We continue our study of the Book of Exodus as the Hebrews are freed from slavery in Egypt and headed to the Promised Land of Canaan. God called Moses as the key leader. Why study the Bible? We study the Bible to worship God by learning more about Him and about ourselves as we live life God has given! And so, after every message, after every Bible study, we should be able to answer what I learned about God and how I should live my life! Please keep me accountable that I lead you in learning about God and note Biblical Principles to apply for our lives.
This morning we will see much of ourselves not only through the Hebrews but leader Moses.
Please open your Bibles to Exodus 17…….. Read along with me Exodus 17:1-7……
Let us summarize what happened…. Let us remind ourselves that we are human beings just like the Hebrews of old; we are all sinners in need of God’s grace.
And so first of all, the good news - v1: the Hebrews followed God’s commands for their travels
the bad news - v2-3: the Hebrews quarreled and grumbled again against their leader Moses for lack of water; to whom are they really grumbling and quarreling with??
the good news - v4: Moses cried out to the Lord for help
another good news - v5-7: God gave specific instructions which Moses followed!
And so in this story, we can note 3 good news and one bad one, pretty good!
We will come back to the rest of Exodus 17 next week because there is a similar story which some say is a contradiction of Scriptures. We need to note that All Scripture is God breathed and God will not contradict Himself; if God contradicts Himself then why even study the Bible.
But since God does not contradict Himself, He wants to teach us something when we note something similar in Scriptures. So, turn with me to the book of Numbers …. First of all, read along with me Numbers 1:1…..
And so we note that the Book of Numbers is about 2 years after the Hebrews left Egypt in comparison to only months after in Exodus 17. And so, we will read a similar story but they are really different events; what can we learn? Read along with me Numbers 20:1-13….
Let us summarize what happened….
the bad news – v2-5: the Hebrews quarreled against Moses because there was no water
good news – v6: Moses and Aaron humbled themselves before God
more good news – v6-8: God appeared and gave specific instructions!
bad news – look at v10 again… the Hebrews deserved the reprimand from Moses but in connection with what Moses did in v11: Moses had a harsh attitude towards God’s People (calling them names)!
The associated bad news in v11 is what? What did Moses do wrong in v11??
Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it as God instructed! Moses didn’t just strike the rock once like he did before, he struck it twice to make sure??
Now isn’t it interesting that even though Moses disobeyed, God still provided water? What does this say about God towards His people??
The very good news is that God is a God of grace and love!
But the very bad and sad news – v12: because of their disobedience to God, Moses and Aaron were forbidden to enter the Promised Land
Can you imagine? After all the hard work, all the trials, and sacrifices (for over 80 years) to reach a goal but then God says, you can not have it!! This was the punishment for Moses and Aaron!
According to v12-13, why was the punishment to Moses and Aaron so severe??
Moses and Aaron dishonored God’s holiness in public!
And so, what are the Biblical Principles we should think about and apply to our lives?
We have already noted in previous messages that our complaining and grumbling actually goes against the Lord and we see it repeated by the Hebrews in Exodus 17. It is so easy for us to complain and grumble. We are all sinners and this world is full of sin and so God has given us Jesus Christ; He is our Sabbath rest; God is a God of grace and love! And so let us be reminded again that when we complain and grumble, we are doing it against God who has given us everything for life and godliness through Jesus Christ! and so,
1. Daily fix our eyes on Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith! (Hebrews 12:1-3)
How?? … in a practical way? Praying C-A-T-S (Confession, Adoration, Thanksgiving, supplication). Learn God’s Word daily.
Occasionally, I get comments about the messages that it’s too simplistic. The messages may be too simplistic but are we really doing what God is telling us? I know for myself, and I’m the preparer of the messages, I find myself grumbling and complaining and I still have to work on daily fixing my eyes on Jesus! Take this simple challenge, note how often you fix your eyes on Jesus this week; then ask yourself, is focusing on Jesus Christ once a day enough? Twice a day? Every hour?
Secondly, God is a Holy God and desires everyone to be holy as well through Jesus Christ. And as we noted with Moses and Aaron, when people dishonor God’s holiness in public, the consequences will be severe! When Moses disobeyed God, his heart was not right; Moses got frustrated with the people and his pride got in the way. And so, along with fixing our eyes on Jesus always…
2. Always check if your heart is humbled before the Lord! Who is really sitting on the throne of your heart? Often, especially when you feel frustrated, take a deep breath of oxygen…. exhale all the negativity in your heart…. take another deep breath and sense the Holy Spirit in your heart!
3. Dishonoring God with our disobedience in public will lead to severe consequences! Let us be conscious of honoring God in public!
