Daily Scripture Reading Exodus 31:6 - 32:6
Christians tend to rank God’s commands. We think murder, adultery, and idolatry are grave offenses. Meanwhile, we treat other commands as of lesser importance and not a serious offense if we violate it.
Today, we will read the punishment for working on the sabbath. It was quite severe and warns us that perhaps we should not rank God’s commands. Perhaps every single one of God’s commands is vital and needs to be taken very seriously.
The book of Exodus contains many instructions about how to build the tabernacle and everything in it. Chapter 31 gives direction on who was to build it. Yahweh called a man named Bezalel, who was filled with the Spirit of God and had the skill and wisdom necessary to perform the work.
Ex. 31:6 And behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are wise at heart I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded you:
Notice the name “Oholiab”. He was appointed alongside Bezalel.
Look at the pronoun “they”. In addition to Bezalel and Oholiab, there were multiple people who had wisdom and skill to create the parts that made up the tabernacle.
Ex. 31:7 the tent of meeting, and the ark of testimony, and the mercy seat upon it, and all the furniture of the tent,
Ex. 31:8 the table also and its utensils, and the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense,
Ex. 31:9 the altar of burnt offering also with all its utensils, and the laver and its stand,
Ex. 31:10 the woven garments as well, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, with which to minister as priests;
Ex. 31:11 the anointing oil also, and the fragrant incense for the holy place, they shall make them according to all that I have commanded you.”
Ex. 31:12 ¶ Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Ex. 31:13 “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall surely keep My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am Yahweh who makes you holy.
Don’t miss the phrase “speak to the sons of Israel”. The command in this verse was addressed to the Israelites and no one else.
Take note of the word “sign”. Keeping the Sabbath was a sign between Yahweh and the Israelites. It is not a sign between God and Christians.
Ex. 31:14 Therefore you shall keep the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.
Ponder the penalty for breaking the sabbath. The penalty was death. That is a harsh penalty for an offense which feels minor.
Christians tend to rank God’s commands on a scale from not a serious offense to a grave offense. We think murder, adultery, idolatry, and stealing are grave offenses which need to be dealt with. Meanwhile, other commands are treated flippantly as if it doesn’t matter whether we obey them or not.
It seems that the command to rest on the sabbath would be a command that is not as critical as the command against murder and adultery. However, the consequence for violating the sabbath was death. Therefore, perhaps we should not assume some of God’s commands are less vital than others. Every sin, no matter how slight, is an offense against God.
Ex. 31:15 Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to Yahweh; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death.
Ex. 31:16 So the sons of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant.’
Ex. 31:17 It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.”
Look at the word “forever”. The sabbath is an eternal sign between God and Israel. That means it is still a sign between Yahweh and Israel today.
Ex. 31:18 ¶ When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.
Artistic renderings of this event often depict the tablets as being several inches thick, ten inches wide, and around 14 inches tall. Two tablets that size would have been extremely heavy. It may be more accurate to picture them as being the dimensions of a paperback book, less than an inch thick.
Ex. 32:1 ¶ Then the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain. So the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Arise, make us gods who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
This is an astounding event. This was less than a year after Yahweh had performed all the signs and miracles that freed the Israelites from slavery, brought them safely through the Red Sea, and provided food and water in the wilderness. And yet the Israelites wanted Aaron to make gods for them.
Ex. 32:2 And Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”
Ex. 32:3 Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.
Ex. 32:4 And he took this from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
The calf was something the Israelites could see. They could also control it.
Humans have difficulty believing in a God they cannot see. Furthermore, humans want to be their own boss. We don’t want to obey God, we want to do what we want to do. This is reflected in the actions of the Israelites. They created a god they could see and one that could not give them any commands.
Ex. 32:5 And Aaron looked and built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to Yahweh.”
Notice the name “Yahweh”. Aaron was certainly culpable in this idolatry, but we need to give him a little credit for at least trying to move the focus back onto Yahweh.
Ex. 32:6 So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink and rose up to play.
Christians tend to rank God’s commands on a scale from not a serious offense to a grave offense. We think murder, adultery, idolatry, and stealing are grave offenses which need to be dealt with. Meanwhile, other commands are treated flippantly as if it doesn’t matter whether we obey them or not.
It seems that the command to rest on the sabbath would be a command that is not as critical as the command against murder and adultery. However, the consequence for violating the sabbath was death. Therefore, perhaps we should not assume some of God’s commands are less vital than others. Every sin, no matter how slight, is an offense against God.
What are some of God’s commands that modern Christianity treats flippantly?
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”