The Lord's Leading

Opening

We are wrapping up our series in Exodus. By way of reminder, the last section of Exodus that we covered was structured in such a way as to catch the attention of the readers.

God established a covenant relationship with the people of Israel. He gave them commandments (including the Ten Commandments) so that they would know what their part in the relationship entailed and what kinds of expectations God had for them in this relationship. Moses went up on the mountain to meet with God and took a while. He received further instructions about holy objects to use in worship such as the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant, among other things.

After a significant amount of time had passed, Moses came down the mountain with the instructions from God, including tablets inscribed by God’s own hand, to see the nation participating in sinful disobedience. They had constructed a Golden Calf with Aaron’s help. Moses in anger tossed the tablets of God and broke them and the nation was chastised for such disobedience. They were confronted with God’s presence outside the camp in the tent of meeting as Moses met with God. Moses would then go back up the mountain for 40 days and nights.

God reestablished the Covenant relationship with the people, re-iterating the commands and expectations and had Moses make a new set of stone tablets to replace the ones he broke. Upon exiting the tent, Moses’ face glowed brightly causing the people to react in fear.

Whereas before the interlude of the Golden Calf and the reestablishment of the covenant described in detail the plans for the holy objects to be used in worship, following the incident are detailed descriptions of the construction of those items. The details are vivid and exacting and as we found out, you can almost read the parallel accounts of the instructions and the construction word for word beside one another.

But following the construction is a brief passage describing the glory of the LORD that I want us to focus on today. This passage describes what it was like for Israel to live in the wilderness and to listen to God. What was it like to follow God in those days? It was simple. They simply watched to see what the LORD would do and where He would go and then they would follow.

There are a lot of parallels that we can draw from this as we consider what might be in this passage for us to learn. But let’s make sure we do our due diligence and walk through it carefully. Following the LORD isn’t as simple for us today as it was for the Israelite's in the wilderness. But if we are dedicated to being in a right relationship with God… a covenant relationship with God, then we ought to know where we can discover God’s leading.

Relationship

The first part about following the Lord’s leading is to be in relationship with Him! If you think you can ask God for a sign and refuse to see the one right in front of you (the Bible in your hands), then your eyes aren’t open to it. But if you are here this morning, then you readily acknowledge that the Bible is worth looking at occasionally, if not studying thoroughly.

God wants to be in relationship with you! He wants you to know Him and to obey His commands. John 14:15 ““If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” It can be argued that the entire Bible is God’s love letter to His creation! It is the story of the great lengths He went to to redeem his rebellious creation so that we could be in a right relationship with Him again!

That is what God was trying to accomplish by having Moses construct the Tabernacle. We’ve talked before about how the imagery God was establishing was so that Israel might know that God is with His people, literally living in their midst, seated at the very center of the most holy place, at the center of their worship activities.

But as we consider what it means to be in relationship with God, we inevitably come to a series of questions. We can’t answer all of them in this message this morning, but we are attempting to head in the direction of answering one of the first and perhaps most important ones. If we are in a relationship with God, how are we to know what our part is?

Observe

English Standard Version Chapter 40

The Glory of the LORD

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 36 Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

One of the things that strikes me as we come to this concluding paragraph for the book of Exodus is the observation required of the nation of Israel. I want us to consider this for a moment or two. If Israel wanted to follow God, in a very real way, He was right there. His cloud covered the Tabernacle and His glory radiated out from it. When that cloud moved, that was a clear indicator that the time had come for the people to move as well. The LORD had a visible presence among the people and it was easy for them to observe when He would move and when He would stay. Their step of obedience was as simple as that.

For us it looks a little different. There is no tent of meeting or Tabernacle to go to where we know the Lord dwells. Rather, we know that God in heaven is more unseen than seen. But I think all of us know somewhere in our hearts that we are still able to observe the movements of God. Missionsfest is coming up and one of the big draws for that event is to hear from missionaries all around the world share stories of how God is moving and performing miracles like what we read about in the Bible! That means that God is still moving among us, but we have to be able to see it.

So what is the problem? Where have we gone wrong? Why don’t we see God?

How familiar are we with what to look for? How much time do we dedicate to studying God so that we will recognize Him when we see Him. That is the crux of the matter. If we want to see God but our Bibles sit dusty and unopened on our shelves, then the evidence would suggest that we are the ones with closed eyes.

I am not a tracker. I can see footprints in the snow and make some guesses as to what might have walked through my yard, but I am no expert. About a month ago, there was a strange thing that happened at my place. I went to drive my son somewhere early one morning and as I was about to head out of my driveway, I noticed something strange right at the opening where it meets the road. It was a very large bone… like part of a shoulder of a large animal. I live in Dugald, so this was quite unexpected. I moved the bone to the side of the drive way and left it until I got back. Upon further investigation, I noticed some interesting tracks running all through my back yard and around the house and garage and I could see some drag marks for how this bone ended up where I found it. But I had no idea what kind of animal brought it there. I still can’t say with certainty even though Anita and I looked into it and did a Google search to see what might have done it. Near as we could tell, it was a coyote. But here is the thing, we didn’t know because we had not studied the topic. My father-in-law is much more versed in what to look for when it comes to wildlife tracks, so he could better discern what might have happened. But if we don’t know, how can we identify what is going on?

This is where I tie it back to our conversation about the movements of God. He is leaving tracks behind. And I think He delights when His children stumble across evidence of His activity. If it drives us to learn more about Him, that is exactly what He desires for our lives! Learn about God! Learn how He works! Learn how He moves! Discover what He is up to and what He is doing! He is at work in our lives! He is at work in the lives of those around us! He is leading people on paths of discovery, but some of us aren’t willing to put the time in to do the research to know what we are looking for. If we can’t observe Him, we can’t follow Him.

Communicate

As we consider how we might apply what we are learning to our lives today, obviously we aren’t looking at clouds and wondering which one God might be hiding in. But if not clouds, then how do we watch for and listen to God? Communication is the key component in any relationship. Without communication any relationship dies an agonizingly slow death.

Hebrews 11:6 says: 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Heb 11:6.

God delights in His children seeking after Him! He rewards it! He loves it! His children are actively trying to get to know Him better! Who wouldn’t want that? Who wouldn’t want the ones they love to actively love them in return and actively try to get to know them better?

There is a persistent theme to discover throughout scripture that God responds to those who earnestly seek Him.

Matthew 7:7-8 says: 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 7:7–8.

What can we learn here? If you want to know what God is up to and you want to follow His leading in your life, then you have to seek Him! Search for Him! Act as though it is the most important thing in your whole life, because in many ways it is, and He will show up in your life and begin to teach you the ways in which to identify His finger prints and His footsteps.

300 Illustrations for Preachers The Kingdom of God: Worth More than $400,000

Preaching Themes: KingdomofGod

Pearl hunters off the coast of the Philippines discovered a pearl that weighs five pounds. The owners auctioned it along with the lower half of the shell in which it grew; the pearl is valued between $300,000 and $400,000.

In Jesus’ parable of the Pearl of Great Price, the merchant went and sold all that he had to purchase this one pearl. The parable is in a series of parables that tell how the kingdom of God is like searching for things of value. We would do well to remember that $400,000 is nothing compared to the one who gave his son to die in our place that we might belong to the kingdom of God.

—Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

1 John 5:14-15 says: 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Jn 5:14–15.

These footprints throughout the Bible continue to point to the fact that God answers our prayers. We simply have to seek Him. Notice how John says that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. This is an important distinction because how can we know His will unless we first seek Him? We have to get to know Him and in so doing, we familiarize ourselves with His will and as we ask according to that will, He answers our prayers!

Conclusion

As I begin to wrap things up this morning, I want to thank you all for joining me on this journey through the book of Exodus. It has taken a while, but I hope and pray that the fruit we gain from having gone through this ancient book is readily apparent. It might have chronicled the journeys of a group of people who would become a nation, but it impacts our faith directly and indirectly. Not only are the instructions given throughout the book relevant to us today (such as the Ten Commandments), but the stories described are part of the story of Jesus Christ. It is His history. It is the history of His people and God’s plans for them to become a blessing to all nations! It is the story of God’s redeeming love for a people prone to rebellion and sin. It is a story of forgiveness, compassion, mercy, justice, judgment and so much more!

We as the church have a lot to learn from the nation of Israel. We can learn from their mistakes. We can learn from their successes. We can be inspired by their faithful obedience. We can grieve their stubborn disobedience and the subsequent consequences. God is good and He cares for His people. And He wants His people to care for Him too.

It is our job as the church to seek God and His will for our lives. We are to watch for the movements of that cloud that represented God’s desire for the nation to move or to stay. We are to listen to God’s voice when He calls out to the people and calls them to obedience.