So today we're going to look at Exodus.
Let me just open in prayer.
Lord, we see in Exodus you exalting your name,
you declaring who you are,
and forming a people for yourself who will worship you.
Lord, we want to join in that worship even this morning
as we think about these things, as we listen or talk,
or all that we're doing, Lord, let it be worship to you,
and let your name be exalted among us.
In Jesus' name, amen.
So the book of Exodus,
the big picture,
is Israel is being formed into a nation.
There are two parts to that, two major parts.
First 18 chapters is all a narrative
of how, where Israel is at the beginning of the book,
being oppressed by Egypt,
how God intervenes
and miraculously delivers his people
from slavery to Egypt.
the last roughly half of the book
is the establishment of the nation,
kind of setting up like a constitution, if you will,
and providing instruction and law.
We have the giving of the law at Mount Sinai,
the Ten Commandments,
and then a bunch of other corollaries,
I guess you want to say.
And then we have
the instructions for the tabernacle.
So the tabernacle is to be central to the life of the nation.
And so we get all these detailed instructions.
And then, at the end,
they built the tabernacle.
The book is bracketed by
one of the themes I want to look at
is the name of God.
Who is this God?
Name in the ancient world
was the embodied character.
And who is this person?
And we see him give his name to Moses
at the burning bush early in the book.
Much later in the book,
God reveals himself to Moses.
Moses asks to see his glory.
And God reveals his name again,
and it's about who he is.
At the very end,
we have the very last few verses of the book
are God's glory coming to rest on the tabernacle.
It's this amazing climax to the whole book
when God's glory fills the tabernacle.
It must have been just an awesome,
like really awesome,
like not modern awesome,
experience to see.
So in the ancient world,
people could always point to an epic story
about their origins,
about where they came from,
about who they are.
And that's what the epic said.
It said, this is who we are.
These are our values.
Certainly, the moral and spiritual identity
of Israel is captured in its laws,
including those we find in Exodus.
And literarily, it's an epic tale.
We have the epic hero.
We have Moses,
through whom God delivers his people.
And there are more aspects of epic
that I won't go into.
But that's what it is.
And we see throughout
that God wants to make his name known.
He wants to make himself known
both to Israel
and to Egypt
and the surrounding nations.
He wants to reveal who he is.
And we see,
as we talked about in Genesis,
how God made a promise
way back in the Garden of Eden
after Adam and Eve sinned.
He said, this,
I'm going to fix this.
Right?
In Genesis 3, 15,
he says,
he makes a promise
that your seed
will crush the head
of the serpent,
though the serpent
will crush his heel.
So,
we see now in Exodus
God's plan moving forward
as we have seen it
since the fall.
So,
that's sort of the big picture
of what we have.
I don't know why I'm waving these around.
What we have
in the book of Exodus.
One thing to keep in mind
that I don't think I've really mentioned
is that really,
the Pentateuch is one book.
It's really one book
and it's broken up
for convenience.
And,
but it's really,
it's really one complete whole.
So,
so this is like a section
of the Pentateuch.
It's probably,
there are times when it's really helpful
to remember that.
So,
we need to always keep in mind
what's happened before.
And,
most of us are
pretty familiar with that.
So,
we remember,
you know,
the creation
and the fall.
We remember the call of Abraham,
which we,
you know,
barely talked about
in the last two weeks.
But,
the beginning of God's
narrowing his plan
for redemption
to Abraham
and his seed,
his descendants.
and here we see it
progressing.
So,
in the very beginning
of the book,
chapter 1,
let's just start,
I'm going to just read
from verse 7.
But the people of Israel
were fruitful
and increased greatly.
They multiplied
and grew exceedingly strong
so that the land
was filled with them.
Now there arose
a new king
over Egypt
who did not know Joseph
and he said to his people,
Behold,
the people of Israel
are too many
and too mighty for us.
Come,
let us deal shrewdly
with them
lest they multiply.
And if war breaks out,
they join our enemies
and fight against us
and escape from the land.
Therefore,
they set taskmasters
over them
to afflict them
with heavy burdens.
They built for Pharaohs,
store cities,
Pithom and Ramses.
But the more
they were oppressed,
the more they multiplied
and the more
they spread abroad.
And the Egyptians
were in dread
of the people of Israel.
So they ruthlessly
made the people of Israel
work as slaves
and made their lives
bitter
and with hard service
in mortar and brick
and in all kinds of work
in the field.
In all their work,
they ruthlessly
made them work
as slaves.
And then as
the scene setting
continues,
we see Pharaoh
trying other ways
to limit the growth
of Israel
and in fact,
you know,
kind of like starve them out.
Let's work them to death,
right?
Let's have all
the male children killed.
They're working
toward an extermination
of the people of Israel.
So,
so that's the scene,
right?
And it's this
awful oppression.
It's the worst
kind of work
that you and I
can imagine.
And there's a lot
of work
in our world today
that is pretty tedious
and pretty meaningless.
And as,
as things get worse
for the people of Israel,
he then makes demands
on them
that are impossible
to fulfill.
They're to make bricks
without straw.
So the straw,
they have to go
collect the straw,
which is a necessary
component of these bricks.
They have to go
collect it,
but they still have
to meet a quota.
So it's a very,
obviously,
it's very difficult.
Note,
in the very beginning,
just those words,
then Israel was,
were fruitful,
the people of Israel
were fruitful
and increased greatly.
They multiplied
and grew exceedingly strong
so that the land
was filled with them.
They are fulfilling
the creation mandate
of,
be fruitful
and multiply.
So that's just,
I don't know.
There's an echo there
that I think
is probably intended.
So,
in chapter 2,
in verse 23,
during those many days,
the king of Egypt died
and the people of Israel
groaned because of their slavery
and cried out for help.
Their cry for rescue
from slavery
came up to God
and God heard their groaning
and God remembered
his covenant
with Abraham,
with Isaac,
and with Jacob.
God saw the people
of Israel
and God knew.
To me,
that's just so powerful
how he looked
and he knew.
He knew
what it was like
for them.
He knew
how horrible
and difficult it was.
And in that knowing
there's,
behind that,
there's compassion
and care.
It matters to God.
And once again,
we get this reminder
that God is personal,
that he is love,
that he's concerned,
that he hears prayer.
He seems uninvolved
during these years,
perhaps.
Where the heck
is this God
that we've heard of?
But he's there.
And we know
he didn't wait around
for Israel
to ask for help
in the sense that
he didn't know
until then
the situation.
He knew the situation.
And it was part
of his plan
and it was part
of something
he was working out.
But the people
wouldn't have been
aware of that.
So then in chapter 3,
we get
God calling
of Moses.
So this is
obviously
a significant
passage
as we approach
the,
Moses approaches
this burning bush,
this strange phenomenon.
And
when God,
when Moses
asks,
so the Lord,
the Lord
tells him
what's going to,
tells him
he's seen the affliction
and he's going
to deliver them.
and Moses
says,
what is the,
what is this
God's name?
The people
are going
to want to know.
And God
said to Moses,
I am
who I am.
And he
said,
say this
to the people
of Israel,
I am
has sent
me to you.
So this
name,
and we've all,
we've all heard
some of this,
you know,
I don't think
I'm saying
anything revolutionary.
In this name,
I am
who I am,
he expresses
his self-existence,
his,
he's,
we talked about
the creator-creature
distinction,
he's completely
other.
We can't,
we're,
we are
who God
made us.
We are fully
dependent on God.
We have no breath
apart from God.
But God
depends on
nothing.
No one.
He is
life itself.
He is
himself.
He is
who he is.
He is,
he will be
who he will be.
He's
unchanging.
There's no
other reference
point
to talk about
God.
There are no,
you know,
if,
in the,
in the conception
of the people
of the world,
there are lots
of gods.
But
God,
Yahweh,
this I am
is
not a part
of that picture.
He is not
one of those
gods.
He is not,
he is not
like us
except in that
he has made us
in his image,
but he's not,
he's not
barren better
than us
and just,
you know,
a pure,
more perfect
version
of humanity.
That's not,
he's himself.
notice that
when Moses
approaches the
burning bush,
God says,
take off your
sandals
because this
is holy
ground.
And there's
an interesting
kind of a
contradiction
or a paradox
here.
It's holy
ground.
He is,
as we learn
throughout
scripture,
he is
holy,
completely
other,
completely
pure
and beautiful.
And,
and yet,
he invites
Moses to
take off
his sandals
and approach
and hear
him.
God is
both,
we've talked
about this
before,
God is
both this
transcendent
other
and present
with his
people.
So there's
this presence
here that's
really there
and it's
utterly
holy
and
Moses,
like all
the rest
of the
people,
is a
fallen
human
being,
sinful,
corrupted
by the
curse and
by his
own sin.
In the
fall,
he fell
with the
rest of
us.
But God
can be
present
with him.
And so
here again,
we have
this paradox
of this
holy,
pure God,
transcendent
and other
and this
sinful
humanity,
but God
is making
it possible
and that's
what the
whole Bible
is about,
right?
God is
making it
possible
for him
to be
with his
people.
And again,
the very end
of the book
we see
his glory
descend on
the tabernacle.
That's where
he's going to
meet with
his people.
So we
see this
kind of
tension
between his
holiness
and his
presence,
his desire
to be
present.
And as we
think some
more about
his name,
we're just
going to
park on
this idea
of his
name for
a few
minutes.
Toward
near the
end of
the book,
Exodus
33,
I might
have used
bookmarks,
but
who
thinks
of that?
Exodus
33,
in
verse
18,
so a
lot has
happened,
right?
They have
crossed the
Red Sea,
they've
been
delivered,
the law
has been
given,
the people
have
rebelled
with the
golden
calf,
and here
Moses says
to God,
to the
Lord,
this
Yahweh,
this
Yahweh,
this
Yahweh,
what verse
was I
saying?
18,
sorry,
and he
said,
God,
Moses says,
please show
me your
glory,
which is
what God
wants to
do,
right?
He really
wants to
do that,
and we'll
see that
through the
plagues,
but we'll
get back
to that.
Show me
your glory,
glory,
and God
said,
I will
make all
my goodness
pass before
you,
and will
proclaim
before you
my name,
the Lord,
which is
the I
am,
and I
will be
gracious to
whom I
will be
gracious,
and will
show mercy
on whom I
will show
mercy,
and God
explains what
he's going
to do,
that his
glory will
pass by,
and Moses
will be
hidden in
this rock,
and see
just the
back of
God,
because he
can't see
his face
and live.
And then
in chapter
34,
after
two more
tablets
are made,
the Lord
descends in
the cloud,
and stood
before him
there,
and proclaimed
the name
of the
Lord.
All of
these
occasions
of Lord
are this
covenant
name,
Yahweh,
this name
that he
is his
relationship
name with
his people,
right?
The Lord
passed before
him and
proclaimed
the Lord,
a God
merciful and
gracious,
slow to
anger and
abounding in
steadfast love
and faithfulness,
keeping steadfast
love for
thousands,
forgiving
iniquity and
transgression
and sin,
but who will
by no means
clear the
guilty,
visiting the
iniquity of
the fathers
on the
children,
and the
children's
children,
to the
third and
fourth
generation.
So here
again we
have the
giving of
his name.
So this
name,
he still
is,
I am,
but in
giving this,
he embodies
his character
and who
he is.
So we
have this
God who
most of
this,
you know,
a couple of
sentences,
most of
it's about
his mercy
and his
grace and
his forgiveness.
But he
also includes
his justice
and he
will by
no means
clear the
guilty.
And here
we have
this,
this tension,
it's a tension
for us,
right,
between
God's love
and mercy
and God's
judgment.
And
Christopher
Watkin
writes,
the marriage
of justice
and grace
in Exodus
33 stands
in stark
distinction to
the way
those two
principles are
wrenched apart
and opposed
in contemporary
political and
social discourse.
He gives
the example
of political
discourse about
crime,
law and order
kind of things.
And we
have,
you know,
on the right,
you know,
this sort of
throw the book
at them,
lock them up.
Obviously,
I'm,
you know,
caricaturing
them.
But there's
this,
you know,
it's the law,
they have to
obey it,
we're going to
punish them.
And on the
left,
we're more likely
to see this
compassion,
well,
you know,
it was because
society was like
this that they
did this,
and we can
work toward
reform,
and we
can,
yeah,
rather than
punishment,
let's not be
so punitive,
that's not
helpful.
And these
two,
these two
things,
justice and
grace,
are divorced
in our
society to
a great deal.
But God
sees them
together.
They are
together.
He is
always just.
He is
always
merciful.
and how
that works
together,
of course,
we see
in the
New Testament
with the
coming of
Jesus,
and on
the cross,
God
executes
his perfect
justice,
and pours
out judgment
on his
son.
And in
that,
we see
his mercy,
this judgment
Jesus takes
for us.
We deserve
it.
He takes
it.
and here
in the
cross,
we see
God
knitting
together
his
justice
and
his
mercy.
So,
these,
again,
I've talked
about how
so many
of these
themes
that arise
in these
early,
in the
Pentateuch,
run through
all of
scripture.
And this
theme of
justice and
grace runs
through all
of scripture.
And we'll
see,
and we see
in the
context of
this section
of Exodus,
Israel has
rebelled,
grossly rebelled
in building
this golden
calf.
And God
is angry.
And they
have sinned
greatly,
even as
they're being
established as
a nation,
right?
This whole
thing is
going on,
and the
people,
you know,
they go
rogue.
They reject
his rule.
They want
this figure.
And they've
been told,
no,
no figures,
no pictures,
no golden
calves.
And yet,
God has
mercy on
them.
And Moses
intercedes,
and God
forgives,
he relents
from his
judgment,
and he
goes with
them in
their journey
to the
promised
land.
So,
justice and
mercy.
in the
scriptures
always go
together.
And they
can't be
separated.
There's no
justice without
mercy.
There's no
mercy without
justice.
You can't
just say,
oh,
never mind,
it doesn't
matter.
Because there's
wrong being
done.
There's people
who are being
harmed.
And his
name is
being besmirched.
who uses
that word?
I don't
know.
So,
he's getting
a bad
reputation
because people
are rebelling
against him.
Right?
And I'm
sort of making
it sound
almost silly,
but it's
huge.
And he
can't just
let it go.
Remember,
he is
perfectly
holy.
And he
can't just
hang around
while sin
goes on
and not
eventually
deal with
it justly.
So,
that's the
name of
God revealed
for the
first time
in the
burning bush.
Now,
let's just
go back.
We jumped
ahead.
And now,
we're going
to go back
to the
plagues
and what's
going on
there.
So,
I'm not
going to
read all
that
but I
assume
that most
of us
are familiar
with that.
In the
plagues,
God is
executing
judgment
on the
Egyptians
who have
rejected
him.
And Pharaoh
in particular
is singled
out as
the source
of this
rejection
and rebellion
against
God.
Pharaoh
flatly
refuses to
acknowledge
this God
of Israel.
Pharaoh
sees himself
as God.
and his
people see
him that
way.
That's
part of
the thing
in Egypt,
right?
In the
plagues,
God
judges.
In the
plagues,
God
demonstrates
his
sovereignty
over all
nations
and all
peoples.
He is
sovereign
over
and
the
individual
plagues
each
confront
one of
the
so-called
gods
of
Egypt
and
God
shows
them
up
like
they
are
powerless
against
these
judgments.
These
gods
can't do
anything
about it.
He
strikes at
the heart
of their
religion
and their
beliefs
and
demonstrates
who he
is.
He summons
nature to
do his
will.
These
plagues
are not
natural
occurrences.
Sometimes
here,
well,
you know,
there were
a lot
of
locusts.
But
these are
miracles.
It's not
just that
there happened
to be
a plague
of locusts
and God
used it
for his
purposes.
Now,
God
does do
that.
There are
natural
occurrences
that God
then uses
for his
purposes.
But here
we have
something
different
and we
see it
in the
ways
that this
plays out.
So a
plague will
affect all
of Israel
but not
Goshen
where the
Israelites
live.
Like,
that's just
weird,
right?
That doesn't
happen
naturally.
And we
see God
can turn it
on and
turn it
off just
like that.
Moses
prays and
the plague
ends.
The more
Pharaoh
hardens
his heart,
the more
glory God
gets.
So God
is getting
glory through
demonstrating
who he
is.
In this
case,
his power,
his sovereignty,
and his
care for
Israel,
his people.
So God
demonstrates
who he
is,
and the
more Pharaoh
resists,
the plagues
get,
they ratchet
up,
right?
And there's
this systematic
destruction
of the
nation of
Egypt.
Crops are
destroyed.
You know,
we have
this weird
and terrifying
darkness
that lasts
longer than
it should.
We have
in this
picture,
sometimes it
says,
Pharaoh
hardened
his heart,
and sometimes
it says,
God hardened
Pharaoh's
heart.
One of the
things I find
really interesting
about this
is this
kind of
bugs us,
but there's
no sense
in the
scripture
itself,
as it's
telling this,
that Moses
or the
people were
bothered by
this.
So,
there's
something
that we
don't get
about how
this works,
that they
either understood
better or
just accepted
better than
we do.
We don't
want to
see God
hardening
someone's
heart and
then punishing
them for
that,
right?
There's
something that
strikes us
as unjust.
But,
there's a,
what's the
right word?
I don't
know what
the right
word is.
There's
this sense
that these
things go
together,
right?
That,
that Pharaoh
hardens his
heart,
God hardens
his heart,
Pharaoh's
responsible for
hardening his
heart,
whether God
creates that
in him or
not,
right?
Pharaoh is
held accountable
for his
sin.
And,
again,
this is a
thing we see
throughout
scripture,
that there's
a sense in
which God
is controlling
all things,
everything.
And yet,
we are
responsible,
human beings,
we are
responsible before
God,
and we'll
be judged
for our
sin.
So,
that's where
I'm going to
leave it,
because it's
pretty,
it's a
difficult,
it's a
thorny issue,
but I just
want to point
out that the
Bible doesn't
see it as a
thorny issue.
And sometimes
I think we
see it that
way because
we don't
understand who
God is,
and we
don't,
we just
don't grasp
his
otherness,
and his
love,
and his
justice,
and all of
these things,
we just,
we're fallen,
and our
hearts are
twisted with
sin,
and we don't
understand it,
and we look
at these
things from
our own
viewpoint,
which is
fallen,
and deceived,
and confused.
So,
so then,
so these
plagues happen,
the plague of
the firstborn
is the
culmination of
this,
and Pharaoh
says,
okay,
fine,
get lost.
Israel is
saved from
slavery to
Egypt,
and Egypt
is judged
for its
rejection and
defiance of
God.
Israel is
saved through
that judgment.
God has
mercy on
Israel,
and he does
not have
mercy on
the hardened
people of
Egypt.
Now,
there were
people,
apparently,
who believed
God,
and we see
that it was
a mixed
bag that
not only
Israelites
by birth,
by ethnicity,
not only
they left
Egypt,
but there
were others.
There were
others who
went along
because they
saw this
God,
and they
were like,
okay,
I want to
be on
his side
because he's
really
something,
and he's
not,
he's,
he's not
what our
gods are.
So there
were people,
so it's not
that,
that God
only had
mercy on
Israelites
and not
on
repentant
Egyptians.
He did,
and they
went,
they went
along with
Israel
and the
Exodus.
Throughout
these passages,
God is
calling them
out of
Egypt,
not just
out of
Egypt,
out of
slavery,
but to
something,
right?
God says,
let my
people go
that they
may hold
a feast
to me
in the
wilderness.
Let my
people go
that they
may worship
me.
Let my
people go.
And the
point is
always
worship,
the honor
of God,
reverence
for God.
The people
are not
just freed
from slavery
so that they
can
have their
pleasures and
do whatever
they want.
Like,
there's a,
you know,
there's
certainly,
there's
certainly joy
in being
released from
slavery and
all that
work,
but at the
same time,
we see
the challenges
of freedom.
You know,
when the
Israelites
complain to
Moses,
they're saying
things like,
we should
have stayed,
we should
have stayed
back there
because it
was better.
We got fed,
we got,
you know,
whatever,
taken care of.
But now,
it's different.
Freedom is
hard.
We have to
make choices,
we have to
take responsibility,
we have to
trust God.
There was a
sense in which
a life of
slavery,
and I'm not
in any way
saying it's a
good life,
a life of
slavery takes
some of that
responsibility
off,
takes away
your choices,
which is
sometimes a
relief.
I think
we've all
experienced
that.
If you
narrow your
options for
something,
it gets a
little easier.
So,
what I want
to contrast
is what
freedom in
scripture looks
like with
what freedom
in our
culture looks
like.
Our
culture,
the United
States in
particular,
but,
you know,
largely in
the West,
but freedom
is our
God.
As a
people,
we're all
about freedom.
That's what
the Declaration
of Independence
calls for.
We're free
in the
Constitution
to pursue
happiness.
That's the
Declaration.
In the
Constitution,
we have
certain rights
that we
are free
to pursue.
and to
take advantage
of.
But this
freedom,
in the
conception
of most
of our
culture,
is a
freedom
for
our
individual
pursuit
of what
we want.
It's a
freedom that
says,
I can do
whatever I
want,
and I
don't want
anyone
telling me
otherwise.
Right?
It's a
freedom that's
in conflict
with serving
one another,
it's
individual,
self-focused,
and encourages
claiming and
securing one's
rights to
live as one
pleases,
regardless of
any law,
any written
law,
or any
moral law.
Which is not
to say that
there aren't
people in the
world who
aren't
moral,
self,
but if
we look
behind,
if we
could see
as God
sees,
the
motivations
of the
heart
of
falling
humanity
apart from
Christ,
we see
something
self-focused,
self-serving,
I do this
good thing,
and many
people do
good things,
I do this
good thing,
I serve
others,
in order to
feel better
about myself,
maybe,
to look good
before others,
maybe,
to gain
power,
maybe,
we can't,
it's dangerous
to try and
impute motive
to people
when we
just don't
know it,
and I don't
want to
suggest,
you know,
that,
well,
I do want
to suggest
that all
people apart
from Christ
are essentially
sinful,
and they are
essentially bent
inward,
and they are
serving their
own interests.
That's true.
It would be
wrong to not
appreciate the
many good
things that
people apart
from Christ
do,
and that's
by the grace
of God,
right?
God restrains
evil so that
people are not
as sinful as
they could be,
but that is the
grace of God
that he gives
to us.
Apart from
that,
this would all
be much more
obvious,
and there
would be
no good
things,
when there
are no good
things that
don't come
from God.
So this
kind of
freedom,
it feels
easy,
right?
Like,
I can do
what I
want,
I don't
need to
obey
someone else.
The freedom
that God
gives can be
hard,
it requires
sacrifice,
difficult choices,
resisting
temptation,
rejecting the
kind of
self-centered
freedom the
world has on
offer,
and the
world,
you know,
daily,
hourly,
offers us
this kind
of freedom,
like,
just indulge
yourself here.
How often
do we hear
those messages
or see
those messages
in the course
of an average
day?
You deserve
this.
You know,
I get
notifications
from the
McDonald's app
that tell me,
here's this
great deal,
you know,
this,
it's a good
day to
eat fries,
you know,
whatever,
it's encouraging,
it's not
necessarily
sinful,
I hope,
to eat fries,
but it's
this call
to self-indulgence,
right,
and we see
it in big
ways and
small ways.
The whole
book of
Exodus,
especially after
crossing the
Red Sea
and the
destruction of
the Egyptians
is devoted
to preparing
the people
to be
a worshiping
community,
providing for
their needs
miraculously,
we see God
give water
out of a
rock,
providing for
their needs,
giving instruction
in the law,
okay,
this is what
it means
to be my
people.
We have
the Ten
Commandments,
and the
commandments
point us
to worship
of God,
the exclusive
worship of
God,
and the
love of
God and
the love
of neighbor,
right?
The commandments
urged them
to remember
the Exodus,
remember that
you were
enslaved,
and treat
others with
compassion,
because you
were once
enslaved,
and oppressed,
poor,
without power.
So,
they are to
remember that
and carry that
with them,
that memory.
And,
obviously,
these parallels
to what we
experience in
salvation
are,
I hope,
clear.
just like
Israel was
probably not
expecting God
to come and
miraculously deliver
them.
God comes to
sinners and
calls them to
himself.
He makes it
possible for
them to place
their trust in
him.
He shows
himself
trustworthy.
He rescues
us from
slavery,
or slavery
may not be
to a human
master,
but we're
all the more
enslaved to
the sins that
bind us,
to the
habits of
our heart
that turn
us inward
to ourselves
and not
outward.
We're
enslaved to
a kind of
misery apart
from God.
Every good
gift and
every perfect
gift comes
from above,
from God,
and we,
in our
natural
state,
reject that.
We send
that away.
I'm going
to do it
myself.
God rescues
us from
that and
enables us,
by his
grace,
to follow
him,
to obey
him.
So,
let me
just make
sure.
So,
so,
so the
book,
so,
so that
that second
half,
the non-narrative
portion of
the book of
Exodus is
giving the
instructions,
is
miraculously
providing for
them,
giving the
instructions,
and building
this place
of worship,
the tabernacle.
And as we
read these
things,
as you're
reading the
book of
Exodus,
you get to
this half of
Exodus,
and you're
kind of like,
you know,
the Ten
Commandments,
those are
helpful,
that's good,
I need to
think about
that.
But then it
just kind of
gets,
it seems so
irrelevant,
right?
And then all
this detail of
the building
of the
tabernacle,
we can get
kind of like,
why do I
need to know
all this?
And it's
laid out in
all this
detail,
and God
reveals it to
Moses,
this is how
you're to
build it,
and then we
get a repeat
of much of
that detail
when they
actually build
the tabernacle,
and we're
like,
okay,
couldn't you
just say,
and they
did it,
like,
can we
move on?
But all
these things
are that
preparation
of the
people,
and what
we're going
to see
as we
move on
through not
just the
Pentateuch,
but the
whole Bible,
all that
preparation,
all the
ways that
God showed
them that
he is for
them,
showed them
how to
live,
provided for
them a
calendar that
reminds them
regularly of
who God
is and who
they are.
They're given
this world,
and they live
in this world
that reinforces
every day
that they
belong to
God,
that God
rescued them,
that they
are beholden
to him,
that they
are to be
obedient to
him.
All of
their world
fosters
that,
all of the
Israelite
world.
There's a
world outside
that doesn't,
right?
But they're
given so
much richness
to remember
the feasts,
remind them
of what
happened,
remind them
of their
history,
the sacrifices
remind them,
they see,
you know,
if you ever
think about
the amount
of blood
that gets
spilled
with an
offering,
and the
seeming
waste of
bringing,
you know,
your best
ox and
seeing it
destroyed,
and a burnt
offering,
completely
destroyed,
reinforces
over and
over again
to the
people the
severity of
sin,
but also
the hope
that God
can forgive.
He provides
a way to
forgive.
We,
in the
church,
likewise,
ought to be
remembering,
rehearsing,
being reminded
daily of
our salvation,
of the
gospel that
came,
of the
reality that
God intervened
in our
rebellious
hearts,
and may,
is,
adopted him,
us,
for himself,
that he
chose to
have grace
and forgiveness,
that he
engendered
faith in
us,
that we
made a
choice,
empowered by
his spirit,
made alive
by his
spirit,
we could
then choose
to follow
God.
He reveals
himself to
us.
None of
this is
our own
creation,
is not
of
ourselves,
lest
anyone
can boast.
I think
the last
thing I
want to
say about
all of
that is
that I
was reading
about the
sacrifices,
I was
reading about
just trying
to imagine
and put
myself into
the senses,
the smells,
the sights,
the slaughter,
all this
blood,
all of
this,
and the
oppression
it must
have
made.
And we
have things
to remind
us too.
We have
the Lord's
Supper to
remind us.
We have
weekly worship
to remind us.
We have
the scriptures
that remind
us.
But as
a people
nowadays
here,
we're
in the
world.
We are
called out
of the
world,
but we're
in it,
and we
are deluged
with messages
that say,
you're your
own God.
Indulge
yourself.
You can
be free,
free to
do whatever
you want.
You don't
really need
to love
your neighbor.
And what?
God?
God,
if God
exists,
he's just
a force
out there.
He's just
like,
something.
He's not
a personal
God who
intervenes
in our
lives.
Holiness,
is that
important?
Oh,
come on.
We're all
human.
These are
the messages
we get
constantly,
and I
wonder,
and I
just,
just as,
you know,
food for
thought,
how can
we be
better at
creating a
community
in the
church that
shores up
our faith
in these
ways that
we need?
The
Israelite,
even the
faithless
Israelite,
lived in
the shadow
of the
sovereign God
who delivered
them from
slavery in
Egypt.
Are we
sufficiently
surrounding
ourselves
and our
families with
reminders of
God's great
salvation in
Christ?
Are we
helping one
another sort
out the
culture's
views on
say,
freedom from
the biblical
view?
Or do we
let it slide
off our
backs as we
leave this
building on
Sunday and
head out to
the real
world?
So it's
just a
challenge to
pay attention
to our
lives and
pay attention
to the
messages that
we're getting
and remember
what God
has saved
us from and
how he has
saved us,
to remember
the gospel.
And we're
blessed to
attend a
church where
every Sunday
we hear a
reminder of
the gospel.
I need it
daily.
I don't know
about you.
every Sunday
is great,
but I need
more.
It just
runs out.
I'm like a
sieve and
it just
because I'm
so surrounded,
embedded in
a world that
doesn't believe
any of it
and that
pulls me
away from
God.
So
that's
Exodus.
I know
it's like a
big picture
view, but
that's what
we've got.
Let me
just close
in prayer.
Heavenly
Father, make
a name for
yourself among
us.
Remind us
of your
grace and
your love
and your
salvation.
Remind us
of the
severity of
sin and
what you
rescued us
from when
you transferred
us to the
kingdom of
your dear
son.
Remind us
what's
coming.
When the
new heavens
and the
new earth,
all of it
is renewed
and sin
is eradicated.
Lord, remind
us of the
hope of that
and give us
hearts that
long to
look to
you and
to live in
that, in
that beautiful
kingdom, even
as we walk
among our
neighbors who
are confused
and lost
and always,
always tempting
us to
depart from
you.
Lord, go
with us now.
As we
worship, let
us worship
you in
spirit and
in truth.
Let your
name be
exalted and
let your
people be
blessed.
In Jesus'
name, amen.