Blessing
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the counting of the Omer.
Barukh atah, A-donai E-loheinu, Melekh Ha-ʿolam, asher qid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu ʿal S’firat Ha-ʿomer.
Count
Today is thirty nine days, which is five weeks and four days of the Omer.
Meditation
Exodus 20:26
26 And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.’
Devotional
Today is the start of the journey into God’s presence. For forty days, we have counted the Omer journeying through the wilderness. We are not to stay at the foot of the mountain. We have been prepared to ascend Mt Sinai into God’s house and presence. First, there is the altar outside of God’s house. This altar is a small representation of Mount Sinai covered in smoke and fire. We must be appropriately “dressed” and prepared to enter God’s presence. We must approach having forgiven others and having been forgiven. We must make right out relationships with others and with the house of our neighbor so we might understand what it means to be in relationship with God who desires to dwell among us. Nakedness reminds us of Adam’s nakedness after he stole from the tree that belongs to God (Genesis 3:7-10). God asked Adam, “Who told you that you were naked?” The Ten Commandments provides the answer. God’s word reveals what exposes us. If we are to see God we must see ourselves first. Tomorrow we don’t start at the top but rather we ascend into God’s presence from the base of the mountain, The Ten Commandments. As God’s word created the world, His words will make us his people who can enter into His presence.