Sunday, Ordinary 29, Proper 24, Oct 19
ChapLynne
Posts: 31 Member
Meditation
Sunday, Ordinary 29, Proper 24 showed the different encounters with God. The Psalmist spoke of the prophets Moses, Samuel and Aaron, who were able to talk with the almighty God and have their requests answered.
The Old Testament lesson in Exodus revealed the uniqueness of Moses’ dialogues with God. After the Hebrew people had turned to worshiping false gods while Moses was on Mt. Sinai, Moses pleaded with God to continue to lead them and not abandon them.
God gave Moses a glimpse of his glory. In an unusual encounter, God allowed Moses to be protected from the full force of his glory by being hidden in the crack of a rock. God promised to lead Moses and to prove his pleasure with him he allowed “his perfect goodness to pass in front of him and spoke his name, YHWH (Yahweh).”
Hidden in the rock, God said he would cover the crack with his hand, and then pass by, remove his hand and let Moses see his back.
In the Westminster catechism, it said no one has seen God and God was a spirit, without body like humans. In this encounter, Moses didn’t see God ‘face to face’ like we might have expected, but simply allowed his ‘back’ to be seen briefly. To see God’s face would have meant death for Moses—like seeing the sun directly brings blindness, or like getting struck by a laser could kill someone. Yet God gave Moses proof of his physical presence by showing his back—the presence that he promised would be leading Moses and the nation of Israel and revealed a privileged access to God that no one else enjoyed.
Otherwise, the evidence of God’s presence was either fire or a cloud pillar.
In the Gospel of Matthew, there was a different type of encounter with God—the Pharisees and Herodians, who wanted to trick Jesus into making a mistake. People who had the chance to see God and yet treated it with distain and plotted to trip Jesus with a question about paying taxes. First, they were on opposite sides of the political fence. The Herodians were not friends of the Pharisees, but by teaming together, they could trap Jesus. They asked Jesus if they should pay taxes to Caesar or not. If Jesus had supported paying taxes to Rome, the Herodians would have been satisfied, but the Jews would have reason to be stirred up in anger against the invaders. If Jesus had said not to pay taxes, then the Pharisees would have won, but the Herodians could have arrested Jesus for sedition against Rome. They believed by joining forces, they would have a reason, one way or another to arrest Jesus.
But God turned their false question back on itself—give to Caesar what was Caesar’s and to God what was God’s. Jesus rose above, called them on their hypocrisy and arrogance and left them with nothing to arrest him over.
The New Testament epistle celebrated the church in Thessalonica’s firm faith in God. Their encounter with God was close and personal because of their trust and faith in the Good News of Jesus gift of salvation which saved them from God’s angry judgment.
Each person is given a chance to encounter God—up close and personal, but in many different ways. And each has an opportunity to trust and obey, or be dismissive. Every day presents a new opportunity to see God’s hand at work in our lives. We must prepare ourselves like Moses did, or the Thessalonians or any of the prophets, so that we will be ready.
Thanks be to God.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Ordinary 29, Proper 24
Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus 33:12-23;Psalm 99;1 Thessalonians 1:1-10;Matthew 22:15-22&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;NIV#fen-ERV-2459a (multiple versions)
Saturday, Ordinary 29, Proper 24
Exodus 33:12-23
Psalm 99
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Matthew 22:15-22
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Philippians 4:4
King James Version (KJV)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
Exodus 33:12-23
King James Version (KJV)
12 And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.
13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
17 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.
18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Almighty God, you are merciful to those you choose to be merciful to and we pray that we will receive your mercy in our encounters with you. As we struggle in today’s world with challenges above our capabilities, we need your help and trust you to lead us, even as you did Moses. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Saturday, Ordinary 29, Proper 24’s lesson revealed several different ‘encounters’ with God from the unique up-close and personal back to face meeting with Moses on Mt. Sinai or the face to face with Jesus by the Herodians and Pharisees, who hypocritically praised Jesus for his acuity and then tried to trip him up with a question about paying taxes to Rome. They falsely believed there were only two possible answers, either one resulting in a reason to arrest him, but Jesus confounded them by providing a clever answer—give to Caesar what Caesar deserves and to God what God deserves. We should all be so clever as to answer the hard questions that face us by people wanting to make us look foolish. The final connection with God was the Thessalonians. who encountered God in their love and faith in Jesus. In the same way we can meet up with God, today by putting our trust in God and loving and obeying him.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
Sunday, Ordinary 29, Proper 24 showed the different encounters with God. The Psalmist spoke of the prophets Moses, Samuel and Aaron, who were able to talk with the almighty God and have their requests answered.
The Old Testament lesson in Exodus revealed the uniqueness of Moses’ dialogues with God. After the Hebrew people had turned to worshiping false gods while Moses was on Mt. Sinai, Moses pleaded with God to continue to lead them and not abandon them.
God gave Moses a glimpse of his glory. In an unusual encounter, God allowed Moses to be protected from the full force of his glory by being hidden in the crack of a rock. God promised to lead Moses and to prove his pleasure with him he allowed “his perfect goodness to pass in front of him and spoke his name, YHWH (Yahweh).”
Hidden in the rock, God said he would cover the crack with his hand, and then pass by, remove his hand and let Moses see his back.
In the Westminster catechism, it said no one has seen God and God was a spirit, without body like humans. In this encounter, Moses didn’t see God ‘face to face’ like we might have expected, but simply allowed his ‘back’ to be seen briefly. To see God’s face would have meant death for Moses—like seeing the sun directly brings blindness, or like getting struck by a laser could kill someone. Yet God gave Moses proof of his physical presence by showing his back—the presence that he promised would be leading Moses and the nation of Israel and revealed a privileged access to God that no one else enjoyed.
Otherwise, the evidence of God’s presence was either fire or a cloud pillar.
In the Gospel of Matthew, there was a different type of encounter with God—the Pharisees and Herodians, who wanted to trick Jesus into making a mistake. People who had the chance to see God and yet treated it with distain and plotted to trip Jesus with a question about paying taxes. First, they were on opposite sides of the political fence. The Herodians were not friends of the Pharisees, but by teaming together, they could trap Jesus. They asked Jesus if they should pay taxes to Caesar or not. If Jesus had supported paying taxes to Rome, the Herodians would have been satisfied, but the Jews would have reason to be stirred up in anger against the invaders. If Jesus had said not to pay taxes, then the Pharisees would have won, but the Herodians could have arrested Jesus for sedition against Rome. They believed by joining forces, they would have a reason, one way or another to arrest Jesus.
But God turned their false question back on itself—give to Caesar what was Caesar’s and to God what was God’s. Jesus rose above, called them on their hypocrisy and arrogance and left them with nothing to arrest him over.
The New Testament epistle celebrated the church in Thessalonica’s firm faith in God. Their encounter with God was close and personal because of their trust and faith in the Good News of Jesus gift of salvation which saved them from God’s angry judgment.
Each person is given a chance to encounter God—up close and personal, but in many different ways. And each has an opportunity to trust and obey, or be dismissive. Every day presents a new opportunity to see God’s hand at work in our lives. We must prepare ourselves like Moses did, or the Thessalonians or any of the prophets, so that we will be ready.
Thanks be to God.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Ordinary 29, Proper 24
Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus 33:12-23;Psalm 99;1 Thessalonians 1:1-10;Matthew 22:15-22&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;NIV#fen-ERV-2459a (multiple versions)
Saturday, Ordinary 29, Proper 24
Exodus 33:12-23
Psalm 99
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Matthew 22:15-22
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Philippians 4:4
King James Version (KJV)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
Exodus 33:12-23
King James Version (KJV)
12 And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.
13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
17 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.
18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Almighty God, you are merciful to those you choose to be merciful to and we pray that we will receive your mercy in our encounters with you. As we struggle in today’s world with challenges above our capabilities, we need your help and trust you to lead us, even as you did Moses. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Saturday, Ordinary 29, Proper 24’s lesson revealed several different ‘encounters’ with God from the unique up-close and personal back to face meeting with Moses on Mt. Sinai or the face to face with Jesus by the Herodians and Pharisees, who hypocritically praised Jesus for his acuity and then tried to trip him up with a question about paying taxes to Rome. They falsely believed there were only two possible answers, either one resulting in a reason to arrest him, but Jesus confounded them by providing a clever answer—give to Caesar what Caesar deserves and to God what God deserves. We should all be so clever as to answer the hard questions that face us by people wanting to make us look foolish. The final connection with God was the Thessalonians. who encountered God in their love and faith in Jesus. In the same way we can meet up with God, today by putting our trust in God and loving and obeying him.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
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