Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem
Exodus 20
Idols and Altars
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.
24 “‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. 26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.’
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I was so proud of my shiny new patent leather shoes. They went so nicely with my pretty Back-To-School dress that Mom had made for me. It was important to dress up for the occaision, as I was going into The First Grade. Kindergarten was just fun and games, but First Grade was REAL SCHOOL.
It didn't take long for Judy-the-Bully to notice my shoes. She launched into a mantra, which she repeated all day whenever she saw me:
"I see London,
I see France,
I see Mary-Lou's underpants."
I couln't understand how she could see my underpants, because my dress was not too short. Finally, Judy-the-Bully jeered that my underpants were reflected in the shiny surface of my patent leather shoes. I looked down. Sure enough, there was a tiny blotch of white reflecting back at me but that was not the same thing as actually seeing them. So I knew she was lying. It still upset me though. I was easy to hurt, so the bullies just gravitated to me like flies to honey. Judy died before she even reached 25 years old, in a horrible car accident. When I heard about it, I felt numb, because she had hurt me so much in my tender years. I have since forgiven her, and pray that she had some sort of revelation before she died. And I have had to learn not to take such things to heart so much. The more one ALLOWS oneself to get hurt by bullying, the harder it is to forgive the bully. That's because, I found, that it's harder to forgive one's SELF for being credulous and vulnerable than it is to forgive others for taking advantage of it.
In today's Reading, Moses has just been given The Ten Commandments. He was also given the rest of The Law, which has regulations regarding Worship, Holidays, Slavery, Hygeine, Clean and Unclean Foods, Manslaughter, Crime and Punishment, Cities of Refuge, and Family Matters. The rest of the Book also has instructions for the construction of The Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle. The First Ten Commandments are the bones upon which all the other Mitzvahs (or Laws) are fleshed out.
The prohibition against Idolatry is stated first. The Israelites were to approach God in a different way than the pagans. While the false religions of the Middle East revelled in sexuality as part of their worship (don't get me started!), the God of Israel stresses modesty and humilty in approaching Him. In later chapters, the Garments of the High Priest and the Levites include a brand-new invention: Underwear!
The more I read the Bible, the more I love it.
We will be leaving the Book of Exodus at this point and taking a new journey tomorrow. I'll give you a hint...it starts right out with "The Begats".
Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.
"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)
God Bless America.
Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.
Hallelujah and Amen
ML/LTOS