Month: February 2026

Exodus 25:36 The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.

Today finds me thinking about menorahs, their history, their symbolism. Commentary says modern menorahs are modeled after this description in Exodus.

Exodus 25:37 “Then make its seven lamps and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it.

Menorahs make me think of candle light, and I have always loved the soft glow of candle light and the hope cast by the tenuous, wavering flame.

Exodus 25:38-39 Its wick trimmers and trays are to be of pure gold. A talent of pure gold is to be used for the lampstand and all these accessories. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for the connections that occur when I focus on Your word and let my mind wander. And thank You for the tenuous, wavering flame of hope that can only come from You. Draw me closer. Amen.

Exodus 25:40 See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 25:31 “Make a lampstand of pure gold. Hammer out its base and shaft, and make its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms of one piece with them.  

Once again I find myself ready to be finished with this laundry list of golden specificity. But my Lenten practice this year is to try to be mindful of the little things–a bird hidden in the branches, a cat chasing a squirrel up a tree, bright green daffodil shoots boldly sprouting up in a patch of brown leaves, and I am reminded that there is beauty in the details.

Exodus 25:32 Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other.

My dad loved to drive. For him, it was all about the journey. I don’t mind driving, but for me, it’s about the destination. I want to get there. But that mindset often leads me to miss all those beautiful little details that are present along the way. 

Exodus 25:33 Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for the reminder to slow down so I can see the beauty in the details of life. Help me to breathe, to focus, and not to rush. I know that if I look for You, I will see You everywhere. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 25:34-35 And on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair—six branches in all.

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 25:26 Make four gold rings for the table and fasten them to the four corners, where the four legs are. 

My knee-jerk reaction, once again, is frustration with all the specifics and all the gold. But I know to dig deeper when I have a strong reaction. So I did some googling on symbolism. First, the symbolism of acacia wood in the Bible, which “symbolizes incorruptibility, durability, and the humanity of Christ due to its strength, resistance to decay, and common availability in the Sinai wilderness.”

Exodus 25:27 The rings are to be close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table. 

Gold in the Bible symbolizes “divine glory, holiness, purity, and refined character, …[and] the majesty of God, royalty, and supreme value.” Bread in the Bible symbolizes “God’s provision, life-sustaining nourishment, and the presence of God”. Viewed through the lens of symbolism, these elements make sense. They don’t feel like a list of demands by a demanding God.

Exodus 25:28 Make the poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold and carry the table with them. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for teaching me to lean in when I feel a knee-jerk reaction. Thank You for allowing me, when I do lean in, to see You, to know You, to understand You more. Help me to use this knowledge to draw closer to You. Always. Amen.

Exodus 25:29-30 And make its plates and dishes of pure gold, as well as its pitchers and bowls for the pouring out of offerings. Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before me at all times.

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 25:21 Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law that I will give you. 

The God of the Old Testament often seems to me cold, demanding, and unforgiving, a far cry from the Jesus I know and love, who loves me, faults and all. These incredibly precise measurements for the Ark of the Covenant are a case in point–rules, measurements, precision–logic, not love. 

Exodus 25:22 There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.

Then I come across nuggets like this from commentary: “…even before God gave Moses the tablets of the Ten Commandments, God made provision for Israel’s failure under the law.” These glimpses of a God who fiercely loves His creations, knows they will go astray and provides a way back to Himself, that’s the Old Testament God I’d like to know better. 

Exodus 25:23-24 “Make a table of acacia wood—two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it. 

Precious Savior, Thank You that You love me fiercely, deeply, completely. Thank You that even though the Old Testament God feels cold and distant, there are glimpses of the loving Father I know there. Help me to draw closer, always. Amen.

Exodus 25:25 Also make around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim.

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 25:14-15 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it. The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed.

Personally, I love a good, detailed plan. It is easy to follow, easy to carry out, simply follow the steps. Honestly, good plans are significantly less messy than dealing with people, who are unpredictable and complicated. 

Exodus 25:16-17 Then put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law, which I will give you. “Make an atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.

But what I’ve just said assumes a dichotomy, an either/or. Either I am following the plan OR I am dealing with people. Life is often both. And we have to be able to deal with both carefully laid out details AND messy, changeable humans.  

Exodus 25:18-19 And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. 

Precious Savior, Your laws and rules and directions don’t mean that we can simply follow them to the exclusion of all the people that are part of this world. It’s easy to say, “I can’t deal with you because I have to follow these carefully laid out steps,” but that’s a copout and not at all what You intended for Your children. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 25:20 The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover.

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 25:10 “Have them make an ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. 

When reading today’s scripture, my mind goes immediately to Aruthur Miller’s The Crucible, to Reverend Parris’s desire to have gold candlesticks and not pewter because it would increase his reputation (not God’s). I think of all the money and resources that have gone into making ornate religious edifices instead of into helping God’s people. 

Exodus 25:11 Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. 

Clearly, I’m dealing with some cynicism, but my knee-jerk reaction prompts me to slow down and dig deeper. There’s more here than meets the eye. God has brought His people out of Egypt and is reminding them of who they are–His people. There is much symbolism to the gold used here. There are reasons if I’m willing to look for them.

Exodus 25:12 Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for the reminder to slow down, to go beyond my cynical knee-jerk reaction, to dig deeper, to look further, to read and study and consider. Thank You for meeting me here each morning, for drawing closer as I study Your word. Thank You. Amen.

Exodus 25:13 Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 25:1-2 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give. 

My knee-jerk reaction to today’s scripture is rebellious–”You can’t tell me what to do. Why is God being a bully and demanding offerings?” But I have to remind myself that the Israelites have been in Egypt for hundreds of years. They were fully immersed in the religious culture.

Exodus 25:3-5 These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather; acacia wood; 

What God is doing here is showing them His way, their way, since they are His chosen people. Commentary says He is trying to develop their giving heart, as He strives to do with and for all of His children. 

Exodus 25:6-7 olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

Precious Savior, Thank You for allowing me to go beyond my knee-jerk reactions–with Your word and with life itself. Help me, always, to slow down, to think things through, to read more widely, to sit with You and Your word, to draw closer to You–even when I am confused, even when I am afraid, even when I don’t understand. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 25:8-9 “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 24:15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 

What must this scene have been like to live through? Thick cloud cover, fog, can be eerie, depressing. You can’t see the sun, you can’t see far in front of yourself, landmarks are obscured. Fog is typically not welcoming nor inviting. 

Exodus 24:16 and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. 

Yet out of this cloud cover, this fog, God calls to Moses. Was it a loud, booming call? A call Moses only felt in his bones? A gentle, welcoming whisper? The surroundings warn–Do not tarry here, but God says, “Come closer. I am with you.”

Exodus 24:17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for inviting us closer, for being with us, even when our surroundings, our situation, feels unwelcoming and inhospitable. Help us to feel Your presence always, even when we are afraid. Amen.

Exodus 24:18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 24:11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.

What strikes me about today’s verses is the unavailability of God and the accessibility of Jesus. God, as is evidenced by this chapter particularly, holds Himself separate from humanity. That sense of “I can come to Him with anything at any time” is utterly lacking. 

Exodus 24:12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”

I’ve never really thought of Jesus as being the “softer side” of God, but He sort of feels that way. I know that He is with me, that He will never leave me nor forsake me. I know that I can come to Him always, with all things. I know that I can be real, authentic, messily human with Jesus and I won’t be rejected. 

Exodus 24:13 Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for the reality of the Trinity–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three-in-one. I don’t fully understand what that means, but I know without a doubt that You are with me always, that I can come to You–fully, messily, ridiculously human, and You are right there to receive me. Help me, Jesus. Always. Help me. Amen.

Exodus 24:14 He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them.”

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 24:6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. 

I suppose I’m a bit cynical at this point, but as I read today’s verses, I can’t help thinking of all those years that I taught Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which is based on the Salem Witch Trials. In it, John Proctor and the others talk of being covenanted Christians, which is what today’s scripture is talking about–the covenant between God and man.

Exodus 24:7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.”

The problem in The Crucible is that declaring yourself as a covenanted Christian was a shield used to try to protect yourself from accusations of witchcraft. The accusations are a glaring example of humans using God’s word for individual gain. (Those calling out others as witches, eventually, were after their property or reputations. It had nothing to do with whether or not you were a “good Christian.”)

Exodus 24:8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

Precious Savior, Forgive me for my cynicism. Forgive humanity for our many attempts to twist the Bible for our gain. Help us to approach You, approach Your word, with pure hearts and pure intentions–to draw closer to You. Always. Help us, Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 24:9-10 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky.

Have a blessed day.