Open Our Bibles Together with MFahring Michelle Fahring

 
 
“Show me Your glory.”
 
These words not only ended our last episode of OOBT but are also the ones we pick back up with today as well. Not only does Moses have the opportunity to see God’s glory, but he also comes back down from Mt. Sinai with a radiant face from spending time in God’s presence. Wow! Just wow.
 
We also hear the words God used to describe Himself. Gracious. Merciful. Slow to Anger. Faithful. Forgiving. Gosh, OOBTers… How can we not recognize all of these characteristics over and over again in His care for His people? In His continued presence with these rebellious people. In rewriting the stone tablets Moses broke. In reaffirming His covenant by highlighting the specific commands to avoid idolatry and unacceptable worship in the future (especially after that unfortunate golden calf incident). In His command to build the Tabernacle so He can dwell among the Israelites. In spite of all that has happened up to this point.
 
Our God. Our God of second chances. Our God who is full of compassion and mercy. Our God who is slow to anger and is filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. Our God who provides. The Same God. Our God With Us. So beautiful.
 
For the full episode show notes, please go to https://mfahring.com/exodus-34-36/

Welcome to OOBT’s 60th episode my friends!!
 
Yep… you read that right… the big 6-0! Wow! Let’s take a moment today to celebrate that we’ve reached another milestone here on OOBT… in our studies together… we just keep moving right along on those thin crinkly pages and the episodes just keep on piling up, don’t they?! Yay! I’m so glad you’re here with me to celebrate!
 
Annndddd I am super humbled and oh so very excited to still be studying alongside each one of you … now 60 episodes later… AMAZING! Ok, enough of all that…how about we let our confetti settle to now return our attention to Moses and those Israelites at Mount Sinai.
 
We start off our studies today with God instructing Moses on how He has not only chosen two craftsmen for the construction of all things related to the Tabernacle but that He has also filled them with wisdom for creating all of the items EXACTLY as He has detailed to Moses. This serves as further proof that whatever God requires of us, He equips us for & He gives us all we need for the assignment. So good.
 
There is also more talk about Sabbath rest and then… dun dun duuun… there is that golden calf incident. Yikes!
 
Truthfully, there’s so much more I could say about Episode 60 but how about instead I just let you listen in for yourselves? LOL! Seriously though, be sure you don’t miss this one! (And yes, I am aware that I probably say that with EVERY episode release, but I actually mean it each time as well… I discovered so much in my studies that I can’t wait to share with each one of you!) I love our times together so much my OOBTers!
 
For the full episode show notes, please go to https://mfahring.com/exodus-31-33/

And then what?
 
Have you ever taken a moment in your Easter celebrations to consider the answer to this question… to look to see what happens next in Scripture AFTER we read that the tomb was empty?
 
When we do, what we find, is another 40 days of Jesus here on Earth. Annnndddd we also find a whole lot of post-Resurrection moments that could only be described as this….
 
Mundane.
 
Now that’s definitely not a word any of us would have EVER thought could be associated with Easter, right?! BUT, in today’s episode, we’ll learn how the seemingly mundane post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus were actually not that at all … and yes… you heard that right… Our Savior, who defeated death and the grave, did not choose fireworks or parades but instead used ordinary interactions with people to announce His Resurrection.
 
Honestly, this is especially incredible as we consider the fact that this message Jesus entrusted to nobodies somehow made it to our ears and hearts 2,000 years later. Amazing.
 
Be sure to listen in for LOTS of talk about 40 days… and day 41 even. All of this and so much more… Let’s be sure we don’t rush through this week without taking a moment to fix our eyes not only on the Resurrection but also all those appearances Jesus made to many before ascending to heaven… on day 41.
Wishing all of you the happiest of Easters as you celebrate that our Jesus is Risen… He is Risen Indeed OOBT friends!
 
For the full episode show notes, please go to https://mfahring.com/easter-jesus-on-the-road-to-emmaus/

In today’s chapters in Exodus, we take a deep dive into God’s directions to Moses about the priestly garments and the consecration of the priests. However, please know this … all of this is merely meant to point us to Jesus who is described in the New Testament as our Great High Priest. He is the fulfillment of all the things that we see happening here in Exodus.
 
PLUS, we learn quite a bit more about God and His desire to dwell with us as we finish out the remainder of the descriptions of the items to be placed within the tabernacle. With that thought in mind, please be sure to listen ALL THE WAY to the end of this one to hear some conversation about how we are all now little mini tabernacles walking around in the wilderness of this world carrying our God With Us inside of us. Now that’s most definitely so good my OOBTers!
 
For the full episode show notes, please go to https://mfahring.com/exodus-28-30/

Today’s studies on the podcast include LOTS AND LOTS of details about God’s plans to create a tabernacle as a place for Him to dwell among His people here on earth. I don’t know about you but this idea of God dwelling with us reminds me of one of my most favorite things about God… Emmanuel, our God with Us.
 
Annnnddd if you have listened for any amount of time at all, you have probably also heard me say quite OFTEN on OOBT, that our Emmanuel is not just a baby in the manger. Actually, we saw God’s desire to dwell with His people all that way back in the beginning… yes… the literal beginning… of creation that is… as found in Genesis… when God dwelled with Adam and Eve in perfect relationship in the Garden of Eden.
 
As we’ve seen throughout our studies, ever since sin entered the world, God has been in the process of rescue and restoration of His relationship with His people. And this tabernacle is just one more step in that direction.
 
We are also going to see in the tabernacle many pointers to Jesus, God’s character, and reminders from the Garden of Eden even. And don’t forget that all these directions are coming through the conversation between God and Moses during those 40 Days and 40 Nights on Mount Sinai. I can just visualize Moses sitting and taking notes as God speaks, can’t you?!
 
For the full episode show notes, please go to https://mfahring.com/exodus-25-27/

Law & Order. Anyone who knows me knows that ALL the Law & Order shows are my absolute favorites to watch… most specifically Olivia Benson and Law & Order SVU. 25 seasons and still going strong. So… yes… just in case you are wondering… the play on words in the title of this episode was 100% intentional! LOL!
 
Truthfully, though, it also directly relates to where we are headed in our studies today on OOBT. The 10 Words or 10 Commandments. The Book of the Covenant. So many examples of how God is using His laws to bring order.
 
And about those laws found in the Book of the Covenant… please know that while many of the laws we’re reading don’t sit well or don’t make any sense at all to us, we must remember that they are not written for us today. Instead, they are written for the Israelite culture as they were leaving slavery and the oppression of the Egyptians. The Israelites are newly freed from slavery and in a learning process.
 
trying to learn how to live not as slaves any longer but as a new nation how to live at peace with God and at peace with one another how to deal with issues of property rights, personal injury, and issues of justice how God is setting them apart from the nations surrounding them in very significant ways  
Throughout this learning process, we see God so graciously not only provide the laws for order but actually give them detailed instructions as found in the Book of the Covenant of what these laws mean in everyday life for them at that time.
 
And please don’t miss out on the touching covenant ceremony between God and the Israelites during which they not only saw God, but they feasted with Him in the wilderness too. Can you even imagine my OOBTers? I can’t wait to study this and so much more with all of you!
 
For the full episode show notes, please go to https://mfahring.com/exodus-22-24/