EXODUS - The Law (Part 1)
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EXODUS: “The Way Forward” - The Law (Part 1)
EXODUS: “The Way Forward” - The Law (Part 1)
Chapter 19
Chapter 19
The Children of Israel at Sinai
The Children of Israel at Sinai
We are now stepping into the portion of Exodus in which we get the Law. Though it may seem like the events at Mt. Sinai were a week (in our minds), Moses and Israel remained there for almost twelve months.
This is a place at which they undergo a profound transformation. They are here from Exodus 18 through to the end, all of Leviticus, and the first nine chapters of the book of Numbers. In this one year, some fifty-eight chapters of Scripture were given at Sinai.
And God is going to set things in order for worshiping Him and living with Him.
1 In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.
2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
3 And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.
5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
These last two scriptures are very much connected to a New Testament scripture:
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
1 Peter 2:9 is directed at people who are living in the New Covenant (not the Law). But you can see how closely related the wording is. And so… the Old Testament DOES relate to us. We need to observe what happens and think on it. We may not have anything to do with sacrificing animals on altars, but there are principles that apply in the same sort of promise!
And notice that there is a really, really big “IF” fitted in this...
4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
Your fate is not completely settled. We will be judged according to our deeds.
The way we live is attached to how God deals with people. We may be living in the New Covenant today, but still yet, there is a reward and there are consequences.
The Children of Israel’s Response
The Children of Israel’s Response
What is your response going to be? Here was theirs:
7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.
8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.
Great response. OBEDIENCE.
So I want to give a sort of a perspective on The Law that’s about to be given. This is a big moment.
God came to the Israelites as the Great King and presented to them a binding treaty in which He would make certain promises to them and they would have certain obligations as his servants. This was not a treaty between equals; it was a treaty between the superior King and his inferior servants.
In this treaty, God first reminded the Israelites of who He was and how He had acted in their behalf. He was their Savior—the One who had snatched them from their oppressors (19:4). And if they covenanted with Him, God promised to make the Israelites His “special treasure” (19:5). He would lavish special attention on them and make them “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (19:6). On the one hand, Israel would become holy—or distinct and separate from all other nations—because of its special relationship with God. But on the other hand, Israel, in its separation, was to be the means by which the other nations would learn of the living God. This nation of priests would lead others to a correct worship of the true God (
Sanctify the People
Sanctify the People
9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” So Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
So the point here is that God is going to stamp out any thought that the law Moses would be delivering to Israel was something of his own devising. There would be this thick, dark cloud that would come down to Moses. The voice of God speaking to Moses would be audible in the camp so that Israel and all her descendents would trust and receive Moses’ words.
This moment was important. They had many moments like this: where the power and involvement of God was undeniable.
Paul was entirely against Jesus… until he had this undeniable moment when he was knocked down and struck blind by a light, and then he heard the voice of the Lord.
You may write me off as super-spiritual when I say this, but I want you to know that you need to have some moments that are UNDENIABLE. That put you face-to-face, if you will, with your Creator. Unexplainable. Powerful.
For Moses, this all began with an undeniable “burning bush experience.”
The bush burned, but was not consumed.
Let me see if I can put this in perspective for today…
The bill was too much, but the money was provided.
The fear was so crippling, but you were suddenly set free.
The wounds of a family were deep, but someone from another world sewed them up and healed those wounds between people.
The dementia/alzheimer’s was eradicated - and there was no doctor able to have taken the credit!
You need to have some experiences in which you absolutely KNOW just who it is that you have encountered!
It’s important that everyone know it was coming directly from Him… we’ll see why later…
10 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:
13 There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.
14 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.
15 And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.
So the purpose of all of this stuff is that there would be a token of their inward preparation for meeting with God on the third day. They were to:
Wash their clothes
Stay off the mountain
Abstain from sexual relations with their spouses
“Why all of this? How does this sort of Old Testament requirement apply to us?”
The theology of these scriptures, then, is fitness for meeting with God and preparation for the worship of God.
Not that every time you pray you must wash your clothes first… however, if we’re going to approach the throne, we’re going to do so with reverence and holiness. REPENTANCE! Washing (the laver).
And the Lord is going to have a people that is set apart.
And these things they are doing… they are in preparation for something that transcends all other things. It’s not really a big deal to do what God requires here, because what comes because of that preparation is unmatched. So they prepare themselves.
There are things that you can do to prepare for meeting with God.
I can make preparation in prayer (before service, before my day)
I can make preparation for my home and family
I can make preparation for my miracle
I can make preparation for revival
I can make preparation for my church department
Our approach matters.
For a new person coming to the Lord, it’s “come as you are.”
But for someone who is in covenant (anywhere from 1 month saved to 80 years saved), it’s “come and grow.”
It’s also “come and produce fruit.” If the Scripture is true that “you shall know them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:16), then a new person has no fruit. And it stands to reason - they are dead in their sins. But the Spirit is life. So, if the Spirit is there, fruit should be produced.
Therefore, my posture and preparation must change.
Meeting God at Mt. Sinai
Meeting God at Mt. Sinai
16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice.
This was truly an unforgettable and enormous moment. There was a deep moral impression being made on the people. Because they were in the presence of the glory of the Holy God who was about to reveal His person and character in his law.
With the exception of the Cross, when there was quakes, grave-openings, and veil-tearing, I think that this powerful event will be unmatched until Jesus returns again in blazing fire!
God’s revealing Himself to them! Through His law!
Now, when you sit down and have your Bible in your lap in your recliner, smoke may not settle into your living room. Thunder and lightning may not immediately appear.
…but God does still reveal His person and character to you! And in the spiritual realm, there is quaking. And lightning. And thunder. He loves to reveal Himself and His character!
That’s just like when God decided He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. The Bible says God said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?”
“I know what I’m going to do. But can I keep it from this man? What I’m going to do in his world? I’m in covenant with him. Will I go in and just begin to move things where I’ve given him dominion… if I don’t sit down and talk to him a little???”
What made Abraham different that God would pull back the curtain and show him what was coming? Abraham was close and dear to God! (“Abraham came near” Gen. 18:23) Closeness gives way to intimacy! And divine disclosures!
God wants to reveal extraordinary things to you! But that only comes with closeness!
God Calls Moses to the Mount
God Calls Moses to the Mount
20 Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the Lord, and many of them perish.
22 Also let the priests who come near the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them.”
23 But Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it.’ ”
24 Then the Lord said to him, “Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest He break out against them.”
25 So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.
Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Ten Commandments for Israel
Ten Commandments for Israel
So here is where God gives the Law. The 10 Commandments are given. The fact that they are given is very important.
Let me explain why as it relates to us today…
Has anyone heard of the term postmodernism?
Our General Superintendent, David Bernard, wrote a book as an Apostolic response to postmodernism. He felt it was that important.
I have a picture here that demonstrates it very well.
(Read and expound)
So here is the beliefs and phrases that postmodernism has delivered us:
“Speak your truth.”
What this means is not, “Tell your story.” That is something quite different. What “speak your truth” is meaning is that there is not one truth - I have my own. I will speak it and no one can contradict it because it’s mine. And don’t even think about telling me that there is only one Truth I must live by, because that’s aggressive and it’s untrue.
“Love is love.”
Apart from being the most ridiculous statement attempting to be profound… it really means: People have said for years that love is between one man and one woman. But love can be between you, the same sex, a website, a pigeon… you name it.
“I identify as...” and “My identity is fluid.”
Complete denial of biological facts. And at it’s core, it’s an exaltation of self as a rebellion against exalting God.
“We live in the postmodern world, where everything is possible and nothing is certain.” - Vaclav Havel
Jean Francois Lyotard (the widely accepted thought leader of postmodernism) said, “Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives.”
Let me put that in true simple terms we can understand: “If I boil postmodern down to something, it’s hating the idea that I’m living in God’s story and not my own.”
“The postmodern worldview denies that there is such a thing as truth: historical, moral, or otherwise. It denies that truth exists independently of our perspectives and interests.” - Mark Earley
And here is where the issue lies tonight:
There is “A” Truth. There is only ONE truth.
It did not come from us. We are not the center of the universe and we do not create our own rules and deem what is right and what is wrong.
Morality IS VERY MUCH independent of what my PERSPECTIVE IS.
The Truth and Morality was GIVEN BY GOD.
I am not living in MY STORY… but praise God, I’m living in GOD’S STORY!!!
So God is GIVING this. It’s coming straight from Him. And the 10 Commandments are a massive part of our world, whether people realize it or believe in God or not. He has still given the basis for their laws. (Top of Supreme Court)
1 And God spoke all these words, saying: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
So, the Lord is putting this in a framework. Next are the 10 Commandments. But first, He says, “I have delivered you... Now I will show you how to live a delivered life.”
These first four commandments are duties toward God. The rest have to do with how we are to act toward others.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
This addresses God’s being - establishing that no other gods should have any allegiance. He is a JEALOUS God.
Though we may not worship Baal, Allah, or Buddah typically in America, or in the Church… there are certainly other things that we drift toward worshipping.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
This second commandment concerns worship, forbidding the creation of idols representing anything in heaven, earth, or water, with the reasoning that God is jealous. And idolatry’s influence passes through generations. And obedience to the One God brings blessing across a thousand generations.
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
This speaks clearly against misusing God’s name, emphasizing that he is the Lord your God who holds people accountable.
Contrary to popular opinion, this commandment isn’t primarily about avoiding profanity (although I could go on about that). It’s about stewarding our association with God’s reputation.
We are the people of the Name. We carry the Name.
We honor His name when we speak and act in ways that glorify Jesus.
And we take God’s name in vain when we’re openly Christian yet openly sinful, or when our public identity become associated with things Jesus would reject!
Using God’s name meaninglessly causes desensitization. It makes salvation and damnation trivial things. Becoming indifferent to the name that saves and the reality of judgment.
This commandment is calling on us to examine whether our lives support or undermine the gospel we claim to follow.
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
This fourth requires keeping the Sabbath holy - working six days and resting on the seventh - because that day belongs to God. It’s blessed and set apart.
We can all work on that.
Now the next commandments (5-10) are duties toward others.
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
This commandment requires honoring parents, with the promise of longer life and inheritance of the promised land.
13 Thou shalt not kill.
Very simply, this commandment protects human life, which the Lord values greatly.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
This forbids adultery, protecting the family, which God also loves.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
The eighth protects property.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
This forbids lying or false testimony against others.
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
The last commandment forbids coveting your neighbor’s possessions - house, spouse, animals, or anything else.
All ten original commandments are repeated in the New Testament, either by Jesus Himself or through the teaching of the apostles. It’s not outdated or irrelevant. It is an enduring moral authority.
Because the character of God HAS NEVER CHANGED.
We may be living under a NEW COVENANT, but the character of God is CONSTANT! And it’s this character that He wants to get into you!
We cannot just be filled with the Spirit! They that are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God!
STARTING POINT (Reminders: Youth Dinner, Altar Worker Training)
God Has Come to Prove You
God Has Come to Prove You
18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.
19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.”
21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.
The response of Moses in this verse forms one of the most significant concepts in the first five books of the Bible.
Note the interchange between the words do not fear and His fear. Moses told the people to stop being afraid; God was not going to hurt them. Yet they were very much afraid of the Lord (see 19:16; compare also 20:18, 19).
God did not want His people to live in terror of Him, as though He were an irrational, uncontrolled, violent force ready to be unleashed on innocent people without provocation. Rather, God wanted His people to respect the obvious hazards of careless sin.
Appropriate fear of God in this sense would make them reverent, obedient, and worshipful, so that they might not sin.
We’re going to shift here for a bit.
God proclaimed the Ten Commandments as foundational principles for Israel’s nation. We looked at these specifically in our last Midweek.
After the Ten Commandments, God begins to detail how these high principles would be practically applied in people’s everyday lives. In the next couple of chapters, we are getting those specifics.
So:
Ten Commandments - the general, overarching principles
The Following Supportive Laws - specifics and practical application
These are going to have to do with situations such as:
Property rights
Personal injuries
Justice
Worshiping the Lord
Honor and respect for authority
For our purposes, I am not going to read through each and every one of these scriptures, but I will be giving the general idea as we move through them.
Keep in mind that they all connect strongly to the Ten Commandments.
Worship and the Altar (20:22-26)
Worship and the Altar (20:22-26)
The laws begin with regulations governing the altar of the LORD, reflecting that the LORD’s priority is proper worship and his people, not material possessions.
Israel was forbidden from creating idols of silver or gold, and altars were to be built simply—of earth or unhewn stones without steps.
Chapter 21-23
Chapter 21-23
Social Justice and Personal Responsibility (21:1-22:17)
Social Justice and Personal Responsibility (21:1-22:17)
This section addresses treatment of slaves, personal injuries, and property disputes. The first social issue addressed is the treatment and release of slaves, with Israelites to treat their slaves generously and reflect the grace God showed them in delivering them from Egyptian slavery.
Major principles taught include respect for human life, responsibility for one’s actions, and respect for the property of others, along with accountability for agreements, restitution for violations, and penalties that fit the crimes, with God taking into consideration motive and intent.
Devotion to God and Care for the Vulnerable (22:18-23:19)
Devotion to God and Care for the Vulnerable (22:18-23:19)
This section deals with improper actions toward God and mistreatment of vulnerable people, containing applications of the Sabbath principle of devotion toward the LORD while intermixing matters of Israel’s vertical relationship with the LORD and horizontal relationship with people, with principles of societal relationships being consequences of a proper vertical relationship with God.
Verses 14-19 have to do with the feasts that God would have them annually observe. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering. These last two have to do with the harvests that they take in from their labor.
Feasts
What we just came through is what is sometimes referred to as the “Covenant Code.”
These are the rules of the law that God gave.
Now, of course, today we do not live under the law. We are in a time of grace and the blood of the Lamb. It’s a new covenant.
So we just read through the Covenant Code. It was God’s principles. God’s principles in our time, however, come through His Spirit, His Word, and prayer.
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, And write it in their hearts; And will be their God, And they shall be my people.
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
I have a perspective for you to think on: HOLINESS IS NOT LEGALISM ... IT IS COVENANT LOYALTY.
If the covenant is a treasure, then you hold to the principles that accompany it. If you feel a conviction, you should pray and consider responding to the pull of the Lord.
An Angel of the Lord
An Angel of the Lord
After this, there is a bit of an epilogue. And it has to do with the future and God’s promises.
20 “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.
22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
So it would seem that this angel (which in the next verse, God calls “My Angel”) is going to lead and protect the Israelites just as the pillar of cloud did. “My name is in Him” makes clear that this angel is the direct representative of the Lord.
They are warned to not rebel against him (although they do). And that obeying would result in all of the blessings we read of.
Conquest of the Land Assured
Conquest of the Land Assured
23 For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.
24 You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.
25 “So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.
26 No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
When it speaks of “completely breaking down their sacred pillars,” it’s referring to stone monuments and wooden poles that were used in Canaanite idolatry. These were made to Baal and Asherah, hoping for things like fertility and prosperity.
The ones you’re looking at a Gezer’s Standing Stones. These are stones that were set up over 3,000 years ago. They are from one of the largest Canaanite temples in Israel. Still there.
Now I want to show you something special here…
God wanted some things torn down.
27 “I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.
28 And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.
29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.
30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.
31 And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.
32 You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
God is again drawing clear lines against worshiping other gods. And also driving out those who worship these gods.
Chapter 24
Chapter 24
Moses Sacrifices to the Lord
Moses Sacrifices to the Lord
1 Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar.
2 And Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.”
3 So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has said we will do.”
Now watch!
4 And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
Firstly, let me stress that is says “Moses wrote down everything.” He didn’t let go some things or add other things.
And here’s what I want you to see: he set up twelve pillars. This contrasts the evil of “sacred stones” that God was so adamant about just a moment ago.
Let me just talk as this relates to you and me: God wants some things torn down and He wants some new things built up!
You can’t pick up things in deep places unless you put down things from shallow places!
SALVATION IS A FREE GIFT, BUT SANCTIFICATION IS A COSTLY EXPERIENCE!
I want to end by answering a few questions about holiness and convictions…
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I DO NOT FEEL CONVICTED ABOUT A CERTAIN STANDARD?
First, you should carefully and prayerfully study the Word of God on your own, allowing it to convict you.
Many times the Holy Ghost will illuminate your understanding through the anointed preaching and teaching of God’s Word as well. Your responsibility is to willingly submit to God’s Word as it is revealed to your spirit.
James tells us to “receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1:21)
In cases where principles of holiness must be practically applied, there might be cases where you view things differently than other Christians. In these areas, your responsibility is to submit to the man of God who has been placed over you. You cannot be saved without submitting to your pastor! If you can’t submit to the one you have, find another one!
Romans 10:14 says, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”
Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”
HOW CAN I DEVELOP REAL INTERNAL HOLINESS?
The good news is that if you are a Spirit-filled child of God, you already have internal holiness, for God’s Spirit is holy! However, you must let Him reign in your life - both inside and outside.
Since holiness is God’s very nature, when we receive the Holy Spirit we receive a holy nature. Through the Spirit’s power, we can overcome sin and live righteously (Romans 8:2-4, Galatians 5:16, 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8). We have freedom from sin’s dominion, the power to choose not to sin (John 8:34-36, Romans 6:11-25). We will not continue to live in sin, and in fact our new nature cannot sin (1 John 3:9). However, our old nature is not eradicated but merely subdued within us, so our flesh still has the ability to commit sinful acts (1 John 1:8, 2:1, Galatians 5:6-17). However, the born again nature within us restrains us from habitually committing sin. As long as we let the Spirit lead us, we will not sin!
The law of the Spirit does not destroy the law of sin but overcomes it. As long as a bird flaps its wings, the law of aerodynamics enables it to overcome the law of gravity. However, gravity has not been destroyed. If the bird folds its wings, gravity reasserts itself and the bird plunges to the ground. Christians can live above sin - if they continually “flap their spiritual wings!”
Moses Meets God on the Mount
Moses Meets God on the Mount
5 Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord.
6 And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.”
8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.”
9 Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,
10 and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity.
11 But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.”
13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.
14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.”
15 Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain.
Now look! Here is where the results are of tearing down pillars of evil and setting up pillars to the Lord - the result of holiness!
16 Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17 The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
God found a place He could rest!
20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
Can I say it this way: I want God to rest on me!
