Thursday Night Bible Study

Exodus 35-Exodus 40 (Click title for audio access)

"It's Your Turn!"  •  7.21.11  •  Calvary Christian Fellowship, Thursday Night Bible Study

Intro.

- We'll finish the book of Exodus tonight, largely because much of what we are about to consider, has already been considered at length here on Thursday nights.

- If there are any who have need of review, I commend you to our site which has a mound of notes and audio files that can be accessed.

- Moses has been given the map and the details of the Tabernacle implements. Tonight, we'll examine how the people of God responded to what has been shown.

Text

•  Exodus 35:1-3  :  "Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, 'These are the words which the Lord has commanded you to do: Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”  :  Before Moses instructs them about the work, he founds it on the rest that they were to experience. 6 days on, 1 day off, with a severe penalty for disobedience.

- The life of God's people is to be regulated and founded upon rest and trust in Him.

- God is a God of rest, not a God of works! Jesus is our Rest, our Sabbath and any life that is not founded on Him will not last! It will fizzle out and die.

- He tells them that they are not to kindle a fire, meaning that they are not to begin a new fire on the Sabbath day within their homes. They knew why and what for.

•  Exodus 35:4,5 (through 19)  :  "And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, 'This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying: ‘Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze;..."  :  Moses now begins the process of bringing in what was necessary to construct the tabernacle.

- This was not Moses' idea. It was what the Lord commanded for him to communicate and what the Tabernacle would require. Additionally, the offering was to the Lord.

- Moses collected their materials, but it was God who required them. He is the sole recipient of their giving, as He is the sole recipient of our giving.

- The materials for what God would build would come from the congregation, the children of Israel. But here is the condition: It's to come from a willing heart.

- The NLT translates this, representing the majority other as, "generous hearts." If there was an inclination toward giving to the Lord, that was to be the initiative that God was looking for.

- If He puts it into your heart to give, then do so. Otherwise, keep what you have and watch God work in another way.

- Never feel pressure from anyone else. That is not biblical. But neither should you ignore God's prompting. Their resources would fund their worship.

- Ironically, we have no problem funding the other things that we worship! Those who worship the Lord never see it as a compulsion. They see it as a joy and a blessing to partake.

- From verse 5, through the end of verse 19, we see the list of materials that the Lord required of them. From silver and gold toto the materials needed for the veils and the Priest's clothing.

•  Exodus 35:20-22  :  "And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought earrings and nose rings, rings and necklaces, all jewelry of gold, that is, every man who made an offering of gold to the Lord." : You gotta love that Moses didn't prime the pump or manipulate the moment right then! 

- Israel left the assembly and had time to think about it. Soon, everyone came whose heart was stirred. Literally, every one came whose heart bore them up.

- Their hearts moved them. They were motivated from within, not without. Notice that it was both men and women. Everyone had the opportunity to give.

- They found materials everywhere, originating from the backwages given to them on the night of their departure from Egypt.

- Gold was found in their earrings, nose rings, necklaces, etc. In the same way, they gathered or manufactured all of the other materials from verses 23-28.

•  Exodus 35:29  :  "The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the Lord, all the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the Lord, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done." The materials were extensive and varied and all of it came from a heart of willingness not guilt.

- You will never hear from my lips, a call to give and any Pastor who might be listening, if God wants something built or done, He can do it without your manipulation and weirdness!

•  Exodus 35:30-35  :  "And Moses said to the children of Israel, 'See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of artistic workmanship. And He has put in his heart the ability to teach, in him and Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver—those who do every work and those who design artistic works."  : Moses details the calling of Bezalel, the Artisan filled with God's Spirit, able to create all sorts of things. He was the ultimate utility man. At the same time, he also had the ability to teach.

- He was not just a guy who could make things happen. He could replicate himself!

•  Exodus 36:1-7 :  "And Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whom the Lord has put wisdom and understanding, to know how to do all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, shall do according to all that the Lord has commanded. Then Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred, to come and do the work. And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. So they continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning. Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, and they spoke to Moses, saying, 'The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the Lord commanded us to do.' So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, 'Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.' And the people were restrained from bringing, ⁷ for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done—indeed too much."  :  You have to love what the result of this was. They continually brought offerings before the Lord. Every morning a fresh supply would come before the artisans.

- It got to be so much that they told Moses that they had more than enough! They did not need any more! They had a surplus. Moses had to go before the people and ask them to stop giving!

•  Exodus 36:8  :  "Then all the gifted artisans among them who worked on the tabernacle made ten curtains woven of fine linen, and of blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim they made them."  :  Verse 8 begins the record of the actual construction of the pieces of the tabernacle, beginning with the enclosing curtains.

- Verses 9-13 speak of the size, length and amount of curtains made.

- Verses 14-19 details the making of the covering for the tent of meeting, which were for weatherproofing and darkening.

- Verses 20-34 cover the frame of the Tabernacle court, with the sockets of silver and the acacia wood covered in gold for the pillars.

- Verses 35 through the end of the chapter (38) covers the making of the veil between the Holy and Most Holy Place, as well as the screen for the entrance into the tent of meeting.

•  Exodus 37:1  :  "Then Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits was its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height."  :  Chapter 37 moves us into the construction of the parts within the tent of meeting, begininng with the Ark of the Covenant, the place where God would meet with His people.

- Verses 1-9 give us the details of it's construction. It would be the sole piece of furniture constructed within the Holy Of Holies.

- Verses 10-16 record the making of the Table of Showbread, representing fellowship with the nation of Israel, 12 loaves representing each tribe.

- Verses 17-24 tells us of the construction of the Golden Lampstand representing the Church.

- Think of this: Jesus lives within the people of God by His Spirit. Light comes from Jesus who is the light of the world, meaning that He shines through all who believe upon Him.

- It is not we who shine intrinsically, but He who shines through us!

- Revelation 1:20 tells us that the churches are seven golden lampstands and if some would not repent, they would have their lampstand removed!

- Right here within the Tabernacle, in the eternal wisdom of God, the church is represented!

- Moving onto verse 25-28, we see the making of the Altar of Incense, which are the prayers of the saints, both from Israel, as well as the church. Verse 29 is the making of the annointing oil.

•  Exodus 38:1 :  "He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood; five cubits was its length and five cubits its width—it was square—and its height was three cubits."  :  The Altar was the largest piece of furniture and the one that would confront every person entering into the Tabernacle structure. It was the killing place.

- Verses 2-7 detail it's construction, including all of the utensils, which were made of bronze, the symbol of judgment.

•  Exodus 38:8  :  "He made the laver of bronze and its base of bronze, from the bronze mirrors of the serving women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting."  :  The bronze laver was the wash basin behind the Altar. It was made from the mirrors of the serving women and it represented the Word of God.

- The Word washes us from the filth of the world. It corrects our view of life and when we look into it, it's a mirror that shows us where we error.

- Chapter 38:9-20 details the construction of the outer court, with it's curtains and foundations.

•  Exodus 38:21-23  :  "This is the inventory of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony, which was counted according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Lemvites, by the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord had commanded Moses. And with him was Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer, a weaver of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine linen."  :  These verses represent a record of what had been done and by whom, as well as the beginning of the accounting of what had been given.

•  Exodus 38:24  :  "All the gold that was used in all the work of the holy place, that is, the gold of the offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary."  : This is the reckoning for the gold that was used. This came out to somewhere between 1900 and 2200 pounds of gold.

- All of it free will offering, all of it employed throughout the Tabernacle.

•  Exodus 38:25-29  :  "And the silver from those who were numbered of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary: a bekah for each man (that is, half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone included in the numbering from twenty years old and above, for six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty men. And from the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil: one hundred sockets from the hundred talents, one talent for each socket. Then from the one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, overlaid their capitals, and made bands for them."  :  The amount of silver used was over 7500 pounds, given by over 600 thousand men!

•  Exodus 38:29-31  :  "The offering of bronze was seventy talents and two thousand four hundred shekels. And with it he made the sockets for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, the bronze altar, the bronze grating for it, and all the utensils for the altar, the sockets for the court all around, the bases for the court gate, all the pegs for the tabernacle, and all the pegs for the court all around."  :  Bronze accounted for over 5300 pounds of that which was made for the Tabernacle of witness.

- There are varying estimates of modern day equivalence, ranging from 10 to 13 million dollars!

•  Exodus 39:1  :  "Of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread they made garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron, as the Lord had commanded Moses."  :  Chapter 39 deals with the clothing of the priests, all of which speak of what the life of the believer is all about.

- Verses 2-7 speak of the creation of the Ephod. 8-21 detail the making of the Breastplate, with verse 22-31 detailing the making of the linen tunic.

•  Exodus 39:32,33, 42,43  :  "Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished. And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses; so they did. And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its furnishings...⁴² According to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work. Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, just so they had done it. And Moses blessed them."  :  Moses looked at what had been constructed. They presented all of it to him for his approval. He inspected them and made sure it was made to specs.

- They had done it all and done it all according to God's command. Nothing was made in other way. When Moses saw it, he blessed them. He put his hand on them and set them to use for God.

•  Exodus 40:1,2  :  "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting."  :  Chapter 40, the final chapter in this book speaks to the initial set up of the Tabernacle, 1 year from the Exodus.

- Verses 3-33 detail the order that things were set up, beginning with the pieces of furniture. Verse 8 tells us that the courtyard was to come next.

- At that point, from verse 9 to verse 16, Moses took the annointing oil and annointed the furniture and the priests. The most important part of that section is that Moses finished the work.

- From receiving the concept to overseeing the construction, to the final set up, Moses saw it.

•  Exodus 40:34,35  :  "Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle."  : After it was all set up, God's presence filled the Tabernacle. Listen: It doesn't matter how many millions get spent, if God does not show up, it's worthless!

- God's promise had been that He would dwell with His people. He fulfills that promise here.

- Why did He come to fill the Tabernacle? Was it because of Moses' complete obedience? No. It was because this perfectly represented the Son of God!

- God's Spirit would come down and shine upon Jesus at His baptism, the Lord attesting, this is my Son in whom I am well pleased!

- The Tabernacle became a place where He allowed His presence to be. While He was in there, even Moses could not enter! Every part of the weight of God was present in that place.

•  Exodus 40:36-38  :  "Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys."  :  God's presence over the Tabernacle, in a cloud by day or a fire by night, meant that they were to stay put.

- They were to wait upon Him for movement. He would decree their steps for all their journey.

Conclusion

            - Worship begins with God. Our response is enthusiastic giving and complete obedience!

Thursday Night Bible Study

Exodus34:10-35 (Click title for audio access)

"The Other Side Of The Coin"  •  7.14.11  •  Calvary Christian Fellowship, Thursday Night Bible Study

Intro

- Often, we are limited in our ability to look at these passages because we don't have the time to cover every detail or see behind every corner. That makes studying God's Word a challenge.

- Chapter 34, if one goes to fast, will give you the wrong impression about God and it can stumble you in a great way. This is why we are taking our time.

- I want to begin where we last left off, with a statement that we exegeted last time.

- God was offering to show Moses all of the glory that Moses could stand, which included a proclamation from God regarding His name, which reflected His character.

•  Exodus 34:6,7  :  "And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.'"

- We learned from this passage that God is a merciful, gracious, longsuffering God. He is also just, giving people chance upon chance to turn from their iniquity.

- He will visit the Fathers and allow them to know Him as the loving gracious one, or the just one. When that Father dies, God will visit the children with the same desire and so on!

- God never gives up and He never treats anyone a certain way because of their heritage.

- When we last left things, Moses had asked God to take Israel as His inheritance, to treat them as His own not on the basis of their behavior, but on the basis of His grace.

- This week, we have the other side of the coin and it's a fearful thing to consider it.

Text

•  Exodus 34:10,11  :  "And He said: 'Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite."  : God tells His inheritance that He will make a covenant with them. This is a promise or an oath.

- In the sight of the people, God promises to 'do marvels' in front of them. These are extraordinary works. Miracles that would be unique to their history.

- What God is about to do for them was unprecedented. It was God's wonderful work that was done on their behalf.

- God calls what He will do an awesome thing. This is best understood as something awe-inspiring. Fearful. Terrible. Powerful. He would do that on their behalf, for them, on their account.

- What He was about to do only He could do. Bringing the children of Israel into the Promised Land, Canaan, would literally take an act of God.

- They were to observe His command to them that day. Keep watch over this word. Guard it. Make sure to listen. God is going to drive out these Canaanite people groups.

- These groups were to be expelled, thrust out of the land. They are the famous "Ites."

- God had decreed to the people of Israel that this was their land and that He would take care of removing it's inhabitants.

- God was giving favor to Israel and determining judgment upon these "ites." As we go on, we'll determine why that is the case.

- Suffice it to say, this is not the same thing as genocide or ethnic cleansing, both of which are motivated purely by hatred of a given race. This is judgment from God and for very good reason.

•  Exodus 34:12-17  :  " Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods. ^'You shall make no molded gods for yourselves."  :  Take heed. Beware. Understand that you will be tempted in this area with regard to these people. What were they to "beware" of?

- They were be careful of making a covenant with these people. They were not to come into an agreement as a people with another people. This could only be a trap to them.

- They did not have the strength spiritually to influence. They could only be influenced!

- God knows that unequally yoked partnerships end one way: With the believer tainted!

- Account for their stiff necked condition, their observance of Egyptian religion and their willingness to leave the true worship of the true God, and one can see their vulnerability was great.

- What were they vulnerable to? They were vulnerable to the perverted worship system, which included altars, sacred pillars and wooden images.

- They were not to tolerate these things. They were to break or tear them down. They were not to be momuments in the land or symbols of a past culture. They were to be removed entirely.

- Like the true worship of God, the Canaanites had altars, killing places where animals and other living things even human beings were sacrificed to Canaanite gods.

- The words "sacred pillars" refer to statues erected to symbols associated with the gods, many of which were phallic in nature, gross and perverted.

- The words "wooden images" are better understood as "groves" or later, as "high places."

- They were to do this to cut off the possibility of worshipping another god. God's name is jealous! He fervently resists any rival to His throne in our hearts! He alone wants to rule our hearts!

- Before long, there was danger of fellowship, intermarriage and idol worship that would plummet them into idolatry and lead them to destruction as well.

•  Exodus 34:18-23  :  "The Feast of Unleavened Bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt. All that open the womb are Mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or sheep. But the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem him, then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed. Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end. Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel."  :  God here repeats information that He has already communicated to the people of Israel.

- The instruction for the Feast Of Unleavened Bread has been considered in chapter 12:15-20, 13:4-7 and 23:15. It was a week that commemorated the Exodus and His work to deliver them.

- The leaven was a type of the flesh and the world that could not be allowed to pervert the work of God in their lives. Nothing from the old flesh life was to come in.

- Additionally, the law of the firstborn was also a repeat from Exodus 13:2 and 12. Redemption is the work that they were to celebrate, buying back from the Lord that which belongs to Him.

- The Sabbath day has been spoken of in chapter 20:9-11, as part of the Decalogue and was repeated again in chapter 23:12.

- They were to rest, even in the busiest seasons, in plowing and in harvest time. There was never to be a suspension of their rest.

- Finally, in this section, there is a repeat of the information found in Exodus 23:14-19, regarding the three Jewish feasts that were to be held yearly to the Lord.

- They are, in order the Feast of Weeks, Pentecost and Tabernacles, which happen in March, April and late September/early October.

- Why is there a repitition? Did God forget that He had already said this? Not at all.

- The land that God was bringing them into was obviously filled with idolators, whose practices could not be added to the practices of God's people, thus the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

- The gods of the Canaanites required that children be sacrificed to them. God says, "You will redeem your children and consecrate them to me alive, that they may serve my purposes."

- The gods of the Canaanites were built around the concept of fertility. The land was to consistently be fertile for them. This is where their "worship" came into play.

- Upon the High Places, the groves, there were statues that represented male and female symbols of fertility.

- In order to get the gods to fertilize the soil, which their sexual act produced, they implored them by involving themselves in sexual acts with temple prostitutes.

- As they "worshipped," Canaan's gods brought fertility to the land. Now, God is telling them that they are to rest, to appear before Him, so as to show that He is the One that brings produce.

- They could not do anything to force Him to act. They could not involve themselves in degrading practices and think that He, their God, would respond.

- They were to rest in Him and relate themselves to Him, both as a testimony and a direct slap in the face of Canaanite theology.

- God repeats this information, not just because it was their identity as they left Egypt, but it was their safety as they would enter Canaan!

- Peter the Apostle, in his epistle, tells the people that it's good for him to remind them of the truth that they were established in.

•  Exodus 34:24-28  :  "For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year. You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left until morning. The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.' Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.' So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments." - This is how completely God wants to clear out the land. He wants it to be so clear that they can take off and their land would be thoroughly safe.

- The Lord reminds them that they are not to leave anything left from the Passover for morning. They were to consume it all the night before.

- Remember that Jesus was not left on the cross overnight. He was removed and buried.

- They were not to boil a young goat in its mother's milk. The womb was to be a place of safety, unlike that which was practiced by the Canaanites, who cruelly did such things.

- Moses, when all was said and done, had been with the Lord for 40 days and nights, without eating or drinking. How is that possible? It's not, except for the sustaining power of God.

- A man does not need to eat or drink when He is physically in the very presence of the sustaining Creator of the Universe!

- It's interesting that Moses, Elijah and Jesus all had identical fast periods in scripture. When Moses came down he had a second pair of tablets for the people.

- Before we move onto the final section, I want you to understand that this judgment had taken a very long time to come to.

- God had told Abraham 600 years in advance, that the Amorites sin would be judged. Even before that, Noah had prophecied that his grandson Canaan would be judged for his sin.

- Sexual degenerancy in the form of heterosexuality, homosexuality, incestuous relationships and bestiality were all practiced in the land of Canaan. Why? This was how their gods acted.

- El had been married to Asherah, who bore him a son named Baal. After some time, Asherah and her son Baal became partners in an incestuous relationship.

- No wonder the people thought that this was ok! "Good enough for the gods..." They had had years to repent, but had refused. In that way, they were like the Sodomites, who were also judged.

- But never forget that the Lord also spared the Ninevites, who repented from their sin.

- I say all of this to say that God gave them as much of a chance to see Him as gracious, loving and merciful, but they chose to see His perfect justice, which He would show, but not delight in.

•  Exodus 34:29,30  :  "Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him."  :  Moses came down the mountain, having been in the very presence of God and something physically attended him. His skin shone while he talked with God.

- Literally, his face sent out beams of radiated light! His face was was glowing! He was unaware of this phenomena.

- Moses is walking down the mountain, excited that he had been in the very presence of God, ready to lead in the Word of God.

- He gets back into camp and the people are avoiding eye contact. That's odd. He comes into his tent, looks in the mirror and sees what they have been seeing! Now he was afraid!

- The people saw this and they feared him. Why? Because of the holiness of God that was now shining out from him!

- It's not noticeable to you either, when having been with the Lord, but you radiate His joy and kindness to the world around you! Your face should shine as well!

•  Exodus 34:31,32  :  "Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them. Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai."  :  Moses brought the Word of God to the people of Israel. He gave them God's commandments.

- He transmitted to them that which he recieved from the Lord. That's what Pastors are supposed to do today! This is what God has given me. Receive it as a commandment from Him.

- That authority has to be understood. When the Word of God is opened, if you are a follower of Christ, the principles and commands that we observe each week, are binding commands.

- Don't be fooled by our humble environment and size: We are holding God's Word in our hands and are thus, living in light of that revelation.

- Mt. Sinai and the wilderness of Sin might as well be Gonzalez Center, room 2!

•  Exodus 34:32-35  :  "And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him." : After Moses finished speaking, he put a veil on his face. This was a covering of some sort.

- When came to speak with the Lord, he would take the veil off. He would speak to the Lord unveiled, open before him, then transmit what was said to the people of God.

- This was his repeated practice, moving around with a veil while outside the presence of God.

- What does all of this mean? Thankfully, Paul comments on this in 2 Corinthians 3.

- Paul is talking with the Corinthians about the reality of their walks with God and that the Spirit was the proof of what God had worked in them. In fact, the Spirit was increasing in them.

- That led him to the thought that closes our section:

•  II Corinthians 3:4-18  :  "And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious. Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."

- Even in the very beginning of the work of Moses and the covenant that was being made between God and man, even then, that was faded glory, destined not to last or grow.

- God had a much bigger idea to promote and He wanted to do that for His people, through His people, unto all peoples for all time.

Conclusion

- Understanding the difficulty of God's judgment is one thing. Forgetting that His judgment is tempored by His longsuffering and His love is another thing.

- God has done everything for His people, so that other people around the world might avoid the pain of His judgment.

- He wants to take the veil off of their face and allow that shining to increase by invading hearts. He wants to transform people into His image. That's His goal and desire. Let it be ours too!

Thursday Night Bible Study

Exodus 33-Exodus 34:9 (Click title for audio access)

"You Can Take Them Out Of Egypt..."  •  6.30.11  •  Calvary Christian Fellowship, Thursday Night Bible Study

Intro

- When we last looked at the word of God, we came to understand that worshipping God involves worshippers who must interact with other worshippers.

- We learned that some people are constructive, the Bezalel Group, who are called of God to use their giftings for the Tabernacle assembly.

- At the same time, there are destructive people, who impatiently seek to make worship something that brings themselves satisfaction. Historically, there always seem to be more of these!

- Additionally, there are two types of leaders. There are the prophetic leaders who stand for righteousness and stand in the gap in intercession for their people, as Moses did.

- Of course, there are those who are pathetic leaders, who cave to the will of the people that surround them, as Aaron did. Which leads us to where we stand today.

- Aaron had caved under the pressure of the mob who insisted that the delay of Moses necessitated the creation of a worship system. Aaron, the High Priest had done this!

- Before there was time to initiate all of the vision that God had given Moses, the people had already broken the principles that the covenant could stand upon.

- God, in righteous indignation, called for the death of 3,000 unrepentant people that day, which presented a problem: If worshippers are this way, how can God be present with them?

- This week, we face the problem of a covenant that is based on behavior and the solution that is much more New Testament, hinted at here in our section tonight.

Text

•  Exodus 33:1-6  :  "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.' And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. For the Lord had said to Moses, 'Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you.’ So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb."  :  God says, "I'll fulfill my promise, I'll drive your enemies out from before you, but I won't go with you!" God had obligated Himself Abraham's descendants regarding the land of Canaan.

- He would do that by allowing His Angel to go before them. This was the Angel of the Lord, the pre-incarnate Christ. God would also drive out these people groups, who had inhabited the area.

- These indigenous peoples, we'll call them the "ites," were far from innocent and were far from being neutral toward God and His people.

- Each of these groups had defied God with their idolatrous notions and practices. Their "worship" included, but was not limited to sexual deviation and child sacrifice.

- As with any other group of people, God had given them time to repent, but time was running out! They had moved head long toward the most vile practices. We'll touch on this more next time.

- God had raised up Israel as a nation that would serve Him to depose them. The problem was that the army that been raised was defiled in their hearts toward God.

- The addage is true: You can take Israel out of Egypt, but you cannot immediately take Egypt out of Israel! These people were stiff-necked, determined to go in a certain direction.

- The NLT renders this phrase, "you are a stubborn and rebellious people." God had accurately assessed their character and let them know of the incompatibility!

- "I could consume you in a moment!" God's holiness could not be violated. Their sin would not be terminated. This is an impasse.

- God would fulfill His promise (the land), give His provision (the angel), but remove His presence!

- God is testing His people and He will allow us to go through the same test from time to time. Are we happy with His provision apart from His presence?

- He would not go with them. You might think this as a punitive measure. It's much more like a measure of mercy!

- When the people heard this, that God would not come with them, they were grieved. They mourned. I wonder if like most of us, they mourned the consequence, but not the condition.

- Often we will mourn what has been taken from us, but we will not mourn what caused the thing to take place! "Oh what will we do without God's presence!

- They should have mourned in this way, "We are so stiff necked. We are so stubborn and so hard to lead. God change us!"

- To their credit, they did remove their ornaments. This was their jewelry and their fancy clothing that had been given to them on their way out of Egypt. They got desperate real fast!

•  Exodus 33:7-11  :  "Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle."  :  Before the Tabernacle was constructed, Moses made his personal tent the meeting place.

- Moses used his home for a temporary meeting place with God and what a glorious thought to consider that God allowed His glory to abide there during that time.

- Notice where the camp was: It was outside the camp. In fact, it was far from the camp! Moses did this to illustrate what their actions produced.

- The Tabernacle had been conceived as being the center of their lives. Now, because of their sin, God was pushed to the outer limits.

- Moses went out to worship and when he did, the people stood at their tents and watched, but none dared to draw near.

- Moses had fellowship with God and stood face to face, a eupemism speaking of unmoderated exchange. There was no mediator between them.

- Moses records for us that Joshua did not depart from the Tabernacle. You get the sense in Joshua's life, that from this young period of time, that God was already grooming him for leadership.

- Joshua is learning the lesson that intimacy with God is a worthy investment! Joshua, even more than Moses, worshipped in a close way.

- In contrast, even though the people had begun to come close to the Tabernacle, it seems that as time went by, they were satisfied just standing at their tent doors.

- Sadly, I find that this is how most people approach worship. They'll stand at the door of their own comfort and watch others worship. Don't settle for distant worship!

•  Exodus 33:12-14  :  "Then Moses said to the Lord, 'See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.' And He said, 'My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.'"  :  I'll lead them, but with what power and authority. Moses is pleading with God. He rightfully does not want to lead these people apart from the Lord's presence.

- Israel is your nation God! I might be the visual leader, but they are your people!

- Please note that Moses' plea is based not on behavior, but on grace. Notice the repetition of that word. Grace is written three times.

- God assured Him that His Presence will go with Him. He would not abandon Moses to the task that He had called Him to, an important reminder to you and I.

- The answer to Moses' anxiety, as well as ours is the assurance of God's presence. We have that same need. God's presence will accompany us.

- The promise is that God would give Moses rest, peace for the journey. Moses isn't done.

•  Exodus 33:15-17  :  "Then he said to Him, 'If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.' So the Lord said to Moses, 'I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.'"  :  Moses is speaking a request that has become a part of our daily understanding.

- "God if you do not go before us, then don't let us go without you!" We will stay right here! Don't you dare move in your life unless the Lord is moving with you! Keep that clear in your heart!

- Moses' authority as well as Israel's identity was tied to the Lord's presence. If He was not with them, then you can forget about Israel listening to him and the people are nothing special at all!

- Without God, they would be no different than the other nations that surrounded them!

- God says, "I won't command you to go without my presence accompanying you!" Again, God assures him that he had found favor from God! He knows his name. They are friends.

•  Exodus 33:18-23  :  "And he said, 'Please, show me Your glory.' Then He said, 'I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.' But He said, 'You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.' And the Lord said, 'Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.'"  :  Moses is on a roll.  Show me your glorious presence Moses says. I need to see You in the weight of your reality. I want to see all that you are! Would you pray that? Let me see it all!

- God lets Moses know that this is a sovereign act of revelation. He would show Moses what Moses could handle seeing.

- He will be gracious to whom He wills to be gracious and have compassion on whom He wills to have compassion. To show Himself is an act of His discretion.

- If God deems to remain unseen, that is entirely His perogative. God sets Moses up to be able to handle what He is about to reveal to Him.

- He sets him up in the cleft of the rock and lets him see just His back. Moses was given a tremendous privilege.

•  Exodus 34:1-4  :  "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain. And no man shall come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither flocks nor herds feed before that mountain.' So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone."  :  God wanted a second set of tablets made to replace the ones that Moses broke. He was to come up to the mountain alone with the new tablets.

- It is on this mountain that God will now reveal Himself to Moses in the most full way possible.

•  Exodus 34:5-7  :  "Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.'"  :  God stood there with Moses and proclaimed His own name. His name could not be spoken in one word, but could be described by many words and phrases.

- If you cannot see Jesus in these characteristics, you cannot see God! He is the embodiment of all that is proclaimed here!

- The revelation of God's characteristics explain His name. He is the Lord. He is the Existing  or "Self-Existing One." As such, He is the Almighty One, never losing any ounce of strength.

- God has never not existed. He has always been. He is the uncaused cause. He is eternal, from everlasting to everlasting.

- He is merciful and gracious. Literally, He is compassionate and filled with goodness.

- He is slow to anger, patient. Longsuffering is a very descriptive word. He can suffer much!

- He is an ample source of goodness and truth. He exceeds in these virtues. The word goodness can refer to a zealous love toward people. Truth is the soundness or integrity of that love.

- It will be stable towards His people. That love will never lose it's integrity and settle for less than it's goal. God's love will move well beyond our failings and empower us to be transformed.

- God keeps mercy for thousands. Literally, He watches over and guards the mercy that is reserved for thousands of His people.

- The NLT renders this verse, "I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations."

- He forgives iniquity. The word "forgiveness" here speaks of lifting off or carrying a burden for another. God carries that upon Himself, a fitting statement given what Jesus did for us.

- He forgives iniquity or perversity. He forgives "transgression" or rebellion. God forgives "sin."

- He lifts the burden of man's perversity, rebellion and sin from his shoulders, causing them to walk with Him. If He did not do this, then how could a man stand? God forgives!

- God forgives but He is also just, by no means clearing the guilty! The guilty apart from God's merciful forgiveness, see their sin replicated generation after generation.

- This verse does not speak about generational curses. I'd ask that you consult Ezekiel 18.

- The passage is too long to consider here, but the gist is that God says that He deals with each person on an individual basis. That being said, we do understand that our actions have impact.

- If you have a home that is open to something, your kids will be more open to it! So what does this mean?

- The idea here is that God is so merciful and gracious, that He will continue to visit their sons, grandsons and great-grandsons! He won't give up on them! He'll keep coming to them.

- If they repent and surrender, then God will be merciful and forgiving toward them. If they do not, then God will not acquit one who is guilty.

- He will be loving, gracious and merciful, but He must also be just, Holy and righteous!

•  Exodus 34:8,9  :  "So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. Then he said, 'If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.'"  :  Moses at the sound of God's proclamation, got on His face and worshipped.

- That is the appropriate response to all of God's holiness! It's to this God of mercy, forgiveness and zealous love that Moses appeals. Be our God!

- Take these people as Your inheritance. That is exactly what the book of Ephesians tells us that we are! We cannot be His inheritance if we base this on our behavior.

- We can only be His inheritance if He bases our relationship on His own grace!

Conclusion

- This entire passage speaks to the great truth of God's covenant with you and I, that is based entirely on Him and His willingness to have fellowship with us through Christ.