Summer Series Face to Face with God Week 3: Laying Down the Foundation

Nearly two months have passed since the Hebrews left Egypt. Now that the people were free it was time to lay down the foundation that would build a nation to trust and obey the Lord their God. As was customery of the time, a covenant was made between two parties. Example, If a person owed a debt, a covenant was made and written on two tablets of stone. The stone would include the agreement between the two parties on how that debt was going to be paid. Each party took and kept their covenant/stone. If at anytime the covenant was broken, the tablets would serve as a reminder of promises made by the two parties. In this case God had written a covenant on man's relationship with Him, and man's relationship with each other...today we know that covenant/list as the Ten Commandments. This was a covenant between God and his people. What is so unique about the covenant is that God gave his portion of the covenant to Moses to take care of! God was basically saying, "I will never forget my promises, all you need to do is obey and I will bring blessings to you." Throughout this week you will read and begin to understand God's compassion and love for his people. If these people were to become a nation they needed order. Here were two million plus people embarking on a journey that would take them to a different land. They would encounter people who worshipped other gods. Their new found freedom, if not dealt with, could be their stumbling block to greatness. God was laying down a foundation, testing their hearts and preparing this young nation for what lied ahead.

Just as we desire to be heard and respected by others, so does God. When we are put into a position of authority, we expect people to obey and follow. So does God! Each time Moses would converse with God, he would learn about His character and personality. Moses was learning about the love and compassion of God for a people that He called his own. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy, nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."

When you decided to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are opening the door to learn about the character of your God. The same God of Moses! The same God that called the Hebrew people His chosen nation, is the same God who calls you his own. The same God that rescued the people out of bondage, is the same God who gave His only begotten Son, so that the bondage's in your life may be broken forever! The same God who showed His character and personality to a simple man, is the same God who waits to show himself to you! When you get to know the characteristics of our living God, he then will begin to lay a foundation under your feet that will neither faultier nor quiver under the pressures of this world!