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Tag: covenant continuity

Published on Leave a comment on Exodus 24

Read Exodus 24

Here we see the book of the covenant, the blood of the covenant and the banquet of the covenant.  And they go together.

The book is read to the people, the blood is sprinkled on them, the banquet is held out to them.

The covenant is declared, cut and enjoyed.  As Christians we can tend to focus on one of the three, or perhaps two of them - but the three belong together.

What is the covenant?  Back in Genesis 15 we saw a vision of the covenant that would see the Israelites freed from Egypt (Gen 15:9ff).  The smoking firepot and blazing torch passed through the pieces of the sacrificial animals - the LORD was pledging to uphold both sides of the covenant on pain of death (cf. Jer 34:18f).

In its most basic form the covenant is the LORD's wedding vows to His bride:  "I will be your God, you will be my people."  Abraham gets to see the most fundamental truth - the LORD is a Groom who even makes vows on behalf of His bride!   Abraham is not asked to make any vows.  In effect he simply hears the LORD say, "I will be your God and you will be my people."  That's the bottom line - the LORD will take responsibility both for the offer and the receipt of the covenant.

But there will be a genuine human response - the terms of the covenant demand it.

Here under Moses we see the human response fleshed out.  The God of Abraham has redeemed the seed of Abraham and led them to the mountain in cloud and fire.  Here they pledge to take on the role of the human counterpart in the covenant.

"We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey."  (v7)

Will they?

In one sense, No - the blood, the tabernacle, the sacrificial system show how profoundly unable they are to be the LORD's bride.

But then again - that same blood and sacrificial system speaks of One who can deal with their failures and bring them to the feast.

The Seed of Abraham will indeed do everything the LORD has said.  The Son of God will become Seed of Abraham, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those born under law that they might receive the full rights of sons (Gal 3 and 4, esp v4ff).

There will be a genuinely human response to the Father's covenant love.  And in a sense, it begins here at the mountain.  This vow from the Israelites would be taken up by Christ and made good.  He will endure the curses for disobedience, shedding His own blood, and then rise to a vindicated, blessed humanity - the True Israel.

And then - the banquet.

Here we see the pinnacle of God's salvation - table fellowship with the LORD Jesus Himself (cf Ex 33:20; John 1:18):

Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.  (v9-11)

Face to face, friendship and feasting.  The law and the sacrifices (the book and the blood) all lead to the banquet.

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Published on Leave a comment on Exodus 23:10-32 – Jacky Lam

After some very feeble posts by myself (sorry I've had no time recently!), Jacky brings things back to the boil.  This is really great stuff - enjoy!

Read Exodus 23:10-32

The Israelite Calendar

We approach the three significant appointed times of the year according to the Israelite ecclesiastical calender:

(i)  Feast of Unleavened Bread: also known as the ‘Passover‘ (Pesach) in the first month (15th to 21st day), the month Nisan/Abib (v.15); the Paschal Lamb killed on the 14th, and the Paschal feast from 15th to 21st

(ii)  Feast of Harvest: 6th day of Siwan/Sivan, the third month of the ecclesiastical calender (this is also known as Shavuot/the Pentecost/Firstfruits of Wheat Harvest)

(iii)  Feast of Ingathering:  known as Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles (firstfruits of wine and oil) occuring from 15th to 21st of the month Tishri, the seventh ecclesiastical month

These are the three memorable days where all the males appear before God.  Unsurprisingly, these three festivals mark important dates in Scripture: the year opens with the reminder of Jesus’ death on the cross; followed by the Pentecost in the middle of the year, reminding us of the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit given to all men (Acts 2) which also occured on the Shavuot.  This being in the sixth month, on the sixth day, is the mark of man equipped and blessed by the Holy Spirit to spread the gospel, and also to be sanctified (as day six represents that of the creation of man and woman, just as the Spirit is given to all men and women.  For six days shall man labour; and so for six days shall we labour with the Holy Spirit for God’s Holy Work of salvation.  This is closely followed by the seventh month, symbolising a time of reaping of rewards, the firstfruits of wine and oil, and unlike the Feast of Weeks, this is similar to the Passover, a seven-day celebration.

Interestingly, following the Feast of Ingathering there is approximately 5 months before the next Passover… and this contributes to the seasonal cycle of Scripture – through death, comes life, and returns to death again, comes life again.  This is no Buddhist samsaric realm – rather, this is an observation of our life on earth, a shadow of the great event of Christ being thrown into the pit, rising as a new creation and ascending as our present Intercessor before the Heavenly Father.  Just as we are made from dust, we are given the firstfruits of new life by the Spirit; then we return to dust.  But we will rise again, breaking away from all seasons in new creation, and will eternally live in the Feast of Tabernacles where there is eternal wine and oil of gladness, where there is the eternal Tabernacling of the Lamb with us in New Jerusalem.

Perhaps there is something more I’d like to note:  Three times the male appears.  Why?

The first festival relates to CHRIST, in memory of the death of the firstborn.

The second festival relates to the SPIRIT, in memory of the giving of the Spirit to all who stand in the Son.

The third festival… relates to the FATHER – whom we will no longer conceive as invisible, but visible when we are given new bodies:

Job 19:25-27  For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.  (26)  And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God,  (27)  whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!

And thus, the three periods of the year bear witness to the Triunity of the God in becoming, the cyclical nature of His outpouring love for us taking us from Christ, in the Spirit, to the Father from the victorious opening of the year to the even more glorious close of the greater hope in seeing the Father in our new creation bodies, in the new heaven and earth.

Conquest of Canaan in the Name of the Angel

From the great establishment of the yearly reminder of the Triune glory, we move on to vv.20-21 which speak of the divine archangel which Philo considered to be God the Father’s chief messenger, and no doubt, Jesus is the Father’s chief and foremost messenger.  The Angel of the LORD, who has the name of GOD himself, has the power of pardoning one’s transgressions.  The Father tells Moses to relay to the Israelites that this Angel must not be disobeyed (v.22).

Vv.23-24 then relate to the essence of Christian proclamation – v.24: “you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces”.  Indeed, Christ, the Angel, is the one who brings the victory – God the Father is the one who blots them out (v.23), but WE are the ones who invoke the Angel’s Name to destroy the idols according to the victory won by the Redeemer.  Such is the stuff of the Christian faith, when we are brought into the warm embrace of the Triune love!  Glen has written another great post on faith here.

And that fight of faith, by the victory of the cross and by the power of the Spirit (explained by the festivals), shall result in the symbolic treasures of Canaan.  The land will be enlarged, the people will no longer be barren… but v.33 ends on an important caution: “They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”  Yet, the irony is the prophetic nature behind this statement – STRAIGHT after Moses speaks to the Father, Israel is already serving their self-made calf.  Will the Israelites ever inherit such blessings, with their terrible track-record of being dissatisfied with the symbolic quail, manna and living water?  It is so laughable that we, like the Israelites, would however always promise God – “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do” (chapter 24v.3).

Clearly, the answer is found in the victorious Angel.  The answer is found in the annual reminder of the three-fold festivities.  The answer is found in the perfect fulfillment of the law.  What is the meaning of the law?  It is to bear witness to the Christ Who can do these things.  What is the meaning of the law?  It is to bear witness to the Seed, the God-man, who is the Redeemer of the ancient Christians.  What is the meaning of the law?  To display how utterly fallen we are, and our utter incapability of fulfilling it by ourselves, except in the eternal Mediator alone.  Through Him, we will see the Father, and inherit the blessings of New Jerusalem in true Canaan (v.23-32).

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Published on Leave a comment on Exodus 22:1-23:9

Read Exodus 22:1-23:9

Some random thoughts:

Crimes receive their just recompense (Heb 2:2)

Restitution is a wonderful idea - the word is taken from the root of "shalom"!

Restoring shalom is costly

Some crimes are worse than others

This is contra the popular belief that everything's the same in God's eyes.

It's true that no sin is so slight it doesn't demand the blood of God and no sin is so great it's not covered by the blood of God - but within that range there's quite a lot of difference.

There's restitution or there's death.  There's no prison.

Sins are dealt with in community.  If someone's not fit to be dealt with in community they're not fit to live.  There's no limbo state of prison.  (Implications for the 'naughty step' in disciplining children?)

Protection of the weak is woven very deeply into the fabric of Israelite life. Virgins (v16), Aliens (v21, 23:9), Widows (v22), Orphans (v22), the Needy (v25), the Poor (23:6).

This is not sentimental favouritism - 23:3 - justice and mercy are held together.

Love for enemies is actually legislated!  (23:4-5)

This grace is grounded in the very identity of the people - this is not the law of a dominant super-power.  This is the law of a weak, rescued people. (23:9)

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Please do add your own...

Published on Leave a comment on Exodus 20

Read Exodus 20

God's Sent One has brought the people to the mountain to serve the Unseen LORD (Ex 3:12; 19:5-6).  But the people lose their nerve at the trumpet call (19:13, cf 19:19).  They remain distant.  Only Moses goes into the fiery cloud (20:18-22).  But he does so on the people's behalf.

Moses' mediation was a shadow testifying to the future ministry of the Sent One, when He would become the Prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15ff).

On the mountain, Moses will receive words (e.g. Ten Commandments - lit. "Ten Words") and a pattern/copy/construction (i.e. the tabernacle, Ex 25:9,40).

The two should be understood together.  Both are given to Moses as heavenly blueprints for a people-in-waiting.  The Law (which inextricably involves the tabernacle and sacrificial system) lays out a wholistic discipleship programme for the priestly nation.  It shows the world what forward-looking faith in the LORD Jesus looks like. (Deut 4:6ff)

Let's think about the Ten Words.

Verses 1 and 2:

And God spoke all these words:  2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Here we see that God’s commandments flow out of God’s salvation. They do not lead to God’s salvation.  The law is given to a people who have already been made His people by the redemption of the Divine Angel.  The LORD does not say, "If you want to be my people, this is how you should act."  He says, "You are already my people, and here is an authoritative description of what it looks like to be the LORD’s people, waiting for the Messiah in the promised land."

This is a foundational point: the Law is never presented as a way of salvation.  Instead it is a gift to the saved people of the LORD.

Let’s read what these commandments are, from v3:

3 "You shall have no other gods before me (lit. My Presence).

The Ten Commandments are the words of the Unseen LORD (cf Deut 5:26) - the Father.  It's natural therefore that His first command is to have no other gods before His Presence.  It has been the Presence (the LORD Jesus) who has saved the people out of Egypt (Deut 4:37; Jude 5).  So of course the Father's first command is to have no other gods but Jesus.

It's often said, and rightly so, that transgressing the first commandment is the heart of all other transgressions.  This is true - the first and foundational sin is rejecting the Son (John 3:36; 16:9).

Let's keep reading:

4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,  6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Here we see that the law is a reflection of the character of the LORD.

The LORD gives us reasons within Himself for why He gives us the commands He does.  He doesn’t give us arbitrary hoops to jump through to prove we are obedient in some abstract sense.  In giving us the Law, the LORD is expressing His holiness, His righteous character.

If you read through Leviticus you’ll come across scores of commands but nestled in among them is the repeated phrase ‘I am the LORD.’  He tells us ‘I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.’ (Lev 11:44-45). So the Law reflects the LORD’s character.

Let’s read on from v7:

7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.  8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping 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, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.  11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Here we see that the Law witnesses to underlying gospel truth.

Not only are there reasons in the LORD’s character for why the commands are as they are, there are underlying theological and historical gospel truths that are being witnessed to and upheld by the Law.

Let’s read on from verse 12 (the fifth commandment):

12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

Here we see, the Law is expressly given in the context of the promised land.

As you read Exodus and Leviticus and especially Deuteronomy you cannot escape the truth given again and again that the Law is to be carried out in the land.  Deuteronomy – an extended teaching of the law by Moses – uses the word ‘land’ over 200 times.

So, just as verse 2 gave us a specific audience for the Law – the Israelites – so v12 (and countless verses like it) give us a specific place for the Law – the promised land.

We haven't got time here to talk about how the shadow of these mountain-top words/tabernacle are filled out in the incarnate work of Christ.  Obviously Paul is able to apply the fifth commandment to the Ephesians (6:2-3).  But he does so in the same sense as calling the Corinthians to 'keep the feast' (1 Cor 5:8), or as Hebrews tells us to go to the altar (Heb 13:10).

Taking these five bolded points together, we get a picture of Law that looks something like this:

The Law is given to a people who are already saved by the LORD Jesus and brought to the Father to hear words that are an expression of His character and Gospel.  Supremely they are a call for the saved people of God to put His Son first in all things.

Let’s read the last five commandments from v13:

13 "You shall not murder.  14 "You shall not commit adultery.  15 "You shall not steal.  16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.  17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

Let's ask a basic hermeneutical question here - one for all the linguists out there: In what mood are the commandments given here?

It’s not imperative.  There is an imperative mood in Hebrew.  The Father could have said ‘You must not murder.’  But instead He says ‘You will not murder.’

Of course that carries with it a powerful imperative force doesn’t it?  If the LORD God says you will not do something, then by golly you’d better not do it.  But it carries with it other nuances as well.  Can we not see in these words aspects of promise?  ‘You won’t murder, you won’t commit adultery, you won’t steal?’

Imagine the phrase ‘There will be peace in this house.’  Now that phrase can mean different things in different contexts.  If a mother says this to two rowdy boys it is most definitely a command isn’t it?  ‘There will be peace in this house.’  But if a prince says it to his kingdom, it’s a promise isn’t it: ‘There will be peace in this house.’  And what about if there was a person whose name was Peace, who embodied Peace itself – what would those words mean then: ‘There will be Peace in this house’?  I think there are shades of all those meanings when we look at the Law

So the Law carries not only a sense of command but also of promise.

The Law not only commands the Israelites, it also points beyond itself to a Kingdom and to a King where perfect righteousness exists.  Christ is the LORD whose character soaks through every jot and tittle of the law.  So when He is born of a woman, born under Law, He summarizes the Law as ‘Love God and love neighbour’.  As He does so, He's not just summarizing the Law, He is summarizing Himself.  He is the One who supremely loves God with all His heart, soul, mind and strength.  And He is the One who supremely loves His neighbour as Himself.

This is so vital: Christ is the Answer to the commanding Father.  Not me. Certainly not in the first instance anyway.

So when I look at the Law I don’t see an arbitrary list of commands to simply cut and paste from Sinai into my life.  Instead I see the most rich and complex gospel presentation.  Here are mountain-top words and structures given as shadows to Moses for the Israelites and filled full in the LORD Jesus (Matt 5:17).

As I read this description of righteousness I'm forced to say: ‘That Law does not describe me.  Not even my best efforts bring me close to being the Person described in that Law.  But, I know a Person who it does describe.  It describes the LORD Jesus.'

I acknowledge that the Law is good.  But I am not.  I do not and cannot answer the Father's words here with faith, worship and obedience.  But I know a Man who does.

When we're in Him by faith, He puts His law in us by the Spirit and it bubbles out for all the nations to see.

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Published on Leave a comment on Exodus 20:2 – Dev Menon

Dev's glorious blog is here. His last Exodus offering was here.

Exodus 20:2  "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

The land of Egypt, the iron furnace, is well-known as a picture of the slavery to sin and the dominion by the wicked snake-prince of this world. Under the illusion of creating a glorious empire, the people are subject to a harsh reality of brutality and despair.

Yet the reason the people of God are in the land of Egypt does not seem to be the same as the one they end up being sent to Babylon. In the latter scenario, it is very clear that the people have been willfully engaging in rebellious behaviour against the Living God, participating in every possible sinful activity - until sin reached its full potential - and the consequence of that gestation was exile - being cast away from the presence of God (represented by His dwelling in the holy temple).

However, no such obvious rebellion has occurred for the people to end up in Egypt. Why are they there - what did they do to deserve such harsh treatment for this prolonged period of time? We know that slavery in the spiritual sense is indeed because of sin, and Satan then is given full authority over those that would allow his whispers to enter into their hearts.

The reason for Israel being in Egypt seems to be one of famine.

Genesis 41:57   Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.

Indeed a global famine, such that all the earth comes under the dominion of that old Pharaoh. But perhaps the famine was instituted by God so that the whole world would come under the reign of Joseph, God's Elected Prince.

Now if we then back-track to the reason Joseph is in Egypt, it is because of the murderous intentions of his brothers -

Genesis 37:20-21   Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams."

Thus there is one sin that has indeed in some sense caused their 'exile' from Canaan to Egypt - and it is the murder of God's Elected Prince.

John 3:18   Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

The sin of Adam is the same sin of all of us, the sin that we will all be judged for on that day - and it is the rejection, or the murder of the Christ.

Genesis 50:20   As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

The rebellion of a few against the Messiah was commuted to all, so that all may have life an provision in Him, the new prince of the world.

Now as our champion who we once crucified, He holds it not against us and declares:

Genesis 50:21   So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones." Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Isaiah 55:1-3   "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.  Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

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Published on Leave a comment on Exodus 19

Read Exodus 19

"Watch out for the LORD on the mountain!" said the LORD on the mountain. "When the LORD comes to this mountain," continued the LORD on the mountain, "you won't even be able to touch the mountain."  (v10ff)

Of course these kinds of statements would be absurd if we assumed a uni-personal God in the OT.  But they make perfect sense when we take seriously our theme verse from Exodus 3:12.  It is the Divine Angel - the great I AM - who brings His people to the mountain to meet with God (Ex 3:12).  The LORD Jesus saves a people to serve the Father.

Verses4-5:  He has now brought them on eagles wings (cf Deut 32:11; 2 Sam 1:23; Ps 103:5; Is 40:31) as His treasured possession (Deut 7:6; 14:2; 26:18; Ps 135:4; Mal 3:17).  Their election is for the sake of the world.  They are the treasure in the field (cf Matt 13:44).  The whole field is purchased by the LORD that He might set His special affection on the treasure.  But that special-ness is a priestly special-ness.  The world is purchased for the treasure and the treasure exists for the world.

The whole earth is the LORD's and Israel is His priest to the nations.  The whole purpose for their existence is to bring the nations to God and God to the nations.

In the rest of chapter 19 we get a little picture of priestliness.

The whole nation is commanded to go up the mountain in v13.  Yet when the trumpet blasts and then gets louder and louder (v19), the Israelites remain at the foot of the mountain.  It seems to me that what the LORD (Jesus) says about the LORD (the Father) in v21 is a response to their reticence:

The LORD said to him, "Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the LORD and many of them perish. 22 Even the priests, who approach the LORD, must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them."

They were too scared to come up and then the LORD confirms their decision (that's how it seems to me).  And so the nation remains at the foot of the mountain.  The priests come a certain way up.  And (v24) Moses and Aaron (and later Joshua) can come all the way up.  Here is a kind of tabernacle division before the tabernacle.

The nations are right outside the camp.  The Israelites can come a certain distance.  The priests can come up further (with consecration).  But the High Priest / Head / Joshua(Jesus) will go into the heart of the firey/cloudy Presence on behalf of the people.

From now on this kind of priestly access to God will be enshrined in the tabernacle and Levitical laws.  This is what priesthood looks like.  One body acting on behalf of the greater mass. And one man in particular summing up that priestly body.

In Deuteronomy 18 we see what the Israelites were to learn about this:

15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, "Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire any more, or we will die." 17 The LORD said to me: "What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.

The Mediating LORD who brought them to the mountain would one day be the Priestly LORD-Man.  No more divisions within Israel between the Son, the High Priests, the priests and the people.  He will be the people, the priest, the high priest, Moses, the temple, the sacrifice all rolled up in one!  And we still remain the treasured priestly people (1 Peter 2:4-6).  We have been brought all the way up the mountain by our ascended Priest.  And now we exist as the priestly nation bringing the world to the unseen LORD through the Saving God-Man.

Sorry this was late.  And rushed...

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Published on Leave a comment on Exodus 18 – Dave Bish

The bluefish himself - the blogger who needs no introduction!  I so appreciate Dave's heart for Christ-centred, grace-filled biblical theology.  Here is a brilliant example of it...

Read Exodus 18

Exodus 18 is a wonderful passage in this "greatest prophecy of the cross" (Blackham). So unspeakably wonderful that most seem to skip over it,, straight to the fireworks and commandments of Sinai. Spurgeon passed it by and seemingly so have many others.

Here for a moment the action stops and its time for some administration.

YOU NEED TO HEAR OF JESUS 18v1-12

V1. Jethro. Midianite. An Abrahamite, not not an inheritor, an outsider with some Christian connections.  V1. There has been a global event. Do you fight like Amalek? Melt like Canaan? Or come and find out how this small ethnic group overthrew a superpower? V2-6. He comes with GERSHOM and ELIEZER. Their names prophesy the story of God's salvation.  V7. Met with a friendly welcome. Like Jesus' welcome, and so too his disciples love one another - the anti-narcissm that Jesus makes possible.

But Jethro hasn’t just come for conversation, he wants to find out what’s the LORD is doing, and Moses is the man to tell him. V8. Moses tells all that the LORD had done - how the LORD had delivered them. It’s Theology! It’s talk about God and what he has done. It’s good to talk Theology. Christians are a people who love to talk about Jesus who is God. Moses loves to speak of Jesus’ rescue of his people. Notice what Jethro didn’t hear. It wasn’t a message about Jethro’s needs or Jethro’s sins. Moses told what the LORD had done.

Adam Crozier was Chief Exec of the Football Association.: “What was interesting when I arrived was how little time people spent talking about football.” As for Moses, Jesus should be our subject. For Moses it must be like telling the story of Wilberforce ending the slave trade, but on a greater scale, with greater significance. Deliverance of Israel from Egypt is only a picture, painted on the canvas of international politics of a greater deliverance… God the Father sent his Son into the world to set us free from our slavery to sin, in the process displaying his love and his justice to his creation. This is what He has done. How should we respond to such news?

V9, V10, Jethro REJOICES for all the good that the LORD had done, and blessed the LORD. God’s people are a singing people, and Jethro joins the choir, pointing away from himself to the LORD. V11. Jethro says: Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods…A true Christian confession, turning from idols at Narcissus' pool to the LORD.

V7-12. BURNT OFFERING IN THE TENT. 1st picture – the story Moses has told a Passover Lamb and passing through the Sea of Reeds. 2nd picture - The burnt offering. Hardly normal life for us!?

The next book of the Bible, Leviticus, explains it.. A burnt offering isn't part of the normal pattern of our lives, but we can consider and understand it. This comes with much help from Andrew Bonar's Geneva Commentary on Leviticus:

1. Male animal without blemish - We’re all stained by the rebellion of our first parents, Adam & Eve, and by our own rebellion against God. All humanity is marred and corrupted – not necessarily as bad as we might be, but marred in every part, opposed + unwilling to turn back to God. An unblemished sacrifice dies in the place of the guilty.

2. Before the LORD - Sacrifice given to God, because God has a problem. His anger must be turned asider, or we perish.

3. Leans on it - Jethro identifies himself with this substitute – it represents him. Neil Armstrong represented us all as he took a giant leap for mankind 40 years ago - "we went to the moon". Jethro leans on “It will be accepted in my place”. But can the blood of an animal take away sin?

4. It is killed - The life is laid down, helpless. Death is horrible, it is the curse of sin - "you will surely die". The LORD leans on the animal to bring death. Everyone will see the warm crimson blood, its life taken away.

5. Blood is spread - Bonar: “the life being taken away the sinners naked soul is exhibited.” – This is what the offerer deserves.

6. Cut up and burned up - God’s favour creates, his wrath de-creates – and the animal is taken apart. This is appropriate. We try to justify and play down our sin, but God sees it for what it is and rightly responds. His enemies deserve destruction. The consuming fire of his holiness consumes the offering

7. A pleasing aroma – We find here the meaning of the cross of Jesus. The Father sends the Son, in a plan formulated in the heart of God before creation to satisfy wrath and secure his favour. He looks on at the completed event and takes delight in it.

We do not offer a burnt offering because Jesus has already offered himself as the perfect sacrifice, once for all time for us, guaranteeing the abundant unwavering favour of God forever!

So anyway, Jethro hears about Jesus, responds with joy and becomes a friend of God. Good story, but not the end of the story.  This Gentile has a contribution to make to the people of God.  This will set the stage for the giving of the law and the viewing of the Tabernacle.

WE NEED LOOK LIKE JESUS 18v13-27

God sent 60 people to Egypt. He brings out over 2 million out. Massive increase! Problem, one man can’t lead 2 million on his own… The early church had the same challenge as they grew rapidly from 120 people to 10,000. The principles they use seem to derive from what we find here as do those in the letters to Timothy & Titus about leaders. Useful for us!

Moses brings God’s saving word to the people in every matter, like Jesus representing them before God. Jethro states the obvious (v18): you’ll burn out soon. You can’t do it alone - it can't orbit round one person, no personality cult, no burn out. Think of the body working together.

We’re made like the Triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our God is not just one person, but One God in Three Persons, The Triune God, The Trinity. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit don’t vote on what do to, they do the Father’s will, and he enacts his will by his Word, Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit. There are roles and order. Those who know Jesus are to look like him together.

Jethro tells Moses to find, v21, TRUSTWORTHY men to be made, v25, HEADS over people. Two words capture the gist of what is said here.

Why Trustworthy Heads? These are men like Christ to whom the Father gave all authority, knowing that he would be the Trustworthy Head of the church.

  • The Father knows his Son will not usurp him, he is trustworthy. Those entrusted with service in the church don’t use it overthrow others. And those who show themselves trustworthy, before being given a role, find that trustworthiness recognised.
  • The Father entrusts his Son with the church – he doesn’t abuse her, he cherishes and nourishes her.  Trust is given not to be abused but exercised.

God’s plan doesn’t just rescue people alone, he creates a people – the church. A family on mission like God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – the ultimate missionary family. The family on earth lives an orderly life, just as our God is orderly, whether in the church, in the home, in the workplace. A people who look like their God.

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Published on 7 Comments on Exodus 17

Read Exodus 17

The Angel of the LORD is in the midst of His saving work as promised in 3:12.  He has brought His people out of slavery, and now He is bringing them to the mountain to worship God.  In the meantime He leads them "by stages" (17:1, ESV) through a desert wasteland where all they have to sustain them is the Angel Himself.  He - the LORD Jesus - is the Rock who accompanies them and provides them with both their natural and spiritual sustenance (1 Cor 10:3-4,9).   The Israelites are being taught a lesson summed up well in the experience of one African Bishop:

"I never knew Jesus was all I needed until Jesus was all I had."

That's the lesson for the Israelites in the desert.  There is no natural sustenance for the people of God as they wait their mountain-top experience.  All they have is Jesus.  But they are being taught time and again - all they need is Jesus.  (For more on this theme see The Church in the Wilderness.)

In chapter 16 we saw grace for the grumbling.  The people complain at their spiritual leaders (16:2) and wish themselves back in slavery.  This is bad enough but Christ reveals that this is really grumbling against Himself (16:8) (pause for thought when you're next tempted to roast your Christian leaders!).  Their sin is much worse than they imagine - but His grace is much greater too.  He would feed this mutinous rabble with the food of angels.  And on Calvary He would reveal the full depths of this grace - He would be torn apart as Bread for the world to feed wicked and desperate grumblers like us.

Chapter 17 shows this cycle of grace for the grumbling repeated.

The people "quarrel" with Moses (v2) - but it's clearly a test of the LORD (cf Ps 95:8-9).  We know what should happen to those who quarrel:

1 Samuel 2:10 Those who quarrel with the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to His King and exalt the horn of His Anointed.

Christ, who does not quarrel (Matt 12:19), will be the anointed Judge of all those who quarrel.

So when the LORD commands Moses to take up the staff from which the plagues of Egypt have flowed (v5), we know what should happen next.  He should strike down those horrible ingrates in judgement as a little sign of what the true Anointed King would do.

Except that's not how it works out.  Instead the LORD Jesus stands on a Rock in front of all the elders.  Remember that "The Rock" is a favourite name for Him (e.g. Gen 49:24; Deut 32:4ff).  So He’s associating Himself very strongly with this physical rock.  And then He says to Moses, Don’t strike them, strike the rock.

Water comes out and their thirst is slaked.  It’s incredible grace towards the grumbling.  Not simply are they spared, they are positively blessed in response to such wicked quarrelling!  And wonderfully, Numbers 20:13 describes this event as one in which the LORD "showed Himself holy."  The holiness of the LORD is not simply that which zaps sinners, but it shines forth when the Rock is struck and the grumblers are graced.

Centuries later, the One who stood on that rock - the Spiritual Rock who accompanied the people - came to a quarrelsome, grumbling, evil rabble.  But again, it was not the rabble that was struck.  He was struck by the rod of divine judgement and the life-giving waters of the Spirit flowed.  That same grace is extended to we grumblers today.  Our thirst is slaked because when our Rock was struck, Living Waters flowed from within Him (John 7:38; 19:34).

From v8, the Israelites learn that their LORD doesn't only provide our necessities - He fights our battles.  We read of the attack of the Amalekites and we are introduced to Joshua for the first time.  His name simply is Jesus.  Here is the one who would bring them into the promised rest.  Moses can only bring the people so far - the one called Jesus must bring them home.  And here this young man will overcome the enemy while Moses holds his hands out on the mountaintop.

So the LORD provides food and drink and guidance and victory for a people who doubt and question and quarrel with Him at every turn.  They groan when oppressed and then grumble when freed.  They will be brought kicking and screaming to the promised rest only by the steadfast love and kindness of the LORD.  They can count on no-one and nothing else for their identity, security, strength and salvation.  The LORD alone is their banner (v15).

A sermon on Exodus 16-17 (audio of second half)

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Published on Leave a comment on Exodus 15:22-16:36 – Tim Vasby-Burnie

Tim Vasby-Burnie is a great friend and gospel servant - ministering here and blogging here.

Read Exodus 15:22-16:36

Israel has just passed through the waters and been made a new creation (15:16 “the people you created”). Like Adam and Eve, food will now be the occasion of their testing. Like Adam and Eve, they will fail. This first-born son is not the true Son who will come and successfully pass all tests.

Where sin abounds, grace super-abounds and this is shown to be true again and again. Without water, Israel faces death but the third day brings a resurrection experience. When they find water, it is bitter. But instead of trusting the LORD who rescued them from a bitter life (Exodus 1:14) their unbelief manifests itself as grumbling. Grumbling seems to be a sin that particularly angers Christ.

Moses takes Israel's complaint to the LORD and is shown “the tree”. The tree turns bitterness into sweetness.

Verse 26 is yet another verse showing two persons called the LORD.  The Healer LORD calls Israel to obey the voice of the LORD their God.  If they do not obey they are as bad as the Egyptians and therefore subject to the plagues of judgment. Yet the LORD wants to heal his people. Remember this is written before Sinai, before the LORD gives his commands and decrees. So how can Israel pay attention and keep them? In the same way that Abraham did: by faith. Genesis 26:5 shows that Abraham, the man of faith, was counted to be a Law-keeper, despite living before the Law.

Leaving Marah Israel travels to Elim. Moses does not explicitly explain the significance of the twelve springs and seventy palm trees, for that he expects us to read our Bibles. Israel is being reminded of her calling to be a blessing to the nations: the 12 tribes of Israel are to bring life to the '70' nations that make up the world (cf. Genesis 10).

Moving into the Desert of Sin we see Israel's sin, and God's grace, made even more apparent. Despite the miracle at Marah the Israelites grumble as soon as the food supply starts getting low. How often we also grumble that the LORD isn't providing as we think he should, forgetting his sustaining of our life so far, and most of all his provision of his Son. Israel's grumbling, however, seems particularly wicked and will be recalled frequently throughout the Scriptures. The Israelites are rejecting their salvation and their LORD (Psalm 78:22). “If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt.” The slavery is forgotten; their corrupted mind falsely-remembers a glorious time of sitting around eating pots of meat. In contrast, Paul will constantly remind Christians of the true horror of our state before we were saved (e.g. Ephesians).

Israel grumbles against Moses and Aaron, but this chapter stresses repeatedly (read vv.6-12) that their grumbling is against the LORD Christ. Moreover, it is the LORD (not Moses and Aaron) who will provide a solution. In providing food, the LORD is testing Israel, to see whether they will trust his word (v.4). Every morning the food of angels (Psalm 78:24-25) lay scattered over the ground; the double provision on the sixth day (to give them enough food for the Sabbath) meant that the people could not start thinking this was some sort of 'natural' phenomenon. No: six days a week, as the Israelites woke up and walked out of their tent to collect manna, they were being tested: would they depend on God's Word? Would they trust him?

As the Church travelled from Exodus / Creation / Redemption, towards Canaan / Rest / Glory, they were sustained by the bread from heaven, given by the Bread who would one day come from heaven to sustain us by his own body.

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Published on Leave a comment on Exodus 15:1-21 – Rich Owen

Rich continues from yesterday's post.

Read Exodus 15:1-21

We now find ourselves encamped on the Eastern shore of the Red Sea looking back on the great salvation worked by the Father’s Saving Angel.  His glories shining as brightly here as they would by the waters of Galilee.

Moses has just seen the two biggest, most dramatic and loudest multi-media presentations of the gospel the Hebrews would ever see.  He saw them.  More, he even experienced the Lord’s salvation.  His clothes still smell of roasted lamb, his hair and beard have the salt spray of the Red Sea matting it together.  The cloud of smoke which concealed the Angel of the Lord is billowing just a few metres away.

No wonder he broke out singing the first ever Christian hymn recorded!

Before we delve into the joy of this hymn, we need to consider the terror of it.  This is the reality of the gospel.  There is no salvation without judgement.  Hell will be suffered.  Either by Christ or by you.  For those who reject the Lord’s salvation, like the Egyptians, there is death but for all those who are in Christ Jesus, those who shelter under the blood of the lamb, those who pass through the cloud and the water there is life.

Considering the many warnings Pharaoh had, the mistreatment of the Hebrews and contempt towards the Word of Yahweh, we can (I think) feel that this is just. The Egyptians had ample opportunity to join Israel (as some of them did – Ex 12:38) but they hardened their hearts to the clear gospel presentations they received and so the inevitable consequence for them is to be thrown into the chaos and darkness of the deep.

I am not going to pretend that I find rejoicing in this aspect of our gospel particularly easy – I have to look again at what The Lord Christ has achieved for me for that joy to overwhelm my sadness at the hard hearted rejection of the free gift of salvation.

Moses’ hymn reflects on the events of that night in explicitly salvific language. Moses knew his salvation yes in terms of the great events which he lists and amplifies in verse, but also in terms of his relationship to his Saving Lord. He doesn’t just focus on the events and signs and forget who did them and how real he is – there is no depersonalised view of God here.

Verse 2 – he is my strength and my song and my salvation.  He is my God.  He knows his name verse 3.  Salvation from verse 12 is described in terms of a loving relationship.  Love which leads, which guides and keeps with God’s own strength.  It is pastoral language.

Just think about what this “unfailing love” meant to Moses, in his experience.  In the face of such a strong captivity, such an awful cost to salvation, such a dangerously narrow path. It is so rich a term!  He hadn’t forgotten his people.

Now think what it meant to Moses that God’s people are lead, what Moses knows and saw about His strength and His guidance and leading of His people.  It certainly wasn’t a case of throwing them a map and legging it!  It wasn’t even that he pulled some strings from on high to work salvation from a distance.  He was there.  He was with them.  He stoops down to save.  By his own Right Hand the Father works salvation for them.

This gives him great confidence going forward too.  If His great and unfailing love has moved Him to come in person and lead us thus far, then He will surely bring me my inheritance.  Moses looks beyond the Red Sea to his future hope.  Verse 17 – he is looking forward to being grafted into Zion – not just a bit of land in the Middle East, but the Lord’s actual sanctuary – the one He built and verse 18 his eternal reign.

His rejoicing is relationally focused and that relationship has this eschatological edge to it. He knows the Lord and he wants to know Him eternally. He depends on his guidance, strength and leading to establish him in his future kingdom for all eternity.

Such trust and dependence is built on the affirmation “be still and see the salvation of the Lord, see him fighting for you”.

If you are in Christ today, the Lord is with you – to guide, to provide, to lead you. His Spirit’s great work and goal is to bring you to the Father’s rest, to keep you in his fold, to keep your eyes focused on the gospel of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone.

Rest in Christ, be still. Enjoy the fellowship of the Spirit as He works to bring you home.

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