?

"So what?" was the big question when I was a kid. In the middle of an argument among friends, when a truth that hit too close to home you would say "So what?" It's an important question. What does it matter? What's the impact? Why should I even bother to think about what you're saying.

As we get older, we lose sight of this 2 word phrase. I believe this phrase has a place in Christianity.

When we read the Bible, we need to ask the question - "So what?"

• What is God trying to say?
• What impact is this going to have on my life?
• Why is this important to me?
• What message is God trying to say about himself?

So what?

For the last 2 days, the following verse has been ringing in my head:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2 ESV)

No commentary necessary. Just reflect on what God is saying. If you're so inclined, leave a message about what this is saying to you.

Numbers - When obedience changes, you rarely notice the impact until it's too late.

I never really spend much time in the Book of Numbers when I was younger. It never really made sense in the grand scheme of the Bible. Count the people, give them jobs. But then I started looking at it from the perspective that the Bible isn't an action narrative, God has a plan and He is trying to show us something.

The first 6 chapters is a lesson on obedience. Within the first 2 verses of the first 5 chapters "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying" appears. God spoke. Moses did.

In the middle of their journey to Canaan, the promised land, God stops the people in the middle of nowhere to take a census and to set up His temple. The important lesson in that is that God makes Himself a priority over our journey or what we think we need to do.

At the end of Leviticus, we see God making promises to His people, like

You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. (Leviticus 26:3-13)

God tells Moses to send spies into Canaan, and only 2 come back and say that it is possible to take the land. (Leviticus 13:30)

Despite everything that God has done, the people rebel because of fear (Numbers 14:1-11)

Then God makes a declaration about who He is, and a warning to those who don't believe that He will do as he promises:

  But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it.
(Numbers 14:21-23 ESV)

   The sad thing about the book of Numbers is a cycle that you see over and over again in the Bible and in peoples lives. God does something amazing. The people forget and go their own way.

   A book that starts in obedience, and an amazing count of the number of people that left Egypt ends with a small number of people actually seeing the promise with their own eyes due to disobedience.

   Let us struggle to listen to what God says and remain obedient.

Leviticus

Leviticus starts off with 5 major offerings so the people will keep God in their remembrance.

I am not a theologian. As a person that reads the Bible and tries to understand the nature of God, I write in the context of what the Bible says to me about who God is. I want to know Him for myself. I encourage you to read as well - see what God is saying to you and how this is suppose to impact your life.

1. Burn Offering - The burnt offering is a complete and total offering that is to be given to God. Nothing is left over once the burnt offering is given. It's kind of like giving everything to God for His pleasure. Nothing is left over at all. 3 times when talking about this offering it says "the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, as a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord." Leviticus 1:9, 13, 17
2. Grain Offering - The grain offering underscores the importance that God holds for those who dedicate themselves for service towards him. "And the priest shall take from the grain offering its memorial portion and burn this on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. But the rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the Lord's food offerings. Leviticus 2:9-10; 16. 
3. Peace Offering - "The fat in ancient Israel represented the very best part of the animal. The fat would be like filet mignon, i.e., the most succulent and savory part of the animal. To present this to the Lord was a way of acknowledging that He was the One worthy of most honor. (Crossway - ESV Bible Commentary) It seems like every offering given, was given with the idea that it would be totally given to God. There was no idea of partial giving. It was definitely an all or nothing proposition. And all of this is a "food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord." Leviticus 3:5; 11, 16
4. Sin Offering - This offering sets the groundwork that by ourselves it is impossible to please God. it starts off by saying "If anyone sins unintentionally..." Leviticus 4:2. If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally..." Leviticus 4:13. "When a leader sins, doing  unintentionally..." Leviticus 4:22. "If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally..." Leviticus 4:27. It's as if God knows that it is hard for people to keep His laws in mind. He made a way for the priest to intercede. "And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed, and he shall be forgiven." Leviticus 4:20,26,31,35. To show the consistency of God, Hebrews 4:14-15 -Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."
5. Guilt Offering - The thing that stands out to me here is that even if we do something wrong to our "neighbor" it has an impact on our relationship with God. Restitution must be made to God, because it is His story. "If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robber, or if he has oppressed his neighbor or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely - in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby - if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found or anything which he has sown falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and it given to him whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt." Leviticus 6:1-5 But it doesn't stop there! "And he shall bring to the priest as a compensation to the Lord a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent for a guilt offering." Leviticus 6:6

All of this was so that God's people would know this one key thing:

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. (Leviticus 19:1-2 ESV)

All of this comes with a promises both good and bad:

“If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land. You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you. You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new. I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect. (Leviticus 26:3-13 ESV)

“But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, with wasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies. Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you. And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins, and I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. And your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield its increase, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit.

(Leviticus 26:14-20 ESV)

Let's remember that all of our actions have an impact on our relationship with God. Let's try in all areas to understand how God is involved in all of our actions, and although we are not required to keep all of these offerings, we still have a High Priest who intercedes on our behalf. Let's be thankful that God cares about how we live, and let us struggle to live in a way that brings God glory and honor.

Exodus

Exodus begins with the descendants of Abraham living in captivity. Their numbers had grown, just as God had promised, but they were being oppressed.

God always keeps His word.

During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and remembered his covenant with Abraham and with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel - and God knew. Exodus 2:23-24 ESV

Many times when we read Exodus, we focus in on what Moses did. We need to remember that the Bible is God's story.

God spoke to Moses and said to him, I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. I established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Exodus 6:2-5

God goes further to say "I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. Exodus 6:6-7

God does many miracles to demonstrate to His people that He is a mighty God. They see the plagues that fall upon the Egyptians. The miraculously cross the Red Sea. God provides water... from a rock.

God also give the people 10 rules to live by - we call them the 10 Commandments.

1. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
3. “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
4. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
5. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
6. “You shall not murder.
7. “You shall not commit adultery.
8. “You shall not steal.
9. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”  (Exodus 20:4-17 ESV)

5 laws that govern how we should interact with God. 5 laws to govern how we interact with others. Love is the thing that binds these two together. Lover God, love each other.

Exodus ends with God Himself making a presence with His people to lead them into Canaan.

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

(Exodus 40:34-38 ESV)

God's desire has always been to be with the people that He created. Sometimes, we get so caught up in our own world that we forget that. Going into the weekend, let's remember that our God doesn't dwell in a tent that we can't enter. He dwells in our hearts in the person of His Holy Spirit.