God’s grace: It’s more than forgiveness (Exodus 33–34; 1Corinthians 5–6, 10)

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Cleaning the temple of the heart: Hezekiah’s spiritual revival flows from 2nd-chance Passover (2Chronicles 29–32; 2Kings 18–20; Isaiah 36–39)

Devotional Reflection: Move Forward in Faith

God does not call us to spiritual stagnation—He calls us to grow. Just as a child matures into adulthood, so must we mature in our walk with Him. Remaining in the same place spiritually is not an option when God has a journey marked out for us.

In Exodus 13–14, we find the Israelites standing at the edge of the Red Sea, paralyzed by fear as Pharaoh’s army closes in. They are caught between the temptation to return to bondage, the uncertainty of fighting an impossible battle, and the unknown of moving forward. It is a crisis moment—one that calls not for human strategy, but divine direction.

Like them, we often face decisions where we take matters into our own hands, striving, planning, and reacting without first seeking the Lord’s guidance. But when we act without God’s leading, the result can be confusion, fear, or worse—spiritual defeat.

God gave Israel another option: “Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exodus 14:13). In that moment, God made it clear—they were not in control. He was.

God moved the pillar of cloud to the rear of the camp, hiding the Israelites from the Egyptian army. This cloud passed through the people, a divine covering—like a baptism—not of water, but of grace and protection. Then, in power and mercy, God parted the sea, making a path where none existed. The people walked forward, between walls of water, not by their own strength, but by the miraculous provision of God.

When the Egyptians pursued them into the sea, those same waters became judgment. For Israel, the passage was a baptism of life. For Egypt, a baptism of death. This divine act marked the end of Egypt’s hold over God’s people. The enemy was destroyed, and Israel was free to walk into the next chapter of their journey.

Three days later, in the wilderness of Shur, God tested them—reminding them that growth requires trust, obedience, and perseverance. And with each step forward, He continued shaping them into the people He had called them to be.

“And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.”” (Exodus 15:26 NAS95)

God tells the children of Israel that they must grow in spiritual maturity.

“Then Moses said to the LORD, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people!’ But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me. Moreover, You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ “Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people.” And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then he said to Him, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. “For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?”

The LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.”” (Exodus 33:12-17 NAS95)

Moses teaches us that to walk in God’s grace is to walk in His presence. When he asks for grace, he’s seeking God’s favor—His nearness and guidance. Grace is not the same as mercy or forgiveness; it is the blessing of God going with us. God calls us to follow His instructions carefully, and it is our responsibility to remain in the place where His grace can rest on us. Moses reminds us not only why we need God’s grace, but how to pursue it and preserve it through faithful obedience.

“Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” Then the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. “Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”” (Exodus 33:18-23 NAS95)

God tells Moses not to show up before Him empty handed. 

“Now the LORD said to Moses, “Cut out for yourself two stone tablets like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you shattered. “So be ready by morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain. “No man is to come up with you, nor let any man be seen anywhere on the mountain; even the flocks and the herds may not graze in front of that mountain.” So he cut out two stone tablets like the former ones, and Moses rose up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and he took two stone tablets in his hand. The LORD descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the LORD. Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship. He said, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go along in our midst, even though the people are so obstinate, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your own possession.”” (Exodus 34:1-9 NAS95)

A Desire for God’s Presence Among His People

Moses understood that true freedom isn’t just physical—it’s spiritual. God didn’t deliver Israel from Egypt simply to remove their chains, but to draw them into a relationship with Himself. Freedom from slavery was only the beginning; God’s greater purpose was to dwell among His people and transform them into a holy nation set apart for Him.

After receiving God’s grace and presence personally, Moses makes a bold and selfless request—he asks God to extend His presence to all of Israel. He doesn’t settle for personal favor; he intercedes on behalf of the entire nation, longing for every heart to know and walk with God.

This moment reveals the heart of a true spiritual leader—one who desires not only closeness with God, but also that others would experience the same depth of communion.

God’s call to Israel wasn’t just about obedience to the Ten Commandments; it was about loyalty—complete, undivided devotion. He sought a people whose hearts were wholly His, who would walk in covenant faithfulness and delight in His presence.

“Then God said, “Behold, I am going to make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform miracles which have not been produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people among whom you live will see the working of the LORD, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you.

“Be sure to observe what I am commanding you this day: behold, I am going to drive out the Amorite before you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. “Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. “But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim — for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God — otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice, and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods. “You shall make for yourself no molten gods.” (Exodus 34:10-17 NAS95)

God called the children of Israel to live set apart for Him. They were not to make covenants with wicked nations or adopt their idolatrous practices. Instead, they were to destroy all idols and high places devoted to false gods. To remain in God’s grace, Israel was also given specific commandments: to dedicate their firstborn to Him, to honor the Sabbath, to observe the counting of the Omer leading to Shavuot, to celebrate the Feast of Sukkot, and to appear before Him three times a year. These instructions were not mere rituals—they were expressions of devotion and loyalty to the God who had redeemed them.

“Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. “For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no man shall covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the LORD your God.” (Exodus 34:23-24 NAS95)

He commands them to observe the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the passage concludes with a curious instruction:  

“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” (Exodus 34:26 NASB95)

These instructions were given by God to the nation of Israel to teach them how to live in His presence and remain under His grace. He was calling them to grow in spiritual maturity. You may notice that most of the Ten Commandments are not repeated here, because they represent the foundation—spiritual milk. Obedience to those commands is the starting point, the basic standard for living a life set apart for God.

When Tolerance Becomes Compromise: Protecting the Witness of the Church

The Apostle Paul repeatedly calls his readers to attain spiritual maturity. 

“For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness.” (1 Corinthians 10:1-5 NAS95)

Most of the children of Israel, at least those of the first generation in the wilderness, did not choose to live in God’s presence. They chose Egypt in their heart even though they didn’t have the courage to go back on their own. 

“Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.” Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:6-13 NAS95)

The primary struggles the children of Israel faced in the wilderness was their desire to seek the illicit pleasures of idolatry and self-satisfaction. Idolatry was their primary weakness. Although individuals have responsibilities before God, the nation as a whole also has its own responsibilities before God. 

“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say.” (1 Corinthians 10:14-15 NAS95)

Hezekiah, for example, took this calling seriously and worked diligently to lead the nation of Judah back into God’s favor.  

While we may not have power or authority over our entire nation, we do have some influence within our local church communities and our own families. The Apostle Paul provides guidance on how we are to exercise that authority within the congregation—with wisdom, love, and a heart aligned with God’s purposes. 

“It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.

For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.” (1 Corinthians 5:1-13 NAS95)

The people in Corinth were proud of their tolerance of a person in their community who was in an illicit relationship with his father’s wife, his own step-mother. The church’s tolerance of this utterly selfish behavior became known across the entire city of Corinth. This man was worshipping the idol of his own lust and selfish desire for his step-mother. This example was not just something noticed by the adults in the church, but also by their children. The children were being taught, by the community’s tolerance, that this salacious relationship between a man and his step-mother was appropriate, which alarmed Paul greatly. 

Bowing down before a rock that you cut a face into is idolatry but indulging in self-pleasures of various sorts is also idolatrous. When we use our bodies in corrupt ways, we are damaging the image of God within us. When we refuse to exercises self-discipline and self-control and take the easy way and indulge any and all our sinful desires, we are abusing ourselves. Our sins corrupt the temple of God within us. God will not live in a corrupt temple. God will not force Himself on us if we don’t welcome Him. 

A spiritually mature walk requires self-control and self-discipline. A spiritually mature community is a good testimony to the people around them, while a spiritually immature, self-indulgent community is a bad testimony to the community. 

God is pleased with spiritually immature people who are teachable and humble, because they are willing to grow to spiritually maturity, but those who are spiritually immature, arrogant and stubborn will not be able to please God. As the Apostle Paul warned, someone who is spiritually immature and stubborn and unrepentant, has to be removed from the community until they repent and return in humility. To let them remain in good standing when they are unrepentant, will destroy the community. 

In light of the Apostle Paul’s clear exhortations, we are called to reject idolatry in all its forms—whether carved in stone or rooted in selfish indulgence—and to pursue a life of spiritual maturity marked by humility, holiness, and discipline. The failures of Israel in the wilderness and the permissiveness of the Corinthian church stand as sober warnings: God does not tolerate a community that refuses correction or embraces sin. As followers of Messiah Yeshua, we must take responsibility for our personal conduct and our influence within the Body of Christ. Let us therefore examine ourselves honestly, repent where needed, and commit to walking in sincerity and truth. Let us flee from idolatry and pursue holiness, not only for our own sake, but for the health of our families, our congregations, and our witness to the world. Today, choose to grow in spiritual maturity—walk humbly, seek God’s presence daily, and be bold in upholding righteousness in your community. 

God’s grace is far more than a pardon for sin—it is His empowering presence that calls us higher. It is not merely the removal of guilt, but the invitation to grow, to be transformed, and to walk daily in covenant relationship with Him. Grace is God’s nearness, His guidance, His provision for the journey—not a license to remain unchanged, but the divine enablement to become what He has called us to be. As we conclude the Feast of Unleavened Bread, let us remember: God delivered us not just to free us, but to form us. Let us respond by moving forward in faith, walking in His presence, and growing in the fullness of His grace.

Summary: Tammy