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Palm Sunday – John 12:12-33 – We Would See Jesus!

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20110417_palm-sunday.mp3

04/17 Palm Sunday – John 12:12-33

Intro:

Today we celebrate Palm Sunday. I want to look at the text from John’s account of the gospel that is the history behind this day. We find this in John chapter 12. (The events are also recorded in Matthew 21, Mark 11 and Luke 19). Jesus is in his final week, the passion week, leading up to his crucifixion. He had raised his friend Lazarus, who had been in the tomb four days, from the dead. Jesus was now back at Lazarus’ house in Bethany, the home of his dear friends Martha and Mary. Mary, in an act of devotion and love, broke open a vial of ointment worth about one year’s salary, and anointed Jesus. Jesus defended her action, saying that she was anointing him for his burial. Crowds were gathering in Jerusalem for the upcoming Passover celebration, and many were taking the short trip to Bethany to see Jesus and the man he had raised from the dead. So many Jews were believing in Jesus because of this, that the chief priests were plotting to have Lazarus put to death. This is where we’ll pick up the story:

John 12:12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

Hero’s Welcome

This is where we get the name ‘Palm Sunday’. This was a hero’s welcome; a royal welcome. This was a king’s welcome. The newly crowned king would be welcomed in this way by his subjects as he came to take his throne and rule. The people are welcoming Jesus as king. But not just any king. The people are quoting Psalm 118, a Psalm of victory over the enemy, a song of triumphant return from battle. This is the valiant king, commanding that the gates be opened to welcome him. In Psalm 118:22-29, it says:

Psalm 118:22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD. 27 The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! 28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. 29 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Hosanna!

Verses 25 and 26 say ‘Save us we pray, O LORD!… Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!…’ This is what the people are quoting as their King rides to Jerusalem. The Hebrew word “Hosanna” means ‘save us we pray’. Israel is under Roman occupation. The Jews are looking for their Messiah, the anointed king that would rescue them, that would deliver them from the power of the Romans and give them back their freedom. The people are looking to Jesus to be this victorious king. In John 6, after Jesus had fed the multitudes, the people declared that he was the promised Prophet who was to come, and they wanted to take Jesus by force and make him their king, but Jesus withdrew by himself to the wilderness. This time, when the people are crying out ‘Save us, King of Israel who comes in the name of the LORD’ and giving him a royal welcome, he does not avoid them; in fact, he encourages them.

14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” 16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.

The Donkey

Here we see Jesus intentionally fulfilling prophecy. The quote is from Zechariah 9:9

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

In the other three gospel accounts, we are told that Jesus sent disciples ahead to get this donkey so that it would be ready. Typically, the king would come triumphantly riding his war horse. But Jesus is a different kind of king. He comes in humility, riding on a donkey.

17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”

The World has Gone After Him!

The Pharisees entirely miss the point. They think they are in a popularity contest and they are losing. Jesus by his actions is teaching the people that he is a different kind of king than what they expect, and his salvation will be different from what they expect. He is indeed coming as King to save them, but in humility, not pride. And he will save the people, not from the Romans, but from themselves. The Pharisees, though, unknowingly make a profound analysis. Look, the world has gone after him. John uses this statement as a connection to some Greeks who were seeking Jesus.

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

The Greeks Seek Jesus

Greeks were coming to see Jesus. Among the crowds of Jews who came to worship at the Passover feast, were some Greeks, probably God-fearing Greeks, those who were intrigued by the Jewish scriptures and believed that the God of the Jews was the one true God. Possibly proselytes – those who had no Jewish genealogy, but who believed in God and became Jews through circumcision. They would be allowed into the temple’s court of the Gentiles to worship. They don’t feel they have any access directly to Jesus, so they go through the disciples. Their request is simple yet profound. ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus’. Simple faith! Would that we had this kind of desire, this kind of boldness. The world has gone after Jesus. Now there are Greeks that want to know Jesus. They come to Philip, Philip goes to Andrew, Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. Look how Jesus answers:

23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

The Glory of a Seed

At first read, this seems like a strange answer, if it is even answering the question at all. Greeks want to see you Jesus, and you start talking about being glorified and planting wheat and hating life. How does this answer their question? We need to understand what Jesus means when he says ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified’. Throughout the gospels, Jesus had been saying ‘my hour has not yet come’. Now he says ‘The hour has come’. The time is now. His whole life was leading up to some focal point, some climax. He uses his favorite title for himself ‘the Son of Man’, a title that comes from Daniel 7, a title showing his perfect humanity, but a title of the one who is the everlasting King. ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified’. What does he mean ‘glorified’? To glorify is to honor, to cause the dignity and worth of someone to be made known. The climactic time has come for Jesus, the perfect human representative, to be put on display and seen for the all the excellencies of who he is. What climactic event is he referring to that would put his glory on display? This royal welcome into Jerusalem where he was hailed as king, with everyone laying down cloaks and palm branches for him to walk on was pretty impressive, but that is already past. What is going to bring him the greatest glory? He tells us clearly in the context. He chooses the metaphor of a seed. A seed is very unimpressive if it is kept on the shelf. To unlock the potential of the seed, it needs to go into the dirt. A seed on a shelf is not seen for what it really is. It might be safe, but its real potential is lost. It remains alone. Jesus talks about the necessity for wheat to fall into the ground and die so it can bear fruit.

Remember, this is all in response to the Greeks who want an audience with him. How is this answering their request? ‘We want to see Jesus.’ It is time for the Son of Man to die so that he can produce much fruit and be seen for who he really is. Jesus is the Jewish King, coming to save, but he will save not just the Jews, but also the Greeks, and he will save, not by military might from political oppression, for that would be no help to the Greeks; but he will save us from our sins by dying for us. King Jesus marches in to Jerusalem to take his throne, but his throne is in the shape of a cross. He will be nailed to this throne and lifted up for all to see. The hour has now come for the Son of Man, the representative of all men not just Jews, to be exalted by dying in order to bear the fruit of salvation for anyone that will follow him, including these Greeks. The whole world has gone after him! ‘Whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me he must follow me, he will be with me, and my Father will honor him’. Jesus is pointing the Greeks to his death as the event that will open up to all men the way of salvation. Are we on the right track in understanding what Jesus is saying? Let’s keep reading:

27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.”

The Troubled Soul of Jesus

Jesus’ soul is troubled? What would trouble the soul of the Prince of Peace? What would cause anxiety in the heart of the one who taught us not to be anxious? What would incline him to desire to be rescued by his Father out of this hour? What would the Savior want to be saved from? If we ask why he came, we get some indication of what is troubling his soul. In John 10, Jesus said ‘I lay down my life for the sheep’ (v.15, 17). ‘I give [my sheep] eternal life and they will never perish’ (v.28). In John 6, Jesus said ‘the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh’ (v.51). In Mark 10, Jesus said:

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

What troubled the soul of Jesus to the point that he would desire escape is the prospect of bearing my sins. For the holy God who abhors sin to bear my sin, to take my sin upon himself, for the spotless lamb of God to become sin, for the innocent guiltless one to have my iniquity laid to his account would be unthinkable. For the first time in eternity the Father would look on his beloved Son not with love, affection and approval but disgust, anger, and judgment. Yet Jesus says ‘But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father glorify your name’. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, took on flesh, entered history and became human, with the sole purpose of being executed as a sin-bearing substitute for guilty mankind. Jesus looked at the prospect of being forsaken by his Father and it sent his soul into turmoil. ‘Nevertheless,’ he prayed, ‘not my will, but yours, be done’ (Lk.22:42)

28 …Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

So here we are explicitly told that he is talking about his crucifixion – the death of being lifted up. The deepest expression of love and obedience – ‘Father save me’? No, but ‘Father, glorify your name’. His Father answered him from heaven. The glory of the Father and the glory of the Son is seen in the crucifixion. God’s character and nature is displayed for all to see. Absolute in holiness, perfect in righteousness and exacting justice, impossible to let sin slide, yet abounding in mercy and grace, eager to forgive offending sinners, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness. Satisfying the demands of justice and righteousness while extending undeserved mercy to wicked sinners by absorbing in his own person the weight of the injury. ‘Now is the judgment of this world’. God’s holy wrath against all our sin is poured out now – absorbed in the perfect Lamb that God himself provided. ‘Now the ruler of this world is cast out’ -because the rightful ruler has taken his throne. Jesus the King, lifted up on a cross, enthroned in glory dying for the sins of the world, now draws people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation to himself.

Jesus wants to draw you today. Jesus is a different kind of King and offers a different kind of salvation. He comes to conquer, but to conquer by dying. He comes to conquer, not our enemies, but us. He comes to conquer our hard hearts by loving us, by entering our pain and bearing our guilt before his Father. Do you see him as glorious? Do you recognize the glory of the Father and the glory of the Son revealed on the cross? Do you see the point at which absolute holy justice and free and undeserved mercy meet? We would see Jesus! We would see Jesus! We would see Jesus!

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

April 17, 2011 Posted by pastorrodney | occasional, podcast | cross, glory, gospel, humility, Jesus, judgment, justice, king, sorrow, substitution, wrath | Leave a Comment

Exodus 16:1-18; Hunger Satisfied

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20110403_exodus16_1-18.mp3

04/03 Exodus 16:1-18 Hunger Satisfied

Intro

We’ve been walking with Israel as God led his reluctant people out of Egypt. He told his people to stop fearing anyone but God, to be still and to watch as God saved them, because salvation belongs to the Lord. God humbled Egypt and crushed their pride at the bottom of the Red Sea. His people saw his great power, they feared the Lord, they believed in him, and they sang his praises. And then they grumbled. They were three days into the wilderness and when they found water it was bitter. But God revealed himself as their healer, their physician, and he made the bitter become sweet. Then he led them to Elim, an oasis in the desert, with twelve springs of water and seventy palms. God is abundantly able to provide for his people. Now, we catch up with them one month after the first passover and their exodus from Egypt.

Grumbling

16:1 They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

When the Egyptian army pursued and trapped them by the Red Sea, the people complained that Moses led them out to die in the wilderness because of a grave shortage in Egypt. They complained that it would have been better to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness. Then, on the other side of the sea, they complained because they had no water. The people grumbled against Moses and said ‘what shall we drink’.

This time it is lack of food. Now they are hungry. As Paul said ‘their god is their belly …with minds set on earthly things’ (Phil.3:19). And grumbling stomachs distort history. They wish that the LORD had killed them in Egypt rather than bringing them out in the desert to starve. In this complaint, they acknowledge the hand of the LORD against their enemies. God revealed his power against the Egyptians, ultimately killing their firstborn and drowning their army in the sea. Now they are saying ‘We wish God would have killed us along with them’. They reminisce about the good old days back in Egypt ‘when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full’ Forgotten are their bitter lives of hard service, ruthlessly made to labor as slaves. Forgotten are their groanings and cries for rescue from slavery. Now that they are hungry and don’t know where their next meal is coming from, they only remember the wonderful meals they had as slaves. They would prefer to die as slaves with full bellies than to serve God and live in dependence on him.

We who look on as readers of the narrative want to shout out ‘you fools! Don’t you remember God’s ten mighty acts of judgment against the cruel Egyptians and the hard hearted Pharaoh? Don’t you remember how God saved you from the Egyptians at the sea? God has taken you this far; he surely will not leave you to die for lack of food. Remember how God made bitter water sweet? Remember God’s past provision and trust him! Stop grumbling and believe in him. Stop complaining and humbly make your requests to him.’ From our perspective it is so clear.

But then we could think about the trials and inconveniences we face and wonder if the great cloud of witnesses surrounding us (Heb.12:1) want to shout out some of the same things to us.

God’s Gracious Response

How do you think God would respond to this kind of gross unbelief in his people, this lack of faith in his promises, this wish for death and longing for a return to slavery and the pleasures of Egypt? I’m thinking hundred pound hailstones would be in order, but that’s not what God does.

4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”

Not a word of rebuke! No anger. No judgment. No condemnation. God meets their grumbling with his already planned provision. This is unmerited grace! The Israelites are not getting what they deserve. In response to thankless grumbling God showers them with his good provision. He literally pours out bread from heaven. He promises a daily portion of bread in the desert. This will be a test of the hearts of his people. Will they walk in his Torah, in his law, in his instruction or not? Will they listen to his voice? God is providing abundantly for physical and spiritual needs. Seven days worth of provision given in six days, double the amount given on the sixth day so that they can rest and worship and be refreshed on the seventh day, so that they can feed not only their physical needs but their souls in communion with God. The purpose is relationship with the living God.

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against the LORD. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him––what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD.” 9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.”’ 10 And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. 11 And the LORD said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.”’

The Knowledge of the LORD

Knowledge of the LORD is the goal. God acts for the good of unbelieving thankless rebellious sinners so that they will know who he is. God will reveal to them his hand of salvation. ‘You shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt’. He will reveal his fearful awesomeness, ‘you shall see the glory of the LORD’. God reveals himself as provider ‘when he gives you meat to eat and bread to the full’. You will recognize that your grumbling is against the LORD. In a God-centered universe, when we grumble, we grumble against God. Moses and Aaron are quick to point this out. What are we? This is not about us! Your grumbling is against the LORD. This is all about the LORD. ‘You shall know that I am the LORD your God.’ God gives abundant gifts to undeserving sinners to show off his nature and character. He is ‘the God of all grace’ (1Pet.5:10). He is patient, he is faithful, he is compassionate, he is slow to anger and abounding in loving-kindness.

Abundant Provision

13 In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake–like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.”’ 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.

God provided meat for them to eat that very night, so that they would not even have to go to bed hungry and wait for the morning. Amazing grace! That next morning the people saw a curious new thing in the wilderness. They had to ask ‘What is it?’ Moses points to it as ‘the bread that the LORD has given you to eat’. God supernaturally provided for his people. An omer was approximately half a gallon. Everyone was responsible to get out and do their share. If you don’t work, you don’t eat. All they had to do was gather each morning what they needed for the day. God made sure each had enough and there was equality. In spite of their grumbling, God provided for the needs of his people. We can wonder what this might have looked like had God’s people simply trusted God’s promises and humbly prayed for God’s provision. But we don’t have to wonder.

Jesus’ Perfect Obedience in the Wilderness

We can compare and contrast Israel’s grumbling unbelief when they faced hunger in the wilderness, and Jesus’ hunger in the wilderness, and his response to temptation with perfect obedience to his Father.

Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’

Both Jesus and the Israelites were led by God into the wilderness. The Israelites were less than 30 days in the wilderness, and they had only recently run out of food. Jesus was forty days without food and he was hungry. The Israelites had the pillar of fire and cloud to guide them, they had Moses and Aaron to lead them, they had the whole community to encourage one another; Jesus was alone with the tempter. The Israelites had no power over their circumstances – they could only grumble. Jesus, the Son of God, had all power over his circumstances, and could easily have turned the very rocks into bread to satisfy his hunger. But he responded with the words of Moses from Deuteronomy 8:3, stating his total trust in and dependence on his Father. Bread is not what sustains anyone, God sustains life. Jesus, as the perfect man, demonstrated a God-centered perspective on hunger. This life is not all about me and my needs being met. Life is to be lived to the glory of God, in total surrender to God’s will, total trust in God to provide, dependently listening to God’s voice. God is the center. I exist to bring him praise. Jesus’ temptation concluded with a refusal to worship or serve anyone but God. Jesus showed us what simple trust and perfect obedience should look like.

Jesus the Bread from Heaven

Jesus takes us back to this manna in the desert as a pointer to himself. He had himself fed thousands in the wilderness, giving substantial evidence that he is the promised one; God come in the flesh. Many began to follow him simply to get a free lunch.

John 6:26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

Jesus attempted to get their eyes off their own temporary hunger and put their trust in him for eternal life. But they continued to insist on a mere momentary appeasement of their appetites when he was offering so much more.

John 6:30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”’ 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

They are so consumed by their own felt needs that they can’t hear what Jesus is saying to them. So Jesus says something that would shock them.

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.

Jesus claims to have come down from heaven to be the true bread that gives life. We see the theme of grumbling in the face of God’s abundant provision surface once again.

…41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” … 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

This shocked and offended his hearers. They were troubled at the implication that this new rabbi might be teaching his followers some form of cannibalism.

52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

Jesus points back to the manna that God rained down from heaven as provision for physical sustenance and claims that he is the greater fulfillment of that picture. Jesus is the one the Father sent from heaven to meet the spiritual need of humanity. With startling language Jesus turns our thoughts from our sensual appetites to the deepest need of our souls. We have dishonored and offended a holy God. We have failed to give him the honor that is his due. We have sinned and the wages of sin is death (Rom.6:23). Jesus, our sin-bearing substitute, bore our sins in his body on the tree (1Pet.2:24). He was made to be sin for our sake (2Cor.5:21). We must come to him, to see in him the satisfaction of our true need, to take him as our own, to embrace him as our sustenance, our only hope. ‘Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you’ (Mt.26:26; Lk.22:19). ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’ (Mt.26:27-28). Just as an Israelite could have refused to gather God’s provision of life giving food in the wilderness, and willfully chosen to starve, so we can refuse to take God’s only provision that will sustain our souls for eternity. The question we must each answer is ‘Will we come to Jesus for eternal life? Will we trust in him and feed on him? Will we abide in him and draw our spiritual sustenance from him alone?’ We, like the Israelites, don’t deserve God’s grace to meet our need, but

Romans 5:6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. …8 while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 10 …while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,…

God gives abundant grace to undeserving sinners to put on display the greatness of his character.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

April 3, 2011 Posted by pastorrodney | Exodus, podcast | communion, cross, glory, gospel, grace, Jesus, Obedience, relationship | Leave a Comment

Exodus 15:1-21; The Song of the Sea – Worship

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20110320_exodus15_1-21.mp3

03/20 Exodus 15:1-21 The Song of the Sea

God’s stated purpose in the exodus was to make himself known. They Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD; you shall know that I am the LORD; I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his hosts.

Exodus 9:14 For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.

‘I could have done it differently’ God says. ‘But I do things the way I am doing them so that you may know that there is none like me. I am doing this for the good of my people and for the fame of my name in all the earth.’

Exodus 14:4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.”…

Exodus 14:18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

God is out to get glory for himself. He is out to display his power, so that his name will be proclaimed in all the earth. God is out to display his sovereign uniqueness, his unmatched supremacy. We are told to stop being afraid of anyone but God, to be still and stop stirring up dust that obscures God’s glory. We are told to be spectators of God’s great salvation as God works salvation for us. The LORD fights for his people. God acts alone for our salvation. We have only to be silent.

Exodus 14:13 …“Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

The prophet Isaiah puts it this way:

Isaiah 64:4 From of old no one has heard

or perceived by the ear,

no eye has seen a God besides you,

who acts for those who wait for him.

We have seen God take his people out of Egypt. God’s people were unbelieving, complaining, fighting against God’s plan, questioning God’s wisdom and capability. They cried out for help, but when God stepped in to help, they didn’t like how he was helping. God was acting for their good, but they didn’t know what good was. They considered slavery in Egypt better than the presence of God in the wilderness. They needed their sense of ‘better’ re-calibrated. But praise God, he took his grumbling doubting complaining discontented argumentative people and he saved them anyway! He saved them without their help or cooperation. He saved them in the most inconceivable way. He saved them by himself. Chapter 14 concludes:

14:30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

I wish I had a recording of this song as it was originally sung. The bible tells us that there were about 600,000 men, besides women and children (Ex.12:37; 38:26; Num.1:46). I’ve sung with a group of pastors at the Minneapolis convention center numbering close to 2,000 and it was ground shaking and heart stirring. This is exponentially more, 300 times more men than that – and that’s not counting the women and children that were part of the crowd. I wonder how it happened – if it started with Moses at one end of the multitude and slowly mounted and spread and reverberated back until all were belting out at the top of their lungs worship and praise to their awesome God. Remember, these are the people that were gripped with terror as Pharaoh’s army overtook them by the sea and they had no hope and no way out. These are the people who saw God supernaturally part the sea and make a dry path for them to escape from their enemies. These are the people who saw with their own eyes the highly trained military of Pharaoh pursuing them into the sea, the same people who saw God crush their enemies under the sea so that not one was left. The text says the LORD saved Israel that day. They saw, they feared, they believed. And then they sang. Let’s try to hear them as they respond to God’s awesome salvation with worship.

15:1 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying,

“I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;

the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

2 The LORD is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation;

this is my God, and I will praise him,

my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

3 The LORD is a man of war;

the LORD is his name.

4 “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,

and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.

5 The floods covered them;

they went down into the depths like a stone.

6 Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power,

your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.

7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;

you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.

8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;

the floods stood up in a heap;

the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.

9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,

I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.

I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’

10 You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;

they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

11 “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?

Who is like you, majestic in holiness,

awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

12 You stretched out your right hand;

the earth swallowed them.

13 “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;

you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.

14 The peoples have heard; they tremble;

pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.

15 Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed;

trembling seizes the leaders of Moab;

all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.

16 Terror and dread fall upon them;

because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,

till your people, O LORD, pass by,

till the people pass by whom you have purchased.

17 You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain,

the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode,

the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.

18 The LORD will reign forever and ever.”

19 For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea.

20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing.

21 And Miriam sang to them:

“Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;

the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Worship. Worship is an act of adoration or affection; declaring the worth of God to God. Worship, although not limited to singing, often finds expression in singing. We proclaim the truth about God and the things God has done in an emotionally charged celebration that we all vocally participate in.

It has been said that songs of worship are the take-home theology of the church. As you’re doing the dishes or disciplining the kids or celebrating God’s provision or facing a great trial, whether you start humming the tune or full-on belting out the words when no one is there to hear you, if the song is solid, you are rehearsing your theology and declaring your doctrine. Music is powerful. Two days from now you probably won’t remember much of what I’ve said this morning, but you might catch yourself humming a tune that we sang this morning. Sometimes I find myself whistling a hymn that I haven’t sung for over 20 years.

So I want to look at this song and ask the question ‘what makes a good worship song?’ What patterns do we see in this song that we could follow to enhance our worship of God?

Is it even legitimate to take this song as a good example to follow? I think we are justified in taking this song, because this song gets sung again. This song is sung in heaven.

Revelation 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and amazing are your deeds,

O Lord God the Almighty!

Just and true are your ways,

O King of the nations!

4 Who will not fear, O Lord,

and glorify your name?

For you alone are holy.

All nations will come

and worship you,

for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

What’s not in this song?

Let’s start by looking at what’s missing. What is absent from this song? Me. I am missing. The song begins “I will sing; I will praise; I will exalt him‘ and it quickly forgets about self and focuses on God. I am not the center of the song. It is personal; it comes from my heart. But this is God-centered worship. In Miriam’s refrain the declaration ‘I will’ is left off and it becomes an imperative command; sing! Everyone, sing to the LORD. God is the subject and the object of the song. It is a song about God and it is sung to God. This song is characterized by an utter forgetfulness of self.

Psalms 115:1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory,

for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

God here fulfills his purpose of making himself known and getting glory for himself. His people forget about themselves, their successes, their fears, their failures. They sing about God.

What does this song say about God?

So what does this God-saturated God-centered song say about God? We could divide it into two main categories: who God is and what God does.

Who God is

This song celebrates who God is. God’s people declare the character and nature of God. They sing the attributes of God.

15:1 …he has triumphed gloriously; -risen risingly; gloriously triumphant; -the victor, conqueror

2 The LORD is my strength and my song, -supplier/source of strength; theme of my music, worthy of worship; Yah (shortened form of YHWH)

and he has become my salvation; -God who saves, rescues

this is my God, and I will praise him, -personal intimate connection

my father’s God, and I will exalt him. – historical tie – not a new god; legacy

3 The LORD is a man of war; -warrior; the one who fights the battle

the LORD is his name. -proper name YHWH not title; the one who is; self-existent

6 Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, -majestic force

your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. -supreme over adversary

7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries – multiplied excellency; pride –only being for whom pride is not a sin – throws down or tears down enemies

you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble. -fierce heat of just wrath

11 “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? -unrivaled; incomparable;

Who is like you, majestic in holiness, -gloriously set apart; totally separate; other

awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? -terrifying in fame or renown; awe inspiring; acting in extraordinary ways;

13 “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; -faithful lovingkindness; unfailing love toward his people; ‘goel’ redeemer – pays the purchase price, protects and rescues because of family obligation

you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode. -one who leads to a place of rest and refreshment; mighty power; brings us apart to his dwelling place

16 Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, -inspires horrific terror; power is great in magnitude

… till the people pass by whom you have purchased. -becomes the owner by acquisition; possessor

18 The LORD will reign forever and ever.” king perpetually from ancient times throughout eternity

God’s people celebrate in song God’s attributes; he is victorious; he is the source of strength; the theme of worship; he is rescuer; proven faithful; warrior; he is self-existent; all powerful; conqueror; he deserves to be proud; he is justly angry; he is unrivaled; incomparable; totally set apart; awe-inspiring; he is active in power; he is our faithful lover; our purchaser/ redeemer; our caring guide; he dwells with his people; he is the perpetual king. That is who he is.

What God does

The song celebrates not only the character and attributes of God, but the real historical actions of God. Let’s look at what he does.

15:1 for he has triumphed gloriously;

the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. -thrown off /thrown down

2 and he has become my salvation;

4 “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea, -thrown, hurled, shot

and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea. -even the elite were drowned

5 The floods covered them; -primordial abyss, destructive chaos waters of judgment, ancient deeps

they went down into the depths like a stone.

6 your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.

7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; -tear down, beat down, destroy

you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble. -heat of his fierce wrathful displeasure -let go; as God demanded Pharaoh to send out his people

8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; -anger; flared nostrils

the floods stood up in a heap; -running waters piled up

the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea. -primordial abyss thickened or curdled

10 You blew with your wind; the sea covered them; -wind, spirit, breath

they sank like lead in the mighty waters. -not just a marshy swamp!

12 You stretched out your right hand;

the earth swallowed them. -could mean sheol or the underworld; engulfed

God kills his enemies

What they are memorializing in song seems to be all about God destroying his enemies. God triumphs; throws down; hurls; covers with the deep; shatters; tears down; consumes with fury; flares his nostrils; congeals the abyss; immerses in the mighty waters; swallows his enemies up in the underworld.

Isn’t killing people mean? Doesn’t God have to follow his own commandments? The short answer is ‘no’. God is just. God is the judge. God says ‘vengeance is mine, I will repay’. It belongs to God to give life and to take life. That is his right, not ours. Remember, these are the sworn enemies of God. They had seen God’s mighty acts first hand. They could have joined with the Israelites in the mixed multitude as they left Egypt but they did not. Verse 9 chronicles in six ‘I will’ statements their rebellious attitude:

9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,

I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.

I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’

This is as they are pursuing God’s people into the parted Red Sea! They have demonstrated that they are persistently evil and unrepentant. God is not obligated to give them a second chance (or, in this case, an eleventh chance!) God as savior of his people now crushes his enemies so they can no longer pursue them. In a fallen world hostile to God’s purposes, YHWH must be a warrior. God’s anger against evil and his destruction of those who oppose him are inherent aspects of his majesty. God is just and will not tolerate evil. God is abundantly patient, but evil will be totally eradicated. That is something we should celebrate!

The song goes on to describe the terror that is planted in the hearts of the future enemies of Israel.

14 The peoples have heard; they tremble;

pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.

15 Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed;

trembling seizes the leaders of Moab;

all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.

16 Terror and dread fall upon them;

because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,

till your people, O LORD, pass by,

till the people pass by whom you have purchased.

God cares for his people

The song also talks about what God does for his own people.

13 “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;

you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.

16 …the people pass by whom you have purchased.

17 You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain,

the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode,

the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.

18 The LORD will reign forever and ever.”

This is quite the switch from ‘you have led us out here to die!’ He leads in steadfast love. He redeems. He guides into his house. He purchases his people. He brings us in and plants us, roots us in his presence, the place he has prepared for us. He reigns.

Jesus

They sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. Christ our passover is slain for us. All of this points us to Jesus. Jesus is the victorious conqueror of sin and death and hell; he is the source of our strength; the theme of our worship; he is rescuer, God our savior; proven faithful; the warrior who fights for us; he is self-existent; omnipotent LORD; he is lifted up and seated at the right hand of his Father; he is justly angry and will tread the wine-press of the wrath of God; he will eradicate all evil; he is unrivaled; incomparable; totally set apart; awe-inspiring; he is active in resurrection power; he is our faithful lover; our purchaser and redeemer who paid for our sins at the cross with his own blood; he demonstrates his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, while we were his enemies Christ died for us. Jesus is our gentle shepherd and caring guide who leads us in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake; he is Immanuel, God with us, he goes to prepare a place for us; Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords and every knee shall bow to him and give him glory! That is who he is.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

March 20, 2011 Posted by pastorrodney | Exodus, podcast | cross, glory, God, judgment, justice, redemption, relationship, salvation, worship, wrath | Leave a Comment

Exodus 14:1-31; God Alone Saves

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20110313_exodus14_1-31.mp3

03/13 Exodus 14:1-31 God Alone Saves

Intro:

God’s purpose in the exodus is that he be known. God shows up to make himself known. He sets out to get glory for himself. God says ‘I will be known. I will be feared. I will be admired. I will act in such a way as to inspire awe and holy respect. I will get fame and honor and renown. I will not be slighted. I will be treated as weighty. I will be seen for who I am. I will get glory’.This is God’s purpose in the world.

Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

Even when God’s leading does not seem to make sense, we can be confident that he is at work for his glory and for our good. Even when he leads us into a corner with no way out and then incites our enemy to rise up against us, we must trust that his ways are perfect. He is acting for our good and for his glory.

In this passage, we will see the primary way God gets glory for himself. Our God is a God who saves. Here we are given such a clear picture of God our Savior – he alone saves his people.

14:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi–hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal–zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.” And they did so. 5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, 7 and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. 8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. 9 The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi–hahiroth, in front of Baal–zephon.

Tracing Israel’s Faith

Last time we looked at the progression of Pharaoh and the Egyptians as they were brought to recognize YHWH (or Jehovah – the LORD), God of the Hebrews. God said ‘the Egyptians shall know that I am YHWH’, and Pharaoh said ‘who is YHWH that I should obey his voice. I do not know YHWH’. After only the second plague, Pharaoh was asking Moses to ‘plead with YHWH for me’. By chapter 14, the Egyptians were crying out ‘let us flee …YHWH fights for them against the Egyptians’. Let’s look at how the faith of God’s people progressed as he revealed himself to them.

In chapter 1, we are introduced to some Hebrew midwives who feared God. Because they feared God, they disobeyed the Pharaoh’s orders, and God dealt well with them. By the end of chapter 2, the people are groaning because of their slavery and crying out for help. The text doesn’t tell us that they addressed their cry for help to anyone, but we are told that ‘their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant … God saw the people of Israel – and God knew’. God revealed himself to Moses in the wilderness in chapter 3, and called him into relationship with himself, sent him to bring the people out of Egypt and into his service. Moses is reluctant but eventually surrenders and goes and tells the people everything that God had told him.

Exodus 4:31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.

But after Pharaoh rejects the initial demand of the LORD to release his slaves, and instead increases their workload to the impossible, the people run to Pharaoh and cry out to him for help. When Pharaoh refuses to listen to their plea, they curse Moses in the name of the LORD for stirring things up (5:21). In chapter 6, God gives Moses the good news of his promises to preach to his people, but, it says ‘they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery’ (6:9). From this point on, God steps in and acts on behalf of his people. He unleashes his mighty acts of judgment against Egypt, and he makes a distinction between Egypt and his people, exempting his people from the full force of the blows. He claims to do it:

Exodus 10:2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.”

God is working so that his people will know who he is. Not only is he working so that the Egyptians know that he is YHWH, but even his own people need to be taught his nature and character. God gives his people favor with the Egyptians so they are given whatever they need for preparation for their journey. God gave his people instructions for a feast that was to shelter them from his wrath and point them to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The people here respond by bowing their heads in worship and obeying what the LORD had commanded (12:27-28). The Egyptians were brought to acknowledge YHWH and flee from him. The Hebrews worship and obey YHWH. Now they are following the visible manifestation of God as he leads them with cloud and with fire. Let’s see how they fare:

Faithless People and their Faithful God

Notice how faithless God’s chosen people are. They set their eyes on their circumstances and they fear. To their credit, this time they cry out to the LORD instead of Pharaoh, but then they start complaining. They accuse him of leading them to the wilderness to die. They act as if their rescue from slavery was a horrible thing. They say ‘I told you so’ – we told you to leave us alone to serve our old slave-master. And they look back to the good old days slaving over bricks and mortar in Egypt. You took us away from all we had ever known. It would have been better for us to stay. Better to have our children killed. Better to be beaten. Better to be crushed under the oppressive slave-master. Better to be afflicted with heavy burdens, oppressed by the cruel taskmasters. Better to be ruthlessly made to work as slaves. The bitter life of hard service in Egypt was better than this. They have the pillar of fire and cloud right in front of them, and they say slavery in Egypt was better! They have no faith in God’s promises. All they can see is the bad part of what they can see, and that most certainly means death. They leave God out of the equation, focus on their circumstances, and are consumed with fear and speak against God’s deliverance.

Can you believe this? After God’s ten mighty acts of power over Egypt and all their gods, leaving the land and the people ruined and devastated, after God clearly established his supremacy over all things, humiliated Pharaoh and emasculated his gods, after he has demonstrated his compassion and care for his people, making a distinction, fighting on their behalf, after Pharaoh had consistently demonstrated that he was a cruel and pitiless slave-master, God’s people still want to return to Egypt? This makes no sense. They cannot see beyond their immediate circumstances, they cannot trust in the promises of their faithful God, they turn everything upside down and make God and his chosen deliverer out to be cruel and their slavery to a godless tyrant out to be paradise. This is incomprehensibly stupid! Can you believe it?

I can. I can, because this is what I do every day. This is where I live. This is the battle I fight. Will I trust God who has proven himself faithful and wise and awesome and loving? Will I believe that he has good in store for me? Or do I think that God is keeping some good thing away from me? Do I fondle in my heart the fleeting pleasures of sin that I know only bring me back into bondage and will never satisfy but instead create greater emptiness and craving? I have tasted the sweetness of intimacy with God. I have seen evidence of his relentless love. And my heart is still prone to wander. Prone to doubt. Prone to disbelieve. This is who we are. This is the battle we fight. What should we do? We cry out with the Apostle “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom.7:24).

But praise God he does not give us what we deserve. Praise God it does not depend on me! Praise God that salvation is by grace alone! Praise God that, as Paul says:

2 Timothy 2:13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful–– for he cannot deny himself.

God would have been just to say ‘you liked Egypt so much? Back to Egypt you go!’ Praise God his faithfulness is not based on our fickleness but on his own reputation. God will remain true to himself.

Call to Stop Fearing and Stand Firm

14:13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

This is an amazing call to worship. First we are told to stop being afraid. In verse 10, when the Egyptian military was drawing near, it says the people feared greatly. They had an awesome respect for the skill and power and deadly force of the Egyptian army. By now, they should have had an even greater awesome fear and respect for their God, who decimated the Egyptians with blow after blow of his strong right hand. This massive horde of former slaves were no military match for the special forces of Egypt, but they should have seen that Pharaoh’s puny army was no match for the sovereign power of their Creator God. Jesus said:

Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (cf. Luke 12:5)

We are told to stand firm. Stand still. Stand your ground. Paul told the Galatian believers to stand firm in their blood-bought freedom.

Galatians 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

In the passage on spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6, we are told repeatedly to stand firm.

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. …13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore…

Peter warns against the adversary and tells us to resist, firm in faith.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober–minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 12 … I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.

We are not to be afraid. We are to stand firm – not in our own strength, but strong in the Lord and the strength of his might, firm in the faith – the belief that he loves us and is fighting for us, that he himself will by grace restore, confirm, strengthen and establish us. Stand firm in the true grace of God – standing, not on our rights or what we have earned, but standing firmly on the word of a God who gives good gifts to sinners at great cost to himself.

Call to Be a Spectator

“Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today.

Have you ever thought about your salvation this way? We are spectators in our salvation. We are utterly incapable of even helping God out in our salvation. God works alone in salvation. We watch. We are the ones being fought over. We do not do the fighting. We do not do the work. He will work for you today. The LORD will accomplish your salvation.

Titus 3:4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy,

God is the one who saves. Subject, verb, object. God is the subject of the sentence. We are the object of his salvation. We are the recipient. God performs the action. We are described as ‘dead in the trespasses and sins’ (Eph.2:1); ‘slaves of sin’ (Rom.6:17); ‘foolish, disobedient, led astray, salves to various passions and pleasures’ (Tit.3:3). We are told to stand still and watch, because if we start scurrying around trying to help God out, we will only raise a dust cloud that will obscure his glory. We can contribute nothing of worth to our salvation. We are even told to repent of our righteous deeds:

Isaiah 64:6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment…

The author of Hebrews tells us that the elementary doctrine of Christ, the foundation that everything else stands on starts with repentance from dead works.

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God…

If you are attempting to play a part in your salvation, if you are trying to help God out, STOP! Stop stirring up dust! Stop creating more dead works that you will have to repent of! Salvation belongs to the LORD (Ps.3:8; Jonah 2:9; Rev.7:10; 19:1) Take your place as a spectator to God’s salvation. Stop and look. Watch. ‘See the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you’

14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Hear what God is saying to you. You are loved. You are wanted. You are being fought over. Do you know how good it is to have someone who will fight for you? In college, I was being accused of something I did not do. I was being threatened with legal action. I was scared. Then I was called in to the office of the president of the college. He looked me in the eye across his big desk and asked me if I had done what I was being accused of. He believed I was innocent. He said ‘Rodney, if you get any more harassing phone calls, you let me know. I will go to bat for you.’

13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Triumph Over their Enemies

They were looking at the situation all wrong. God had said he would harden the hearts of the Egyptians and cause them to pursue his people. God had promised to get glory over the Egyptians. If the Egyptian army had not shown up, if they were left alone in the desert, then the people should have wailed and cried out because God had not kept his word. Had the Egyptian army not come after them, they could be sure they would see them again. But because the Egyptians pursued them, as God had promised they would, they will never be seen again. God’s people will be free. Decisively free. Finally free. Free forever.

15 The LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” 19 Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night. 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, 25 clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.” 26 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. 29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

The LORD saved Israel that day. They saw. They were spectators. They saw their enemies dead on the seashore. They saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians. They did not lift a finger against their enemies. The LORD saved them by himself!

Salvation by Grace Alone Resulting in Faith

Here we see the response of the people to the great salvation that the LORD accomplished for them. They saw, they feared, and they believed. This is a beautiful example of salvation by grace alone. Grace is God’s goodness given to undeserving sinners.

Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God’s people were complaining against God, wishing for a return to slavery when God intervened on their behalf. They were totally undeserving. God saved them anyway. That is salvation by grace alone. God’s salvation by grace resulted in their faith. They responded to God’s grace with fear and belief. His people were beginning in the path of wisdom. They were beginning to fear the LORD. They were beginning to see how awesome he is and it rightly terrified them. And they saw that he is on their side, fighting for them, and they began to trust him. They began to believe. God’s gracious salvation resulted in faith. God fought for them when they were ready to defect. God won back the hearts of his people.

Romans 5:10 …while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son…

Jesus is Salvation

The Hebrew word translated salvation is [ hewvy] yeshuah. This is linked to the Greek name [Ihsouv ] Iesous given in the New Testament. It comes into the English as Jesus

Matthew 1:21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

March 13, 2011 Posted by pastorrodney | Exodus, podcast | glory, God, grace, humility, Jesus, knowledge, Love, mercy, salvation, Sin, worship | Leave a Comment

Exodus 14:1-31; God Gets Glory

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20110306_exodus14_1-31.mp3

03/06 Exodus 14:1-31 God Gets Glory

Intro:

We’ve seen that God has good and wise purposes in everything he does. He is a God who keeps his promises. In his providence, he leads his people in the best path, and he gives to us the greatest blessing of his presence with us.

God is wise, his ways are perfect, he is always in complete control and he does all that he pleases. What he does is right and his plans for us are best. Sometimes we have difficulty seeing his design in our difficult circumstances. In this passage, which places the Israelites in an extremely difficult and desperate, dangerous, hopeless and helpless circumstance, God tells us his primary purpose for guiding the way he does. Here we are given a rare glimpse into the ‘why’ behind many of God’s mysterious workings.

13:17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” 18 But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. … 20 And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

14:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi–hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal–zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.” And they did so. 5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, 7 and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. 8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. 9 The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi–hahiroth, in front of Baal–zephon.

God’s Purpose: Getting Glory

God is leading his people, unmistakably, visibly. And the way he is leading seems to make no sense. At least from a human perspective it makes no sense. He leads them into a corner where there is no way out, and stirs the heart of Pharaoh to pursue them. The special forces of Egypt overtake them as they are camped by the sea. We would have no idea why he is leading the way he is leading if he hadn’t declared his purposes to us.

3 For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.” And they did so.

The Knowledge of YHWH

God’s stated purpose for his seemingly illogical plan is “I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD”. Throughout the book of Exodus, we have seen the self-revelation of God. God is making himself known. When God confronts Moses in the wilderness he declares:

Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.”’ 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

I AM. YHWH. The self-existent one. He is the one who is. He is the essence of being. God wants to be known. God will be known. He will be remembered. He wants us to know his name, his character. Pharaoh offers an affront to the knowledge of God. Moses is sent to him in the name of YHWH.

Exodus 5:2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.

And thus begins the challenge. Pharaoh refuses to acknowledge this YHWH God of the Hebrews. He defies God’s authority over his people. He refuses to bow. But the one true God will be known. He will be recognized for who he is. He will be acknowledged. Exodus is about God making himself known. This theme appears over and over again in Exodus, both with the people of God and with the Egyptians.

Exodus 6:7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

Exodus 7:5 The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”

Exodus 7:17 Thus says the LORD, “By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.

Exodus 8:22 But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.

Exodus 9:29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s.

Exodus 10:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, 2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.”

God means to be known. YHWH intends for all to recognize him for who he is, to know him by name, to stand in awe of his character. In chapter 14, what it means to know that he is YHWH is clarified and defined.

Exodus 14:4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.” And they did so.

Exodus 14:18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

To know the LORD is to know his glory. He says twice in this chapter ‘I will get glory’. God is setting the stage and acting in such a way as to get glory for himself. God means to be known by getting glory over the Egyptians. What is glory? A definition may be helpful.

Glory: a definition

Glo´ry Pronunciation: glō´rŷ;

n. 1. Praise, honor, admiration, or distinction, accorded by common consent to a person or thing; high reputation; honorable fame; renown.

2. That quality in a person or thing which secures general praise or honor; that which brings or gives renown; an object of pride or boast; the occasion of praise; excellency; brilliancy; splendor. [Webster's 1913 Dictionary]

The Hebrew word here translated ‘glory’ is dbk kabad kaw-bad’

It literally means ‘to be made heavy’. This is the exact opposite of Pharaoh’s prideful words ‘Who is the LORD that I should obey his voice? I do not know the LORD’. Pharaoh trifles with God, blows him off as if he were nothing. He does not take him seriously. God is weighty, there is mass to his personality, he is not to be taken lightly, there is gravity to what he says. His character is substantial. He is a force to be reckoned with. In Leviticus 10, two of Aaron’s sons got caught up in the moment. They didn’t take God’s commands seriously and approached God in worship their own way, not the way God had instructed them, and fire from the LORD came out and consumed them.

Leviticus 10:3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD has said, ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.”’ And Aaron held his peace.

God is heavy. God is weighty. God is not to be taken lightly. He is to be honored, he is to be respected. God is not to be taken casually.

Casual Church?

Let me make an aside here. Our style in this church is fairly casual and informal. We invite anyone and everyone to come as they are. That could be good and that could be very bad. If we are casual in our attitude and approach to God, thinking that anything goes, if we have no healthy respect for God, no fear of God, then something is terribly wrong. We are invited to come as we are, but we are not invited to treat God casually. Why are we casual in our appearance? Part of it is practical – I don’t find a suit and tie particularly comfortable. But the main reason is theological. God sees right through what I’m wearing and he sees my heart. God is not impressed or distracted by outward appearances. Jesus pronounced a woe on the blind fools who clean the outside of the cup and dish but inside are full of greed and self-indulgence (Mt.23:25-26; Lk.11:39-40). I know that God is absolutely holy and does not tolerate sin. As a sinner, I know my only hope for standing in his holy presence is the inward transformation that God does in my life as a result of my relationship with his own Son, crucified in my place. It is a weighty matter to come into the presence of Almighty God. We must take God seriously. We must fear. We must tremble. So we will approach him on no other foundation than the blood-bought righteousness of Jesus Christ who died on the cross bearing the guilt of our sin and giving to us as a gift his perfect righteousness.

Getting Glory

God says ‘I will get glory’. I will be known and feared and admired. I will act in such a way as to inspire awe and holy respect. I will get fame and honor and renown. That is God’s purpose in the world.

Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

Let’s watch how God gets glory in the text before us:

14:10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” 15 The LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” 19 Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.

Does God need the help of his people? They don’t even seem to be on his side. They are eager to defect back to their old slave master. One purpose of the pillar of cloud/fire was to protect his people from the sword of the Egyptians. I wonder if one of the purposes was to keep his people from one by one defecting back to the camp of the enemy. It says ‘it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night’. God here is acting alone for his glory.

14:21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, 25 clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.” 26 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. 29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

The Egyptians Shall Know

We see in these verses a fulfillment of God’s promise at the outset.

Exodus 7:5 The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”

Pharaoh has gone from ‘Who is YHWH that I should obey his voice? I do not know YHWH (5:2), to ‘plead with YHWH to take away the frogs and I will let the people go to sacrifice to YHWH’ (8:8). Pharaoh’s magicians acknowledge ‘this is the finger of God’ (8:19) and Pharaoh concedes ‘I will let you go sacrifice to YHWH your God’ but he continually tries to negotiate the terms of the exodus (8:28; 10:8-11, 24 ). In chapter 9, we saw among Pharaoh’s own servants:

Exodus 9:20 Then whoever feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, 21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the LORD left his slaves and his livestock in the field.

Then in 9:27 Pharaoh confesses ‘this time I have sinned; YHWH is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong …plead with YHWH to stop God’s thunder and hail’ (9:28). Pharaoh’s own servants counsel him ‘let the men go, that they may serve YHWH their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?’ (10:7). Again Pharaoh confesses ‘I have sinned against YHWH your God and against you’ (10:16) and asks them to forgive his sin and ‘plead with YHWH your God to remove this death from me’ (10:17). In 11:3, YHWH gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and Moses was great in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and the people. In 12:31 Pharaoh finally concedes to the demands of a total exodus ‘go, serve YHWH as you have said’. YHWH gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so they let them have what they asked, and the people plundered the Egyptians. But Pharaoh’s heart was again hardened and he with his army pursued and overtook the Hebrews. They even pursued them into the divided Red Sea. Now, finally, as they sense the supernatural hand of God fighting against them, they cry out:

14:25 …And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.”

‘Who is YHWH that I should obey his voice? I do not know YHWH (5:2). The Egyptians shall know that I am YHWH (7:5).

Exodus 14:18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

The Gospel

God defends his glory zealously.

Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

In Acts 12, when Herod dressed in royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered an oration, the people shouted ‘The voice of a god and not of a man!’ and it says:

Acts 12:23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

In Revelation 16, when God pours out his wrath on rebellious mankind, their sin is described as:

Revelation 16:9 …they cursed the name of God … They did not repent and give him glory.

In Romans, we are told:

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

We fall so far short of giving God the glory that is his due. But there is hope! Hope for us in Jesus:

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

So the knowledge of the glory of God comes to us in Jesus Christ. When God opens our eyes that we are sinners in need of a substitute to pay our debt of dishonor to God, and when we see that substitute is his own son Jesus, and we run to his cross for help, our debt is covered and we are set free to live our lives now to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 6:19 …You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Peter 4:11 …serves by the strength that God supplies––in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 1:17 To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

March 6, 2011 Posted by pastorrodney | Exodus, podcast | church, fear, glory, God, gospel, Jesus, knowledge, salvation, Sin, worship | Leave a Comment

Exodus 12:37-13:16; Redemption; the Firstborn Belong to God

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20110213_exodus_12_37-13_16.mp3

02/13 Exodus 12:37-13:16 Redemption; Firstborn Belong to the LORD

Recap:

We’ve been away from the book of Exodus for some time now, so before we jump back in to chapters 12 and 13, I’ll try to give a very sweeping summary of the first 12 chapters of the book and sketch out where we are going from here.

Exodus is a book about redemption and the presence of God among his people. Exodus is the focal point of the Torah, or the five books of Moses, as it describes the founding of Israel as God’s chosen nation. Exodus is about a God who acts on behalf of his people, in response to their prayers, a God who always keeps his promises and uses weak and foolish things to shame the wise and the strong. God hears the cries for help from his people, and he triumphs over the Pharaoh using a handful of women who determine to obey God rather than man, whatever the cost. He raises up his deliverer, who is misunderstood and rejected by his own people, exiled into the wilderness. He becomes savior to the gentiles, and learns shepherding in the desert. God reveals himself unexpectedly as the self-existent one, and reveals what he will do to rescue his people. The news is received initially with worship, but as the realization sets in that things will get worse before they get better, the people run back to their old slave-master for help and call down curses on God’s chosen deliverer. God, in his great mercy toward a sinful and rebellious people, unleashes his mighty acts of judgment against Egypt to deliver his people. In these, he demonstrated decisively his sovereign superiority over all the gods the Egyptians worshiped. God points us to Christ our passover sacrificed for us; to Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, as he establishes the means for deliverance from his own justice on the firstborn.

In chapter 12, we have instructions for the passover ritual, we see the Egyptians ejecting the people from the land in response to God’s final decisive blow, and we see Israel plundering the Egyptians of their valuables. In chapter 13, God asserts his ownership over everyone and everything, and demands holiness in his people. In chapter 14 God leads his people through the Red Sea and crushes the pursuing Egyptian army.

To help orient ourselves as to where we are in the book, let’s review a basic outline of God’s action in Exodus: (Longman, p.34):

Exodus 1-18 God saves Israel from Egyptian bondage

Exodus 19-24 God gives Israel His law; where he formally takes them to be his people and defines for them his covenant relationship with them.

Exodus 25-40 God instructs Israel to build His Tabernacle; the place where he will once again dwell with his people.

Prayer:

My prayer as we study the book of Exodus together is that we enjoy the presence of almighty God with us, that we acknowledge ourselves as undeserving recipients of his love and grace, that we embrace Jesus as our passover lamb slaughtered in our place, that we experience Jesus who shepherds us through the wilderness, that we are brought out from under the cruel bondage of sin and into the glorious freedom of joyfully serving the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Ethnic diversity; theological unity

Exodus 12:37 And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38 A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves. 40 The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It was a night of watching by the LORD, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the LORD by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.

In verse 38 we are told that a mixed multitude accompanied the Israelites as they went out of Egypt. This is a crowd of diverse ethnic background, apparently convinced by God’s mighty acts that YHWH really is the only true God, and they would be better off siding with the Israelites and their God than remaining behind in devastated Egypt. Remember God’s promise to Abraham that he would bless the nations through his offspring (Gen.18:18; 22:18)? Even an Egyptian could escape God’s wrath by following God’s instructions and coming under the blood. Because of this mixed multitude accompanying Israel in the exodus, parameters had to be established. The meal commemorating the redemption from slavery was an exclusive meal. Not all were welcome. But this exclusivity was not based on ethnicity. People from every tribe and tongue and people and nation were welcome to participate, but only those who had embraced YHWH as their God and submitted to the sign of covenant relationship with him.

12:43 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, 44 but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. 45 No foreigner or hired servant may eat of it. 46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. 47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 49 There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.” 50 All the people of Israel did just as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.

There was to be one standard, one law for natives and aliens alike. Acceptance of the terms of the covenant relationship with this rescuing God. Those who rejected the covenant relationship with YHWH were to be excluded. There was room for ethnic diversity, but there must be theological unity.

The Firstborn

The final blow against Egypt was the death of the firstborn. God has exclusive rights over his creation, to do with it as he pleases. Life and death are in the hands of no one but God. There are no accidents in God’s universe. God says:

Deuteronomy 32:39 “‘See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.

Back in Exodus 4, Moses was instructed by God:

Exodus 4:22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.”’

God had demanded the release of his firstborn son. If Pharaoh refused, the consequences would be the death of Pharaoh’s firstborn son. This is exactly what happened. God kept his word. This Pharaoh’s predecessor had ordered the execution of all male infants born to Israel. Now God personally saw to the execution of all the firstborn males of Egypt. This was the price God paid to set his people free. God as Creator has sovereign rights over his creation. God as Redeemer has double authority over his people. We must be reminded of his sovereign rights over us.

Exodus 13:1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”

… 11 “When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, 12 you shall set apart to the LORD all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the LORD’s. 13 Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15 For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”

God demanded that all firstborn be consecrated to him. To consecrate was to dedicate, to sanctify, or set apart as holy, to be offered to the Lord. The consecration of the firstborn was similar to the tithe, where part was given as a recognition and reminder that God owned the whole. It is clear in scripture that not just the firstborn, but everyone and everything belong to God.

Exodus 19:5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;

Deuteronomy 10:14 Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.

Job 41:11 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.

Psalm 50:12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.

God owns all things. He can do with his possessions whatever he wills. He demanded that the firstborn of anything that was considered clean – fit for eating or offering – would be sacrificed to him. All the firstborn of unclean animals must either be redeemed – by a substitute clean animal sacrificed in its place, or it was to be destroyed. Isn’t it interesting that man is placed in the same category as unclean animals unfit for sacrifice – humans must be redeemed. This is a pattern we have seen throughout Genesis. In Genesis 22, God had demanded that Abraham sacrifice his promised son Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham was obediently following God’s instructions, when at the last minute God stopped him and provided a substitute ram to be sacrificed in his place. But that was not the first time. All the way back in Genesis 3, our first parents rebelled against God and then hid from God because they knew that the wages of sin is death. But God did not put them to death. Instead, he clothed them with skins of animals, sacrificed in their place as a substitute. All this points to Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn.1:29). He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree (1Pet.2:24). Verse 16 tells us that the awareness of God’s right and our redemption is to be taught by fathers to their sons, and we are to be constantly reminded that we were bought with a price.

1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 7:23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.

Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying; “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,

You are not your own. You were bought with a price. We need to be constantly reminded of this. It is our responsibility to pass this truth on to the next generation. We no longer sacrifice animals because the once for all sacrifice of Jesus was sufficient for all time to cover all our sins (Rom.6:10; Heb.7:27; 9:12, 26; 10:10).

Romans 6:10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.

Hebrews 7:27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.

Hebrews 9:12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9:26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Hebrews 10:10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

We need to be reminded of how the Lord by his strong hand brought us out from the house of slavery. We need to be reminded that we were bought with the once for all blood of Jesus the Lamb of God. Today we have a different reminder. ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me’ (Lk.22:19).

1 Corinthians 6:19 …You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

February 13, 2011 Posted by pastorrodney | Exodus, podcast | Christian, communion, glory, God, redemption, substitution | Leave a Comment

Exodus 9:13-35; Hail from Heaven and the Fear of the LORD (Mighty Act #7)

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20101107_exodus09_13-35.mp3

11/07 Exodus 9:13-35 Hail from Heaven and the Fear of the LORD (Mighty Act 7)

God is beginning the third and final cycle of his mighty acts of power against Egypt and against Pharaoh and against all the gods of Egypt. God is demonstrating his power and his sovereignty and his ability to save his people. The blows against Egypt are mounting up to his climactic blow, the death of the firstborn and the drowning of the Egyptian army in the sea. Here we are at the seventh mighty act of God, the first in the final round of three. This account is longer than any of the other narratives, and it signals a significant escalation in intensity of God’s actions against Egypt. At the beginning of the seventh display of his might, we are reminded of the ground and the goal of the exodus.

9:13 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.

Ground and Goal of the Exodus

The ground of the exodus is the ownership of the people. They are God’s people. They belong to him. They are not the Pharaoh’s, to do with as he pleases. They are God’s and must be released so that they can serve and worship their true Master and Lord. The exodus is rooted in God’s relationship with his people. ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.”’

The ground of the exodus is the rightful ownership of God over his people. The goal of the exodus is to restore God’s people into service of their true Master. The goal of the exodus is worship, glad service of the true King of kings and Lord of lords. And this is the demand of the King of kings to the king of Egypt – ‘Let my people go, that they may serve me.’

And this command comes with a warning.

14 For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth.

Now, at this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself. This is the first use of this particular word translated ‘plagues’ in the bible, and its only use in the plural. Up to this point, God has described his actions as ‘extraordinary difficult work (translated wonders in 3:20), signs (4:17, 28, 30, 7:3, 8:23), wonder or miracle (7:3, 9, 11:9-10), great acts of judgment (6:6, 7:4), striking down (3:20; 7:17, 20, 25; 8:16-17; 9:15, 25; 12:12-13, 29), strike or smite (translated plague in 8:2), a very heavy destruction or pestilence (translated plague in 9:3). The word used here means a fatal blow, a plague or a slaughter. God is letting Pharaoh know that he is about to let the hammer fall. The six mighty acts up to this point have been merely a warm-up. Turning the water supply to putrefying blood, heaps of frogs littered all over town, a horrible infestation of biting insects, inescapable swarms of biting flies, disease and death of all the livestock in Egypt, and painful deep festering wounds covering all the people and animals to the point that they were incapacitated – all this was merely an introduction, God says, to what I have in store for you. ‘This time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people.’

Know there is none like me

And the purpose is clear – ‘so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth.’ Pharaoh has begun by saying ‘Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.’ (5:2). God said in Exodus 7:5 “The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.” Introducing the first mighty act, Moses said to Pharaoh: ‘Thus says the LORD, “By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.’ (7:17). When Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron after only the second mighty act to ‘plead with the LORD to take away the frogs from me and from my people (8:8), Moses invited Pharaoh to set the time that the frogs would be cut off; ‘and he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God’ (8:10). When Egypt’s magicians failed to reproduce the third mighty act, they confessed to Pharaoh ‘this is the finger of God’ (8:19). At the fourth mighty act, God drew a distinction by setting apart the land of Goshen ‘that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth’ (8:22). Pharaoh again called on Moses and Aaron to plead for deliverance, and to bargain on the details of how they were to ‘sacrifice to the LORD your God’ (8:28). Pharaoh was beginning to understand who this YHWH God of the Hebrews is, he was beginning to realize that he is a force to be reckoned with, that he is a God superior to many of his Egyptian gods, but he was not yet ready to acknowledge that YHWH is in a class by himself, and he was not yet willing to surrender to him and obey him. God says the purpose of what’s coming is ‘so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth.’ Our God is absolutely unique. He is incomparably great, incomprehensibly awesome, uncompromisingly sovereign. God says ‘I want you to know that there is none like me in all the earth.’ And one of the ways I will demonstrate that there is none like me, is I will tell you what I could have done but didn’t.

15 For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth.

What I could have done but didn’t

God says to Pharaoh, I want you to look at the first six of my mighty acts of power in a different way. Instead of looking at them as painful acts of judgment, look at them as merciful acts of longsuffering and patience and kindness. Pharaoh, I could have cut you off from the earth with the first twitch of my little finger. The fact that you are still breathing my air is an undeserved gift and evidence of my great grace toward you. The fact that I have allowed you to survive the first six of my mighty acts after you mistreated my people and rejected my servant and spat in my face is evidence of unfathomable divine restraint, evidence of my great mercy toward you. There is none like me – not only in power, but also in mercy.

But the implicit warning is clear. This time I will. I will strike you and your people. You will be cut off from the earth. That, Pharaoh, is what is coming. That is where we are headed. This will be the first mighty act that directly results in loss of human life. Pharaoh, you still think you are in control. You still feel that it is your right to release or not release the slaves. You are still demanding that my people serve you. Pharaoh, I want to let you in on a little secret. I want you to know that you are really serving me. Listen to what God says to Pharaoh:

16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.

This episode with Pharaoh is quoted by Paul in Romans 9 as an illustration of the biblical principle of the rights of the creator over his creation.

Romans 9:21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory–

This is exactly what God is doing with Pharaoh – patiently enduring a dishonorable lump of clay so that he can display to the world his power and just wrath.

Romans 9:17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

Pharaoh irrationally still thinks he is in control and is going to win in this battle for supremacy with YHWH. YHWH says ‘Pharaoh, even in your hard-hearted rebellion, you are serving me. I, who give to all men life and breath and everything, am right now sustaining you alive, enduring with much patience your willful self-centered pride-filled insubordination. I am causing you to continue to stand firm so that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

God’s Global Purpose

God’s purpose in his display of power in Pharaoh is bigger than the Egyptians knowing that YHWH is God. It is bigger than Pharaoh bowing the knee to YHWH. It is even bigger than the people of Israel worshiping their great God who redeemed them out of Egypt. God’s purpose is global – ‘that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’ God had promised Abraham that ‘in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed’ (Gen.26:4, cf.18:18; 22:18). That offspring was Jesus, and Jesus told his disciples

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

God’s global purpose is to put the fame of his name on display for all the earth to stand in awe. We are told that name is Jesus.

Philippians 2:9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

God’s purpose with the Pharaoh was to put his power on display for the world to see. And see it did. When the Israelites made it to the promised land, the people were terrified because they had heard what Israel’s God did to the Egyptians (Joshua 2:9-10). God’s reputation had preceded them. And here we are, several thousand years later, on the opposite side of the globe, reading these words:

16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go.

Pharaoh was exalting himself. Self-exaltation is never a good thing. If you are exalting yourself, God will grind you down, because ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’. (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5)

So much for the introduction; let’s get to the plague itself.

18 Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.’”” 20 Then whoever feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, 21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the LORD left his slaves and his livestock in the field.

This is amazing! God is warning the Egyptians that his wrath is about to be unleashed and he tells them exactly what will happen and even how to avoid it! Everyone outside will get killed, so bring everyone inside! The first plague that will directly result in human death as God sends missiles from heaven to crush everything, and God tells them exactly how to escape. In fact he commands it. Send – the same word that God is demanding Pharaoh to do with the Hebrews – send them out of Egypt. Now he demands that Pharaoh send and get everything in from the field so that it would be spared. This is a God rich in mercy! Here again a distinction is made, but this time it is among the Egyptians. There is a distinction between those who feared the word of the LORD and those who did not pay attention to the word of the LORD.

Isaiah 66:2 …But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

God speaks, and we must obey. For our own good we must listen to what he says. Notice that those who feared the word of the LORD hurried to respond. There is urgency. We can disregard him to our own everlasting hurt. Even to the Egyptians, God extended a way to be delivered from the coming judgment.

22 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.” 23 Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.

God promised; God warned; God provided a way of escape, but God’s judgment fell. God delivered on his promise. Everyone and everything left in the fields was bludgeoned to death. Trees were shattered. But God exempted his people from the judgment.

27 Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Plead with the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”

This is the third time that Pharaoh has called for Moses and Aaron to pray for him. This is also the third time that Pharaoh has promised to let the people go. But this is the first time that Pharaoh admits his own guilt. This is profound in light of what has been said before. When we read that God hardens Pharaoh’s heart and God says to Pharaoh ‘for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth’ , we tend to feel ‘poor little pharaoh, that’s just not fair. God is mistreating one of his creation.’ But these words were spoken to the Pharaoh. And Pharaoh himself says ‘I have sinned. The LORD is in the right and I and my people are in the wrong.’ God is just. His justice is proclaimed even by his fiercest enemies. Pharaoh here confesses to anyone who has ears to hear that YHWH God of the Hebrews is just and right and he is in the wrong.

29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the LORD God.”

Moses agrees to stretch out his hands in prayer for his enemy. His purpose is to further demonstrate that the earth is the LORD’s. But Moses communicates to Pharaoh that he knows they do not yet fear the LORD. Some of Pharaoh’s servants were said to fear the word of the LORD, but they do not yet fear the LORD God. They recognize that his words have power and he follows through with what he says, but they do not yet reverence him as God. They are afraid of his wrath, but they do not gladly submit to his authority. They are afraid of his actions, but they do not yet respect his person.

Moses gives us a clue as to why Pharaoh may have hardened his heart. Two staple crops were destroyed in the hail, but two other staples were later in their growth cycle so they survived. Egypt still had something tangible in which to place its hope.

31 (The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the emmer were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.) 33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the LORD, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses.

Again we see God’s power in response to prayer, and in the face of undeserved mercy, we see the sinful stubborn heart of Pharaoh in again refusing to let God’s people go. But as we have seen, this hardship for God’s people is for a good purpose.

16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.

God’s name is being proclaimed in all the earth.

Isaiah 12:3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. 5 “Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

November 7, 2010 Posted by pastorrodney | Exodus, podcast | glory, God, Holiness, humility, Jesus, lord, mercy | Leave a Comment

Exodus 4:18-23; My Firstborn Son

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20100801_exodus04_18-23.mp3

8/1 Exodus 4:18-23 My Firstborn Son

4: 11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” 13 But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” 14 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 16 He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. 17 And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.” 18 Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand. 21 And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”

God is sending Moses to be his instrument to deliver his people Israel from Egypt. Moses is a reluctant prophet. He doesn’t want to go. He is full of excuses. Five times now he has raised various objections or excuses to God’s call. Moses asked ‘who am I that I should deliver your people?’ And God answered Moses that it’s not about who you are. This is all about who I am. Who you are is irrelevant to the task at hand. The exodus of Israel from Egypt is not about Moses. It’s all about God displaying who he is and how awesome and glorious and powerful he is. Moses, it’s not about who you are, it’s who I AM that matters. Let’s get that straight right from the start. So Moses responds, ‘then who are you? If the people ask your name, who should I say sent me? God says ‘I am YHWH, the I AM, the self existent uncaused cause of all things. I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Tell them I AM has sent you, and tell them what I am about to do. Tell them I have been watching and I promise to bring them up out of the land of affliction into a good land. Moses, tell them and they will listen to you.’ Moses’ next question is a direct contradiction to this. ‘No, they will not believe me or listen to my voice. They will say ‘the Lord did not appear to you.”. So God gave Moses three signs to display that the power of God was at work with him, signs of God’s authority over the enemy, over disease, and over the gods of Egypt. Moses is amazed by the signs, but complains that he is not eloquent and blames God for not equipping him with the necessary skills to complete the task. God answers that he designs even disabilities for his good purposes to display his glory by using weak things to shame the strong. ‘I made you exactly the way you are for a good purpose.’ Moses’ final complaint gets down underneath all the excuses. He simply doesn’t want to go. O Lord, please send someone else. The anger of the Lord is aroused by his unbelief and disobedience, but even in this he supports the weakness of his servant. He offers Moses’ brother Aaron as a mouthpiece for Moses. This is the end of God’s encounter with Moses. He sends him away with the staff in his hand.

Moses, remember, is on the back side of the desert tending his father-in-law’s sheep. The back side, or the west side of the desert is in the direction of Egypt. But Moses doesn’t abandon the sheep and head for Egypt saying ‘God called me to go – I must obey God rather than man’. Instead, he responsibly returns the flocks to his father-in-law in Midian and honors him by asking his leave to go to Egypt.

18 Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”

Now Moses had his call from God. He didn’t need Jethro’s permission. He needed to go because God had called him. But God doesn’t call a person to ditch their responsibilities. Maybe Moses had been recalling the history of his people and remembered how Jacob left his uncle Laban. Jacob took the women and the kids and the sheep and ran. Laban pursued him and confronted him over his shady departure. Moses showed maturity by honoring his father-in-law and keeping family relationships good.

But I wonder what is between the lines in the narrative. God tells Moses to go, and Moses comes up with all kinds of excuses because he doesn’t want to go. Moses goes to his father-in-law to ask his permission. Was Moses hoping that he would say no? Jethro gives Moses his blessing. He says ‘go in peace.’ The next thing the text says is God shows up to Moses who is still in Midian and again tells him to go back to Egypt. Was Moses stalling again? For how long? I could hear Jethro saying ‘Moses, didn’t you ask my permission to go back to Egypt? Did you change your mind? Are you still planning to go?’ Moses might answer ‘yes, but, uh, Egypt is a long way. I’ve got to make preparations for the journey. Maybe we’ll leave next week. Or next month. Next year…’

19 And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.

Moses left Egypt as a wanted fugitive because he had killed an Egyptian. This sounds like a confirmation to Moses that the coast is clear. It is that, but it is more. God is not saying that Moses will have a warm reception in the courts of Egypt. The new Pharaoh will also want to kill Moses. God did not have to wait until the Pharaoh was dead. God could have protected Moses from the previous Pharaoh just as he will protect him from this Pharaoh as things heat up. God is not saying ‘go, because now it is safe.’ What God is saying to Moses is ‘It has already begun. I have already begun to execute judgment on Egypt. The Pharaoh that ordered the male children thrown in the river is dead. The men who wanted to kill you are dead. I have already begun to punish the Egyptians for their crimes. Go, because I have already begun to act.’

Moses is finally obeying. Moses packs up his sons and his wife and heads to Egypt. Notice it says ‘sons’. We have heard about Gershom, because his name means ‘stranger’ or ‘sojourner’. We won’t hear about Eliezer until chapter 18:4. The biblical narrative is focused on a point, so often details that we are curious about are left out because they don’t contribute to the theological message. What is important is that Moses took the staff of God in his hand. The shepherd’s staff that was in his hand when he met God in the wilderness has now become God’s staff. God told Moses to throw it on the ground, and the power of God performed a mighty sign with it. Moses is now going with the authority of another. If the Pharaoh of Egypt asked you to deliver a message and gave you his staff, you carry his authority on your errand. Moses is carrying a shepherd’s staff, which has become a symbol of God’s authority. He now carries God’s divine signature and acts as his representative. We too, carry God’s authority and represent him to the world we live in.

2 Corinthians 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

God gives Moses some final instructions and prepares him in advance for what is going to happen.

21 And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.

God had already told Moses that the Israelites would listen to him, but the Pharaoh would not listen.

3:18 And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go.

Now God gives Moses the explicit instruction that he must do the miracles before unbelieving Pharaoh as well as the believing Israelites. Why? Why do miracles that we already know ahead of time will not be listened to? Why waste the effort? God here tells us how he knows that the king of Egypt will not let the people go. God claims responsibility. God says ‘I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.’ God is demonstrating his absolute control over this situation. The Pharaoh will resist for as long as I want him to resist, and when the time comes, I will break down his resistance and cause him to let the people go. The mighty king of Egypt is reduced to a plaything in the hands of Almighty God.

Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.

God will increase the resistance of this king so that he can increase the display of his might. God will cause the unreasonable stubbornness in the Pharaoh so that he can demonstrate the supremacy of his glory over all the gods of the Egyptians. God, not Pharaoh is in control of every detail of this situation. God is announcing ahead of time that none of this is an afterthought. The ten plagues were not increasing attempts to convince the Pharaoh. It is not as if God is saying ‘Well, that didn’t work. Why don’t we try this? Maybe this will be enough to convince him.’ In chapter 3, God said “I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go” [3:20]. In chapter 4, God is telling Moses how he can predict that the Pharaoh won’t give in after the first 3 or 4 plagues. He won’t give in because I will make him stubborn. I control how long he will resist.

We might at this point be inclined to utter the ‘F’ word: That’s not fair! God shouldn’t violate the poor little Pharaoh’s will like that! It just doesn’t seem fair! Who are you O sinner to cry out to the Almighty for justice? Do you know what you are asking for? This is not a case of God unfairly manipulating a neutral and innocent party. Pharaoh is a sinner who has rebelled against God and his ways. He worships idols and demons in place of the one true God; he even believes himself to be the incarnation of the gods, he expects the worship of his subjects, and he is richly deserving of God’s just wrath. The fact that he is still allowed to breathe God’s air is evidence of God’s patient mercy on him.

19 times in the narrative Pharaoh’s heart is described as being hardened. 10 times God takes responsibility and says that he hardened Pharaoh’s heart. 3 times it says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. 6 times it simply describes Pharaoh’s heart as being hardened. Which is true? God claims to be the cause of Pharaoh’s hardness of heart. But we do not have an innocent neutral party who is supernaturally strong-armed against his own will to do and be something he would never on his own do or be. Even the language of ‘hardening’ implies a prior inclination or disposition that is sovereignly made resolute. Pharaoh is morally responsible for his own choices and actions, and he will be held accountable. God is accountable to his own nature and character for his decision to give or withhold mercy from a sinner deserving of wrath.

Paul uses God’s hardening of the Pharaoh’s heart in Romans 9 as an illustration of his sovereign freedom over his creation to do with it what pleases him. God has every right to exercise his justice on unrepentant sinners and display his wrath and power, so that he can display the riches of his glory in his mercy on sinners.

We asked ‘why perform miracles in front of someone who we already know will not believe?’ At least part of the answer to this question is in the dual purpose of the gospel message. Paul says:

2 Corinthians 2:15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

Part of the effect of the proclamation of truth is to increase the level of accountability of those who have heard and rejected the message. To some the good news brings life; to others it is the fragrance of death.

Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

God is being explicitly up front and clear with Pharaoh where the consequences of his choices will carry him.

22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”

This is the first time in the bible that Israel is referred to as God’s son. Up front, God is declaring exactly where this contest will climax. The issue in the exodus is to whom does Israel belong. Israel has been serving the Pharaoh. God says ‘let my son go that he may serve me’. God is declaring his relationship to Israel. Up to this point, God had promised to bless them, to make them into a great nation, to bless all nations through them, even to have his presence be with them. But now he is saying something more. God is declaring his relationship with his people. He says ‘they are my firstborn son.’ They have all the rights and privileges and responsibilities that a firstborn son has. This concept carries the idea of intimate relationship, love, nurture, care, commitment, protection, affection, friendship; there would be an expectation of training, of discipline, an expectation of honor and respect, obedience, service. Hosea points us to this intimacy of relationship between God and his people.

Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

Matthew sees Jesus as the perfect fulfillment of this ideal father-son relationship.

Matthew 2: 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

This is what God said about Jesus in Matthew 3:

Matthew 3:17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (c.f. Matthew 17:5)

God is saying to Pharaoh, ‘you are messing with someone that is very dear to me.’ What I find very informative is the justice of the consequence that God declares. He does not say ‘if you keep my firstborn as your servant I will take your firstborn as my servant.’ Why doesn’t he say that? That would seem just. If I take your son, you can take my son. But the nearness of God is the reward. Separation from God is equivalent to death. To prevent Israel from worshiping God is equivalent to taking their life. God is real life. Worship is what we were designed for. To be in the presence of God is genuine fulfillment and joy.

The meaning of the exodus is not the liberation of slaves. Freedom is not the ultimate goal of the exodus. The purpose of the exodus is transfer of a possession to its rightful owner. The question is a question of masters – who does Israel belong to? Whom should Israel serve? God says ‘let my son go that he may serve me.’ Service or worship of God is the goal. Autonomy is not the goal. I am not set free to be my own god. Christ redeemed us so that we would be included in his relationship to God as obedient sons to a gracious father.

John 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Galatians 4: 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

August 1, 2010 Posted by pastorrodney | Exodus, podcast | adoption, glory, God, Jesus, justice, Love, mercy | Leave a Comment

2 Peter 3:17-18; Grow in Grace, Knowledge, Glorify Jesus

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20100328_2peter3_17-18.mp3

03/28 2 Peter 3:17-18 Grow in Grace and Knowledge and Glorify Jesus

Today we conclude our study through the New Testament letters of 1 & 2 Peter. Jesus, when he appeared on the shores of the lake after his resurrection, told Peter to ‘feed my lambs; tend my sheep; feed my sheep’ (Jn.21:15-17). Peter was faithful, and now we hold in our hands among the books of the New Testament, these two God saturated grace filled truth packed letters from the pen of the apostle Peter. We’ve spent some time unpacking what Peter has given us by way of instruction and warning and encouragement, and as we come to the end, I’d like to look back over some of the highlights of these weighty documents.

Peter wrote his first letter to churches who were suffering fiery trials and persecution from those outside. He writes the second letter because these churches are being attacked by scoffers from within who question the return of Christ and undermine the need for moral integrity.

Peter says:

3:1 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles,

So Peter wrote primarily to stir us up by way of reminder. As believers we all know some things about God and his grace toward sinners. Peter assumes that we know some things. Peter’s stated purpose in both his letters is to stir us up by way of reminder. The truth of God’s word can settle out at the bottom of our hearts and minds and we can go on and live as if it were not there at all. Peter aims to agitate our hearts and minds to bring the truth that we know up to where we will do something about it and live in light of it. In his first letter, he reminds us of our identity as elect or chosen by God, but aliens or strangers in this world (1:1). He prays for us that grace and peace would be multiplied to us (1:2) and then his heart erupts in worship God who is rich in mercy (1:3). Peter spends the beginning paragraphs of his letter unfolding the truth of God’s gracious purposes toward us in salvation (1:3-12), and then he exhorts us to set our hope fully on God’s grace that is still to come (1:13) as transforming power for holy life. Our life is to be a life lived in light of the facts of who God is and what he’s done for us (1:17-19). We are to live life in light of the cross. And we are to live lives that put God on display. The purpose of our existence is to ‘proclaim the excellencies of him who called you’ (2:9). Our lives are to be such that ‘they may see your good deeds and glorify God’ (2:12). Peter has given us practical instruction on how to glorify God by our conduct in relation to gossips, to government, to evil employers, and to unbelieving spouses (2:12-3:7). He encourages us when we find ourselves suffering unjustly, because this is grace in God’s sight, and we are called to put God on display through how we face suffering (2:20-21). Jesus is the ultimate example of redemptive suffering – through his suffering in our place, we have been brought near to God (3:18) and through our suffering, we have an opportunity to display the good news of the total sufficiency of God for hopeless sinners. Because God uses suffering to refine us, we should humble ourselves under his mighty hand, so that at the proper time he will lift us up (5:6). We have an adversary that would like to swallow us whole, so we must be on our guard and keep our faith firmly fixed on God (5:8). God is ‘the God of all grace’ (5:10), and he ‘will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you’ so that all power is seen to be his (5:11). Peter concludes that ‘this is the true grace of God’ and he tells us to ‘stand firm in it’ (5:12)

Throughout the letter, he points us to Jesus, Jesus who sprinkles us with his blood (1:2); Jesus who gives us a living hope through his resurrection (1:3); Jesus who will reward us at his coming (1:7). The Old Testament prophets pointed to the sufferings and glories of Jesus (1:11). The precious blood of Jesus is our ransom (1:19); Jesus bore our sins in his body on the tree (2:24); Jesus suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God (3:18). This is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it (5:12).

In his second letter, Peter tells us that we have obtained faith as a gift by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ (1:1). He asks that grace and peace be multiplied to us in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord (1:2). He reminds us of his divine power that has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us (1:3) and he wants us to be effective and fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (1:8). He wants us to be diligent to make our calling and election sure by growing in godly qualities so that we will be given entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ (1:11). Peter knows his death will be soon, so he is making every effort to leave a permanent written reminder to stir us up and establish us in the truth (1:12-15). He warns us of the danger of those who secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them (2:1). These false teachers are characterized by arrogance, sensuality and greed, and he warns that it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness then to have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and then later to become entangled in them again (2:20-21). Peter re-interprets the perceived delay in the fulfillment of God’s promises as the abundant mercy of God toward sinners, patiently giving them multiplied opportunities to repent. But Peter’s warning is clear – judgment is coming and the ungodly will be destroyed. He implores us to diligence – to be found by him without spot or blemish and at peace. And he concludes the letter this way:

17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

This is the fourth time Peter addresses us as his ‘beloved’. He deeply cares about the flock of God and wants to prepare us and protect us from the dangers at hand.

The ‘you’ in this verse is personal and it is emphatic; ‘you therefore – you!’ You, in contrast to the ignorant and unstable who twist the scriptures to their own destruction.

You, knowing this beforehand. Knowing that scripture twisters would come, knowing that it was predicted that scoffers would come following their own lusts; knowing that the judgment of God is coming and all the works done on the earth will be laid bare, knowing that God is

Exodus 34:6 … “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Because we know this beforehand, take care. Be on guard. Watch out! This is the first of two imperatives that Peter gives to keep us from falling. Watch out!

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

1Corinthians 10:12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

You! Do not think you are exempt from this! Most people do not say ‘I think today I will embrace a destructive heresy and deny the Master who bought me’. It is a gradual, almost imperceptible slide down a slippery slope.

When Paul had to confront Peter publicly about his actions that were inconsistent with his beliefs, he says:

Galatians 2:13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

Even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. This is that same word that is used here – carried away. Enormous social pressure is often applied to individuals. Even Barnabas was carried away. Barnabas, the son of encouragement, who introduced the newly converted Paul to the rest of the Apostles who were afraid (Acts 9:27); Barnabas, who was a trusted messenger sent on several important assignments in the early church; Barnabas, who accompanied Paul on much of his missionary work, even Barnabas, who had the guts to stand up to Paul in their dispute over taking John Mark along on another missionary journey, this Barnabas lost his own stability and was carried away by the hypocrisy of the Jews in undermining justification by faith alone with his actions.

Peter knew first hand what this was like. Peter bowed to the social pressure of the Jews from James who came to Antioch. Peter, who told Jesus he would die with him (Lk.22:33; Mt.26:33,35), even after he was warned that Satan desired to sift him like wheat (Lk.22:31); even after Jesus told him to watch and pray that he might not enter temptation (Mk.14:37); even after Jesus explicitly predicted that he would fail three times, when he was asked by a servant girl, he denied three times with oaths that he even knew Jesus (Lk.22:55-61).

We are all in danger of losing our own stability. In 1 Peter 5:6-9, he cautions us toward humility and sober-minded watchfulness, because ‘Your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.’ And he tells us to ‘resist him, firm in your faith, knowing …’ We gain the victory through humility – not thinking we can handle it, but knowing that we can’t and depending on the God of all grace, who will himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

Peter’s second imperative to keep us from being carried away ultimately to our own destruction is to grow. Grow in grace. Grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Grow!

But how do we grow? Growth seems to be something that happens to us, yet here Peter commands us to grow and he expects us to heed the warning and obey. How do we grow? Peter told us in his first letter.

1 Peter 2:2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation– 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Plants grow and produce fruit. Babies grow. Growth is natural, almost a passive process. But for growth to happen, the proper nutrients need to be ingested. When Hannah was born at 2lbs 15oz, she needed to grow. They put a tube through her nose into her stomach, and we would pour nutrient rich milk down that tube, and she grew. When I hold Isaiah, he opens his mouth and grunts and roots around looking for food. Then he gets mad and cries because he can’t find what he’s looking for. He has an insatiable appetite for milk. Peter tells us that we are to be like that – with spiritual milk – the pure milk of the word. The milk of the word is the God-given means for growth. And ultimately it is God who produces the growth:

1 Corinthians 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.

But how do we grow in grace if grace is an undeserved gift? Peter told us this in his first letter too – God gives grace to the humble. We grow in grace by acknowledging our dependence on God for everything. Jesus invited us to become like little children – ask, seek, knock. Ask.

Peter has prayed for us in both letters that grace would be multiplied to us. He told us that all things necessary for our life and godliness have been given to us by God’s divine power. God’s precious and very great promises have been given to us. We are to appropriate and enjoy the benefits of God’s favor toward us. We must grow in God’s free gift of grace.

We are also to grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In Peter’s prayer, we see that grace and peace are multiplied to us ‘in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord’ (1:2). And Peter told us that God’s supernatural power gives to us everything we need for life and godliness ‘through the knowledge of him who called us’ (1:3). This knowledge of Jesus we are commanded to grow in, but this knowledge is also a gift.

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

We grow by coming to him needy and hungry and thirsty and we ask. We use the God-appointed means for getting to know him – God’s word. We know Jesus as our King and our Redeemer, our one Authority that must be obeyed, and our Rescuer. Our Lord and Savior

And as we grow as recipients of more and more grace, and as we grow in our knowledge and appreciation of who Jesus is and what he does for us, the natural expression will be doxology – an outpouring of praise to him. To him be glory. To Jesus be all the glory. God said:

Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

And Jesus said:

John 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

Peter started this letter out by pointing to the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our God and he is our Savior. And as God, he alone deserves to be glorified as God. Most New Testament doxologies attribute glory to God the Father (Rom.16:25-27; Phil.4:20-23; 1 Pet.5:10-14; Jude 24-25) , but there are a few (2Tim.4:18; Heb.13:21; Rev.1:5-6) like this one, that give the glory to Jesus. To Jesus be glory now. The false teachers were denying the Master who bought them. The antidote for this is to become recipients of his grace and grow in his knowledge and overflow with praise to him. Knowledge that does not result in worship and love will only puff up and destroy. Knowledge here is not information but an ever deepening relationship with a person. The Christian life must be defined as continual movement toward Jesus through the means he has given us to know him. That is Jesus’ description of what eternal life consists in:

John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Experiencing his grace, increasing in intimacy, exploding with worship. Glory belongs to Jesus right now. Right now from us today! And glory belongs to Jesus to the day of eternity. When we receive his grace and grow in our relationship with him, we will never throughout eternity tire of giving him our adoration and affection and admiration and worship and honor and praise.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

March 28, 2010 Posted by pastorrodney | 2 Peter, podcast | doxology, glory, grace, humility, Jesus, knowledge, perseverance, Peter, praise, suffering, Trinity, worship | Leave a Comment

The Second Coming of Jesus

http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20091227_second_coming_of_jesus.mp3

12/27/09 – the second coming of Jesus

We’ve spent some time this season looking at Jesus; at who Jesus is. We saw that Jesus claimed to be the eternal all glorious pre-existent self existent one, sent from the Father, equal to and one with his Father and worthy of the same honor as the Father, in and of himself truly and fully God.

We saw that the response of the wise men to Jesus was the appropriate response – they came to worship him. They brought gifts and expended time and energy and made the sacrifices of a long journey and yet counted it all joy to have the privilege of welcoming this king born in Bethlehem.

We’ve seen in the good news of Christmas that God humbled himself and became a man, truly and fully man. In addition to being God, Jesus took on the nature of genuine humanity. God himself, the eternal self-existent uncreated creator of all things, the second person of the Trinity, entered history and became flesh. He was born into this world as a man in order to be our substitute and rescue us from sin and death and hell. He came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for rebellious sinners like you and me.

Another name for the time leading up to Christmas is Advent – from a Latin word that means arrival. We celebrate the arrival of Jesus. And his coming was inconspicuous and non-threatening. Philippians 2:7-8 tells us that he emptied himself and he humbled himself. In his coming he fully identified himself with us (Heb.4:15)

Jesus is the image of the invisible God. He made God known to us in a form that was comprehensible. Unpretentious. Touchable. Holdable. Real. Even adorable or cute in his apparent helplessness.

It was dangerous for God to reveal himself to us this way. There is a danger for us in seeing Jesus in the manger in Bethlehem. Many would feel uncomfortable visiting someone in a palace, but no-one feels intimidated to enter a barn. Some may refuse to enter a barn because they are offended at the smell or they don’t want to soil their shoes, but no-one feels that they are not good enough to enter a barn. There are people we dare not violate their personal space, and it can be awkward to look someone in the eye, but there is something about an infant that invites intimacy and touching. Perfect strangers make fools of themselves making faces and sounds that otherwise they would be embarrassed to make. “What’s his name? How old is he? Can I hold him?” Babies seem to break down social barriers. We don’t have to climb up to reach them, we have to stoop down to their level. It seems there is much more interest in celebrating Christmas than there is in celebrating Good Friday, even though Christmas was an essential first step toward the cross. There is something dangerously comfortable about thinking of Jesus as a babe in the hay. We might want to keep him there, where he is safe, harmless, non-threatening, un-intimidating, approachable, ordinary. I say dangerous because familiarity sometimes breeds contempt. Think of those from Jesus’ hometown. They were excited when their hometown boy made headline news. But when he returned home and taught in the synagogue he grew up in, the townsfolk who knew him took offense at him (Matt.13:53-58). “I remember when you were only this big. I used to babysit you. I changed your diapers. Who do you think you are?”

The commonness of Jesus, the humble circumstances of his birth, the approachability of a baby, the ordinariness of it all may cause us to miss or disbelieve who he is. Remember what the angel said to Mary:

Luke 1:35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy––the Son of God.

Jesus was a real child born in the ordinary way, but Jesus is absolutely holy, totally set apart, unique and different. When Isaiah was in the presence of the one who was proclaimed by the seraphim to be ‘Holy, holy, holy’, he was undone and declared ‘woe to me’ (Is.6:3-5). We must see Jesus as the man who could legitimately stand in our place and bear the wrath of a holy God against the sins of mankind, but we must not allow our understanding of who he is to be limited to the manger.

Advent means arrival or coming. We have been looking at the advent of Messiah. But in scripture, there is a second advent, a second arrival, a second coming of the Messiah, Jesus. When Jesus ascended to heaven 40 days after his resurrection the angels said:

Acts 1:11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Jesus himself promised his disciples:

John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

John 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

But the second coming of Jesus will be much different than his first coming. Jesus prayed to his Father:

John 17:24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

In the first coming, Jesus emptied himself of his glory. He humbled himself and took on the form of a servant. But Jesus described his coming again as a coming in power and great glory:

Matthew 24:30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (cf. Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27)

John, one of the inner circle of three disciples who witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus, one of the three who were brought with him to the garden to pray, one who was there at the trial and crucifixion, who leaned against Jesus at the last supper, who described himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved, this John, when he was given a glimpse of Jesus in his glory had this response:

Revelation 1:17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.

We’ve seen who Jesus claimed to be – that he claimed to be the omnipotent eternal uncreated creator of all things, the one who is self-existent and by whom all things exist. We’ve seen that Jesus is God manifested in the flesh and that he claimed to be equal to and one with the Father and worthy of the same honor as the Father. When we stand at the manger our response should not be ‘awwww’. Our response to Jesus should be worship, awe, the fear of the Lord. The wise men from the east got on their faces in the presence of the toddler Jesus. What was it that caused John to have this response? John saw the glory of Jesus. Let’s look at what he saw, and let’s be moved with him to awe:

Revelation 1:12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two–edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

Jesus was moving among his lampstands the churches. He wore a long robe – a priestly robe, because as Hebrews teaches, he is our great high priest. He wore a golden sash around his chest because he is our king, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the King of king and Lord of lords, to whom every knee shall bow. His hair, a symbol of his wisdom, was white like wool, reminding us of Daniel’s vision of the Ancient of Days (Dan.7:9). His eyes are too pure to look on evil with favor, and penetrate to the hidden places of our hearts, and his feet remind us of the refiner’s fire and the righteous judgment of God who will one day crush all who oppose him. His voice will thunder and put a stop to all competing voices. He holds complete authority over all creation and over his churches in the palm of his hand. Jesus is the living Word of God and Jesus said:

John 12:48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

Jesus is the light of the world. The glory of Jesus was greater in intensity than the sun shining in full strength.

Later in Revelation, John again gets a glimpse of Jesus in the glory that he had with his Father before the world existed (Jn.17:5)

Revelation 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

This is a description of Jesus coming in power and great glory. This same Jesus who came in humility will come again in a display of strength and justice. When he attended the synagogue in Nazareth,

Luke 4:17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

The next line in Isaiah 61, that Jesus did not read, says this:

…and the day of vengeance of our God; (Isaiah 61:2)

That scripture will be fulfilled in Jesus at his second coming. Paul describes this righteous judgment of God in 2 Thessalonians:

2Thessalonians 1:5 … the righteous judgment of God …7 … when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

This same Jesus, who came in weakness and helplessness as a baby, will come again in flaming fire inflicting vengeance on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Later in the book, Paul describes Jesus dealing with Antichrist in this way:

2Thessalonians 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.

This is Jesus. Friend of sinners who run to him for salvation, extending forgiveness to all who come, merciful and compassionate, but to those who reject him, he destroys his enemies by the breath of his mouth. This is the picture we have in Revelation 6 of the Christ rejecting world:

Revelation 6:15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

When Jesus spoke of his coming in power and glory, he told us to ‘stay awake’ (Mt.24:42) and to ‘be ready’ (Mt.24:44) and to ‘watch’ (Mt.25:13). He says

Luke 21:34 “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

Jesus tells us:

Luke 21:28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

For those who are prepared for and looking for his return, it is an occasion of great joy. John gives us some helpful instruction on how to prepare our hearts to receive the king:

1John 2:28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.

In John 15, Jesus used the metaphor of a branch abiding in the vine and bearing much fruit. Run to Jesus to find forgiveness at the cross and abundant life. Stay continually plugged in to him, daily drawing strength from him, enjoying intimacy of fellowship with him. Know him, so that when he comes in power and glory we rejoice at the coming of our victorious king rather than shrinking from the wrath of our just judge.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

December 27, 2009 Posted by pastorrodney | occasional, podcast | coming, glory, Jesus, judgment, justice, power, return of Christ, wrath | Leave a Comment

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About

Hello, I’m Pastor Rodney. I’m glad to have the opportunity to introduce myself. Rodney & Deanna

I was called to pastor Ephraim Church of the Bible on February 27, 2005. My wife Deanna and I resigned from our jobs, sold our home, and packed up our four girls Jessica (6), Abigail (4), Emily (3) and Hannah (1) to move to Utah at the end of March. We arrived in Ephraim on April 6, bought a house and began to settle in (as you might notice in the pictures, God has since blessed us with another girl, Aliyah and a son, Isaiah).

I was born and raised in Minnesota, and attended Emmaus Bible College in Iowa, where I met Deanna. She was from Washington State, and when I graduated from college I followed her to Washington and married her. She is a nurse and shares a passion to serve and follow Jesus Christ.

I served as youth pastor for 8 years at a church in Mount Vernon, Washington, while working in the engineering department for a manufacturer of marine propulsion control systems. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there, but through a variety of circumstances we felt God directing us to Utah. We decided to stay put and be faithful doing what God had given us to do until it was unmistakable that God wanted us elsewhere. He made that unmistakably clear and we now are delighted to call Ephraim home.

Zedicher Family My passion has always been to teach the Bible as God’s Word, and see lives transformed as a result (including my own!). I believe God has the power to radically alter our lives through His truth. My goal is to study and understand what God has said, and communicate that in such a way that you are brought into contact with Jesus, who is alive and well today. We welcome all visitors, and our style is casual because God is more concerned with what’s in your heart than with what you wear. We emphasize worship of God because in worship we are fulfilling our design. When we declare to each other and to the world that God is our greatest treasure, He is honored, and we are satisfied. My desire is to teach the Word of God and give a firm foundation to your faith, so that you can grow deep and be fruitful and bring pleasure to our awesome God.
~Rodney Zedicher

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