Grace Manifesto

Exodus 24:15 ESV

15 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.

One of the dominant doctrines that we read of throughout the scriptures, that repeatedly makes itself plainly manifest all throughout the Bible is the doctrine of election.

And what election is, is quite simply the choosing of something or someone to a certain task, or to a certain office, or to a certain standing.

Now, when I wish to elect someone let us say, to a certain political office, I’m not the only one who takes place in the election process. I may want one particular candidate to be elected to a certain office and therefore I vote for that candidate.

But it could be that I have self-serving motives in mind when I vote for that particular candidate, so my desire to have him elected may be an impure desire. Furthermore, I am not the only one voting. There could be several other people who are voting for someone who is running against the guy that I want to win the election, therefore, the guy who I want to win the election might not receive the election.

But when God elects, when He chooses something, the choice that He makes is always unanimous and uncontested. In other words, there is no possibility that there can be an outcome other than what God chooses.

Furthermore, when God chooses something, the choice or election of God is always a good and just choice. As I said, it may be my desire or your desire for someone to be elected to an office or for a certain thing to happen based on self-serving motives. But not so with God, for what He chooses, what He ordains is always good. And not only is it good, but it is always completely just.

And lastly, this election of God is always an unconditional election. In other words, there is nothing that moves God to choose one thing to serve a certain purpose and for another thing to serve a different purpose.

God does not look down the corridors of time and say, “because I see that person A is going to perform action B, I am going to therefore elect person A to this purpose”. No, that would mean that the election of God is conditional on the performance of person A.

The Bible says that whatever God chooses, He chooses according to His own good pleasure, which means that God does what He does simply because it is what He wants to do. And there is no changing God, He does not change His mind or His purpose.

Thus, what He chooses to do, He has always, eternally chosen to do. And this choice, this election, as was said before, is uncontested, there is none who can stay His hand. And it is always good and just, simply because it originated in the mind and the will of God.

And this election manifests itself in a wide range of forms. Of course, we know that God elects some to salvation. But as uncomfortable as it may sound, He also elects some to damnation.

We need to look no further than the words of Paul the Apostle concerning this fact, in the book of Romans, chapter 9, verse 18, where Paul says:

Romans 9:18 ESV

18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

God unconditionally uses whomever He desires to use for whatever purpose He desires to use them for.

We see this as God freely, unconditionally chose Moses to be the one who would lead the people, Israel out of the land of slavery. While He also freely chose to use Pharaoh to accomplish this by hardening his heart to such an extent that God was greatly glorified in their deliverance. Thus, we see both sides of election.

And one of the most remarkable examples of God’s election is when He freely chose an old man named Abraham to be the father of many nations. And that from Abraham would come a people specially blessed by God, and they would receive this blessing unconditionally. And while in captivity, God freely, unconditionally chose one man of this people to be the one who would serve as the intermediary between God and the people, and who would lead them to freedom.

Now, as has been said, God decided this freely, unconditionally. It was a free decision; God was under no compulsion to make this man what He had made him. And once again, it was an unconditional decision. There was nothing about this man that drew God’s favor, that induced God to choose in favor of him.

No, everything that God carried out in and through this man was accomplished in accordance with His own good pleasure and that alone.

And as we continue today throughout this series of sermons from Exodus, chapter 24, we see God graciously, sovereignly, electing this man, Moses to experience Him, to experience His presence in an extraordinary manner.

We see this as we look, first, to the first part of our reading for today, the first part of verse 15, which says:

Exodus 24:15a ESV

15a Then Moses went up on the mountain,

In our reading last week, we had mentioned how God had commanded Moses, saying, “Come up to Me on the mountain”. Thus, it would appear as though God had vowed to manifest Himself to Moses in some peculiar way, and that He would do so at a certain place upon the mountain, Mount Sinai.

But again, we see the doctrine of election at work here in that God had chosen to reveal Himself specifically to Moses. Now, we may say that it is only right that God would choose to reveal Himself in this way to Moses because Moses was the intermediary between God and the people, Israel, but that peculiar office that Moses held was an office that was given to him by God, not because of anything special about Moses, but because it pleased God to give this office to him.

And as God had freely chosen Moses to this office, and as God had freely chosen to reveal Himself to Moses in this peculiar way, so do we see in this portion of our text that Moses was obedient to the command of God when He told Moses to “come up to Him” as Moses obediently began his trek up Mount Sinai, the specially chosen mount of God.

And as Moses had gone up this specially chosen mountain, we see in the last part of this verse what then occurred, where we read:

Exodus 24:15b ESV

15b and the cloud covered the mountain.

As Moses trekked up the mountain of God, the specially chosen mountain, our text says that the cloud covered the mountain. Now, I want us to notice something here in that the text does not speak of a cloud, but the cloud. This reveals to us that just as Moses was chosen, just as this mountain was chosen, so is this cloud not an ordinary cloud, but it is a chosen cloud, it too is wrappedup in the secret election of God.

Now, this is not the first time in the scriptural record where this peculiar cloud is mentioned. First of all, in the thirteenth chapter of this same book, starting at verse 17 of that chapter, we begin to read of how God had led the people through the wilderness after they had left Egypt.

And as the text speaks of God leading the people through the wilderness, we jump down to Exodus, chapter 13, verses 21 and 22, where we read:

Exodus 13:21-22 ESV

21 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. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

We are familiar with that, right?Cloud by day, fire by night were the people led. But what exactly was this pillar of fire? But more importantly, concerning our text for today, what exactly was this pillar of cloud?

Look again to the beginning of 13:21, “And the Lord went before them” in this pillar of cloud and this pillar of fire. Thus, as God had chosen to originally reveal Himself to Moses in a flame that burned but did not devour the bush, so here do we see that this fire and this cloud were a manifestation of God, those means through which He had chosen to reveal Himself.

We see further proof that this particular cloud which is spoken of in our text for today signifies the very real presence of God again in this book of Exodus, but this time in chapter 19.

This time, the cloud is spoken of right after the people had verbally agreed to enter into this covenant with God; the very covenant that we have been discussing all throughout this series.

Right after Moses had spoken the terms of the covenant to the people and they then verbally agreed to these terms, we then read of the determination of God, in Exodus 19:9, where it says:

Exodus 19:9 ESV

9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.”

Thus, we again see that God had willed to manifest Himself to the people through this particular cloud that He had chosen. And the particular purpose that God comes to the people in the cloud here, God says, is so “that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever”.

Thus, the purpose was to reinforce the faith of the people and to give them even more proof that it is the God of heaven and earth Who is speaking these words of the covenant that Moses is relaying to them.

And then a few verses later in that same nineteenth chapter of the book of Exodus in verse sixteen do we see God fulfill this promise that He had made to Moses where we read:

Exodus 19:16 ESV

16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.

Just as God had promised Moses, He appeared in the sight of all the people atop Mount Sinai, the chosen mountain of God. And as God appeared to the people, He appeared in thunders and lightnings, with a very loud trumpet blast. But He also appeared, this text tells us, “in a thick cloud on the mountain”.

Beloved, this cloud that is spoken of in our text today, the cloud that Moses trekked toward which covered the mountain of God manifests God Himself.

Now, please understand that when I say that I am not insinuating that there was anything divine, or God-like about this cloud at all. Naturally, this cloud is nothing more than well… a cloud. That is all that it is. But God had graciously chosen to encompass this cloud and manifest Himself through it.

And indeed, just as the Ark of the Covenant would later be so encompassed by the presence and glory of God that approaching it was the very same as approaching God Himself, so here is this cloud, the cloud chosen by God so encompassed by the presence and glory of God that approaching it is the very same as approaching God Himself.

And thus now, as God calls Moses to “come up” to Him, it is manifested to Moses, to Aaron the high priest and his sons, to the elders, and to all Israel that Moses does indeed “come up” to God as the cloud which the people all know as the manifestation of God covers the mountain of God.

What a remarkable reality this is! What a remarkable reality that God had chosen a mountain, chosen a cloud, chosen a people, indeed, that He had chosen Moses to “come up” to Him!

Brethren, what an amazing reality it is that God chooses! What an amazing reality is the biblical doctrine of election!

Now I realize that many wrestle fiercely with the doctrine of election. Indeed, in my pre-Reformed days, I outright rejected the doctrine of election, even though it is written all throughout the scriptures!

I thought it unkind, perhaps even unfair that God would choose to save some while also choosing to passover others. Therefore, I wrote it off. Yet because I recognized the holiness and sovereignty of God, I concluded that God would in no way be unjust if this were the course that He willed to take.

And as I read my Bible more and more, I wrestled with the doctrine of election all the more. The more that I read the Bible, the more that I saw that this doctrine was found all throughout. But like I said, I did not like this doctrine, so I wrestled, I fought, I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t there or that it means something other than what it clearly says.

But then the day finally arrived that I was fully convinced that apart from the grace of God, there was nothing good dwelling in me whatsoever. I realized that naturally speaking, I am not a “good guy”, not at all. In fact, naturally speaking, I am the opposite of a “good guy”, naturally speaking, I am a bad guy, a very, very bad guy.

And as I reasoned this, it became as clear as day that because naturally speaking, I am bad guy, the only things that I am able or willing to do apart from the intervening grace of God are bad things.

Thus, I finally submitted to the biblical doctrine of election when I asked myself, “How could I, as a naturally bad person come to God, a good, good God unless God first came to me and intervened in me and caused me to come to Him?” and the answer that I received was that I couldn’t do that.

Yet I had come to God, therefore the conclusion was obvious; God had chosen to save me. And He did not choose to save me because He saw that I would choose Him first, no, He chose me in spite of me. He chose me because it was His good pleasure to choose me.

Thus, I no longer asked, “Why would God ever choose some and not others?!” But rather, the question now is, “Why would God ever choose anyone?!” But more emphatically, because I know how I naturally am, I ask, “Why would God ever choose me?!”.

And the only right, biblical answer to those questions is that God chose you, He chose me, He chose anyone at all because it was His gracious good pleasure to choose anyone at all to salvation, because salvation is the absolute opposite of what anyone and everyone deserves.

You see, when we understand what we really deserve and when we understand that God does not have to save anyone, but that He wants to save some, and then we realize that we are among those He has chosen to save, and we realize that God has accomplished this by sending His only begotten Son to this world to die for people like us, people who deserve Hell, when we understand this, we truly come to love God, we recognize that the salvation given to us is a truly gracious salvation, and we come to truly worship the God Who was gracious towards us, chose us to salvation, and predestined us in love.

Beloved, may we praise God for His gracious election!

Amen?