Exodus 33 - 39

Synopsis of Sept. 16 Dinner & Discussion
Exodus 33-39

After the shameful golden calf incident, Moses intercedes for Israel. So rather than killing them all, God had a few thousand killed by the sword and a bunch more by a plague. Moses asks to see God's glory and things get a little trippy. Technically, Moses gets to see God in a roundabout way. Moses heads back up the mountain for another forty days while God writes the covenant down again, since Moses smashed the original tablets.

A notable verse from this section comes from chapter 34:6 - God passed in front of Moses and said, "I am the Lord, I am the Lord, the merciful and gracious God. I am slow to anger and rich in unfailing love and faithfulness. I show this unfailing love to many thousands by forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. Even so, I do not leave sin unpunished..."


Chapters 35 through 39 recount the actual building of the tabernacle. The people are given a list of everything that is needed for the tabernacle and they proceed to bring those things joyfully. 35:21-22 "All whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved came and brought their sacred offerings to the Lord.... Both men and women came, all whose hearts were willing." Eventually they are told to stop bringing gifts because there is more than enough for the project. One question that came up: When was the last time you heard a church or pastor say, "Stop giving because we've got more than enough"?

Next time, we're going to pick up in Chapter 40. We're almost through with Exodus and then its on to Leviticus. Leviticus is where most people come to a grinding halt. Or they stop because of the amount of blood involved. Our next Dinner and Discussion will be on Sept. 30 at 6 pm.