Musing on a passage of Exodus today

Since I am reading through the Bible this year, you all can expect there will be days like this where I just have to share a thought from my reading.

This morning I read Exodus 26-30. These passages take place on the mountain where Moses is given all manner of instructions regarding building the Tabernacle and all the parts and pieces involved, the Ark of the Covenant, how to make the clothing and accessories for the priests, details of offerings, incense and anointing oil.

Let me tell you something about me and my brain before I get to the point of today’s thoughts.

When people start describing the physical details of something or are trying to explain a recipe or want to give me directions, I usually lose the whole train very early on in the dissertation.

So every time I read these particular passages, my eyes are reading more and more details but my mind is stuck back on the size of the altar for the incense offering.

It’s 18” x 18”, in case you are curious.

Or while God and Moses have moved along to the way the morning and evening sacrifices are to be done, I am still trying to imagine how they were going to put those twelve gems in settings out in the middle of nowhere.

But here is the beauty of reading the Bible daily.

While every word matters, God usually just has a word for us to cling on to.

In my 2020 read through I made some notes at the bottom portion of Chapter 30 that spoke to me again today.

I will share one today and one tomorrow.

Here is the portion of Scripture that caught my attention in a section with the added subtitle “The Atonement Money” which was to be used for the service of the Tabernacle:

The LORD spoke to Moses: “When you take a census of the Israelites to register them, each of the men must pay a ransom of his life to the LORD as they are registered. …Everyone who is registered must pay half a shekel according to the sanctuary shekel…This half shekel is a contribution to the LORD. Each man who is registered, twenty years old or more, must give this contribution to the LORD.

The wealthy may not give more and the poor may not give less than half a shekel when giving the contribution to the LORD to atone for your lives.”
Exodus 30: 11-15

And here are the thoughts I penned on that read through two years ago as I pondered these specific instructions and the limits place for both the wealthy and the poor:

I am noticing these thoughts.

Because all lives have the same value before God and we are each responsible for our own individual choices, the amount was the same for everyone.

Also the wealthy cannot give so much that their wealth would begin to wield power and the poor are not excused from the responsibility of giving what is due. All are equal before the LORD – because wealth and poverty do not define a person’s worth before God.
From my journal January 23, 2020

So there is something to meditate on and ponder today. No one is of greater or lesser value to Him. Our resources in this life are not what He sees and not how He measures us.

Thus we must be careful to not do this as well. Everyone is of equal value. Everyone owes the same debt. Christ paid the debt for all who would receive Him.