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To God Our First and Best

Sunday, September 18, 2022
Pastor Jojo Ma

Weekly Bulletin | Worship Lyrics

Exodus 34:18-28

 

18 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt. 19 All that open the womb are mine, all your male livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep. 20 The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before me empty-handed. 21 Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. 22 You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end. 23 Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year. 25 You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover remain until the morning. 26 The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk. 27 And the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

God is getting to the heart of the people’s idolatry because they had forgotten and forsaken God. So God will remind them of His loving rules for them to get them back on track to making Yahweh first and central in their lives.

21 Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

18 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt…22 You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end.

God was saying, “I am the Lord your God and I am Lord of your calendar. And I am Lord of your family. And I am Lord of your children. And I am Lord of your feasts and your festivals. I am the Lord of your livestock and your livelihood. Israel, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt in covenant love and faithfulness. You are forgetful, but I am faithful. And I am to to be the center of your life…year by year, year after year. I am the Lord your God.”

Is God the God over your life, your days and weeks and months and year and years? Is He the One you center your family and livelihood around year after year? Is He more important than your job, your home, your vacations, your hobbies, or anything else in your life? Is He the Lord your God or not?

Ex 23:14 Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to Me.

These feasts were there to keep them from idolatry and false loves. They were aimed at helping ancient Israel keep their love for God by observing them regularly in the rhythm of their lives…year after year after year, generation after generation after generation.

26 The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.

God was reminding Israel to be separate, distinct, and a light to the nations. God was also warning His people against this kind of idolatry, not unlike bowing to a golden calf, which was fresh in their minds.

Corrie ten Boom: “Lord Jesus, I offer myself for your people. In any way. Any place. Any time.”

Are you giving God your very best? And is Christ the center of your life and livelihood?