Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20101010.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Exodus: God's Forming The Nation Israel For His Abrahamic Covenant
Part II: God's Forming Israel To Heed Him, Exodus 15:22-40:38
L. Interlude: Correcting Israel's Waywardness From Heeding God
3. Direction On Overcoming Man's Violation Of God's Law
(Exodus 34:1-35 et al.)
    Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

    Man greatly fails to keep God's Ten Commandments, a conflict with the law and order that is so necessary for a society to be healthy:

    (1) Exodus 20:16 says: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor," but the October 4, 2010 Republican-American ran the story, "Noses as long as phone wires" (p. 1A) to note that in one political race, the candidates are " . . . saying the other guy is lying about them telling lies" and another candidate in another race "has basically accused" the opponent "of being a serial liar." (Ibid., p. 5A)

    (2) Exodus 20:17 says: "Thou shalt not covet . . ," but on Wednesday, a demographer on "The Talk of Connecticut" radio show said Wall Street banks wrote so many errant, non-notarized mortgages that were thus illegal in their rush to compete in the pre-recession "housing boom", nobody knows who owes what on many of the loans!

    (3) Exodus 20:15 says: "Thou shalt not steal," but the paper cited above (p. 4A) claimed many wage earners have racked up such bad credit or written bad checks, they cannot open checking accounts, and are left paying $1,100 a year in fees just to spend their own money!

    (4) Exodus 20:14 says: "Thou shalt not commit adultery," but the same paper ran four pieces on that sin ("Jury begins deliberating verdict today", p. 1A; "Pastor says he won't be pulled into 'street fight'" and "Courts may be critical on decision on 'don't ask, don't tell'", p. 2A and John D'Orio's letter to the editor (p. 6A) that recalled a past elected official who errantly claimed he had not committed adultery).

    (5) Exodus 20:13 says: "Thou shalt not kill," but the paper ran at least seven stories on murder or attempted murder ("Stabbing in bar over baseball"; "U. S. issues terror alert for Europe travelers"; "Jury begins deliberating verdict today", p. 1A; "Pakistan: Muslims with ties to Europe training for possible terror attacks"; "Iran's president answers U. S."; "Cartels blast injures 15, police say" and "Nigeria names bombing suspects", p. 4A.

    (6) On the local level, we all know the Ten Commandments have been violated even by professing Christians! Indeed, 1 John 1:10 tells us that if we Christians say we have not sinned as believers, we make God out to be a liar, and that itself is a sin! (Romans 3:4a)



    Accordingly, we ask, "Is there any hope for man to keep God's Scripture laws so as to support a law-abiding society?!"

    Need: "Is there any hope for man to keep God's laws in Scripture?!"

  1. After Israel broke God's covenant treaty, violating the directives in the Ten Commandments that forbade idolatry, He renewed that covenant, stressing Israel's need to avoid idolatry, Exodus 34:1-28:
    1. The Lord had Moses chisel out two tables of stone to replace the two tables he broke so that God might engrave His laws on them to signify His renewal of the Mosaic Covenant in treaty format, Exodus 34:1-4:
      1. The Mosaic Covenant was made in the format of a vassal treaty where a king would pledge to guard the vassals if they agreed to obey him, M. G. Kline, Treaty of the Great King (1963), p. 7-44.
      2. Such a treaty was composed in two copies -- one to be kept in the temple of the vassals and the other in the king's temple, Ibid., p. 19.
      3. In Israel's case, God was both her God and King, so both copies were kept in the ark in the tabernacle, Ibid.; Ex. 34:1, 4; Heb. 9:4.
    2. God then met again with Moses to affirm His desire to re-institute His covenant with Israel (Ex. 34:5-7), and Moses interceded for Israel, pleading that God might forgive Israel of her idolatry, Exodus 34:8-9.
    3. God pledged to renew the covenant (Ex. 34:10-11) with an extensive call that Israel avoid committing any more idolatry, Ex. 34:12-28:
      1. God called Israel to avoid all contacts with the Canaanites and their idolatrous objects to avoid falling into idolatry, Exodus 34:12-17.
      2. God called Israel to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread that was initiated in His honor when He led Israel out of Egypt in exaltation of Himself over all of Egypt's false gods, Exodus 34:18; 12:15, 12.
      3. God called Israel to redeem her firstborn to recall His redemption of Israel in victory over Egypt's false gods, Ex. 34:19-20; 13:11-16.
      4. God called Israel to observe the Sabbath rest to testify that He had made the universe in six days, and given man rest on the seventh day opposite the false pagan creation myths and oppressive gods, Ex. 34:21; Bruce K. Waltke, Creation and Chaos (1974), p. 64-65.
      5. God called Israel to observe three major annual feasts in which all of Israel's men were to meet at His tabernacle in faith that God would protect their homes while they gathered versus faithlessly trusting in themselves or in other gods for refuge, Ex. 34:22-24.
      6. God called Israel to avoid tolerating ceremonial corruption (leaven and aged sacrifice meat) that tended toward paganism (Ex. 34:25), to honor Him and not pagan fertility gods in offering the firstfruits (Exodus 34:26a) and to avoid the pagan ritual of producing magic spells by boiling a kid in its mother's milk (Exodus 34:26b; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftns. to Ex. 34:25-26 and 23:18-19).
      7. So, after this long, emphatic call from God to avoid all kinds of lures to commit idolatry, the covenant was renewed, Ex. 34:27-28.
  2. However, Exodus 34:29-35 reveals there was a FLAW in this whole renewal transaction, one Scripture elsewhere reveals (as follows):
    1. Moses' face initially glowed as a result of his time with God on Mount Sinai, frightening Aaron and the people of Israel, Exodus 34:29-30.
    2. Moses then urged them to meet him regardless of his glow, but later, he covered his face to hide it until he met God again, Ex. 34:31-35!
    3. What Moses HID was the fact that his glow was FADING (2 Cor. 3:13 NIV), for the covenant FORMAT that used tables of stone had to be REPLACED because the people had SINFUL HEARTS, and would thus STILL commit IDOLATRY, cf. 2 Chronicles 36:14-20!
  3. Thus, in GRACE, Scripture teaches God has since shifted to a NEW covenant FORMAT, one where He no longer writes His law on tables of STONE, but on the tables of HUMAN HEARTS:
    1. Old Testament Jeremiah predicted God would replace the covenant of tables of stone made in the wilderness with a covenant where He would write His law on the tables of the hearts of Israel, Jer. 31:31-33.
    2. The Apostle Paul repeated this same theme in 2 Corinthians 3:3, and in Romans 3:23 and 7:15-17, 24 taught the reason for this covenant format change arose from the reality that all men, believers in Christ included, are still plagued by a sin nature that leads them to sin!
    3. However, in the Church era (as in the future Millennium), God puts His Holy Spirit in the believer in Christ so that, by faith in God, one can boycott his sin nature's power and live righteously, Romans 8:1-4; Galatians 2:20 (cf. Joel 2:28-29 for the future Millennium).
    4. Verification of this truth was given in Acts 6:8-15 of the New Testament: Stephen's face glowed like Moses' face once glowed when Stephen, as in Moses' case, proclaimed this covenant format change!
Application: (1) May we trust in Christ to be saved, John 1:11-12. (2) As believers, may we (a) AVOID trying to live rightly ourselves, but (b) rely on GOD to live rightly THROUGH us, Galatians 2:20.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

 The power of Christ over one's own capacity to sin is evident in the testimony of an anonymous former Satanist in Josh McDowell's book, A Ready Defense (1990), p. 460-462:

The man involved had been raised in a church in Christendom, his parents had been members of the church, but he grew up filled with questions about God that the church and his parents had not answered.

Finally, still searching for "something to fill the void in my life," this man reports he met a "spiritist medium" who introduced him to Satanism. Eventually, she led him into the depths of spiritism to where he cut his finger and wrote with his own blood, "I give to thee, O Satan, my heart, body and soul." (Ibid., p. 461).

This man reported he then experienced constant torment of soul and eventually signed the horoscope chart that forecast he was to take his life on July 26, 1960 because he was no longer of any earthly value.

Frightened about dying, but feeling powerless to avoid it due to his great fears in his beliefs, on the night of July 25th, he wandered the streets of his city looking for hope and was drawn to a tent meeting where Leander Penner of the Greater Europe Mission was preaching.

Mr. Penner led this troubled young man to trust in Christ for salvation from sin, and to put all of his occult crutches in a bag and hand them to the missionary. The young man's testimony ends with these words: "Today, thanks to God's grace, I'm working in a Bible conference center, helping to print and distribute gospel tracts. My daily prayer is, 'Please, Lord, let me be a blessing to someone still bound by Satan.'" (Ibid., p. 462).



The indwelling Holy Spirit of God equips the believer to live a righteous life above not only the sin nature that is within him, but above the power of the world and the devil around him.



May we then believe on Christ as Savior, and as believers rely upon the Holy Spirit of God to live a righteous life!