Exodus 19-24 & What to Think About All of It

So we get to that incredibly well-known moment in the Bible when God gives the Israelites His 10 Commandments. I've never been into learning about my religion until now, but I still remember learning the 10 Commandments in Sunday school when I was a little girl. And I feel like the 10 Commandments might just be the one part of the Bible that all Christians actually know. But I feel like most Christians don't realize that the 10 Commandments are accompanied by an assortment of other laws, too. And this gives me a whole new perspective on the whole story of Moses going up Mount Sinai and bringing down the Commandments on stone tablets.

In Sunday school and pretty much every learning environment I've ever been in, I was taught the 10 Commandments, and I was taught to keep them. Simply enough, not keeping the 10 Commandments was bad. But of course, I've struggled with keeping the Commandments just like every other person on Earth. I've taken the Lord's name in vain. I've never kept the Sabbath. I've lied, and I've had thoughts of "the grass is greener over there." But you know, I've always thought that if I truly made the honest effort, I'd be able to keep these particular Commandments that I've struggled with.

Exodus 13-18 & Capitalizing on Time to Prepare

Out of these six chapters in Exodus, chapter 18 stuck out to me most. It's when Jethro visits Moses and the Israelites out in the desert. And Jethro basically helps Moses to create some sort of structure to help manage the people of Israel - like a court system, a way to help settle disputes and disagreements and whatnot. What really stood out to me was the kind of men Jethro told Moses to "hire" basically.

"But select capable men from all the people - men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain - and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens." (Ex 18:21)

I'm not sure if I should really look into that super deeply, but it got me thinking... Imagine the good in the world if the public officials we elected were the "capable men" who Jethro describes - if they actually feared God and were trustworthy and were completely transparent with no hidden motives, no personal agendas. That's some good food for thought...

Exodus 1-12

I've clearly slowed down with my reading. I actually read these chapters of Exodus back in April, but I obviously haven't blogged about them until now, and I haven't continued reading either. I assume anyone who reads A Coffee Date with God also keeps up with SS Jess, and I made mention there that once I got a full-time job at the beginning of May I basically stopped making time for myself and the things I enjoy. A big change in your day-to-day routine takes some getting used to. But my one goal for the month of June was to make time for me again. So before the month is over in a couple days, I'm getting my Bible reading back on track.

So here we are...