We opened with the congregation singing the first verse of “My Country Tis of Thee”
What is this weekend?
It’s Memorial Day Weekend.
It’s a time that we’ve set aside to honor those who have given their lives in service of this country to protect us and secure our freedoms.
Memorial Day has been celebrated for over 100 years
Does anybody know what war instigated the holiday we call “Memorial Day” (The Civil War)
It was originally called “Decoration Day” because people decorated the graves of Union soldiers who’d died in battle. Gradually that came to include fallen troops of the Confederate Army, and eventually soldiers of our country who had given their lives in any armed struggle.
But the Civil War was the conflict that originated our Memorial Day remembrance.
One interesting story of the Civil War had to do with a small unimportant battle almost lost in history. Apparently 1000 Union soldiers received orders to pack light and march to another camp. By coincidence, a 1000 Confederates received similar orders that day.
The two units met at a place between the camps. There was no important town or bridge to capture or defend, but a bitter struggle followed.
Since the men were traveling light, they were soon out of ammunition and began to fight hand to hand. It was a hot summer afternoon. After 3 hours of fierce fighting, men were dropping from exhaustion.
Suddenly, fifty fresh Union soldiers arrived on the scene. Though none of these men actually engaged in the conflict, their presence encouraged their comrades and renewed their strength. The battle was won in minutes.
APPLY: That battle was won because a group of 50 men arrived and supported their side. This company of soldiers arrived in the “nick of time” and turned the course of fight. And yet… they never actually took part in the fight itself.
Our story today from Exodus tells of a conflict between the people of Israel and the people of Amalek. Israel was on their way out of the land of the Amalekites when they were attacked from behind by these people. The attack seems to be unncessary and unprovoked and, because of that, God is sufficiently angry to promise that one day the Amalekites would cease to exist.
Of course the Israelites won that fight.
But it’s HOW they won the fight that’s interesting.
They won it because of the support of those who were not actually in the battle itself
Exodus 17:10-11 tells us
“… Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.”
As long as Moses held his arms in the air the Israelites won, but when he lowered them – Israel lost. The longer the battle ran, the tired-er Moses got. And the more tired he became, the harder it was to hold his arms in the air.
Seeing this the two men who are there with Moses sit him down on a rock and each hold one of his arms in the air till the battle was won.
(pause…)
Now, one of those two men - was Aaron, Moses’ older brother.
And Aaron was doing on that hill what he actually did MOST of his life.
He supported his brother…
He held him up and ministered to his needs
In fact, I suspect that was just Aaron’s nature.
If you had a need, Aaron would have tried to help you in any way he could.
We’re first introduced to Aaron shortly after God speaks to Moses at the burning bush.
God asked Moses to go down to Egypt and lead His people out of slavery but Moses doesn’t want to do go. He argues with God and makes all kinds of excuses as to why he shouldn’t be chosen.
One of his arguments is that he can’t speak plainly anymore (some believe he might have developed a stutter)
In Exodus 4:14-15 we’re told that “…the LORD’s anger burned against Moses and he said, ‘What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.’”
From that day until they reached Mt. Sinai where Moses’ received the 10 commandments:
Aaron was the voice of Moses
Aaron stood beside his brother and assisted him in his ministry
Aaron held his brother up and made him strong.
And that’s exactly what he’s doing here at the battle of Rephidim.
Up until the Israelites arrived at Mt. Sinai that’s was Aaron’s job.
But once they’d come to the Mountain, received the Law and constructed the Tabernacle… Aaron’s role shifted dramatically.
For, once the Tabernacle was built, there became a need for priests. And God intended that these priests be led by one High Priest.
A High Priest named Aaron.
Before that time Aaron was responsible for lifting up only his brother. But once he became High Priest he became responsible for “lifting up” the people and their sacrifices before God.
And the most important sacrifice God required was the one offered on the day of Atonement. This sacrifice took place once each year, and on that day Aaron sacrificed a bull on behalf of the sins of himself and his family. Then he sacrificed a goat for the sins of the people.
He then took the blood of the bull and the goat inside the Holy of holies and he sprinkled that blood on and in front of the Ark. When God saw the blood covering the “Mercy Seat” of the Ark, He regarded the sins of the people to be “covered” for that year.
Then Aaron came back outside the Tabernacle and placed his hands on a 2nd goat - confessing the sins of the people before God - and this 2nd goat was taken outside the camp to wander in the wilderness.. thus carry away their sins for that year.
In his role of High Priest, Aaron literally stood before the people and lifted their sins from their lives.
When he began his ministry, God commanded that he and his sons go thru a ceremony. In that ceremony:
* A sacrifice was made for their sins
* They were washed with water
* They were anointed with oil
* And they were given the new garments of their priesthood.
(At this point we showed a picture of the High Priest in his garments)
Aaron’s garments were especially distinctive.
Take a look at this picture.
On the front of Aaron’s garment was a breastplate.
And on that breastplate were twelve stones with the names of each tribe inscribed
(here we showed a close-up of the breastplate).
This breastplate was hung on the shoulder pieces of Aaron’s ephod/apron (Exodus 28:12)
The 12 stones on that breastplate were a constant reminder of the fact that the fate of Israel hung on his shoulders.
If Aaron didn’t offer sacrifices for their sins… the nation would perish.
He stood between the people and a certain punishment for their iniquities.
He was the central figure of their worship and the focus of God’s forgiveness of sin
Now, underneath Aaron’s breastplate there was pouch that held the Urim and the Thummim.
We don’t know much about what these stones looked like, nor how they were used, but we do know that the High Priest would use them to determine the will of God for His people.
Exodus 28:30 says they “put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the LORD. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the LORD.”
Thus – the fate of the people of Israel was placed on Aaron’s shoulders.
And the will of God was placed over his heart
And, as High Priest, Aaron carried them both for God.
Aaron’s was a very critical job
His was an almost scary responsibility.
With that image in our minds one might think Aaron was some kind of superman.
You’d think that anyone entrusted with that kind of responsibility would never stumble or fail or falter.
But he did
Aaron did stumble, he did fail, he did falter.
And when he did… the people of Israel suffered terribly
Scene: The Israelites had JUST come out of Egypt and they were encamped around Mt. Sinai.
God commanded the people to gather at the base of the Mountain, and as they stood there, He thundered down the 10 Commandments, clearly making His will known to the nation of Israel. Then God summoned Moses to peak to receive the tablets of stone which would hold the written record of His Law.
For 40 days, Moses was on that mountain, talking with God and receiving the Law.
But down at the base of Sinai the people began to get restless.
Forty days is a long time. More than a month.
Moses isn’t there for them, and they’re not sure he’s coming back.
On top of that, God hasn’t said anything to them for all that time.
They’re getting nervous.
They want a god to protect them – a god they can see.
And so they go to Aaron and plead with him to make a golden calf.
They knew it was wrong.
Aaron knew it was wrong.
And yet he did it!!! He made them a golden calf to worship.
Why would he do that?
Less than 40 days earlier they’d heard God explicitly command NOT to make idols like this - but here is Aaron doing exactly what God had told them not to. Why would he do that?
My suspicion is that the people were so sure Moses was dead and gone that they were talking about going back to Egypt. (they did that a lot while in the wilderness).
Aaron is now faced with a crisis.
He used to be able to rely on Moses to make the decisions, but Moses isn’t there.
Aaron’s all by himself and he doesn’t know what to do.
All he knows is that if the Israelites bolt and return to Egypt before Moses comes back, he’ll be to blame. So he does the only thing he can think to do. He appeases the desires of the people. He gives them their golden calf… and he names it Jehovah – just to cover all his bets.
No sooner does the calf become fashioned and the people begin to worship it then Moses comes down the mountain… and sees the people running wild.
God is angry
Moses is angry
The calf is ground to powder and put in the water supply and Moses commands the people to drink. But there are some people who refuse to repent of their sins.
And they’re put to death
3000 people die that day.
(pause) and they died because Aaron forgot how critical his role was as a spokesman for God.
I meet with several preachers and we work on the same sermons together.
When we studied this text, we all puzzled about the fact that Aaron – this man who had made the golden calf and caused such destruction for the nation – that he would be chosen for such a sacred position as High Priest not more than a few weeks after this incident.
Why would God do that?
I don’t know, the Bible doesn’t say.
But I do know that when Aaron was installed as High Priest, God made sure he never forgot again. God placed on Aaron’s shoulders a constant reminder of the people of Israel.
The 12 stones on that breastplate weren’t there for decoration.
They were there to remind Aaron that the fate of the people lay in his hands.
They were there to remind him that if he failed… the people would suffer.
And over his heart was a reminder that he had to be always guided by God’s will.
As long as he remembered that, the people were safe.
Now, how does all this apply to us?
Well, first – the priesthood of the Old Testament serves as a model for us.
In the Old Testament the nation had it’s High Priest.
In the New Testament, we also have a High Priest.
Does anybody know who our High Priest is? (Jesus)
Jesus is our High Priest.
Hebrews 9:11-12 says “When Christ came as high priest… He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.”
He is our High Priest now.
He has made the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.
He has taken His blood into the heavenly Holy of Holies and place His blood on the true Ark that is in Heaven – covering the sins of all who would belong to Him.
Jesus made that sacrifice on Mount Calvary when He REMEMBERED us.
And as our High Priest, He still REMEMBERS us.
And we are constantly on Him mind.
Hebrews 7:25 says “…he always lives to intercede for (those He has saved).”
So Jesus is our High Priest… and WE serve under Him as His priests:
1 Peter 2:5&9 says “you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy PRIESTHOOD, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ… you are a chosen people, a royal PRIESTHOOD, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
One of the most important roles a priest had in the Old Testament was to REMEMBER
He was to lift up the people of God
He was to remember them because he served them for God
If you are a Christian - you are a priest of the most-high God.
And as a priest, you have a vital role in His kingdom.
God has called you to remember his people.
He has called you to lift them up and give them strength
In fact, that’s one of the reasons the church exists.
As Hebrews 10:24-25 says: “… let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another— and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Some people think the reason for going to church is to sit in a pew and listen to the preacher.
Now, I’m glad you do stay to hear me talk.
I work all week on these sermons, and it’s nice to have somebody around to listen to them, but that’s not the major focus of why we gather as a church.
You are here as priests/servants of God to be servants of each other.
- to lift each other up in prayer
- to encourage each other
- to minister to each other’s needs
If we were to fail to do that, the entire church would suffer terribly.
But most of you understand the importance of your priesthood.
You take your role in ministering to each other very seriously.
And I’m so proud of you for that, and I’m grateful God has allowed me to serve with you.
ILLUS: When I work on a sermon like this one, I’ll often gather as many relevant Scriptures together as I can find. For example, I did a search throughout the Bible of any verse that mentioned the name of Aaron.
As I was reading thru those verses, I ran across something that caught my attention.
In a sense it was an obscure statement about one of Aaron’s jobs in the Tabernacle.
In Exodus 30 (verses 7 & 8) we’re told that Aaron was responsible for burning the incense before God. He did this both morning and evening.
Then I remembered that in Revelation, incense represented the prayers of the saints (Revelation 8:3-4).
And that got me to thinking.
I’m always praying for this church. Whenever I know of a need that one of you have, I pray for that. But this past week I’ve deliberately set aside time in morning and in the evening when I pray for this church
In the morning –when I come into the building I’ve been lifting you up in prayer
I visualize you as a “precious stone” (like one of the 12 stones on the breastplate of Aaron). I lift up my hands as if presenting you before God and I give thanks for the many things that you all do here. Then I’ll begin to visit a few of the seats and pray for those of you who sit in those seats.
I mentioned you by name and prayed for any specific needs I knew of, or ministries you’re in, or struggles you may be having.
I REMEMBER you before God.
Now, I’m not telling you this so that you’ll think “what a wonderful guy this is”.
I’m telling you this because this is something we should all get in the habit of doing.
Morning and night REMEMBERING one another.
If you want to come into the church building to do that, I’d be more than happy to unlock the door every morning for you. But I don’t think you need to necessarily do that. You can do it anyplace you find comfortable.
We need constantly be lifting each other up.
Encouraging each other.
Praying for each other.
Remembering each other.
And we need to this because we remember Jesus.
CLOSE: At one time at the City Temple in London, there was in the congregation a restaurateur named Emil Mettler, who was a close friend of Albert Schweitzer and a kind of agent for Schweitzer in Britain. Mettler would never allow a Christian worker to pay for a meal in his restaurant.
But once he did happen to open his cash register in the presence of a Secretary of the London Missionary Society.
The Secretary was astonished to see among the bills and coins a six-inch nail. What was it doing there? Mettler explained, "I keep this nail with my money to remind me of the price that Christ paid for my salvation and of what I owe Him in return."
We need to remember each other, because we remember what Jesus has done for us.
And our role in church is to remember each other as Priests of God.
The priests of the Old Testament were installed into their office of priesthood when
1. A sacrifice was made for their sins
2. They were washed with water
3. Anointed with oil
4. And given new garments (Leviticus 8:1-10)
In the same way we become God’s priests because
1. A sacrifice has been made for our sins when Jesus died on the cross for us.
2. We were washed with water when we were buried in the waters of Christian baptism
3. We were anointed with the Holy Spirit when He came into our lives.
4. And we were given new garments (Rev. 7:14)
This decision of belonging to Jesus and becoming a priest of God is so important that we offer an invitation at the end of every service for you take that step and belong to Him…
