You gotta be kiddin' me Moses

So today I continued reading up until Exodus 25.  If you have ever read through that part of the Bible before, you understand that a majority of what was written were laws.  Laws on how to operate in different circumstances, but really just outlining a moral code and explaining the consequences for each action that went against what God had instructed.

It's in passages like this that I often wonder why these laws are important for us.  I know that understanding the laws and what was expected does help interpret certain actions an punishments later talked about in the New Testament. 

Today though, as I was reading, I began to wonder what it must have been like to be an Israelite during this time.  They were out in the middle of the desert and instead of God just moving them on through the desert to the land that He had promised, Moses came back from talking with Him and had a whole set of rules they had to follow.  I can just imagine some of the them thinking "יש לך כדי להיות צוחק עליי מוזס"  roughly translated into "You gotta be kiddin' me Moses."

As I sit there reading those, I wonder what our lives would be like if God still held us to the same laws that He did back then.  Sure, He expects us to follow laws very similar, but the punishments aren't the same by any means.  When was the last time you heard of a man paying a dowry to a girls father for sleeping with her before she was married.  Not only that, but the guy would then get to choose if he wanted to marry her or not.  Not to mention all the laws about how you will die if you do certain things or some of the other harsh punishments for actions.

If you want to understand more about why there are different laws then than there are now, I would recommend checking out  What's in the Bible 3.  (It discusses it really well and makes it simple to understand.  While it is for kids, anyone can enjoy it.)

Anyway, while I didn't necessarily pull out any real strong, life changing, biblical truths, it makes me grateful for God's grace and mercy in my life.

Oh.....and to end the 24th Chapter....Moses disappears up into the mountains for 40 days.  Can you imagine getting a bunch of rules and then your leader leaving for an extended period of time?