MOSES: A MEDIATOR

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MOSES:  A MEDIATOR 

Leviticus 8:1-4

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

² “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, the anointing oil, a bull as the sin offering, two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread

³ and gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.”

⁴ So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. And the congregation was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.  

Hebrews 3:1-2

Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,

² who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house.

and what we would refer to as political leaders.  This is of no great moment to our concern this day.  National Israel was God’s church and these leaders furnish an illustration of Christian leaders both in and out of the church.

I Timothy 2:5

⁵ For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 

A mediator is one who, “stands between partners who are estranged and makes them one.”  Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, Pg 346 

There are many Old Testament mediators though this word is not used in the Old Testament.  Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were mediators.  But it is Moses who is recognized in the New Testament as the great Old Testament mediator, Galatians 3:19

Moses is the single man who stands between Israel and God.  The whole system of law, service, sacrifices, and priests were given to Israel through Moses.  He was also the High Priest who initiated them. 

Moses is mediator through whom the whole of the Levitical priestly system was introduced.  Leviticus 8:5-9.  Moses introduced and initiated all the Divine ordinances of the Priesthood.  But he also was the one who first performed them. 

Moses introduced and initiated the whole of the sacrificial system.  Leviticus 8:10-30.  He also was the first to perform these sacrifices.  There is a way that Moses, as the mediator of all the Levitical system of worship, must be greater than any who followed him in this system.  The revelation of all was to Moses.  He gave the system in its laws, privileges, and the blessing which issued from it.  Moses was a part of this great plan of worship.  He gave it but was also a participant, Leviticus 8:29.  As the High Priest he ate his portion. 

The importance of Moses in his office of mediator becomes evident when we look at Hebrews 3:1-5.  There is here a comparison.  Jesus in His office in relation to His Church is compared to Moses in his office.  This is no insignificant comparison.

We are called to consider:

1.  He, Jesus, is the highest official over our faith.  Hebrews 3:1
2. Jesus is as faithful in all things required of him as Moses was faithful in everything he did as a mediator, Hebrews 3:2.
3. Jesus has a much higher position in His church as the owner of house is above the contractor who builds the house, Hebrews 3:3-4.  Note that the builder is first named as Jesus, then as God.
4. The positions are named.  Moses, as faithful and exalted as he was, was only a servant.  He was only a servant but he remains a proverb for us in meekness, Numbers 12:3.  And he is accounted as a man perfect in faithfulness in his task.

         Jesus is over God’s house.  He is the Son who is our Sovereign and owner, Hebrews 3:5-6 

We have a mediator, I Timothy 2:5.  We are left with everything we need.  Moses brought from God to Israel everything they needed to serve God.  The failures of Israel were never because Moses was inadequate for his task.  “Moses was also faithful in all God’s house.”  We have no inadequacy. Jesus has provided for our every need.

Application:

1.  There is a Divine “if”.  It is a call to faithfulness to God’s revelation in Christ to us.
2.  The beauty, joy, and love that is revealed in our mediator is a guarantee of the infinite grace of God given to the believer.

LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITY

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LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITY 

Leviticus 4:22-26

²² ‘When a ruler has sinned, and done something unintentionally against any of the commandments of the Lord his God in anything which should not be done, and is guilty,

²³ or if his sin which he has committed comes to his knowledge, he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a male without blemish.

²⁴ And he shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it at the place where they kill the burnt offering before the Lord. It is a sin offering.

²⁵ The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering.

²⁶ And he shall burn all its fat on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of the peace offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him. 

The leaders referred to in the passage at which we are looking are most probably elders, judges, and what we would refer to as political leaders.  This is of no great moment to our concern this day.  National Israel was God’s church and these leaders furnish an illustration of Christian leaders both in and out of the church.

There are at least four lessons for us in the Scriptures listed. 

1.  Leaders sin.  This does not in and of itself disqualify them.  At their best they are flesh and it is a fact of life that sin is common to the children of Adam.As sin does not disqualify leaders, it is by no means a commendation or to be ignored.  The fact of human weakness and wickedness is no commendation for anyone.
2. Leaders are recognized particularly.  “Those who call others to account are themselves accountable to the ruler of rulers.”  Matthew Henry.  The fact of position offers no special dispensation.  Sin is reckoned the same way and accountability is required of them as it is of any other.Any who would use their position in the church to gain any advantage for themselves in moral, social, or economic privileges are brought to an abrupt halt.  The divine principle is “to whom much is given, much is required.”  For anyone to use their position of authority to injure or deprive someone of less stature is wicked and detestable.
3.  They are demanded to confess and make atonement for their sins.  This is not something that is commonly expected either in or out of the church. It is far easier to ignore sin and cover the responsibility that adheres to it.  One reason repentance and confession are so easily ignored is that they remind each of us of our like responsibility and our failures.  This does not excuse the sinning leader.  The church as a whole stands under just criticism because of its failure at this point.  The Lord Jesus can with great finality say, “Except you repent you shall all likewise perish””  Luke 13:3.
4.  There is provision for a leader’s sin.  The testimony of Scripture is to God’s covenant mercy.  This is ever present for the needy sinner.  The leader no less than “the common people” can receive forgiveness and fellowship with God and the church.  This reconciliation does not always include the previously held office but it should assure a full return to loving fellowship. 

Application:

1.  Believers should demand holiness of their leaders.
2. Leaders have responsibility for the highest standard of conduct.

HOW TO HAVE ENOUGH

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HOW TO HAVE ENOUGH 

Exodus 36:6-7

⁶ So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, “Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.” And the people were restrained from bringing,

⁷ for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done—indeed too much. 

Luke 19:8-10

⁸ Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”

⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;

¹⁰ for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” 

All who freely give tithes and offerings to their church can look with interest to the text used for study today.  There is a question.  How did the Hebrews come to this point in the Tabernacle construction? 

This was not an event but it was a process which began in Ex. 35:5-9 with the Divine requirements which include the manner of acquiring the materials and with the materials to be used.  In Exodus 35:10 the builders are determined to be “skillful craftsmen” who are to do that plan given by the Lord.  This description of the Hebrew citizens helps us understand the level of skills among them.  Many of them were shepherds, others were merchants, engineers, and other crafts which were necessary for living in the day. 

Exodus 35:21-24 is a description of the only right attitude that is acceptable when gifts and offerings are given to God.  The singular condition mentioned is “All who were of a willing heart,”, and again in 35:29 it is written that they “brought it as a freewill offering.”  In this statement of Israel’s attitude, “freewill” is mentioned frequently.  Freewill is often applied as a requirement for salvation.  The matter at hand is whether the Scriptures use freewill in any way but as it is in this application.  This passage is dealing with the activity of people we are told are redeemed, delivered, and have received covenant grace.  There is nowhere in the Bible where freewill is stated to apply to any other than those who received this described favor of God.  It is a stretch that the writers of Scripture are never willing to make when freewill is ascribed to those who are not recipients of God’s grace. 

Spirit filled leaders with their responsibilities are included in Exodus 35:30-35.  They had 3 tasks, to design vs 32, they are to teach vs 34, and to do the requirements of every design whatever may be the craft vss 32 B,C; 35.  It would be well for all Christians to look with care at the specific provision God has made for supervision. 

All to be done according to a single design Ex. 36:1.  This Tent of Worship which had a limited life was designed in its minutest detail by the Lord.  This being so, how much more should we expect the word of God which endures forever to be perfect, inspired, complete, and beautiful.  It should surprise us if we found it otherwise. 

We have the inevitable results in Exodus 36:2-7.  There is more than enough to do what God intends, vs 5.  And there is a perfect sufficiency for the need we can imagine they had vs 7. 

We are not concluding anything but what we should when the joy Israel experienced in giving and seeing the results glorify God.  The benefits they experienced in having this place of worship was but an added bump to their rejoicing.

Application:

1.  All gifts to God are to be given willingly.  II Corinthians 8:3.
2. They must be given joyfully.  II Corinthians 9:7

THE OLD COVENANT

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THE OLD COVENANT           

Exodus 24:4-8 NKJV

⁴ And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

⁵ Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD.

 ⁶ And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. ⁷ Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.”

⁸ And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.” 

Exodus 19:5-6

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.” 

Jeremiah 11:1-5

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

² “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

³ and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant

⁴ which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God,’

⁵ that I may establish the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ as it is this day.”’”
And I answered and said, “So be it, LORD.” 

Hebrews 9:19-22

¹⁹ For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,

²⁰ saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.”

²¹ Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry.

 ²² And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. 

There are few words in the Bible as important as the word, “covenant.”  As important as the word is even so is the importance of the Christian’s understanding of it.  This is not an attempt to give anything like a complete understanding of the “Covenant” in its Biblical meaning.  This is only an introduction to the covenant principle and its importance to Israel as well as to Christians. 

Covenant – Basically, it denotes a compact or agreement between two parties binding them mutually to undertakings on each other’s behalf.  Theologically (used of relations between
God and man) it denotes a gracious undertaking entered into by God for the benefit and blessing of man, and specifically of those men who by faith receive the promises and commit themselves to the obligations which this undertaking involves. Baker’s Dictionary of Theology.

This dictionary or New Bible Dictionary, Tyndale are both excellent Bible tools.  If you are able,

it is a suggestion that you get one of these helps. 

Moses “wrote down all the words of the Lord.”  This must include the Ten Commandments with the applications, threats, and promises that follow up through Exodus 23:33.  In Exodus 24:7 this collection is called “The Book of the Covenant.”  There are three important features to remember about this book.

1.       It was given to Israel to be both a responsibility and a promise.  There was in it a national promise, Exodus 19:6, “You shall be to me a kingdom.”  It is in this promise that Israel becomes a nation with God’s blessing upon them.  This was not new.  It had originated with Abraham.  But at this time it identified this Israel as God’s nation among all other nations

There was in it a spiritual promise.  They were to be priest and holy.  The uneasy truce between the nation Israel and God’s holy people had its beginning in the Garden and continued as long as national Israel continued.

2.      Israel accepted these privileges with their corresponding responsibility.  Exodus 19:8, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.”  They stood before God as those whom He had delivered with a mighty display of His power and wrath.  They assumed their responsibility and became a party agreeable with this plain contract. 

This contract was sealed with blood.  The altar represented God.  Blood of animal sacrifices was gathered and “half of the blood he threw against the altar.”  Then he took the Book of the Covenant, read it, and the people committed themselves to accept this.  They also guaranteed their obedience to the words of the Book then.  Exodus 24:8

⁸ And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.”

The writer of Hebrews makes his readers aware of the necessity and solemnity of this transition.  Hebrews 9:29-22

3.      The third aspect of this covenant was that it was conditional.  Both the promises and the curses were prefaced by an “if” Exodus 19:5 “Therefore if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples.” 

The problems Israel experienced were never a failure of God keeping covenant with Israel but Israel’s failure to keep their word, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” 

This conditional nature of the covenant with national Israel colors every aspect of their relationship with God.  There are no unconditional promises made to national Israel.  God’s final separation from them at Pentecost and their destruction at 70 AD are a statement of His fidelity to His word.  They, with considered finality, denied the Holy covenant God and he departed from them to their inevitable destruction.

Application:

1.       Your relationship with God demands from your consecrated service and obedience.

2.      The salvation of the believer is by a New Covenant that is not conditional.  It is the essence of covenanted privilege, once he is saved he is always saved.

THE DISPENSATION OF LAW

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THE DISPENSATION OF LAW

           

Exodus 19:16-20 NKJV

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. 

The phenomena described in Exodus 19:16-20 is spectacular.  The attention it draws from any attentive reader can be only a slight indication of the effect it must have had on the observers.  As this is read, a question comes to mind: Why this overwhelming display? 

The answers lies in two parts.  First it marks a change in God’s manner of dealing with His people.  Where they had been an extended family, they are now to be a nation.  The remarkable introduction of God’s government is meant to impress on them the greatness of their deliverance and the responsibility they had.

As a nation they had both internal and external responsibilities.  They were responsible for the “sojourner” who came to them.  And they were to have a constant diligence against becoming like the nations around them.

Secondly, Israel is given a new order of worship.  Where their worship had been personal and unstructured, it was now to become ordered in every act.  It was no less personal but it was public and pictorial.

The three elements of Israel’s worship – the law, the sacrifices, and the priesthood - were to furnish them an access to God that was always to teach them of their need and God’s grace.  Let none doubt that it did this to the full extent that it was intended. 

It is well that we understand that every change in God’s public dealing with His people is marked by cataclysmic events.  The birth of Christ, the events surrounding the crucifixion and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit are brilliant examples of this. 

The activity around each of these have other significant meanings but they are also attended with such phenomena  as required to impress the discerning reader with the importance God has placed upon them.  As the giving of the Law cannot be ignored so the birth of Christ, His baptism, His death, His outpouring of the Spirit require us to pay attention and to be in awe at God’s wondrous acts. 

Application:

1.       God’s wondrous activity marks once for all events.  Pentecost is an historic event not a present experience.

2.      The Law is given for believers and John lets us know it is not grievous.  I John 5:3 

“ For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

THE SONG OF MOSES

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THE SONG OF MOSES           

Exodus 15:1-3 NKJV

¹ Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying:
“I will sing to the LORD,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!

² The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

³ The LORD is a man of war;
The LORD is His name.

We are told the subject of Moses’ song, “The Lord has triumphed gloriously.”  There is in it content that is later repeated in songs and in the theology of Israel.

When Moses describes the Lord as, “A man of war,” we are informed that the God of the Hebrews intended to accompany them in the conquest of the land to which He was leading them.  His overthrow of Pharaoh’s host was a sign and a promise of His power which was able to give them the victory whenever their enemy confronted them.  Exodus 14:31  “ Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses.”   

The Song of Moses is an ever-present problem for those in the past and in the present who claim of the past and demand of the present that only Psalms are to be sung in worship.  That this song is a song of worship is undeniable. 

For those who make the claim for exclusive Psalmody these are the difficulties. 

A.     Israel should not have sung this song in worship (because it was not a Psalm), but they did.

B.    Or they sang it only this one time in their worship of God never singing it again either before or after the Psalms were written.  The matter of what Israel could sing in worship before the Psalms were written is another problem for those who support exclusive Psalmody .  The only conclusion they allow is that Israel did not sing before the Psalms were written. 

3.  We are told in the Scriptures that this song, “The Song of Moses” continues in the church and is sung in heaven.  It continues throughout the history of the church and is joined with “the Song of the Lamb”.  Rev. 15:3 ESV  ³ And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!”

Evidently there is a “Song of the Lamb”, and it is sung somewhere.  If as the Revelator indicates it is sung in heaven, why can it not be sung by the church?  It seems as if those who sing this “new song” are doing no more that is allowed and should be encouraged in it.

Application:

1.  Men make mistakes.  This is our fame.  That great and good men of the past have made mistakes should not surprise anyone.  I am far more comfortable saying Calvin was mistaken in his support of exclusive Psalmody than blaming him for the death of Servitus.
2. The Scriptures are the only guide for worship.  This principle, known as the regulative principle, suffers no damage in recognizing our singing in worship is not confined to the Psalms.
3. 3.  The history of the church shows that exclusive psalmody has never been the universal practice of Christians.  The rejoicing of the church in worship is complete only when it can sing, “The song of the Lamb.”

PHARAOH: AN ILLUSTRATION

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PHARAOH: AN ILLUSTRATION          

Exodus 5:2 NKJV

² And Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go.” 

The Exodus involves a mighty contest.  Pharaoh opposes - as far as he is concerned - Moses, Aaron, and the rebellious Hebrews.  He has no idea of the Divine purpose for him. 

His statement recorded in Exodus 5:2 is the classic confession of all the unconverted the world over, unlimited by time.  Paul describes this condition in I Corinthians 2:14; “ But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 

The statement in Exodus 5:2 demonstrates a supreme arrogance, but it contains the elements of the lost person’s enmity toward God.  An analysis of it shows us:

A.     His pride:  Who is the Lord that he should think he can give me commands and expect obedience?  I will not obey him.  This is the natural activity of the human will.  Romans 8:7-8.  ⁷ Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. ⁸ So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”  It is as unnatural for the carnal mind to obey God as for a broken clock to keep the right time.  This clock will have the right time only for one minute as time passes it by, never correct only accidentally the same as time passing it.

B.     His ignorance:  “I do not know the Lord.”  He was right.  He certainly did not know the Lord.  Again, Paul gives Bible students a clear look at this condition.  Ephesians 4:18,  “having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;”  This very clear statement is a description of human intelligence in its understanding of the Triune God of the Scriptures.  Note the four conditions named.

1.       Darkened understanding

2.      Alienated from God

3.      Ignorance in them, that is belonging to them

4.      Blind heartedness.  A darkness of affection with which they are pleased.

This was the ignorance of Pharaoh. 

C.    Rebellion:  “I will not let Israel go.”  We hear many talk of the sinner’s free will.  This is the freedom of the will of the lost person at work doing its business.  The business of the will of the lost person is to oppose God in whatever way it can.  The plaintive prayer of Christ for Jerusalem is a graphic illustration of this condition.  Luke 13:34 “How often I would have …” “but you were not willing.” 

Paul chose Pharaoh of whom he writes “For this very purpose I have raised you up.”  There are some glaring graphic road signs that demand observation and attention.  The Lord says “Remember Lot’s wife”.  Again, He states that Johan is a sign that demands observation.  Pharaoh is as much a lesson for us in human depravity as can be found in Scripture. 

What is the lesson:

1.  There are no easy conversions.  The spirit of God is the source of life.
2. We have every encouragement to take the gospel to anyone.  Conversion is not dependent upon them, but God who alone can save and does.

REASONS FOR STAYING

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REASONS FOR STAYING           

Exodus 2:23-25 NKJV

²³ Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.

²⁴ So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

²⁵ And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.

Exodus 3:7-10

⁷ And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.

⁸ So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.

⁹ Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.

¹⁰ Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 

The reluctance of the Hebrews to leave Egypt is both evident and a question that can be answered.  At least four times in chapters two and three the misery of this poor people is graphically cited as, “groaning”.  This was more than a desire for relief.  It was an expression of the extreme affliction they were experiencing. 

The reasons the Hebrews remained stuck fast in Egypt were at least five.  They are as follows:

1.  Israel’s stay in Egypt was 400 years.  But it was never longer than God intended.  Genesis 15:13-14.
2. Their naturalization and accommodation to the land was no more than could be expected.  Exodus 1:7.  Note – your own citizenship is this land has far less history and think about the ties to this country – how hard it would be to leave.
3. There was revelation to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob assuring them of inheritance in Canaan, but it does not seem so clear that this was known 400 years later by these Hebrews.  At least it did not seem clear enough to demand an Exodus.  Exodus 2:23
4. They lacked information of any nation outside of Egypt.  The fact that they had no military either in human readiness or armaments was conclusively against an invasion of any country with military preparation.
5.  Egypt by this time, though they distrusted them, needed their contribution of labor.  Exodus 1:9-11  They would make every effort to keep them from leaving.

Conclusion:  Without God forcing them to leave and delivering them from Egypt there would have been no Exodus.  The Exodus is a pure act of Divine deliverance from beginning to end.  Israel had neither the will nor means to leave.

Application: 

1.  Redemption is a forceable extraction whether it be Israel or a sinner from his sin.
2. The greatness of the power required for deliverance belongs to God alone.
3. The greatness of the depth of a sinner’s fall is never a reason for despair.  It will never be greater than God’s power which is equaled by His grace.

ISRAEL IN EGYPT

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 ISRAEL IN EGYPT   

        

Genesis 45:9, 20, 25-28 NKJV

⁹ “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry.

²⁰ Also do not be concerned about your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

²⁵ Then they went up out of Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father.

²⁶ And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.” And Jacob’s heart stood still, because he did not believe them.

²⁷ But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived.

²⁸ Then Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Genesis 46:5-7

⁵ Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

⁶ So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him.

⁷ His sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt. 

When Jacob and his family joined Joseph in Egypt all of Israel was in Egypt.  Their immediate future had a double guarantee.  The human part of their guaranteed well-being was temporary because it was tied to Joseph and his position as ruler of Egypt. 

The Divine promise had far more certainty.  In Genesis 46:2-4 God promised Jacob two things.

² Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
³ So He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.

⁴ I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.”

First, Jacob’s family was to become a great nation.  Why this required a sojourn in Egypt is uncertain.  But it may have been that they were insulated in Egypt from the Egyptian people and were confined to a particular geographic location where they could grow unhindered and without opposition. 

They also had the might of Egypt to protect them from attack by other stronger tribes and nations.  This opposition by stronger nations proved to be a problem for them when they returned to Canaan. 

The return to Canaan was the second part of God’s promise to Jacob. “I will go down with you to Egypt and I will bring you up again.”  Jacob’s family went to Egypt with the understanding that their stay was temporary.  Joseph’s dying prophecy and request are statements of Israel’s responsibility to consider Egypt a temporary residence. 

Israel had the best of the land, Pharaoh’s favor, and their brother as ruler to protect them.  But they were to be shepherds and “every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”  Genesis 46:34D.  This was related also to their race.  Genesis 43:32.  They were from the beginning living on borrowed time and their danger was ever present. 

Joseph’s position with Pharaoh and his favor with the rulers of Egypt was all that kept them from feeling the disfavor of their host.  Life was ever so pleasant for them.  All the good of the land lay before them.  They could practice their vocation, grow in wealth, and increase in numbers as a distinct people.  Human nature being what it is and has always been it is certain that hostility began with their entrance in Goshen and was a festering sore that was ever growing.  Their prosperity was limited and their comfort temporary. 

Application:

1.  Our brother, for He is not ashamed to call us brother, is the Lord of all.  We need not fret or fear.
2. In the midst of any and every famine we have His invitation to come and dine with Him.

JOSEPH: A TRUE SUCCESS

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible…. 

JOSEPH:  A TRUE SUCCESS              

Genesis 39:6; 22-23 NKJV

⁶ Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate.

²² And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing.

²³ The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.

Genesis 41:41-44

⁴¹ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”
⁴² Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

⁴³ And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁴ Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

Success went wherever Joseph was.  Joseph’s holiness, state of mind, and usefulness was never determined by his circumstances.  It seems as if all the faith of his fathers – Enoch, Noah and Abraham – spoken of in Hebrews 11 were realized in him.  He walked with God, built with a view to the saving of his household, and saw that city with foundations.  Joseph faces no criticism in the Scriptures.  But neither is Joseph the inheritor of the covenant leadership.  He is placed below Judah.  His family fails to continue in faithfulness.  But whatever failures in his family that follows, these failures are no reflection of Joseph.  He lived with a single purpose which he stated to Potiphar’s wife, “How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” 

As much as Jacob loved Joseph, Joseph loved his father.  The emotion of Joseph can be felt as he inquired of his brothers concerning his father, “Is you father well, the old man of whom you spoke?  Is he still alive?”  Again, in Genesis 46:26-29,  the joy of the occasion is a pleasure to read.   

There is another feature about Joseph that can be helpful.  Joseph dreamed twice as a youngster about his family.  His father, mother, and brothers are respectively the sun, moon, and stars.  Whenever these sun, moon, and stars, are mentioned metaphorically as in Mark 13:24, if understood by Joseph’s dream, then what is pictured is the fall or destruction of Israel.  It seems as if this same approach serves well in Acts 2:20 as it  is quoted from Joel 2.  There are too many instances to mention them all.  But there seems to be no place where this understanding will not serve better than a literal falling of sun, moon, and stars. 

Alexander Whyte, the master of bible characters biographies, fails us in most of what he has to say about Joseph.  His sanctified imagination runs its limit in blaming Joseph and falls to imposing his desire for a present application on to the life of Joseph.  But he redeems himself with this closing paragraph, “And through it all, Joseph became a better and an ever better man all his days.  A nobler and an ever nobler man.  A more and more trustworthy, and a more and more trusted and consulted man.  More and more loyal to truth and to duty.  More and more chaste, temperate, patient, enduring, forgiving; full of mind and full of heart; and full, no man ever fuller, of a simple and a sincere piety and praise of God, till he became a very proverb both in the splendor of his services, and in the splendor of his rewards.”  Bible Characters, Adam to Achan, vol. 1, pg 204. 

Application:

1. Complaining of inequities and injustices is never fruitful.  Fruit is borne in doing the work of the day.
2. All sin is against God.  It is the true fear of the Lord to know this and turn from the temptation.

THE DEATH OF SHECHEM

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible…. 

THE DEATH OF SHECHEM                       

Genesis 34:25-26 NKJV

²⁵ Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males.

²⁶ And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went out. 

Jacob had been returned from Laban about 12 years.  Dinah was about 14 years old when Shechem raped her and then desired her as a wife.  The determination of Jacob’s sons to avenge the honor of their sister was deceitfully wicked and providentially necessary.

Genesis 34:19 speaks of the intention of Shechem and his honorable commitment to Dinah.  But the scheming of Hamor has little to do with the wrong done by his son to Dinah and everything to do with his commercial intentions for Jacob’s family.  Hamor saw this as events in the interest of him and his kinsmen.  The wealth and the women of the tribe of Israel made for a desirable profit and offered easily found marriageable women. 

Here lay the trap, Israel would be mixed with the nations.  This did not fit with God’s purpose of separation for the covenant people.  To be sure at this time the sons of Jacob were marrying women of the land.  This was necessary for the tribe to grow and to prevent incest.  But marrying individuals who were brought into their family religion and become a part of the covenant people was far different from inter-marrying with another tribe and entering into both marriage and commercial unity. 

Simeon and Levi committed the act to which all the sons other than Joseph and Benjamin were in agreement.  Through this act the two men fell out of favor with their father and lost any consideration of receiving the Birthright and the Blessing from their Father. 

Later when Reuben sins against his father and loses favor also, the Birthright and Blessing came to Judah.  He (Judah) did not receive these privileges arbitrarily.  He was in the line of succession and was providentially intended by God. 

So many different later events were determined by Shechem and his death.  This is a cardinal instance of God’s sovereign will being worked out in the seemingly unrelated events of history. 

History that appeared so random was divinely determined that God’s purpose would be unfailingly accomplished.  When the genealogy of Jesus is read, remember Simeon and Levi’s cruel deed done for no other reason than to vent their anger and secure their honor. 

Proverbs 16:33.

³³ The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from the LORD.

Application:

1. Violence begets violence.  Equitable resolutions to differences should be accepted.
2. God’s purpose is unfailing.  The gifts and callings of God are without recall.