The Field is the World (Matt. 13:38)

How do you design a worship meeting place for a God who has no shape and warns repeatedly not to make an object to represent Him? (See Deuteronomy 4:15-19, Exodus 20:4) people would naturally come up with some kind of item. But God through Moses (38:22) directed them to make: - an EMPTY "seat" of mercy, atop - an EMPTY box/Ark (it would contain items later), overshadowed by - Cherubim who were PERIPHERAL, not central - within a tent of worship that isn't really meant as a shelter for group meetings but as a marked-off "embassy" of heaven.

Do as many desire God's continual presence as His salvation? Moses was willing to remain in tents in the desert if going on to the promised land meant going without God. He wanted to know Him. How many of us would accept heaven without Jesus if that were possible?

Is there a more dramatic example of intercession in the Old Testament? The Lord has just described how He means His people to approach Him: after a redemption price has been paid, after washing hands and feet, after anointing with oil, accompanied by incense that He is so jealous about that anyone duplicating it is to be put to death. The very craftsmen of the objects of service are Spirit filled and empowered, and their rest is symbolic of the perpetual covenant. Meanwhile, as this is all being carefully spelled out, the people are designing their own order of worship: a calf-idol possibly modeled after an Egyptian idol that was said to be both a son of (and/or incarnation of) and an intermediary between a major deity and mankind; lavish giving of gold and naked drunken revelry. It's into this deep divide that Moses places himself to plead for his people. Is God looking for intercessors today? (See Ezekiel 22:30)

How can we read about all the death, burning and bloody sacrifices in the Old Testament and imagine God is not serious about sin? The cross is primarily an unforgettable message of God's love for us (1 John 3:16) but at the same time an eternal reminder that He will judge sin.

What is necessary that God may dwell among His people? Sanctuary: a marked-out, holy, restricted space. In his song, Moses called "the mountain" (Zion) sanctuary. (15:17) In the instructions for the Tabernacle, it has service elements invoking floral design, symbolic guardians, and an eastward orientation, all pointing to the Garden, where unrestricted fellowship was lost. Yet every element foreshadows Jesus, who restores fellowship.

What must it have been like to experience God literally creating their social order by dictating laws, spelling out celebrations and telling them their future? Since it all played out just as He said, (Joshua) why did Israel stop believing Him so soon? (Judges)

Have modern people entirely lost this fear of God's holiness? (Exodus 20:20) We call evil good and good evil. (Isaiah 5:20) and what's astonishing is the number of religious leaders in evangelical Christianity who are doing this. This is the outcome of the war on the 10 Commandments in our culture over the past 25 years. Overhead: "a culture's laws will either reflect God's wrath against sin or man's wrath against God"

In what ways is God providing for me that I am failing to see or substituting my own system for His?

What if we could consistently, persistently pursue God's calling without wasting so much time worrying about self protection or possible future calamity?

From Genesis 10:2 and 12:26, how important is it that we explain these things to our children? We're reluctant to make God seem wrathful; and yet it's clear He fit the judgment to the offense: it was against all the gods of Egypt (12:12); in the things wherein they dealt proudly He was above them (18:11) - the judgments targeted their heathen worship at specific points and culminated in the death of their idol-king's own heir, just as he had targeted the firstborn of Israel (4:22-23)

Does it seem like there's a cycle in God's judgment on Egypt that is being played out in our own time as well? Judgment by God->shallow confession and return by people->relief from judgment->return to sin->greater judgment. Similar to the cycle in the book of Judges.

It seems that Moses was supposed to warn Pharaoh of the 10th plague in the beginning: "And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn." ‭(Exodus‬ ‭4:22-23‬‭) I wonder if he did? What are the consequences of our reluctance to speak the worst of God's judgment?

How has God moved in each of our lives to make us feel like "strangers in a strange land" (Ex. 2:22, cf., Hebrews 11:13)? I'm really feeling it lately because of world events.

What would my walk be like if I had the insight of Jacob and Joseph?

If we could thoroughly follow Joseph's advice in 45:5, how would it change our lives? Will this not be our ultimate view of our lives in heaven? "Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life." (Genesis 45:4)

How do nations get their rulers? (According to the Bible, God sets them up. Daniel 2:20-22, 37; 4:13-17,25, 32; 5:21; Romans 13:1-6. Moreover, God can direct their hearts according to Proverbs 21:1, Proverbs 8:16) In this instance the king received guidance via a dream from God which forced him to seek interpretation from Joseph. Can God not do the same in our time?

Where is Joseph during this time, as far as Israel is concerned?

From this beginning of the story of Joseph, it seems obvious what Jacob's favoritism did to his other sons, but what did it do to Joseph himself?

In the long run, was it more important that Jacob be blessed, or broken?

Is God teaching Jacob a lesson? Rebekah and Jacob "switched sons" on Isaac; Laban switched daughters on Jacob. Jacob had the right desire in mind but going about it the wrong way cost him 20 years of his life.

How does the spiritual journey of Jacob mirror that of most believers?

God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 23:18 is repeated by Rebekah's family in their blessing to her 24:60. And it mirrors Jesus promise about the church in Matthew 16:18. We should ask Rebekah's question in 25:22. "If so, why am I this?"

In 22:2, God told Abraham, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." What does Abraham's statement to his servants in v.5 mean? "I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you."

Is there any worry about the future God has in store for us that is not dispelled by careful meditation on Genesis 10? "God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow" / "I cannot do anything till thou be come thither"

God's pursuit of and development of Abraham should be a comfort to all of us. See how God makes promises without being asked? He obligates Himself for Abraham's sake, and our sake, that our faith may be built, answering requests for Isaac and Sodom and Gomorrah. What should I be asking for today?

What do you do when you are told that it is hopeless? If the one telling you this is the Father of mercy and the God of all comfort? (2 Corinthians 1:3) Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet for this reason.

How different would the world be if God's covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15:18-21 had been fully realized? Instead of being this tiny sliver of land on the Mediterranean, Israel would encompass half of Egypt, northward to Lebanon, Syria, southward to Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait , Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Oman. Abraham was deliberately put to sleep, indicating that his descendants are not responsible for making this come to pass. When will it see fulfillment?

What would the world have been like if corruption and division not happened so quickly? How can we do better to ensure God's work in our lives is clear to the next generation, so that it isn't necessary to separate in order to follow God closely?

In what ways have we distracted ourselves from the most drastic example of judgment in scripture?

Deuteronomy 4:2 warns: “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” There’s so much detail in these chapters and everything is significant: from Eve’s statement upon giving birth to Cain, to the meanings of the patriarchs’ names, to the significance of the “pitch” (i.e., “ransom price” or “covering”) used to make the Ark sound against the waters of God’s judgment. What if we consistently gave more earnest heed to the things God reveals to us? (Hebrews 2:1) 

"What if we prized fellowship with God above everything else?"