Grains of Sand

“When the cat’s away…” Remember that old adage? Exodus 24 is a short chapter and seemingly not terribly significant considering all the tremendous events that take place around it. Huddled between the giving of the Ten Commandments and the description of how the Tabernacle was to be built and furnished, Exodus 24 feels like one of those comic relief moments that break the tension in a book or movie. Except that it’s not funny. It’s a little sad actually. The chapter begins with God instructing Moses to come up the mountain. He is to take Aaron, seventy of the elders of Israel and two priests, Nadab and Abihu, to the foot of Sinai with him. They must stay at the bottom while Moses goes up to talk to the Lord. The people are to stay back. “When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, ‘Everything the Lord has says we will do.’ ” (24:3, NIV). The next morning Moses offers sacrifices to the Lord and read the record of the covenant...

" His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful " —2 Chronicles 26:15, NIV. What is it about success that plants the seeds of failure? " But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense " —2 Chronicles 26:16, NIV. Ahhhhh, pride. Uzziah's punishment was a touch of leprosy. That's just as deadly as a touch of cancer. Physical death might take a while, but it's becoming a pariah in the community that really hurts. No one to touch and no one to be touched by. Total isolation except for those who have also been embraced by the disease. Uzziah's son, Jotham learned the lesson. " He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done, but unlike him he did not enter the temple of the Lord " —2 Chronicles 27:2, NIV. Interestingly it wasn't the ...