PRAYER - "Confessing Sins"
This is the first occurrence in the Bible of any requirement for confession. After Moses listed several sins, he called for the guilty party to confess his sin. A precedent for all time was set. As a general rule, the priests confessed all Israel's sins when they offered sacrifices. God requires that we acknowledge our wrong-doing. He is more interested in producing righteousness in us than in punishing our wrongs.

Leviticus 5:5 - "And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing."
PRINCIPALS - "The Golden Calf"
While Moses was in the Mount with God, the Israelites prevailed on Aaron to make a golden calf, which they called their god. Their worship was an abomination, and Moses was outraged, crushing the tablets written by the finger of God. God's Spirit planned to dwell in them, but gold makes a bitter god. He made them DRINK it!

Exodus 32:20 - "And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it."
PRINCIPLES - "Fifth Commandment - Honor Father and Mother"
This is the first commandment with a promised blessing. At the very least, your parents have a 15-20 year experience ahead of you. They provided shelter, food and clothing while you were otherwise helpless. But that is only a fraction of countless reasons why we should respect, reverence, esteem, even obey our parents - our elders! Our world would be radically improved if this generation would obey this command.

Exodus 20:12 - "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee."
PROPHECIES - "The Veil"
The veil prevented anyone from entering the Most Holy Place where the Ark of the Covenant was. The veil was blue, purple and scarlet. Blue is the color of water, and red is the color of blood. Purple is the color of royalty - kingship. By the blood of Calvary and the water of baptism, the Son of Man, prince of peace, Jesus, was exalted to royalty - King of Kings.

Exodus 26:31 - "And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made."

PRAYER - "Seeking After Wizards"
God Almighty is the eternal, omnipotent, omniscient Spirit. He is sovereign and able to do exceedingly above anything we can ask. Understandably, He is completely intolerant of those who put their trust in evil spirits of any kind. You can get the help you need from God. If God will not give it, you do not need it and should not want it. Consulting devils is the ultimate slap in God's face.

Leviticus 19:31 - "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God."
PRINCIPALS - "The Stone Tablets"
The first set of the Ten Commandments were hewn and written on stone by God Himself. Moses broke them in rage when he found Israel worshiping the golden calf. God made Moses prepare new tablets and bring them into the mountain where God would again write the law. Those tablets were stored in the Ark of the Covenant for centuries.

Exodus 34:1 - "And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest."
PRINCIPLES - "The Seventh Commandment - No Adultery"

An adulterer is someone who is married, but commits sexual intercourse with someone other than their lawful spouse. Strong's Concordance compares adultery to apostasy. An apostate abandons faith, departing former beliefs. Adulterers abandon wedlock - breaking vows and destroying the basis of matrimony. Since marriage typifies God's relationship with His holy people, an adulterer grievously trespasses against holy principle. The Hebrew language from which "thou shalt not" comes is "lo, lo, lo," which is "no, no, no" or "never, never, never" commit adultery. God says, "NEVER commit adultery."

Exodus 20:14 - "Thou shalt not commit adultery."
PROPHECIES - "The Court"
The tabernacle plan included only one entrance, and that was on the east side. Nearly all the pagan religions worshiped the sun god, facing east. God made them face west when they entered the tabernacle. The single entrance typifies Jesus Christ, the ONLY door of our salvation. There is salvation in no other. We must turn our backs on all other gods.

Exodus 27:13,14 - "...the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three."

PRAYER - "Moses' Fast"
Moses spent forty days in the holy mount, presumably without food. God miraculously engraved the Ten Commandments on stone tablets. Moses descended and found Israel sinfully rioting. He broke the tablets in fury, and returned up the mount for another forty days without food and water - a truly miraculous fast. Ordinarily, no man could attempt that and survive. Nevertheless, his fasting yielded supernatural results. Holy fasting will sanctify you unto God with miraculous results.

Exodus 34:28 - "...he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water."
PRINCIPALS - "Anointed Craftsmen"

God gave Moses explicit instructions for the construction of all artifacts, vessels and furniture in the tabernacle. Better yet, He called specific men into service and gave them powerful anointing to do that work. When God wants a thing done, He will bring it to pass. Jesus' parable of the talents indicates that our abilities multiply as we apply ourselves to fulfill His will. You will do an outstanding job. God will enable you!

Exodus 31:3 - "I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship."
PRINCIPLES - "Third Commandment - Keep His Name Holy"
God demands our respect. He is holy, even beyond our wildest imaginations. He will not tolerate disrespect, sacrilege, mockery, or any kind of insult. God is not mocked. This third commandment instructs us to protect the sacredness of God's name. It is NOT a swear word, nor to be used in making oaths. Be safe. Give maximum honor to the Lord's name.

Exodus 20:7 - "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."
PROPHECIES - "The Golden Candlestick"
Jews call it the Menorah. It was a beaten-gold candlestick with seven branches. Jesus is the light of the world. The oil that burned in the light represents the Holy Ghost of Jesus Christ burning in the seven original New Testament churches. Now, His Spirit fills everyone who will receive it. The candlestick was to burn continuously. This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine.

Exodus 25:37 - "Thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it."

Moses asked to see God's glory, God showed him His "back parts." That could not possibly mean God's back, buttocks or thighs. He is invisible. Moses saw God's past goodness - the Genesis story revealed! 1400 years later, Moses saw the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Exodus 33:23 - "I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen."
PRINCIPALS - "The Law"
God instructed Moses to command the people to eat unleavened bread at the first passover, before escaping Egypt, saying, "that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth."  The bread of God represents His awesome law, which nourishes us all. God's word is our life. Manna from heaven nurtured their bodies, but the Law handed down at Sinai gave life to the nation.

Exodus 31:18 - "And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God."

PRINCIPLES - "Second Commandment - No Idolatry"
Idolatry existed long before Abraham and his descendants worshiped the one, true God. But God will not share His glory with any other. Certainly, nothing man-made, whether carved, molten (molded) or beaten, could ever hear, and know, and respond like the true and living God.

Exodus 20:4-6 - "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them."
PROPHECIES - "The Table of Shewbread"

The second item prescribed for the Tabernacle was the Table of Shewbread, made of shittim wood and overlaid and crowned with gold. It had rings and staves so the priests could carry it when they traveled, and sat past the altar, before the golden candlestick. It ALWAYS contained a loaf of bread for each tribe of Israel. It foreshadowed Jesus Christ, the bread of life. God wanted us to know that there is always bread on His table. Hungry? Jesus will fill you.

Exodus 25:30 - "And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway."

PRAYER - "Hannah's Song"Hannah blessed the LORD after the sorrow of her barrenness and the torment of her enemy was lifted. Her song in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 declares the everlasting truth that God ultimately favors the righteous over the wicked, no matter how present conditions appear.

 

1 Samuel 2:6-9 - "The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. ...He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail."

PRINCIPALS - "The Child Samuel"



Wake Up Call

While the child Samuel ministered to the LORD before the High Priest, God awoke him three times in one night to tell him that Eli would soon be judged severely "because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not." Samuel feared to show Eli the vision, but Eli pressed him. God has often used a child as mightily as any man. Men, take note! You can be replaced.

1 Samuel 3:18 - "And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good."


Heaven's Blessings

PRINCIPLES - "You Cannot Outgive God"

 
After many years of barrenness and sorrow, God gave Hannah a son. But she had vowed to the LORD that she would "give him unto the LORD all the days of his life." That was an unimaginable sacrifice for a mother, but she kept her vow. One day, while visiting her son, Samuel, at the tabernacle, Eli the priest blessed Hannah and her husband. God gave her five more children. God will remember your faithful, sacrificial giving and reward you gloriously.

1 Samuel 2:21 - "And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters."

PROPHECIES - "Death of Hophni and Phinehas"

Eli was the High Priest at the Tabernacle in Shiloh. His sons, Hophni and Phinehas were scandalous, having shameless greed for the offerings, and laying with the women who visited the tabernacle. God sent a messenger to Eli with dreadful judgment. Hophni and Phinehas would die in one day. God would raise up a new high priest (Zadok). Sin cannot prevail indefinitely. God will intervene.
1 Samuel 2:35 - "...I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house."

PRAYER - "Ruth"
One of the most heartwarming stories ever - suffering widowhood and poverty in a godless land, Ruth's heart bound to Naomi, her God-fearing mother-in-law. Word of her loyalty, godly devotion and commitment reached Boaz, who became her redeemer-husband. Greater than any Cinderella story! Ruth became Great-Grandmother to Christ!

Ruth 1:16 - "And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God."


PRINCIPALS - "Micah the Ephraimite"

This story is weird. A woman cursed the thief who took her 1100 pieces of silver. Her son, Micah, confessed to taking them, then returned them. As thanks, she dedicated the silver to make a graven image and molten image. Micah set up a house of gods, and hired a vagabond Levite to be his private priest. But shortly thereafter, travelers stole away both the priest and Micah's idols. Do not waste yourself on unbiblical religion. It is worthless at best, abominable and cursed at worst.

Judges 17:12 - "...Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest."

PRINCIPLES - "Complicated Consequences

You can open the Bible almost anywhere and soon find complicated consequences of someone's foolish behavior. Modern culture promotes a delusion that everyone should be free to do whatever is right in his or her own eyes, but history proves that to be the prescription for social chaos, anarchy and disintegration. The woman in Judges 19 who left her spouse to commit whoredoms precipitated a chain of events that drew 400,000 men into war. Over 65,000 people died before the dust settled.

Judges 19:2 - "And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him..."

PROPHECIES - "Ruth and Her "Hap"

Ruth made an epic consecration to be faithful to Naomi and her God, for which she was profoundly blessed. There is no "happen-stance" with God - no accidents! When Ruth went to the fields of Boaz to glean, it was "her hap" to be there. God was scrupulously leading her to Boaz, and into the bloodline of the Savior of the world.

Ruth 2:3 - "And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech."

PRAYER - "Praying Counsel from Hirelings"

One of the most pathetic stories in the Bible is about a vagabond Levite who hired out his priestly services to a man named Micah. Men from the tribe of Dan ignorantly prayed his counsel, and received phony blessings and fell into idolatrous deception. You will be duped if you trust phony ministries.

Judges 18:5-6 - "And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous. And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD is your way wherein ye go."

PRINCIPALS - "How Gideon Became Jerubbaal"

Gideon's visitor instructed him to place the bread and meat he prepared for him on a rock. The angel touched it with his staff. Instantly, fire consumed it, and the angel vanished. God then commanded Gideon to destroy the local idols and altars to Baal, which he did. Never fear false gods. They are non- existent. Gideon built an altar to the LORD, calling it "Jehovah Shalom," meaning "God is Peace." The locals wanted to kill Gideon, but his father defended him. 

Judges 6:32 - "Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him..."


PRINCIPLES - "Supernatural Confirmations"

After Gideon destroyed Baal-worship, Midianites invaded Jezreel. Blowing a trumpet, Gideon called Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali to war. Laying down a woolen fleece, he prayed, "...if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand." Next morning, he wringed "a bowl full of water" from the fleece. Still, Gideon wanted ANOTHER sign.

Judges 6:39-40 - "...let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night."