Encounter the Bible

  Welcome to Exodus - Week 4! This is our last week in Exodus!  We've encountered lots of action, suspense, and drama along the way.  And lots of laws!!  In our reading this week, we also encounter some things about the tabernacle, the place where the ark (and God's presence) will dwell.  The tabernacle floor plan is identical to the temple and the furniture from the tabernacle is also present in the temple.  Both the tabernacle and the temple point to Jesus.  As you read, take some time to make those connections. Our reading ends with a picture of God's glory.  It serves as a nice "bookend" to Exodus that began with God making his presence known to Moses.  God continues to show his glory and continues to be present to us through his Son, Jesus Christ. As you read, keep in mind our reading questions.  Use these as general questions to keep in mind as you read to help formulate your reflections, observations, and questions. Our guiding qu...

  Welcome to Exodus - Week 3! This week, we encounter lots of laws!  The good news is you don't have to be a lawyer to wade through the laws and understand their significance.  Take some time to wonder about these laws: Why did God give a particular law?  How does this point to Jesus? As our reading comes to a close, we read the sad story of the golden calf.  What better evidence do we need to reinforce our need for salvation?  Even as God is giving the law/covenant, his people at the base of the mountain are busy breaking it.  Even so, God doesn't give up on his people, and he doesn't give up on us.  Thanks be to God for his grace and forgiveness! As you read, keep in mind our reading questions.  Use these as general questions to keep in mind as you read to help formulate your reflections, observations, and questions. Our guiding questions are these: What stood out to you in the reading? Was there anything confusing or troubling? Did anythin...

  Welcome to Exodus - Week 2! In Week 2 of Exodus, we read about God's miraculous deliverance of his people from Egypt.  After 400 years in slavery, God leads his people out "with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm."  The people celebrate their deliverance! After God leads them out of Egypt, he establishes them as a nation and solidifies his relationship with them by giving them the law.  Maybe we don't always think of the law that way; we might see it as a list of things we shouldn't do.  But God gave the law as a way to establish how we live in covenant with him.  Of course, Israel didn't keep the law, and neither do we, but God remains in relationship with us through his law-keeping Son, Jesus Christ. As you read, keep in mind our reading questions.  Use these as general questions to keep in mind as you read to help formulate your reflections, observations, and questions. Our guiding questions are these: What stood out to you in the reading? Was ...

Welcome to Exodus - Week 1! A lot of time has passed since the end of Genesis.  Scholars estimate that at least 250-400 years have passed, enough for people to forget who Joseph was, and long enough for the Hebrew people to be quite settled in Goshen in Egypt.  God's plan wasn't for his people to stay in Egypt forever, but given God's "silence" for several hundred years, it was hard to see what God's plan would be. Enter: Moses, the boy saved from death and raised in Pharaoh's palace.  Moses had a special calling from God, one that he resisted at times and one that he got ahead of on more than one occasion.  Yet God used Moses to put his plan into motion: a plan to bring his people from slavery and into the Promised Land.  These early chapters of Exodus are filled with all kinds of action, drama, and suspense...all with God as the main character.  Be sure to note how God is at work in these chapters! As you read, keep in mind our reading questions.  Us...