Take a moment to read 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 before reading the devotional below.
If you haven’t read the story of Exodus, particularly chapter 34, you should take a minute to read it so that today’s passage makes more sense. Paul is referring to the moment when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments on the top of Mount Sinai. This was actually the second set of stone tablets — the first set was smashed on the ground after Moses came down the mountain to find the people worshiping a golden calf. It was a rough day.
Those commandments were known as a “covenant” because they were not a bunch of rules. They were a supernatural contract. God promised that he would bless the people if they kept his commands. This is not a manipulation on God’s part. Living in these ways truly protect you from the harm of sin. However, keeping all the rules can’t eternally save you, and that’s Paul’s reminder today.
Here’s your freedom for today:
The Spirit gives you freedom.
There it is, my favorite word! Freedom. Right there in verse 17. It’s what comes with a direct encounter with the Spirit of God. Moses got to see it at the top of the mountain, but he had to be shielded a bit. But we live in a new era, a time when we can directly receive the Spirit because Jesus tore down the separation (check out Matthew 27:45-56). Jewish religious people had focused on the rules, so they missed the point of what God had been teaching them. God’s promises were never about the rules themselves. They were about freedom. Here’s how to live, it will make you free. Here’s my Spirit, he will set you free. If you are living a life that’s anything less than free, ask for more! Seek the Spirit, ask to see more of the glory of God.