Exodus 21:1-11 - Our Eternal Jubilee!

Exodus 21:1-11

The Law Concerning Servants (Deuteronomy 15:12–18)

1 “Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them: 2 If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. 3 If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. 5 But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.

7 “And if a man sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8 If she does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her. 9 And if he has betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. 10 If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marriage rights. 11 And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money.

In the time of Moses, servants were bought and sold, but if a servant was one of God’s people, they could only serve for seven years before being set free (Deuteronomy 15:15).  This freed man would owe his master nothing and if he was paid for as an indentured servant who was already married, then he and she would be free together.  If, however, his master gave him a wife, she and the children would stay behind together.  The only way the man could keep that wife and children was to stay as a willing bond slave as demonstrated before a judge and having his earlobe pierced with an awl as done for an earring in modern times.  He would then be a permanent servant and not go free again unless he had first sold himself due to poverty, in which case he would be set free in the Jubilee which occurred every seven times seven years (Leviticus 25:39-40, 54-55) with his family.  If a man sold his daughter into such servitude, she would not be let go free as a man would; she would be married to her master or redeemed, not sold to foreigners, and either married off to his son and treated as his daughter or set free if he could not treat her well according to these options.  People were enslaved as servants more than what we consider slaves in our sordid times, yet their freedom was restricted even if their circumstances were less severe.  The one thing we see as those set free is the parallel to our bondage to sin and being set free in Jesus Christ after Je paid our price.  We are free from enslavement to sin (Romans 6:17-18, 20-21, 22-23) yet remain servants of the Lord under the best circumstances possible for ones deserving nothing.  The grace of our benevolent Master has no real comparison to the treatment of indentured servants, for we are willing to serve the One who died and rose again to set us free from our horrible bondage earned as our debt for sin that has been paid by Him.  This is our eternal year of Jubilee! 

Exodus 20:18-26 - The Message of Easter: Fear Not!

Exodus 20:18-26

The People Afraid of God’s Presence

18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. 19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”

20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” 21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.

The Law of the Altar

22 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23 You shall not make anything to be with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. 24 An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you. 25 And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it. 26 Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.’

The people of God were deathly afraid as they witnessed the thunder and lightning with heavenly trumpets sounding from the smoking mountain of God’s presence when He spoke with Moses.  They feared death so much that they begged their mediator Moses to tell them all Gd said, not daring to hear it directly from such a mighty God Himself.  Moses then wisely advised them to fear not; they were being tested by the LORD God with this fearful sight and sound to make the seriousness of the penalty for their sin if they continued in it.  He was literally scaring the sin out of them by these demonstrations of His power and word.  The people therefore stood at a respectable distance of respect and awe from the overwhelming darkness of the clouds and thundering of God’s word to Moses.  When we hear the gospel, we also may feel this great fear of looming judgment on our sin before our salvation and an ongoing awe-filled fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) when we reflect back on how serious our sin was that led Him to sacrifice His own Son on the tree of our curse of sin (Galatians 3:13) until He arose to proclaim our life from death and eternal forgiveness of sin.  God talked to us from heaven by the conviction of His word and Spirit when we were regenerates and reborn in Christ Jesus just as the people of the LORD heard His word proclaimed through His servant spokesman Moses by the mountain of great fear.  We who are in Christ, however, do not have that same fear anymore (Hebrews 12:18-19), just fearful awe and trembling to please Him for our salvation already secured for us, not a fear to do well enough to obtain or keep our standing (1 Corinthians 3:14-15) with Him.  God then commanded the people through Moses to not have any gods of dead idols but sacrifice and worship Him only.  These sacrifices were a foreshadowing of the sacrifice Jesus Himself would make of His only Son for us since the sacrifice of animals could never fully and forever atone (Hebrews 9:12-13, 14, 23-24) for our sins; only a perfect Lamb of God could do that (Hebrews 9:27-28, 10:11-12) with absolute assurance for us.  The perfect altar then is not a hand crafted one from stone as then but one made by God’s own hand (Hebrews 9:11) where His Son sacrificed Himself as the final and complete atonement to pay our sin’s price, once and for all time.  Of we then are in Christ, we can hear and repeat the words, “Fear not!” with full assurance. This is made clear as we celebrate Easter and remember His work of bringing life from death for us by His sacrifice.  

Exodus 20:1-17 - God’s Ten Words of Command

Exodus 20:1-17

The Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5:1–22)

1 And God spoke all these words, saying:

2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

13 “You shall not murder.

14 “You shall not commit adultery.

15 “You shall not steal.

16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

These ten commandments are God’s words of His moral law given for us to live by in order to be pleasing children who aim our lives of our own words and conduct to align with His holiness of character.  Many of us are familiar with them today, in word of not always in practice, but for the people of God being led by God out of idolatry and bondage by Moses, these were new and challenging if not downright frightening because they are so challenging to keep.  The LORD prefaced them by saying who Jesus is and what He did for them; He is the I AM, the eternally-existing God over all creation, the One who set them free and led them to that mountain to hear His word and will as they were reminded of their deliverance from affliction and bondage symbolic of sin’s grip of immorality and idolatry.  He therefore commanded them and all who follow to have no idols, nothing to worship in place of or above Him.  This then led to commanding them and us not to make any image in place of Him to worship or seek direction for life and living apart from Him and His word.  We are not to serve anyone or anything else.  Period.  He is a jealous God who wants our complete devotion and will share us with no other since we are made in His image and form His glory, honor, and praise alone.  The lasting effects or consequences of sin endure long, but His mercy is eternal for those who set their minds and hearts on keep His words whose basis is given here in these Ten Commandments out of love for Him.  We are then commanded not to take His great name lightly by not honoring it as we must in fearful awe (Philippians 2:12-13) and wonder as He works His word in our obedient hearts and minds to transform us into His original image worked in us at creation once more to restore our relationship with Him.  We are then called to rest in Him and His work in the pattern of His pause when finishing the creation of the world (Genesis 2:2-3) as a shadow of the true rest from our efforts of ineffective works (Hebrews 4:1-2, 3-4, 9-10) thought to earn our standing before the Lord but always coming far short (Romans 3:19-20, 23) of perfection.  Then He instructed us to honor those over us, our parents who were used to bring us into the world and watch over us as stewards of the grace of God who gives us life as we remember He is our Father in heaven.  We should similarly honor and obey them as far as they honor and obey Him.  Continuing the relationships with others made in His image, we are forbidden to take their lives which God gave them at our own hands by murder, forbidden to force intimacy from others which is reserved for the covenant commitment of the marriage union alone, forbidden to take from others what God gave them instead of relying on His individual provision for us, forbidden from lying about others to dishonor them for our own selfish gain, and forbidden from any evil desire that would want what His provision for another has given them or to seek ways to steal those things from them for our own (1 John 2:15-16) misspent (James 4:1-3) desires above their happiness with God’s gifts as we find contentment in what He gives us.  Keeping these words of command does not earn our deliverance from sin, but is a set of guardrails to keep the direction of our lives aimed squarely at pleasing  God in conforming to His design for our lives in honor and praise of His intent for our good (Romans 8:28) and His glory.  We are all given God’s Ten Words of Command to honor Him with in our lives, both in the thoughts and intents of our hearts and of our actions.  May we keep His moral laws then from the heart set on desires for Him over our own unholy fleeting pleasures of temporal satisfaction.  Amen.

Exodus 19:10-25 - Approaching God a Terrifying Sight?

Exodus 19:10-25

10 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. 11 And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”

14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.”

16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. 19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. 20 Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

21 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the LORD, and many of them perish. 22 Also let the priests who come near the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them.”

23 But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, Set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it.’”

24 Then the LORD said to him, “Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, lest He break out against them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.

This was such a terrifying sight to approach the Holy and Almighty God where His chosen one alone could meet with Him on the mountain “that burned with fire, and … blackness and darkness and tempest,” (Hebrews 12:18) because the penalty of death hung over any who would draw near uninvited.  This is a shadow of our own inability to approach God without being invited (Hebrews 12:24) as His chosen (John 6:44, 1 Peter 2:4) servants through the access (Romans 5:2, Ephesians 2:18, 3:11-12) we have only in Christ.  Apart from being in Christ and His righteousness, we are faced with a terrible judgment and certain death from lacking the hearing of God’s word (Hebrews 12:19-20) as more than we can endure.  Moses warned them to stand clear because only he had been called to hear God’s word and to act as an intermediary to pass it on to the people who had to consecrate themselves to put away sin in order to hear him.  We also are called to repent, to put away and turn from sin, in order to approach Him through the one eternal mediator (Hebrews 12:24) between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5-6, Hebrews 8:6, 9:15), Jesus Christ, lest we also face a terrible judgment.  We are registered in Heaven as chosen in Him (Hebrews 12:23) and accounted as righteous, perfected and consecrated in His sight by grace.  The people with Moses were unable to come near to the mountain where God came because they were still unholy and not sanctified by full consecration of a new creation in their souls, being yet in sin as awaiting Christ to come and make it all possible.  They would surely be put to death if they approached Him unchanged in their sin, whereas in Christ we are changed and are invited (Hebrews 4:16, Ephesians 2:18, Hebrews 10:19-20, 22) to boldly approach the throne of grace where God sits without fear of death!  When Moses stood between the LORD and the people before the mountain, the thunder and lightning and shaking filled them with fear as they listened to the word of spoken God by Moses.  Moses was then called to climb up to meet God but had to go back to remind the people not to follow without invitation or face terrible consequences.  Hebrews 12:26 explains that He shook the earth then (Mount Sinai) and will in the end of time shake Heaven and Earth in judgment (Haggai 2:6-7) that all who He calls as His own will draw near without fear to Him as the Desire of All Nations as He fills His temple with His glory as we stand in His presence!  We who are found righteous in Christ will approach without fear in judgment because we have obtained a kingdom that is impossible to be shaken or taken away (Hebrews 12:28) as we serve our Lord forever “acceptably with reverence and godly fear” as it is written.  Approaching God was a terrifying sight to see and hear in the world being shaken for Israel and all at the end of time, but for all who are called in Christ we have the assurance of a kingdom that can not be shaken and taken from us.  We have no more fear of death (John 5:24, 1 John 4:17-18) but boldness to approach Him now (Hebrews 4:16) and forevermore in the day of judgment because we are in Christ who loved us first (John 3:16) and holds us fast (John 10:28-29) in an unshakable grasp of His certain promise of eternal salvation.  Approaching God now is no longer a fearful sight of impending death but a certain hope of approaching in fearful awe and comforting assurance of His love for us as His children called to approach and stand before Him at last (Job 19:25-27, 1 Corinthians 13:12, Revelation 22:4) to worship and give Him glory for all He has done in calling and preserving we His children.  

Exodus 19:1-9 - Treasured Kingdom of Holy Priests

Exodus 19:1-9

Israel at Mount Sinai

1 In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. 2 For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain.

3 And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD. 9 And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.”

So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD.

We see the pattern and intent of the LORD to make His people into a kingdom of holy priests, serving and worshiping Him as a nation beyond a mere country on this earth.  This is made clear to we who are now in Christ because the mystery hidden then is Him in us (Colossians 1:26-27) as our hope of glory in the beauty of holiness (Psalm 29:1-2, 26:9-10, 13) which is found in the righteousness of Christ.  We are called his priests in 1 Peter 2:9-10, a chosen and holy special people who are a nation without borders of the countries of this world who have been granted mercy and grace to proclaim His Majesty of deliverance to the world.  He pulled us out of the captivity to sin in the wilderness of this fallen sin-tainted world as surely as He delivered Israel out of the bondage of Egypt.  Moses was told to remind the people of God then to reflect on their deliverance as if flown out on the wings of great eagles soaring through the parted waters of the sea that they might see their LORD who brought them to Himself.  He had also delivered us from sin’s penalty of His great wrath (Romans 5:9-10) and brought us to Himself as this special people like jewels in His crown of majesty that we may hear and obey His words and keep the New Covenant in the redeeming lifeblood (1 Corinthians 11:25, Hebrews 12:22-24) of Jesus who sacrificed Himself as our eternal High Priest (Hebrews 7:24-25, 8:1-2) in the heavens!  We now join those of old who under the old covenant of works found grace as a special treasure (1 Peter 2:4, 9) out of the people of the whole world, chosen to know and minister to Him.  We are that kingdom of priests who serve the Lord and are a nation comprised of just men made perfect (Hebrews 12:23-23, Philippians 3:12) in the righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21) of God’s Son.  Moses spoke these words to the physical nation of Israel who had been delivered from captivity in Egypt as a foretaste of our calling as the completed people and invisible nation of the universal church of God in Christ Jesus.  Like the people then, our response to His grace as a chosen kingdom of holy priests should continue to echo down through the corridors of time as we say, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.”  Revelation 1:6 tells us we are such a kingdom of priests to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ to serve our Lord God and bring Him glory in the beauty of holiness as He is holy (Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:16) and as we bear witness to the deliverance of His people out of the judgment of sin we are all born under.  May we continue to reflect on that deliverance by His mighty hand of grace and follow as we serve as His saints made holy and priests which we all are in Christ.  He treasures us all!

Exodus 18:1-27 - The Need for Qualified Elders

Exodus 18:1-27

Jethro’s Advice (Deuteronomy 1:9–18)

1 And Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people—that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, 3 with her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land”) 4 and the name of the other was Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”); 5 and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God. 6 Now he had said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.”

7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him. And they asked each other about their well-being, and they went into the tent. 8 And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the LORD had delivered them. 9 Then Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the LORD had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. 10 And Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and other sacrifices to offer to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

13 And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. 14 So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”

15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16 When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

17 So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. 18 Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself. 19 Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. 20 And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. 21 Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.”

24 So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 26 So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.

27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way to his own land.

The need for qualified elders to help lead God’s people was first seen here when Moses attempted to take on the needs of too many and needed help.  His father-in-law Jethro heard of the wonders that the LORD worked to free the people os Israel and came with Moses’ sons and his wife to meet him in the wilderness where he was camped at the mountain of God.  When he arrived with them, Moses honored his father-in-law and they talked about all the wonderful works that God had done to deliver them in spite of the hardships along the way as they escaped the bondage of the Egyptians.  Jethro then acknowledged that the LORD was ind greater than all the gods of Egypt or anywhere else on earth and how He had brought victory over the proud to deliver His own and then sacrificed to the LORD as his God.  They then broke bread together with Moses, Aaron, and the elders of God’s people.  The very next day Moses spent ministering and counseling to meet the people’s needs, a massive throng who had lined up and were taking all day to work his way through to serve each one as they inquired for wisdom to understand God word and needed help with difficult situations between themselves and other important decisions.  Jethro observed this and pointed out that his son-in-law was burning himself out by taking on this immense responsibility all on his own.  He advised Moses to first teach the word of God to the people for un with demonstration of how to live it out, then intercede for them in prayer to God, and finally how he should select qualified elders to share the work of ministry.  These were to be men who fear God and so would put Him above all else, then they were to be trusted and truthful in handling the word of God to the people, and who were not motivated for personal gain in any way as summed up by the word covetousness.  These would then deal with the day to day issues of ministry to the throng, only escalating the most difficult to Moses to deal with.  The elders would deal with and judge these lesser matters so Moses had more time to deal with the greater ones as before.  They were to share his burden of ministry so the needs of the congregation were met in a timely way and one which did not decimate Moses as before.  Jethro reminded him that this sound advice would allow Moses to endure and keep the peace of the people and himself in the process.  Moses realized that this was from the LORD and applied the organization immediately to best serve and minister God’s word to all.  Then Jethro returned home and Moses went on with the people of God, he and the qualified elders ministering to Israel with an effective approach that echoes into the New Testament church organization from the time of the apostles until today (Philippians 1:1, Titus 1:5-9, 1 Peter 5:2-3, 5) with the appointment of qualified elders and deacons (Acts 6:3-4, 1 Timothy 3:8-10) to meet all the needs of the congregation, leaving time for intercession by prayer for them and making time for teaching the word and leading by example.  The need for qualified elders to minister and lead the people of the Lord remains unchanged as it has evolved since the days when the apostles set things clearly in order for us as a pattern (1 Corinthians 4:16-17, Philippians 3:17, 4:9, Titus 2:7) to follow in governing the church of God in Christ as our head.  May we see why no one man should attempt to lead the church of God as the sole authority under Christ, but with the shared burden of responsibility, accountability, and wisdom that the Lord gives to teach and minister wisely according to the principles and patterns we find in the scriptures. 

Exodus 17:8-16 - Triumph over Enemies of God’s People

Exodus 17:8-16

Victory over the Amalekites (Genesis 14:7; Numbers 13:29; 14:25)

8 Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner; 16 for he said, “Because the LORD has sworn: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

While winding their way to the promised land through the bleak wilderness, the people of God approached Rephidim near Mount Sinai.  There Amalek, descendants of Esau, attacked them.  Moses dire the armies of the LORD to choose a few good men to fight them the next day while he held up the rod of God for His victory in the battle.  As long as Moses held the rod high, they were victorious; as soon as his arm weakened and he began lowering it, the tide of battle turned.  Finally, they had him sit on a rock and helped him hold up his aching arm that the battle would be won by God’s hand holding them all up by His strength.  By sundown, Joshua had led the army to victory over the Amalekites and Moses recorded their removal from the book of the LORD forever (Deuteronomy 25:19, Exodus 32:33) to come because they had not reconciled with Jacob (Genesis 27:41, 33:16, Joshua 24:4, Obadiah 1:18, 21) as Esau had said but attacked his descendants instead.  This led to their defeat as Jacob was loved and Esau hated (Romans 9:13) for this.  It is likewise true that those not chosen by God such as Amalek of Esau’s descendants will be defeated and their names not recorded in the Book of Life in Christ the Lamb of God for opposing the people of God in Him, but blotted out while those who remain of God’s people will remain recorded in the book (Revelation 13:8, 3:5) of the Lamb of God forever.  At that time in the defeat at Rephidim, Moses spoke of this defeat of the enemy of the LORD so Joshua could hear and later complete the task to wave the banner of the LORD over them when he would command the armies of God as promised here.  The victory over the enemies of the gospel of Jesus Christ is just as certain because the battle belongs to the Lord alone and we are used by Him to gain this triumph in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57-58, 2 Corinthians 2:14) in the end.  This is the ultimate triumph over the enemies of God’s people who oppose Him and them at the final judgment. 

Exodus 17:1-7 - Rebellion Against Authority

Exodus 17:1-7

Water from the Rock (Numbers 20:1–13)

1 Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.”

So Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the LORD?”

3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!”

5 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.”

And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

After exiting Egypt through the Red Sea opened by the hand of God to bring His people out of the captivity and bondage of that oppressive land and into freedom, after they had complained in discontent, after they had again witnessed the miracle of the bread from heaven, then they again contended with the leader Moses who represented the LORD on their behalf.  They were marching the armies of the LORD () through dry places and demanded water and tempted God in the process by not waiting on His provision and sustenance in His time.  They lacked faith.  How often do we still find times when we do not get what we feel entitled to and rail against the leaders God puts over us in the house of God?  Do we not respect their authority given by Him for our good and submit to their leadership (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13, Hebrews 13:7, 17) that supplies our needs by God’s hand through them to us in God’s time?  Even Moses pointed out that their complaints tempted the LORD by their disobedience of discontent.  The people still rejected the authority of their God-appointed leader and blamed him for taking them out of the bondage of Egypt (as if that was a good situation there) only to kill them all with thirst.  Moses was at his wits end with their rebellious disobedience and cried out to God for help as all leaders must do in both good and trying times.  God instructed Moses to take some of the elders with him before the people and use the rod of deliverance to hit the rock at Horeb that water would flow from it for them to meet their needs.  If they had only waited patiently they would have had that water anyway.  This place was then known as ‘temptation’ and ‘contention’ because of their faithlessness and rebelliousness against the LORD.  They argued with God by blaming His servant and refusing to submit to his God-given authority and then tempted God Himself by doubting His presence and work among them for their good by providing sustenance to them.  Do we contend and rebel against those put over us in the Lord and tempt Him by doubting His authority given them for our good as His servants to us, or do we willingly submit to their direction that is found in God’s word for our good?  Such submission is not enslavement or control, but rather it is God’s roles of positional authority and order given to shepherd His people in an orderly manner (Colossians 1:28-29) with His gifts of imparted wisdom in them to bring us to maturity in Christ as they lead us beside still waters of contentment. 

Exodus 16:22-36 - Sustaining Grace of Bread from Heaven

Exodus 16:22-36

22 And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’” 24 So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. 25 Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”

27 Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. 28 And the LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? 29 See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

31 And the house of Israel called its name Manna. And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

32 Then Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it, to be kept for your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” 33 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.” 34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 35 And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.

When Israel obeyed the grace of God in taking only what they needed off the ground where the bread from heaven was deposited for them to gather, they found that on the sixth day there was enough for them to take up an extra day’s worth for the Sabbath to follow that they might find rest as God did after He created the universe and the earth out of which He made mankind.  The same Creator made this manna from heaven to sustain them until the day He sent His Son as their and our bread from heaven (John 6:31-32, 33, 50-51) to partake of and live forever, apart from the bondage of sin and its consequences.  Until then, they had physical sustenance given from above that they still had to work for to gather and prepare to make a meal for forty years in the desert places they traveled.  Some still did not understand and looked around on the seventh day for manna but came up short (Romans 3:23) as we all do when seeking to earn our acceptance and sustaining grace from the Lord.  They refused to enter into rest in God’s work for them (Hebrews 4:9-10) and were still attempting to earn their deliverance and sustenance on their own efforts.  Jesus is the bread of life, our daily bread, who saves us from sin’s bondage and sustains us until we meet face to face with Him at last (Job 19:25-27).  The people were corrected for their error and finally rested on the partial realization that they needed to rest in God and His work to sustain them on that day as the others, just as they trusted Him to deliver from Egypt out of their enslavement.  They even kept a small amount of manna as a reminder for future generations of God’s faithful work of faithfulness for them and future generations at the word of Moses.  Do we likewise look back at our deliverance from sin and death in the wilderness of the lost world we have been rescued from and do we lean on Him and His grace, resting in the word and work of Christ on the cross and out of death’s grave as our sustaining grace?  Jesus is our sustaining grace, our bread from heaven, whom we partake of daily as we rest in His work and not our own, while working what is good in thankful return. 

Exodus 16:1-21 - Daily Bread from Heaven

Exodus 16:1-21

Bread from Heaven

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

4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. 5 And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”

6 Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt. 7 And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD; for He hears your complaints against the LORD. But what are we, that you complain against us?” 8 Also Moses said, “This shall be seen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD.”

9 Then Moses spoke to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your complaints.’” 10 Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’”

13 So it was that quail came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. 14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.

And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.’”

17 Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. 18 So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one’s need. 19 And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.” 20 Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.

After leaving the bondage of Egypt and witnessing the judgment on the nation which refused to let God’s people go, the people delivered from such affliction then complained to Moses and Aaron about food.  They even wailed and moaned how it would have been better to die by the hand of the LORD while enslaved in Egypt as long as they had meat and bread to eat.  Then God promised both meat as quail and bread from heaven to sustain them, with certain conditions that would test their hearts (Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 2 Chronicles 16:9) to see if they were actually on faith to hear and obey His word for their good.  God then rained down bread from heaven in the morning after providing quail for their evening meal.  This was to prove to them that it was the LORD whose mighty hand had brought them out of bondage and into freedom on the way to the land promised by them through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and test their response of trusting faith.  Moses and Aaron made it clear that the people were complaining against God and not them as His instruments, and told them that they would witness the glory of the LORD in the morning when He fed them in answer to their complaints and needs.  The meat came and they feasted.  In the morning, the dew brought the bread from heaven as we know now was a picture of Jesus the Christ (John 6:35, 41, 51) as our bread from heaven come to sustain us in body and soul for eternity.  Do we not find godly contentment (1 Timothy 6:6) in this heavenly bread of life as we learn from the mistakes of these in the wilderness who were set free from bondage as we have been set free from the bondage of sin, or do we complain and want more or even what we seemingly had before we knew Christ?  The people of God in the wilderness found this bread on the ground in the morning like frost after the dew burned off and said, “what is it?”  This word is translated manna (מָן man, what and ה֔וּא hu, is it) in English and literally means they named it after the ‘whatness’ of what they received.  They then gathered up just as much as needed for each person and family and there was just enough for all so nobody had too much or too little!  That is the perfect provision of God who meets our needs and not the wants of our misplaced desires for more than we require.  Just as 2 Corinthians 8:14-15 reminded the church of Corinth with these same words that God provides so we can give to meet the needs of others from all He gives us, just as required, so He did for these then.  They were also warned as God told Moses beforehand that they were to only gather what they needed or it would rot the next day.  They did not all obey and found worms had infested the manna and it rotted with a terrible stench.  This angered Moses because they did not trust and act on the word of the LORD he had conveyed to them, undermining his authority and disobeying God.  After that incident, they gathered only what was necessary and ate it before the sun’s heat melted the rest.  This is a lesson to us that we should hear what God says in His word and willingly obey by faith that takes Him at His word when we are tested, while we avoid coveting more than we need and more than He gives us to meet our every need.  Godliness of trust with contentment of His provision is truly the greatest gain over all accumulation of unneeded desires.  He has rained down the Bread of heaven for us to daily provide us all things (2 Peter 1:3) as our daily bread (Matthew 6:11) for life and godliness, so how can we ever desire more than that?