Exodus Part 7

Intro

name some things that are priorities

we often do not think about the real priorities in our lives due to our luxurious situation in the world

sometimes its important to realize the difference between the beneficial luxuries of our lives and the things neccessary for living

Laws and Sabbath

in this big long list of laws and commands we talked about last week

forming a society from a large group of wandering escaped slaves

Sabbath is a critical command in all of this, to rest and remember that God made all of this for good, made you for good

tablets of stone given to be a record for the people to turn to

Golden Calf

the people are tired of waiting

fickle and impatient when missing direction and discipline

make us something to be devoted to

possibly a symbol of celebration, the rings from their ears turned into the calf

make an image to worship our freedom its self, rather than listen to the command of the one who gave the freedom in the first place

much like the chair, the people still haven’t learned this lesson about what a God truly is

they want something easy, tangible, moldable to my will and whim

the truth is that isn’t what God is like and the Israelites will learn this the hard way just like the Egyptians

Application

renew your priorities

its easy to devote yourself to things other than God in this life

there are so many things that are much easier to be in control of

easier to see and mold and bend to look more like what I want rather than the good I was made for and that creation was meant to be

when we devote ourselves to those other things, no matter how beneficial they may seem

when we neglect to rest as commanded over and over again, not remembering the creator and his purpose

we seek after contentment and fulfillment and peace and joy, but don’t ever find them

a life devoted to creation rather than creator will end in disappointment, even for the most successful by the scale of the world

don’t trick yourself into believing that God desires anything other than selfless devotion to him