Exodus 19:1 In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.
2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.
5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.
8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.
9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.
10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
The school of hard knocks is a school just about everyone since the fall of man has attended. Most people never graduate from that school. They die in their sin, having tried many different things, but never finding what their soul needs.
The children of Israel were three months into a forty year excursion in this school. Many people would die during those forty years. A few would draw nigh to God, but most would stubbornly remain separated from Him.
We read they were now in the wilderness of Sinai. They had departed from Rephidim and were in a desert area. God had provided water for them in this desert. He had also provided meat and bread for them. They camped near the mount Sinai where the LORD would soon give Moses the Ten Commandments and many other instructions. They were no longer under Egyptian bondage, but they needed to know how to function as a free people. A people without Godly laws is in bondage.
We see that in Canada where the true God is not welcome. We are heading deeper and deeper into anarchy. We have a P.M. who cannot govern this land but he knows how to waste taxpayer dollars to travel to Europe and try to interfere in the situation in Ukraine. He has zero understanding of what is going on there. Mr. Trump was wise enough to keep him out of the talks with Zelensky and the Europeans. However, Mr. Carney thinks he is so smart that he will try to go it alone in making foolish deals in other parts of the world. Canada will suffer for this foolhardy man’s choices but that is what the people want.
In our text, the LORD is continuing to lay down the law that will bless the children of Israel. He was continuing to instruct Moses in giving sound leadership to His people. Moses was not resistant to the LORD’s leading. The LORD would give him further instructions that were important for the children of Israel to hear and obey.
The LORD had miraculously brought the nation out of Egypt. The LORD described it as bearing them on eagles’ wings. That is certainly a good description of how the LORD brought them out of Egypt and into the wilderness.
You notice in verse 5 that Israel was responsible for obeying the LORD. They were already delivered from bondage. Their obedience was not the way of being chosen as His people. Their obedience was required because they were His chosen nation. Not all of them walked in the fear of the LORD. In fact few of them walked in the fear of the LORD.
God promised to make them a peculiar treasure above all people. The nations would marvel at how this people, who had come out of bondage, could possess a land and prosper greatly in that land. The way God led them through the wilderness was certainly an amazing thing. In spite of the many that died in that journey, the fact they survived cannot be explained other than by the hand of God.
The nation of Israel is still a special people to the LORD. The world does not stand in awe of them. In fact the world is growing more and more hostile toward them all the time. In spite of all the hatred for the Jews, the world cannot destroy them.
God intended on making them a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Israel was designed by God to be the vessel He would use to show all other nations that He is the only true God. We notice that God’s promise was conditional on their obedience to Him.
Israel is not currently a holy nation. They are leaders in promoting sodomy. Their festival of almost two years ago, that brought about the latest turmoil, was a festival of debauchery. Immorality and idolatry were the marks of that festival. However, the day is coming when Israel will repent and know the peace of God.
In verse 7 we read that Moses called the elders of the people together and told them all that the LORD had commanded him. The LORD gave His commandments to Moses because He could trust him to pass them on to the elders who would then be responsible to pass them on to the people.
In verse 8 we read that the people promised to obey all that the LORD had said. They were quick to give verbal allegiance, but very slow to bow with their hearts. Their actions would defy their words.
The LORD was going to continue to exalt Moses in the eyes of the people. They needed to respect Moses. The LORD chose him and He would not allow His man to be disregarded by the people. They would learn that it was important to respect His choice of leader.
Even though Moses was going to meet directly with the LORD, the people also needed to be prepared to hear from Him. God expects His people to honour and respect His Word. It is shocking to see how people abuse God’s Word today.
There is a man named Kent Hovind. This man became known for his public appearances in defending Biblical creation. Personally, I always thought he had a chip on his shoulder. He got into trouble because he assumed he did not need to pay taxes and the government eventually charged him with fraud and he spent ten years in jail. When he got out, his wife was disillusioned with him and she divorced him. He never learned anything good during those ten years in prison and she left him. They both received bad counsel in their married years and that bad counsel led to this disastrous decision to break up the marriage. Mr. Hovind then decided to commit adultery and “marry” another woman. That “marriage” did not last long and he had a “common law” adulterous relationship with a third woman. That did not last either and he took up with a fourth woman. That also broke up and the last I heard he is alone now.
During all this time, he has deceived many people into giving to his cause and he has set up a new “Creation ministry”. He holds daily “Bible studies” and apparently has quite a following. It is amazing to see how many gullible people there are. This man does not honour the Bible. He used it for many years as the platform to gain popularity and a large following. In prison he followed a false teacher for a time. That man later renounced him and Mr. Hovind still sets himself up as a God-fearing man.
His day will come. God has already exposed him for the fraud he is. The fact that many people are ignoring this is sad. They have no excuse but one thing that we find is that people will gravitate to people of like mind. There are many shady characters who cannot keep a marriage together and get involved in all kinds of ungodly stuff. They are too stubborn to listen to truth and they harden themselves against the truth and twist the Word of God to suit their sinful ideas. Some of them are quite subtle in their approach and they manage to convince people to listen to them.
Judgment day is still real. God’s Word is still Truth. Twisting It and abusing It will not get people off the hook.
The nation of Israel needed to be prepared to hear from the LORD. They needed to be prepared to actually “hear” from the LORD. The LORD wanted to bless them but in order for them to be able to receive His blessings they needed to submit to His will. Their hearts needed to be right with Him. The external things that God commanded them to do were to be a reflection of the holiness they needed in their hearts. As we will see, they could wash their clothes and themselves, but they refused to allow God to wash their hearts. They did not want to submit to Him. They kept talking of how they would rather submit to the wickedness of Pharaoh, rather than the holiness of the LORD. Sinful man lacks the ability to see true value. When a person shuts out the work of the Holy Spirit in his life, he makes all kinds of foolish choices. He might assume they are right before the LORD, but they are not. He can harden himself against the LORD, but that will not help him in the end. The wise person listens to the LORD and wants Him to keep him from becoming hardened against the truth.
Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
That is the prayer we all need to make. It needs to be made in sincerity. If we do, we will be led in the way everlasting. If we refuse to submit to the LORD, we will find ourselves in that school of hard knocks and miss out on God’s blessings.
Pastor Bartel
