Our first reading is from Exodus 32 verses 1 to 14.
So Aaron said to them, Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters and bring them to me.
So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.
And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf.
And they said, These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it.
And Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.
And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings.
And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
And the Lord says to Moses, Go down, for your people whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.
They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them.
They have made themselves a golden calf and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it and said,
These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
And the Lord said to Moses, I have seen this people and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.
Now therefore let me alone that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them in order that I may make a great nation of you.
But Moses implored the Lord, his God, and said, O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people?
Whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand.
Why should the Egyptians say, with evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth?
Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self and said to them,
I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring and they shall inherit it forever.
And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
The next reading is from Exodus 33 verses 15 to 23.
And he said to them, if your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.
For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people?
Is it not in your going with us so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?
And the Lord said to Moses, this very thing that you have spoken I will do.
If you have found favor in my sight and I know by your name.
Moses said, please show me your glory.
And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim you my name, the Lord.
And I will be gracious to you, to whom I will be gracious.
And I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
But, he said, you cannot see my face.
For man shall not see me and live.
And the Lord said, behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock.
And while my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock.
And I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.
Then I will take away my hand and you shall see my back.
But my face shall not be seen.
The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord.
The Lord passed before him and proclaimed,
The Lord, the Lord, our 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 whom will by no means clear the guilty,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers and the children and the children's children,
the third and fourth generation.
And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshipped.
And he said,
If now I have found favour in your sight, O Lord,
please let the Lord go in the midst of us.
For it is a stiff-necked people,
and pardon our iniquity and our sin.
Good morning, everyone.
Will you please pray with me as we come to God's word?
Father, I pray that through your word,
you would convince each of our hearts to voluntarily come to you
and lay all the idols at your feet,
so that you might fill us with yourself.
So please speak to us now.
Give us minds and hearts ready to receive your word.
In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen.
Well, if a friend asked you to describe God's character,
I wonder what adjectives you would use.
I'm guessing loving would rightly come to mind.
Compassionate, holy, patient, wise.
No doubt you can think of lots more descriptions.
We can understand the appeal of these qualities, can't we?
Because when we see it in human beings,
just a faint reflection of it,
we can see the goodness of these qualities.
I think we could just imagine God on a greater scale.
He's all wise.
He's all patient.
We are going to rush the ending of Exodus today.
But I was trying to think,
what's going to help us tie all this together?
And I think it's the description of God that we find here in Exodus,
that God is jealous.
How do you react to that?
God is jealous.
It feels unworthy to describe God that way, isn't it?
I wonder if you're a bit repulsed.
I'd be surprised if you're not,
because jealousy is pretty awful in human beings.
This is where God is so different from us.
Tim Keller describes jealousy as love-fighting,
extinction.
It's the fear of that love relationship being lost,
that love turns to anger to keep it.
Where a man's love for a woman,
when she's leaving him,
it's threatened,
and that love turns to anger,
even to the point of murder.
It's awful in human beings.
Or a friend.
Someone,
a friend you really love,
starts spending time with someone else,
and starts confiding in someone else,
and there's something in you that's like,
I don't want to share.
It's petty.
It's insecure.
Like, in people,
jealousy is
unattractive,
and
deadly.
So it's no wonder,
I think,
that we stumble over this description of God,
that God is jealous.
But,
it's in the middle of the Ten Commandments,
where God reveals
his character.
We can't say that his jealousy
is just this obscure part of Scripture,
some periphery description.
It's right there in the middle.
I, the Lord your God,
am a jealous God.
It's the reason for the first two commandments.
You shall have no other gods
beside me.
You shall make no images,
no created thing.
He's jealous that he has
all Israel's
devotion.
Let's not think
this is just an Old Testament description.
I don't know what you would describe this,
but jealous,
when Jesus says this in Luke 14.
If anyone comes to me,
and does not hate his own father,
and mother,
and wife,
and children,
and brothers,
and sisters,
yes,
even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
He wants all of us.
Compared to any other allegiance,
he's jealous to have
all of us.
I'm wondering,
if instead of being repulsed
by this description,
can we find the jealousy of God
beautiful?
I think we can.
Obviously,
I wouldn't be preaching on it
if I didn't.
It's beautiful in God,
awful in human beings,
but it's such good news in God.
I think we can start to see
if we reflect a bit
on what we've seen
in this series in Exodus.
What kind of relationship
does Yahweh want
with his saved people?
We've seen his goal
of redeeming his people
repeated,
to bring you to myself.
Get out of slavery
so that you can serve me.
That's his goal.
We've seen the kind of relationship
in the wilderness experience.
He's not some distant God.
He's present.
He's a companion.
He's leading them.
He's speaking to them.
We've seen the binding nature
of the relationship.
He wants covenant
with his people.
It's binding.
That's the kind of relationship.
We've seen the law.
The law is not a new slavery.
It's clear directions
of how Israel could please God.
Anyone know the movie
Princess Bride?
Okay.
All right.
Good.
You better.
That's your homework
if you don't.
But does anyone remember
Wesley's repeated expression
of love for Buttercup?
Thank you.
Yes.
We've got some true fans here.
As you wish.
That's his expression of love.
As you wish.
That's what we do, isn't it?
Someone we love.
Someone we esteem.
We work out what pleases them
and we give our will to them
to please them as you wish.
And it doesn't feel like
they're controlling us
because our pleasure
is in pleasing them.
That's what the law is.
Israel, here's how you can please me.
He hasn't left them guessing
how to relate.
The law is good.
That's the kind of relationship
he wants.
To know how they can please God.
And last week,
we've seen the kind of relationship
he wants in the tabernacle.
He wants to be present.
He wants to be close.
He wants to make a home
with his people.
He wants to be known.
He wants his people
to have access,
intimacy.
So when God says,
I am a jealous God,
I must be your priority.
I must be the centre
of your life.
I will not let you put anything,
anyone,
to be more important than me.
He's saying what every married person
expects and desires
from their spouse.
That's the kind of relationship
God wants with his people.
Exclusive.
Intimate.
Very little has been said
about sin so far in Exodus.
We're up to chapter 32.
Very little has been said
about sin.
But in chapter 32,
sin is mentioned 11 times.
I'm having three weeks off
over Christmas
and I'm not expecting
to come back
and you all kind of go,
we lost confidence
that you're coming back.
Here,
40 days.
And Israel,
having heard God's voice,
they're still around Mount Sinai.
They haven't moved.
They still see the pillar of cloud
and the fire.
Within 40 days,
they come to Aaron
and say,
make us gods.
I can't believe Aaron
led them into,
this is Aaron.
Aaron was the spokesperson
to Pharaoh.
He was instrumental
in their freedom.
He ate and drank
in the covenant ceremony.
He ate and drank with God.
He's about to be high priest.
Aaron and all the people
so quickly
turned to idols.
I think it's to show us
the human condition.
So quick
to turn to idols.
And we see it played out
in the rest of Israel's history.
That's the human condition.
John Calvin
described a human heart
like this.
The human heart
is a perpetual
idol factory.
I think of it sometimes
like whack-a-mole.
I don't know if you know the game.
You probably don't.
It's a bit of a weird game.
Whack-a-mole.
Arcade.
When I was younger,
something,
an idol pops up,
you whack it,
another one,
another three pop up.
Our hearts are just
a perpetual
idol factory.
So what is an idol?
They take the gold jewelry.
There's nothing wrong
with the gold jewelry.
That was a gift
from their redeemer.
They take a good gift
and they created
with their own hands
an image
to make it
their top priority.
To make it
the meaning of their life.
The true source
of their joy.
These are your gods,
O Israel,
who brought you
out of the land
of Egypt.
It's a good gift
but it's
something made
by human beings
that replaces God
as top priority.
Redefining them even.
This is who we are now.
I doubt
it felt wrong
when they're doing it.
I reckon if we were there,
they're dancing
around this thing.
If you were to ask them,
they probably felt,
they would have said,
I feel at peace
with this decision.
It created
a sense of community.
It gave them
an identity.
This is our story now.
This is
who we are now.
It gave them meaning.
They could see it.
They could sense it.
I think it's the kind
of justifications
I give
to all sorts of things
when I make it
more important to God.
It gives me peace.
It gives me pleasure.
It doesn't feel wrong.
Others are doing it.
So why is it so wrong?
Why is idolatry
so wrong?
Why is it so wrong?
If you picture
a marriage ceremony,
it's a really profound
expression of love,
isn't it,
when the husband
and wife
look at each other
in the eyes
and say,
with all that I am
and all that I have,
I honour you.
Can you hear how
either we're playing
word games there
or we all know
that's love?
With all that I am
and all that I have,
I honour you.
Is that word games?
I don't think so.
That's love, isn't it?
It's exclusive.
It's everything.
It's exclusive.
And it's destructive
when something else
takes the priority
in a marriage.
Even at a human level,
think of what can unravel
a human marriage.
It's not always
really awful things.
It's not always adultery.
It's not always
domestic violence.
Sometimes it's good things
just taking priority.
Can't a wife feel
so alone
when the husband
is just obsessed
with the job
or obsessed
with his friends?
It can be a good thing
that
just gets
distance
in the relationship.
It can be a good thing.
Even children.
Where a husband
and later in life
go,
we've got nothing
to talk about.
The children
became everything.
Even good things
when they take priority
over the spouse
can unravel.
It violates
that expression
of love
with all that I am
and all that I have
I honour you.
And it's destructive.
And I think
that's a small taste
of the horror
of the golden calf.
God wants
an exclusive
all-consuming
relationship
and when
something else
comes in
and takes
central place
it's spiritual
adultery.
It's giving
to something else
what belongs
only to God.
And here we see
the problem
that idolatry
creates
because a jealous
God
who wants
all of us
idolatry
provokes
him to
anger
to wrath.
Chapter 32
verse 10
he says to
Moses
let me alone
that my wrath
may burn
hot against
them
and I may
consume
them
in order
that I may
make a great
nation of you.
He's ready
to
start again
with Moses.
Idolatry
provokes
a jealous
God
to wrath.
He's so
committed
to an
exclusive
love
relationship
he's angry
when we
turn away
from him.
Isn't that
the first
three chapters
of Romans?
The problem
is the
wrath
of God.
here in
Exodus
we see
God's
solution
but it's
only a
pattern.
Moses
is a
pattern
of what
Jesus
would
actually
accomplish.
How
is the
wrath
of God
removed?
Look at
verse 14
of chapter
32
and the
Lord
relented
from the
disaster
that he's
spoken
of bringing
on his
people.
That word
relented
is about
taking away
his anger.
He only
gives a
partial
judgment.
He doesn't
start again
with Moses
and what
averts
God's
wrath?
Did the
people make
it up
to God?
No.
What
averted
God's
wrath
was
Moses.
one
righteous
man
interceding
for the
people.
His
prayer
interceding
for his
people.
That's
what gets
rid of
the wrath
of God.
A
mediator
turning
away
God's
wrath.
I don't
know about
you but
I find
that really
humbling
because when
I look at
the reason
why God
has saved
me,
it has
nothing
to do
with
me.
It has
everything
to do
with one
righteous
man
interceding
for me,
interceding
for us.
But
Moses is
only a
pattern.
Moses
could only
wish that
he could
be blotted
out of
God's
book,
God's
record of
his people
so that
his people
were forgiven.
He could
only wish
he was
blotted
out.
He says
that
perhaps
I can
make
atonement
for your
sin.
He's
just a
pattern.
There's
a tension
left in
Exodus
that isn't
resolved
until Jesus
comes.
There's
no
perhaps
anymore.
Romans
3.25
Christ
Jesus
whom
God
put
forward
as a
propitiation
by his
blood
to be
received
by faith.
It's
not the
most
elegant
word
propitiation
I don't
think
but we
should
love
that
word.
It
means
turning
God's
wrath
away
from
us.
1
John
2
If
anyone
does
sin
we
have
an
advocate
with
the
father
Jesus
Christ
the
righteous
one
he
is
the
propitiation
for our
sins.
Or
1
John
4
is
the
definition
of
love.
This
is
love.
Not
that we
love
God
but
that
he
loved
us
and
sent
his
son
to
be
the
propitiation
for
our
sins.
Moses
could
only
wish
he could
delay
it
but
Jesus
actually
forever
takes
away
the
wrath
of
God
because
he
took
it.
He
drank
the
cup
of
the
wrath
of
God
to
its
dregs.
It's
gone.
We
see the
pattern
here of
Moses
taking
away
the
wrath
fulfilled
in
the
Lord
Jesus.
But we
also see
here
this
awful
episode
of
the
golden
calf
leads
to
a
really
profound
beautiful
moment.
One of
the
closest
encounters
between
God
and
a
human
being.
Moses
doesn't
seem
to see
God's
jealousy
as
dangerous.
He
seems
to lean
into
it.
He
wants
to get
closer.
He
wants
more.
What
he
prays
for
is
surprising
in
chapter
33.
The
Lord
says,
okay,
because of
what you've
done,
I will
still
drive out
the
Canaanites.
I
will
give
you
the
land
flowing
with
milk
and
honey,
but I'm
not
going
to
go
with
you.
My
presence
won't
go
with
you.
I
think
that's
most
people's
dream
religion.
I'm
going to
give
you
power
over
your
opponents.
I'm
going to
give
you
prosperity,
milk
and
honey,
the
land.
I'm
going to
give
you
comfort.
Moses
is
mourning.
No,
don't
send us.
That's
not
life.
That's
not
glory.
If
your
presence
doesn't
come with
us,
don't
send
us.
Moses
understands
what
satisfies
the human
soul.
as
Bo
opened
this
morning.
Moses
understood
that it's
not
treating
God as
useful to
get
something
else.
We
need
your
presence.
If a
man
called
off an
engagement
with a
woman when
he found
out that
she
all
her
riches
were
gone
and
she's
in
debt
and
he's
like,
oh,
well,
let's
just call
it off
then.
How
would
she
feel?
Gutted,
right?
He just
loved me
for my
money.
Isn't
that how
we treat
God?
When
things
aren't
going
well,
God
isn't
useful
to some
other
end.
Moses
understands
that God's
presence
satisfies
the human
soul.
Otherwise,
his prayer,
I don't
know,
it doesn't
make sense
otherwise.
Moses
is treating
God as
beautiful for
his own
sake.
That's
why he
prays,
show me
your
glory.
He
wants to
see more
of this
God.
When we
find something
beautiful,
most people
find,
I think
all people
find the
ocean,
right?
You look
at the
ocean,
this vast
beautiful
sight,
or we
go to the
blue
mountains and
look at
those
Kenyans.
You're not
thinking,
what can I
get out of
this?
You're just
staring at it
because it's
just so
beautiful for
its own
sake.
But when you
find something
beautiful,
it's not just
pleasure in it
for its own
sake, but it
also just
somehow pushes
you out of
yourself.
It fills
life with
meaning,
doesn't it?
It's pleasurable
for its own
sake.
It's not just
useful, and
it just
makes life
meaningful.
That's what
beautiful things
do.
And I think
that's what
Moses is
praying for
here.
He
understands
that God
himself is
what satisfies
the human
soul, as
beautiful, not
just useful.
He's experienced
it.
Every time he
talked to God
face to face,
he was glowing.
It talks
about his
face was
beaming
light.
He's
experienced
it.
He
understands
that God's
jealousy to
be exclusively
loved and
enjoyed for
his own
sake is not
a bad
thing.
That fills
the human
soul.
nothing else
can satisfy
what we
were made
for than
to have
the blazing
glory of
the universe
look at
you and
go, I
want you,
I invite
you in,
look at
me and
enjoy me.
God's
jealousy to
be exclusively
loved is
his
commitment
to satisfy
our souls
with
himself.
the glory
Moses saw
was only
a taste
of what
you and
I get
to see
today.
What did
Moses see?
He saw
words.
I know
that kind of
doesn't
make sense
but when
the Lord
had all
his goodness
pass in
front of
him,
what we're
told is,
whatever that
experience was,
what we're
told repeatedly
is the
Lord
proclaimed
the name
of the
Lord.
He
proclaimed.
We have
access to
his glory
in his
word.
The
Lord,
the
Lord,
a God
merciful and
gracious,
slow to
anger,
and
abounding
in
steadfast
love and
faithfulness,
keeping
steadfast
love to
thousands,
and
forgiving
iniquity
and
transgression
and sin,
but who
will by
no means
clear the
guilty.
What
Moses saw
is that
God is
all
forgiving.
That
gives us
confidence
to come
to him.
All
three words
for sin
are mentioned.
transgression,
iniquity,
and sin.
I hope
that gives
you confidence
that there
is no
sin that
he can't
forgive.
He's
trying to
say it as
clearly as
he can to
assure us
he's abounding
in forgiveness.
He's the
self-sufficient
flame.
I'll be
gracious to
whom I'll
be gracious.
He's
abounding.
There's
no limit.
All
sin,
it gives
us confidence
to come
to him,
to draw
near.
But
I'm sure
you notice
the tension
here.
He won't
clear the
guilty.
What
Moses saw
is this
tension,
all his
goodness.
He's
all
forgiving,
but he
can't
just be
a
president,
give a
presidential
pardon
that
removes
all the
guilt and
no
consequences.
He can't
do that.
He's
got to
be just.
There's a
tension here
that isn't
resolved.
Again,
until we
get to
the Lord
Jesus
Christ.
He only
saw his
back,
Moses.
It was a
faint outline.
We get to
look at his
face.
when we
look at
the cross.
There we
see at
the cross
all God's
jealousy.
All that
wrath that
poured out
on his
son.
And when
we look at
the cross,
we see the
lengths he
would go to
to possess
us, to
have our
heart.
That's a
gracious God
who would
go to
that length
to put up
with my
idols so
that he
could satisfy
my soul
with himself,
that he
would even
send his
son to
the cross.
he's that
committed to
be present.
He's that
committed to
possess all
of our
hearts.
And so I
think it
just calls
us to
not be,
not cling
to our
idols.
The cross
attracts us
that we
can bring
our idols
to him
and not
be afraid
that he
will reject
us.
All his
wrath has
already been
taken away
in his
son.
It
attracts us
because
whatever idol
you're clinging
to,
whatever is
more important
to you than
God,
it will
fade.
it can't
last.
It
destroys
intimacy
with God,
it destroys
marriages,
it destroys
churches,
it destroys
relationships.
Don't hang
on to that.
Come to
the cross
and be
satisfied
in him.
Jealousy
of God
is not
repulsive.
It's
beautiful
because he
wants us
to be
satisfied
in him.
And he
sent his
son to
achieve
that.
Will you
pray with
me?
Let's
pray.
Father,
we're not
as sorry
as we
should be
for
clinging
on to
created
things and
making them
the centre
of our
life
as we
ought to.
Lord,
I pray
that you
would
loosen
our
attraction
to
whatever
that
important
thing
is
by the
cross
of your
son,
that you
would
convince
our
hearts
that what
we're
looking for
in
created
things
is
actually
found
in you.
Lord,
only you
can move
our hearts
to that.
I pray
for each
one of
us and
I pray
as a
church
that you
would
continually
break down
idols so
that we
can have
you as
our
lasting
treasure.
Lord,
thank you
for the
hope that
we will
see you
one day
face to
face.
I pray
that that
hope will
help us
get ready
for that
day.
I pray
this in
Jesus'
name.
Amen.