Discipleship School: Exodus 21-24
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Why study the Old Testament?
Why study the Old Testament?
learn about God and his character, how he works,
We get a better and deeper understanding of Jesus because it all points to him
6 “For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
who are the sons of Jacob?
Other names? Israel, children of Israel, Hebrews, Jews, Judah
We are about to read about the establishing of this new nation.
There will be a contract/covenant/testament between God and the people.
Spoiler alert: God keeps us His end of the deal, but the people don’t
God is faithful to keep his promises
God is faithful in his character: full of mercy and loving kindness, slow to anger
In this scripture, God is saying, If I was like you all: unfaithful, undependable, love you today but hate you tomorrow . . . you all would have been destroyed on one of my “bad days” . . . But I made a promise to Abraham
And since God does not change, we can learn a lot about him from the Old Testament
Review
Review
The children of Israel were freed from Egypt by God through his servant Moses
in chapter 19, they camp at the same mountain where Moses first met God . . . Mt. Sinai
First they agree to enter into covenant with God, He will be their God, and they will be His people
He will be their king, and they will be his subjects
In an awesome display of power, God allows them to hear him speak
the thunder roared, the lighting flashed, the whole mountain was covered with billowing smoke because God had descended on it in fire, , and then there was a loud blast from a rams’s horn, . . . . and there was an earthquake . . . and the blast from the horn grew louder and louder and wouldn’t stop
In chapter 20, God begins to give them the rules for their new nation, God starts with the 10 commandments
in chapters 21-23, more commandments and regulations
ex. no farming in year 7, finally science caught up and that’s why farmers today rotate crops because the land needs rest/a sabbath too
sets up three national holidays
Festival of Unleavened Bread (Passover) - Jesus crucified, blood saves us
Festival of Harvest (Pentecost) - Holy Ghost came, harvest of souls
Festival of Final Harvest (Shelters) - Jesus here on earth, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us (dwelt in a temporary shelter)
and God promised to help them conquer the promised land
Chapter 24 - Time to ratify the covenant!
Chapter 24 - Time to ratify the covenant!
sign the contract!
make the agreement official!
What is another name (popular Bible word) for contract, agreement, covenant? Testament
1 Then the Lord instructed Moses: “Come up here to me, and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. All of you must worship from a distance. 2 Only Moses is allowed to come near to the Lord. The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed to climb up the mountain with him.”
God told Moses to bring Aaron, his two sons, and seventy of Israel’s elders, closer to him . . . and the rest stay behind the boundaries
we’ll come back to this
3 Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the instructions and regulations the Lord had given him. All the people answered with one voice, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.”
Moses repeats all the instructions and regulations of chapters 20-23, the laws of this new nation
and gives them a chance to back out . . . but the people are all in
so now it’s time for the official ceremony
4 Then Moses carefully wrote down all the Lord’s instructions. Early the next morning Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Moses wrote down everything
built an altar
set up 12 pillars to represent each tribe
What are the 12 Tribes?
Judah, Benjamin, Levi, Dan, Nephtali, Joseph (Manasseh, Ephraim), Zebulun, Reuben, Simeon, Gad, Asher, Issachar
5 Then he sent some of the young Israelite men to present burnt offerings and to sacrifice bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses drained half the blood from these animals into basins. The other half he splattered against the altar.
sacrificed some bulls, peace between them and God
Moses took the blood splattered half of it against the altar
God’s way of officially signing the covenant
God commits first (Just like Jesus, died while we were yet sinners, shedding of blood first, he took the first step)
7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people. Again they all responded, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey.”
Read the instructions of God, and people officially, officially agree (makes about the 3rd or 4th time people say they want this)
they say the will live righteously
We see the same thing in the New Testament, Jesus told people to count up the cost of being a disciple
that’s why I don’t push for emotionalism at the Great invitation, I want people to make clear decisions, sincere commitment
So they enter into covenant with God by making a decision and today we enter into covenant (become Christians) with God by making a decision to follow Christ
We are saved by grace through faith
we demonstrate that faith by making a decision to call on the name of the Lord to be saved
our faith is demonstrated by believing that it will be worth the cost
8 Then Moses took the blood from the basins and splattered it over the people, declaring, “Look, this blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you in giving you these instructions.”
Moses sprinkled the blood on the people
kind of gross
God’s covenants are made in blood (Jesus)
Jesus sacrifice was gross too
you have to be covered by the blood, under the blood (see the same thing in Passover)
28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
As stated at the beginning, the Old Covenant failed because even though God did his part, the people did not do their part, could not live up to their part
So in the new Covenant, God does everything: He does his part, and through Jesus does OUR part
not the blood of bulls, but the blood of his son
Jesus followed God perfectly, and that righteousness falls on us when we call on Jesus to be saved
Doubters try to say - God just needs to show himself . . . and I will believe!. . . well . . . he already tried that, and it turned out to be a complete disaster (we are reading about it now)
Miracles in Egpyt on a grand scale
His appearance on a mountain - earthquake, fire, smoke, thunder, lightning, horn blast (no way to fake those things back then . . . and really not now)
hearing his voice
and now Moses, his brother, two of his nephews, and 70 other leaders will see God and eat a meal before him!
God showed up and showed out! God made himself clearly known that he was real . . . and in the end, the people were still hard-headed an sinful . . .so even if God showed up in the sky, people still would not follow him
and the next time he comes to start a new nation (spiritual nation), he comes in real low-key, as a baby
Back to our story
9 Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.
now, not just Moses, but the top leaders got to see God too
by mentioning “under his feet” scholars believe they only saw the footstool of God, and a pavement of sapphire
show picture of sapphire
11 And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!
they actually had a fellowship meal as part of sealing the deal
I guess God made the meal? Wow!
we have the Lord’s supper, meal of fellowship, a meal celebrating the new covenant
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the instructions and commands so you can teach the people.” 13 So Moses and his assistant Joshua set out, and Moses climbed up the mountain of God. 14 Moses told the elders, “Stay here and wait for us until we come back. Aaron and Hur are here with you. If anyone has a dispute while I am gone, consult with them.”
Now the Lord wants to talk to Moses alone (with Joshua close by), and he will give Moses tablets of stone that he has written himself!
We see Joshua is already in training
Moses tells elders, I’ll be back. Aaron and Hur are the top leaders while I’m gone . . . I am sure you all can handle things
15 Then Moses climbed up the mountain, and the cloud covered it. 16 And the glory of the Lord settled down on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from inside the cloud. 17 To the Israelites at the foot of the mountain, the glory of the Lord appeared at the summit like a consuming fire. 18 Then Moses disappeared into the cloud as he climbed higher up the mountain. He remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Covenant has been ratified
Now Moses goes up to talk to God some more
he will be gone for 40 days and 40 nights
Quiz
Quiz
What does the word Exodus mean?
If you want to read what happened before Exodus, which book of the Bible should you read?
What is the land of Goshen?
12 Tribes of Israel - Joseph’s tribe works a little different. How and why?
1/2 tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh
12 Tribes of Israel - Judah, Benjamin, Levi, Dan, Nephtali, Manasseh, Ephraim
Zebulun, Reuben, Simeon, Gad, Asher, Issachar
what tribe Moses, Aaron from
What tribe David from
What tribe Jesus from
Paul?
Where did the name of Israel come from?
First national holiday for Israel?
Other names for Abraham’s descendants - Jews, Hebrews, children of Israel, Israelites, Israel . . . new one (Judah)
How many plagues? 10
Name them
blood, frogs, gnats
flies, death of livestock, boils
hail, locust, darkness . . . death of first born
How many years in Egypt? 430 years
What did Pharaoh ask for when the children of Israel left Egypt?
How many people left?
What is God’s name?
What are four Hebrew consonants that make up God’s name called? Tetragrammaton
Understanding the Bible - TC3
Text - is it actually written in the scripture, if so then actually read it
Context - consider the verses around it, the book, the testament to determine meaning
Consistency - is it a consistent theme, lesson, principle taught in other parts of the Bible
Character - does it fit the character of God
(4th)Common sense - use your brain
After the Red Sea Miracle, what complaints have the people had so far?
no water
no food
no water
What does Jehova-Nissi mean?
What did Moses call the place where the Israelites complained about water (the 2nd time)?
Massah - test
Meribah - arguing
Moses Father in law’s name - Jethro
Moses wife’s name - Zipporah
Where were the children of Israel when God gave them the 10 commandments?
What are the 10 commandments
Here’s a brief version of the Ten Commandments:
1. **No other gods** – Worship only God.
2. **No idols** – Don’t make or worship idols.
3. **God’s name is holy** – Don’t misuse God's name.
4. **Keep the Sabbath** – Rest and keep the Sabbath day holy.
5. **Honor parents** – Respect your father and mother.
6. **Don’t murder** – Value human life.
7. **Don’t commit adultery** – Be faithful in marriage.
8. **Don’t steal** – Respect others’ property.
9. **Don’t lie** – Speak truthfully.
10. **Don’t covet** – Avoid envy of others’ possessions.
What is another name (popular Bible word) for contract, agreement, covenant? Testament
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