A Journey Together: Exodus 16 - 17 - To Be A Holy Nation of Priests
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning, brothers and sisters. My name is Victor Chong, for those of you who don’t know me. As you may know, the message today is the 4th in a series of 5 sermons on Exodus, entitled, “A Journey Together.”
Why Exodus?
Why Exodus?
But before we dive into today’s passage. We might just ask the question, “Why Exodus?”. Now the Pentateuch, or the Torah, was originally written as one book, with 5 parts. Due to it’s length, it takes 5 long scrolls to contain all the writing. Exodus is the second of the 5 scrolls.
The video “We are Australians”.
Now, before you stone me, don’t get me wrong, I am not trying trying to promote nationalism in church. But I just want us to stop and ponder, what is the video and the song about? It’s about who are we, the Australians. And the song starts from the beginning - the Dreamtime of the First Nation people.
In a way, the song is about our founding narrative; the founding narrative of Australia and Australians - where do we come from, which in turn determines who we are, and our values - mateship, fairness (“a fair go”), fun-loving nature, optimism (the “she’ll be right, mate” attitude) and our attitude to authority, just to quote some examples. If you really want to know all the values of being an Australian, sit for the Australian citizenship test!
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
And in the same way, this is what Exodus is about. Exodus is the founding narrative, or the “origin myth” of the Israelites, and by extension, our spiritual founding narrative. It informs us and the world where do we come from, and explains who we are, and what are our values and behaviour.
So, who are we? We are a holy nation; a holy community of the priests of the Most High God; by holiness we don’t mean we are holier than others, but that we are given over to God; we belong to God because He saved us from the slavery of sins, to be His priests and intercessors.
And this part of Exodus, from chapters 15 to 19, speaks about The journey of Israel, from being a community of down trodden slaves to a nation of high priests of the Most High God. This journey tells of the transformation necessary for the Israelites to be changed from slaves to priests before they come to Mount Sinai, where they will encounter God. It is a journey for a people from slavery to statehood; from a clan to a nation, from being aliens to a community and a brotherhood, from being the downtrodden to be a holy priesthood, the treasured people, the firstborn sons and daughters of God. For the Israelites, the goal of this journey is Mount Sinai, where God promised them, “and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:6). After the meeting with God on Mount Sinai, the rest of Exodus deals with the question, what does it mean to be a kingdom of priests (chapters 24-31) and a holy nation (chapters 32-40).
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
But more than that, Exodus is also about the purpose, the design, the raison d’etre, of the nation of Israel. They are called to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, so to declare to the world who God is; what is God like; and what intention God has for humanity. And 5 times in the book of Leviticus the Israelites are called to be holy, because God is holy.
Prayer
Prayer
Let us start with a word of prayer.
Background: Exodus 13-15
Background: Exodus 13-15
Shaun’s last week sermon brought us to the Passover, how God performed 10 miracles to bring his people out of Egypt.
During the Passover night, the angel of death put to death every firstborn son in Egypt; in Exodus 12:29
29 At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.
Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron on that very night itself and said to them in Exodus 12:31
Exodus 12:31 (ESV)
31 Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said.
So the people of Israel left Egypt in a hurry; and as they left, they asked for objects of silver and gold and clothing from the Egyptians, and the Bible says they plundered the Egyptian in Exodus 12:36 .
Exodus 12:36 (ESV)
And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
In Exodus 13:21 The LORD led them out as a pillar of cloud during the day to shield them from the sun, and a pillar of fire at night to lit up and to lead them on their way to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God:
And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
Now, after letting the Israelites go, Pharaoh and his officials changed their mind; Pharaoh called up his calvary and chariots and pursued after the Israelites. As we all know from the movie, “The Ten Commandments”, Pharaoh and his army were drowned in the Red Sea after the Israelites crossed over on dry land. Chapter 15 is the the song that the Israelites sang to celebrate God’s dramatic and miraculous salvation.
Now Moses recorded that there were probably over 600 000 men who marched out of Egypt. If we include women and children, there were probably somewhere between 1.5 to 2 million people. Just for comparison, the population of Perth is about 2 million, and of Adelaide 1.3 million. Now just keep the figure in mind as we progress to chapters 16 & 17.
And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds.
Numbers recorded the same:
So all those listed of the people of Israel, by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war in Israel— all those listed were 603,550.
Exodus 15:22–25 (ESV)
Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
Three days after the crossing of the Red Sea, the Israelites arrived at Marah. The water was bitter, and the people complained about Moses, saying, “What are we supposed to drink?” in Exodus 15:24. Moses cried out to the LORD, who instructed him about a piece of wood to be thrown into the water which purified it, and the people drank from the water. They then travelled to Elim. Elim is an oasis of 12 springs with 70 palm trees; not a big place for 1.5 to 2 million people. The Israelites came out of Egypt in the month of Nisan, around March to April, and date palm ripens in the months of September to October, so there was not the season to harvest dates. And now we come to Exodus 16-17.
Exodus 16-17 can be divided into 3 parts, according to the 3 crises that the Israelites faced when they travelled from the Elim to Mount Sinai.
The Famine at the Wilderness of Sin
The Lack of Water at Massah and Meribah
The Attack of Amalek
The Famine at the Wilderness of Sin
The Famine at the Wilderness of Sin
Let us now move on the chapter 16:
They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
So, the people of Israel were 6 weeks out of Egypt, and they have exhausted their food source. Instead of going along the northern coast road along the Mediterranean sea, the shortest and most direct route from Egypt to the Promised Land, Moses has led them along the southern coastal route and arrived at the heart of the Wilderness of Sin in Sinai peninsula. The most direct route would have taken a month to reach Canaan, but 6 weeks down, the entire nation is stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no food, no water, and nothing in sight. So you could understand why the people panicked. They were in big trouble - they were not lost, but they didn’t have enough food or water to walk out of the wilderness alive.
Sometimes, we get in trouble of our own doing; at other times, trouble descends on us like an accident. Yet, still sometimes, we get into trouble doing what God asks us to do. The Israelites got into trouble precisely because they obeyed God and Moses and followed Moses along the longer route into the wilderness.
In the following verses we read how God responded to the crisis, how He provided for the entire nation of Israel in Exodus 16:13-18, even before anyone, including Moses or Aaron, prayed.
In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’ ”
What is the lesson here?
The first lesson: Trouble because we follow God.
The Israelites obeyed and followed God and got into trouble; and God saved them. The first lesson is this - just because we are following God, it does not mean we will not get into trouble. Sometimes, it is precisely because we obey Him that we get into troubles; and this is something that we should prepare ourselves for.
The second lesson: God is trustworthy and all-sufficient; if He gets us into trouble, He will save us, gives us a way out.
What should we responses be?
Trust in God
Be contented.
Paul says this in 1 Timothy 6:6-7
But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.
But there is a purpose in this; in why did God bring them into the wilderness, a place with no food or water. God wanted to use the opportunity to test them; He said to Moses in Exodus 16:4
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.
What is this test? Well, there are 3 tests here, first, the test of contentment, in Exodus 16:16
This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’ ”
The Israelites were to gather only as much as they need, not less, but not more either; so that others may have their fair share. Did they pass the test? Not really. We read in Exodus 16:17-18
And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.
Second, the test of trusting God; we read in Exodus 16:19
And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.”
The Israelites were to trust that God will provide for them every day, day by day, without fail. They are to trust God for the food for each day, and not even to store up, or to save up any for next day. Now, it is totally understandable that one might want to save up for rainy days - I guess not so much rainy days in the desert, but to be stuck in desert with no food or water, it is not unreasonable to save up in case there is no food tomorrow, right? Who wouldn’t, especially if you have small children in the family? I could well imagine parents eating less and saving up that little bit of extra for their young children just in case food runs out the next day.
Did they pass the test in this? Well, nope. We read in Exodus 16:20
But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.
The third test is the test of honouring God, obeying His commandment. We read how Moses commanded them from Exodus 16:22-26
On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’ ” So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”
Again, did they pass the test? Nope. We read from Exodus 16:27-29
On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.”
Moses comment on this incident in Deuteronomy 8:3
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Jesus passed the test when he fasted for 40 days and nights and tempted by the devil to command the stones to become bread. Jesus was near death when answered the tempter from this very verse in Deuteronomy 8:3, in Matthew 4:4
But he answered, “It is written,
“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
Priesthood of All Believers
Priesthood of All Believers
What is the lesson here? And why is lesson placed here, right at the important juncture in the founding history of Israel? How does everything fit together?
The Israelites were on their way to Mount Sinai, where they will meet with God, and where God will appoint them to be His holy nation, His priests and intercessors for all the world. And when we speak of priesthood, we may have in mind the roles, responsibilities, authorities, power and privileges of priesthood. But there is something important, more fundamental than all this, and it is the fact that as priests, the Israelites - and we today - are called to live by the word of God. We are called to obey it at all cost; even to the pain of death instead of breaking the Word of God. The power, the authority, the privileges of priesthood are but tools to do God’s work; a true priest of God, a true people of God are those who are willing to pay with their own lives when it comes to obeying God. That as priests of the Most High God, we are called to live and die by the word of God.
Lack of Water
Lack of Water
Now what happened next does not quite inspire confidence in the Israelites’ ability to raise up to the challenge of being God’s holy nation. What happened just a few weeks prior repeated itself, despite the fact that God has performed more miracles to show that He is trustworthy. We read in Exodus 17:1-6
All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
War with Amalek
War with Amalek
The last incident again emphasises how important it is to trust God.
Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
This incident dramatically illustrated that Israel won the battle purely by God’s help; as long as they look up to God and depend on Him, they triumph over their enemy; and if they depend on their own strength, they will fail.
Summary
Summary
When we speak of the doctrine, the teaching of priesthood of all believers, what we usually mean is that all believers have the roles of priesthood in our ministry and services; we means the authorities and privileges that we have as priests in the New Testament. Exodus 16 focuses on what is more fundamental, and perhaps more essential, in being priests of the Most High God. And here, Jesus succeeded where Israel failed, and set us an example, that a priest of the Most High God is one who live and die by the Word of God. And I want to leave you with 2 verses:
Matthew 4:4 (ESV)
But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.