Thoughts on the readings for February 26th (Exodus 39, 40, Psalm 102, 1 Corinthians 10)

Exodus 39 verse 1-5 tell of Aholiab's supervision of the skilful women weavers, who wove the clothes of the priests. Verses 6-7 speak of the engraving of the gems set in the breastplate of the High Priest. Verses 8-21 describe the breastplate of the High Priest and outline its construction. It was of pure gold. Verses 22-26 describe the tunic of the High Priest and the alternating bells and pomegranates surrounding the hem nearest the ground. Notes on the significance of these have already been published. Verses 27-29 speak of the clothes of the regular priests. Verses 30-31 talk of the inscribed golden plate worn upon the turban of the High Priest. Verses 31-43 speak of the completion of all the work of the Tabernacle; according to the instructions given to Moses by the LORD in Mount Sinai. Exodus 40 tells of the day when the Tabernacle was erected. And it describes how the glory of Yahweh filled the Tabernacle. The cloud that had led the nation through the wilderness filled the Tabernacle. The cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night continued to guide the nation for the next 38 years. When the cloud departed from off the Tabernacle Israel would pack everything up and follow it. Psalm 102 is an amazing Messianic writing that tells of the writer's pouring out his heart to his helper and encourager. It is a plea from the bottom of the Psalmist's heart. The Psalm acknowledges the faithfulness and steadfastness of God. It is a Psalm which focuses on God's timeliness. Yahweh speedily answers the cry of His servant; He favours Zion (v13) at the set time; He regards the prayer of the destitute (v17); He hears and responds to the groaning of the prisoners (v20). Through all these trials His servants trust His unchanging ways, His compassion, His stability and His strength. He delivers them because of His delight in His children. And for their deliverance they praise and extol Him. The superscription of this Psalm in the ESV reads, "A prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the LORD". Undoubtedly this tells us of the Messiah. Every figure of speech in this Psalm speaks of Christ - he is the one whose days are consumed and whose bones burn; he is the lonely and taunted one; he is the one who carried the burden of our iniquities; he is the prisoner groaning to be released from the trials of mortally; he is the one whose life has been cut short in the midst of his years (Isaiah 53). He is also preeminently the one raised up as the Captain of our salvation to lead his people to the kingdom and in the praise of their Almighty Saviour. The writer to the Romans tells us in chapter 11 that Israel's restoration is a sign of the nearing resurrection and the glorious kingdom in Zion. 1 Corinthians 10 warns against idolatry. It was the root cause of the infant Jewish nation's sins as they left Egypt under Moses. Paul explains that their experiences were typical of, and in common with, those of the believers; and hence a clarion warning lest we think we stand; yet fall through pride. Verses 1-5 contain a warning to the Corinthian believers against complacency since the experiences of Israel leaving Egypt were both symbolic of our walk in Christ and in reality very similar to all followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says that God's provision of water is like the spiritual drink of His Word and our sustaining throughout our wanderings in the wilderness of life. Verses 6-13 warn us against idolatry which is called "covetousness" in Colossians 3:5. Trials are certain to come to every disciple. However we need not be discouraged since our Heavenly Father has promised that the trial will not be greater than we can bear. And even if it seems unbearable that He will provide us with a way of escape. For our part we must pray: "Lead us not into temptation, ie trial". We also need to live our lives faithfully in avoiding temptations which arise due to our foolish decisions and actions. Verses 14-22 give practical advice in avoiding a likely problem from a foolish decision to partake of idol worship - in the belief that idols are non entities: 1 Corinthians 8 the entire chapter. The Apostle explains the dangers of rationalising in that chapter and here in chapter 10. A failure to understand these matters and to behave as God would have His children do is extremely dangerous. Paul says that it is in effect setting ourselves against God. The fellowship we enjoy with the Father and His Son is not to be entangled with the beliefs and practices of those who do not understand the teachings of the Word of God. From verses 23-30 Paul tells us that nothing in the life of the believer when it comes to eating food and drinking wine is forbidden to believers because God owns and has given these blessings to His children. However it is their responsibility to not partake of these to excess. Believers also have a responsibility to respect the conscience of their fellow disciples. The rights of faithful believers should not be exercised if the exercising of those rights would result in a loss of faith for others, and lead them away from the kingdom of God. The final two verses of the chapter tell us that, whatever we do, "Do all to the glory of God". And since we are commanded to do all to the Father's glory that glory must be chiefly moral, not just physical. Contemplate carefully the words of Habbakuk 2:14 and compare these words with Jeremiah 22 verse 15-16. A further lesson we need to learn from Paul's example and emulate is how his life demonstrates that in his life he shows us how he did all to the glory of God. Penned by Warwick Rosser and his team, produced by Christadelphianvideo.org See more Thoughts from the Christadelphian Dialy Bible Reading Planner (By R.Roberts) here... https://christadelphianvideo.org/thoughts-on-the-readings-for-february-26th-exodus-39-40-psalm-102-1-corinthians-10/?feed_id=86044&_unique_id=67bd6cec96ebd