Month: October 2022

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

The Ten Commandments given to the people through Moses is part of the two-way Covenant God made. They are the summarized essence of a Godly lifestyle. Obeying them is the right and proper response to the Gospel Promise of verse 2: ”I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the house of bondage.” Because I did this for you, you will do this for me….

Get the order right: because God is good, I am good, not because I am good, God is good to me. But the Bible is a history of failure, our failure, to keep and do and be faithful, until the One Man, who is also God, came into the world and did it right for us. This Gospel is the power of God to us to respond in faith and obedience.

The Hebrew tense of ”thou shalt” is purposely ambiguous, yielding both a future (“you will”) and an imperative (“you must”). The beautiful life results from the future declaration: this is how you will now live as a natural response to My Love. When you put me first and only in your heart and life, then keeping the following commands flows and life is blessed.

Exodus 19:16 And it came pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.

It was evident to all the people that this was God. The Lord God Almighty was here, manifesting Himself in power and glory. Thunder and lightning and thick clouds were common enough, but it was very rare in the Sinai Peninsula. There was something supernatural about the experience, clinched by the sound of an exceeding loud trumpet. A Bible believer will be reminded of the seven thunders and the seven trumpets of Revelation, which brings to mind The Final Judgment.

God is revealing His awesome and holy wrath upon sin and the terrible and eternal judgments upon it. It is no wonder that the sinners trembled in fear. The Lord is showing that He is about to do something really big, so pay attention: He is making a covenant with them and giving the Ten Words on stone tablets. God’s Presence in power and awe got their attention, so that they would take this seriously. He elicited the only response possible: trembling in fear. There would be no doubt in their minds: God means it! This fear of God instills an unwavering faith with no doubting.

There must also come a time (or times) in our life where the Spirit thunders in our heart with the Law, causing a trembling fear. Then He leads us gently to the Gospel where he shows us that our judgment for sin was completely taken up by Jesus. Then we rejoice with exceeding joy. Now we fear and love God so that we keep His Commandments. In God’s hands trembling is good.

Exodus 19:8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.

The people responded to God’s great salvation and awesome presence by making a vow and a promise. The Lord had just said: ”If you obey My voice and keep my covenant I will make you a peculiar treasure, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.” They responded to these words with a vow, ”We will do.” They were also committing themselves to keeping the Ten Words that the Lord would soon speak and write to Moses.

Of course, they could not do the words nor keep their promise. The Lord had frightened and loved them into responding with a vow they could not and would not keep. Almost immediately, they worshiped the golden calf, evidencing their broken promise.

However, the fact that we cannot keep our vows should not prevent us from making promises to do better. Daily repentance and faith is necessary for believing sinners. Repeated failures call for repeated godly sorrow before God’s Law, and reinforced genuine faith in God’s Gospel. This process, produced by fear and love of God, over time sanctifies us through Word and Spirit. We don’t give up on God because we failed, for God does not give up on because Jesus never fails.

Exodus 18:19-20 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: And thou shall teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.

Jethro is advising Moses with God’s wisdom about how to divide up the people into groups to better administer affairs and delegate responsibilities. Moses’ responsibilities were twofold: 1) A Priest’s function, to bring the people to God, and 2) A Prophet’s function, to bring God to the people. His response was to pray for the people, bringing their causes, concerns, needs, problems, and issues before the Lord; he was also to speak for God, teaching His ordinances and laws, His Word, and His will for their way and their work.

In this way, Moses prefigures Jesus’ offices of Priest and Prophet. Jesus offers Himself as the blood sacrifice to bring us holy into the Kingdom, and He continues to intercede for us. Jesus also is the Word of God, being God in His love, mercy, and forgiveness toward us, and teaching us the Gospel of salvation.

For us followers of Christ, we also respond as priests, praying for others, and as prophets, witnessing to others. We are the priesthood of all believers, called to function as priests and prophets in this world according to the peculiar gifts, specific vocation, and particular ministry which God distributes to each of us. This lifestyle is our response to the Gospel of God.

Exodus 18:12 And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father in law before God.

Moses preached the Gospel to Jethro, telling what great things God had done for life and salvation. In addition to rejoicing in the Lord and blessing Him, Jethro responded by making offering and sacrifices for God. Aaron and the elders gathered with Jethro to eat bread together in thanksgiving to God for what He has done. A sacrificial feast was a celebration of thanksgiving for God’s goodness, grace, deliverance and salvation. God’s great work called for a thanksgiving feast. It was appropriate to respond with a communal celebration.

Worship and thanks is always an appropriate response to the gospel work of God in our lives. Furthermore, it is fitting and proper to respond in worship together with other fellow believers. That is what Jethro did, and today it is the life-giving practice of Christians every Sunday. We gather for worship in response to the Gospel. In fact, we hear the gospel in the same service in which we worship. And in the Divine Service we celebrate the Good News by receiving it in faith through Word and Sacrament. We eat bread together receiving the body of Christ for the forgiveness of sins. We celebrate the sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God, on the Cross. This is our response: we go to church.

Exodus 18:9-10 And Jethro reloiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egtptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

Moses had told his father-in-law, Jethro, all that God had done. Jethro responded to this great good news by rejoicing for all the goodness which the Lord had done. He rejoiced by blessing the Lord. To bless the Lord is to say good things about Him and to give Him thanks.

We, likewise, hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ telling us what great good things God has done for us in Christ. Like Jethro, we respond with rejoicing and blessing. For the Gospel is ”good news of great joy,” as the angel told the shepherds. Joy follows hearing and believing. For this reason, Christians leave the Sunday church service with joy in their hearts, because they have heard the Good News. We feel better and lighter. We respond with joy.

How do we rejoice? We express the joy, and increase the joy, when we thank God. How do we bless? We bless God, self, and others when we thank God. When we hear the Gospel, confess the truth of God’s love, and repeat it over and again all day long we feel better. It affects our emotions. Thanking God all day long in response to His telling and reminding makes a full day of rejoicing and blessing. This lifestyle is reinforced by attending weekly worship and spending daily quiet time with God. Are church-goers better people? Maybe not always. Are they happier? Generally, yes. Why? Because they heard what God has done for them, how He delivered them.

Exodus 17:15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-Nissi.

Joshua had just won a victory in battle over the Amalekites, while Moses lifted up his arms and Aaron and Hur held them up. The holding up of his hand was an expression of worship. As long as Moses held up his hand with the rod of God, Joshua and the army prevailed. Aaron and Hur helped keep the hands up. This action was to show that it was the Lord God, not the Israelite army, that prevailed in victory over the enemy.

Then Moses’ response to God’s victory over the enemy was to worship God and thank Him. For he knew that it was not human effort, nor a stronger army, that won. It was God who prevailed. So he built an altar to express the people’s worship. The Lord gets all the credit for our salvation, and not us at all. Thus, all that’s left for us to do is build an altar.

We did not, and we cannot, win the victory or contribute to our salvation. So we build an altar of thanksgiving in our hearts and lives. Our whole life is one of worship, thanks and praise built by faith. The name of the altar is Jehovah-nissi, meaning The Lord is my Banner. And the Song of Songs says, ”His banner over me is love.” The love of God prevails and wins the daily victory over all spiritual enemies. That banner is always there, over me, for salvation, protection and blessing. Love is the strongest force in the universe. Jesus loves me; so I worship.

Exodus 17:6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

It was a strange and unreasonable action that the Lord commanded. But strange as it was, Moses did as God commanded, instead of arguing or reasoning with the Lord: ”Why, God? It doesn’t make any sense.” Because Moses obeyed and hit the rock, God was able to provide abundant water.

Our Lord puts a blessing on our obedience to His commands. Just trust and obey. For example, it’s possible for us rationalize, justify, and excuse lying, stealing, adultery, even murder. Instead, we just do as God says because He says so. We don’t resist and ask, ”Why?” like a stubborn child.

There is a possible reason for smiting the rock: it a symbol of the suffering and crucifixion of Christ. The Rock is Christ; the Smiting is the Passion; the Water is Eternal Life. We NT people know that, but Moses couldn’t know that. He didn’t know why he should smite the rock, and he didn’t ask. He just did it. And the result was glorious.

We don’t always know why we should keep the Commandments, e.g., why it is harmful to dishonor parents, not kill, not commit adultery, not steal, not covet, etc. We don’t know the blessings nor the unintended consequences, but we want to obey anyway. Obedience is our response to God. Jesus obeyed; Jesus was stricken, smitten, and afflicted; Jesus gives the living water of eternal life.

Exodus 17:2-3 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

Once again the saved people contended with God and complained, this time because they were thirsty and had no water in the desert. “Why did God save us from the world only to make our life miserable in the dry land of earth? We’re going to die!” And whose fault was that? Who brought death into the world?

We know that complaining is always negative and that it only brings us down, and those around us. What we don’t want to believe, however, is that complaining is the sin of unbelief. If we believe God is always good and He never fails us, then complaining challenges God and calls Him a liar. It stems from the unbelief that remains in the saved believer. Moses says murmuring tempts the Lord. Jesus responded to the devil’s temptation, ”Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” To tempt God is to insist that my will and my way is better.

In place of complaining we may respond to trials with prayer. Moses did that: he cried to the Lord. Then God brought abundant water out of the rock. When we turn to the Lord and turn complaints into prayers, He enters the scene and does something. Just as God became a human and died for us, so the Lord Jesus comes into our lives and grants the living water of eternal life. The NT says: ”And the Rock was Christ.” By faith we pray and assert, ”Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done.” It’s not my kingdom nor my will. Complaining brings death; prayer and faith brings life.

The desert of our earthly life is also waterless, and the world of sin cannot provide the refreshment the soul needs. Although the world will deceive us into thinking it can give what we need, it is empty and its power is actually destructive. Into our life’s desert God brings a well of water springing up to eternal life. We receive it with joy and thanks in place of sorrow and complaint.

Exodus 16:34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the testimony, to be kept.

Aaron carried out the command of the Lord to lay up a pot of manna before the Lord to be kept as a reminder and remembrance of God’s gracious provision. Future generations were to see the bread (v. 32) and remember how the Lord provided daily bread for forty years. The memorial pot was placed there as a remembrance of God’s goodness and mercy. Although the future generations wouldn’t experience personally the miraculous salvation of God, the remembering would make it personal and real in their lives. Seeing the bread, or remembering, is faith. Moses and Aaron obeyed the Lord’s command to set up the pot of manna.

The pot was an institution in the Ark of the Covenant, instituted by God to create faith, worship, and thanks in the hearts of all who see the bread. Years later Jesus would proclaim: ”I am the bread of life…This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die [John 6:48, 50].” Seeing the bread is the same as eating the bread is the same as believing in Jesus, and believing in Jesus is eternal life. Then Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper for all believers to eat and drink, saying ”This (bread) is My body,” and ”Do this in remembrance of Me.”

Today, we do as the Lord commanded when we partake of the body and blood of Christ in Holy Communion. We obey the command, as Aaron did, when we do everything we can to support and provide for (“lay up”) the regular observation of the Sacrament in our churches, so that our generation and the next may see the bread, believe, and have life.