Living in the in Between

Intro: Good morning FE, we are glad you are here this morning and if you are watching us online, welcome. My name is Josh Aguilar and I am one of the Elders here at FE.

We have been going through the book of Exodus and as Alfredo pointed out in an earlier message Israel’s deliverance and journey to the promise land is an example for us in our Christian walk. Israel is set free from the bondage to Egypt and are journeying to the promise land. We are set free from the power of sin and are awaiting the day of promise when Jesus comes back to take us home, because this world is not our home, just like Egypt was not Israel’s home. Israel journeyed through the wilderness, living in the in between, in between deliverance and the promise land , we live in the in between, in between deliverance from sin and the promise to be with Jesus forever. Living in the in between we are faced with thousands of challenges, tests and temptations, as we have seen Israel has been faced with challenges, test and temptations. We live in the tension of the already but not yet, you already have victory over sin, if you are in Christ you have been set free form the power of sin, yet because of this sin filled world and an enemy who still seeks our destruction and our own hearts, which can still be led astray by wrong desires, victory over sin is still in the future looking forward to a day when we see him and become like him, never to sin again, the already but not yet. Israel was delivered by the Lord, they were set free from Egypt, the promise land was theirs, even though they have not recieved it, God has given them the land, yet they still needed to take it. The already but not yet.

In 1 Corinthians Paul is giving some warnings to the church in Corinth and says this,

1 Corinthians 10:1–7 (ESV)

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”

Porque no quiero que ignoréis, hermanos, que nuestros padres todos estuvieron bajo la nube y todos pasaron por el mar; 2 y en Moisés todos fueron bautizados en la nube y en el mar; 3 y todos comieron el mismo alimento espiritual; 4 y todos bebieron la misma bebida espiritual, porque bebían de una roca espiritual que los seguía; y la roca era Cristo. 5 Sin embargo, Dios no se agradó de la mayor parte de ellos, pues quedaron tendidos en el desierto. 6 Estas cosas sucedieron como ejemplo para nosotros, a fin de que no codiciemos lo malo, como ellos lo codiciaron.7 No seáis, pues, idólatras, como fueron algunos de ellos, según está escrito: El pueblo se sentó a comer y a beber, y se levantó a jugar.

Why did these things take place? Why did God leave us the book of Exodus? Paul tells us one of the reasons we have the book of Exodus so that we can read it and learn, learn not to desire evil as the Israelites did while the wandered in the wilderness, learn not to be idolaters like they were and today we come to Exodus 32 a very sad day in the history of Israel’s journeying through the wilderness as they lived in between deliverance and the promise.

Exodus 32:1–6 (ESV)

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

Cuando el pueblo vio que Moisés tardaba en bajar del monte, la gente se congregó alrededor de Aarón, y le dijeron: Levántate[a], haznos un dios que vaya delante de nosotros; en cuanto a este Moisés, el hombre que nos sacó de la tierra de Egipto, no sabemos qué le haya acontecido. 2 Y Aarón les dijo: Quitad los pendientes de oro de las orejas de vuestras mujeres, de vuestros hijos y de vuestras hijas, y traédmelos. 3 Entonces todo el pueblo se quitó los pendientes de oro que tenían en las orejas y los llevaron a Aarón. 4 Y él los tomó de sus manos y les dio forma con buril, e hizo de ellos un becerro de fundición. Y ellos dijeron: Este es tu dios, Israel, que te ha sacado de la tierra de Egipto. 5 Cuando Aarón vio esto, edificó un altar delante del becerro. Y Aarón hizo una proclama, diciendo: Mañana será fiesta para el Señor. 6 Y al día siguiente se levantaron temprano y ofrecieron holocaustos y trajeron ofrendas de paz; y el pueblo se sentó a comer y a beber, y se levantó a regocijarse.

While we live in the tension of the in between, our vision can cause us problems. I do not know if you seen this as you read the passage but look at that first line again “When the people SAW that Moses delayed to come down the mountain” now go down to vs 5 “When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it.” Our vision, what we see is very interesting, Pamela and I are both looking out to the congregation, and I can guarantee you if you ask us what we see, to some extent it would be different because we are different people, with different likes and dislikes and different life experiences, even though we are looking at the same scene our mind and our heart interpret the scene differently.

We learned the past couple of weeks that Moses came down the mountain and gave the people the law from the Lord and how did the people respond? “We will do everything the Lord has commanded,” that was the people’s response. Moses goes back up the mountain and this time he is on the mountain for an extended period of time and we see the people getting nervous, anxious, impatient and we read “when the people saw Moses was delayed” their mind and their hearts led them to idolatry. Their vision, what they saw, revealed the condition of their hearts, their fears, their insecurities, their unfaithfulness which led them to return to the idolatry of Egypt.

I. When living in the in between our hearts can lead us astray.

The people of Israel had two options, they could either trust in the Lord, who has proved himself faithful and wait or they can give into their fears and insecurities and take things in their own hands. Their response, was to take things in their own hands and at that moment they gave into idolatry because they are trying to replace God and replace through idolatry what only God can provide.

In Ezekiel 14 we are told this idolatry is rooted in the heart, lets read it,

Ezekiel 14:1–3 (ESV)

Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them?

Entonces vinieron a mí algunos de los ancianos de Israel y se sentaron delante de mí. 2 Y vino a mí la palabra del Señor, diciendo: 3 Hijo de hombre, estos hombres han erigido sus ídolos en su corazón, y han puesto delante de su rostro lo que los hace caer en su iniquidad. ¿Me dejaré yo consultar por ellos?

The elders of Israel were coming to inquire of the Lord through Ezekiel and the Lord spoke to Ezekiel saying why are these men consulting me, these men are pursuing the idols of their heart and are stumbling over the stumbling blocks they have set for themselves. The idols they set up were rooted in their hearts, their was some desire they valued more than God, which caused them to pursue that value and place it above God. Which is what idolatry is, placing something we value more than God, pursuing it more than God, doing what we have to to attain that value. We take the created thing, value or pleasure and place it above God. Listen to what Romans tells us,

Romans 1:24–25 (ESV)

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

24 Por consiguiente, Dios los entregó a la impureza en la lujuria de sus corazones, de modo que deshonraron entre sí sus propios cuerpos;25 porque cambiaron la verdad de Dios por la mentira, y adoraron y sirvieron a la criatura en lugar del Creador, quien es bendito por los siglos. Amén.

God gave them up or handed them over to the lust of the heart, which is the New Testament of describing the phrase “idols of the heart.”God hands them over because they are worshipping the created thing over the one who created it. Our hearts lead us astray to place the created thing over the Creator and because we place it above God, we are worshipping it.

The Israelites where in the wilderness, were just sitting their waiting for Moses to come down and Moses has been on the mountain for weeks and their hearts lead them to fear, to insecurities and to lack of trust in the Lord. So they take things in their own hand and go to Aaron and ask him to create a god who will lead them out of the wilderness. Aaron creates this calf, which was most likely the Apis bull, considered to be the manifestation of Ptah, the creator god worshipped in lower Egypt and they were associated with strength and power.

The Israelites in their fear and insecurities, in their hearts, return back to the gods of Egypt to calm their fears and insecurities and have Aaron create this idol who they think with give them strength and power. I find this so fascinating because the Lord has been the one to deliver them with strength and power, yet in their fears and insecurities they turn to this unholy cow and put their trust in it. Don’t we do the same thing? When we experience times of distress, fear and insecurity are we not tempted to return to how we used to live before we knew the Lord and do what we can to calm those fears and insecurities, instead of trusting in the Lord. Maybe we start working more to get more money, maybe we lie or cheat to get something we want, maybe we begin taking advantage of others. Whatever it may be, instead of trusting in the Lord’s faithfulness, we are led astray by our own hearts to pursue the idols of our hearts.

When our hearts lead us astray we are disobedient to the Lord’s 1st command to worship him only. But Israel is not only guilty of breaking the first command, they are guilty of breaking the second command, which is creating graven images to worship the Lord. Did you see what Aaron said after he created the golden calf? “Tomorrow will be a feast to the Lord” Aaron made a physical representation, the golden calf and associated it with the Lord, which is a violation of the second commandment. Sometimes we are guilty of this too, now we may not make a golden calf in our back yard, but some times, when we are face with something the Bible says whether it is a command we are to follow or a doctrine to believe and it is something we do not like, we can hear the whisper from the garden of Eden to Eve “Did God really say?” Then we begin to fashion God into our image instead of conforming to his image. When we do this we violate the 2nd commandment.

While Moses is on the mountain, the Lord reveals to him what is going on below the mountain look at the words of vs 9, the Lord says “I have seen this people” While the people’s vision is on their fears and insecurities, The Lord is seeing how the people have committed a great sin. This causes a righteous and holy anger and God tells Moses I am going to wipe out this stiff necked people and make a great nation out you Moses. I mean it is a tempting offer, God is telling Moses, I am going to start all over with you Moses, how many of us wold have signed on the dotted line? Why is God saying this? Is God changing his mind?

No, that is not what is going on here. God is testing and growing Moses. God was testing Moses’ leadership.

II. When Living in the in between we need to grow in the Lord.

When we live in the tension of the already but not yet every temptation is also a test to grow in the Lord. We will fall in sin or will we grow in our faithfulness to the Lord. How does Moses respond?

Exodus 32:11–14 (ESV)

But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

11 Entonces Moisés suplicó ante el Señor su Dios, y dijo: Oh Señor, ¿por qué se enciende tu ira contra tu pueblo, que tú has sacado de la tierra de Egipto con gran poder y con mano fuerte? 12 ¿Por qué han de hablar los egipcios, diciendo: «Con malas intenciones los ha sacado, para matarlos en los montes y para exterminarlos de la faz de la tierra»? Vuélvete del ardor de tu ira, y desiste de hacer daño a tu pueblo. 13 Acuérdate de Abraham, de Isaac y de Israel, siervos tuyos, a quienes juraste por ti mismo, y les dijiste: «Yo multiplicaré vuestra descendencia como las estrellas del cielo, y toda esta tierra de la cual he hablado, daré a vuestros descendientes, y ellos la heredarán para siempre». 14 Y el Señor desistió de hacer el daño que había dicho que haría a su pueblo.

The offer the Lord makes Moses, drives him to intercede for the people of Israel. The time Moses has spent with Lord from the burning bush until now has made Moses more like God and less like his sinful self. Moses doesn’t sign on the dotted line, he makes an appeal for the people. Not only does he make and appeal for the people but he bases that appeal on the character and promises of God. When living in the tension of the in between we need to

Grow in awe of God for who he is and what he has done.

Look at Moses’ prayer

Lord you delivered the people with great power

You delivered them to be free and for their good

Lord what will the Egyptians say about you

Lord remember your promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

Moses was in awe of God for who he is and what he has done and it has transformed him to be more like the Lord and you recognize it by his prayer of intercession for the people. When Moses is done interceding he goes down the mountain, we see Joshua is there waiting for him and Moses hears the people singing and worshipping this golden calf and he threw the tablets of and broke them at the foot of the mountain symbolizing how Israel has broken the covenant. Moses grinds the idol to a fine powder and mixes it with water and makes the people drink the bitter water. Moses also confronts Aaron asking him, what were you thinking how have you allowed a great sin to come upon this people. Aaron tells the how evil the people are and they came and asked Aaron, pressured him to make gods and Aaron asked for their gold jewelry and listen to what he said I threw it in the fire and out came this golden calf.

In our sin sometimes we come up with the craziest things to excuse our sin, to justify our sin, to make it ok or to make it seem that what i did is not that bad.

Exodus 32:25–29 (ESV)

And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies), then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’ ” And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. And Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”

25 Y viendo Moisés al pueblo desenfrenado, porque Aarón les había permitido el desenfreno para ser burla de sus enemigos, 26 se paró Moisés a la puerta del campamento, y dijo: El que esté por el Señor, venga a mí. Y se juntaron a él todos los hijos de Leví. 27 Y él les dijo: Así dice el Señor, Dios de Israel: «Póngase cada uno la espada sobre el muslo, y pasad y repasad por el campamento de puerta en puerta, y matad cada uno a su hermano y a su amigo y a su vecino». 28 Y los hijos de Leví hicieron conforme a la palabra de Moisés; y cayeron aquel día unos tres mil hombres del pueblo. 29 Y Moisés dijo: Consagraos[o] hoy al Señor, pues cada uno ha estado en contra de su hijo y en contra de su hermano, para que hoy Él os dé una bendición.

When we have an awe for the Lord, we have a zeal for his name. We have a passion for God’s glory. We see this in Moses, he draws a line in the sand and says those on the Lord’s side stand with me. We see the Levites gather with Moses and they are tasked with carrying out the Lord’s judgement on those who led the people in idolatry, which we see was 3000 men.

Our zeal and passion for the Lord is not going to lead us to kill a bunch of people. This was a different time and a different era when the Lord was accomplishing his purposes through a nation, now the Lord is accomplishing his purposes through the church. We are still commanded to be passionate and zealous for the Lord, in Hebrews it says

Hebrews 12:28–29 (ESV)

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

28 Por lo cual, puesto que recibimos un reino que es inconmovible, demostremos gratitud, mediante la cual ofrezcamos a Dios un servicio aceptable con temor y reverencia; 29 porque nuestro Dios es fuego consumidor.

We are still commanded to be passionate and offer God acceptable worship, which is coming to God on his terms, through Jesus and not your own terms, in reverence and awe or fear, why God is a consuming fire. God still judges and he uses the leaders of the church to administer church discipline which is outlined in Matthew 18.

Moses not only grew in awe of God but he

Grow in love towards God’s people

we have already read of his intercession, after the discipline Moses administered, he returns to the Lord seeking peace between the Lord and the people

Exodus 32:30–35 (ESV)

The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.” But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”

Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.

30 Y sucedió que al día siguiente dijo Moisés al pueblo: Vosotros habéis cometido un gran pecado, y yo ahora voy a subir al Señor, quizá pueda hacer expiación por vuestro pecado. 31 Entonces volvió Moisés al Señor y dijo: ¡Ay!, este pueblo ha cometido un gran pecado: se ha hecho un dios de oro. 32 Pero ahora, si es tu voluntad, perdona su pecado, y si no, bórrame del libro que has escrito. 33 Y el Señor dijo a Moisés: Al que haya pecado contra mí, lo borraré de mi libro. 34 Pero ahora ve, conduce al pueblo adonde te he dicho. He aquí, mi ángel irá delante de ti; mas el día que yo los visite, los castigaré por su pecado. 35 Y el Señor hirió al pueblo por lo que hicieron con el becerro que Aarón había hecho.

Moses wanted to atone for the sin of the people, Moses says take my life for the sin of the people. That is love, what did Jesus say “greater love have no man than to give his life for a friend” Moses is willing to give his life to the people. What is interesting that every time Moses has interceded for the people, the Lord has responded favorably, the Lord parted the sea, gave them Manna from heaven, water from the rock, victory over the Amalekites but here the Lord says no, why? Moses cannot atone for the people of Israel because he is a sinner just like them, they need someone greater than moses to atone for their sin, someone greater than Moses has come, his name is Jesus.

We read the Lord has punished Israel with a plague, we do not know what it is, and if you continue to read the story, we learn that Israel wandered in the desert until this generation of people eventually died before they entered the promise land. We also read this obscure passage about the tent of meeting, where Moses met with the Lord and talked directly to God. But this tent of meeting was outside the camp, the plan was for God to dwell among his people but because of this great sin, the presence of God was outside the camp in the tent of meeting because while God was giving instructions to Moses concerning the worship of God and how the people where to worship God, how the tabernacle, a representation of the presence of God would dwell among them, they were at the base of the mountain worshipping a golden calf, they were longing for the power, strength of the mighty hand of the Lord, yet they didn’t want the Lord.

III. When living in the in between we need a passion for the Lord’s presence not just his presents.

The Lord tests Moses again and says, you and your people go to the promise land, I will send an angel to go with you but my presence will not go with. They will receive the blessing without the one who blesses. What would you do? Are you satisfied with receiving the blessing of God without presence of God in your life?

Moses wasn’t, listen to what Moses says,

Exodus 33:12–16 (ESV)

Moses said to the Lord, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.”

12 Y Moisés dijo al Señor: Mira, tú me dices: «Haz subir a este pueblo»; pero tú no me has declarado a quién enviarás conmigo. Además has dicho: «Te he conocido por tu nombre, y también has hallado gracia ante mis ojos». 13 Ahora pues, si he hallado gracia ante tus ojos, te ruego que me hagas conocer tus caminos para que yo te conozca y halle gracia ante tus ojos. Considera también que esta nación es tu pueblo. 14 Y Él respondió: Mi presencia irá contigo, y yo te daré descanso. 15 Entonces le dijo Moisés: Si tu presencia no va con nosotros, no nos hagas partir de aquí. 16 ¿Pues en qué se conocerá que he hallado gracia ante tus ojos, yo y tu pueblo? ¿No es acaso en que tú vayas con nosotros, para que nosotros, yo y tu pueblo, nos distingamos de todos los demás pueblos que están sobre la faz de la tierra?

Listen to words of Moses, Moses is saying to the Lord, I need you, I can’t lead this people without your presence without your help. Moses restates the words of the Lord back to him when he said he knows Moses by name, which means the Lord has embraced Moses as a friend and chose to enter a relationship with him. Moses again reminds the Lord, that the people are His people.

Moses asks the Lord to show me your ways so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Listen to that request, God I want to know you, show me your ways so that i may know you and be in a good relationship with you, Lord I need you. The Lord responds

And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

14 Y Él respondió: Mi presencia irá contigo, y yo te daré descanso.

The Lord’s response is Moses, I will go with you and I will give you rest. But Moses wasn’t satisfied with that, even though he wanted and needed the Lord’s presence he knew that the people of Israel needed the presence of God and he intercedes for the people again.

And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”

15 Entonces le dijo Moisés: Si tu presencia no va con nosotros, no nos hagas partir de aquí. 16 ¿Pues en qué se conocerá que he hallado gracia ante tus ojos, yo y tu pueblo? ¿No es acaso en que tú vayas con nosotros, para que nosotros, yo y tu pueblo, nos distingamos de todos los demás pueblos que están sobre la faz de la tierra?

Wow, the only thing that makes us different from every other nation on the earth is your presence Lord. Do you desire God and his presence in your life above all? The very thing that makes a disciple of Jesus different from those that are not disciples is the presence of God in your life. Do you not know that you are the temple of the holy Sprit because the very presence of God resides in you. Do you guard your heart from straying from God’s presence? Do you guard your heart from idolatry by remaining in communion with God through Prayer, reading the scriptures and gathering with God’s people? Do you guard your heart from idolatry by growing in awe of who the Lord is and what he has done? Do you guard your heart from idolatry by growing in your passion for his glory and by loving God’s people? Do your keep your heart from idolatry by pursuing a relationship with God and desiring his presence above His presents or gifts? Can you say like Job, though he slay me yet will I trust him?

1 John 5:21 (ESV)

My dear children , keep yourselves from idols.

Hijos, guardaos de los ídolos.