Moses On The Mountain With The Lord - Part 1 Series

Moses on the Mountain with the Lord - Part 1

Exodus 19:1-7

Sermon by Rick Crandall

McClendon Baptist Church - June 2, 2010

BACKGROUND &INTRODUCTION:

*The Lord is with us here tonight. God’s Word makes that clear. And it is a wonderful truth of the Christian life. But one day, Christians, we will see Jesus face to face. It will be amazing, an indescribable blessing! Think about the wonder of seeing Jesus, as we continue to study the Old Testament appearances of Christ.

*In Exodus 3&4, the Lord appeared to Moses in a burning bush. There God called Moses to lead His people out of slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land.

*Then in Exodus 4, Moses began to carry out the Lord’s mission. But the Lord met Moses in the way, and almost killed him, because Moses had not circumcised his younger son. Moses’ wife Zipporah stood in the gap for her husband and performed the covenant ritual. -- Then Moses began to carry out his mission.

*When the Lord first called Moses, He foretold that Pharaoh would resist letting the people go. So God promised to send terrible judgments on Egypt. In Exodus 3:18-20, the Lord said to Moses:

18. . . . “You shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, `The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.'

19. I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.

20. So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.

*Those wonders came in the form of 10 terrible plagues that God sent on Egypt. Water turned to blood. Then God sent plagues of frogs, lice, flies, severe pestilence on their animals, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and finally the death of the firstborn of all men and beasts, except those protected by the blood of the Passover.

*Pharaoh then let God’s people go, but quickly changed his mind, and planned to crush them when they were trapped against the Red Sea. But God miraculously parted the sea so that His people could safely cross over. Pharaoh’s army was then crushed by the collapsing wall of water that had been held back by the Lord. Now 3 months have gone by, and just as He promised in Exodus 3, the Lord has led His people back to the mountain where He first appeared to Moses.

*With this background in mind, let’s read Exodus 19:1-7.

1. In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.

2. For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain.

3. And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:

4. 'You 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, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; 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 which you shall speak to the children of Israel."

7. So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him.

*Over the course of the summer, we will see that Moses went up the mountain seven times to meet with the Lord. Each of these meetings has a message for you and me. And in this first meeting, the Lord has four things to say to us.

1. First: God confirms His salvation.

*God confirmed His salvation to the Children of Israel. And the Lord wants to confirm His salvation to us. This is the message of vs. 3-4:

3. And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:

4. `You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself.

*There was absolutely nothing the Children of Israel could ever do to escape the cruelty of slavery in Egypt. But their deliverance was never in doubt, because God is in control. Nothing could have kept those people in bondage: Not Pharaoh, not the strongest army in the world, not the depths of the Red Sea.