Stain free

“For your brother Aaron you will make sacred vestments to give dignity and magnificence” – Exodus 28:2.

God loves us. I dont think we understand that some days. I know for me there are days where the lies of the tempter seem far louder than the promises of the risen one.

The Exodus story is not only a complex narrative of liberation, freedom and a battle of epic proportions between a deliberate God and a violent wannabe but a story that highlights just how much God loves us.

The Israelites had been in bondage under an oppressive and downright murderous regime for over 400 years. Reduced to harsh slave labor and the threat of death ever present, The covenant between the God of Abraham and his descendants seemed all but lost.

However, God is not a liar.

I repeat God does not lie.

 God is not a man, that he should lie – Numbers 23:19

If you ever enter an agreement with the ruler of the skys, it’s not only unalterable but it’s an ever lasting covenant from generation to generation and thats good news!! because the Israelites needed a savior and F A S T !

God makes good on his promise to Abraham and sends Moses and Aaron to oversee the task of leading 600,000 of his descendants out of the land of their captivity. (Talk about a huge assignment)

Moses and Aaron rise to the occasion (You cant fail when God is on your side!). After a showdown of epic proportions, Pharoah agrees to let the Israelites go (womp womp going against the one who created you will always end in failure)

The Israelites head out. Their destination? Mount Sinai. There they encounter the God who freed them

and LISTEN! baby this God is H U G E , UNRIVALED and has the ability to descend on a mountain in a cloud of fire (Woah!)

And From there things only get better, God begins to lay out some

*drum roll please*

R U L E S?

When I first read this story I remember thinking why so many rules?, haven’t they struggled enough? lol

However these just arent any rules. These rules are a matter of life and death.

See, God is going to lead his people to a land flowing with milk and honey but Gods love requires him to send his people out equipped and fully prepared. (what a great dad!)

“I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.” – Exodus 3:17

Gods love for his children isnt optional or conditional, it’s a central part of Gods divine nature. His love for us is woven into the very fabric of who and what he is and nothing can separate us from it.

God doesnt give the Israelites rules to punish them. No, these rules are to protect them and help them be in right relationship with their deliverer.

God gets rid of the guesswork by clearly outlining what is required to be a follower of his.

Before I started following God, I hated being told what to do. I was the epitome of a rebel without a cause. There was no method to my madness, I was just mad lol. Looking back over my life I didnt realize my refusal to submit to any form of leadership was not only the cause of numerous failures and hardships in my life but I couldve of died, better yet I should’ve.

However Gods love for me was far greater than my rebellious nature. When I gave my life to him he begin to lay the groundwork for what was required for his and mine relationship. I could no longer smoke, drink, have sex outside of marriage, lie, steal, put my hands on people just because I was mad or cuss someone out when they did something I didn’t like (Yeah I know some of these things should be self-explanatory but I was a menace to society lol)

Certain affections were easy to let go of while others were a S T R U G G L E ! Reality was I had more years being an enemy of God than I had being his friend. I needed guidance, I needed instruction.

I needed rules.

and like me, the Israelites were more Egyptian than they were Israelites. 400 + years in bondage in a idolatrous country not their own, God had to lay the groundwork in making sure they wouldn’t stumble needlessly.

Gods love is a gift. He provides us with all that we need while we are walking with him because again, it’s who he is. Its a core aspect of his being

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” – 1 John 4:8

God wants to protect us. He wants us to thrive and live lives well watered but it requires obedience and sacrifice. Something has to go in order for something new to take place

And establishing something new was exactly what God was doing on Mount Sinai

Now, Gods love for the Israelites didn’t just extend to their actions and ways of life but he cared about what they wore, what they ate and what they touched. God wanted them to be dignified, holy, magnificent, a people who stood up , out, and apart from their neighbors

and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. – Exodus 19:6

God in every sense of the word was cleaning them up. If God is clean , that means those he calls UP have to be too.

When I first started walking with God I noticed how clean I started to feel. It’s hard to put into words. Although my physical appearance looked the same, I felt new. I felt clean. a deep sparkly, clean type feeling.

Gods instruction is written soap.

God goes into detail of what the priest are to wear in chapters 28 – 29 of Exodus and its beautiful. The priestly garments were the equivalent to a three piece suit worn on easter Sunday. Them boys were CLEAN and or as some might say “Casket sharp” lol

God loved the Israelites so much that he begin stripping them of their physical, emotional and mental state of servitude and giving them a new existence that could be seen and felt from the inside out

An existence that reflected who they were and what he originally intended for them to be

FREE

When people think of rules they think of bondage, they think of …well …. slavery but reality is rules grant us true freedom. Honoring Gods boundaries and respecting his wishes for our lives produces a peace that surpasses all understanding.

God wasn’t delivering the Israelites just to reenact a neo-form of slavery steeped in verbalized codes of conduct

Nah, These rules were to ensure they remained free (if you read further in the bible you’ll see the Israelites failure to comply with Gods commandments resulted in bondage several times over)

Last year I fought God a lot. I wanted it my way and his way. This power struggle left me frustrated and exhausted. God moved mountains to bring me to him and yet I felt as if I knew more than he did. I felt what he required was too hard and too much to ask for. I wanted to give up and many times give in.

However, The more I read the bible I began to see that doing things my way was nonsensical and above all else a complete waste of time .

I did it my way for 20 years and it was a huge failure. I didn’t need any more proof than that. my way was in fact terrible

Thing is, God loved me. I just didnt see his boundaries as love. I thought he was keeping me from something good, much like my mother eve (Genesis 3)

But boy was I WRONG! lol Once I finally surrendered to God fully, my life opened up in ways unimaginable. The work that God started in me wasnt just a blessing for me but those around me.

my whole family begin to want what was inside of me

hope

I wish the story of Exodus ended on a positive note, I wish I could say the Israelites wore their new priestly status with honor and pride but sadly, they rebelled.

No matter how many times God tried to show them his love was far more sophisticated than any idol carved from human hands, richer than any fine wine or all the silver and gold one could ever find

They chose the illusion of freedom over real liberation.

The Exodus story serves as a reminder that when we are more dependent on drugs, alcohol ,porn, sex, a job, peoples opinions or in the Israelites case a golden calf, we usher in our own plagues

we end up back in chains

However, all is not lost. I am choosing to continue where our Hebrewic brothers and sisters left off.

Today and every day until my last breath, I am choosing to live a life of true freedom. No longer bound by the grip of death and destruction but one of peace, joy, gentleness, kindness, patience, goodness, self control and above all else, LOVE.

If you love me, you will keep my commandments – John 14:15

My prayer for you is that you surrender to God in totality.

Make him lord over your body, your finances , your relationships, your decision making, and actions.

Get free

for its the ONLY way to be.

God is love

Amen and amen

🕊️