From Grief to Glory
From Bondage to Glory • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Call to Worship
Call to Worship
A Psalm of David.
Yahweh is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will pursue me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of Yahweh forever.
Old Testament Reading
Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “How long will you be grieving over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I see among his sons a king for Me.”
But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will hear of it and will kill me.” Then Yahweh said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.’
“And you shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will make you know what you shall do; and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I say to you.”
So Samuel did what Yahweh said and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, “Do you come in peace?”
And he said, “In peace; I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Set yourselves apart as holy and come with me to the sacrifice.” He also set apart Jesse and his sons as holy and invited them to the sacrifice.
Now it happened, when they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the anointed of Yahweh is before Him.”
But Yahweh said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.”
Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Yahweh has not chosen this one either.”
Next Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Yahweh has not chosen this one either.”
Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “Yahweh has not chosen these.”
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the young men?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is shepherding the sheep.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not turn around until he comes here.”
So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And Yahweh said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”
Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
New Testament Reading
for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light
(for the fruit of that light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),
trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
And do not participate in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead even expose them.
For it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.
But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.
For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”
Intro
Intro
AG:
TS: In ch 33, we still see the fallout of the golden calf incident. God renews His promise to give them the land, but consequences of their rebellion cause Israel to grieve.
RS: Sin has consequences and often they lead out our grief as well. If it is a righteous grief
For godly sorrow produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world brings about death.
Lets look at the grief and the Glory. First,
The Grief (Ex. 33:1–6):
The Grief (Ex. 33:1–6):
A. The promise
A. The promise
God will send an angel to drive out Israel’s enemies,
Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Go! Go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘To your seed I will give it.’
“And I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
Good news and bad news
First the good news
They had not forfeited the Promised Land
God would keep His promise and see them through.
He would lead through His angel who would enter before them and drive out the ites:
Canaanites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, nad Hivites
God reassures them of arriving at the promised land safely and that He would drive out their enemies.
B. The Problem
B. The Problem
God will not go with them.
“Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst because you are a stiff-necked people, lest I consume you on the way.”
What is forfeited was the presence of God along the way.
God had given Moses all the instructions for the tabernacle so that He could dwell with them, but their contamination with idolatry and their nature now cost that.
“I will set the tent of meeting and the altar apart as holy; I will also set Aaron and his sons apart as holy to minister as priests to Me.
“I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God.
“They shall know that I am Yahweh their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them; I am Yahweh their God.
Now He removes that blessing due to their sin.
Th land would be theirs, that was a sworn covenant promise and could not be broken, the divine presence on the way however, could be set aside due to their sin.
C. The Penitence
C. The Penitence
Then the people heard this sad word and went into mourning; and none of them put on his ornaments.
So Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; should I go up in your midst for one moment, I would consume you. So now, put off your ornaments from you, that I may know what I shall do with you.’”
So the sons of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.
Removing their jewelry was an outward depiction of their sorrow of heart. It was similar to sitting of sackcloth and ashes.
They were mourning what was lost.
God, through Moses, explains:
So Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; should I go up in your midst for one moment, I would consume you. So now, put off your ornaments from you, that I may know what I shall do with you.’”
Their stuborn persistence in sin would cause future rebellion and punishment.
Though sad, God not being in their midst was a blesing.
AP: Sin’s consequences
We are in a similar situation.
Good news: God will always love us.
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
NOTHING can seperate us from the love of GOD
That includes our own sin.
BAD NEWS:
Sin does not break a believer's eternal relationship or union with God, which is secured by Jesus, but it does break active fellowship, intimacy, and communion with Him.
While the positional standing of a believer remains intact, unconfessed sin creates a barrier that causes distance, requiring confession to restore joyful, intimate communion.
Sin creates a barrier
Sin creates a barrier
But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
Prayers are hampered
When holding onto sin, we create a barrier to our prayers
In that time, God is looking for repentance, instead we go on as normal
Often, our prayers can be selfish and some may even be so twisted that they pray for God to help them hide their sin!
Sin breaks fellowship
Sin breaks fellowship
If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not do the truth;
but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Fellowship with God is for those walking in the light
We can claim fellowship all we want, but if we are walking around in our sin we don’t have fellowship with Him OR each other.
Sin confessed brings restoration
Sin confessed brings restoration
1 John 1:9 (LSB)
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
God is faithful
Confession:
To confess sin in the biblical sense, particularly as believers, means more than just feeling sorry or listing wrongs—it's an honest, verbal acknowledgment and agreement with God about our sin.
GK word is a compound of 2
homo- (ὁμο-) meaning "same" or "alike."
(from, λόγος) meaning "to say," "speak," or "word/statement."logeo logos
Literal meaning
"To say the same thing" or "to speak the same."
Core idea
To agree with, assent to, acknowledge, admit, declare, or align one's statement with another's (in this case, with God's view).
Sin is a constant struggle
Sin is a constant struggle
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
We must constantly battle our sin nature!
2. The Glory (Ex. 33:7–23; 34:1–35)
2. The Glory (Ex. 33:7–23; 34:1–35)
1. The grace of God (Ex. 33:7–17):
1. The grace of God (Ex. 33:7–17):
Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought Yahweh would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp.
Before the Tabernacle was constructed, Moses had a tent set aside in which he met with God.
God Himself met with Moses at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and speaks to him as one friend to another.
The people:
And it happened whenever Moses went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent.
Perhaps they learned the lesson from the calf.
They stayed focussed on the tent of meeting.
Moses at the tent
And it happened whenever Moses entered the tent, that the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; and Yahweh would speak with Moses.
And all the people would see the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent. And all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent.
God “entered” the tent by the pillar of cloud descending onto it.
Moses and God
Thus Yahweh used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, and his attendant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
Moses and GOD spoke face to face
At Moses’ request, God agrees to continue with Israel on their journey.
Then Moses said to Yahweh, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people!’ But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me. Moreover, You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’
“So now, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. See also, that this nation is Your people.”
And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Then he said to Him, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.
“Indeed, how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?”
Then Yahweh said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight, and I have known you by name.”
MacArthur Study Bible NASB (Commentary)
Again Moses entered earnestly and confidently into the role of intercessor before God for the nation whom he again referred to as “Your people” (vv. 13, 16).
Moses clearly understood that without God’s presence they would not be a people set apart from other nations, so why travel any further? Moses’ favored standing before the Lord comes out in the positive response to his intercession (v. 17).
2. The grandeur of God (Ex. 33:18–23; 34:5–9, 18–35):
2. The grandeur of God (Ex. 33:18–23; 34:5–9, 18–35):
Moses is allowed to see God’s glory while standing in the cleft of the rock, and it causes Moses’ face to glow.
Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!”
And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”
But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!”
Then Yahweh said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock;
and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.
“Then I will remove My hand, and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”
Natural man cannot just walk into God’s presence unprepared.
Our sin won’t allow it
God in His graciousness made a way for Moses to see just a part of His glory.
Then Yahweh descended in the cloud and stood there with him, and He called upon the name of Yahweh.
Then Yahweh passed by in front of him and called out, “Yahweh, Yahweh God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;
who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”
And Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship.
And he said, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go along in our midst, even though they are a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your own inheritance.”
MacArthur Study Bible NASB (Commentary)
God’s being gracious and compassionate to whomever He chose, Moses could not see God’s face and live. Whatever he saw of God’s nature transformed into blazing light is referred to as “God’s back” and was never subsequently described by Moses
AP: God’s glory and us
While Moses saw and reflected God's glory temporarily and externally under the Old Covenant, believers today experience something far greater: an ongoing, transformative beholding of God's glory in Christ, empowered by the Spirit, that progressively conforms us to Jesus' likeness. This isn't always a visible "shine" on the face (though character and good works can reflect it to others—Matthew 5:16), but it's a real, internal radiance that grows "from glory to glory" in everyday life.
Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness,
and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the consequence of what was being brought to an end.
But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is brought to an end in Christ.
But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart,
but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
God is conforming us to HIs image through transforming our character
Conclusion
Conclusion
RS:
AS:
IS:
Sources:
Willmington, H. L. 1999. The Outline Bible. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
