Wisdom International Devotionals

by Seth Davey

  An Open Door Exodus 26:1 “Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them.”   While our finite minds are incapable of seeing the invisible, incomparable glory of God, imagery and symbolism illustrate something of His  likeness , which is why God continually provides us with  the right  images for meditation and practice, knowing full well how quickly our minds turn to idolatrous and fanciful imaginings with the wrong ones. Yet, our eyes aren’t our only deficiency in worship. Our memories are as well, right? So, our Lord continually reiterates His imagery over and over again. Sometimes through annual Passovers, sometimes through renewed covenants, and sometimes   through alterations of old pictures—as is the case with the symbolism of cherubim throughout the Bible—but always with the purpose of drawing us nearer to Himself and...

  Gold Rush Exodus 25:31 & 37 “You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of pure hammered work: its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. … You shall make seven lamps for it. And the lamps shall be set up so as to give light on the space in front of it.”   God is very clear in His blueprints that both the Mercy Seat and the Lampstand should be made of pure gold and I find both the adjective and the noun significant here.   Metaphorically speaking, there’s a lot of gold and a lot of light in the world, isn’t there? We’ve discovered traces everywhere: in the Gilgamesh epic, in Hammurabi’s Code, in Plato’s  Republic , in Aesopian fables, in Virgil’s  Aeneid , in Samurai ethics, in Shaolin temples, in ascetic caves; and that gold continues to filter down through the rivers of our literatures and laws, imbedding in the sediments of our ideologies, settling in the foundation stones of our p...

  Practicing God’s Presence Exodus 25:23 & 26 & 29-30 “You shall make a table of acacia wood. … And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs. … And you shall make its plates and dishes for incense, and its flagons and bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold. And you shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before me regularly.”   As I read Exodus 25:23-30, I can’t help but notice how the centrality of this table in God’s tabernacle mirrors the centrality of a dining room table in our own homes. Think about it, friend: a table is the focal point for special gatherings, isn’t it? It brings guests together in harmony. It’s where we put our differences aside to join hands in prayer. It aromatizes our homes with God’s provision, from steaming, hot meals to seasonal candles. And I love that God doesn’t just decorate this tabernacle-table with fineries, but He orders that fre...

  An Ark Like No Other Exodus 25:17 a , 18 a , & 21-22 “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. … And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them. … And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.”   Little does Moses know that God is giving him the blueprint for what will become the most precious religious relic in world history. Treasure hunters, archeologists, and world leaders alike have craved the discovery of the ark ever since it disappeared from the biblical record. Theories abound on its whereabouts. Some believe the ark is hiding behind a wall at Qumran where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered. Others believe the ark is in a temple in Ethio...

  A Heavenly Contribution Exodus 25:1-2 & 8 The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me. … And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.”   Two things immediately strike me from Exodus 25: first, that God could’ve just spoken the tabernacle into existence but He instead gives His people a part to play in the crafting of it; and second, that He doesn’t  force  them to build it the way Pharaoh forced them to build storehouses in Egypt, but rather invites them to join if they desire. Friend, ponder what it means that this tabernacle is a  collaborative  process between God and His people, that it’s a labor of love shouldered by both parties, that a contribution is made from the Father as well as His children. How magnificent is that?! Anyone who simply desires to meet with God in the crevices of their common ...

  Sabbath Psalm 42 (Adapted from Augustus Toplady’s hymn ‘Rock of Ages’)   Rock of ages, tried and true, Let me hide myself in You! Let the water and the blood, From Your wounded side—a flood; Be of sin the double cure— Save from wrath and make me pure!   Could my tears forever flow? Could they pay back what I owe? No—for sin I can’t atone! You must save! And You alone! In my hands no price I bring— Only to Your cross I cling!   When my lungs give up their breath And my eyes close fast in death, I will rise to worlds unknown; And behold You on Your throne! Rock of Ages, tried and true, Let me hide myself in You!

  A Crackling Fire Exodus 24:17-18 Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.   Not so long ago, the glory of the Lord appeared to these same people through a tempest on Sinai’s peak. Before that, the glory of the Lord appeared to them at the Red Sea, as mighty waters stood muzzled above them like lions on a leash. Before that, God’s glory appeared to them as a cloud by day and a fire by night as He protected them from Pharaoh’s encroaching army. Before that, God’s glory appeared to them through a midnight Passover, where the Angel of the Lord swept over their blood-stained doorposts and spared the lives of their firstborn. Before that, God’s glory appeared to them in a series of miraculous pestilences that Pharaoh’s wizards couldn’t imitate. Before that, God’s glory appeared ...

  Picnic Time! Exodus 24:9-10 Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And … they beheld God, and ate and drank.   If the pastor of your church gave a basic Bible trivia quiz one Sunday morning and asked the question, “Who in the Old Testament saw God on Sinai’s summit?”, wouldn’t you raise your hand immediately and exclaim, “Moses!” The fact that two guys named Nadab and Abihu, along with  seventy  other anonymous individuals, saw God on the mountain and even shared a meal in His presence has got to be one of the most underappreciated moments in all the Bible!   Sometimes, as a soccer lover, I’m a little envious of Pele for his unrivaled skill with the ball. Sometimes, as a writer, I’m a little envious of Mark Twain’s mastery of wit. Sometimes, as a lover of adventure, I’m a little envi...

  There is a Fountain Exodus 24:6 & 8 And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. … And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”   During a soccer practice in my junior year of college, I had the ball in the corner of the field and juked a defender named Mike, thinking he’d go left and I’d break free to the right, but he collided head-first into my face and broke my nose instead. Now, I’m pretty queasy around blood in general, and this was no exception, but for some wild reason, probably because I felt pretty tough for having endured such a hit, I hung my heavily blood-stained practice shirt on my dorm-room wall that night and kept it up for the rest of the year. I realize I could’ve just washed the shirt ten times or thrown it out with the garbage, but it was a stain I was proud of. So I kept i...

  A Book Signing Exodus 24:3b-4 a  & 7 a And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD … Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people.   Back when I used to write and publish children’s books, I’d often celebrate the release of a new book by doing readings and signings at diverse elementary schools throughout central North Carolina. The signing part was tedious, especially with tendonitis, but the reading part was a blast. Because the writing, illustrating, and editorial work for publishing requires tedious hours in isolation in front of a computer screen, it felt relieving to be able to engage with readers, to laugh and cheer with them at pivotal moments, and even to get interrupted constantly to hear their own stories. In my view, art is as much about participation as it is expression, which means that a book isn’t formally com...

  A Recurring Theme Exodus 23:29-30 “I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.”   Every generation of saints have been awaiting the full and final achievement of God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, Moses, and David in their own lifetimes, every generation facing their own respective exile in a foreign world, their own unique persecution by the devils of earth, their own particular yearning put in prayer form: “How long O Lord?!” And the Lord has thus far, from the days of Adam till now, answered back the same words: “Not yet.” Or at least that’s how we’ve tended to interpret His answer as the generations of our exile have multiplied.    When my three-year-old daughter smells mommy’s chocolate-chip muffins baking in the oven, she’ll peer longingly through the oven door and ask, “Are the...

  Sabbath Psalm 41 (Adapted from John Bowring’s hymn ‘In the Cross of Christ I Glory’)   In the cross of Christ I glory, Tow’ring o’er the wrecks of time; All the light of sacred story Gathers round its beams sublime.   When the woes of life surround me, Hopes deceive and fears oppress; Never will the cross forsake me: In its presence I progress!   When the sun of bliss is beaming Light and love upon my way From the cross the radiant streaming Adds more luster to the day.   Curse and blessing, pain and pleasure, By the cross are sanctified; Peace within that knows no measure; Hope that through all things abides.

  Are You Listening? Exodus 23:6 & 8 “You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. … And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.”   I’ll go out on a limb here and suggest that behind every injustice done to an innocent man, behind every righteous cause that gets censored, behind every true testimony that gets shouted down is the direct result of a bribe somewhere down the line. Some phone conversation between constituents on a private line. Some financial grant or laundered money that went under the radar. Some handshake between business partners in the secrecy of an office that went unseen. Some midnight meeting where a false witness—let’s call him Judas—conspired with powerful elites—let’s call them the Sanhedrin—to take out an innocent life—let’s call Him Jesus—for thirty little shekels of blood money. Perhaps the old Scripture that says  “The love of money is the root...

  Almighty Love Exodus 23:4-5 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.”   My son’s been having trouble understanding why God doesn’t seem to answer his prayers lately, so, over the weekend, we pulled out our Little Book of God’s Promises as a family and read through a few of the Scriptures. Encouraged by Jeremiah 33:3, we decided to memorize it as a family:  “Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things that you do not know.”  That Scripture came back to mind before opening my Bible just now, and I prayed Jeremiah 33:3 as prayer of dedication over the work ahead: “Lord, show  me  great and might things today that I don’t yet know!” And the Lord answered mightily!    I’ve misunderstood Christ’s meaning in Matthew 5:43-44 when He sa...

  Got Justice? Exodus 23:1-2 “You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice.”   Expositors of the Mosaic Laws tend to distinguish them into three categories—moral, civil, and ceremonial—generally agreeing that the moral laws comprise the Ten Commandments, civil laws comprise chapters 21-23, and ceremonial laws cover the remainder of the Pentateuch. But while this classification is helpful in distinguishing the particular contexts in which these laws are given, I prefer to focus on the fact that all laws are revelations of God’s character, meaning that all laws are moral, civil, and ceremonial by nature. That is, God’s holiness isn’t divisible in practice the way it is in hermeneutics.    For example, notice how the civil law above reiterates almost verbatim the moral laws f...

  Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Smell Exodus 30:1 a  & 7-8 “You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; … And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the LORD throughout your generations.”   What do you do first thing in the morning after getting out of bed? Do you take an ice-cold shower to give your groggy eyes and tired mind a much-needed jolt? Do you walk immediately to the kitchen to grind coffee beans? Do you reach for your phone on the counter to check new messages, read fresh emails, and search your favorite news sources for top headlines? Do you throw on your sandals, grab a leash, and take your anxious dog out for a morning stroll? Or are you like me—do you hurry to your toddler’s bedroom to dress and feed her before she throws a fit?    I’m convicted as I read the Lord’s command to Aaron ...

  A Song to Share Exodus 22:21 “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.”   If Moses had written Exodus 22:21 as a song for the congregation to sing, he might’ve called it ‘The Symphony of Empathy.’ What we find here is the golden rule, written as much on our human hearts as it is on this crude parchment, found in some way, shape, or form in all cultures, tribes, and tongues.    If only these Hebrews would remember how much it pained them when Pharaoh doubled their workload and stopped furnishing them with straw and beat them when they didn’t make bricks in time. If only they’d remember how they longed for compassion from their benefactors, how they cried out for mercy and wept bitterly on days it wasn’t given. Maybe then they’d have compassion for others. And if only they’d recall those Egyptian neighbors who took pity on them, who brought them food and clothing and spices and treated them with kindness, who feare...

  Fable of Farce? Exodus 22:18-20 “You shall not permit a sorceress to live. Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death. Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the LORD alone, shall be devoted to destruction.”   At first glance, these three unpardonable sins of Exodus 22 seem to have no obvious correlation other than the severe penalty they incur, but notice that all three crimes here subvert man from his highest, most divine-like state to his basest, most animal-like state.    Think of it this way. God created us in His image and likeness, which I believe relates to our reason in two ways: first, in our rational will from which we choose good from evil, and second in our rational imagination from which we participate in God’s creative enterprise. That’s ultimately what  art  is: our God-given ability to synthesize forms and principles we discover in the real world and dress them up in fictions and paintings and monuments of our own. We aren’t cap...

  Sabbath Psalm 40 (Adapted from Bernard of Clairvaux’s hymn ‘O Sacred Head, Now Wounded’)   O sacred Head, now wounded—with grief and shame weighed down; Now scornfully surrounded with thorns Your only crown. How are You pale with anguish? With sore abuse and scorn! How does Your visage languish that once was bright as morn!   What You, O Lord, have suffered was all for sinners’ gain: Mine, mine the black transgression! But Yours the crimson stain! Lo, here I fall, my Savior—why would You take my place? Baptize me in Your favor! Wash me anew in grace!   What language can I borrow—to thank You, dearest Friend? To try to put it into words—the script would have no end! But I’ll be Yours forever! Through highs and lows be true— Lord, may I never, ever outlive my love for You!

  A Revolutionary Idea Exodus 22:7-9 “If a man gives to his neighbor money or goods to keep safe, and it is stolen from the man’s house, then, if the thief is found, he shall pay double. If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor’s property. For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before God. The one whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor.”   Exodus 22:9 is a nail in the coffin to the notion that biblical justice-theory is primitive and that present justice-theory is progressive. I can’t think of a more graphic proof of our society’s abject regression than this Old Testament civil instructive here. Notice: all arbitration, all judgment, all defense and prosecution for any breach of trust between neighbors is decided by God. No c...

  The Avenger Exodus 21:20 “When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged.”    As uncomfortable as it is for younger generations to consider, ‘spare the rod—spoil the child’ has been conventional wisdom for much of history. Up until about twenty years ago, kids were punished for misdemeanors by parents, teachers, coaches—you name it. Sailors were beaten by captains for stealing food or disobeying orders. Soldiers were beaten for breaking out of their barracks. Criminals were put in stocks in a city center to be struck by anyone passing by as a symbol of communal punishment. And while I truly believe that we’re better off in the Western world for having tried to find different modes of punishment that accomplish the same desired end without the stinging ethical dilemma, the fact is the rod was as common for the loving father as for the abusive one, for the kind master as for the tyrant. So, Exodus 21:20 is...

  A Silver Lining Exodus 21:7 “When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do.”   Just when I think I’m making headway through the dense fog of this winding, biblical road, verse seven hits my windshield like an unsuspected buck and sends me reeling toward the guard rail.  When a man sells his daughter as a slave  is a line I never hoped to read when I opened the Good Book in search of wisdom this morning, and it might take a while for my tires to stop spinning before I can make sense of them.   Even if this form of slavery is more like indentured servitude than the horrific sort that immediately comes to our mind nowadays, what sort of predicament would a father have to find himself in to decide that a little bit of money is better than keeping his daughter free and giving her a better economic prospect? Well, as clichéd and dissatisfying as the answer sounds, this is the ancient world. It’s a shock to us, but it’s nothing ...

  Liberty by Submission, pt. 2 Exodus 21:5-6 “But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out for free,’ then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.”   Consider for a moment that the modern ideal of freedom today is in many ways more degrading to the value of human life than the version of slavery we find here in Exodus 21. Secularists think they’re making headway by shouting “My body—My right!” and “Pro-choice!” but they’re actually leading us into truly dark ages. Standing up for an individual’s God-given freewill is one thing but demanding that individuals have a right to do evil for their own sake is quite another. Those today who conflate every form of self-indulgence with human rights have paved the way for horrendous drug abuses and sexual deviancy and child exploitative practices. Sadly, ...

  Liberty by Submission, pt. 1 Exodus 21:5-6 “But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out for free,’ then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.”   Before diving into the details of Exodus 21:5, remember first and foremost that God has revealed Himself to His people the way a father reveals truth to a child: in stages. Societies have changed, political systems have adapted, and ideologies about man’s civic duties have altered as well, yet God remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. Which is precisely why the hermeneutic of progressive revelation is so foundational here. It means that our Father has been holding our little hands through every stage of our development, stooping down to meet us at  our  level, crawling and walking and running with us at  our  pace, wi...

  Sabbath Psalm 39 (Adapted from John Newton’s hymn ‘Safely Through Another Week’)   Safely through another week God has brought us on our way; Let us now His blessing seek, waiting in His courts today: Day of all the week the best! Emblem of eternal rest!   Now we pray for Heaven’s grace through our dear Redeemer’s name; Show Your reconciled face! Take away our sin and shame! All our worldly thoughts subdue: Till we rest again in You!   Here we come to praise Your name; let us sense You all around; Lift the clouds that block our eyes till Your grace and love abound! Give our hearts a taste, at least! A portion of that Kingdom feast;   Pull us from the sinking sands of godless men and godless times; Bid our hearts to feel Your hand and see the light that ever shines! Rise, O soul, as Heaven’s dove! Join that Sabbath rest above!  

A Bit More Context Exodus 21:2 “When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing.”   No one in their right mind would ever call slavery a good thing any more than they would call war a good thing, because slavery and war both extend from man’s exertion of power over his brother, but it’s important to understand that the enterprise of slavery was in certain times and places in the ancient world a necessary socio-economic affair, sometimes even a mercy when the ulterior was genocide.    Think of it like this. What if Assyrians stormed through your city, burned down all the buildings, and seized you and your children. What would you do? Your entire livelihood has been obliterated; your community is in a heap; thousands of your strongest men lie dead around you; weeping widows and screaming children are running frantically through the streets. What will you eat? How will you get protection from future attacks? How wil...

  Laws on Slavery (An Introduction) Exodus 21:1-2 a “Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. When you buy a Hebrew slave …”   I once had a book in my small library called ‘An Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties’ that I’d occasionally reference when a particularly difficult Scripture sent my mind into a tailspin, and I never encountered a more difficult reality in all the Scriptures than God’s rules here in Exodus 21 for the economy of slavery. For modern readers, the existence of slavery in Israel’s commonwealth is an existential crisis for Christianity. I wish I could just skip over Exodus 21 today and move on to something far more palatable, something like Psalm 23 or Isaiah 11 or John 3:16; but if Moses could draw near to God through the thick darkness of Sinai and come back more luminous, so can we.    Friend, mark this: it wasn’t enlightenment thinkers or American revolutionaries or civil rights leaders who finally put the truth in black and white...