THE BOOK OF EXODUS
CHAPTERS 28 - 31
WRITTEN IN STONE LESSON
10 COMMANDMENTS WRITTEN IN STONE STORY
Hello again! It's such a joy to have you at Daily Bread to share
our study of the book of Exodus. Moses has just been given the
plans from God for building His tabernacle. Let's look in and see what God
and Moses will be talking about next.
God told Moses, Aaron and his sons,
Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar will minister to me as priests. You will
make beautiful holy garments for Aaron, and you will tell those people that
I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, to make Aaron's garments, to make
him holy so he may serve me as priest.
The garments they will make will be
a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, an embroidered coat, a turban and a belt.
An intricate description of the garments are in
Exodus 28:5-29.
We have a little Daily Bread Crumb to go along
with the next verse. God said, And you will put in the breastplate of
judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they will be upon Aaron's heart, when
he goes in before the Lord, and Aaron will carry the sins of the children of
Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually. The words Urim and
Thummim stand for the Lights and the Perfections.
WRITTEN IN STONE LAWS
10 COMMANDMENTS WRITTEN IN STONE EXPLANATION
If you've read the phrase
"casting lots" before, Urim and Thummim were used similarly. Although
casting lots was a common practice in biblical times, when Urim and Thummim
were used, they were used to determine the will of God.
Today's versions of casting lots include rolling dice, drawing straws or choosing names out of a
hat but the outcome is considered luck or chance.
With Urim and Thummim ... It was God's will. Samuel used these stones to find out what God's will was
when he went to find Israel's second King ... The Urim and Thummin selected
a shepherd boy named David.
Aaron and his descendents were given
the ministry of priesthood by God. This was an important job, because the
sins of the people and their offerings were brought to the priest, who then
presented the offerings to God for forgiveness.
WRITTEN IN STONE INSTRUCTIONS
10 COMMANDMENTS WRITTEN IN STONE PROCEDURE
There were specific procedures to follow for different things and the priests dedicated their
lives to serving God. They didn't have flocks or herds or grow crops or do
other domestic things. They took care of the tabernacle, kept the incense
and the candlestick burning, the shewbread on the table, and with a
congregation of 600,000 and growing, they had plenty of people to make
sacrifices for and different kinds of sacrifices had different laws.
A supply of pure beaten olive oil, incense, flour, wine and anointing oil had
to always be on hand, wood for burning the sacrifices, maintenance of the
temple itself, not to mention cleansing of the altar, the furnishings and
many other duties were the responsibilities of the house of Aaron.
You can read about the plans for the
ephod, the breastplate, the laws for the priesthood, the laws of sacrifice,
the atonement, and the half shekel offering in Chapters 28 through 30 of the
book of Exodus.
WRITTEN IN STONE METHODS
10 COMMANDMENTS WRITTEN IN STONE TEACHINGS
God told Moses that He blessed certain
of the children of Israel with wisdom of craftsmanship to make all the
things that He commanded Moses in the mount.
The Lord told Moses to tell the Israelites how important it is to keep His Sabbaths. He said, It is
a sign between me and you throughout your generations so you will know that
I am the Lord who blesses you. So keep the Sabbath holy.
Anyone who profanes it will be put to death. Anyone who does any work on the
Sabbath, that soul will be cut off from among his people. It will be
observed as an everlasting covenant. In six days the Lord made Heaven and
earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed.
WRITTEN IN STONE SUMMARY
10 COMMANDMENTS WRITTEN IN STONE CONCLUSION
And when God was finished talking to
Moses on mount Sinai, He gave him two tables of testimony, tables of stone,
written with the finger of God. After all Moses had been through, bringing
these precious stones back to God's people must have been a great honor to
Moses.
To lead God's people out of the bondage of Egypt was a laborious yet
worthwhile feat, but this ... presenting to God's children His law, written
with God's own hand, must have felt like a reward that could never be
matched. We'll find out what happens when Moses comes down from mount Sinai
to embrace God's people when we come back again with more Daily Bread.
CONTINUE TO THE NEXT STUDY
Spirit of Truth
