Exodus.

Introduction….

 

Exodus One: ….(v.1-6)                     Israel in Egypt .

Verses 1-6….

   We have already seen in our study of Genesis how Israel came to be in Egypt. Joseph, the despised and hated brother in the family of Jacob, is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ who came into the world and despised, rejected by men and acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3)…..

Joseph was sold by his brothers to be done away with and out Lord was sold by one of His own disciples to people who wanted to do away with Him. Joseph bore much injustice, and our Lord had no justice shown Him at all in His trial. When Joseph was thrown into prison, he was cut off from normal living and our Lord had His human life cut off too.

In the end, Joseph became the highest ruler in the land of Egypt, and the provider for all Egypt’s needs….our Lord is sitting at God’s right hand, King of kings and Lord of lords and is our provider and protector.

The bothers meant it for evil, God meant it for good (Genesis 50:20). Satan wanted Christ destroyed, but through His death sin and Satan have been defeated for ever. Through Joseph’s high position and glory, his brothers were saved and increased, and through Christ’s glorification, His church is being gathered and increasing until completed.

Now we are going to see how Israel left the bondage of Egypt and travelled across the desert to the promised land. This is not just a historical story, but also a picture of the believer as he travels through life, and the lessons we can learn from them as they progress.

The Bible is full of pictures to see, Of things on earth to eternity,

Joseph we see as a picture of Christ, The One who saved man by paying sin’s price.

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Exodus One ….(v.7-14)            The Scene Set.

Verses 7-14….

   God had chosen these people to be for Him…not because they were any better than others, but simply because He loved them! (Genesis 15:1-7; Jeremiah 31:3). God had blessed them and they had increased in number and size while living in Egypt…..

This was all part of God’s plan as He had told Abraham long before that his descendents would live in a land not theirs for 400 years and that this nation (Egypt) would be judged as they left it (Genesis 15:13-14).

Joseph had been held in high regard by the Pharaoh who knew him and [pssibly his son as well. But now 300 or more years had gone by and the present Pharaoh neither knew nor cared about how Joshua had delivered his people. He mad Israel to be his servants, slaves in fact, and had task masters set over them to keep them in bondage. It was possibly the slaves of Israel who built some of the great pyramids of Egypt.

Egypt has always been a picture of the world system that we live in where Satan strives to keep people in bondage and misery. Men are his slaves and don’t know it! The more the people multiplied in number, the more Pharaoh oppressed them and the more God’s people go on for Him, the more Satan tries to destroy them. We see this in the present day with the Isis movement beheading people for merely resisting their teaching.

Joseph had died and his memory gone, His people grew and were put under bond,

So mankind today under evil oppressed, Can only through Christ have eternity’s rest.

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Exodus One ….(v.15-22)          God’s Plan Not Thwarted .

Verses 15-22….

   The king of Egypt was afraid of this growing population within his land and did his best to stop it….

He ordered the midwives to see that all the boy babies were thrown into the River Nile as they were born, but they refused to obey this. They feared God rather than the king and obeyed God’s laws instead.

We see the same example in the New Testament when Peter and the other apostles were told by the authorities that they were not to preach the gospel which gives life. They stood up boldly and said they ought to obey God rather than man, and continued to preach (Acts 5:29).

So we too must stand up for what is right whether it be against the pressures of our peers or whether it be against an actual law that may be contrary to the Scriptures…for example signing a petition in favour of prostitution or legalising marijuana etc.

God’s protection was on the midwives for doing what was right.

We must shun the wrong and stand for right, Against wrong pressures we must fight,

God’s blessing is on those who stand, As on the midwives in Egypt’s land.

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Exodus Two ….(v.1-10)           The Beginning of a Life of Faith .

Verses 1-10….

   We come now to this man and his wife who are unnamed here, who we might think were a very insignificant couple. But God had His hand on this family and find out later that his name was Amram and was one of the grandsons of Levi, one of Joseph’s older brothers…..

He and his wife already had an older daughter and son (Miriam and Aaron) and now they had another baby, a boy. He was born under the curse of Pharaoh and should have been thrown into the river, but God had His hand on this child right from birth. He was a beautiful child, very placid and quiet, and they managed to keep him hidden for three months.

We would like to know why the mother did what she did….how much did she know the Egyptian princess (if at all)? Did she feel God telling her to do this? Whichever way it was, she had faith that this unusual act would end up for good. Not only was the child adopted by the princess, but she was paid to look after him until he was weaned!

We can imagine how she must have taught this young child from the time he could understand of the existence of the one true God and of His protection and promises to His people.

Moses’ mother had faith indeed, And called on God in her time of need,

She put her babe out with never a fear, And the princess took the child to rear.

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Exodus Two….(v.11-14)          Moses in the Palace.

Verses 11-14….

   Let’s stop and think what happened between verses 10-11. Moses was no doubt weaned at a very late age, maybe even four or five! So Noses’ mother had those years to instill into his young mind his basic history and knowledge of God.

What his mother taught him would never have left him, and what an encouragement this is to mothers today! (Proverbs 22:6). Moses was then taken in to Pharaoh’s court and was trained in all of Egypt’s arts and etiquettes of being a son of the king. But in spite of this, he never forgot his heritage or who he was.

So we too as believers, if we have jobs in high places should always remember we are a child of the Great King and behave accordingly (something ALL believers should do anyway!) Moses had a yearning when he was grown up to see how his people were doing and went out to see them. It seems as though he had to make a choice whether to continue in the palace or not and he chose to align himself with his suffering people (Hebrews 11:24-26).

In his zeal, he killed an overbearing Egyptian overseer, and buried him hoping no-one had noticed. Then he tried to mediate between two quarrelling Israelis and they didn’t appreciate this….who did he think he was anyway? was their attitude. (Acts 7:20-29)

Moses, trained in things so well, Made his choice to no longer dwell,

In palaces great or position high, But tried to help his people by.

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Exodus Two….(v.15-25)          Moses as a Shepherd.

Verses 15-25….

   Pharaoh was suspicious of Moses’ attitude and when he heard that he had killed one of his people, he determined to get rid of him. However, Moses was one step ahead of him, and fled the country….

Although Moses didn’t know it, this was all part of God’s plan and training for him. He had spent forty years in the palace, learning all the protocols of Egypt and the king’s court, and now God required him to learn how to be self sufficient in the desert. Moses travelled all that first day and became tired and thirsty, and sat down beside a well in the land of Midian.

He looked an Egyptian, he sounded like an Egyptian and he was wearing Egyptian clothes….but he wasn’t one. So again, we are reminded that as God’s children, we are in the world but not part of it (John 17:14-16). While Moses was waiting by the well, seven sisters brought their father’s flock to give them water, but the men shepherds chased them off. So Moses, always thinking of the underdog, stood up for them and helped them get their water. The end result of this was that Moses was invited home to stay the night and ended up staying and marrying one of the girls.

He gradually took over the looking after of the flock and time went by. The Pharaoh who was so anti Moses died, but the plight of the Israelis was no better. God was watching over them and felt sorry for their situation, but they had to come to the point of wanting to be delivered. The time had now come for God to act…..

Doesn’t this remind us of our situation spiritually? We had to reach the point of wanting to leave the old way of life and follow the Lord….it’s a choice we have to make, and God reaches out and meets our need. Let’s see what He does now for Israel…..

Moses now a shepherd became, Learning the ways of the desert game,

Forty years a prince he’d been, Then forty years in the desert scene.

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Exodus Three….(v.1)                    Moses’ Preparation.

Verse 1….

   For forty years, Moses had learned to become somebody in Pharaoh’s palace, and now he was being trained for forty years to be a nobody in the desert looking after sheep…..

Forty in the Scriptures is the number of testing, and we see that each of these years in Moses’ life was not wasted….God was teaching him valuable lessons for the work which still lay ahead of him. He was now learning the desert ways and how to keep animals in good condition in the harsh surroundings.

Little did he dream all these years, that God was preparing him for a task that never entered his head. We little dream of work that God wants us to do at times, and we must take each menial job that comes our way as a training ground for whatever He wants us to do in the future. So we must make the most of every learning experience that comes our way!

Moses was now a man of eighty years, a man of much experience of court protocol and also of the desert ways….where else was there ever a man with this experience? God’s timing was about to move, and He was now ready to use this man who had been under the sentence of death in Egypt. So many times life goes on in the same routine with nothing much happening and then an opportunity arises where you can fit in….take it with both hands and don’t say that you can’t do it!

Moses already knew about God in his heart, but he was now about to experience God in a personal way. We may know about the king or queen in our land, but it is an entirely different thing to actually KNOW them to talk to and have dealings with them! So in the same way, we must each one have personal dealings with God…talk with Him and prove His Word in your life!

God prepared Moses in the desert land , Learning the ways to survive and to stand,

Forty years there, he expected to stay, Until God stepped in on that fateful day.

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Exodus Three….(v.2-6)            God’s Time Had Come!

Verses 2-6….

   God’s time was now ready….His people in Egypt were ready to move, and the new land was already full of corruption and needed to be conquered for good. God had to catch Moses’ attention and He did this in a most unusual way….

One day while Moses was tending the sheep, he saw some smoke over the way. A bush was alight, but it didn’t seem to be burning away, so he went over to investigate. To his amazement, he heard a Voice speaking to him out of the burning bush. He knew instantly that it was God speaking to him, and from that moment the course of his whole life changed!

How many people start off in a morning doing the usual things, and before night time, their whole life has changed! Moses was told by this Voice to take his shoes off his feet because he was standing on holy ground….this confirmed to him that he was in God’s presence and that this was indeed God’s Voice he was hearing.

Not only that, but now Moses did not dare to even look at the burning bush, but he hid his face. No man can face a Holy God with a brasen face. We cannot come before God and be conscious of His Presence in our usual jaunty manner. We see how both Ezekiel and Isaiah felt when confronted by the God of Heaven….Isaiah felt filthy and unworthy (Isaiah 6:1-7) while Ezekiel fell flat on his face in the presence of God (Ezekiel 1:28). The very light that accompanies God’s presence is too much for mortal eyes to look at….Paul too, fell flat on his face (Acts 9:3-4). God’s holiness emanates from Him and surrounds Him like an aura, and we cannot be our usual self in His presence. Moses was now ready to hear God’s message to him, and so we too must be prepared in heart and mind if we want to hear God speaking to us.

Moses saw the fire burning, Came near, from his work a-turning,

Took his shoes from off his feet, And hid his face as God did speak.

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Exodus Three….(v.7-10)          Why Does God Allow Bad Things?.

Verses 7-10….

We, as humans, tend to forget that everything we do, say or feel is known by God. God knew the hardship that Israel was going through, their sorrows and their afflictions, and He was now ready to deliver them from their oppression….

We might wonder why God allowed them to get into such a state, and there could be several reasons for this. If things had been going smoothly, they would not have wanted to leave their comfort zone, nor would they have recognised God’s hand in wanting them to move from Egypt. Sometimes we are so comfortable where we are that we fail to see that God wants us to move on elsewhere to something better. We will put up with a broken tooth rather than have the pain of having it fixed even though we know the advantages!

Another reason was God’s grace to the heathen nations that were going to be thrown out of their land due to their idolatry….God was giving them extra time to repent as their cup of iniquity was not quite full (Genesis 15:13-16). God’s intention was that ALL of Israel should move at once and this was the way to get their attention.

We have seen this in modern times as well. After WW2, things were in such a disarray for the Jews that were left, that they started moving back to their own land of Israel, the nation was re-formed with its own government and today it is still there. God’s hand is still on His people even though many of them do not recognise this.

When Israel suffered from Egypt’s king, They were ready to see how God would bring,

Them from bondage to the Promised Land, By His mighty, strong and powerful hand.

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Exodus Three….(v.11-22)        God’s Plan Made Clear.

Verses 11-22….

   Notice God’s patience with Moses as he made all these excuses…”I’m not good enough”, and “The people won’t listen”…do these excuses sound familiar? We need to remember that when God calls, He ennables….

God’s promise to Moses was clear…”I will be with you”. God gave Moses all His authority and backing when He said, “Tell the people that ‘I AM’ has sent you”. We too, have all God’s authority behind us when we tell others what God’s Word says. It is not what WE say that does God’s work, it is God’s own Word that works in people’s hearts and minds.

God told Moses to call the leaders together and lay God’s proposition before them….then they were to go together to ;Pharaoh and ask to be allowed to go to make a sacrifice to God in the wilderness. God also warned Moses that Pharaoh would not let them go. It is the same today when a person makes the decision to follow the Lord, Satan will not easily let them go, and there will be opposition. But just as God fought for Israel back then, so He will deliver His people today, and His blessings will follow.

God’s promise to Moses was very clear, “You won’t be alone, for I’ll be near,

Tell Pharaoh to let my people leave, So all my blessings they can receive”.

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Exodus Four….(v.1-17)            Moses’ Commission.

Verses 1-17….

   Moses was still squirming in his comfort zone and making excuses. “The people won’t believe me” was his next effort…

God gave him three signs to use to convince the people that God was speaking through him, three miracles, things that only God could do. His rod would turn into a snake, his hand would turn leprous and then recover, and finally water from the river turning to blood when he tipped some onto the ground. These three signs would convince the people that Moses’ message was from God.

Then Moses tried another squirm…”I’m not good at talking!”

God reminded him that He had made him see and speak and that He could give him the right words. Moses made one last effort and this time the truth came out….he just didn’t[t want to do it! “Can’t You send someone else?” he asked.

Moses knew he had gone to the edge with God, but God in His patience told Moses that his brother Aaron would go with him. When we are convinced that God has a job for us to do, it pays for us to do it! God has said He will not always strive with man (Genesis 6:3) and if He has called us, He will strengthen and bless us in the doing of it.

God gave Moses a job to do, Just as He gives to you and me,

Don’t make excuses and try to refuse, For God will enable you to be used.

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Exodus Four….(v.18-31)          Moses Coming Clean.

Verses 18-31….

   So Moses left the sheep with his father-in-law and went back to his people in Egypt taking his wife and sons with him. Moses knew clearly what he had to do and say when he went to Pharaoh and he made sure that he had his rod with him. This was the rod of God’s authority….

We too, can’t expect to convince people if we don’t use the “rod” of God’s authority, His Word. It is God’s Word that will convict people. Just as God gave Moses the words to speak, so He has given us His Word as His authority. Never let people intimidate you by saying what you are telling them is just “your interpretation” of it…God means what He says and says what He means!

But there was still one matter that Moses hadn’t put right….one of his sons was still uncircumcised. Perhaps it was something that he thought wasn’t all that important, but God met him with on the way and faced him with this matter. It seems that Moses had a physical struggle with God over this, but his wife Zipporah knew what needed to be done and she righted the wrong that Moses should have seen to.

This reminds us that we cannot do God’s work if we are still hanging onto something that is not glorifying to Him. Have we cut off all the trappings of the old life of the world or is there still some “little” thing of rebellion that we are still hanging onto? Something that we think doesn’t matter but that we are unwilling to let go? Some worldly ornament we wear, or some bad habit that is not glorifying to God. We can never do God’s work until we let all go for His sake.

As soon as this matter in Moses’ life was rectified, God sent Aaron to meet him and their job began.

We can’t serve God while rebellion reigns, We must confess all and make everything plain,

We cannot hang onto the smallest sin, For God can see our hearts within!

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Exodus Five ….(v.1-23)           Darkness Before Dawn .

Verses 1-23….

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him God’s command to let the people of Israel go. Pharaoh took a dim view of this…he said he neither knew God or wanted to know Him! Besides, he didn’t want to lose his free labour…..

Instead, he made the burdens of the people even greater and they came to Moses blaming him for their worse situation. Moses went to the Lord with his questions…”Why? Why has this happened? Why did You send me?”

We sometimes wonder why a bad situation gets even worse, but God always has a reason. The people needed to see God’s hand in deliverance when this came. They had lived in bondage in Egypt for so long that they had almost forgotten that God existed and sometimes we have to go through tough times to bring us back to Him. If the people were comfortable in Egypt, they would never have wanted to get out of their comfort zone to leave.

God had already told Moses that Pharaoh would not let the people go initially (chapter 3:19-20), and God would show many signs and wonders to make the Egyptians WANT to get rid of the Israelites out of their land. But in the meantime, the Israelites were suffering even more than they had before. There are times in our lives when our situations seem unbearable, But remember that God always has things under control and in His good time, He will bring you out !

Pharaoh would not let them go, Because the Lord he did not know,

Worked them harder than before, And made them suffer even more.

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Exodus six….(v.1-8)                   God’s Promises Remain the Same .

Verses 1-8….

   Moses did the right thing….he took his problem to the Lord. God told him again that Pharaoh would eventually let the people go, in fact that he would DRIVE them out. ….

God once more told Moses who He was…”I am the Lord”. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob knew him as “God Almighty” but now Israel would know Him as JEHOVAH, the ever existing One. The time was now ready for them to be given the land of Canaan, and God was about to implement His covenant with them.

He gave Moses seven promises to give to the people and these seven promises still apply to His people today….

I will bring you out of Egypt…And you who were once far off, are now made near (Ephesians 2:13)

I will rid you of their bondage…He delivered those who were in bondage to death…(Hebrews 2:15)

I will redeem you with judgments on Egypt…Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13)

I will make you My people…He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: (Ephesians 1:4)

          I will be your God and you will know Me…I will be their God and they shall be My people (2 Corinthians 6:16)

I will bring you to the promised land….Being justified by His grace… we have the hope of Eternal Life (Titus 3:7)

It will be yours for ever…You will receive a crown of glory that never fades (1 Peter 5:4)

God’s promises will never fail, Never grow old or ever get stale,

What He says, that will He do, The same as for Israel and for you.

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Exodus Seven….(v.1-25)        God gives up Pharaoh .

Verses 1-25….

   We might wonder why God gave Pharaoh up…was that fair? If we look at the situation carefully we will see why. Pharaoh not only didn’t know God personally, but he didn’t WANT to know Him!

Pharaoh did not acknowledge God’s existence and had not a grain of thankfulness to Him for his (Pharaoh’s) very life and for the blessings of life! Pharaoh was an idol worshipper   and gave more honour to the creature than to the Creator…sound familiar? (Romans 1:21-28)

Pharaoh wiped God completely from his mind and lived a wicked and selfish life. He hardened his own mind for the first few plagues, and then after that because he refused to take notice of what God said, God hardened his heart for him. :We have to be very careful that we don’t refuse the voice of God in our minds when we hear it, because we never know when it will be the last time God will speak to us, and then it will be too late for all eternity. God says He will not always strive with man (Genesis 6:3a)

Because of Pharaoh’s initial attitude, God took him up on it, and then hardened his heart for him and used him as an object lesson to Israel to show His might and power to them. The more impossible a situation seems, the more God’s power shows up! Pharaoh refused to be impressed by the miracle of the rod turning into a snake and vice versa, and got his magicians to do the same which God allowed. But they lost their rods to Aaron’s in the process!

The same thing happened at the river…the magicians were able to counterfeit Moses turning the water to blood, but they couldn’t clear it away. Satan’s counterfeits are still the same today, none of them work for good.

Why did God harden Pharaoh’s heart, It was because he had no part,

He didn’t know or want to know, Though God His might and power did show.

 

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Exodus Eight….(v.1-32)           Pharaoh Stayed Hard .

Verses 1-32….

   The first miracle of water turning to blood in the whole land had no effect on Pharaoh’s attitude. He remained hard and unyielding. The next plague was frogs….

The frogs came up out of the river hopping everywhere. The magicians copied Moses’ actions and they were able to make frogs come too but they couldn’t get rid of them. The frogs were hopping into their beds, cupboards and food containers, croaking incessantly. If we dabble deliberately in the things of the world, we will find ourselves sucked in to habits and relationships that are impossible to break without God’s help. Pharaoh had to ask Moses to ask God to remove the frogs. They died where they were, and the people piled them into heaps that had to be buried. The whole land stunk with dead frogs. Our wrong choices always leave consequences that often can’t be forgotten.

The third plague was lice on every living thing. The magicians tried to do this as well, but this time they could not do it. God only allows men to go so far…now they had to acknowledge that this was God’s doing, but Pharaoh still refused to listen.

The next plague was flies on the land and in the houses…swarms of them! But this time God’s people were protected from them, another sign that this was God’s doing. Pharaoh said that he would let the people sacrifice to God, but it must be in the land. When Moses said that wouldn’t do, he agreed to let them go outside the border. But once the flies went, Pharaoh changed his mind and again stopped them from doing what God wanted.

God still speaks to us today, To bring us back in to His way,

Pharaoh refused and harder he got, Until God’s judgment became his lot.

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Exodus Nine ….(v.1-12)           Pharaoh Continued to Refuse.

Verses 1-12….

   Pharaoh could have changed his mind and turned to God at any time during this period, but he continued to refuse to do this. We read how Pharaoh was still acting deceitfully and continued to harden his heart…..

The more he refused to believe God’s signs, the more hardened he became and this is the same today. If we continue to shut our ears and minds to what we know God is telling us, He will eventually harden our hearts and it will be impossible to come to Him at all. We CANNOT come when we want to, it must be in God’s time. He has said He will not always strive with man (Genesis 6:6) and we don’t know when the cut-off point is. The more an unbeliever refuses to consider the things of God and eternity, the more fixed in his mind he becomes. The more a backsliding believer refuses to return to the Lord, the more his conscience is seared….but God will continue to work with him (and it may be in ways he may not like) to bring him back to Himself.

God still continued to ask Pharaoh through Moses to let the people go. This time he was plainly told that if he didn’t, all his cattle would die. But Pharaoh refused to back down on his stance and humble himself, and his cattle all got this disease and died.

Next it was people all getting boils and suffering in this way, and when Pharaoh didn’t respond, God gave up on him. He was a hopeless case, but God still had dealings with him. Israel was spared the results of the rest of the plagues.

Don’t refuse to hear God speak, For He will hear all those who seek,

But those who shut their eyes and ears, Will one day have eternal fear.

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Exodus Nine ….(v.13-35)         Pharaoh versus God.

Verses 13-35….

   Six plagues had come and gone and still Pharaoh refused to give in to God. But God had not finished with him yet. Pharaoh was going to be used as an everlasting example to both the Egyptians, and the people of Israel…..

Not only did the people of Israel need to be jolted out of their comfort zone, but the people of Egypt had to be brought to the point of shoving them out. This time God gave plenty of warning of what was going to happen and the wise ones brought their servants and cattle into shelter, while those who didn’t bother lost the lot.

Such hail and electrical storms had never been seen before….the damage was catastrophic! But in the land of Goshen it was all seen in the distance and they were spared. Pharaoh actually admitted this time that he had sinned, but it was only to get the storm to cease….he didn’t really repent of his sin in his heart, it was only words from his mouth. As soon as it was all over, he and his servants changed their minds and went back to square one.

Pharaoh changed his mind again, When he saw the hail and rain,

But in his heart he stayed the same, As God’s example he became.

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Exodus Ten….(v.1-29)                                Countdown!

Verses 1-29….

   Not only were all these plagues a sign to the Egyptians, but they were for a sign and confirmation of God’s power to the people of Israel. These signs are for us today as well as we are told with them, to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord when trials and testings face us…..

The people were to be reminded of these things generation by generation so that they would continue to set their hope in God. The next plague to hit the land was that of locusts that invaded the land. Pharaoh’s servants begged him to let the Israelis go. He relented enough to agree to just the men leaving, but that wasn’t good enough for God. God wants whole families to worship Him, complete with fathers, mothers and children. Once more Pharaoh admitted that he had sinned, but it was only a mouth confession and not a heart one, because as soon as the locusts disappeared he changed his mind again.

The ninth plague was a thick darkness over all Egypt except Goshen where God’s people were living, and this brought Pharaoh to agree to letting all the people go, but not their flocks or herds….again this was not part of God’s plan, and Pharaoh changed his mind again anyway. This time he told Moses that he never wanted to see him again!

But God had not finished with Pharaoh yet and it took the tenth plague to bring him to push the people of Israel out of the land.

The plagues were each a sign from God, From Moses’ word and Aaron’s rod,

A sign for e’er to Israel’s sons, Reminding us they’re God’s loved ones.

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Exodus Eleven….(v.1-12:13)    The Scene Was Set.

Verses 1- 12:13….

   God was not going to allow His people to leave Egypt in poverty. They had gone without for all the years of their slavery and now God saw to it that they received their wages in full and more besides for all the years of going without…..

By now Moses had a real rapport with all the people, from Pharaoh’s servants, to his own people and the Egyptians felt a sympathy for the Israelis, loading them with all the valuables they could find.

But they little dreamed of the disaster that was yet to come. God told Moses that all the firstborn in every family and litter of animals would die unless they were covered by the blood of a lamb. They were to select a perfect lamb from their flock and keep it aside for two weeks and on the fourteenth night every household was to kill it and sprinkle the blood on the upper and side door posts. They were then to roast the meat and have a go0od meal from it with veges as well and burn the left overs. So the people did as Moses said making preparations to leave Egypt for ever.

The people now prepared to leave, For God’s command they did believe,

The lamb was kept, then slain and bled, The blood was sprinkled overhead,

To keep them safe from judgment’s blast, As Egypt’s land they left at last!

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Exodus Twelve….(v.13-20)               Why Blood?

Verses 13-20….

   Blood is very important in the Bible….it is the very life of all mammals including humans. God told Adam that the day he disobeyed His instructions to NOT eat of the fruit of that particular tree (disobedience, bringing sin) that he (Adam) would die (Genesis 2:16-17). We know Adam did this, and although he didn’t drop dead on the spot, the seeds of death and deterioration were put in motion in his life. He knew he was naked and God had to kill an animal to make durable clothes to cover him. So we see that blood had to be shed because of Adam’s sin….

We are told that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission (payment) of sin (Hebrews 9:22). We read a very good explanation of why God requires blood to be shed for this in the whole of Hebrews chapter nine.

God also gave very strict instructions to Noah after the flood, that he (or anyone else) was not to eat the blood, because this was the very life of the animal (Genesis 9:4). This ruling continues down to the present day with the early Christians being instructed to abstain from eating blood (Acts 15:19-20).

Israel at this time had no idea of the significance of what they were being told to do. Looking back, we can see that the perfect lamb represented the sinless perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ who was the “Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The blood of the lambs of the passover preceding the death of Jesus Christ pointed forwards to His death, and only covered those offering them; the lamb’s blood could never take their sin away. But as Israel obeyed Moses’ instructions, they were preserved from the death that struck through the land of Egypt…when God saw the blood on the door posts, the angel of death “passed over” that house.

Blood was shed to cover their sin, God’s Word so clearly says within,

The blood of beasts a cover until, Christ’s blood was shed, His Word fulfilled.

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Exodus Twelve….(v.21-32)                     Go!!

Verses 21-32….

   God’s instructions had been given to Moses and were now to be put into action. Not only that, but they were told that this was to be done every year as a memorial of their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt…. .

They were to show their children and grandchildren down through the years how God had delivered them. How often we need to be reminded of what God has done for us in delivering us from the bondage of Satan! We can never be reminded too often of what God has done for us. Our Lord Jesus gave His disciples (and us) the remembrance feast saying, “This do in remembrance of Me; as often as you do this, you show the Lord’s death” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

So the people did all this….their baggage was packed, their animals penned up ready to go, their last meal of roasted lamb was eaten and the hour of midnight approached. The people must have reassured themselves many times that the blood had been applied to their door posts correctly as the midnight hour approached….they had seen all God’s other plagues come to pass and they had no reason to doubt that this one would too.

The midnight hour struck and a great wailing could be heard through the land of Egypt…every house had someone who had died in it, even in Pharaoh’s palace. Moses was called to the place and told the people could leave, every single person and hoof of animal.

The blood in place, the bags were packed, The people ready, nothing lacked,

The hour came, a cry arose, For Egypt’s homes were full of woes.

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Exodus Twelve….(v.33-51)      The People Leave .

Verses 33-51….

   The Egyptians were keen to see Israel leave, and with them all their recent troubles! They did everything they could to get them moving and gave them valuables and good clothes. Some of the Egyptians decided to ally themselves with Israel and they went too….

They would have heeded the warning Moses gave to his people to sprinkle the blood on the door posts, and done the same. Perhaps it was because they had been slaves too and saw this as a good opportunity to leave while things were in disarray.

Israel had been in Egypt for 430 years just as the Lord had said (Genesis 15:13-14) Once again God told the people that this was a significant night in their history and they were to commemorate it annually as a reminder. If a foreigner wanted to take part in the Passover feast, he would have to be circumcised as a symbol of his dedication to the God of Israel. In the same way, no unsaved person can take part in the Lord’s supper of remembrance and be pleasing to God.

Israel now left Egypt’s land, Released from there by God’s great hand,

In such a way we can today, Praise our God and walk His way.

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Exodus Thirteen….(v.1-17)                     God’s Leading.

Verses 1-17….

   The people were moving en masse from Egypt at last into the freedom that God had promised them. Once again, God emphasised to Moses the importance of remembering this occasion down through the generations and indeed orthodox Jews still do this today….

In the same way, believers are to constantly remember the Lord and give thanks for the . deliverance they have from the bondage of sin that enslaved them before they turned to Him (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

God still had many lessons to teach Israel, lessons of dependence and provision that He would supply as they travelled to their destination. These are all pictures of the things we are to learn as believers as we travel life’s journey. God doesn’t leave us to flounder along and He certainly doesn’t expect us to manage in our own strength. God did not lead the people the quickest and easiest way because it would be the most dangerous for their psyche….they would begin to think they had done it themselves! It also meant that if they saw difficulties in war so soon that they would become discouraged and want to return to Egypt. They had to learn to depend on God for their deliverance and their provision, and they had their first lesson in this very soon!

Every day we remember indeed, How God has preserved and supplied our need,

He teaches us many lessons each day, As we travel along life’s thorny way.

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Exodus Thirteen….(v.18-22)                   God’s Orders.

Verses 18-22….

   The people were aware of God’s presence with them….they could see the pllar of cloud ahead of them as they moved along and at night it lit up in a muted light so they could see their way around….

In the same way is always with His people today….He never leaves us nor forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5-6). What a comforting thought this is when things don’t go smoothly for us! He will lead us and guide us if we ask Him and He protects us and surrounds us to keep us from evil.

Moses remembered that Joseph had said he wanted his bones to be taken back to Canaan, so they carried his coffin with them. The Egyptians were experts in embalming as we know by the mummified bodies found today, and Joseph’s body was treated in this way and placed in a coffin (Genesis 50:25-26).

The people travelled in an orderly fashion in ranks of five abreast….it is hard to visualise this large crowd of people moving along in such a fashion and then there were all their animals as well!

The people moved at God’s command, They moved in order as one band,

God’s presence was clear to sight, Cloud by day, and fire by night.

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Exodus Fourteen….(v.1-14)     The first Sign of Trouble.

Verses 1-14….

   Pharaoh got his second wind after the Israelistes had left, and realised that he’d lost all his free labour! So he made ready with his arny to round them up and bring them back. In the same way, Satan will often bring fresh attacks on God’s people….

When a person first comes to God, or when they make a public declaration like a baptism, then Satan will bring an attack against them. When they stand firm against these attacks, it proves their sincerity and strengthens their faith.

But God had not finished with Pharaoh yet…He wasn’t going to allow Pharaoh to have a quiet death, it was to be something spectacular that His people would never forget! Pharaoh and 600 chariots set off after Israel and caught up with them by the Red Sea. Israel must have wondered why God led them this way….they felt trapped with the sea in front of them and Pharaoh’s army behind them. Many time we feel trapped in life and we do well to heed what Moses told the people then…

Don’t be frightened ( natural reaction)

Stand still…there’s nothing we can do anyway!

Wait for God’s salvation….God will work where you can’t.

The Lord will fight for you if you will let Him! He delights in delivering His peoople and demonstrating His power and might.

When we’re caught ‘twixt enemy and sea, We wonder why this has to be,

Stand still and see God’s greatest power, In this trial of desperate hour.

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Exodus Fourteen….(v.15-31)   Deliverance from Trial One.

Verses 15-31….

   The Lord’s reply to Israel’s frantic call for help was “Go forward” (this was their part), “Lift up your rod” (this was Moses’ part) and the “Sea will part” (this was God’s part) and the danger will be averted….

The first miracle was when the leading cloud became a protecting wall behind them, being a light to Israel and at the same time a thick darkness to Egypt. In the same way, our faith will protect us from the enemies of doubt and fear and be a light to us while God makes a way of escape the time of trial. The second miracle was the way of escape….the sea piled up with a strong wind that blew all night and made a path of escape through its midst.

Next morning the people were told to move…there was no need for panic. There is a time for us to stand still and there is a time for us to move on when we trust in God. As we do this the problems and difficulties fall away. What seems insurmountable to us at first, in time will resolve itself (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Pharaoh and his army followed Israel into the sea bed, but suddenly it became very boggy and slowed them down….they realised too late that they were fighting against God. While they were in the middle of the sea, the sea walls came crashing down and swallowed them up, and the total army of Egypt was destroyed. So as we move on, our enemies of fear and doubt will be swallowed up as we continue to follow the Lord and come out the other side.

God’s way is plain, tis time to move, The path is clear, so go and prove,

And as we move our doubt and fear, Will be swallowed up and disappear.

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Exodus Fifteen….(v.1-19)        Praise and Thanksgiving.

Verses 1-19….

   The people were all safely across the Red Sea and sang this song of praise for their protection (Psalm 106:8-12). We also read many times of David giving thanks and praise for deliverance too (2 Samuel 22:1-4, 50)…

There are many times as we go through life when we have come through trials and difficulties…do we remember to give thanks to God for getting us safely through? How often do we recognise His mighty power in our lives? This is glorifying to God and He looks on it as an acceptable sacrifice (Psalm 107:19-22).

How often we hear people in the world attribute this sort of thing to “luck” or “coincidence”! There is no such thing as luck in a Christian’s life….we should see God’s guiding hand in all our circumstances, both good and bad. The people of Israel recognised God’s mighty power in this case, and gave Him the thanks and praise that was due to His Name.

There is always something to praise God for in every circumstance we find ourselves in, whether good or bad. Let’s make sure we cultivate this spirit of thanksgiving and praise instead of complaining and moaning about things! We can always say with Moses, “Who is like to Thee O Lord, among the gods? Who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, awesome in praises, doing wonders?”

The Lord says to His people when under stress, Turn to Me, for I want to bless,

I will deliver and protect, this you’ll see, And you will be able to glorify Me. (Psalm 50:15)

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Exodus Fifteen….(v.20-27)      Provision from Trial Number Two.

Verses 20-27….

   Miriam, the sister of Moses, seemed to be a leader among the women, and she led them in song and dance in praising the Lord after Moses finished. She echoed the song Moses had given, going one further with timbrels and dance…..

The people had passed their first test, not necessarily with flying colours though as they had moaned to Moses about finding themselves being chased by Pharaoh! (chapter 14:11-12) and wishing they had never left on this journey!

Now they came to their second test…. they had run out of fresh water! Once more they moaned to Moses, and again God provided. God knew before they got there that the water was no good, and He could have changed it ready for them. But He wanted to test them and to prove what was really going on in their hearts. Out it all poured…”What are we going to drink?” God told Moses what to do to make the water drinkable (verse 25) ; not only that but He also gave them a promise that they would all remain fit and well in these harsh conditions. Shortly after this, He gave them an abundance of water in the seventy wells at Elim. God not only gives us deliverance from sin and Satan, but He gives us new life in Christ and He gives it abundantly! Let’s give Him the praise and glory in all our trials!

They praised the Lord for crossing the sea, They danced and praised and sang loudly,

Alas more trouble came their way, As bitter water they found next day!

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Exodus Sixteen….(v.1-8)         Test Number Three.

Verses 1-8….

   The people had rested and filled their water pots as well as washing and getting clean. Now it was time to get on the move again…..

We too, need to have our times of rest and recreation, time of taking stock of ourselves, where we are at with the Lord, getting clean by confessing our sins and shortcomings, and getting revitalised by meeting with other believers maybe at camps and/or conferences, but then comes the time to get on with life once more. Often after a period of uplifting ministry, some great disappointment or piece of bad news will hit us, and so it was with the people here on their travel.

It was now over two weeks since they left Egypt and their supply of fresh food had run out. Instead of asking God what to do, they started to moan and complain and wish they were back in Egypt where there was plenty of food! Moses pointed out to them that their complaints were really against the Lord, not against him.

We must remember that when we complain, whether it be about other people, the weather, our aches and pains, and other circumstances, we are really complaining against the Lord. God has a purpose in everything that happens to us, and will work things for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28). We must keep our attitude good and positive, and not complain….God can’t stand complaining!

In this case, God was testing the people and they failed badly because of their moaning. In spite of all that, God still provided for them…flesh from quails in the evening, and bread from heaven in the morning. God will always provide if we will only look for His provision, and do our part….gather and prepare it and give thanks for it! (Psalm 106:13-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:18)

The people moaned behind God’s back, They did not ask about their lack,

Let’s make sure on Him we call, And not complain lest we should fall!

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Exodus Sixteen….(v.9-21)       God’s Provision Given.

Verses 9-21….

   Moses called all the people together to hear what the Lord was going to say to them. They could see the cloud all lit up between them and the wilderness, reminding them that God was truly with them…..

We must make sure we don’t call on God for help and then complain behind His back….God expects us to call on Him when trials come, but He does NOT want us to complain about them! Instead He wants us to glorify Him in the middle of them! (Psalm 50:15) this time God still provided for them in spite of their complaints. God wants us to learn from our trials, and this is the way we get to know Him more.

That night the quails were blown in and the people were able to gather them for meat, and the next morning there was white round stuff on the ground. Moses told them this was bread from God and that they were to gather the amount they needed fresh each day. Some disobeyed and tried to keep it over, but it went off and became full of maggots.

In the same way, God has given us the Bread of Life (His Word, the Bible) and He wants us to gather it fresh each day. We cannot get tomorrow’s word today, and we must make the habit of gathering it fresh each morning.

God has given food for our soul, Food to keep one’s spirit whole;

We must get it fresh each day, To help and guide us on life’s way.

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Exodus Sixteen….(v.22-36)     Manna’s Symbolism.

Verses 22-36….

   God’s instructions to the people concerning the manna was that it must be gathered fresh each day or it would go off. The wonderful thing was that although this was what happened during the six days of work, when it came to the Sabbath they were to have picked up twice the amount on the sixth day and it remained perfectly good over the Sabbath Day when none would fall…..

As usual when God gives instructions, there are always those who disobey. There were those who went out on the seventh day morning and found nothing there! This was a blatant disobedience and they went hungry as a result. How true this is for us today! If we blatantly disobey God’s order of things, He will continue to supply but we will suffer loss in the end as a result. Those who alter God’s Word to suit themselves will pay for it in a time to come.

The manna represents Jesus Christ in many ways….

It was white                  He is pure and sinless

It was sweet                 He is sweet to the believer

It was nourishing          He is the Bread of Life

It was lasting (continuing all the years the people were travelling through the wilderness), and He is everlasting and available to His people as long as they live on earth.

The manna sweet is like our Lord, The Living Bread comes from His Word.

As it was white, He sinless, pure, Lives for ever, certain and sure.

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Exodus Seventeen….(v.1-7)           More Complaints.

Verses 1-7….

   God had done many wonderful things for the people thus far. He had brought them out of Egypt with a mighty hand; He had sweetened the bitter water for them; He had given them quail meat and supplied their daily bread. Now they came to another need…

They had reached a dry stop and needed water, and started to grumble again. They seemed to have forgotten how God had supplied their need thus far, and began to complain to Moses and blame him for the lack of water!

Once again, God would have welcomed a cry for help, but all He got were their complaints. What a lesson to us! We must make sure that when we are in need we go to the Lord and not complain behind His back. Let’s always remember how the Lord has helped us in the past and count our blessings!

God told Moses to strike the cliff face with his stick and that water would come out….he did this and they had as much water as they needed. What a wonderful picture of our Lord Jesus being struck and smitten by God before the water of life could be available for our cleansing!

There is no record of the people giving thanks for this water…how much do we thank God for our cleansing salvation?

The people forgot God’s delivering hand, Keeping them safe as they left the land,

God’s provision as they travelled along, And grumbled instead of singing a song.

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Exodus Seventeen….(v.8-16)   The Lurking Flesh.

Verses 8-16….

   We read here, “Then came Amalek and fought with Israel”. Amalek was descended from one of Esau’s heathen wives (Genesis 36:12). Just as Esau is a picture of the flesh, so all his descendents were too, and Amalek and the Amalekites feature quite largely in the story of Israel. So here we read that Amalek came and fought with Israel….

God’s people are always plagued by their fleshly nature, and the lusts and desires that go with it (Romans 7:22-25; Ephesians 4:22-24) . No matter how godly a person is, there are always some weak spots in their character! Whether it be a short temper, impatience with people and things, laziness or a tendency to put things off, we all are subject to one of these things. These are the things that are referred to as “the flesh” in our nature and it is always lurking there in the background as long as we are in the body.

We are told to put off the old man and put on the new. Just as Moses could only win the war with Amalek by holding up God’s rod, so we can only win over the flesh by holding onto God’s Word. This is why it is so important to read and learn it (Psalm 119:5).

But even Moses got tired and when the rod was lowered Amalek prevailed, so Aaron and Hur moved in to stand beside him and support his upheld arms. In the same way, godly friends can support us with encouragement and prayer when we start to falter (James 5:16). We will have a continual battle with the flesh until the day we die.

Amalek is against the throne of the Lord, and it represents that part of us that rises up in rebellion when we know we should do something that we don’t want to do!

The flesh lurks still within us all, Trying to make us trip and fall,

The only thing to help us win, Is prayer that we’ll be kept from sin.

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Exodus Eighteen….(v.1-12)        Encouraging Visitor.

Verses 1-12….

   Moses’ wife and sons had gone with him to Egypt, but it seems that they may not have stayed there very long. Moses may have felt that it was better for them to be back home….

But now his father-in-law Jethro, had heard reports of Israel travelling through the desert and he went to meet Moses with Zipporah and the boys. What a meeting that would have been! How they all wanted to hear how the Lord had kept and delivered the people as they started on their journey!

This recounting caused great joy and thanksgiving, and it is the same today when we hear how the Lord is working in different places. We are also told that there is rejoicing in heaven among the angels each time another person comes to the Lord (Luke 15:19).

God’s work always results in joy, and even if there is other sorrow, God’s joy can transcend it. Moses caused sacrifices and a feast for the elders to celebrate Jethro’s visit. The Lord means His people to have fellowship meals together and to sing His praises…what a lift it gives to everyone!

Jethro met Moses in the way, And head all God had had to say;

Great joy and praise this meeting brought, As Jethro heard all God had wrought!

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Exodus Eighteen….(v.13-27)   The Work Delegated.

Verses 13-27….

   The morning after the feast, Jethro watched as the people came to Moses with their petty squabbles and grievances to be sorted out. He was appalled at the time it took Moses to do this….

Moses would have had to listen to each one’s problem and then give his judgment. Jethro spoke to Moses about this matter that evening and told him he was doing too much . He advised him to share the judging out among other capable men. His job (Moses’) was to bring God’s to the people and to teach them. Others were able to sort out all this petty stuff!

Moses took Jethro’s advice and men were appointed to share the load. So it is in church life today. No one person should be expected to do everything….each has their own gift for the benefit and edifying of others (Romans 12:3-10; 1 Corinthians 12:27-30).

The small cases were taken over by others, and only the hard cases were brought to Moses so he could take them to the Lord. Jethro went back to his home well pleased with his visit. Nothing more is said about Moses’ family, and we assume they stayed with Moses.

Moses had to learn to share, The judgments others helped to bear,

To teach God’s Word was his main task, And to the Lord hard things they’d ask

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Exodus Nineteen….(v.1-8)       God’s Special People.

Verses 1-8….

   Israel had been on the road for three months when they arrived at Sinai. This mountain was chose by God as a special place to reveal His plans and commands to His people and it was here that He spoke to Moses face to face as it were (although Moses never actually saw God’s physical face…chapter 33:11-23). God told Moses many things….

He reminded Moses of what He had done in the past….what He had done with the Egyptians; of what He was doing in the present….bearing them along the way like a mother eagle does with her young ones; and of what He was going to for them in the future (dependent on their obedience).

God is the God of the past, present and future for each of person today. If God is left out of a persons “present”, then their future is bleak indeed. But for those who seek His face in the present time, His promises for them are the same as those He gave to Israel all those years ago.

God’s people are still His special treasure, a kingdom of priests, all equally able to approach Him and a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9-10). His people are in the world but not of it (John 17:14-16). Moses presented this concept to the people and they gladly accepted it, saying they would do whatever God said. We too, come to this point many times in our lives. But sadly we also fail many times just as Israel did.

God’s promise is the same today, The past, present and future way,

His people loved and treasured high, A realm of priests to God come nigh.

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Exodus Nineteen….(v.9-25)          Cleanse and Approach.

Verses 9-25….

   The people had the desire in their hearts to do as God told them….they thought it was a good idea. So God told Moses that they were to wash themselves and their clothes before they could present themselves before God….

This is the same for us….we must cleanse ourselves by confessing our wrongdoings and wrong attitudes towards others BEFORE we bring our requests or praise to God (1 John 1:9). We cannot expect our prayers to get past the roof if we are hugging a wrong action, relationship or attitude and refusing to let it go!

The people were not to come to God in an attitude of curiosity…they were to come near (but not to touch) the mountain, cleansed and in an attitude of worship. The difference for us is that we can come at ALL times before God through our Lord Jesus Christ, remembering that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). If we do not know Him in a personal way, we cannot pray acceptably to God at all.

God came down in Person to the top of Mt. Sinai, and the people saw, heard, and felt the mountain shaking at the presence of God, and were afraid. Even Moses was over-awed at the holiness of God. Let us never take for granted God’s presence….He is indeed a mighty and powerful God! On the other hand, the way is open for us to come to the heavenly mountain, Mt. Zion that symbolises God’s dwelling place, without fear through our Lord Jesus Christ and hear His voice to us (Hebrews 12:19-24).

The people said they would obey, Would come to God, confess and pray,

We must now do just the same, As to the mountain Israel came.

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Joseph’s brothers

Exodus Twenty….(v.1-17)       God’s Requirements.

Verses 1-17….

   The people were cleansed and ready to hear what God had to say to them. This was the time when God gave them the ten basic rules to live by…the first four were their attitudes towards Him as their God, and the other six covered their behaviour to each other…..

God was prepared to be their God, and He wanted their full dedication to Him. There is no way He will share people’s affection and loyalty to any other god….in fact, there IS no other God! (Isaiah 44:6, 8) That is why He says He is a jealous God….these were His people, He had brought them from Egypt, keeping and protecting them thus far and He wanted their full allegiance to Him.

We read how King David asked what he could render to God for all His benefits to him, and the answer to that was to take the cup of salvation that God was offering him Psalm 116:12-13). This is what God wants from people today….He wants them to humble themselves before Him and take the cup of salvation He is offering (Micah 6:8). To refuse to do this is like a slap in the face for Him.

Our Lord said while here on earth, that if people would only love God with all their heart, mind and soul, and their neighbour as themselves, then all the rest of God’s commands would fall into place (Matthew 22:35-40). Imagine a world where this was done!!

God wants all of people’s love, This is why Christ left above,

Salvation full, He offers free, We must take it thankfully.

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Exodus Twenty….(v.18-26)          God’s Physical Presence.

Verses 1`8-26….

   It is appalling the way people take God so lightly these days. Christians talk glibly of Jesus this and Jesus that, and demand things of God. Here we see what the people of Israel felt like when they saw God’s power and glory on the mountain…..

They moved back from the mountain in fear, and told Moses that they didn’t want God to speak to them directly, but that they would listen to His words through Moses instead! Moses told them that God was merely revealing Himself to them so they would realise His power and might and not want to go back to the idols of wood and stone that other nations worshipped.

God also gave specific instructions about the type of altar they were to have….they were to be of earth, something that was available to every person. This reminds us that the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus is available to every human being today. If they wanted to build a stone altar, that was OK, but it was to be from natural stones not ones cut or shaped with tools. This represents the fact that the Lord Jesus was perfect in every way, and was offered as He was. The altars were to be no higher than could be reached from the ground to show us that salvation is able to be had by all…it was not something that was placed too high for people to reach.

God came down to Sinai’s height, The people watching got a fright,

His holiness and power they could not bear, Moses’ trust they did not share.

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Exodus Twenty-one to Twenty -three…               God’s Blessings Conditional.

   These three chapters are full of regulations for the people’s living habits….they had come out of Egypt’s filthy ways and some of these still hung onto them. We cannot go on for the Lord if we hang onto some of the world’s ways and ornaments and refuse to give them up….

God promised many blessings to His people if they followed His ways. They were also told about the inhabitants of the land they were going to possess, and how they were to be completely driven out and their idolatry to be destroyed.

This is exactly the same for believers today… God’s intentions are for His people to live in the enjoyment of their new life in Christ, being obedient to Him and living for Him. This doesn’t mean that circumstances will always be smooth without problems, but it does mean that a Christian can live above their problems and still rejoice in the Lord in SPITE of their trials. This is what it means for believers to “live in the land”.

If the people of Israel allowed the idols of the heathen to remain, then God’s blessings couldn’t be upon them. In the same way if we allow the enemies of doubt and fear to rule our lives, then we won’t have the joy of the Lord, and other things will creep in and take our minds over.

Israel of old was to take the land, Enjoy the blessings of God’s mighty hand,

Enemies were to be driven away, So then in peace they could live all their days.

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Exodus Twenty-four….(v.1-8)      Sacrifices in the Wilderness.

Verses 1-8….

   God now told Moses that he was the only person to come near the mountain….none of the other elders were to come anywhere near. What a contrast to believers today! We are all able to draw near to God through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps the others in Moses’ day hadn’t prepared their hearts to seek the Lord, even though they had all said they would…..

It is easy enough to pay lip service to the things of God without really meaning to do it in one’s heart and life. Words are cheap. It is harder to put into practice the things that God requires in one’s life, than it is to agree to them. How many times we get stirred up and promise to do better (New Year resolutions for example!) and then fall back into our old ways! (Romans 7:14-22).

Aaron’s priesthood had not yet been established and young men offered to sacrifices to the Lord on the altar which was built. Moses had the blood caught and he sprinkled half of it on the altar, then he read out the words of the Lord to the people so they understood and agreed to do them. This was called the “blood of the covenant”….we read there is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:19-22).

Moses drew near as God gave His Word, Then he made sure the people heard,

They understood and agreed to obey, And blood was shed to cover that day.

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Exodus Twenty-four….(v.8-18)                        Coming Close to God.

Verses 8-18….

   It was with this sacrifice that Moses had fulfilled the purpose which he stated to Pharaoh in the beginning. This was the sacrifice that was to be made in the wilderness according to God’s desire (Chapter 5:1)…..

We too, have sacrifices that we can offer to God in the wilderness of the wickedness of this world…sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving in a careless world that largely ignores God. We also have the sacrifices of joy and sharing with others and most of all of presenting our bodies (behaviour and attitudes) as a living sacrifice by living a holy life before man and God (Romans 12:1-2) .

The main part of the people stood well back from the mountain and saw God’s presence there in thick cloud with flashes of lightning and shaking ground. The seventy elders were closer with Moses and Aaron and they saw more…they saw God’s beauty and clarity on a paved floor of sapphire and He made them a feast of good things to enjoy. In the same way, the closer to God that we draw, the more of His beauty we see and the more we can feast on Him and His Word. As we read it and take it in, so we understand it more and take it in to help us to live how we ought!

Then God called Moses to go even closer for more instructions and he left Aaron and Hur in charge while he and Joshua went up into the cloud that hid them from the others….they were away for forty days (six weeks….forty is the number of testing) a time of testing for the others left behind.

Those who looked from far and stopped, Saw their God on the mountain to,

Others closer came and saw, God’s presence on a sapphire floor;

Only Moses went right near, To hear God’s voice without a fear.

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Exodus Twenty-five to Thirty-two….     Instructions, then Compromise!

Chapter 32:1-6….

   Moses had left Aaron and Hur in charge of the people while he went up into the mountain to listen to God’s instructions…..

God gave Moses specific instructions and plans on how to build the tabernacle for His worship and how to set up the Aaronic priesthood. Each of these things typified heavenly truths that were fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Hebrews 8:5; 9:23-26; 10:1).

Moses was away for the six weeks and the people started to get restless and went to Aaron demanding that he make them another god. He gathered up their gold ornaments and fashioned a golden calf on a stand which the people claimed as their god that had brought them out of Egypt. Aaron knew better than this but he was too weak to stand against their demands, so he compromised and said, “Let’s have a feast to the Lord” with this thing as a centerpiece. How often we compromise with the things of this world, trying to make them fit into the concepts of truth! Perhaps the so-called Christian festivals of Christmas and Easter are two great examples of this….we go along with these festivities trying to get some Christian truth out of Santa Claus, Easter eggs and hot-cross buns! As time goes on these are getting watered down into bunnies and treasure hunts for lollies! How it must pain God’s heart to see His people getting sucked into these things!

Moses in the mountain heard, All God’s patterns, all God’s Word,

Down below the people told, Aaron to make a god of gold.

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Exodus Thirty-two…. (v. 7-19)        God’s Perspective.

Verses 7-19….

   This time of forty days that Moses was at the top of Sinai was a time of testing for the people. As we have already said, forty is the number of testing as we see so many blocks of forty days, or forty years throughout the Scriptures. The people this time failed in this test dismally….

They had never really let go of the idol worship of Egypt or else they would never have accepted this golden calf that Aaron made so readily! They had said that everything that God said, they would do, but this only counted while it suited them. This test was designed to prove how much they really meant what they said.

How often we are like this in our Christian life! We only obey when it suits us. God took a dim view of this with Israel and He takes an equally dim view of our compromises and weak excuses too.

The Lord was very angry with Israel and would have destroyed the lot of them if Moses hadn’t intervened in prayer. Moses prayed earnestly for the people on the spot and continued praying for them for another forty days afterwards, crying out to God for mercy on them.

But then as Moses went down the mountain and saw for himself the depravity of the people (because idol worship always leads to drunkenness, dancing and debauchery) he became very angry too and threw the two tablets of stone with God’s holy commandments written on them to the ground, braking them to smithereens so they could not condemn the people.

The people with their god of gold, Forgot all that to God they’d told,

God’s anger rose as to this thing, They did their praise and dancing bring.

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Exodus Thirty-two…. (v. 19-35)              Confession, Restoration and Blessing.

Verses 19-35….

   Backsliding always brings pain and remorse and until repentance is added, things can never come right. So as Moses’ anger rose at the sight of the people’s debauchery, he broke the law tablets that would have condemned them to death…..

He smashed down the golden calf and ground it to powder, and sprinkled this in their drinking water and made them drink it. God was ready to destroy the whole nation and raise up a new nation from Moses, but Moses pleaded with Him not to do this. He prayed earnestly for Aaron too and the Lord listened….Moses was prepared to be blotted out of God’s book for the sake of these rebellious people. We don’t realise how much the earnest prayer of a righteous person has an affect on things (James 5:16).

Moses was a very meek man….he had learned to be a nobody in the forty years living in the desert, and these people continued to keep him humble before the Lord. Those who were following the Lord were called upon to cleanse the sin from the camp by destroying those who were still dancing around, and this appeased God’s anger. Sin always brings death (Romans 6:23). Once this was done, then God was able to give Moses the promise of His Angel going before him to smooth and lead the way.

Israel sinned and paid the price, Of their idolatry and sinful vice,

Sin brings death, this rule is clear, Our Lord paid this, and we need not fear.

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Exodus Thirty-three…. (v. 1-7)         God’s Presence.

Verses 1-7….

   We read in the New Testament that everything that happened to Israel as they journeyed was recorded as examples to us in our Christian life today (1 Corinthians 10:1-12).

We see in this chapter again, mention of God’s Angel that went before the people. We are told in 1 Corinthians 10:4 that this spiritual Rock that was going with them was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, so we take it that He was this Angel referred to here, even though the people were unaware of His Presence.

After the people had been chastised and many of them destroyed as a result of this idolatry they had indulged in, they were told to take their ornaments off in remorse and repentance. It seems that they may have been wearing them as some sort of charm, and were probably some of the things that the idolatrous Egyptians had given them as they left the land.

The people did this and then they were able to go out to the tabernacle that Moses had erected outside the camp (seems as though it was a temporary one) to seek the Lord. In the same way, we have to get rid of out worldly trappings before we can follow the Lord wholly. There may seem nothing wrong in the things or ornaments we are hanging onto, but it all comes down to asking how much we are prepared to give up for the Lord….do these gadgets we love take away our time or take our minds off the things of God? God has given us free choice of how we spend our spare time and we have to take stock of how we use it.

The people sinned, chastisement bore, Then put away the gold they wore ,

Before they sought God’s face in prayer, And we must do what they did there.

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Exodus Thirty-three…. (v. 8-23)         Moses’ Desire.

Verses 8-23….

   In spite of the people’s complaints to Moses when things went wrong, they respected him as leader and the position he had with God. They knew that the Mighty God of Heaven talked with Him when he went out to the tabernacle, and they could see the Cloudy Pillar hover over the place where God was…..

The people’s awareness of God’s Presence caused them to worship, and it is the same today. The more we are aware of God’s hand in our lives, the more we will worship Him. Joshua, Moses’ servant, had the same desire for God that Moses had and our testimony will stimulate others to follow our example.

The more Moses had to do with God, the more he wanted to know Him. We are earthbound creatures and grope around, aware that God is there, but often not making much of an effort to know Him better. Moses wanted assurance of God’s presence with them so that others would KNOW they were different and God graciously gave him as much as mortal man could take. God has given us great and wonderful promises in His Word, but it take effort on our part to realise what they are and to come into the full enjoyment of them….how much do we take advantage of them day by day? (2 Peter 1:3-4)

Moses sought God’s Presence and Face, To be with Him in that time and place,

The more he saw, the more he desired, And God granted him all he required.

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Exodus Thirty-four…. (v. 1-9)         What God IS!.

Verses 1-9….

   Moses had this consuming desire to see God’s face, and God granted him as much as a human body could see. Human eyes are unable to take the brightness of His glory…we see this in the case of Saul of Tarsus who was blinded by the great light of God’s glory shining from heaven (Acts 9:3-9)….

No-one else was to be with Moses for this momentous moment, and nothing else was to be near the mountain while God came down upon the top of it. Moses was to take two plain slabs of stone with him for God to re-write the ten commands on as the Lord revealed Himself to Moses.

It is interesting to note that there is no physical description given of God’s appearance….instead He proclaimed His Name and His characteristics. He is merciful, gracious, patient, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving man’s sin when they repent, but at the same time not allowing the guilty to get away with anything. We must always remember that God’s love is tempered by His holiness…the two go hand in hand. In other words, God’s goodness and justice is His holiness and His Essence; He is the Supreme Being, and Sovereign over all.

Moses’ reaction in seeing all this was that God gave him this overwhelming sense of His presence and full understanding of all that He is, and this caused Moses to worship Him and confess the shortcomings of the people, identifying himself with them. The more we realise of God, the more we realise how insignificant we are!

Man cannot see God’s face and live, This is not possible for God to give,

But man CAN know God’s Presence within, His holiness, mercy, salvation from sin.

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Exodus Thirty-four…. (v. 10-35)         Reflections.

Verses 10-35….

   God went on to repeat His covenant with the people (even though they didn’t deserve it!) This proves His grace and mercy to undeserving human beings. But they were to do their part and God would do His….a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and in this case, it was the people who were the weak link….

The peoples’ job was to drive out all of the heathen people who had been heaping up idolatry against themselves all the years that Israel was in Egypt as God had said to Abraham (Genesis 15: 13-16). They were to destroy all the idols and other symbols of witchcraft and God would cleanse the land. God would bless them abundantly, and they would be His people and He would be their God.

God wants His people to follow Him with ALL their heart, mind and soul; He cannot bear His people to have divided loyalties (Romans 12:1-3). This is why He describes Himself as a “Jealous” God. He made humans for Himself, gave them a free will and wants them to freely and willingly give themselves back to Him. Not just part of them; not just one day a week, but in every day and it’s still the same today.

God gave Moses all the law in these forty days and forty nights he was on the mountain top. The experience was so exalting that he didn’t need for or water….he was eating of the Bread of Heaven (John 6 :32-37, 51). When he came down to the people again, he didn’t realise that his face reflected God’s glory, and it was too much for the people to face. Oh, that we might reflect God’s glory in our life, actions and speech!

Moses saw God’s goodness and might, His face reflected His shining light,

The more we feed on God’s Holy One, The more we’ll worldly pleasures shun.

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Exodus Thirty-five…. (v. 1-35)         God Calls; God Fits.

Verses 1-35….

   We have a wonderful example in this chapter of a community working-bee with everyone doing what they were best at for the benefit of all. But in their enthusiasm for this work, God reminded them of one thing that was most important to Him…..

The seventh day must be put aside for Him, for worship, reflection and praise as well as for rest. The old saying that “the better the day, the better the deed” does not apply to God’s people, either then or now! God viewed the breaking of this very seriously, and the penalty of death applied to anyone who broke it. Not even a fire was to be lit or food cooked on the Sabbath day….everything had to be prepared the day before.

Having established the seriousness of this rule, God went on to the next criteria for this project of making the tabernacle….only those who were willing and able were to contribute towards it.

As the people heard Moses describe what had to be done, they went home and talked about it and then came back with willing hearts to give and do what was necessary (2 Corinthians 9:7-8). The Lord had two men with specific qualifications and abilities who were keen to oversee the work. They were master craftsmen who knew what they were doing and they led the team of workers. When God calls, God fits (Romans 12:6-8). This criteria still hold for God’s work today.

God’s plan is there for all to see, For all to follow carefully,

God fits His own to do His call, For the building up of all.

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Exodus Thirty-six…. (v. 1-7)         Working Together.

Verses 1-7….

   The result of Moses telling what God wanted done, brought more than enough material and helpers. It is always marvellous to see the resources that come forwards for a special effort….

There were many different skills needed in putting the Tabernacle together…metal workers, goldsmiths, seamstresses, those who understood how to deal with leather and skins, timber workers….and each of these came forward.

Those who weren’t skilled provided the materials and did other work behind the scenes to free up those who could. The pile of material grew until there was more than enough and Moses called a halt in the giving.

Each of the parts of the tabernacle had specific measurements and instructions given, each with a significance and typifying heavenly truths as did the ritual and performance of the offerings. These were all perfectly fulfilled and finished with when Jesus Christ made His one great sacrifice for ever (Hebrews 8:5)….the pictures in the tabernacle have now become a reality for God’s people today (Hebrews 9:1-14).

Moses’ pattern was clearly given, Typifying the truths of Heaven,

The people came, all had a part, Giving freely with joyful heart.

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Exodus Forty…. (v. 1-38)         All Completed.

Verses 1-38….

   Chapters 37-39 tell of making the tabernacle, the putting together of the priest’s clothes and all the exact measurements which are each of great significance to heavenly truths ….every number and figure of measurement (in the cubits) has a meaning as do the colours and materials used. For once Israel did exactly as God told them to…..

Moses was very pleased with the result and blessed them (chapter 39:42-43). God now instructed Moses to put it all together and to set the furniture in place inside it (Hebrews 8:5) . There was the shewbread (this signified Christ as the Bread of Life), and then the lamp with its seven branches (Showing Christ as the Light of the World) and the smaller altar with its sweet incense…Christ’s offering of Himself was a sweet smelling savour to God (Ephesians 5:2) and we are also told that the prayers of the saints are as sweet incense to the Lord (Revelation 8:3-4).

The laver (washing basin) was placed outside for the priests to clean themselves up before coming to the Lord (a picture of how much we need to cleanse ourselves daily before bringing our sacrifices of praise to the Lord!). The Lord showed His acceptance of all this by overshadowing this simple tent with a cloud of glory….now the people of Israel had a visible sign of God’s presence with them and of His leading. When the Cloud moved, they followed and when it stood still, they stopped and set up camp.

The work was done, the tent complete, God’s pattern followed, no mean feat,

Put together as God required, Fulfilled His plan as He desired.

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