Meeting God
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION: What a moment can teach us about someone
The Grace of God
The Holiness of God
The Mercy of God
The Grace of God
The Grace of God
The Grace of God in the Journey
The Grace of God in the Journey
The text starts by telling us that a third new moon event has transpired meaning that it’s been roughly seven weeks since
Moses and His people have arrived at MT Sinai. The starting point for this whole deliverance mission. It was here that Moses was called by God to return to Israel and to demand that Pharaoh let the Israelites go.
Moses most certainly at this point would have been reminded of God’s faithfulness in an even deeper way as he recalled when God told him in the beginning that He would be back to this very mountain one day with His people to worship. Remember back in chapter 3.
English Standard Version Chapter 3
12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
And here they are now…delivered from Egypt and serving God on this mountain!
So, God has a yet again shown that HE IS FAITHFUL to do exactly what He says that He will do. It is an important fact to cling to, especially now that we see them moving into the wilderness of Sinai.
Remember God has promised not only to deliver them, but to bring them to a promised land, a place flowing with milk and honey.
And yet they don’t find themselves in the promised land…they find themselves preparing for a long and extended detour through the wilderness.
You see God has delivered them but the deliverance doesn’t happen the way we all would expect it our want it to. The deliverance is going to require trust in God to deepen as they go through hardship. But the same way in which he has demonstrated himself faithful to deliver, He will show himself faithful to get to the promised land if they simply hold fast to him and trust him.
APPLICATION: Is this not the story of our salvation!? The Lord delivers us, saves us and then the sanctification begins and if you’ve been walking with Jesus for a little while, you know that oftentimes it can definitely feel like the wilderness.
And it can leave you at times saying “Did you save me for this? Did you deliver me for this?”
But just remember that the same God who led Israel out of Egypt and led them through the wilderness to in due season reach their inheritance is the same God who saved you through the death of His Son Jesus and is leading you through this adventurous but sometimes hard and tumultuous journey called life in order to bring you to your promised inheritance in His eternal Kingdom.
For Moses, the same God that promised him and His people deliverance from Egypt is the God now promising to lead Him through the wilderness to the promised land…all they have to do is trust and follow his instruction.
And family, that is all we have to do. The same God that saved us and brought us out of darkness will complete His work in leading us into glory. All we have to do is TRUST HIM and follow HIM as He leads us.
In fact, by definition sanctification is a PROCESS. A lot of us wish we could skip the hardship and jump straight to the promised land, but it is in the hardship that we are prepared for the promised land. The journey through hardship is to help shape us and mold us more in the image and likeness of Christ!
So God has purpose for the wilderness just like he has purpose for YOUR journey, but God is not only fortifying the character of the people here in this wilderness, He is also fortifying their relationship with them through a covenant.
The Grace of God in the Covenant
The Grace of God in the Covenant
3 while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves 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, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, 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 that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
God begins the work of outlining His covenant with the people of Israel.
The first thing He mentions is how HE delivered them.
“You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself...”
Notice who is the actor in God’s message. He is. I took care of the Egyptians and I bore you on eagles’ wings meaning that I LIFTED YOU UP and CARRIED YOU over the trouble.
It wasn’t your labors, expertise, or righteousness that brought you deliverance. It was me!
That’s what happened first. AND THAT IS VERY VERY IMPORTANT; We’ll see why in a moment.
Next thing the Lord does is call Israel into covenant and obedience…According to one Bible Dictionary, covenant is a sacred kinship bond between two parties, ratified by swearing an oath.
Hahn, S. (2016). Covenant. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
And then the Lord lays out the blessing of obedience in verse 5 and 6
...you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, 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 that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
To be a priest was to be one devoted to God and devoted to bringing people to God. God says follow me and you’ll be that.
He also says I’ll set you apart and make you a unique nation, standing apart, and serving as a model to the world of my love, my grace, my mercy, my invitation to them.
You will be my people.
NOTICE THE SEQUENCE HERE: Deliverance, Obedience, Blessing
God delivers Israel and then gives them the law to follow, and by pursuing His will for their lives they will find the blessing of obedience.
One commentator rightly points out that if you get this order wrong…our relationship with God is turned completely on its head.
Tim Keller expounds on this commentary in the following quote where he compares the person who thinks their deliverance comes through obedience versus the person who obeys because they’ve been delivered:
"Nothing must ever be allowed to upset this order...The Gospel is 'I'm accepted because of the blood of Jesus Christ, therefore I obey...One is operating essentially self-centeredly…for it's self-centered to say 'if I obey, then God will bless me and He'll answer my prayers and take me to heaven.' Why are you obeying God? To get things. Such a person's obedience is always conditional.
But a person who knows you already have everything in Jesus Christ, you've already been saved by grace, why do you obey? You obey not to get things from God but to get God, to please Him." - Tim Keller
If you read your Bible a good bit and you’re saying to yourself right now, all of this sounds a bit familiar. Then you would be right...
Salvation comes as a work entirely of grace, but then as grace comes in the person and work of Jesus Christ, God calls us to obedience and walking in that obedience brings blessing to our lives. In fact, Peter uses pretty much the same language to describe our relationship with God through the covenant that has been established through Christ
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
In other words, for those who have embraced Jesus as the Lord and Savior of their lives, they too enter into a covenant, a greater covenant because the blessing that comes through perfect obedience has been satisfied through the Savior who perfectly obeyed.
Through Him we are given one to obey perfectly for us and one to increasingly empower us to obey and to offer grace when we fail to do so...
And because Christ does that, all those who trust Him as Savior and Lord are too priests, a holy nation, a treasured people.
And let me just say emphatically, YOU NEED CHRIST to be this for you! I NEED CHRIST to be this for me! I NEED HIM TO fulfill the terms of the covenant in my place allowing me to walk in the blessing of His perfect obedience.
If you’re asking why, look at verse 7 with me...
7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.
This is very sweet of all the Israelites to say but they IN NO WAY do this...
In fact, it’s not going to be very far from this moment, where Moses is going to be up on the mountain receiving the law from God and the Israelites are going to go to Aaron and say “Hey Moses has been up there a long time and nobody knows what has happened to Him. So we need you to make us an idol!” Never mind, this is happening while Moses is receiving the law from God that says “DON’T MAKE OR WORSHIP IDOLS!!!!”
And this happens over and over and over...
So here is what we learn from Israel, we will never receive the fullness of the blessing of this covenant UNLESS we have someone who comes and lives this life of obedience FOR US.
This is what Jesus did…This is why we need Him...
Nevertheless, the people say “We will obey and with the agreement of the people in place, God begins to prepare Moses and the people for His arrival. This is where we see the next attribute of God on display. His HOLINESS
The Holiness of God
The Holiness of God
So, everyone agrees on the terms of the covenant and God says to Moses “OK, I will come and visit you and come and speak with you and lay out the terms of our agreement...”
The ten commandments, the law…these are the ratifying documents for this nation. One scholar calls it Israel’s “national constitution, so to speak”
But in order to come and visit the people God tells Moses that he needs to prepare them…this happens in verses 9-15
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.”
When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, 10 the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments 11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” 14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”
Wash your clothes.
Set barriers around the mountains so that no one can touch it because if they do, they will be stoned or shot.
Do not engage in sexual relations.
Here we are seeing that this is a HOLY God and we cannot enter to see Him in any kind of posture. Remember when the Lord spoke from the burning bush even Moses was asked to remove His shoes for He was standing on holy ground
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. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. 20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
This was a spectacular vision on this mountain as the Lord begins the work of giving His people…It was an AUDIOVISUAL SPECIAL EFFECTS SPECTACLE that even MARVEL MOVIES couldn’t top!
This scene had everything:
Thunder booming in the dark sky
Lightning cracking across the sky
A loud trumpet repeatedly blasting that keeps getting louder and louder and louder
Smoke covering the mountain as the Lord comes down in fire
And how did the people respond to this? Verse 16 tells us. The whole camp TREMBLED
AND THEY SHOULD HAVE
What does it mean to TREMBLE? It means to be so overwhelmed by a sight, sound, emotion, that you begin to shake involuntarily.
What was Israel overwhelmed by? They were overwhelmed by God but they were also overwhelmed by their smallness. As God approached, they began to realize their how HOLY He was and HOW UNQUALIFIED they were to stand in His presence.
This happens in Scripture a number of times...
1. Isaiah sees God in a vision in all of His Glory. He is in this magnificent temple filling it with smoke with angelic otherworldly beings called seraphims, whose presence alone would cause one to shudder, actually accompanying Him in the temple. Isaiah sees them in the temple with God and calling back and forth to one another saying:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; all the earth is full of His glory.”
And it is at this moment that we hear these words from Isaiah:
“Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.”
His sin is exposed in the presence of this HOLY GOD and he basically says “Woah, what am I doing here?” My sin is far too great to be near such holiness.
2. We see it again with Job. For those who don’t know the story, Job was a upstanding righteous man with a lot of family, wealth, health, and property who God allowed the devil to test. The devil released an onslaught of horrible trials upon him striking at his family, wealth, property, and health. And throughout the entire book, UNDERSTANDABLY, Job voices his frustrations with what is happening in His life. He challenges God on whether it would have even been better for him not to have been born and the Lord is pretty much silent throughout the book, giving little answer to Job’s frustration UNTIL the very end.
1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
God shows up in a mighty hurricane and begins to speak. He walks Job through His nature, His glory, His might, and His holiness basically asking him, “Can you do better?” Job SEES God’s Holiness and how does He respond. God speaks for four chapter and how does Job respond?
3 Then Job answered the Lord and said:
4 “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
5 I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but I will proceed no further.”
In other words, now that I’ve seen you shown yourself to me. I realize just how small I am and much less I need to talk.
He says one more thing to God in chapter 42
1 Then Job answered the Lord and said:
2 “I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
4 ‘Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.’
5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
6 therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”
Now that I see you, I realize how MIGHTY you are and how insignificant I am. I realize how WISE you are and how ignorant I am.
And though I was a pretty upstanding citizen, a pretty righteous man when comparing myself to other people, now that I’ve seen you and I realize how HOLY you are, I clearly see how UNRIGHTEOUS I am.
The closer God gets to us, the more clearly we recognize how unqualified we are to be near Him.
Again, I want to point to Keller. He rightly points out that this is one of the reasons that so many of the pictures and images of God as described in the Bible are terrifying pictures: Thunder/Lightning, Hurricanes/Whirlwinds, Fire/Smoke, Man of War...
Because those images communicate the reality of a HOLY God approaching a UNHOLY people which without mercy is a TERRIFYING SIGHT.
Did you know that there is also a NT moment when God and Moses have another conversation on a mountain.
2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean.
God speaks again, but instead of giving the law who proclaims the Gospel