Drew Boswell

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“The Ten Commandments, Part I” Exodus 19:1-11

“Into the Wilderness”

A Sermon Series in the Book of Exodus

“The Ten Commandments, Part I”

Exodus 19:1-11

Introduction

In the ancient world worshipping gods was very common. Every local town or village had multiple gods they worshipped so they would fertile, their crops would be prosperous, so they would have good health, good weather, etc. But if you left that town or village, the god stayed there and you would worship the god of the next village, and there was no problem with worshipping multiple gods all at the same time. What made the Hebrew God so unique is that He said He was over all the world (not just a local area), and He was to be worshiped alone (no others gods other than Him was to be worshiped).

In Exodus 20 God has brought his people out of slavery and is about to send them to a promised place. God said to them in Ex. 19:5-6 “you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” This would a place where the world could come and meet the One True God, as God’s priests they would lead the world to worship Him, and as a holy nation they would point the world to God. They have prepared themselves for three days to receive what is about to be given to them from God.

 Prayer

The First Commandment; The Exclusivity of God (v. 1-3)

And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

(v. 1) “And God spoke all these words” – of all the law these are the only ones He spoke out loud, that he wrote on a stone tablet with His own hand, and these words were placed in the ark of the covenant for safe keeping. They are important to God for us to possess, to know, and to obey. These commandments, the moral law, still holds today while much of the ceremonial law has passed away.

The other nine commandments that follow have dos and don’ts, but the first commandment speaks to a relationship. The other nine deal with how to maintain a relationship that is established by the first commandment. “God’s people were constantly tempted to make their faith a both/and religion, when God insisted on worship as an either/or proposition: Either you worship Him alone, or you don’t worship Him at all.”[1]

Today God’s people struggle with the same issue – we want to add the word and to our relationship with God. We says, “I want God in my life, I want to follow Him, I want to have a relationship with Him, and I want success, money, possessions, I want to live my life the way I want, etc.” We put God in a part of our lives, “God goes over here, my job goes over here, my family goes over here” – but God says, “no, If I am in your life, then I am in all of your”

(v. 3) “You shall have no other gods before me.” – could be read, “no other gods before my face.” The theologian John Calvin in his commentary on this passage said, “like a shameless woman who brings in an adulterer before her husband’s very eyes, only to vex his mind the more.” Marriage is a good analogy for this first verse – you cannot have both/and relationship with your spouse.

“Honey, I want to introduce you to someone who means a lot to me. You are special too, but I want to spend time with her, and I love her, tonight I’m going to be with her, so I won’t be home tonight.” How long is that marriage going to last? No, the spouse will say, “It’s me or it’s her, you have to choose.” The wife has every right to be jealous. (v. 5) He even says, “I the LORD your God am a jealous God.”

“Love is at the heart of the first commandment.”[2] If we truly love God, we will have no other gods before Him. Later in Deuteronomy 6:4-5 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

And if we ever ask, why should I love God? He reminds us, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,” – They did not escape slavery because of their ingenuity, they were slaves, who even wanted to go back to slavery multiple times. We should love God because He first loved us[3], and saved us from our slavery to sin. No other god did that.

The Second Commandment: No Other Gods (v. 4-6)

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

If the first commandment is against worshipping the wrong god, the second commandment is against worshipping God the wrong way. It says to have no graven images of a god, which the Bible calls idols. Don’t make an image (of something from heaven, or earth, or from under the sea), and then bow down to it, or serve it.

Notice v. 3 says, “You shall have no other gods before me.” – to have is to possess, and in v. 4 in referencing God it says, “You shall not make for yourself,” – this speaks of manufacturing. We seek to take our comprehension of a god and manufacture him into something we can see, touch, and move around. But an idol doesn’t have to be physical – it just as easily be a false understanding of the biblical God. Why does humanity so easily turn from the One true God and His Word to idolatry?

 Here are four reasons why people are attracted to idolatry:

1) It was/is easy. You may have to bring food to your god, or show up to the temple from time to time, or give an offering to the god – but there was very little expectation of an ethical standard. There was no rigorous pursuit of personal holiness. You just showed up, and presented your offering. “This is what Israel fell into time and time again; they would say to themselves “it really doesn’t matter what I do. I just have to show up and go through the religious rituals.”[4]

2) It was/is convenient. God prescribed that worship was to take place in one location, the tabernacle, and later the temple. Ancient worship worked on the franchise model. There were many places you could go to take care of their religious obligations. Why not build high places where you could conveniently go and do your religious stuff.

3) It was/is sensual. Many ancients believed that in order to get blessings from the gods, they needed them to mate together in the heavens. If Baal and Asherah get together then their procreation in the heavens would yield fruitful harvests in earth. But how do we encourage them in the heavens to do that from down here. They would do the act at the various temples themselves, maybe even involving a temple prostitute. Do you think the men were really wanting the crops to grow?

Today this idol is comfort and preference – we have so many places of worship to go to we look for what is convenient, comfortable, makes me feel good – before we look for doctrine, beliefs, or standards. It is such an easy as a temptation as a church to seek to appeal the a person’s convenance and sensuality and to lower the moral standard than to preach the hard truths of Scripture and to hold people to a biblical standard.

4) It was typical. All the other peoples of the earth had their gods (different names, different roles) but they did religion the same way. “The Israelites were unique among the peoples of the ancient Near East. God’s people didn’t just have a few special rules; their conception of the divine and how to worship him was fundamentally different. It’s hard to be a religious minority. 1 John 3:12-13 “We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.”

Idolatry makes religion easy, convenient, its focused on how you feel, and it is accepted by the world. The God of the Bible demands that your worship of Him be genuine, obedient to His commands, focused on Him and not what you get out of it. Because there is an expected higher moral standard than the world, then you more than likely will stand out and will different than the world around you.

If a person does walk in idolatry God gives this curse, “visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,” it does not mean that in future generations that if there is a righteous person that he will be punished for the sins of his fathers (see Ez. 18:20). “This warning is about God’s judgement on those who walk in the wicked ways of their parents, and grandparents, and great-grandparents.

Exodus is saying if you keep on sinning as your father did, you will not escape your father’s punishment. You can’t say, “I’m only doing what parents taught me.” You need to pay attention and break the cycle of generational sin. Idolatry is going to keep you from breaking that cycle. But there is also a blessing, “showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” – you can at any point begin to follow the One True God and receive his blessing – you are not tied to your parents.

The Third Commandment; Honor the Lord’s Name (v. 7)

7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

How big of a deal is taking the Lord’s name in vain? Leviticus 24:16 “Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.”

All of the verses that I am about to give to help us understand this idea of “using the Lord’s Name” are rooted in our idea of a relationship. He is our God, and He allows us to be called His people – He allows us to use His name (and all the privileges that goes along with it). I am a child of the King of Eternity – that attachment has privileges but it also has responsibility and a need to guard it.

(v. 7) “in vain,” means “empty,” “nothing,” “worthless,” or “to no good purpose.” We are forbidden, therefore from taking the name of God (or taking up the name, or bearing the name) in a manner that is wicked, worthless, or for wrong purposes. The most obvious way of doing this is to blaspheme or curse the name of God.

It also forbids false or empty oaths, Leviticus 19:12 “You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.” When you make promise and invoke God’s name, it is wrong if you have no intention of keeping the promise because the Lord’s name and reputation is attached.

Later in Jeremiah 23:25 “You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.” If they offered their children this way, they were to be stoned. God did not want His name associated with this way of living. You can’t live and be associated with the One True God and call yourself His people, while sacrificing your children to a another (false) god.

Malachi 1:10-14 tells a story of those that represented God, the priests were cutting corners in their duties to God, “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. 11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts. 12 But you profane it when you say that the Lord’s table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. 13 But you say, ‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the LORD of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the LORD. 14 Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.”

God is saying “I wish there was just one of the priests who would just shut the doors than to represent Him in such a bad way.” They snort at their duties, they allow the people to offer their blemished animals, instead of the unblemished. God’s name among the nations should be lifted up, and that happens when His people live their lives before Him according to His ways. When you carry the Lord’s name (when you attach yourself to Him) – then how you live your life, has God’s reputation associated with it.

Later in Exodus 34:6-7 Moses asks to see God’s glory “The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 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 the fourth generation.” God shows Himself by speaking His name. When Moses asks in Exodus 3 at the burning bush, “Who shall I say is sending me?” and God says, his name “I Am.” God’s name represents who He is – and He allows His children to carry that name, to be associated with it – do not use the Lord’s name in vain. The consequences of thinking God to be something He is not is eternally devastating. If you, his child, curse His name, then how will the world ever understand who God truly is?

The Fourth Commandment; Keep the Sabbath (v. 8-11)

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Earlier in Ex. 16 the Lord heard the people’s grumbling and gave them manna and meat to eat – everyday. In the morning the manna would form on the ground, and they were to gather what they needed. In the evening, quail would come and they would gather them and eat. This happened for six days, but on the seventh day of the week there was neither manna nor quail that day. They were told on the sixth day they were to gather twice as much on that day to cover the next day. Go ahead and make the bread and cook the meat for the next day.

The miracle that the people experienced was God’s provision Mon-Sat. but the there were rules (you were to only gather enough for that day). If you gathered some for the next day (Mon-Sat) any extra would rot, it would stink, and maggots would be there. Except on Sat-Sun – this would not happen. What they gathered would not rot on Sunday (while they rested).

(v. 11) At the beginning of time God, Genesis 2:3 “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” It never says later that God changed it back to not being a special day, and it is still holy (a day set apart from the others). God sets the example for His creation to rest on the this holy day.

In the NT on the sabbath day Jesus and His disciples were hungry, so they plucked grain and were eating, so they were criticized by some religious leaders. In response, Jesus says, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” In Exodus 20 it is a command to rest from work on the sabbath, but it is also a gift from God. You need one day out of every seven to rest.

Today, thousands of years removed from the law giving on the mountain of God, we still are commanded to have an exclusive relationship with God, to guard our hearts from worshipping God incorrectly, to carry His name appropriately, and to rest on the seventh day – God’s Word is eternal. Today those who have placed their faith in the name of Jesus, are “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” We still are called to point the world to the One True God, and are expected to live before Him. 1 Thessalonians 2:12 “we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.”

______________________

[1] Kevin DeYoung, The 10 Commandments, What They Mean, Why They Matter, and Why We Should Obey Them (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2018) 32.

[2] DeYoung, 33.

[3] 1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”

[4] DeYoung, 35.

“Preparations for the Covenant” Exodus 19

“Into the Wilderness”

A Sermon Series in the Book of Exodus

“Preparations for the Covenant”

Exodus 19

Introduction

In The Chronicles of Narnia, an allegory by C.S. Lewis, the author has two girls, Susan and Lucy, getting ready to meet Aslan the lion, who represents Christ. Two talking animals, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, prepare the children for the encounter. “Ooh,” said Susan, “I thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.” “That you will, dearie.” said Mrs. Beaver. “And make no mistake, if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knee’s knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

“Then isn’t he safe?” said Lucy. “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the king, I tell you!”[1]

In chapter 20 God’s people are given the 10 commandments, and chapter 19 is a preparation for them to receive them. What Does God require for a people to be His people? What does it mean when we say that “we are children of God?” How are the people of God different than all the other peoples of the earth?

“Of all the tens of thousands of texts that survive from ancient Egypt, there has not been discovered a single legislative code. Documents like the Demotic Legal Code of Hermopolis West are not codified law but mere guidelines for how to live and act. The reality was that the pharaohs were the definers and executors of justice and law. They enacted new laws and changed old laws by their own prerogatives. It was the pharaoh was pronounced, “Thus says” (Ex. 5:10), and he could change or alter a law capriciously, which explains why there is no known codified law in ancient Egypt.”[2] God’s law on the other hand stands forever. It does not change. An eternal law from an eternal God.

Prayer

God’s People Are Commissioned to the World (vv. 1-6)

On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, 3 while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

God reminds His people that He was the one that brought them out of slavery from Egypt, “on eagles wings,” and he “brought them to himself.” He freed them from slavery, brought them out into the wilderness so that they could be with Him. He reveals that they are freed and now are going to have a role in this world. This role is described three ways, “a treasured possession, kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.”

God wants to have a close relationship with His creation.

He wants to have a relationship with humanity, but it is conditional because God is holy (set apart), and humanity is sinful. So mankind cannot approach God unless God tells him how he can approach. God’s love is unconditional, but our relationship with Him is conditional. He has to tell us how to approach Him.

(v. 4) “I . . . brought you to myself” – everything else in the Bible relate to this verse. Everything God does, and all the stories that follow all point to this truth. God moves to bring His creation to Himself. The story of Exodus is a story of salvation, it is a precursor for the ultimate Savoir who was to come generations later, but salvation is not the end – there is something even greater, we have fellowship with God, He draws us near to Him.

But the condition of this relationship is that God’s people, “obey my voice and keep my covenant,” – “This is the first time that the Bible uses this exact phrase.”[3] He made the covenant with Abraham, Exodus 2:24 “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.” Ex. 6:4 “I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners.” Now God is keeping His part of the covenant, in that He has brought them out of Egypt – but He also expects His people to keep their part of the covenant.

Define Covenant – karat berit “the stress is laid on the initiative of God by the use of the verbs ‘establish, grant, set down, command, law, statutes, commandments, judgements, , etc.’ God’s people are expected to obey God’s command, to keep His covenant, to remember it, to do it, and to walk in it. Her (Israel’s) history shows that she forgot the covenant, broke it, sinned against it, rejected it, transgressed it, and profaned it. Hence, she experienced the curses of the broken covenant in the form of natural calamities, war, sickness, exile, and death, whereas had she kept the covenant she might have enjoyed the blessings of the covenant instead.”[4]

“He made his covenant with Abraham, promising to give him a land and a people who would bless the whole world. He confirmed his covenant with Isaac and Jacob. Then, in order to make good on his promise (2:24; 6:4, 5), he brought his people out of Egypt. Exodus is the story of God remembering his covenant.”[5]

God Keeps His Promises – He Expects His People to Keep Theirs As Well

“if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, . . .”

 In Christianity it’s important to understand the order of what God is saying First, they are saved (from the slavery of Egypt), redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, then they are expected to obey and follow God. Salvation first, works then follow. God does not say to Moses, tell the people to “obey, then I will carry them out of Egypt on eagles wings.” The God of the Bible is a God of grace, and mercy – first. God saves us first, then He teaches us how to live in relationship with Him and others.

But isn’t this an if/then statement? If you will do this, then I will do this? Yes, but it is not a question of salvation, it is a question of relationship and intimacy – if we want to have a close relationship with God, then we have to approach Him and live a life before Him in a certain way. You can’t expect to be close to God while at the same time rebelling against Him. Even in the worst to their rebellion in the years to come, they never cease to be His people.

Why among all the people of the earth did God choose them? They have nothing, and have been slaves for over four hundred years. Deuteronomy 7:6-8a helps us understand, “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, . . .” Why among all the people of the earth has God shown you love, and mercy, and allowed you to know His Son and experience the salvation, to enter into a right relationship with Him – why you? “because the LORD loves you.” – not because of what you have done, but because He chooses to love you. That’s it, that all. God’s grace.

This is why it is important to understand that God does not change – He is the same yesterday and today. He always keeps His promise, and He is always the God of grace and mercy. His promises still stand today, for those that put their faith in Him.

God’s People Are Expected to Keep the Covenant (vv. 7-15, 16-20)

7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. 8 All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD. 9 And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.” When Moses told the words of the people to the LORD, 10 the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments 11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” 14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”

In theology there are two words that help to explain what is going on in this passage. The first word is transcendent. This word describes God as being transcending, going beyond, separateness, holiness, greatness. God is different than His creation, He is majestic, terrifying, big, mighty. He speaks and everything came into existence. We approach a transcendent God with awe, fear and trembling because he is awesome.

The second word is immanence – this describes God as being close, his personal relationship with His creation. This was God coming to Adam and Eve in the cool of the day, this is the God who had the children sit in His lap, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14). We approach an immanent God by hugging him, we cling to, we run to, He is personal in our lives. It’s the same God.

(v. 8) In response to the God they see on the mountain they respond in faith, “All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” – They are promising to keep the covenant.

Then God comes down to the mountain and He is covered with a thick cloud. The cloud reveals and conceals at the same time. His might, power, transcendence is shown, but his glory is hidden – otherwise the people would have been destroyed. Sinful man cannot enter into the presence of a holy God. God is dangerous. They had to set up barriers, limits to where the people could and could not go – the consequences for getting it wrong was death.

(vv. 16-20) “On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. 20 The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. The closer God came to the people, the more terrifying the situation became (the earth shook, the trumpet grew louder and louder, there was thunder and lightning, and smoke covering the glory of the Lord.

Leviticus 10:1-2 is an example of sinful man approaching a transcendent God. Aaron, Moses’ brother had two sons who were also priests before the Lord, “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire (strange fire) before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.” Because they did not follow the prescribed way of carrying out their duties before the Lord, they were consumed and died.

“So here is the awesome dilemma the Israelites faced: They were being drawn into a close relationship with a holy God who was too dangerous for them even to approach! What could they do to be safe?”[6] You cannot break the covenant that God gives the people – to do so is deadly.

The people are given three days to prepare for God’s to arrival. 1) First, they were to clean and wash their clothes, “let them wash their garments.” Clothing throughout the Bible was a symbol of an inward condition.[7] If you were in mourning or repenting from sin, you would wear sackcloth and cover yourself with ashes. “Here it indicated Israel’s inward need for cleansing from sin before coming into the presence of God.”[8] They symbolically do this by washing and cleaning themselves.

2) Second, “set limits for the people all around,” – No one was allowed to approach the mountain, not even animals. If they did, they were to be killed.

3) Third, “do not go near a woman,” – They were to refrain from having sex as a form of fasting, so that they could completely focus on God’s covenant. It would only be for three days, and we see an example of this in the NT, 1 Corinthians 7:5 “Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer;”

But even with all their self-effort (washing their clothes, setting boundaries in their lives, and fasting/denial they still had to be a mediator between God and the people, (v. 14) “So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people” We are not told what Moses did to consecrate them, but that there was a need for him to do it. He may have sacrificed an animal, or said a prayer, we don’t know, but the emphasis is on the need for a mediator. Moses is an example for the ultimate mediator who was yes to come, 1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” Because God is holy and incredibly dangerous and we are sinful we need someone to go between us and God.

Simon Peter was fishing when Jesus ends up teaching from his boat. When Jesus was finished teaching he tells the fisherman to put their nets on one side of the boat. After having caught nothing all night, for they were washing their nets and getting ready to end their day, they catch so many fish their boat starts to sink. Look at the fisherman’s reaction to Jesus’ miracle. Luke 5:8 “But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Peter had no place to go when His sin was exposed before His creator.

God is dangerous, yet he desires to draw close to His creation – He has desired to do this since the creation of the world. Yet we are sinful, and like Simon Peter we resist the presence of God in our lives. But God came and made a way for a dangerous holy God to be with His sinful creation. Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us – He took our sin upon Himself, and paid the sin debt in full that we owed.

2 Corinthians 5: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” God died for His own creation. So now, by placing our faith in Jesus we can boldly enter into the presence of God (who has not changed), yet he changed us – He made us righteous by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Those who place their faith in Jesus, the ultimate mediator, can come before the awesome and terrifying God with confidence and find grace and help in our times of need.

Have you placed your faith in the God who wants to draw near to His creation, the God who has made a way for you to be with Him for all eternity? If He is calling you today, seize the moment to give Him your life and receive His grace. If you have already placed your faith in Jesus, how do you approach the throne of God in worship – are you filled with awe and do you fear Him? Is he transcendent in your life? How would you describe your walk with Him? If it is distant, is it because you are not following His ways, your fellowship with Him broken?

Originally we asked the question, “How are the people of God different than all the other peoples of the earth?” By grace, we have been made right with God, and are sent as His “nation of priests” to tell others the way of salvation.

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[1] https://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/f/fear_of_god.htm

[2] John D. Currid, A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2016) 83.

[3] Philip Graham Ryken, Preaching the Word, Exodus (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2015) 456.

[4] J. Arthur Thompson, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume One (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979) 793.

[5] Ryken, 457.

[6] Ryken, 467.

[7] For example, see Jonah 3:6-10.

[8] Ryken, 468.

“The Result of Telling of the Greatness of God” Exodus 18

“Into the Wilderness”

A Sermon Series in the Book of Exodus

“The Result of Telling of the Greatness of God”

Exodus 18

Introduction

Many years ago some men were panning for gold in Montana, and one of them found an unusual stone. Breaking it open, he was excited to see that it contained gold. Working eagerly, the men soon discovered an abundance of the precious metal. Happily, they began shouting with delight, “We’ve found it! We’ve found gold! We’re rich!” They had to interrupt their celebrating, though, to go into a nearby town and stock up on supplies. Before they left camp, the men agreed not to tell a soul about their find. Indeed, no one breathed a word about it to anyone while they were in town. Much to their dismay, however, when they were about to return, hundreds of men were prepared to follow them. When they asked the crowd to tell who “squealed,” the reply came, “No one had to. Your faces showed it!”[1]

When we experience what God has done in our lives, and understand its’ eternal significance, we can’t help but to tell others. God desires to use us, and our testimony of His greatness, to bring others to know Him. But sometimes that weight feels very heavy.

Prayer

We Are to Bear Witness of God’s Greatness (vv. 1-9)

Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her home, 3 along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land”), 4 and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). 5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God. 6 And when he sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,” 7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. 8 Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the LORD had delivered them.

Our first question that helps us understand the text is, “What does it mean to be a priest of Midian?” This is how the text starts out; it tells us that he is a priest. “The Midianites first appear in Bible in connection with the sale of Joseph (Gen. 37:25-36).” . . . “The Midianites appear in connection with Israel’s attempt to penetrate the Transjordan region after the wilderness wanderings. The elders of Midian and the Moabites conspired against Israel and secured the services of Balaam to curse Israel (Nu. 22:4-7) . . . Midianite women were also involved in attempt to lead Israel into apostacy (Nu. 25:1-9). Although the attempt failed, the Midianites were linked firmly with paganism of Baal-poer; consequently the Midianites were considered the enemy of both Israel and Yahweh.”[2] So when it says that Jethro was a priest, he was the priest of a pagan religion.

Witness #1 Of God’s Greatness; the Grandson’s names.

At some point after the Red Sea Crossing, maybe when God’s people were attacked by the Amalekites (Ex. 17:8 ff.), Moses sent his wife and children back to her home (which wasn’t very far away), and it was Moses’ home for forty-years. Now his father-in-law, wife (Zipporah), and his two sons return. Moses names his sons, “The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land”), 4 and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). The son’s names tell Moses’ story – There was a time when he did not fit in Egypt (because he was a Hebrew), and he did not fit among his people, because he was culturally Egyptian. But God appeared to him, and called him, and now he is free, no longer a slave. When Zipporah went back home and said here is Gershom, and here is Eliezer – their names would have told a story.

Witness #2 of God’s Greatness; The Mountain of God

“where he was encamped at the mountain of God.” Exodus 3:12 After Moses had given an excuse at the burning bush God said to him “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” Moses had led the people out of Egypt, and now he is encamped on the very mountain where it all started at the burning bush; God had kept His word to Moses.

Witness #3 of God’s Greatness; Moses

“Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done . . .” Moses loved is father-in-law, and every time we see them encountering each other, it is one of respect and compassion. When Moses ran for his life and originally escaped from Egypt it was Jethro that showed him compassion. Exodus 2:19-21 “They said, “An Egyptian (that’s Moses) delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.” 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah.”

So, Moses tells him all that God had done, the miraculous signs (he would have been holding his staff as he talked), the plagues, their preparations of the Passover meal, God’s leading them with a pillar of smoke during the day, and fire by night, the splitting of the Red Sea, the final defeat of Pharoah’s army, the daily provision of manna and quail, and their defeat of the Amalekites.

Romans 10:14-15 “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?3 And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” How will the Jethros of this world hear of the mighty deeds of God unless we, His people, tell them?

After Jesus healed the demoniac in Mark 5:18-19, look what he tells him, “As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” Our witnessing starts at home. For Moses, it was his father-in-law.

The Response to the Testimony – Belief (vv. 9-12)

9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the LORD had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians. 10 Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people.”[3] 12 And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

(v. 9) “And Jethro rejoiced” – In response to all that God had done, Jethro responded with praise, blessings, and belief. He says, (v. 11) “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods,.” Jethro is a pagan outsider who sees what God has done for His people and he is attracted to that light. He sees what God is doing amongst His people, and He wants to be apart of it.

Then it was the man who accepted the one true God has being greater than all other gods, the one who had placed his faith in the God of Israel – he brought a “burnt offering and sacrifices.” This is a meal of celebration for what God has done in his heart, and how he has delivered his own family (Moses and Zipporah). The burnt offering is a thanksgiving for his and his family’s deliverance.

Jethro is a non-Israelite who put his faith in the One True God (who had shown his power over the gods of Egypt). Remember the Egyptians who went with the Israelites as they left in the Exodus, Ex. 12:38 “A mixed multitude also went up with them,” as they left Egypt. In Genesis 12:3 God promises Abraham that He would bless him, and “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

All the families of the earth are blessed by having a relationship with the One True God – it would be God’s people (the Israelites) that would serve as a nation of priests, pointing the world to God. Jethro was the first fruits, the beginning of the world being attracted to God because of what God did through His people.

God desires to draw the world to Himself

by demonstrating His power through His people.

We Are to Share in the Responsibility of Being the People of God (vv. 13-23)

13 The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; 16 when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. 19 Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, 20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. 21 Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”

In chapter 18 you have two events happening with Jethro being apart of both events. One is Moses’s family is reunited including Jethro’s response to the works of God linked with the daily carrying out of the responsibility given to Moses by God. If now Moses is reunited with his family, how will he ever see them, for “the people stood around Moses from morning till evening.” God gives us the gift of family and service to God – He expects us to find a way to balance the two in a healthy and sustainable way. He has already given the people the Sabbath (on the seventh day they are to rest from all work).

In chapter 17 as Joshua was battling the Amalekites, Hur and Aaron were on either side of lifting up his hands, Exodus 17:12 “But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.” We see Moses sitting, tired, and needing help to do the task. Here in second half of chapter 18, we see Moses tired, sitting from early to late – he needs help to accomplish the task set before him.

Leaders who seek to do it all – don’t see their families and are always exhausted.

(v. 18) “for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.

 Jethro watches is son-in-law and how he is exhausted, and he gives him some good advice, “get some help.” He sees that he cannot keep doing this, “you will certainly wear yourselves out.” Today we call this burn out. When you carry all the weight, and go at it from morning to night – if you do that too long you will crash and burn.

God uses Jethro’s to give Moses some helpful advice, “I will give you advice, and God be with you!” God speaks directly to Moses (first in the burning bush). Moses will soon go up on the mountain and get the ten commandments, God will talk directly to Moses – why does God go through this new believer to give Moses these instructions?[4] Moses could have said, “Excuse me, I have been through the Red Sea, I have appeared before pharaoh, God talked to me in the burning bush – if God wants to give me advice he will tell me, not you.” God chooses to include us, our gifts, our separate life experiences, together to complete the task He sets before us. Moses was wise enough and humble enough to learn from his father-in-law and listen to him.

(v. 21) “Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people. . .” Amongst God’s people were able men, they were there all the time, Moses just had to look.[5] But they were not just able bodied (not just a warm body), they were also, “men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe.”

The Result of What God Can Do When We Listen (vv. 24-27)

24 So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 26 And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. 27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went away to his own country.

In a couple of days Jethro went from a pagan priest, who then placed his faith in the one true God, who then was used by God to give advice to a leader, who then implemented the advice and it changed the lives of over a million people. This one encounter set the nation up for what was to come in chapter 19 (they becoming a nation of priests who will be given the Word of God). Moses couldn’t leave justice undone[6] and go up on the mountain to talk with God – chaos would have erupted.

Jethro listened to the stories of God’s miracles, Moses listened to the advice of his father-in-law, and the people listened to the new way of doing things – resulting in rest for everyone, no one was left standing around all day waiting, the leader wasn’t exhausted at the end of the day and could focus on other things (like his family being back, and God calling him up the mountain). The result was peace and rest. When we listen – there is peace and rest.

God wants His People to Listen.

 On X (formerly known as Twitter), the account for Elmo, the red Muppet from Sesame Street, asked what seemed to be a simple, innocuous question. “Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?” In thousands of responses, social media users let Elmo know that no, they were not doing too hot. Users began pouring out their hearts to Elmo: “I’m tired, Elmo,” said one user. “The world is burning around us, Elmo,” said another. “Elmo I’m depressed and broke,” one wrote. Others told Elmo that they were anxious about the 2024 election. “Each day the abyss we stare into grows a unique horror, one that was previously unfathomable in nature,” replied author Hanif Abdurraqib. “However, I did have a good grapefruit earlier, thanks for asking.”

“I don’t think anyone anticipated how deeply this particular question would resonate,” said Samantha Maltin, a marketing officer for the Sesame Workshop. Maltin believes that Elmo’s question provoked a lot of feelings because his character is rooted in the nostalgic memories of so many millennials. After about nine thousand responses in about 24 hours, the account posted again. “Wow! Elmo is glad he asked!” it read. “Elmo learned it is important to ask a friend how they are doing.”[7]

Do you feel that you are carrying the weight of the world? Do you feel that it is up to you alone to solve all the problems? God wants to reach the world – but you don’t have to do it alone.

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[1] https://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/w/witnessing.htm

[2] Geoffrey W. Bromiley, General Editor, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume Three (Grand Rapids, Michigan; W.M. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1986) 349.

[3] Naaman had a similar response to the miraculous acts of God; see 2 Kings 5, “And he (Naaman) said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; . . .”

[4] Peter Enns, The NIV Application Commentary, Exodus (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing House, 2000) 372.

[5] 1 Samuel 14:52 “There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he attached him to himself.”

[6] Martin Luther King, “There can be no peace in the world unless there’s justice, and there can be no justice without peace. I think in a sense these problems are inextricably bound together.” A people who feel they have no means of justice will protest/react which leads to a lack of peace. Where all feel there is equal justice, then there is peace amongst the people.

[7] https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2024/march/people-express-deep-despair-to-elmo.html

"For by grace you have been saved through faith." Ephesians 2:8

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