The Kandel Sisters (2025)

05/09/2025

Exodus
“So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’” Exodus 34:4-7
The Lord is compassionate.
He is gracious.
God is slow to anger.
He abounds in love and faithfulness.
He maintains love to thousands.
He forgives wickedness, rebellion, and sin.
What a magnificent list. This speaks of how great His love is for us.
But He is also just. There is a time when God says enough is enough. If people continue in sin, it continues in them. Sin spreads. It is very much like cancer. It must be stopped. And God stops it with punishment. We have a choice. Accept His forgiveness and blessing or continue in our sin and receive His punishment. Yes, it is our choice.

04/09/2025

Exodus
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.’” Exodus 34:1-3
Moses was standing before God because he had taken the stone tablets and shattered them. Why? Because the people had broken the commandments. They had begun to worship a worthless statue of a cow made out of gold. Nothing but gold. But it wouldn’t have mattered if the cow was made out of diamonds, emeralds, rubies, if it had been the size of a house, been chiseled by the most talented craftsmen in the world. It was just made out of stuff. It couldn’t hear, see, lead, help, provide, heal. The Israelites had been throwing themselves in front of it and proclaiming their worship to it. It was nothing, but their actions declared their devotion to it. When Moses saw how they had broken God’s Word, he knew it had broken God’s heart. Those broken commandments showed it.
He went to the mountain again. And there he met God. What a gracious loving God to give the people a second chance. The Lord was right there ready to start with a second chance, offering grace. He loved them that much.

He does the same with us. How big is the sin? How far have we gone? Does it break God’s heart? Yes. But no matter what rules we have broken, we can meet God on the mountain and be greeted by grace and a second chance. He loves us that much.

03/09/2025

Exodus
I love what we see in this section of Exodus. Moses was the scribe for the first five books of the Old Testament called the Torah. We need to be reminded that at this point in human history; they did not yet have the written Word. Moses was talking with the Lord and made a very specific request of God.
“Then Moses said, ‘Now show me your glory.’ And the Lord said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,’ he said, ‘you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.’ Then the Lord said, ‘There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.’” Exodus 33:18-23
And God answered. Now the Lord knew that Moses, in his human state, could not live if he actually experienced the glory of the Lord, but He was going to shield him and allow Moses to experience a restrained portion. God hid him in a rock.
And we know from Acts 4:11 that Jesus is the Rock. Peter told the listening crowd, “Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’”
We can be hidden in Christ. He is our shield. But can we too see the glory of God? Just like Moses we see a restrained portion. Someday we will see it all.
Philippians 2: 9-11 “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Revelation 19:11-16 “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

02/09/2025

Exodus
“Moses said to the Lord, ‘You have been telling me, “Lead these people,” but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, “I know you by name and you have found favor with me.” If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.’ The Lord replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ Then Moses said to him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?’ And the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.’” Exodus 33:12-17
Yes, God had conversations with Moses, and we are privileged to listen in. In this exchange Moses knew that he had found favor in God’s eyes. But he was also pleading for his people. He was praying for others.
What a great model for us. As believers, we have found favor in God’s eyes. It doesn’t mean we are perfect. Moses wasn’t perfect either. What it does mean is that we can go into our own tent of meeting and spend time with the Lord. It means we can talk with Him. We can share our lives with Him, and we can, like Moses, pray for our people.

01/09/2025

Exodus
“Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the ‘tent of meeting.’ Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.” Exodus 33:7-11
God spoke to Moses. The God of the Universe had conversations with a man. It is so incredible to consider that.
Does that happen today?
Yes.
While it sounds otherworldly, it isn’t. It’s called prayer. We too have the opportunity to speak freely to the Lord. And He speaks back. We have the Bible with His very words written down for us to read and enjoy every day. God, the Holy Spirit, dwells within us and He speaks to our hearts and minds.

29/08/2025

Exodus
People love to say, “God is love” and that is absolutely true. But often people want to forget that God is just. Sin is against God, and He will punish sin. The Children of Israel sinned greatly by worshiping the golden calf. It was abhorrent to the Lord. He had already told them they were to have no other gods before Him. He was to be their God. He would take care of them. But when Moses was on the mountain, instead of trusting in the miracle working God of the Red Sea and believing in all the miracles they had previously seen, the people gathered gold and made an evil decision to form and then bow before a man-made statue.
God was very angry.
“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, “I will give it to your descendants.” I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.’ When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn and no one put on any ornaments. For the Lord had said to Moses, ‘Tell the Israelites, “You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.’” So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.” Exodus 33:1-6
The people had dressed for a celebration. They had adorned themselves for a worship service before a statue of gold. Moses knew that was terrible. When he saw it, he broke the tablets. He pulverized the golden calf, added the dust to the water, and then made them drink it.
But when God spoke, Moses knew that God was also really angry. And for good reason. Those people were stiff-necked. They complained; they disobeyed. Destruction was in their future if they didn’t turn.
Let’s be honest, this is scary stuff. Sin has consequences.
Now let’s bring this a little closer to home. Each of us is a sinner. We are born into it. We live it every day of our lives. And sin has consequences. Oh, maybe we haven’t turned our gold jewelry into an idol, but we still may worship money, jobs, fame, family, even our own reasoning, anything that takes the place of the Lord. And because of our sin, we are headed toward destruction. The Children of Israel had Moses to act as a mediator.
We have a perfect Mediator. He is Christ Jesus.

28/08/2025

Exodus
Death had come to three thousand. But the destruction their disobedience brought was not over.
Again, there are consequences to disobedience.
“The next day Moses said to the people, ‘You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.’ So Moses went back to the Lord and said, ‘Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.’ The Lord replied to Moses, ‘Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.’ And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.” Exodus 32:30-35
Moses met with the Lord and pleaded with Him about the people. He was even willing to face his own destruction for their sin. But God would not allow Moses to take on that responsibility. He was a mere human and couldn’t bear the penalty for the sin of others. Each person would have to bear the consequences for his or her own sin. And God sent a plague.
It was a stark reality that the wages for sin is death. All throughout the Old Testament we see sin followed by destruction.
But then, Jesus came.
God knew from the beginning of time that we would need a Savior, someone who could pay the penalty. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

27/08/2025

Exodus
Moses was angry. This sin was deliberate. They had made a choice to worship a metal statue. But his own brother was involved. Moses went to Aaron.
“He said to Aaron, ‘What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?’ ‘Do not be angry, my lord,’ Aaron answered. ‘You know how prone these people are to evil. They said to me, “Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” So I told them, “Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.” Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!’ Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, ‘Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.’ And all the Levites rallied to him. Then he said to them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. Then Moses said, ‘You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.’” Exodus 32:21-29
Again and again, we see that sin has consequences. Even after Moses came down from the mountain and made the people drink the water laced with gold they were still out of control. The Levites stepped forward to answer the call that they were for the Lord. They strapped on swords and went through the horde of people.
That day three thousand died. It was a terrible day.
And yet for their obedience the Levites were blessed. God set them apart.
Today in Judaism, Moses’ time on the fiery mountain is celebrated because it was when he received the Law. It is called Shavuot. It is also called Pentecost.
Millenia later, on Pentecost, fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection, Peter stood in Jerusalem and preached. He told the crowd about the crucified risen Savior, Jesus. And that day as tongues of fire fell, three thousand became believers. That day three thousand received new life. It was a wonderful day.

26/08/2025

Exodus
“Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, ‘There is the sound of war in the camp.’ Moses replied: ‘It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear.’ When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.” Exodus 32:15-20
Moses held in his hands the tablets that God Himself had engraved. The very words of the Living God were etched in stone. Moses met Joshua as he came down from the mountain. Joshua heard the commotion and believed it to be the sound of war. He had experienced war and knew the sounds of victory.
Moses knew this was not victory; this was not the sound of defeat. This was the sound of singing. This was sin.
As he approached, he saw just how horrible it was and he became very angry. He threw the tablets and the shattered pieces lay at the foot of the mountain. He then took the wicked golden idol and pulverized it, threw it into the water, and made the people drink it.

25/08/2025

Exodus
God saw. God always sees.
“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” I have seen these people,’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.’ But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. ‘LORD,’ he said, ‘why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, “It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth”? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: “I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.” Exodus 32:7-14
And God was very angry.
We see in Genesis 6 that as God looked at the world and saw the intent of men’s hearts was evil, He destroyed all the people on earth by a world-wide flood. Yes, all the people except for Noah’s family.
When the sin of the people of S***m and Gomorrah was so great, God destroyed them. Sin leads to destruction. And that was where the sin of the Israelites was headed, but Moses prayed.
Yes, Moses prayed.
What a model for us. When we are tempted to be pulled back into the grip of sin, pray.
When we see our loved ones headed toward destruction, pray.

22/08/2025

Exodus
God brought this nation of people out of slavery.
They were out of Egypt, but Egypt was not out of them.
Moses was on the mountain. The people knew he had gone to speak to God. They should have waited patiently. Unfortunately, patience was in short supply.
“When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, ‘Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ Aaron answered them, ‘Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.’ So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, ‘Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.’ So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” Exodus 32:1-6
Egypt had been full of statues representing a myriad of gods. While Moses was on the mountain, the people reverted to what was their old life. They demanded gods they could see with their own eyes. Aaron was second in command, so they went to him. It’s hard to understand Aaron’s response because he buckled under the pressure. His solution was to create a golden calf.
We might shake our head at that and wonder how he could do such a thing after being part of all the miracles. But he too had been raised in Egypt.
And what about us? After being brought out of our old lives, have we desired to go back? Has the grip of sin ever grabbed us and pulled us back?
Aaron acquiesced and the result was a golden calf. It was a thing that God had specifically told them not to have. The people had heard the ten laws. They knew it was wrong, and yet, they prepared for a festival.

21/08/2025

Exodus
“When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.” Exodus‬ ‭31‬:‭18‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
This is the power of God. Written in stone means these are permanent, never changing laws to be obeyed for all time.
There is a teaching floating around that proclaims we no longer need to adhere to the Old Testament. Really? We think we have the right to erase what God Himself has written permanently? I would not want to stand before Him one day and proclaim that I was part of the lot that had tried to chisel away His permanent writings. Permanent writings are permanent. Every one of these commandments is as true today as the moment God etched it into stone. He spoke them. He wrote them. He expected the Israelites to obey them. He still does today.

The Kandel Sisters

05/09/2025

04/09/2025

03/09/2025

02/09/2025

01/09/2025

29/08/2025

28/08/2025

27/08/2025

26/08/2025

25/08/2025

22/08/2025

21/08/2025

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