2026 Epiphany Devotions
Monday, February 9
Exodus 24:12-18
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there; I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up onto the mountain of God. 14 To the elders he had said, “Wait here for us, until we come back to you. Look, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them.”
15 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. 17 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 Israelites. 18 Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
“… Look, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them.” …”
When I was serving full time in the parish, whenever I’d leave for a multi-day conference, a vacation, or something where I was going to be out of town for any length of time, I’d designate someone to be the contact person for church emergencies. Typically, that was the president of the church council or another lay leader in the congregation. Their responsibility was to “take care of things” until I returned.
I did this, not because I saw myself as so important that the church would collapse in my absence, but to reassure parishioners that I wasn’t leaving them “high and dry”. In other words, I was reminding them that they were not alone.
Moses appoints Aaron and Hur to watch over things while he and Joshua head up onto the mountain of God. This reassures the Israelites and reminds them that they are cared for even in his absence.
In many ways, Jesus’ words to his disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit models this behavior. In John’s Gospel, Jesus promises another “Advocate” who will be with them forever. This coming of the Spirit not only reassures the disciples, but us as well. Similarly, the promise of the Spirit reminds us that we have not been abandoned – rather, that the Lord is with us always. Those are the words that give us hope.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the coming of the Holy Spirit who gives us hope. Remind me of Your love this day, and the promise that You will never abandon us. Amen.