Moses/Israel

Connect Card Talk: Good morning and welcome to Lindsay Lane East! If this is your first time worshiping with us, you are our special guest. We are pumped that you are here and we pray that you feel welcomed! In the back of the seat in front of you is a Connect Card and a pen. If you would sometime during the sermon, reach out and grab that. We want you to enjoy your time here but we would love it if you would let us know who you are and how we can reach out to you just to see how we might minister effectively to you. If you will fill it out with as much info as you feel comfortable with and carry it to our next steps are in the lobby on your way out today, we have a free, nice t shirt for you! That’s a pretty sweet deal!

If you are watching online, you can let us know you are here by clicking the link in the description of this video and filling out an online version of the card there.

These cards are great for letting us know prayer needs and next steps you want to make too! So, use those things!

Today, I need your help with a game. (maybe get two contestants to stand where they are?) I’m going to show you a picture for 5 seconds, and then I’m going to show you a different picture with a minor difference. First one to blurt out the difference is the winner.

Catch up on storyline...

Opening verses...

Exodus 19:3–8 CSB

Moses went up the mountain to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain: “This is what you must say to the house of Jacob and explain to the Israelites: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine, and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.” After Moses came back, he summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. Then all the people responded together, “We will do all that the Lord has spoken.” So Moses brought the people’s words back to the Lord.

PRAY

We are shooting in on the middle of an ongoing story here that needs to be acknowledged.

We watched as creation came unraveled through sin and God chose to restart humanity through Noah and his sons. But we saw that they nor their descendants were perfect either. Man continued to sin.

Then God spoke to a man named Abram and asked him to go to a special land he had for him and his descendants. That’s where we were last week.

Abraham’s kids and their kids’ kids and their kids’ kids’ kids’ have gotten to somewhat enjoy the land but they are still far from perfect in their relationship with God.

They experience a famine that drives them to Egypt where there is food. They wind up staying there and are buddies with the Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God blesses them greatly. They are multiplying like crazy!

400 years pass...

I know that is hard for us to fathom because our nation will only turn 245 this year. But many nations and people groups have been established in an area for far longer!

400 years pass...

They’ve gone from a nomadic group of 70 family members to around 600,000 MEN! Not even including their wives and chiildren. Probably over 1 million people.

A new Pharaoh is in power and he does not find the Israelites kind and adorable like the previous administration. He views them as a threat. So they become a sort of population of slaves. Pharoah also begins to enact population control and genocide. Every male child born is to be thrown in the Nile river.

But one baby is saved through the water in a small basket. That should sound familiar, right? God’s anointed faces death but escapes it in a boat.... Sound familiar? It should remind you of Noah!

The baby who was saved through this death was named Moses.

Moses grew up and God called him to lead God’s people out of Egypt and back to the land of promise! God is going to establish them as a great nation finally!

As I read this week in a commentary...

“The ‘great nation’ promised by God to Abraham (Gen. 12:2) is about to emerge on to the world stage.”

On their way back to the land God had promised, God stopped Moses and the Israelites at a mountain called Sinai. There, God made a covenant with man once again.

All of Israel did not climb the mountain to meet with God, instead, Moses went up on their behalf.

As you read through the rest of this interaction throughout the book of Exodus, the first thing you will see about this covenant are...

1. The RULES

If you look back to the verses we started with...

Exodus 19:5–6 CSB

Now if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine, and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.”

That doesn’t sound so bad, honestly! But this is just the cliff notes version, because what we get in chapters 20-31 are the actual rules of the covenant! 12 chapters of rules and laws! Read through it sometime, it’s very thorough. Their are rules that you would expect to see a government establish to protect its people about murder and stealing. But there are also laws that have to do with the sacrificial system that God is setting up through his people.

Whatever the case, it becomes clear that God’s people are not being invited into some country club with all kinds of perks!

It is clear from the obligations imposed upon Israel that being in special relationship with Yahweh involved more than privilege; it entailed responsibility.

God was calling his people to live different from the world around them. Yes, their belief that there is only one God would definitely look strange among the polytheistic world they were living in. But what about their behavior? What about the way they treated others?

God was speaking directly to this group of people in a particular time, with particular laws for a particular purpose. To the people of Israel, as they are on their way to live in the Promised land, God gives this massive set of laws, WHY? What was the purpose of these laws?

They were written so that God’s people would know how to stand out!

Application: The purpose behind the laws gives us a peek into the passion of God and his desire for his people throughout history. God wants his people to look different from the world around.

If you don’t, that’s a problem!

Ekklesia - A greek word for called out ones. Get’s translated as church.

Church, we are the Ekklesia. We have been commanded to live CALLED OUT LIVES.

But there was a risk that Israel gambled on through their time as people.

2. The RISK

Exodus 34:11–16 CSB

Observe what I command you today. I am going to drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hethites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land that you are going to enter; otherwise, they will become a snare among you. Instead, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, and chop down their Asherah poles. Because the Lord is jealous for his reputation, you are never to bow down to another god. He is a jealous God. “Do not make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land, or else when they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices. Then you will take some of their daughters as brides for your sons. Their daughters will prostitute themselves with their gods and cause your sons to prostitute themselves with their gods.

The peoples God mentions here are the many nations that are currently living in the land of promise. God had already told Abraham many moons before that he would drive out these nations before his descendants. So, here, God is confirming that part of the promise again to his people.

God warns them not to make a treaty with any of these other peoples because that could prove to become a snare for Israel.

Let’s be honest, God sounds like a jerk here, right? Hey, don’t make any treaties with these people! I don’t trust them as far as I can throw them!

God is not being paranoid here. He simply knows how humans work!

He knew that if the people of God began to work out deals with the peoples of the land, they would wind up being influenced by them as well. He knew that with treaties come marriages. Often one king would offer his daughter to a rival, neighboring king in an effort to bring peace.

And God knew that if these strange transactions began to occur, God’s people would be led astray. Because women can get men to do ridiculous things. Even adopting new gods into their lives!

You see, God did want them to live differently among the nations, but the kicker was that they were not to allow these other nations to influence their worship of the one true God!

God had called them to Live among them, but don’t be influenced.

God was not calling the Israelites to lives of seclusion and isolation. In fact, that would not have accomplished the most basic purpose of mankind: to be image bearers. To show the world the image of God!

And, we too as image bearers of God, as God’s Ekklesia, the principle remains! We have been called by God to engage others for the sake of sharing with them the Gospel! But as we are going to them, we cannot let our beliefs and our worship be affected.

If we do, we are no better than the Israelites who wind up worshiping every god from the surrounding area at one time or another.

3. The REBELLION

So, God laid out the laws that showed Israel what it looked like to be holy and to stand out from the nations around them. God also warned them of the risk if they made deals and began to adopt things from those around them...

How do you think they did?

Let’s look...

Before Israel enters the Promised Land, they wander for 40 years making the trek from Egypt and trying to figure out whether God was trustworthy. But God had just given them the rules and the risk, surely it was fresh on their mind!!! I seriously doubt they break this!

- Strike 1 (Before they were an independent nation)

Numbers 25:1–3 CSB

While Israel was staying in the Acacia Grove, the people began to prostitute themselves with the women of Moab. The women invited them to the sacrifices for their gods, and the people ate and bowed in worship to their gods. So Israel aligned itself with Baal of Peor, and the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.

Well, that didn’t take long.

But, I mean, they are trying to get established there. I bet that once they get settled in and get in a good routine, their guard will be up and be stronger...

- Strike 2 (As an independent nation)

1 Kings 11:1–2 CSB

King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women from the nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, and they must not intermarry with you, because they will turn your heart away to follow their gods.” To these women Solomon was deeply attached in love.

for perspective, this is the 3rd king of Israel. The son of David. He loved many women! Where do we see this list of peoples? In the warning he gave earlier right? And here it’s a description of the women Solomon has taken as wives!

When Solomon goes to hand the nation off to his son, there is an uprising and the nation of Israel now becomes the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah. They split into two countries. This weakens them, they begin fighting with one another, and they find themselves conquered and captured.

70 years pass and God’s people finally get to leave their place of capture and return home to reclaim the land!

Surely after going through such turmoil and stress, they are ready to follow God now! I bet they stay focused on God and worshiping him alone! What you think?

- Strike 3 (After being an independent nation)

Ezra 9:1–2 CSB

After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices are like those of the Canaanites, Hethites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. Indeed, the Israelite men have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed has become mixed with the surrounding peoples. The leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!”

Here is that list of peoples again!

These are the peoples that God had called his people to conquer, yet they were in essence being conquered by them instead by being led away to worship other gods.

The risk God had warned them about came true over and over again!

As God’s called out ones today, we must not be guilty to do the same as they Israelites.

“IF ONLY WE HAD A LAND! THEN WE COULD FOLLOW GOD. IF ONLY WE HAD A KING. IF ONLY WE WERE ESTABLISHED AND PROTECTED...”

We can make all the excuses we want, “Well, if I only had a better job, I could serve God more faithfully.” “If only my kids would settle down, I could really do something for God.” NO, you won’t!

You see, there is no threshold to reach that will magically make following God easier! If you don’t follow God now, more money, getting married, having kids, getting a new job, or anything like that won’t make you start loving God well!

You see, the problem is not your circumstance! The problem is that your heart is broken. We cannot please God because we are poor and wretched sinners! The law that God gave to Moses actually helps us see that. When you read through all the principles by which God calls his followers to live by, you will quickly see that you don’t live up to the standard!

When we read that story of Israel, we see that they don’t either!

However, despite their unloveliness and inability to keep that law God had commanded them to, God would not leave Israel in their hopelessness.

While the Mosaic covenant calls for God’s people to be perfectly holy, we realize they are not, we are not. But there is this anticipation that builds from here til the time of Jesus. What would it look like for an Israelite to actually keep every part of the law? What would a human look like who fully loved God above all others?

Jesus is that fulfillment! He was the perfect Israelite. He was the mediator who dealt with God on our behalf.

Today, friends! If you are waiting on some piece of the puzzle to get into place before you call out to God to save you and begin living for him, let me tell you… “Don’t wait!” There is no circumstance that will make this easier. Only God working in you can make it possible. I would love a change to share with you about how you can trust in Christ for the first time today, or share with you about how you could be baptized here at East, or join this church family! We want to help you!

And if you are a Christian, let me ask, “Can anybody tell?” Is there anything about you that screams to the world that you worship Jesus?

If not, you are not living the called out life God has set before you. Do it! Today. Ask God to begin to live through you!

Another question… Are you so focused on holiness that you neglect those around you? This is the Christian bubble idea. Are you avoiding all interactions with people who aren’t believers simply because of what they might say to affect you! This is not good either! And as a pastor, I get that! I get to talking to neighbors and people I meet, when the question comes up, “What do you do?” I can’t lie to them, so I tell them, and the relationship quickly changes. It will for you too, but it’s not ours to be friends with everyone. It is simply ours to shine the image of Christ to those around us!

Our task is to live CALLED OUT yet not in isolation from the nations, but evangelism TO THE NATIONS!

This was the purpose of the covenant with Moses and God’s people...

It was the establishing of a nation through which Yahweh could make himself known to all families of the earth, and now that extends to us as believers!

Let’s be found faithful here, amen?

Whatever God lays on your heart to talk to him about, do it! Let’s not delay the next steps God has for you today!