Exodus II Outline 1 Week 6

Outline 1

Intro/Welcome - Scared Stiff

Pray

God’s Vision: Exod 19:1-6

Exod 19:3-5 3 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:

4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

I delivered you

I carried you

I brought you to myself

I didn’t just lead you and leave you, and abandon you

5 Now if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant,

Conditions: listen and keep (guard, keep watch over)

you will be my own possession out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine,

6 and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’

These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.”

God’s Affection for His People (God’s always had the same mission)

I have saved you, now become who I made you

Keep my covenant — Keep the kind of relationship I had with Abraham — one by faith.

Genesis 12:1–3 CSB 1 The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

And you will become:

My treasured possession (“royal property”) — But more so Bride (longed for and affectionate towards (deut 7:7-8)

i own you, all that i give you is for stewardship.

Why this people? (they would be the ones to be with him for all eternity, by grace)

becuase he loved them (Deut 7:7-8)

Deuteronomy 7:7–8 ESV 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love (חשׁק longed for you) on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you (אַהֲבָה 1, has affection for you) and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

The whole earth is mine” (Exod. 19:5b), he says, but in his heart God always reserves a special place for his own precious people. While we cannot deny his universal benevolence, it is not to be compared to the unique love that he has for his own people only. God placed his unique affection on Israel, saying, “out of all nations you will be my treasured possession

ILL: Like a Bride, a wife has a special place in the husband’s heart that no one else has. This is like God’s relationship to Israel, to his chosen people (to you and I)

This is taken even further b/c 1 Pet 2:9 directly quotes this verse…and guess what?

The Church is in fact the Bride of Christ

Is a bride expected to keep a covenant?

For the relationship to flourish, yes!

God will love us to the end, it is our lack of love for him that causes problems, it is our unfaithfulness to him that causes problems.

Holy Nation (set apart from the ways of the world)

Set apart from the world to be set apart for the world.

Kingdom of Priests (meant to bring my presence to all peoples, and all peoples to my presence)

The title “kingdom of priests” also had another meaning, one with global implications. As an entire nation, the Israelites were God’s priests to the world (Ryken)

However, God chose Israel with the ultimate intention of saving the world

This makes it clear that God’s plan for Israel was part of his plan for the world. Israel was chosen not only from the nations, but also for the nations. This plan was first revealed to Abraham, to whom God said, “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12:3b

The name of this Savior, of course, is Jesus Christ. He is the fulfillment of Israel’s destiny to be a kingdom of priests for the nations.

God’s Manifestation/Revelation (Exodus 19:9-

Pronouncement (Exod 19:9)

Exodus 19:9 CSB 9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you and will always believe you.”

Moses reported the people’s words to the Lord

Why?

God reveals himself to authenticate his words to Moses for all time (Exod 19:9, true of apostles also see Gal 1:11-12)

To test them so that they would not sin (Exod 20:20)

So they would experience his Majestic, Holiness and Righteousness and this would motivate them.

The same in the NT. Obedience follows worship.

NT

Galatians 1:11–12 CSB

11 For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. 12 For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Preparation (Exod 19:10-15)

“I will come on the third day”

“Prepare yourselves” - Consecration/Washing/Boundaries/Refrain from Sex

Illustration: Preparing for a wedding, for the love of your life

Why?

God’s holiness would consume anything less than pure.

We cannot be in God’s presence unless we are shielded by Christ’s perfection

Exodus 33:3 CSB

3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go up with you because you are a stiff-necked people; otherwise, I might destroy you on the way.”

Exodus 33:5 CSB

5 For the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites: You are a stiff-necked people. If I went up with you for a single moment, I would destroy you. Now take off your jewelry, and I will decide what to do with you.”

Exodus 33:20 CSB

20 But he added, “You cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live.”

Exodus 19:21–22 CSB 21 The Lord directed Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the Lord; otherwise many of them will die. 22 Even the priests who come near the Lord must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out in anger against them...the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out in anger against them.”

Presentation (Exod 19:16-20)

Exodus 19:16–20 CSB 16 On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and a very loud blast from a ram’s horn, so that all the people in the camp shuddered.

God shows up magnificently

Call to Worship

17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

18 Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the Lord came down on it in fire. Its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently. 19 As the sound of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder. 20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai at the top of the mountain...

Proclamation (Exodus 20:1-17)

God proclaims the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:1–3 CSB “1 Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 3 Do not have other gods besides me.”

We will cover this next week, but it is essentially a call to discipleship.

God Speaks!

NT:

Matthew 3:16–17 CSB

16 When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”

Luke 9:34–35 CSB

34 While he was saying this, a cloud appeared and overshadowed them. They became afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 Then a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, the Chosen One; listen to him!”

The Peoples Response (Exodus 20:18-21)

Exodus 20:18–21 CSB 18 All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the ram’s horn, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it they trembled and stood at a distance. 19 “You speak to us, and we will listen,” they said to Moses, “but don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”

Isaiah 6:5 CSB

5 Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies.

word ‘lightning’ used only here and in Gen 15:17 in the Penteteuch

Genesis 15:17 CSB 17 When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals.

The People’s Rejection of God

They were afraid (trembled, shaken)

Yet God is Glory. To see God as he is, would be terrifying, but it is the God who has loved us. What power! What majesty! Yet we could not believe it, Israel could not take it. Sin one that day. Woe to me. I am unclean. I need to keep my distance!

I am not worthy or God’s love. I’m not worthy to be in such great presence. Send another instead, a mediator. I can’t bear it. This is God’s glory’s effect.

Exodus 20:20-21 CSB Moses responded to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you will fear him and will not sin.” 21 And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the total darkness where God was.

(2) What kind of “test” is Moses talking about? The Hebrew verb nsh, often translated “to test,” should not be understood in the sense of “finding out” how the Israelites will perform or react to something. God is not revealing himself in thunder and lightning to see how the people will react. It is much more convincing to translate the word here as “experience.”30

In other words, verse 20 can be paraphrased: “Do not be afraid. God is giving you a taste of himself so that this memory will stick with you to keep you from sinning.”

Experiencing God leads to terror, should lead to obedience

We need a mediator.

The Promised Prophet

Deuteronomy 18:15–19 ESV

15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16 just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.

Application

God has a vision for his people.

We are the fulfillment of Exod 19:4-5 see 1 Peter 2:9

We need a mediator to be in God’s Presence

We needed to be ‘prepared/consecrated’ to be in God’s presence — Jesus prepares us

But we are not just in God’s presence, God’s presence is in us.

This has everything to do with the ten commandments — the kinds of people in whom I dwell with be these kinds of people.

Experiencing God results in Worshipping God

Worshipping God results in obedience to God (which looks like not sinning)

in other words: if we had a continual sense of the majesty and glory of God’s presence we would never sin

But the fall has destroyed that, a veil lies over our hearts (2 Cor 3)

But the veil has been removed by Christ

God is making a people for himself.

he has provided for them (food, water, victory over enemies, leadership) he will now provide this as well (how will he who graciously gave us his son, not also give us all things.

Romans 8:32 ESV

32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?