Pharaoh has "let" God's people go - finally - after 10 plagues - the final one that killed his child.
God is with His children then - just like He always is now. He covered them in a cloud during the day giving them a cool covering in a hot desert. Remember, these people were slaves for 400 years - they were used to working in the hot scorching sun - how pleasurable this shield against the sun must have been for them. At night - they had His fire to provide them with light, safety from animals and to keep them warm. Have you ever been in a desert? at night? If you have, you will know that the temps during the day can be 100+ degrees, then at night drop into the 40's. They had the Lord with them - day and night - just as we do today.
I'm sure, like me, you grew up hearing your mother tell you "God helps those who help themselves." Well . . . as Nancy quoted in her book "the truth is that God helps those who cannot help themselves, and he does so when there is nothing they can do, no chance for escape." What an awesome feeling to know that when we are at our low points and feel like we can't go on - He is there to help us - He never abandons us.
Now just imagine - this group of people - God's chosen people - got to witness all of God's help - they would simply be spectators - someone else was going to do the fighting for them - all they needed to do was to stand firm in their faith and confidence that God would fight their battle for them - all they had to do was watch him accomplish His saving work.
By opening up the Red Sea God made a way through death for His people - just as He has shown us that the way through death is to come to Him by faith, through His Son, Jesus Christ.
While Moses stretched out his hands over the sea to make a way for His people - Jesus stretched out His arms on the cross to make a way for all of us.
While Moses plunged into the waters of the Red Sea and all those who followed him emerged on the other side unscathed - Christ plunged into the waters of death so that following Him we might pass through death unscathed to resurrection life.
While the waters of the Red Sea destroyed Pharaoh, and his armies, when Moses stretched out his hand - Jesus brought destruction on the Devil when He was nailed to the cross, "that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14).
But still . . . they complained . . . and complained . . . and complained. Our discussions about "these complainers" are interesting. WE have the benefit of what the Lord tells us in His Word. WE can be rather critical of their actions. HOWEVER, are we any different? Doesn't God abundantly provide for us - and yet - we complain about what we don't have? I see it on Facebook everyday "If you 'like' this post - rub your head and your belly at the same time - God will deposit FIVE MILLION DOLLARS in your account in the next thirty minutes." REALLY??? I know this is supposed to be "silly", but SERIOUSLY . . . we ALL need to count our blessings - take stock of what we already have and think about how we can bless others that have so much less.
They had distorted memories of their time in Egypt and wanted to return ("we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full"). Instead of God raining fury down on their heads - He rained down grace! "In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing . . . " (Exodus 16). He gave them enough food for each day - anything they hoarded beyond that day's needs turned to mold and stench.
Have you ever wondered why we are to pray "Give us this day our daily bread"? Because He wants us to come to Him each and every day - not take our fill and forget about Him - He wants us to have a RELATIONSHIP with Him and He fosters this relationship through daily dependence.
All the Israelites needed to do was to receive the bread He provided for them, eat it, and trust Him to provide it again tomorrow. Isn't this what He expects from us? Well, the Israelites received every day - but - they really didn't want HIM. If we are honest with ourselves - they were a bit like us - being more interested in what He can give than in who He intends to be to us.
Jesus provided for the people - He provided bread; He satiated their physical appetite, but more importantly He wanted to use this desire for food to teach them about what He really had come to do. "Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you." (John 6:27). When they asked what they had to do for this, He answered them "I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." (John 6:35) He tells them, "This is the bread that came down from heaven, [He is referring to Himself], not like the bread our fathers ate [referring to the manna], and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever." (John 6:58). Do you see the foreshadowing of the manna? We see that Jesus is the Bread of Eternity!!! All who insist on being self-sufficient and feeding themselves will one day find that they have starved themselves to death. But all those who take and eat the bread of life will pass through death and find unending life and satisfaction on the other side.
Do you know people who talk about "this emptiness inside - this hole in me - there's something missing in my life" If you do - maybe it is time to be a Disciple and tell them about the Bread of Life that will fill them - satiate their hunger and their thirst.
Today, we don't seem to have that same sense of fear of God. The author suggests we think of him "as some cuddly, pushover grandpa - someone we can casually consider - a deity we can design to our liking." She further suggests that we have it all wrong and we should "Be afraid. Be very afraid."
For three months, through God, Moses led His people out of Egypt, across the Red Sea and then reached the mountain of God - the very same place where He told Moses, "When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain." (Exodus 3:12).
Now . . . God was about to come down on Mount Sinai - they were warned not to approach the mountain or to even touch the edge of it or they would die! Then three days later a thick cloud came down / shrouded the mount with crashing thunder and explosive lightening. This time - it was not a burning bush that was on fire - the whole mountain was on fire - the whole mountain shook - it shook so hard that the rocks actually split and tumbled down - then a trumpet sounded and grew louder and louder still - and then they heard the sound of the penetrating and powerful voice of the living good - "all the people in the camp trembled." (Exodus 19:16).
Do you get the picture??? (If not - I've included a visual) Put yourself in that crowd - feel the sounds described - get the sense of what it must have been like to be them - knowing that their God has come down in a thunderous roar. They were so terrified that they said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us, lest we die" (Exodus 20:18-19).
The author asks, "Why would God have come down in such a terrifying way? Was he trying to scare them? No. God was merely being himself. This is who God is. This is the reality of His presence. And they needed to know who they were dealing with as he was about to spell out the terms of his relationship with them, making a costly claim on their lives."
God was about to lay down the law - the very same law that we refer to today as the "Ten Commandments" - for starters. But first, He wanted them to know that He was their Redeemer - the One who had crushed their enemies. He tells them, "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (Exodus 19:5-6).
NOTE - He didn't say, "If you will obey me, you can enjoy relationship with me." He said, "Because I have brought you into a relationship with me, here is how you are to respond to my grace. My grace shown to you has made a claim upon you."
The law was intended to make the people of God long for the coming of Christ. As the people of God place their hopes not in their own goodness, but in God's promise, they were saved by grace through faith in the Savior who would come, just as we are saved by grace through faith in the Savior who has come.
The very content of the Ten Commandments point us to Christ - the one who did not "come to abolish the Law or the Prophets . . . but to fulfill them." (Matthew 5:17)
- Why did God forbid the making of images for worship? In time He would send Jesus, who was the "image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15)
- Why was God so zealous for his holy name to be honored? God intended to exalt the name of Jesus above every name. His name will be the only name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
- Why are we to keep the Sabbath? The Sabbath points us to Christ in whom we find ultimate and eternal rest.
- Why should we keep our marriage vows? This will picture the faithfulness of our bridegroom, Jesus, who will make us his pure bride.
John 1:17 tells us, "the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John is helping us to grasp a greater revelation - it is not that grace has now replaced the law, but that a grace greater than that which was given in the law of Moses has been given in Jesus Christ.
The moral law is summarized in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17). God also gave Moses the Book of the Covenant - the civil and ceremonial law - found in Exodus 20:22 - 23:33.
- ONLY the Ten Commandments were written on tablets of stone by the finger of God. They were written in stone because they would remain in effect for as long as time endures. This is something (duration of the laws on stone) that I had not thought about before.
- The ordinances of the Book of the Covenant were written on parchment by the pen of Moses, implying that they do not have the same eternal force.
- - When Jesus fulfilled the ceremonial law, it meant that the people of God were no longer required to offer sacrifices in the temple. The sacrifice of Christ fulfilled all that was required.
- - The civil laws were given for the era in which God took Israel under his wing as His special nation, which was a unique, unrepeatable, nontransferable relationship.
- - The civil law expired because the people of God are no longer a national entity but instead are made up of people from every nation of the earth who place their faith in Christ alone. Our King is Jesus, and His Kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36).
So the ceremonial laws pointed toward the cross of Christ, which would bring them to fulfillment and therefore make them obsolete. And the civil laws pointed toward the kingdom of Christ, which has now been established, so they are also obsolete. After Christ came, the civil and ceremonial law were set aside, which is why the New Testament sometimes seems so dismissive of the lawn.
While the New Testament makes it clear that we are no longer "under law" (Romans 6:14; Galatians 5:18), it does not declare an end to God's moral law as the standard for our lives. "Jesus commands us to keep it not as a way of getting right with God, but as a way of pleasing the God who has made us right with him."
CAUTION!!! You might not like to hear what you are about to read . . .
Nancy Guthrie - the author - says, "For many people, God is a kindly fellow who winks at indiscretion and goes soft on following through with promised punishments. But that is clearly not the God of the Bible. God is pure and holy and demands perfection. If someone has told you that God accepts you just the way you are, don't believe it. It isn't true!
The day will come when each of us will stand before God, this God who is a consuming fire. And if you're planning to face that day on your own, as you are, presenting your own record of goodness, quite certain that God will grade on a curve, you should be afraid - very afraid."
She follows up with a way to come before Him - not at Mount Sinai but at Mount Zion. The prophets often depicted the restoration of Zion (or the city of Jerusalem) as the manifestation of the kingdom of God.
Where Mount Sinai was dark and stormy, a dangerous place that inspired fear, angels blazing with fire and blasted with noise - Mount Zion is a city of bright and shining joy, a peaceful place of perfect safety, where angels host a great celebration. While God repeatedly warned the people to stay away from Mount Sinai, He repeatedly invites us to draw near to Him at Mount Zion. To come to Mount Zion is to approach God as one who has been made right with Him through the finished work of Christ. The ld covenant at Mount Sinai was a blood covenant. From the very beginning, that blood pointed toward a wholly sufficient, once-for-all sacrifice. And on the night before that final sacrifice was offered, Jesus said to His disciples gathered in the upper room, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." (Matthew 26:28)
God does not demand your blood to pay for your sins. He offers His own, therefore, you don't have to be afraid of sin's penalty.