Appointed
Strong’s Concordance 3259 yaad
yaad: to appoint
Short Definition: meet
agreed to meet (1), appointed (3), assemble (1), assembled (3), assigned (1), designated (1), designates (1), gather (1), gathered (3), made an appointment (2), meet (7), meet together (1), set (1), summon (3).
Strong’s Concordance 4150
moed: appointed time, place, or meeting
Transliteration: moed
Phonetic Spelling: (mo-ade’)
Short Definition: meeting
Here I am
From Your heart comes streaming down
Unending love, it is all around.
Your Loving kindness, sure as dawn
By Your grace I am drawn.
From dusk to dawn and back You trace,
Faithful love, amazing grace.
Breath of God, Ancient of Day’s,
Here I am, teach me more of Your ways.
© laurette laster
Don’t miss the meeting. It is time for the yearly evaluation. Are you in line for a raise or possibly a promotion?
We are in the month of Elul, a special season and time to meet with our Lord and search our hearts. This is a time to secure the blessings of The Lord for the upcoming year. It is said that on Rosh Hashanah the books are open and God records your deeds, good or bad, from the past year.
Years ago when I worked in the secular corporate world, I had an evaluation done each year. During this time it was expected that if you had met the company standards or possibly exceeded the requirements that you would receive a pay raise. Often meeting and or exceeding the company requirements set you in line for a promotion. This was something I always looked forward to. There were extenuating circumstances a few times that caused me to wonder if I would be receiving a raise. Not that I had purposed to do poorly or that I had been negligent, but there are extenuating circumstances that can change an outcome. Like competitive intrusion or losing a key employee.
I was required to evaluate myself and bring my self evaluation with me to the table when meeting with my boss. He did an evaluation on my performance as well. We then compared the two evaluations to see where we agreed and where we didn’t meet. I learned so much about looking at me in regard to company requirements, metrics, numbers, and performance based on company standards, not what I thought or felt about my performance.
Often we may think we are doing AOK. We may be measuring our self and our performance according to worldly standards and act in pride, and become a little puffed up, add some ego and poof we have our theory. Then we sit down with a boss or a superior and compare notes, only to realize there is a great divide or chasm separating what we think and what is reality.
Remember God is sovereign. His world, His rules, the end.
This is an appointed time to look into our hearts and do a self evaluation. How can I do an honest assessment on myself? What am I to compare myself too? We are required to compare ourselves to the word and the will of our Heavenly Father for us. James 1:22-23
God is faithful. He has set the bar high. I am so thankful for that. We can become wishy washy and mediocre without any help. We could succumb to the peer pressure and fail miserably just like Aaron and the children of Israel, if we do not set aside appointments to evaluate our actions and decisions. God has standards that we must hold fast. We cannot change the standards and think we are going to skate by our sin. I am saddened that we think to legalize sin, thus solving the sin problem. Hello!
The children of Israel had to do a self evaluation after the sin of the golden calf. Moses required each man to prove whose side they were on. They had to take up swords and slay even family members who weren’t willing to stand with God and his commandments.
When Moses returned to meet with God he did not deny their sinful ways or actions. Moses met The LORD with, “oh this people have sinned a great sin.” Asking that The LORD forgive their sin and also agreeing he was one with them. We read that Moses said if You are going to blot their name out of Your book blot mine out also. We read in just a few verses the immediate plan to “carry on” to the Promised Land.
God summoned Moses to come back up the mountain with two stones he had carved. Moses asks to see God’s glory. God told Moses he would hide him in the cleft of the rock while His glory passed by.
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you smashed [when you learned of Israel’s idolatry]. 2 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. 3 No man is to come up with you, nor let any man be seen anywhere on the mountain; nor let flocks or herds feed in front of that mountain.” 4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and he got up early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took the two tablets of stone in his hand. 5 Then the Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with Moses as he proclaimed the Name of the Lord. 6 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 loving-kindness and truth (faithfulness); 7 keeping mercy and loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; but He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers upon the children and the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers].” 8 Moses bowed to the earth immediately and worshiped [the Lord]. 9 And he said, “If now I have found favor and loving-kindness in Your sight, O Lord, let the Lord, please, go in our midst, though it is a stiff-necked (stubborn, rebellious) people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your possession.”
Part of Teshuvah is to acknowledge and own the sin. Isn’t this a beautiful picture of doing a self evaluation? I believe it is. Moses list exactly what sin is; stubborn rebellion.
What a picture. Was Moses thinking to possibly have the entire mission thwarted, only to be introduced to the glory of God? What a beautiful picture of God’s gracious love, abounding and atoning for our sin, inequity and transgression at His expense.
Jesus atoning work for our salvation is all throughout the Old Covenant, and it is all right here. God is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness, keeping mercy and forgiving sin. Is this what Jesus was quoting in the parable of the prodigal son? We know that the children of Israel used part of their wealth and provisions to create the golden calf (idols and idolatry). They had squandered the wealth that God provided just like the prodigal had. God said Israel is my first born, “and thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:” (Exodus 4:22).
On our return we deserve judgment and death. Yet our Heavenly Father longs to be gracious to us. He is taking us up. He brought us out to bring us in. When we return, we confess, we repent, and commit to do the will of God. We seek His will and the work He has ordained for us to do.
He has a mission to complete and our names are included. We have the opportunity to repent and have our sins blotted out and then times of refreshing come in.
Dear Heavenly Father. Thank you that You are long suffering, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and keeping mercy. Thank You that You sent Your Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the Cross for my sins. Father, forgive the sin and transgression of my people. Forgive them and send Your presence with us LORD. As we continue on may we see Your call, Your assignment and Your will and our purpose in life? Amen
Don’t miss the return; His mercy is poured out on our repentant hearts.
God bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you Shalom.
Until next time, thank you for listening with me. Laurette
Through All Seasons 