Readings for today: Exodus 22-24, Psalm 24
I love the invitation God extends to the leaders of Israel. He invites them to cross from earth to heaven. From the dimension of this world to the dimension of the world to come. It’s a great reminder to us all that heaven is not “up there” somewhere in outer space but a reality that exists all around us all the time. It’s the dimension where God dwells and it’s the place God is actually preparing for us as His people. The leaders of Israel get a taste of this reality when they ascend Mt. Sinai with Moses. “Go up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders, and bow in worship at a distance. Moses alone is to approach the Lord, but the others are not to approach, and the people are not to go up with him….Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders, and they saw the God of Israel. Beneath his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. God did not harm the Israelite nobles; they saw him, and they ate and drank.” (Exodus 24:1-2, 9-11 CSB) Can you imagine the moment when you cross from rocky ground to pavement made of gemstones and sit down at a table to eat with God? It must have been incredible and it makes the choices some of these men make a little later in the narrative even more heartbreaking.
God’s invitation is still there for us. It’s not just for special people or holy people or people who went to seminary and became pastors. Jesus Himself says He goes to heaven to prepare a place for us so we can live with Him for all eternity. The visions recorded throughout the Bible of the heavenly realm describe it as a place of breathtaking beauty and splendor. And the reality is we can experience a taste of it even in this life. How you ask? Listen to the Psalmist. “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not appealed to what is false, and who has not sworn deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who inquire of him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.” (Psalms 24:3-6 CSB) God promises that all those who seek Him will find Him if they will seek Him with all their hearts. The key is not perfection but an honest and authentic desire to truly dwell in God’s presence and walk in His ways.
Readings for tomorrow: Exodus 25-27, Psalm 25