Exodus & Leviticus

This morning, as I read the last ten chapters of Exodus and the first ten chapters of Leviticus, I had many thoughts about the first few chapters i was reading and made a mark in my Bible.  Since I've read the Bible through many times, I make a new type of mark each time, especially this years as I've been sharing these insights of Scripture.  At first, I underline a verse or phrase that speaks to me.  Sometimes I write a thought in the margin of my Bible. Then I will put a star beside a verse or phrase.  Then I have circles them. Then I will put a square in the margin of my Bible as it speaks to me.  Now, I am putting a triangle in the margin of my Bible as something speaks to me.  Just letting you know how I do things.  Here are some things (a few) I put a triangle beside of today:   1) Ex. 32:16 tells us of INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE.  "And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven on the tables."  God wrote the ten commandments upon tables of stone.  2) Ex. 32:19 tells us of DESTRUCTION OF SCRIPTURE.  "and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount."  This is what happens IF man is supposed to preserved the inspired scriptures.  Man perverts what he touches! 3) Ex. 34:1 tells us of PRESERVATION OF SCRIPTURE.  "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."  God KEEPS the originals!!  So God simply had another copy made!!  And thus INSPIRATION is God letting man know His Word, and PRESERVATION is God keeping His Word pure for man.  Moses illustrates this truth for us! 4) Ex. 33:2 God said to Moses:  "I will send an angel before thee" (into the land); but in verse 12, Moses says: "See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people:  and thou has not let me know whom thou wilt send with me."  So... God says in verse 14: "My presence shall go with thee.."  and then Moses says in vs. 15:  "If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence."  **God wanted to send an angel to lead Moses, but Moses said he wanted God to lead him, and God answered Moses and said "OK".  Did Moses have a connection with God or what?  5) FACE TO FACE-  Ex. 33:11 "And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend."  Wow!!  But I got to thinking... God speaks to us Heart to Heart by His Spirit that lives in us!!  Wow!! 6) SHINING FACE- Ex. 34:35 "And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone:  and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him."  Moses reflected the glory of God in his face... we too should do the same thing!!  7) Leviticus deals with the offerings and the sins that need a sacrifice.  It is not about the reason for the offerings, but how to do each offering.  You have the burnt offering, the sin offering, the peace offering, the meal offering, the meat offering, and in each case, it is told just how it is to be done.  In Lev. 6:13 it says:  "The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out."  This is representative of the fire of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer.  But, Lev. 10:1, Nadab and Abihu, two sons of Aaron the high priest (Moses' brother) offered "strange fire" before the LORD.  (fire that they started, not God... you see the fire on the altar was fire that God started and man was to keep going.)  When they offered this strange fire before the LORD, verse 2 says:  "And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD."  They were killed!!  Not to me, "strange fire" today is when men, or a church, try to orchestrate the Holy Spirit, or to manipulate a mood in a church thinking that "mood" is the Holy Spirit.  Just because you clap, raise your hands, give God a praise, get worshipful.... doesn't mean that is of God... many times.... it's "strange fire"!!  (Just my humble opinion.) Well, time has come and gone.  So much to say, so little time to say it.  May God bless you today!! Pastor Mike Mutchler