God Comes Near to His People
On September 8th, 2019, Pastor Jonathan started a new sermon series working through the book of Exodus. Over the next several months we worked the first half of the book of Exodus. We preached through the first 20 Chapters, of 40. Chapter 20, which was just read, is where Israel received the 10 words, or 10 commandments at the foot of Mount Sinai.
The book of Genesis ends with a large family, 70 descendants of Israel, that have moved to Egypt. When they leave Egypt, they have grown to more than 600,000 men, plus women and children. They are a mixed multitude that is led into the wilderness, and rescued through the Red Sea.
In Exodus 19, about 3 months after leaving Egypt, they arrive at the mountain of God, potentially 2 million large. They are a brand new nation that God is establishing, and at Mount Sinai, God is making a covenant with His people. At this mountain, Israel will receive the book of the law, and extensive instructions on how to build a sanctuary for God, so that He may be in the presence of his people. The nation of Israel will be here through the rest of the book of Exodus, they will be here long enough to celebrate the passover and will then set out about a month later as recorded in Numbers 10.
The goal this morning is to look at a couple of themes through the book of Exodus. We have worked up through the 10 commandments in detail, and now are about to dive into the specific applications of the law in future weeks. So this morning, we are going to walk through 3 things. First, we see The Grace of God in Revealing His name. Second, we see The Nearness of God in Giving the Law. And last, we will see how Jesus is the pinnacle of both of these things.
Would you pray with me.
Father, there are so many themes and connections in the book of Exodus. Themes that carry through the books of Moses, and themes that carry through all of scripture. Would you this morning illuminate our minds to the Glory of who You are, and how you relate to your people. Increase our understanding, and increase our worship of you, In Jesus name, Amen.
Moses Learns the Name to God
The book of Exodus starts by giving a summary of what has happened as time has passed from the end of the book of Genesis. The people of Israel have multiplied greatly and have filled the land, a new king has risen over Egypt, one that does not know the legacy of Joshua and looks on the people of Israel as a threat. He oppressed the people of Israel with harsh labor. He tries to restrict their growth and strength by killing all the male children.
In the midst of this, Moses is put in a basket in the river and found by the daughter of pharaoh. She unknowingly hires the child’s mom to care for him, and names him Moses. Moses is raised in pharaoh’s house. Once grown, Moses kills an Egyptian who was beating one of the Hebrews. He then fleas to Midean in fear, and marries and has a child there.
Then, for the first time in the book, God is mentioned at the end of chapter 2.
Ex. 2:23-25 “During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” The cries go up to God, and he hears them, and knows the covenant he made, and will act.
So while Moses is caring for a flock in Horeb, by the mountain of God, the Angel of the Lord appears to him in a bush that is burning but is not consumed. As he draws near God speaks to Moses and identifies himself initially as the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.
God goes on to tell Moses that He has chosen him to free his people from the affliction and slavery of the Egyptians. Moses asks several questions to God, one of them being this:
Moses asks:
“If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them? 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’. God also said to Moses, Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your father, 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.”
For the first time in the book of Exodus God speaks, and when he does, he reveals His name! God answers Moses and reveals His personal name! I AM WHO I AM, I am Yahweh. This is my name to be remember by forever, throughout all generations. This is not just one answer among many questions, this is a new intimacy of God with His people that has not been experience before.
The book of Exodus, is the biggest jump in God’s revelation of Himself until Jesus comes. He reveals His name to be remembered for all generations. He reveals his law which is perfect, and relevant generation to generation. He instruct Israel to build a sanctuary so that he may go with them. His name, His Covenant and law, and His presences, all in a new depth that will carry through the entirety of scripture. These are foundations laid and referenced by Jesus and the Apostles even after Jesus.
The significance of God’s name being shared is highlighted when Moses is soon discouraged and God reminds him that he “appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself know to them.”
Your name is more than a word you are called by. Your name is your reputation, your character, it represents you. All of Exodus is answering the questions “Who is Yahweh? What is He like?”
Israel learns His name
Moses then goes to the leaders of Israel in Egypt. He speaks with them and does the signs God had given him. The leaders of Israel believe that God has heard their cries, and they believe and worship.
Moses will then go before pharaoh and reveal the name of the God of the Hebrews to him as well. His responses is a little different.
Pharaoh first hears of Yahweh in Ex. 5:2, and responds by saying “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD.” From Exodus 5 to the end of 14, God will continue to answer the question of “Who is Yahweh?”
We see a pattern emerge here as we go. Increased revelation of God, (which is grace in it of itself.) Israel worshipped when God made himself known to them, as should we! Then Increased knowledge of God. But, Increased hardening of Pharaohs heart.
Throughout the book this pattern repeats itself, here are 4 examples.
1) When God instructs Moses and Aaron in Chapter 7 and says:
“Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. 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.”
2) During the 4th Plague God makes a distinction between Israel/Egypt (Ex. 8:21-22):
“And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 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.”
3) 5th plague, Striking the livestock (Ex. 9:14-16):
“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. 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. 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.”
Remember we are talking about God’s grace here, lest we think this is a negotiation, or a battle between to kings or powers. God essentially says, “Lets be clear, you are only still here by my mercy.”
4) 7th Plague Hail (Ex. 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.”
Yahweh says He is doing these things; that you may know that I am the God of Israel, that you may know that I am in the midst of the earth, that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth, so that the whole earth may know my name, and that you may know that I’m not just among the earth, but the earth is mine!
Increased revelation, increased knowledge, increase hardening of his heart. And Israel is much different. The fact that a Holy God would choose to make himself known to an unholy people is grace. We see the purpose of the LORD, that by His grace, He has chosen Israel as His first born, and make a distinction between them and the other nations of the earth. He Remembers His covenant with Abraham and will fulfill it.
Yahweh has proclaimed His name through His rescue of Israel. Now He will continue to be present with his people as he further reveals His will and Character through the law. He continues to answer the questions: “Who is Yahweh?, and What is He like?”
So as we move on to the law, there is lots to see here in the law, and I don’t want us to miss it.
I was playing catch with my sone the other day. He knew we were playing catch, but he would throw the ball in my general direction, I would catch it, and he would say “I did it”. HE did make the throw, but then I would toss it back, just barely miss his glove, and he would say “daddy you missed”. Outside of this repeated pattern being a little humbling, it was clear that he didn’t grasp all that we were doing. He knew we were playing catch, but missed the full picture that of what was going on. He was supposed to catch the ball, verse me throwing it perfectly into his glove. He had the basics, but was missing the full picture of the point.
I think this can happen with the law, we see it, on the surface it makes sense, but we miss the full picture of God’s purpose in the law. Moses, in Deuteronomy 4, helps fill out the picture for us, lest we miss the larger picture of the law.
Deut. 4:5-7 - Moses says to Israel: “See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statures and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?
The Nearness of God
4 ways the law shows the uniquely close presence of God with Israel:
This is not the first law ever, but Israel is now a nation being established, and God law stands out among those of other ancient nations.
1) Yahweh has saved Israel prior to giving them the law
Ex. 20:1 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
It is not Israel’s actions that set them apart in Egypt, it was God’s! God had shown his faithfulness and, trustworthiness to Israel. He met Moses on mount, brought Israel there, blessed them, just as he promised.
2) The law has several commands related to their relationship to God
4 of 10 commandments deal directly with our vertical relationship to God. Commands that focused on worship and revering God, not just social rules. Our relation to God is foundational to the ethics and wisdom of the law.
3) The law of God goes deeper than actions
The law addresses heart motivations and what is good for your soul. Take for example the 10th commandment, you shall not covet your neighbors things. To covet your neighbors fields, doesn’t require restitution but is still wrong. The law of God isn’t just concerned about making societies whole, but making individual people whole. It is life to us to not covet the things of our neighbors. Rather, it is good and right for us to trust God, and to love our neighbor and seek his good. Even to love our enemy and seek his good.
This is why David speaks of the law in this way:
Psalm 19:7-9 “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.”
4) Love of Yahweh lays the foundation for all other commands (In OT and NT)
Jesus quotes part of Deuteronomy 6.
Matt 22:37-40 [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
John reinforces this in 1 John.
1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
We cannot fulfill commandments 5-10, or 11 or 12 without fulfilling 1-4, especially #1. We cannot love our neighbor without loving God first. John tell us that To love people we MUST love God, For God is love, and love comes from God. Our love is a derivative love, it comes from somewhere else, we don’t create it. And if God is love, then any “love” not from God is not love. And If the law is fulfilled in loving God and our Neighbor, then the law, all of the law, is teaching us what love looks like and does.
When we look at the law in coming weeks, remember God is promoting human flourishing, not restricting it. He is revealing His will and wisdom, to us and the nations. He is going to great lengths to be near his people, and to give guidance and protection in a world saturated with sin. His law gives guidance when the ideal does not happen, when sin makes a mess of things. The law is as act of love by God. He gives us a lamp to our path. His situational laws help us to understand what is loving in specific situations.
In all these things think nearness. God is in it with his, he is a participant in history, he is involved with His people, and His name and nearness to us is grace. Other nations will look at the law of Moses, and say: “Their God is near to them, he answers and helps them, and he is a just and fair God. There is no God like Yahweh.”
The law is not meant to separate us from God, it is a step by God towards us. It is not the law that separates us from God, it is our sin. The is law given to provide guidance, for Israel to flourish and to have a Holy God be near. The tabernacle is not made so God can move away, but so that he can be near his people. (Ex. 25-40).
In Exodus, God’s is revealing His name and His presence to Israel. He has done this in a way not rivaled for centuries. But when the the fullness of time had come, God sent is own son.
In Exodus God speaks his name, and that name is bestowed upon Jesus in triumph. In Exodus, God come near His people, but Jesus becomes one of his people, taking on flesh. In Exodus, God gives his law, and Jesus fulfills the law.
1) Jesus is the perfect revelation of God’s name and character
“In him the fulness of God was pleased to dwell.” Jesus being obedient to death, even death on the cross, was highly exalted and the Father bestowed on Him the name that is above every name -Yahweh. The I AM
2) Jesus the pinnacle of God coming near to his people
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” God came nearer still, not in a tent or an ark, but in the likeness of mankind. He tabernacled in sinful human flesh, beset with every weakness like us, yet without sin.
3) Jesus fulfilled the law on both sides
He was perfect, so he fulfilled every aspect of the the law perfectly. He also came to be the perfect, effectual sacrifice for the sins of those who not fulfill the law.
The one who knew no sin, made the payment for sin, so that we may be reconciled to God, and be in His presence forever. The sins that had separated us, now have been paid for and removed. Jesus has brought us back to God. His body was broken because of his great love for us, and now by His Spirit, we can love others. We cannot love without Him, we are fully dependent on Him for help, for mercy, and for His love to be poured into our hearts, so that we can pour it out to others.
And Jesus sacrifice was so effectual, that we are no new creations and our bodies are now the tabernacle of the Lord. His Spirit dwells in all those who believe. The God who dwells in unapproachable light, has forgiven our sins, and made us Holy unto Him. He is so pleased with Jesus’s payment for our sins, that He sent His Spirit to aid and guide us. And we will one day raise to be in His presence forever. The LORD saved Israel from physical bondage, and now have saved us from spiritual bondage to sin.
Sin that merits eternal condemnation. And all this is done to the Glory of His Name! Your name carries your reputation, and God has a reputation for saving and healing sinners. So come to him if you have never before. He has the desire and the power to save.
The Table
Yahweh brought Israel to a mountain, and Jesus invites us to a table, to a spiritual meal, to be reminded of the love of Yahweh, through the life and death of Jesus. Greater love an no-one than this, that he gives his life for a friend.
The bread and the cup are primarily for members of Cities Church, but if Jesus is your treasure, you are a sojourner with Him, then we welcome you to eat and drink with us. But if you are not there yet, we ask that you let the elements pass, lest you proclaim something you do not believe and bring judgement on yourself.
His Body is the true bread, and His Blood is the true drink, let us serve you.