We all need confirmation of God’s grace in our lives. The law must also affirm an assurance of God’s grace. What is inheritance without an understanding of identity?
Exodus 23:
1 "You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.
2 You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice,
3 nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.
4 "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him.
5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.
6 "You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit.
7 Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked.
8 And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
9 "You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Laws About the Sabbath and Festivals
10 "For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield,
11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.
12 "Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.
13 "Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.
14 "Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me.
15 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. None shall appear before me empty-handed.
16 You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labour, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labour.
17 Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord GOD.
18 "You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the fat of my feast remain until the morning.
19 "The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God." You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
Conquest of Canaan Promised
20 "Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.
21 Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.
22 "But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
23 "When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out,
24 you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces.
25 You shall serve the LORD your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.
26 None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfil the number of your days.
27 I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.
28 And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you.
29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you.
30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.
31 And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.
32 You shall make no covenant with them and their gods.
33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you."
Exodus 24: The Covenant Confirmed
1 Then he said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar.
2 Moses alone shall come near to the LORD, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him."
3 Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, "All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do."
4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. 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 And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD.
6 And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar.
7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient."
8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words."
9 Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up,
10 and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness.
11 And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.
12 The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction."
13 So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God.
14 And he said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them."
15 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
16 The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17 Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.
18 Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Things to think about…
Ex 23:1-9 speaks about laws against others – lying, stealing and disregarding the poor. The Lord’s identity is reflected through His people. Note that “works” do not save anyone, only by the “grace” of Christ can anyone keep the law perfectly. This alone makes us blameless before the Father. Our works should affirm our identity and status as those who are forgiven by our Lord’s grace.
Sabbath rests and festivals, Ex 23:10-19 were to reflect the God who gives rest and abundance even without our works. Farmers in Israel still carry out the seventh year of Sabbath rest for the land. Pray that Israel would fully see that the land can only have true rest and peace through an understanding that sees Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath over the land.
The Lord promises to bring the Israelites into the land and conquer the nations and to bless Israel if they listen and obey the angel of the Lord that goes before them, Ex 23:20-33. Israel has never fully possessed this land even though in Joshua it says all the promises were fulfilled, Josh 21:43-45, we know there were areas that were not conquered because the inhabitants had iron chariots or were too strong in other ways. What do we do when life gets tough and it seems the promises of God are lacking and our children do not seem to be blessed or our marriages struggle or we become unemployed? Remember all of these things should be consumed by the light of our eternal inheritance and destiny. Jesus loves you and you will dwell with Him for eternity without sin, Rev 21:4. Does it get any better than that? Rejoice!
How fickle we are. God calls Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy elders to worship and to confirm the covenant. We know that they all affirm the covenant with the Lord and they all say that they will obey the Lord’s voice, Ex 24:7. We of course know what Nadab and Abihu do. They go on to offer strange fire to the Lord and hence break the covenant a very short while after this point, as do some of the other families of Israel. The old adage ‘words are cheap’ comes to mind. In our day we are very quick to offer ourselves and yet back off when it comes to fulfilling what we agreed to. Let’s let our ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ as we serve God and man.
Vision Point for Cell groups
CBC's Vision "To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission".
Cell group questions from Sunday morning’s sermon “Feb with bread and water” Ex 15 & 16.
1. The Israelites had experienced a mighty deliverance from the Lord by passing through the Red Sea. Can you think of a time when the Lord delivered you from a stressful situation?
2. After the Red Sea passing they were fed miraculously with Bread (manna) and Water. This was not the same diet that they were used to in Egypt. Even though they were slaves they enjoyed a good variety of food. Have you ever gone through lean seasons in your life, but you knew you were being sustained by the Lord’s hand.
3. Moses begins a long journey where the children of Israel begin to complain. Discuss how it was possible that after the Red Sea parting, the miraculous Manna and water and the enemies of the Lord being fearful that they were on their way to inherit the promised land that they quickly forgot and departed from the Lord. Discuss why you believe this occurred. Do we/Can we do the same things? In what ways do we forget the Lord?
4. Christ said in John 6 that He was the Bread and Water that was given to the Israelites in the wilderness. What did he mean? What did he mean when He said eat my body and drink my blood, John 6:54-56.
5. Pray for new folk that have recently joined us that they be joined into the fellowship of the church. Pray for each other, our city and country.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for new people who have been visiting our church.
2. Pray for people returning from holidays and back at work this week.
4. Continue to pray for our government for wisdom and economic management.
6. Sunday’s messages. The message this week – “What’s with the stones” Exod 28, Doug Horne.
7. Church finances to meet our expenses and to put a roof over our café.
8. Our City and Country – Pray for revival over our city and the leadership of our country even through these challenging times.
Praise Points.
1. New visitors and worship on Sunday. Thank you Dan and Suzanne.
2. Finances continue to be maintained.
3. Wonderful spirit of joy in our church. Thank you Jesus.
4. Blessing Beirut ($1500). Thank you!
5. Unity, peace and grace at CBC.
6. Praise God for all those who serve at CBC.
Announcements
1. Prayer meetings back this week. Tuesday and Thursday mornings at church 5:30am – 6:30am.
2. One service at 9:30am Every Sunday morning. This service will also be live streamed on YouTube. No kisses, hand-shakes or hugs are allowed. Hand sanitizer is to be used, tables will be wiped and chairs arranged for appropriate distancing. Families can of course sit together. CBC is allowed up to 50 people inside, then we have an overflow in the cafe.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Kids Church back in the house this week when the message is on.
