Exodus 23:25 reads, “And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.”
Exodus 33:17 reads, “And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.”
Exodus 34:5-7 reads, “And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sins, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”
In this situation God’s blessings were given in a number of different forms. God heard the prayers of the Jewish people and He lost patience with the Egyptian Pharaoh. The consequence was that God’s wrath virtually destroyed Egypt by destroying the Pharaohs’ credibility and status as a God. His military was lost at the bottom of the Red Sea, all the food, livestock, and crops were destroyed and the Egyptian people suffered from many types of diseases. God reacted to the Jewish people’s prayers and blessed His people by providing for their freedom and the promise to fulfill the covenant of a promised land. Prayer is an extremely important key to receiving blessings from God. All things are possible with God.
God at one point was contemplating the destruction of all of the Jewish people because of their disobedience in building a gold idol. The worship of idols will provoke the wrath of God.
Exodus 32:10 reads, “Now therefore let me alone that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.”
It was only because of Moses’ prayers, pleading, and begging that God spared the Israelites from complete destruction. Moses sited the promises and covenants God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Israel that their seed would multiply as the stars of heaven.
Today man’s worship of self and man’s achievements has created a man that is full of pride and self worship. The worship of man, his achievements and knowledge has left a man that is void of any soul or moral compass. Man’s idol is himself and his ability to explain all blessings as manmade and created by man. Satan’s fall was due to his love of self and the miracles he could perform. His pride grew like a cancer that resulted in him challenging God and receiving God’s wrath. Man’s refusal to acknowledge God’s blessings will end in the wrath of God for all those who refuse to accept and believe in God and His Son.
We worship a just and sovereign God who hates sin and has invoked His wrath in the past. God is also extremely patient, loving and has showed His mercy and grace in many ways. Unfortunately, our daily lives are engulfed in sin that needs continual prayer. The importance of prayer and confession cannot be stressed enough. A Christian’s life begins with the belief and trust in God’s only Son, Jesus.
God loves man and His creation and wants to bless us in our daily lives. However, God will not tolerate sin and will not commune with those who are involved in sin. The book of Leviticus defines what is holy and what actions need to be taken to maintain a holy relationship with God. Exodus 19:6 reads, “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” Israel became a great nation because its people honored and obeyed God’s laws. God in Leviticus explains to the Israelites how to worship God and how to conduct themselves around the Tabernacle. God requires man to be obedient to His word and to honor Him in their words, actions, and worship.
Aaron was Moses’ brother and the first high priest for God’s people. He accompanied Moses as they both confronted Pharaoh for the release of the Israelites from slavery. Aaron was also allowed access to God and shared with Moses God’s instruction for leading the Israelites to be a holy country and a kingdom of priests. It is difficult to understand why Aaron a man who had experienced God’s miracles and blessing first hand had failed God so miserably. Moses left the Israelites to pray in the mountains and did not return for a number of weeks. The Israelites determined that Moses had died and that God had left them. Unfortunately, out of grief and fear the Israelites fell back into idol worship. The Israelites again and again fell into the same pattern of blessings, disobedience, discipline, confession, and blessings. In this case Aaron’s disobedience resulted in Aaron losing two sons and being denied access to the Promised Land. In fact, both Moses and Aaron sinned against God and both were not allowed to enter the Promised Land. Moses could not control his temper and Aaron lost his faith realizing Moses may not return. Today, Christians fall into the same pattern as they are blessed, sin and fall short of fulfilling God’s plan for their lives. God has a unique plan for each individual just as He had a unique plan for Moses and Aaron. A Christian’s life is centered on being open and willing to follow God’s plan for their life.
Leviticus 9:22 reads, “And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings.”
Blessings were received by the people from Aaron because of their offerings. The people recognized and identified their sin and were willing to make a sacrifice. They were making a public declaration of their sin with their type of offering. We no longer make public sacrifices for our sins because of the ultimate sacrifice by God’s only Son Jesus the Christ. However, it is still important to identify our sins and ask forgiveness through prayer. Sin that is not confessed will work as a block in receiving God’s blessings.
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