Where will You be Found in Relation to God
God sends Israel on
God speaks with Moses
God leads the way for Moses
DBF Sermon, 4/13/03, Exodus 33
I hear continually of Tribal justice and some of its methods and practices at least in Bristol Bay.
If the tribe of Togiak banishes someone from the tribe then that person must leave…the only problem is they can go to Twin Hills, Manakotak or Dillingham.
You see these people are found to be “In violation” of tribal customs in relation to their relationship to their communities. The banishment often is hoped to be able to bring about a repentance of their actions against the community and a change in their behaviors. These are indeed good goals yet what often occurs is:
This type of justice transfers one village’s problem to another neighboring village.
Does this really address the needs of the offender and the victims?
I do not think so, because a 15 to 20 minute flight will bring them back to the village, or they can take a boat or a snow machine depending on the time of year and be right back in the offending village.
Likewise, we see that Israel was found in violation of God’s laws and in need of repentance and change.
We will learn from what God commands and Moses’ actions the means by which God brings some to repentance in the nation of Israel, and as always look towards the perfection of the plan of the tabernacle as realized through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Let’s walk with Moses and Israel in Chapter 33 of Exodus.
God sends Israel on
Exodus 33:1-7 (KJV)
And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it: [2] And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: [3] Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.
[4] And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments. [5] For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. [6] And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb. [7] And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence…After the testing of Moses, God commands him and the nation of Israel to go to the land that God has promised.
God commands us also to make ourselves ready on our journey to go to this “promised land”.
Isaiah 14:1 (KJV)
For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
Isaiah 57:13 (KJV)
When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain;
Jeremiah 7:7 (KJV)
Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
Jeremiah 11:5 (KJV)
That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O Lord.
Acts 7:3 (KJV)
And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
Acts 7:5 (KJV)
And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
Romans 4:13 (KJV)
For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
Hebrews 11:9 (KJV)
By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
The place to which we who are the “set apart”, “peculiar” people of God are called is to eternity in the presence of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Is this the land that you are seeking, for this is with certainty the highest reward that any one of us will ever attain.
And I will send an angel before thee… God promises to send an angel to show them the way into the good land.
Here God promises that an angel shall lead them; but since there is nothing particularly specified of him, it should be viewed as an ordinary angel is intended, and not that Angel of the Covenant (Jesus Christ) promised before.
Of course this is not the same angel mentioned in Exodus 23…Behold, I send an Angel before thee—The word êàìî malach signifies an angel or messenger; but as it is said, Exodus 23:21, My name is in him, (åáø÷á bekirbo, intimately, essentially in him), this means that the great Angel of the Covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ, is meant, in whom dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
We have already reviewed where Jesus appeared in a human form to the
patriarchs, and of him Joshua was a very expressive type, the names Joshua and
Jesus, in Hebrew and Greek, being of exactly the same signification, are radically
the same, from òùé yasha, he saved, delivered, preserved, or kept safe.
“God, as the Shepherd and King, conducts all things according to law and righteousness, having established over them his right WORD, his ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON, who, as the Viceroy of the Great King, takes care of and ministers to this sacred flock. For it is somewhere said, (Exodus 23:20), Behold, I AM, and I will send my ANGEL before thy face, to keep thee in the way.”
Are you conducting yourself in a manner today that will allow God to send HIS Holy one before you? Are you sinless are continually striving to be?
God next describes…stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.
We are so unyielding in our personal rights these days. Are your desires to have your rights met making it impossible for God to be in control of your life?
We are still a stiff-necked people…Amen. The only cure that I know of is for our hearts and lives to be totally broken by the love of Christ so that we yield ourselves fully to HIS heart and cause.
[4] And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments…The Septuagint, indicates that the children of Israel not only laid aside their ear-rings, and such like ornaments, in a time of professed deep humiliation before God, but their best clothes and most beautiful garments too.
Moses says nothing of this; but as it is a modern practice, so it appears by their version to have been as ancient as their time, and probably took place long before that.
The Greek Septuagint gives us this as the translation of the passage: ‘The people, having heard this sad declaration, mourned with lamentations. And the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Now, therefore, put off your robes of glory, and your ornaments, and I will show you the things I will do unto you. And the children of Israel put off their ornaments and robes by the mount, by Horeb.’
What do you put off in your sinfulness? I pray that daily you are striving to put off sinfulness and gain the righteousness to which we are called.
every one which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp…How far will you go in seeking to complete that “good and perfect” will of God in your life?
We know that the Israelites went out to the tabernacle to seek the Lord, how for are you willing to go? God seeks for all who have “truly” called upon his name to follow as HE leads, are you prepared to make this commitment today?
God speaks with Moses
Exodus 33:8-11 (KJV)
And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle. [9] And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. [10] And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door. [11] And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
Moses took the tabernacle…ìäàä äà eth haohel, the TENT; not ïëùîä úà
eth hammishcan, the tabernacle, the dwelling-place of Jehovah, see Exodus 36:11,
for this had yet to be built.
This probably means the tent of Moses, which was had been in the midst of the camp, and to which the congregation came for judgment, and where, no doubt, God frequently met with his servant.
This was removed to a considerable distance from the camp, some two thousand cubits, according to the Talmud, as God refuses to dwell any longer among this rebellious or stiff-necked people. And as this was the place to which all the people came for justice and judgment, hence it was probably called the tabernacle, more properly the tent, of the congregation.
And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses… Here God met with His servant to communicate with him. God’s presence in the pillar of cloud once more descended and stood at the tent door.
This would represent to the people that although God had withdrawn from the midst of them, He was still accessible. The people stood and worshipped God whom they had sinned against. Every man worshipped in his tent door.
It was in this tent of worship that God spoke to Moses as a friend.
You and I can daily commune with God upon coming under the blood and through the only mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ. We commune with God in prayer, in fellowship, in reading HIS word, in our church…the body of Christ, and in the circumstances HE opens in our lives. Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby
What Moses saw and held communion with was Jehovah in His symbol, the Shekinah, which is called the “Face” and the “Presence” of Jehovah.
[11] And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle…Worship is intensely private and individual.
We often hear of the “hypocrisy” in churches, individual hypocrisy may be witnessed; yet we must strive for our individual worship. We need to worship together with others, but such meetings are worthless if we do not have our private and personal worship of the Lord. Individual worship is needed to prepare us for corporate worship with the congregation.
And we see Joshua…
(1) He was the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, Numbers 13:8,16.
(2) He was first mentioned at the battle with Amalek, where he led the forces of Israel, Exodus 17:9.
(3) He became the servant of Moses, accompanying him part way up Mt. Sinai when the Decalogue or Ten Commandments was given, and also attended on him at the tent of meeting, Exodus 24:12-13; 33:11.
(4) He was one of the spies sent from Kadesh to view the land of Canaan, Numbers 13:8,16.
(5) In conjunction with Caleb, he gives an encouraging report of the land. This results in these two worthies being permitted to enter the Promised Land, while all the other adults of their generation perished in the wilderness.
Are you giving yourself as Joshua to the continuing pursuit of the ways of God?
God leads the way for Moses
Exodus 33:12-23 (KJV)
And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. [13] Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. [14] And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. [15] And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. [16] For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. [17] And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. [18] And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. [19] And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. [20] And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. [21] And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: [22] And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: [23] And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest…God promises Moses HE will go with him and give him rest. Jesus makes the same promise to you and I.
Matthew 28:20 (KJV) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Are you claiming this promise in your life today? Do you live as a child of Christ, knowing that HE is with you continually, if you will let HIM be.
You see no man has ever seen the face of God, we daily can look around us and see HIS glory in HIS creation. The splendor would be deadly and beyond suffering to man; only once we are dead in this world and our mortality is swallowed up of life, can we see God as HE truly is.
Paul tells us; 1 Cor. 13:12 (KJV) For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
Hebrews 2:8-9 (KJV) Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. [9] But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Will you see the face of God? That is the eternal question.
God tells us that we must acknowledge that we are sinners and in need of HIS cleansing; “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23.
God made a way; “But God proves HIS own love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 What will be your choice?
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
If you confess with your mouth that “Jesus is Lord” and believe that God raised HIM from the dead, you will be saved. With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth on confesses, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:9,10 and For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ Romans 10:13
If you feel like asking Jesus Christ into your heart today, please let us know, we would love to pray with you. If you have any other prayer needs let us know, we would love to pray for you.
Closing prayer.
