Good Morning, Siblings!
Today’s readings are Exodus 33-35
Click here to read today’s passages on BibleGateway.
Rabbit Trails
Did you catch Exodus 33:2? YHWH sent an angel before them, driving out six different groups of people from the land they were going to/through!
This is another pattern of God (He is a God of patterns): When He sends us, He goes before us!
We see what appears to be a contradiction in Exodus 33:11 and Exodus 33:20
In Exodus 33:11 We read that the Father spoke with Moses face to face, as a man speaks to His friend.
Wow. Let’s just let that sink in a minute. That is an amazing statement. Not to diminish that (and I don’t feel it does) but in Exodus 33:20 we see that the Father says that Moses cannot see His face because no man can see His face and live.
What’s up with that? It is believed, and context supports this, that the first saying was meant to depict the closeness that Moses and the Father had, how they spoke to one another. Face to Face as a man speaks to a friend being a figure of speech that denoted that special relationship they had.
Today we read what I consider to be one of the ALL TIME MOST EXCITING verses in all of Scripture.
Let’s read Exodus 34:6-7
YHWH passed before him and proclaimed, “YHWH, YHWH, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
This is YHWH HIMSELF passing to and fro in front of Moses. Can you even imagine? AND Speaking, revealing His character to Moses.
Mercy, love, patience, faithfulness, loyal to those He sets apart, keeping steadfast love to the thousandth generation, but He will not declare the guilty to be innocent, there are consequences for their behavior.
Now a lot of us look at this verse and think it’s harsh that YHWH would punish a guilty person to the third and fourth generation. However, if you step back you see that His punishment is actually very short lived compared to His loyalty and steadfast love: 1000 generations vs 3-4 generations.
(Sidenote, “to the thousandth generation” is a Hebrew idiom for “forever”).
Okay so lets talk about these 3-4 generations and how they are being punished for the sins of their parents (YHWH, in His wisdom deems it so and we are not questioning His judgement, just examining the effects). If you think about it, back then families lived together with a few generations under one roof. 3-4 generations would have simply been great grandpa, grandpa, father, and son. Basically, if someone sinned against God, the result of that sin would have naturally been felt by the entire household. Just a thought.
One example to bring this to our own time is how an alcoholic and abusive father affects his household. His drinking and abuse would cause agony in the lives of every family member. They might be more likely to react abusively in other situations and studies show they would be more prone to alcoholism. This is just one of the ways curses can be passed down. Today we refer to them as “cycles of abuse”. I personally know families with generations of this behavior in them. It’s taught, passed down.
These are generational curses and more often than not they consist of new generations repeating the pattern set forth by previous generations. ⭐️In this way we either bless or we curse our children by how we live our own lives.⭐️
Very important note: It has always been possible to get out from under a generational curse- or the consequences of the sins of a previous generation-by repenting and turning to YHWH. There are many verses about this, here are two to get you started. Leviticus 26:39-42, Malachi 3:6-7
We will see, time and again in our reading, that though a civilization or people may condemn themselves through their behavior, YHWH always has a path for individuals in that group to repent.
Remember this extremely important point.
YHWH has always shown Grace to those who would turn away from that and back to Him.
Exodus 34:29-30 ✨Moses is shiny! ✨
Moses spent a total of eighty days with YHWH, 40 the first time he went up and another 40 the second time. During this time his physical appearance was affected in a drastic way as a result of that encounter with such Holiness and it scared folks so Moses began to wear a veil.
We may not be shiny but I have found a countenance of peace, or shalom, on the faces of those who walk closely with YHWH. They often have a presence around them of the after effects of their frequent encounters with YHWH, it shows in their spirit through no effort of their own.
Have you ever known someone like this?
How can we be more like this?
Just as Moses did: By spending time in His presence. The more time you spend with Him, the more He will indwell within you and that will affect every aspect of your life in amazing ways.
YHWH is speaking to us again today. Let us absorb every single word with gratitude for the wisdom He is imparting!
Test everything, hold tight to what is good.~ 1 Thess 5:21
We are saved by Grace alone: Obedience is not the root of our salvation, it is the fruit!
May YHWH bless the reading of His Word!
Chat video from yesterday