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Why don't you have your Bibles
open to Matthew. I was meditating on Matthew.
Exodus 19, and would you stand with me? Let's read the entire chapter
together. Men, let's begin with verse 1,
and the ladies, if you have the NASV, follow along with verse
2, and so on and so forth until we finish to the end of the chapter,
verse 25. Let's begin. In the third month
after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt,
on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. Moses went up to God, and the
Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, Thus you shall say to
the house of Jacob, and tell the sons of Israel, Now then, if you will indeed
obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession
among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine." So Moses came and called the
elders of the people and said before them all these words which
the Lord had commanded him. The Lord said to Moses, Behold,
I will come to you in a thick cloud so that the people may
hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.
Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord. Let them 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. No hand shall touch him, but
he shall surely be stoned or shot through. Whether beast or
man, he shall not live. When the ram's horn sounds a
long blast, they shall come up to the mountain. He said to the people, be ready
for the third day. Do not go near a woman. And Moses brought the people
out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of
the mountain. When the sound of the trumpet
grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him with
thunder. Then the Lord spoke to Moses,
Go down, warn the people, so they do not break through. The
Lord gazed, and many of them perished. Moses said to the Lord, The people
cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you warned us, saying, Set
bounds about the mountain and consecrate it. So Moses went down to the people
and told them. Amen. Have a seat. Do you know how many times Moses
had to go up and down, up and down the mountain? About eight
times. Here. It's interesting how God brings
out his people and helps them to finally come to Mount Sinai
on the seventh week. That is, two months have elapsed
and the third month they arrive and they camp there for the next
11 months. And from this point on, Exodus
19, all the way to Numbers chapter 10, we're talking about 58 chapters
now, folks, we cover the most of the Pentateuch. And then from
that point on we know that from Kadesh Oasis, Kadesh Barnea,
they have grumbled against the Lord and did not believe that
the Lord could deliver them into the land of Canaan. They believed
the bad report of the ten spies who came with unbelief saying
that they cannot occupy because the people are too big The cities
are too well fortified and there's no way that they can occupy.
And that's when it happened. And so from that point on, they
wander for the next 30, a little over 38 years. So, on the 40th
year, we find them on the plains of Moab, where Moses is now giving
his last will and testimony and repeats the very law that God
is about to give to them. So if you think about the great
volume of this text, the five books of Moses, not counting
the first book, Genesis, because it covers all the history from
creation all the way down to the people of Israel. But if
you look at the rest of the books, the great majority and the significant
part is given at this place, at Mount Sinai. How important
is this to God then? I mean, if you consider that
60% of the Gospel of John is based on Jesus' last eight days,
And all four Gospels record extensively Jesus' death on the cross and
the resurrection and the few days that preceded. How important
is that event? For the great majority of Jesus'
life, it's an obscurity. And only once do we know, in
his later childhood at the age of 12, as Luke only records,
that Jesus went to the temple. We know so little about Jesus'
life And yet we know so much about His ministry, especially
the ministry of the cross. How important is that for God,
do you think? And what about this? When God's
revelation comes, right? And the great details are given
that some of us may be exasperated by reading detail after detail
after detail about the priestly vestments, ornaments of worship,
the exact dimensions of the tabernacle, the very specific details of
civil and moral and ceremonial laws. And yet, look at the events
of creation. Six days of creation, less than
a chapter. And so, what is really important
to God as He sees so As we see so much information dedicated
to describing God's holy character, we see this is what God wants
us to know. And He wants us to get the meaning
behind the Law of God. The Law of God serves many important
purposes. For the people of Israel, it
served a very important transitory purpose. That the Abrahamic covenant,
which was unconditional, is contingent upon the Mosaic Covenant, which
is conditional, and they go hand in hand, just like the book of
James and the book of Romans go hand in hand. Faith that works
goes hand in hand. Abraham's faith will ultimately
produce a genuine work that trusts in God, that will be sanctified,
that will be mature, that Abraham would manifest God's glory. even
while he was alive. So would Isaac and Jacob and
the people of God are selected and set aside as holy people,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation before God. God has an incredible
plan for His people. That should tell us a lot about
why He redeemed us and what He wants us to be in this life.
And so this is a very important lesson for us. And so we don't
have a lot of historical events now. We have a lot of theological
themes. And this is just as practical
as you will see. So what we find here in chapter
19 is all too familiar Near Eastern suzerain-vassal treaty. Suzerain-vassal. Suzerain comes
from the word sovereign, vassal. So here is a king who has a vassal
a underling, if you will, a viceroy, and he gives his powers and conditions
and says, I will bless you, I will protect you, I will manifest
these kinds of things to you, I will do this for you, but you
need to submit to me, and in return I will protect you and
bless you and so forth, and you submit to me under these conditions.
And that's a suzerain-vassal treaty. So the pattern is, first
there's a preamble. And look at verse 3. There is
a summons from God. Moses went up to God. And the
Lord called to him from the mountain. Second, there is a historical
prologue. Verse 4. You yourselves have seen what
I did to the Egyptians. Historical context. And how I
bore on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Then, number 3,
there are stipulations. Verse 5. Now then, if you will
indeed obey my voice. If you will indeed. stipulation
and then the second part of verse 5 to verse 6 blessings then I
will do what XYZ you shall be my own possession among the peoples
for the all the earth is mine and you shall be to me a kingdom
of priests and a holy nation and then finally accept the acceptance
in a solemn assembly verses 7 and 8 Moses called the assembly and
the people answered in verse 8 said, all that the Lord has
spoken we will do, follows line by line of a typical Near Eastern
suzerain vassal treaty. So this segment of scripture
is divided into three sections. First, the preamble. The second,
the preparation. And the third, the presentation. The preamble points to the law
and how they came to a place where they received the law.
The preparation is for the people. Before they receive the law,
they have to be prepared. They have to be consecrated.
They have to get ready. And of course, finally, the presentation. It's not the presentation of
the law. It's as much as a presentation of the law giver. God presents
himself. He reveals something about his
character before he gives them the law. And so we're going to
see these things from chapter 19. Let's jump right into it.
Verses 1 and 2 gives us the historical background and how they traveled
and where they came. Isn't it interesting that it
is at Mount Sinai in the wilderness that God reveals His direct revelation? And isn't it also interesting
that in the Old Testament, in Israel's first encounter with
God and His revelation, God does what He hasn't done in the past.
that is, he is publicly displaying his revelation to all the people,
not just to Moses. He speaks in a way that is fantastic,
it's thunderous, and yet he speaks to Moses in a way that not only
Moses understands and hears, but also all the people hear.
Moses has a closer encounter with the Lord, but the people
hear it as well. So that by the time Moses goes
back and tells them, they all heard it too, and they go, yes,
whatever you say, we will obey. Why does God do this? God says
He will do this by establishing Moses. Verse 9, 9. Behold, I will come
to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak
with you. God is bringing all the people
of Israel into this conversation and may also believe in you forever. What does God do? He establishes
His servant. So that this would be the setting
whereby which when Moses shows up to the people and said, Thus
saith the Lord, they would have a historical precedent saying,
Yeah, we heard God speak to you before, so therefore He must
have spoken to you now. Later on, when they move away
from Sinai, Moses meets God at the Tent of the Meeting, at the
Tabernacle, and God speaks to him, as the Bible records, face
to face. That means intimately. And so, God does this. Isn't
it interesting that God does this visibly? There's clouds,
there's smoke. Audibly, thunder, loud trumpets. We don't know who's blowing the
trumpets. I don't know if it's Moses. I don't know if it's the
Lord. I don't know if they're the angels. But there's fantastic trumpets
playing. And God's voice is audible. That means that He spoke Hebrew.
And the people heard it in their own language in Hebrew. gift
of tongues here, no need for interpretation, it was just heard
and it was understood. That's the way it came. In other
words, there was not a mistake among the millions of people
camped at Sinai who was speaking. It was God. Isn't it interesting
that in the New Testament though, God spoke through the Son. What does the writer of Hebrews
say in Hebrews chapter 1 verse 1? Let's look there in the New
Testament. He says, God, in the past, after He spoke long ago to the
fathers, in the prophets, in many portions and in many ways,
in these last days, He has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed
heir of all things, through whom He also made the world. You see
that? In these last days. It's not only final and complete
revelation, but it is something that is more clear. And yet,
how did that revelation come? John says, And the Word became
flesh, and He dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the
glory of the One and Only Begotten, full of grace and truth. And
yet that glory, that revelation, only came to a few people. And
even to them, only at the Mount of Transfiguration, the three
got to see a glimpse of the supernatural. While Jesus was ministering,
healing, and having control over nature, casting out demons, raising
the dead, He was veiled in His humanity. When He spoke, people
doubted. When He said, Son, your sins
are forgiven, people doubted that. There is no doubt here
who is speaking. This is a supernatural revelation.
This is public. This is to everyone. And yet
when Jesus communicated, He was fully veiled in human flesh,
and He communicated His glory to a select few. Interesting
contrast, isn't it? New Testament is more certain,
right? Because it's a fulfillment of
the Old Testament law. The Old Testament was very public,
very clear. The Ten Plagues were very, very
clear. And yet it was through a mediatory
role of His servants, Moses and so forth. But in the New Testament,
God Himself spoke and yet it was veiled to a select group
of people. even those witnesses of the resurrection.
It was through all of Judea, all of Jerusalem. It was through
the 500. Interesting parallel there. One thing we need to understand
is that God is God who always keeps His promise. Because the
reason why they're hearing this at Sinai is because God promised
that they would. Exodus 3.12, remember that passage? Certainly I will be with you.
And this shall be a sign to you, that it is I who has sent you,
when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship
God at this mountain. There they are. Wilderness of
Sinai at Mount Horeb. Right at the base of the mountain.
Exactly the way God said it. He is a promise keeper. This arrival and this hearing
is the fulfillment of that promise. So that is the arrival and that
arrival is the preamble to the law. God wanted them exactly
where they are so that he could give them the law. Exactly. And that played into God's sovereign
plan. Secondly, God wants Moses and the people
of God to know that he is a good and gracious and affectionate
God. He is a good, gracious, and affectionate
God. Look at verses 3 and 4. Moses went up to God. And there's
no record that says God called Moses. We don't know. He might
have. But Moses may have assumed, because
that's the mountain there he saw, the burning bush that did
not consume. He took off his sandals. It's
a holy ground. He assumed that's exactly where he needed to be.
He went up. The Lord called to him from the mountain, saying,
Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, Also Jacob, of course,
pointing to Israel's humble beginnings and tell the sons of Israel,
typical parallel way of talking about their humble beginnings
and yet God's chosen plan for them. Verse 4, you yourselves
have seen, God's pointing to a clear understanding from their
experience, what I did to the Egyptians. I have power and might,
judgment. And how I bore you on eagles'
wings and brought you to myself. That's a wonderful imagery. And
if you look in Deuteronomy, basically it's a repeat of this event. Deuteronomy 32 verse 11, that
imagery is a little bit more elaborated. Deuteronomy 32 verse
11, like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over
its young, he spreads his wings and caught them, he carried them
on his pinions. I was so blessed in tonight's
worship set. All of the songs that we sang
had allusions to Exodus 19. God here brings forth a beautiful
imagery of the adult parent eagle. There are basically eight different
kinds of eagles in the ancient Near East and Middle Eastern
area. And we don't know exactly which kind this is, but it is
definitely a flight, large, predatory bird. And what this eagle does
is it has it perched up its nest way up high in the cracks of
a hill on the top of the mountain. And then there, as the younglings
grow up, and soon as their fuzz become feathers, the parent eagle
would take them on their wing and fly. And then it would let
go and drop and make the fledgling try to fly on his own. And when
he can and he falls, the mother eagle or father eagle, papa eagle
swoops down and catches them at over 200 miles an hour. I mean, this eagle has such a sight,
it could see 2, 3, 4 miles clearly and zero in on a prey. I mean,
this is just a fantastic animal. That's the imagery that God uses
to talk about what happened with Israel and God's relationship
to Israel. Let's pause for a moment and
really develop this illustration because God uses it. What is
God saying? He's saying, that's what I'm
doing to you. I'm the mama eagle. I'm taking you on my wings for
the first time. That's the only time when an
eagle gets on mother's wings. When? When he first leaves the
nest and learns to fly. What is God saying? Now I want
you. to take your first step away
from what you would call the nest, the comfort zone of Egypt,
the land of sin, and now into the territory where I will give
you a glorious future. And that is what? That is the
king of the flight birds to fly, to soar to the heights where
they've never gone before. Could you imagine these little
fledglings, little young eagle chicks, they would have been
terrified to be that high and be dropped and yet that's exactly
what they need to go through. That sheer terror will turn into
exhilaration, for they too will learn how to fly. This is what
God wants for Israel. God wants them to soar. Look
at the lofty titles that God grants to them. That's what God
has for them. Now if that is true, when He
did that to the people of God, the Israelites, how much more
is it true, and we, children of God, bride of Christ, the
body of Jesus Christ, How much more does he want us to soar? And it's a beautiful imagery
there. You know, we're fond of our baby
Elijah, Elijah Aang. Pretty soon, Jeremy and Audrey
will be buying Elijah a little tricycle. Well, that will be
a major leap, right? Right now he's carried and he
rides on a stroller, but pretty soon he will be riding his own
tricycle when he's about two. Maybe younger than that. A whole
tricycle. And he'll insist that he'll get
a bike, maybe with training wheels. And then training wheels will
come off, and he'll be riding all over the place. And then,
you know, he'll get into a bigger bike, and then pretty soon he'll
be asking for a car. Now, brace yourself, that's coming,
right? My kids will be asking for cars
pretty soon. That's kind of scary. But after
that, hopefully they will be responsible. They will get a
job. They'll make money. They'll learn
to be very responsible with their money. And they'll be hopefully
responsible with their relationships and make the most important decisions
of their lives. Find that marriage partner and
get married. And then they'll have their own children. And
they'll have to teach them how to ride a tricycle, ride a bike,
be responsible if the Lord tarries. And we see that. That's the cycle
of life and growth, isn't it? That's the process that God has
indicated to us as the process of maturity. Now, if you can
understand that, then you can understand what God is trying
to do. Where is Israel? They're still in the stroller.
God is still babying them. Where does God want them to be?
Fully mature. That they would be a holy nation
unto God. And we're going to see that in
a little bit. So we've seen in the preamble the arrival of Israel at Mount Sinai. That
is right on the clockwork with God's timetable. And then the
affection that God has for these people. We've seen that. And finally, the assignment that
God has for them. Assignment. If you look at God's
assignment, First of all, let's take a look at verse 5. He says,
Now then, if you will indeed obey my voice, notice the condition,
if you will indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be
my own possession. That word, own possession there
in the Hebrew, points to a treasured possession. Precious thing. God
sees the value in Israel. How? When they obey, when they
submit, when they have a right faith relationship to Him. Israel's
value was not because of their merit, but because of God's sovereign
grace. Did Jacob merit God's favor? Is that why he became the son
of promise? Not his older brother Esau? No. It's by sovereign grace.
We're saved not of our own merit, but because of God's sovereign
grace. So the ultimate value and worth as a Christian, as
a child of God, just like the Israelites 3,500 years ago, comes
from God choosing me, not me choosing God. He put the value
there. Let's be sure about that. Without
God, we would be a blank piece of canvas or a big block of rock. But with God and His masterpiece
and His hand at work, we will be a priceless work of art, a
masterpiece of painting and of sculpture. The question is, do
we want to be a masterpiece? The question is, do we want to
fly like the eagle? That's the question. Do we want
to soar and serve God, or do we want to do our own thing and
stay in the comfort zone of our nest and not submit to God's
plan? That's the real question, isn't
it? Well, God has a plan that He's working out in His people. And so, we saw the first assignment
is that We are God's possession and we need to accept that. That's
our value. Secondly, we are God's kingdom
of priests. That's what it says. Kingdom
of priests. You shall be to me a kingdom
of priests. A priest is the one who mediates
between God and man. The entire nation is to serve
in a mediatory role, bridging the gap between the one true
holy God and with all the other nations of the world. That's
what he said to Abraham. Through you, I will bless everyone. All the nations of the earth
will be blessed through you. As God blesses one, He wants
to bless the many. He wants to use Israel as a royal
priestly nation to the world. It's interesting that the Apostle
Peter refers to this phrase and says that Christians are royal
priests. That's 1 Peter 2. But you are a chosen race, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession,
all titles that only belong to Israel." But he says, we now
have the same titles. That you may proclaim the excellencies
of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous
light. What is the purpose of why God gave us these exciting
values and assignments and prerogatives, these positions? so that we would
proclaim the excellencies. It's oriented to the gospel,
isn't it? To the Great Commission. If you're
not interested in that, if you're not deeply involved in that,
if you're not prepared to be a better royal priest, if you
will, so that you can proclaim His excellencies with the most
effectiveness and greatest joy, then perhaps you're not soaring.
as God intends you to soar. Are we living advertisements
for God? Do people see us and they say, hey, I want to know
about your God? Or are we a stench to the world? What kind of people do we want
to be? A self-oriented people? A people that is in the closet,
if you will? A people who are royal priests,
kingdom of priests? Furthermore, Israel is to be
God's holy nation. A holy nation. Holy means separate.
Belonging to God. Israel is to be a unique and
separate nation that does everything differently. I'm talking about
everything. The way they dress, what they eat, how they wear
their clothes, how they perform their worship, how they live
their daily lives. Everything is to be different.
So unique. And no one has ever seen people like this. And so
they're going to ask, why are you like this? And they're going
to say, We have our identity in God. God made us like this.
He gave us our inheritance. Isaiah 42, 6. The Word of God
says, I am the Lord. I have called you in righteousness.
I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you. And I will
appoint you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the
nations. The nations, of course, here
are Gentile nations. As a light to the nations. See, that's the
preamble. That's the preamble to the law. Why is God giving
them this law? Why is God giving them his character,
is because he wants them to know that he has brought them to come
to the very base of the mountain, very place in the epoch of human
history, so that they will be assigned these incredible riches,
that God will demonstrate his deep affection, special, unique
affection for them, and the way that he has a marvelous plan
for their future, to mature them, to help them to soar with him,
that they would be a royal priest, a holy nation unto God. Man,
that's lofty, isn't it? That's lofty. So, if you think
about it, God intended all this when He promised Abraham, when
He sovereignly called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees. God
planned this and He continued to work this out through Isaac,
through Jacob, through Joseph, and now through Moses and the
Israelites. Now, He's about to Let them have it, if you will.
Finally deliver, if you will. This is the moment that they're
waiting for. What will they do? Well, now let's take a look at
verses 7 to 15, the preparation to receive the law. So Moses
came, that is, he came down, and called the elders of the
people and said before them all these words which the Lord had
commanded him. And guess what the people said? And all the
people answered together and said, All that the Lord has spoken
we will do. Now, several Bible scholars have
been overly critical of this. They said that Israel was too
hasty in their response, that they should not have accepted
the responsibility because they cannot keep God's law, because
they are sinners and they need to recognize that. These scholars
say that Israel should have asked God for help and mercy instead
of saying, we will do. They should have said, we cannot
do. Help us. Now, at one time I used to agree
with that. But then there's this nagging
detail in Deuteronomy 5, verse 28-29, it says, And the Lord
heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me. And the
Lord said to me, I have heard the voice of the words of this
people which they have spoken to you. God already heard. Did
He not? They have done well in all that they have spoken. Notice
what it says. They have done well. in all that
they have spoken. Oh, that they had such a heart
in them, that they would fear me and keep all my commandments
always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever."
There's a glowing commentary from God that God approves of
what they said and God desires that they would fulfill their
words. So I don't think that we should be critical of what
the people had said. They understood in principle
that God brought them out. God gave them a brand new inheritance,
a redemption. They need to submit to God. Whatever
God says, they need to do. He said, we're ready to do what
God says. God says, good. He said, good. So, contrary to being critical
of the response of the Israelites, the Lord commented and He approved
of what they said. Now, it's interesting that many
of the Old Testament saints had a very positive outlook to the
law. Very positive. And the New Testament saints
had a balanced, positive and a negative outlook to the law,
because the law had become distorted, right? That the letter of the
law were emphasized, like the Pharisees, who tied mint and
cumin, but completely overlooked the weightier matters of the
law, of justice and mercy and righteousness. And so the Lord
Jesus Christ rebuked them sharply, for maintaining the superficial,
external letter of the law, but not the spirit of the law, and
obeying the commandments of men rather than the commandments
of God. And yet, in the Old Testament, we see that the psalmists love
the law. Psalm 119, verse 97, O how I
love thy law! It is my meditation all the day.
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the
wicked, or sit in the seat of sinners, or stand in the way
of mockers, Delight is in the law of the Lord and on it he
meditates day and night. His delight is in the law. Psalm
19, verse 10, they are more desirable than gold. Yes, much more than
fine gold. It's valuable. It's the most
precious thing. The psalmist says, sweeter also than honey
and dripping of the honeycomb. It is delightful to the taste
and to the soul. Now, contrast that to what the
New Testament writers sometimes said about the law. How the law
cannot justify. how the law was a tutor, leading
us ultimately to Christ, that we cannot be made righteous by
the works of the law. By the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified. So, the law is good and the law
is right, it has its rightful place, but if you misunderstand
and misapply the law, then you'll have dire consequences. See, the law of God, there's
nothing wrong with the law of God, it's perfect and it is good.
The fact of the matter is, however we're sinners and we cannot keep
God's holy law we can however please God and obey the spirit
of the law when we love him and when we submit to him by faith
by faith and that's the key isn't it and that's what Israel needed
as well not just say we will do everything as if they can
on their own they need faith and to love God's word and his
law because they love God. So let's look at this passage
here. They've replied. We're ready
to do that. Well, verse 9, the Lord confirms
His servant, Moses, Behold, I shall come to you in a thick cloud,
in order that people may hear. Very public. God affirms Moses'
leadership so that all that Moses had to say later on would be
obeyed. Even then, people complained
and try to stone him at one time. Secondly, verse 10, they needed
to be consecrated. Before they received the law,
they needed to wash their clothes and stay away from women later
on. And we'll talk about that a little bit, why God says that.
The whole thing is about separation, isn't it? So here, the servant
of God is confirmed, the people of God are consecrated and for
them to wash their clothes. Now, they're in the wilderness.
I'm sure they have sources of water. But water is precious
in the wilderness. But they have to wash their clothes
because God told them. So they have to do something
that probably wasn't a very commonsensical knee-jerk reaction. It was a
thing of submission. For them to wash their clothes
back in those days means that they had a brand new start. They
washed their clothes because they had a brand new start. It's
not like they had a wardrobe full of clothes. Chances are
they only had one set, most of them, or two. So they had to
wash their clothes and have a brand new start. It's like our New
Testament understanding of 1 John 1, 9, when we confess our sins,
He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us or purify us from all unrighteousness. 2 Corinthians
7, verse 1, Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let
us cleanse ourselves from all defilement in flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God. It's when we surrender
our lives to the Lord, consecrate our lives and say, Lord, I want
a brand new start. So God gave clear instructions
to separate between what is holy and what is profane. That's the
whole idea. Wash yourselves. You're going
to have a clean start. Before you receive the law, you're
going to have to be consecrated, dedicated, and get ready. And
so God continues to give His instructions. So in verse 12
and on, we see circumscription. God's principle of circumscription.
And you shall set bounds for all the people around saying,
beware that you do not go up to the mountain or touch the
border of it. Why? Just like Moses had to take off
his sandals because God's presence is there. God separates that
mountain. It's holy. Whoever touches the
mountain shall surely be put to death. Touching or not touching,
coming near the mountain or not near the mountain is a matter
of life and death. Let us not forget God is a holy God. His people needed to know that.
This is not a trivial matter. It is a matter of life and death.
And that's what we must learn about the character of God, that
He is holy. No hand shall touch Him, but
He shall surely be stoned or shot through. Whether beast or
man, He shall not live. Someone who violates the law
of God cannot even be touched, for dead bodies cannot be touched.
They're washed and consecrated. So even these people have to
be punished by means where you don't touch them. So you have
to stone them from afar. And only when God specifies,
when the ram's horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to
the mountain. Only when. Exactly the way He specifies.
Isn't that the way that we find in scripture? Later on in the
book of Numbers, how did Nadab and Abihu die? It was in Leviticus. It's one of those books. How
did they die? They offered unauthorized fire
and the fire of God came and consumed them. Remember Uzzah? He put his hand upon the Ark
of the Covenant and God struck him down. So the whole principle of circumscription
points to the fact that God is distant. He is separate from
sin and sinners. That's the whole idea. Now we
understand the relationship there describing verse 15, be ready
for the third day, do not go near a woman. That means to consecrate
yourselves and make sure that you are wholeheartedly devoted
to me because you are about to receive my instruction and my
law and separate yourself, circumscribe relationships, boundaries so
that you will be ready. So the whole idea is that irreverent
behavior and attitude will be immediately judged by God. Irreverent
curiosity is unacceptable to God. They want to come near and
find out what's happening, they're going to be struck down dead.
It doesn't matter what the reasons may be from a human standpoint.
God will not tolerate any sinful man coming to analyze and investigate
God. He will not do it. He is holy
God and must be revered, not an interesting God who can be
considered, investigated, analyzed. That is not the way that God
reveals Himself and His people must be sure of it. Everything
about God's prohibition bears evidence to its weight and seriousness.
Everything. Not only their external apparel,
but their relationships have to be circumscribed. There must
be a differentiation when people approach God and if you Break
that covenant, it's a matter of life and death. So this principle
teaches us that we cannot approach God as we see fit. That we must
also distinguish between what is holy and what is profane.
That we must have a reverential attitude toward God. And I say
in our membership syllabus, the very zone between the love of
God and the fear of God, that is the place where we need to
be. Between the love of God and the fear of God. A reverence
for God and an affection for God. That's where we need to
be. If we fear God too much, we cannot boldly approach the
throne of grace as the writer of Hebrews invites us, because
he's our Abba Father. But if we're irreverent, thinking
that he's our homeboy, rather than our holy maker, many people
approach God that way, right? Great Santa Claus, genie, homeboy, God will judge. So God's Word
says that we can only come to God through the very narrow way
that God prescribed, just the same way that the Israelites
could just even come near, approach God, even to the very mountain.
Jesus said, I'm the truth and the life, I'm the way, the truth
and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through
me. Acts 4.12, there is no salvation and no one else, for there is
no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which
we must be saved. And yet we can approach the throne
of God boldly with confidence, throne of grace, that we may
receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews
4.16. So we've seen the preamble of
God, how He brought His people, He gives them an assignment,
He shows His affection. and the preparation that's necessary
for people of God to receive God's law. And finally, the presentation
of the lawgiver in the next phrase is verse 16, the last passage
is 25. It's the third day when it was
morning, a thunder and lightning flashes, a thick cloud upon the
mountains, a very loud trumpet sound. The whole thing, the visual,
the auditory, everything was an awesome, fearful sight. And the camp trembled. Moses
brought the people out of the camp to meet God. That would
be a fearful thing, right? Hey, let's go out and meet God.
Oh, we don't want to. We don't want to. You go. And
many times they did that. They were glad that Moses volunteered
to go and meet God for them. And so they had great respect
and reverence for the high priests and the prophets because they
knew that no mortal can dare approach God and survive on their
own. and they stood at the foot of
the mountain." Verse 18, now Mount Sinai was all in smoke
because the Lord descended upon it with fire and its smoke ascended
like the smoke of a furnace and the whole mountain quaked violently.
What we have here is almost like volcanic activity here. And it's
interesting that in Sinai they found an entire quarter top of
the mountain blown off, seemingly having volcanic activity. Nearby
they saw traces of water erosion. huge alley of water erosion cut
off the side of a rock. And I said it before, I alluded
to the fact that God had to feed these people, not only with manna
and quail, but with water. Because that had to be a lot
of water. And so it would be an interesting
phenomenon. And they found traces of large
groups of people in the plains of the base of Sinai. And so even today, that place
is called the Mountain of Musa by the Bedouins there, the Mountain
of Moses, even today. So of course this is in Arabia,
Saudi Arabia. Alright, so what we find in verse 19, the sound
of the trumpet grew louder and louder, intimidating. Moses spoke
and God answered him with thunder. It's a fantastic thing, it's
a fearful thing. And the Lord came down on Mount
Sinai, The presence was visible to the top of the mountain, and
the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain. He had to
go up, and Moses went up. Verse 21, Then the Lord spoke
to Moses, Go down, warn the people. Isn't it interesting that God
doesn't come down and warn the people Himself, and yet He calls
Moses, and Moses continues to be the messenger boy between
the Holy God and His people. He is the prophet. He is the
messenger of God's people. And the people must listen to
Moses. And it says, lest they break through the Lord, the gays,
and many of them perish. Break forth means break the line
of demarcation that God set. Disobey the boundaries. Any kind
of irreverent curiosity will be immediately dealt with, God
says. Verse 22, And also let the priests who come near to
the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against
them. Now, the term priest here is the typical Hebrew word, kochen,
and it's kochenim, and this is masculine plural, it's priests.
But it's interesting, this is pre-law, and this is pre-Aaronic
priesthood. So what is he talking about,
priests? And I think he looks forward,
God looks forward to the priests that they will be setting from
the tribe of Levites. Do you know why the Levites got
to be priests? Because they became, in effect, a substitute for the
firstborn. And if you read Leviticus, you'll
find it very clearly that they became the substitute for the
firstborn. In other words, the Levitical
tribe became a redemptive tribe being the substitute for all
of the firstborn that God spared. And the Levitical tribe simply
accepted that role and God presupposed that. So the priest here, most
likely, is pointing to the firstborn. those people who were separated
unto God, consecrated. So even the Levitical tribe,
who would later on represent the firstborn, could not come. Even those who think that they
have the right could not come near. Verse 23, Moses said to
the Lord, People cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for Thou didst
warn us, saying, Set bounds about the mountain, and consecrated
Verse 24, and the Lord said to him, go down and come up again.
Remember I told you a total of eight times. You can do the count.
Back and forth, up and down, up and down. And now this time
Aaron is with you. Why? God has a plan. He has not appointed a high priest
yet, but Aaron will be. He will be the first high priest.
That means that Aaron will singularly have the most important job of
mediating between a holy God and sinful nation of Israel through
a sacrificial system. And of course that was a intermediary
system. That wasn't a permanent system.
But Aaron would play a very important role there. So Aaron needs to
come up because he needs to hear the law. But do not let the priest
and the people break through and come up to the Lord, lest
he break forth upon them. No one else is to come up. So
Moses went down to the people and told them. We have the genesis
of Moses being the good prophet, the messenger that he was, being
faithful. Whatever God told him, come up,
go down. Come up, go down. When you come up this time, later
on, chapter 20, we'll see, bring two tablets. Then go down. Because people are in revelry.
Because Moses is up there 40 days and 40 nights. And Moses
gets so angry that he throws down the tablets and breaks them. And then he had to go up later
on with another couple of tablets. The Lord wrote that in. It is
a personal, private encounter with God while God manifests
himself publicly to all the nations. And the lesson here for all of
us is very clear. God is presenting himself as
a holy, righteous, awesome God that no one has any claim on. No one has a claim on God, but
God has a claim on everyone else. So, as we think about the Old
Testament and the New Testament connection and how the law plays
an important role, remember I said the Old Testament saints love
God's law. The New Testament saints also
can love God's law and keep it. The law of God is not in contradiction
or in competition with the grace of God. The law of God is designed
to show us God's holy character. Without knowing God's law, you'll
have a very poor and weak view of God's holiness, and therefore,
you have an over-inflated view of your own personal righteousness.
It is a balancing thing. If you don't put the heaviness
of the holiness of God, and you make it light, it'll just go
up. And what will be more heavier in our perception? Our own righteousness. Hey, I'm not that bad. I'm a
pretty good guy, compared to the next bad guy, right? But
if you understand God's holiness the way it's supposed to be,
it's heaviness, then you will see how much you're lacking. And that should cry out from
our soul, Lord, you're holy, I'm not. Woe is me. Who will
rescue me from the body of this death? And of course, the law
is a tutor leading us to Christ. And God says, exactly where I
want you to be. Your sins have been covered by
my Son on the cross. He is the Savior. He is the answer. He is the sacrificial lamb. And
so we would run to Jesus Christ. The law of God is designed to
show us the holy character of God. The grace of God shows us
His great mercy, the richness of His love. We have all that
juxtaposed in this chapter 19. It is not in competition. It
is beautifully balanced. And that's what we need to understand
as we understand about the faith that leads to righteousness,
and yet the righteousness of God, we must uphold the law because
Jesus came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. And He
did for us and for God's glory. So why don't we give thanks to
God for the fact that God, thank you, that we can approach the
throne of God boldly now, the throne of grace. It's no longer
a fearful mountain. And we can call God Abba Father.
when these people could not, and we have an intimate relationship
with God through the Holy Spirit who indwells us, when these people
saw external signs and they were trembling and in fear, and yet
we have a personal relationship with God that is tender and dear
because of Christ. Have you said at one time in
your life, I wish I could see God like Moses and Aaron did?
If you are a Christian, you know God more intimately. than Moses
and Aaron ever could. We know God more intimately because
He has revealed His full character to us in Christ Jesus. Moses
would have dreamt to see Christ and His ministry and the fulfillment. We have the fulfillment. We have
what Moses dreamt about. Moses said, later on God will
send another prophet like me from among your people. You need
to listen to Him. We're listening to Him. Moses
was a signpost. We have the real substance. We have Christ. Let's give God
praise for that, shall we? Father, we thank You that we
are living in the New Covenant age where You have written Your
law in our hearts. We delight along with all the
saints regarding Your law. It is pure and it is good. Old
Testament saints had it right. It is truly illuminating to our
paths. It is delightful to our taste.
It is the great joy of our hearts. We thank you that we have more
than that. We have the Lord Jesus Christ
who came to fulfill the law. And boy did He fulfill the law
completely. We don't have to fall under the
judgment of not keeping the law. We can come to Christ by faith
and all His righteous works is imputed to us when all our unrighteousness
was imputed to Him on the cross. We thank you that through his
finished work on the cross that we can boldly approach the throne
of grace. We don't have to fear like the
Israelites feared, but we can still appreciate your holy character
and yet draw near and call you Abba Father. Thank you Father
for giving us your Son. Thank you for the Word of God.
Thank you for the New Testament. Thank you for illuminating these
things to us that we will enjoy the richness of what you have
done. through your people Israel. Now
help us to be the kind of people who will soar the way that you
want us to and obey and reflect your character and your reputation
and your holiness, your excellencies among the nations as royal priests
and a holy nation. Lord, would we accept that assignment,
that role given to us and may we not be the kind of unfaithful,
unbelieving people who would insist on doing things our own
way, disregarding your commandments and your perfect plan for us.
So Lord, would you encourage us and encourage your people,
help them to live for you, not only today, but tomorrow and
for the rest of their lives, serving Christ, expanding your
kingdom, living for your glory, proclaiming your excellencies.
We love you because you first of lust first loved us in Christ,
and it's in His name we pray, Amen.
Exodus 19:1-25
Series Exodus
| Sermon ID | 521242029196527 |
| Duration | 56:09 |
| Date | |
| Category | Midweek Service |
| Bible Text | Exodus 19 |
| Language | English |
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