Navigating the Trip Click here to return to Page 1.
|
 10.The
Example of Joseph |
14. The
Giving of the Law |
| 11. The
Life of Moses |
15.
Judges & Early Kingdom |
| 12. The
Call of Moses |
16. David
as King |
| 13. The
Egyptian Plagues |
Click
here for Home page |
When we reviewed the life of Jacob and Esau we noted that God's choice, Jacob, would not have been our "natural" choice. Esau was the more likable of the two, the more manly etc.
Yet God knew something about both of them that we didn't. He knew that in time Esau would be a long term, unrepentant problem and that Jacob would, in time become a repentant man of faith!
So Esau represents the "natural" man, without faith in God's promises, the unsaved.
Jacob, on the other hand, at times represents the "carnal" man, one who believes in God's promises but is not walking with Him.
And at other times, after he has yielded to God, Jacob represents the "spiritual" man.
Paul identifies these three types of men in this passage as he writes to a church that believes but is not walking with God:
I Cor. 2:14-3:4 "But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not mere men?" (Flesh=carnal)
Returning to the Genesis account, just as God created a special birth in Issac, He created a special quality of life in Jacob to extend the plan for His chosen people, the Jews.
When Jacob yielded to God, fairly early in his adult life, when he wrestled with the "Angel of the Lord", God changed his name to Israel.
Gen. 32:24-28 "Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. And when he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." But he said, " I will not let you go unless you bless me. So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob. And he said, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed."
Jacob's twelve sons were the "fathers" of the twelve tribes of Israel.
(There is the exception of Joseph's "double portion" and the way his son Ephraim replaced Reuben, Jacob's son who had disgraced himself with Jacob's concubine. See Gen. chapters 48 and 49 where Jacob gives an extensive prophecy, declaring which sons would head up the tribes of Israel.)
The life of Joseph is unusual and is well known. It is the subject of many Sunday School lessons and sermons. He was the youngest son and a favorite.
Jacob failed to mask his feelings for Joseph and the eleven older brothers grew to hate Joseph. They sold him into Egyptian slavery and reported "his death" back to Jacob.
Later another son was born, Benjamin, as a "replacement" for Joseph. He too became a favored son.
Joseph as a slave to a high army officer in Egypt, Potipher, was given full authority of the household.
The wife of the officer, Potiphar, attempted to seduce Joseph and when he rejected her declaring his loyalty to his master and to his God, she was enraged and falsely accused him of attempting to rape her.
So, Joseph was imprisoned, where he again rose to responsibilities. He ran the prison!
Having the rare, God-given ability to interpret dreams, he was eventually called before the ruler of the land, Pharaoh, to interpret his dreams. These foretold of a seven year time of plenty to be followed by a time of severe famine.
Pharaoh, wisely chose Joseph to be his administrator to take advantage of these circumstances. Joseph became the highest officer in the land next to Pharaoh.
Then during the following famine, Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy grain. They were recognized by Joseph and he tested them to the breaking point to determine if they had any repentance for the way they had mistreated him in the past. When this was finally drawn from them, Joseph fully forgave them and brought the whole family into Egypt for favored treatment under his care.
It's a beautiful story and Joseph is a rarity. No fault is recorded in his life. His ability to cling to God and to acknowledge God's sovereignty in the times of his troubles is remarkable and a great example for us. He sums it up in his response to his repentant brothers in Gen. 45:4-8 when he says it was not them , but God who sent him ahead into Egypt to be able to preserve the family! Again he repeated this conclusion in chapter 50:18-21.
"Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants. But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place? And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them."
We should follow his example. Eph. 5:20 tells us:
"...always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God even the Father".
And in I Thess. 5:18,
"...in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus".
We would probably doubt this as a good longterm solution for Jacob's family since at Joseph's death a new Pharaoh arose who enslaved them.
For the next 400 years the people were under severe conditions. But this too was in God's plan, for He was protecting the people from the immorality of the people of the land of Caanan. He knew that the Israelites needed the testings and separation of the life of slavery for the best long term plan.
This was prophesied in Gen. 15:13-14 where Abraham was told by God that his descendants would be captive for 400 years until the "iniquity of the Amorites" would be complete. At which time the Israelites would be the instruments of God's judgment on them.
"And God said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve; and afterward they will come out with many possessions."
We seldom see the longterm picture that God has in mind as He works with us!
Romans 8:28 is really true and God does always have our best interest at heart!
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
We are correct to pray for relief from our circumstances that are troublesome.
Joseph wanted out of prison, Gen. 40:14, but his attitude was positive while there. In God's time we will get relief. If not in this life for sure in the next!
Joseph illustrates many of the characteristics of the life of Christ.
1. He brought "salvation" to those who had betrayed him.
2. He went down into humiliation as a way to exultation just as Christ went to the cross ahead of His resurrection and His return to rule.
3. He forgave those who in effect, "put him to death" by selling him into slavery.
4. Just as we must come to Christ for relief and spiritual salvation, during the famine, all had to come to Joseph for relief and physical salvation.
Click here to return to the Top of the page
When Jacob's family came to Egypt, they lived under the protection of Joseph in the section of the land called Goshen.
They needed his protection since they were herdsmen and the Egyptians included animal worship in their religion. Early in the book of Exodus, trouble finally comes after Joseph's death when a "...king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph".
By this time the children of Israel had multiplied "so that the land was filled with them". This king, concerned that they might rebel, and join with enemy alliances etc., decided to put them into slavery in forced labor to keep them down. "But the more they afflicted them the more they multiplied".
So, the king instructed the Hebrew midwives to see that all the male children died at birth. This order was disobeyed and the king then demanded that all new born Jewish sons be cast into the Nile.
When Moses was born, he was hidden in a floating basket in the reeds and watched over by his sister. In God's providence, the king's daughter found the baby and adopted him. His sister suggested a nurse for him who turned out to be Moses' mother.
So, Moses grew up in the court of the king, but had the Hebrew influence from his mother as his nurse. A rare combination that God used in delivering the people later on.
As a young adult Moses, angered by seeing a Hebrew beaten by a taskmaster, murdered the taskmaster. He became afraid of the consequences and fled to the desert. In the desert, he met a God-fearing family and married, tending sheep for 40 years.
There in the desert, at a miracle of a burning bush that was not consumed, God called Moses to return to Egypt to deliver the Israelites from their slavery.
He was to lead them to the promised land given to their father Abraham.
Moses was reluctant to take on this job and God gave him the help of his older brother, Aaron as spokesman. God also gave him the ability to initiate miracles to prove he was under the direction of the God Jehovah.
So, Moses, with his family left and was joined by Aaron. When they went to the king, Pharaoh, they were regularly rejected.
Moses would initiate a "plague" that would cause the king to temporarily relent and when the plague was lifted he would reverse himself. These plagues hit the land of the Egyptians but the land of the Israelites was spared.
This continued until the final plague of the death of all the firstborn of the land. The Hebrew's deliverance from this final plague became symbolic of our salvation through Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross for us.
God instructed each Hebrew family to kill a lamb and to put some of the lamb's blood on their door post. The Death Angel, on seeing the blood, would "pass over" that house.
This became the most important celebration feast of the Jews each year thereafter. (It was appropriate that Jesus was sacrificed on the cross, for us, on the very time of the "Passover" celebration).
After this terrible plague the king urged the Israelites to leave. They were packed and ready. The Egyptians gave them "departure" gifts of gold and jewels!
They left and traveled to the shores of The Red Sea. The king again reversed himself and pursued them with his entire army.
The Israelites faith wavered at the sight of them and wished they had never left slavery! This was to be the pattern for the next 40 years! God delivered them and they soon forgot God's faithfulness to them.
In this case, Moses, with God's instruction, parted the waters of the sea and the Hebrews walked through on dry land!
When the king and the Egyptian soldiers followed into the path through the sea, the waters closed in upon them and all were drowned!
Ex: 14:30 "Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore."
The Israelites had spent 430 years in Egypt. It was God's time for them to proceed to the land and take it for themselves.
However, as they moved through the desert, toward the land, they were constantly doubting God, even though He provided for their every need! He guided them with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night! He provided "manna from heaven" for daily food. He preserved their clothes and shoes so that they did not wear out!
It was during this time that God gave the "law", The Ten Commants to Moses on Mt. Sinai along with detailed instructions to build the "wilderness tabernacle".
When they came to the border of the promised land, they sent spies in to see the strength of the land.
Ten of the twelve spies were fearful and reported that they had no chance to claim the land. Only Joshua and Caleb wanted to take the land.
God was angered with their disbelief and committed them to wandering in the wilderness for 40 years for their unbelief in Him. He declared that all of that generation of unbelief must perish in the wilderness, (with the exception of Joshua and Caleb), and a new generation would claim the land!
Moses, for an act of disobedience during his trials with that unbelieving crowd, was also denied entrance to the land.
At the end of the 40 years of wanderings, Moses died and the Lord buried him in a place that "no man knows". He lived 120 years and his understudy, Joshua took over the leadership.
This swift overview, covers the accounts of the books, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. We will expand on some of the major events of this long period in following sections.
Click here to return to the Top of the page
The last session was a broad overview of the period from the death of Joseph through the captivity of the Israelites, their deliverance and the 40 years of desert wanderings after they refused to trust God for the promised land. This covered all of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
Stephen's message in the 7th chapter of Acts gives a swift 40 verse summary of this same period.
This session is devoted to the way God called Moses from his desert hideaway to lead the Israelites out of bondage, along with Moses' responses. A related topic showing how God causes men to work together, partnershiping in service to Him, will be covered.
In Exodus 3:1, Moses was in the desert and saw a thorn bush that was apparently on fire, but it continued burning without being consumed. God appeared to him in this bush and talked to him at length, in chapter 4:23. God uses this concept of "fire" several times in scripture.
Later the "pillar of fire" guided the Israelites by night.
When the Lord gave Moses The Ten Commandments, there was fire on the mountain, Ex.19:18.
When God spoke with Moses, Moses face was lighted with a glow, so that the people were afraid to come near to him, so he covered his face with a veil. Ex.34: 29-35.
There is some speculation that the star of Bethlehem that guided the wise men to the birthplace of Jesus, was also another manifestation of this same fire, sometimes called "the Shekinah Glory".
This was a very special time for Moses. He was reluctant to serve in the capacity of God's call. He offered excuses of being slow of speech and questioned how the people and Pharaoh would know that he represented God?
God gave a key response when in 3:13- 15 when He said:
"I AM WHO I AM, thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you".
This is an extraordinary title for God. The title that the Jews came to reverence very highly. It was for the sacredness of this title that they tried to stone Jesus when He used the title for Himself essentially declaring that He was God;
John 8:56-59 "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." The Jews therefore said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple."
Moses continued to be reluctant and concluded:
Ex. 4:13 But he said, "Please, Lord, now send the message by whomever Thou wilt."
This must have shown mere resignation, rather than true commitment, for God replied;
Ex. 4:14-17 Then the anger of the Lord burned against Moses, and He said, "Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. "And you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do."Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and it shall come about that he shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be as God to him. "And you shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs."
Out of this came a solid commitment to the assignment and a lifelong partnership with Aaron. There were some problems but they served as a strong team under great hardships for 40 years together.
This leads to some reflections on the value of close relationships among God's men.
Eccl. 4:9-12 "Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart."
Deut. 32:30 "How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the Lord had given them up?"
Here, two have a ten to one advantage as they serve with the Lord. (The Rock).
The account in I Sam. 14:6-17 tells of Jonathan, the king's son and his armor bearer routing a whole army!
I Sam. 14:6-7 "Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, " Come and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; perhaps the Lord will work for us, for the Lord is not restrained to save by many or by few. " And his armor bearer said to him, "Do all that is in your heart; turn yourself, and here I am with you according to your desire."
A little later, in I Sam. chapter 18, Jonathan saw in David the shepherd boy who slew the giant, Goliath, the qualities for a strong friendship. They established a covenant that was very strong.
Later when Jonathan was killed in battle, David sorrowed and declared that there was no friendship comparable to the one he had with Jonathan.
II Sam. 1:25-26 "How have the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan is slain on your high places. "I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was more wonderful Than the love of women."
David had his "mighty men" and gives a tribute to them in II Sam. 23. There were 37 in all with thee distinguished simply as "the three"!
As men of God, we should pray for the special relationship of another man or two to be close to, to be accountable to, to help tackle big things for God!
Click here to return to the Top of the page
In our last session, God called Moses to lead His chosen people out of bondage and convinced him to have a try at it!
You will recall that Moses was reluctant with reasonable cause from our perspective. But to his credit he was obedient.
God, in convincing him, did not paint an optimistic picture;
Ex. 3:19-20 "But I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion. "So I will stretch out My hand, and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go."
Moses must have realized that he was in for some exciting times!
God, of course knew the spiritual condition of His people and their response to a deliverer over the next few years indicated that they were very weak spiritually. They really needed a strong leader.
God told Moses that He would redeem them through great judgments so that:
Ex. 6:7-8 "Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 'And I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you {for} a possession; I am the Lord.'"
Moses and Aaron met with the leaders of the Israelites and Aaron related all the words that God had spoken to Moses and he performed the miracles. This caused the people to believe and they worshiped God.
This was the first of the "highs and lows" type of life to be the pattern of the people for the next 40 years.
Moses and Aaron approached Pharaoh and his first response was a flat turndown. He increased the burden on the Israelites by forcing them to gather their own straw for brick-making without any reduction in their brick output!
Immediately, the people failed this test and turned against Moses for trying to save them. He was surely in for a hard time!
Then God, through Moses and Aaron started the series of plagues that eventually caused the king to release the people.
God's application of these plagues and His act of "hardening the heart of Pharaoh" to cause the need of the next plague in the series demonstrates the sovereignty of God.
This is hard for us to understand and it is something we must accept by faith. It is another case where God can cause bad things to result in good for the people of God. God's forknowledge is understandable and easily acceptable. But when He uses it to accomplish His purposes, we sometimes began to squirm!
Romans 9:10-24 discusses this and confirms that God knew in advance how Pharaoh would behave, So He used him to demonstrate His power, "that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth."
The plagues were designed to show how impotent the Egyptian gods were.
Several of the plagues were directly attacking their gods. They worshipped many gods, the frog god and the sun god, for instance.
So when the second plague brought frogs in such numbers that they couldn't keep them out of their bread and ovens, it showed that the Creator God was in control of frogs. When the ninth plague of darkness hit the land it demonstrated that the Creator God could overpower their sun god etc.
These judgments record another truth for us. That is that Satan's messengers may also have miraculous powers to some degree. Pharaoh's magicians were able to duplicate the first two plagues. When they were unable to bring forth "gnats" they even admitted to Pharaoh that "This is the finger of God".
They were also able to duplicate the earlier miracles of Aaron to a point. These may have been partly by deception and partially by power from Satan.
It is well for us to be alert that not all that is supernatural is of God! This is especially important to us as we race toward the end of this age. Jesus warned in Matt. 24:23-25:
"Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or 'There He is,' do not believe him." For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. "Behold, I have told you in advance."
Another powerful aspect of the plagues was that after the fourth plague, they exclusively "hit" the land of the Egyptians, not effecting the land of the Israelites!
Each plague was followed by a hardening of Pharaoh's heart, refusing to let the people go after the plague was lifted.
Following the ninth plague of darkness, Pharaoh told Moses if he saw his face again he would kill him. Moses answered, "You are right; I shall never see your face again!" An ominous warning.
What followed was a terrible judgment. The death of the firstborn of every Egyptian and the firstborn of all their livestock was taken as the death angel passed through the land.
God gave the Israelites explicit instructions for the killing of the "Passover" lamb as a sacrifice, Some of the blood from the lamb was smeared on the door post for the "death angel" to see so their firstborn would be "passed over" and spared.
This became the highest of the annual holy days of the Jews and is celebrated in detail by each honoring family,even to this day.
We know it is the best picture of the sacrifice of our Lord as he offered Himself for sacrifice on the cross of Calvary on the very day of Passover some 1200 years after the event in Egypt.
This judgment that Jesus took for us is the greatest judgment, the ultimate judgment of God, exceeding anything in the past or to come in the future!
When this sacrifice and free gift of forgiveness is rejected, it is in effect hurling the ultimate insult into the face of God!
If you believe and accept Jesus as the sacrifice for your sins then the judgment of eternal death "passes over" you since Jesus died in your place! It is your choice!
Finally, God's people were released.
Ex. 12:29-36 "Now it came about at midnight that the Lord struck all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the first-born of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the first-born of cattle. And Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead. Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, "Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the Lord, as you have said. "Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also." And the Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, "We shall all be dead. So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders. Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians."
Later, Pharaoh changed his mind again and pursued them with his entire army to the Red Sea where the Israelites were "stranded". This brought on another wave of unbelief that Moses had to deal with!
God climaxed His demonstration of power by parting the sea, allowing the Israelites to pass through on dry land! Then as the Egyptians followed He closed the sea over them and the entire army and Pharaoh were destroyed!
When the Israelites were safe on the other side of the Red Sea, they celebrated God's deliverance with a song of praise, Ex.15:1-21.
As we've said before the pattern of victory followed by their grumbling repeated in this instance and regularly for forty years! In just three days they came to Marah where the waters were bitter and they lost heart. God told Moses to put a certain tree into the waters and they became sweet. After this miraculous deliverance the Lord guided them to Elim, a place of twelve springs and seventy date palm trees. It seems that He was being extra gracious to them for initial encouragement.
When they set out from Elim into the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Sinai, about 45 days since leaving Egypt, grumbling again set in. They were out of food. Ex.16. God at this time provided "manna from heaven" on a daily basis. This was a sweet bread that appeared like "dew" during the night.
They were to gather only what was required for the day. Extra would spoil. On the day before the Sabbath, they were to gather 2 day's supply. In addition, quail came in the evening for meat. This pattern of manna continued to meet their needs for the entire 40 years they were in the wilderness!
Shortly after this they were again out of water. 17:1-6. God instructed Moses to stand before a rock at Horeb, strike the rock and water came forth.
The following day they had their first battle with Amalek. As Joshua led the battle, when Moses upheld his arms to the Lord, the battle went in Joshua's favor. When Moses dropped his arms from weariness, Amalek prevailed. So Aaron and Hur supported Moses' arms and Amalek was completely defeated.
After a reunion with Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, they proceeded on to Sinai where God met with them in a special way to give them His Law.
Jethro advised Moses to establish a "chain of command" regarding the settling of disputes among the people. He counseled that he select honorable men who fear God, to have charge over 1000's, 100's, 50's and 10's. These leaders were to settle all minor disputes and only the major ones were to come before Moses.
In the third month out of Egypt they came into the wilderness of Sinai before the mountain. They camped there for one year while they were getting the Law and instructions for the building of the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant.
In chapter 19, God challenged the people to obey Him and to keep His covenant. They declared they were ready to and would. So the stage was being set to give the Law at Mount Sinai. The people were warned that they should stay back from the mountain. The Lord descended in smoke and fire and called Moses up to the mountain. Aaron was left in charge of the people.
God gave the Ten Commandments and enlarged on the Law in chapters 20-23, concluding with His covenant regarding the Promised Land and it's boundaries.
Moses recounted all this to the people, and wrote it down. Ex. 24:2-4.
Then God called Moses up to the mountain again to receive the stone tablets of the Law. God gave more detail of the Law and instructions for the building of the tabernacle in chapters 25-31 culminating in giving the stone tablets written by "the finger of God", 31:18
During this time, 40 days and nights that Moses was with God on the mountain, the people became restless and concluded that Moses had left them! They asked Aaron to "make us a god who will go before them"!
Ex. 32:1 "Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."
Remarkably Aaron complied. He told them to bring in their gold earrings and he made a golden calf. And they said, "This is your god O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt".
Aaron built an altar before it and said,"tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD". A tragic mixture of pagan worship with attempted worship to God!
God told Moses of what was happening and wanted to destroy them and start all over with a people from Moses!
Moses interceded successfully, calling to God's attention that it would appear to the surrounding nations that God had failed in His deliverance of the people from Egypt.
Moses returned to the people, throwing the tables down and shattering them. He ground the idol into dust and forced the people to drink it mixed with water. He instructed the Levites to punish the men and 3000 were killed by the sword of the sons of Levi.
All of chapter 33 is a further intercession of Moses for the people and God does agree to continue with the people and in the process shows His special concern and love for Moses as their leader and intercessor.
God "reissues" the Ten Commandments in another set of stone tablets. Moses came down from the mountain again after 40 days and nights and shares what he has heard from God.
The building of the Tabernacle is described in chapters 35 through 40 of Exodus. Our next session will be devoted to some of the special things that the Tabernacle teaches about the worship of God and how some of it typifies the Gospel to us.
The entire book of Leviticus is devoted to an expansion of the Law.
Click here to return to the Top of the page
The Tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant
The books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy record the deliverance from Egypt, the giving of the Law, the building of the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant and the wilderness wanderings.
The following list of the significant happenings within this broad outline may be helpful:
Song of victory Ex. 15
Bitter water, grumbling Ex. 15:22-24
Into Wilderness of Sin Ex. 16:1-3
Manna and Quail Ex. 16:4,13
Water from rock, Horeb Ex. 17:6
Victory over Amalek Ex. 17:8-16
Jethro's good advice Ex. 18
Arrive at Sinai Ex. 19
Ten Commandments & Laws Ex. 20-24
Promise of success if obedient & the boundaries of the land Ex. 23:20-33
Moses on Mt for 40 days Ex. 24
Receives instructions regarding Tabernacle and Ark,
.......receives 2 Tablets (31:18) Ex. 25-31
Aaron & the golden calf Ex. 32
Second set of Tablets Ex. 34:7,28
Build Tabernacle & Ark Ex. 35-40
Detail of the Law Lev. 1-27
Blessings if obedient & curses if disobedient Lev. 26:1-39
Promise of forgiveness Lev. 26:40-46
One year in wilderness Num. 9:10
Leave Sinai Num. 10:1
Complain for meat Num. 11:4-31
Miriam & Aaron rebel Num. 12
Spies selected Num. 13
Bad report Num. 13:27-33
Joshua & Caleb, 2 faithful spies, exceptions and allowed into land Num. 14:6-9&24
Doomed to wilderness for 40 years Num. 14:29
Korah's rebellion Num. 16
Water from rock, Meribah Moses sins, Num. 20
Aaron dies Num. 20:24
Balaam's evil influence Num. 22-24&31
Review of experiences to this point, laws etc. Deut 1-33
Death of Moses Deut 34 Joshua the new leader Deut 34:9
Two spies into the land Josh 2:1
Rahab the harlot aids Josh 2:6
Crossing Jordon, God divides the waters Josh 3:9-17
Joshua leads the people successfully takes the land, spares Rahab Josh 4-22
Joshua's farewell Josh 23-24
Death of Joshua at 100 Josh 24:29
Click here to return to the Top of the page
Building the Tabernacle and Ark
When God gave the Law, He also gave detailed instructions to build a portable Tabernacle, the Ark and various utensils for sacrifice and worship to be used through the years in the wilderness and in the time ahead as they settled in the land.
During the years in Egyptian captivity, they had accumulated most of the materials for the job and had developed the skills to follow God's instructions in building. Even so, it was a remarkable accomplishment and critics of the Bible simply declare it could not have happened!
Of course the successful completion was due in large part to the special help from God. Ex. 31:2-5 kinds of craftmanship.tells that the workmen were filled with the Spirit of God in wisdom and knowledge in all Then Ex. 35:20-29 tells how the people brought offerings of all the materials that were needed. In fact Ex 36:5-6 tell that they brought more than enough and had to be restrained in giving!
The Tabernacle is loaded with symbolism of the character of God, of the future sacrifice of the Savior etc. It consisted of an outer court yard and an inner building composed of three areas. The most innermost was called the "Holy of Holies" and was separated by a veil. The high priest was the only one to enter here. The Ark of the Covenant resided there and the very presence of God was in the Ark. The high priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year and had bells sewed to the hem of his robe to indicate that by his movements, he was alive and that God had approved of the sacrifice that had been offered for him ahead of his entrance into that sacred place!
(This "Holy of Holies" place was duplicated in the temple that existed in Jesus' time. And when He died for us, the veil of the temple that separated the Holy of Holies from the balance of the temple was miraculously "torn in two from top to bottom", Matt 27:51, signifying that He had entered into the "holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption", Heb. 9:12b
The entire 9th chapter of Hebrews gives a good explanation of the purpose of the tabernacle and the way that Jesus as our high priest replaces it's functions perfectly!)
Ex. 40:34-38 tells that there was cloud over the tabernacle by day and a pillar of fire by night. Whenever the cloud lifted the people would set out upon their journey.
After the "giving of the law" and the construction of the tabernacle they approached the promised land. Twelve spies were selected to spy out the land.
They returned with a mixed report. The land was flowing with milk and honey as promised! But there were strong fortifications and even giants in the land. Ten of the spies doubted that they could actually take the land as commanded by God. Only Caleb and Joshua wanted to take the land. The people ignored the favorable report and disbelieved God.
They even wanted to appoint another leader and return to Egypt! Moses and Aaron pleaded with the people, but they rebelled and even wanted to stone Moses and Aaron!
God was extremely angered and declared they were to all wander in the wilderness for another 40 years. All those who were over 20 years of age would die in the wilderness and never enter the land. Only Caleb and Joshua were spared.
Moses, too, was not to enter the land as a result of the time when he struck the rock rather than speaking to it as God commanded.
After the death of Moses, Joshua was appointed the leader of the Israelites.
A miraculous crossing of the Jordon River followed a successful report from 2 spies. They had received protection from Rahab the harlot. She and her family were in turn spared when the city of Jericho was taken in a marvelous display of God's power. Josh.1-6
While Joshua led successful campaigns and occupied the land, they did not completely follow the command of God to totally destroy the people of any area "near" to their place of residence. Deut.20:16-18. This command was to keep them from following the detestable practices of the people of the land. Josh 15:63, Judges 2:21-3:7, and Judges 1:21 all indicate these failures.
While Josh 21:43-45 indicate they gained control of the land it was left to the individual tribes to clear their area.
Unfortunately for the overall success of the occupation, this was never accomplished. There was a continual interaction between the peoples, socially, religiously and in war throughout the Old Testament record.
The land is divided and assigned to the various tribes. Near the end of Joshua's life , he reviews the way God has led them from the time of Abraham. He then declares that he and his family will serve the Lord:
Josh. 24:15-16 "And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." And the people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods;"
However, the generation that followed Joshua's,"did not know the Lord" and "they did evil in the of the Lord and served Baals." Josh.2:8-13. God allowed the enemies around them to plunder and enslave them! 2:14-15.
Then He raised up judges to deliver them. But when the judge died they would return to the false gods and into trouble from their enemies. 2:17-23.
This pattern (failure, pleading and groaning, then partial deliverance), continues all through the account of the Judges which lasted for about 400 years. The most prominent of the judges were: Gideon, Samson, Deborah and finally Samuel.
The times of the Judges is summed up in the last verse, of Judges, 21:25:
"In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes".
The life and impact of Samuel is given in some detail in the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel. He was a godly man with many evidences of God working in and through him. As a boy, God spoke to him and as he continued to serve the Lord, he became known as a prophet.
"Thus Samuel grew and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fail. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord". I Sam 3:19-20.
When he was old, he appointed his sons as judges. But they were dishonest and the people were ready for a king. I Sam 8:1-5. This displeased Samuel and he asked God about it. God agreed that he should appoint them a king.
God saw their desire for a king as rejection of His being King over them, but agreed in spite of this. He insisted that Samuel warn them of the oppression that a king would bring upon them. But in spite of this they clamored for a king.
So in chapters 9 and 10 the circumstances of the selection of their first king is detailed. Saul the son of Kish of the tribe of Benjamin was anointed and made king. He was a striking young man, a full head taller than the others.
In his first challenge of leadership in chapter 11, he leads a successful campaign against the Ammonites and shows "class" in not allowing any vengeance against those who were not initially pleased with his appointment. I Sam 11:12-13.
But as he progressed into his reign he became the classic illustration of failure, selfishness and jealousy, finally turning away from God to the forbidden witch and seer for guidance. Then he committed suicide after a crushing defeat in battle!
This downward spiral began with him taking on the office of priest, offering a sacrifice in the absence of Samuel.
Next he disobeyed a direct commandment from God to not spare any living of a particular battle victory.
At this time, the Spirit of God, given to him in a special way at his anointing, was removed and strangely replaced with an "evil spirit from the Lord".
Samuel was then directed to seek out the next king. David was selected and anointed. This was followed by Saul bringing David into his court as an entertainer with his harp and armor- bearer, probably not at all realizing that David had been picked as his replacement.
When David volunteers to duel the giant Goliath and has complete victory, he is acclaimed the greatest warrior, even over Saul. This triggers Saul's jealousy which drives him to do all the wrong things! He makes open attempts on David's life even while David is in his court! David is befriended by Saul's son Jonathan and they decide it best for David to leave!
This begins an eight year period when David lives as an outlaw, pursued by Saul. David has a following of about 600 men, making occasional raids on enemies of the Israelites, finally taking up residence among one of the enemies in Ziklag of Gath, the land of the former giant, Goliath, now ruled by Achish the king of Gath! I Sam. 27.
During this time David continually tells his men to not take Saul's life and on 2 occasions David has the opportunity to easily take his life but demonstrates to Saul that he has deliberately spared him. I Sam. 24:1-12 and 26:6-25.
These men that joined themselves to David became leaders in his kingdom later and were very special to David.
Saul's son Jonathan maintained secret contact with David and became his closest friend. Jonathan was killed in Saul's final battle defeat and David mourned his death as his closest friend. II Sam. 1.
Following the death of Saul, David is established as king and he shows great strengths in most of the very areas of weakness that Saul's life demonstrated.
Click here to return to the Top of the page
King Saul died a suicide in utter defeat. He was consumed with jealousy having pursued David for eight years making every effort to kill him. At the same time, David had spared Saul, declaring he would not do anything against "God's anointed". Upon his death David mourned, Saul and his son Jonathan who had become David's best friend, frequently giving David protection from his father.
Even though Saul had behaved so badly and David was such a hero with the people, Saul had a following after his death and Abner sponsored Saul's son, Ishbosheth, to be king over sections of the land.
David, anointed of God, reigned as king over Judah from Hebron. There was a two year struggle for the rule that ended with Abner turning the kingdom over to David.
David's top man, Joab, failed to trust Abner's motives and without David's knowledge, had Abner killed. David cleared himself of this treachery, but never forgot the deed and at his death, instructed his son Solomon, as his heir to the throne, to repay Joab with death as a first order of business.
The kingdom was successfully united and David captured Jerusalem after eight years and moved the throne there, where it became known as "The City of David".
David was a successful warrior king and overpowered all the enemies within the land, regularly seeking God's guidance. Throughout his life he wrote most of the Psalms which spoke of his relationship with God through "thick and thin".
Many of the men who followed him on the "outlaw trail" when he was pursued by Saul were from mixed background, some deserters from enemy camps etc. The best of these were known as "David's Mighty Men". These men were very loyal to David throughout his reign. God used the eight hard years to build these strong relationships that helped make David's reign so successful. II Sam.23 lists the exploits and identity of these special men.
However, David experienced one huge failure. He became idle at home when these mighty men were at battle and took the wife of one of these trusted men, Uriah the Hittite. Bathsheba became pregnant and David tried to cover up the sin by calling Uriah home. Uriah refused to go into his wife out of loyalty to his comrades at battle, refusing even when David got him drunk, so David sent Uriah back to the battle with sealed instructions to his general, Joab, to put him into the heaviest fighting and withdraw so as to get Uriah killed!
While this appeared to work, it "ate" at David. He writes of his misery and physical ailments during this time in Psalm 32. Later the prophet Nathan came to David and confronted him with his sin. David repented and described his repentance and forgiveness from the Lord in Psalm 51.
However, the marks of this sin never left David or his reign. Such a sin was probably not at all uncommon in the lives of kings in those days. But God expected much more of David.
The baby from Bathsheba died shortly after birth.
Another of his sons, Absalom, lived out of fellowship with David and finally led a rebellion against David that caused David to flee and live as a fugitive for some time. Absalom was finally defeated in battle and died. David mourned his death so long that Joab, his general had to rebuke him and shock him back to his responsibilities as king.
David had a strong desire to build a permanent "house of God", a temple to replace the tabernacle. God, however told him it was not for him, since he was such a man of war. His son Solomon would be allowed to build the temple. So David satisfied himself with gathering the materials for the building.
One puzzles about the various brutal actions of David that appears to have the approval of God or at least His tolerance. David, for all his weaknesses, was in close fellowship with God. The Psalms demonstrate this and God tolerated conduct then that He clearly denounced following the appearance of Jesus on the scene.
Much of the brutality, that God allowed was related to the failure of the nation to be obedient to His original command to completely cleanse the land of the inhabitants, whose "iniquity was full". Had they accomplished this in a brief time of obedience, the long history of occupation of the land would probably have been spared much of the actions that puzzle us.
Something to bear in mind as we struggle with this however, is that the basic problem is SIN within the entire race, which in turn results in DEATH for 100% of the race.
From God's eternal perspective, whether by the sword or by disease or by old age or whatever, death is the result of sin and is defeated only by a righteous sacrifice for sin. So He allows sin and death to run it's course. Sometimes this course is more shocking and brutal appearing to us than at other times.
In the face of it all, He is looking for those who can sort this out to some extent, who will repent for their part in the whole sinful scene and by faith look to Him for His solution. David was such a man even though he was one of God's instruments of wrath and punishment on numerous occasions. He declared David to be "the apple of His eye";
Psalm 17:7-9 "Wondrously show Thy lovingkindness, O Savior of those who take refuge at Thy right hand From those who rise up against them}. Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Thy wings, From the wicked who despoil me, My deadly enemies, who surround me."
We should be thankful that we live in a time when God's provision for our sin has been more clearly presented. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus, along with the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives, combine to give us a clearer vision of the eternal plan of God. The New Testament scriptures help us understand the puzzles of the Old Testament.
We learn more of the love of God when we realize He gave His life for us on the cross to defeat death.
We also know, because of the holy and righteous nature of God, that rejection of His gift of life, results in judgment for the Christ rejecter, that pales the brutality of the Old Testament! The greatest brutality of all time and eternity, God Himself, on a cross at the hands of His creatures, guarantees it.
Click here to return to the Top of the page
A Quick Trip Through the Bible on into the Future- -get easy, clear, practical Biblical understanding, Church history, future predictions, life solutions
