Tawa Baptist

Pentecost

Scripture: Deuteronomy 16:9-12

Video Link: https://youtu.be/Ix2Ecqso8L8

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Count – rhythm 
  • Give – gratitude
  • Include – communion
  • Conclusion – remember

Introduction:

Kia ora koutou and good morning everyone.

Today is Pentecost Sunday, a time in the church calendar when we remember and celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit provides a connection between Jesus and his followers. The Holy Spirit makes Jesus close and real.

Although today is Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is not bound by the church calendar. He can move at any time. But having a special day to remember the gift of the Spirit helps us.

Pentecost gets its name from the Greek word for fiftieth, because Pentecost is celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter.

Ten days after Jesus’ ascension to heaven, while the disciples were waiting in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit descended on them, empowering the disciples to proclaim the good news about Jesus in a whole host of foreign languages. We read about this in chapter 2 of the book of Acts. 

Pentecost wasn’t always a Christian festival though. Pentecost was originally the Jewish Festival of Weeks. Sometimes called the harvest festival. As it happens we learn about the feast of weeks in the book of Deuteronomy. From chapter 16, verses 9-12, we read…    

9 Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. 10 Then celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you. 11 And rejoice before the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites in your towns, and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows living among you. 12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

In these verses Moses gives the Israelites a number of instructions. Moses tells the people to count the weeks, celebrate by giving and include the whole community in your celebration. Count, give and include.

Counting is about rhythm. Giving is about gratitude and including is about communion. First let’s consider the instruction to count.

Count – rhythm:

Have you ever noticed the rhythms that naturally occur in this world? The sun rises in the east and sets in the west and so we have the rhythm of night and day, sleeping and waking.

The ocean’s tide rises and falls with the gravitational pull of the moon. The moon itself goes through its own cycle from full moon to half-moon to new moon. The seasons have their rhythm too, of spring, summer, autumn and winter. Your heart also beats to a rhythm. We could go on but you get the point.

These rhythms support life and they become a measure for time. Without these natural rhythms the world would revert to chaos and life would not be functional or sustainable.

Deuteronomy places quite a bit of importance on the idea of time. We see this in the way Moses prescribed a rhythm of three main religious festivals each year. These holidays were pilgrimages in which the people of Israel travelled to one central place to participate in worship.

The three main festivals were Passover, which remembered God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. The festival of Weeks, which happened at the end of the grain harvest. And Tabernacles (also known as the festival of shelters) which remembered Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness when they lived in tents.

Christians don’t need to celebrate the Jewish festivals. The three main events for Christians are Easter, Pentecost and Christmas, each of which find their meaning in Jesus.

From verse 9 of Deuteronomy 16 we read…

9 Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. 10 Then celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the Lord your God

If you’ve ever done long distance running, then you will know the importance of keeping your rhythm. If you have to stop and start all the time it takes a lot more energy and the run is less enjoyable.

The Passover festival and the festival of Weeks book ended the barley and wheat harvests. This fifty-day harvest period was a busy time if you were a farmer. It was like running a marathon. When you are really busy and working hard you need a rhythm to sustain you and you need something to look forward to, a celebration or a holiday at the end of it.

Counting the days and the weeks gives you a lift, that motivation you need to get the job done. Only five more weeks till the school holidays. Only three more weeks to another long weekend. 

There is a thoughtfulness and a consideration for what people need in this command to count the weeks to the end of harvest. It provides a rhythm and something to look forward to. 

The last two or three years have been challenging, like a long distance run. Although we have much to be thankful for here in New Zealand, Covid has disrupted many of our natural rhythms. We’ve had to stop and start repeatedly and this has left us feeling more tired than we normally would.

The other thing about Covid and the various lockdowns we went through, is that we never really knew when it would all end. So counting off the weeks wasn’t possible. Hard to look forward to something when you can’t see the finish line.

What rhythms do you have to support your health & well-being? Perhaps eating meals and going to sleep at the same time every day. Maybe having a 30-minute walk in the morning. Or not bringing work home in the weekend, so you can look forward to a break.

What rhythms do you have to support your faith and hope? Perhaps starting and finishing the day with a dedicated prayer time. Perhaps stopping to be silent and still three or four times a week. Maybe meeting with your Bible study group once a fortnight. Hopefully Sunday worship features as well.  

Give – gratitude:

A few years ago now, when the kids were younger, Robyn’s parents gave our family a voucher to visit Hobbiton, near Matamata in the Waikato. At Hobbiton there is this amazing tree, known in Tolkien’s books as the party tree. It is where they filmed Bilbo Baggins’ birthday party for the movie. 

The tour guide asked the group what was different about the way Hobbits celebrate birthdays and no one knew, so I felt I had to answer. Hobbits don’t receive presents on their birthday, instead they give presents to all their guests. 

In verse 10 of Deuteronomy 16 Moses gives the instruction to celebrate the Festival of weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you.

The thing that strikes me here is that the people are to celebrate by giving. This is a bit like the way Hobbits celebrate their birthdays. Not by receiving presents but by giving gifts. Cool aye.

The other thing I find interesting here is that, in Deuteronomy, Moses places the emphasis on the freewill offering aspect of the festival.

The protocol for observing the Festival of Weeks is detailed in the book of Numbers and in Leviticus as well. But both those accounts focus on the mandatory aspects of the celebration. For example, the priests had to sacrifice two bulls, seven lambs, a ram and a goat, along with grain and drink offerings as well.[1]

In addition to this legal requirement, people could also make freewill offerings.    

In Deuteronomy, Moses shines a spotlight on the freewill aspect of the feast of Weeks. The technical details are not in view here, as much as one’s gratitude for the blessings the Lord your God has given you.

A freewill offering means exactly that. It is an offering you make to God of your own freewill. Not because you have to but because you want to. Not because you must but because you can.

In the gospels we hear of a woman of ill repute who anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume. She did this of her own freewill, out of gratitude and love for what Jesus had done for her. Those who have been forgiven much, love much.

Likewise, in the book of Acts we read of Barnabas selling a field he owned and giving the proceeds to the apostles. No one was forcing Barnabas to do this. He was moved by the Spirit, in an act of gratitude and love.

Although there is a rhythm with Israel’s worship, Moses did not want this rhythm to become routine or like an empty ritual, where the people just tick a box. Nor did he want people to think that somehow their giving put God under obligation.

In giving to God we are not securing for ourselves some influence over God. We cannot keep God in our pocket. The Lord Almighty cannot be bought. To the contrary. All that we have is a gift from God. Our giving to God is meant to be a response of gratitude for his blessing in our lives.

Celebrating by giving provides an antidote to greed and avarice. What’s more, gratitude in worship keeps our feet on the ground, it keeps us humble. Gratitude saves us from the self-righteous contempt that often characterised the Pharisees. 

The point here is that giving is good for us. We don’t give because God is short of cash. God is not short on resources. Giving supports the life and well-being of the individual donor and the community.

Moses tells the people to count the weeks, celebrate by giving and include the whole community in your celebration. Count, give and include. Counting is about rhythm. Giving is about gratitude and including is about communion.

Include – communion:

In verse 11 Moses says…

11 And rejoice before the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name…

Moses is referring here to a central place of worship. This one place was to be the hub of Israel’s life in the land. It was to hold the wheel of Israel’s cultic worship together.

Having one central place of worship was also meant to provide coherence and integrity for Israel’s thinking about God. Without a central place of worship, the people would be inclined to conform to the influence of their pagan neighbours, with the result that Israel’s religion would become indistinguishable from pagan practices.  

One central place of worship reinforced the idea that there is one God and he is holy, set apart, different from the gods of the Canaanites and Philistines. 

During the time of Eli, Hannah and Samuel, that one central place of worship was Shiloh. But God’s name was brought into disrepute there, so the central place of worship became Jerusalem, during the time of David and Solomon.

In the gospel of John chapter 4, Jesus has a conversation with a Samaritan woman by a well. The Samaritans believed that their mountain, in Samaria, was the special place chosen by God, while the Jews maintained the temple in Jerusalem was the place.

Jesus said, “Believe me woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem… 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

For Christians, worship of God is not centred around a geographical place. For us, worship is centred in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus replaces the Jerusalem temple. In and through Jesus we are reconciled to God and we enjoy communion with God. In Jesus, God’s name, his character and reputation, dwells in fullness.

Returning to Deuteronomy 16. Verse 11 goes on to say that everyone is to be included in the celebration.

When we think of ancient Israel making sacrifices, we might imagine the slaughter and burning of whole animals. Livestock and grain going up in smoke. And while some sacrifices were treated in this way, other offerings and sacrifices took the form of a shared meal for the whole community, sort of like a Hobbit party.

The freewill offering attached to the Feast of Weeks was a party to which everyone was invited. Not just people in your own family but also your male and female servants. So women were included along with men.

The Levites were also to be included. It was the Levites’ job to look after the special tent of God’s presence and to assist with the ritual sacrifices and other religious duties. The Levites were set apart for God’s service and, as such, were not allocated any land. The Lord was their portion.

But wait there’s more. Moses says that foreigners, or resident aliens, living among you must be included in the feasting as well. And we cannot forget the orphans and widows. They were not to miss out either.  

What we notice here is that the Levites, the foreigners, the widows and the fatherless were in no position to contribute anything to the feast. Doesn’t matter though. Not being able to bring a plate should not exclude anyone.

What we have in this community meal, in which everyone is included, is a kind of communion. The food, the lamb, the bread, the grain, the wine was offered to God and belongs to him anyway because it came from him in the first place. So that makes God the host of the party and the host can invite anyone he wants.

And so, in the Festival of Weeks (and other religious practices of ancient Israel), we have a form of social welfare, where those who cannot provide for themselves are provided for.

Once again we see how the festivals and sacrifices Israel was instructed to make were beneficial for them. Israel’s rhythm of worship was not meant to be a heavy burden. It was meant to support the life and well-being of the individual and the whole community.

Deuteronomy’s instructions for the Feast of Weeks finishes with these words…

12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees.

We hear this phrase about Israel being slaves in Egypt a number of times in the Old Testament. Deuteronomy is peppered with it. In the context of chapter 16, the call to remember makes the Feast of Weeks a memorial meal.

But why frame the memory in this way? Why say, remember that you were slaves in Egypt, when you could just as easily say, remember God’s deliverance or remember your release or something more positive like that? After all, the Feast of Weeks is meant to be a party, a celebration, isn’t it?

Well, it is characteristic of Moses, and of ancient Israel generally, to make room for lament. Lament allows grief and sadness to be acknowledged and expressed. Something like 40% of the Psalms are laments, to say nothing of the prophetic writings like Jeremiah and Lamentations.

The longer you live the more you have to grieve. True rejoicing cannot really take place if grief and loss is ignored or swept under the carpet.

It is rude and insensitive to laugh and joke and drink too much, when there are children in the room who have lost their father or a woman who has just gone through a divorce or refugees who have been forced to leave their land.  

Remembering the pain of their slavery in Egypt goes hand in hand with including refugees, orphans and widows. It is a way of honouring those who have suffered loss and standing in solidarity with them. You’ve got scars? I’ve got scars from where I come from too?

The white middle class western culture I was born into is pretty buttoned down when it comes to lament. We are not very good at expressing our grief. But as repressed as we are, we still have the social sensibility to keep things real.

Where I come from it is not unusual for someone at a party to give a heartfelt speech and make a toast to absent friends. It might be a time to celebrate, like a birthday party or a wedding anniversary, but that doesn’t mean we have to pretend everything in our life is perfect or whole.

Conclusion:

This morning we celebrate communion. Communion is a memorial meal, bringing to mind Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection.

As well as remembering Jesus’ scars, we also remember others in the room with us. Those who have suffered much to be here.

Communion isn’t just a personal thing, between you and God. Communion is something we share with each other as well. Communion transcends differences in gender and ethnicity and social status.  

Maybe your circumstances right now are a bit rubbish. Communion remembers forward as well as back. Communion looks forward to that time when God will wipe away every tear and heal every hurt. A time when we will participate in the Messianic banquet with Jesus in heaven.

Let us pray…

Eternal God, help us to find our rhythm as we walk humbly with you.    

Generous God, open our hands to pay forward what you have given us.

Compassionate God, open our hearts and minds to include others.

Suffering God, help us to remember where we come from and where we are headed. Through Jesus we pray. Amen. 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • What rhythms do we observe in the natural world and in our own bodies? How do these rhythms create order and support life?
  • What rhythms do you have to support your health & well-being? What rhythms do you have to support your faith and hope? What are you looking forward to in the short to medium term?
  • Why do you think Moses highlights the freewill aspect of the Feast of Weeks in Deuteronomy? What are the benefits of giving, both for the donor and the community?
  • Why did Israel have one central place of worship? Discuss / reflect on the ways Jesus replaces the Jerusalem temple.
  • How did the Feast of Weeks (and other religious rituals) contribute to the social welfare system of ancient Israel? Who are the foreigners, fatherless and widows in our society today? How might we include them?
  • Why is it important to make room for lament even as we celebrate? How might we do this in our context today?
  • Take some time this week to reflect on the connections between the Jewish festival of Weeks and the Christian festival of Pentecost. What do these two festivals share in common? How are they different? 

[1] Numbers 28:26-31

Tawa Baptist

Life Admin

Scripture: Deuteronomy 1:9-18

Video Link: https://youtu.be/kFuCyBhANQk

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • God’s faithfulness (roots)
  • Moses’ administration (trunk & branches)
  • Israel’s justice (fruit)
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Are you familiar with the term ‘life admin’?

According to the Urban Dictionary, life admin refers to one’s personal day to day chores of an administrative nature.

Life admin could include things like paying your bills, responding to emails, managing your superannuation plan, organising insurance and so on.

More broadly than that, life admin may also refer to other non-paperwork tasks which have to be done but which are not necessarily enjoyable. Like getting a warrant of fitness for your car or having your prostate checked or doing jury duty or removing hair and soap scum from the shower drain.

Life admin is basically all those jobs which must be done but which you don’t really want to do and don’t get paid for. Although life admin may seem boring or burdensome it is still quite important. The consequences of not attending to our life admin can be quite damaging.   

Today we continue our series in Deuteronomy. Last Sunday we looked at the opening verses which point to the importance of time, place and words in the book of Deuteronomy.

The people of Israel are on the edge of the Promised Land with all the possibilities and problems that anticipates. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness they are about to find a home for themselves, with God’s help.

Of course, finding and keeping a home involves quite a bit of life admin. Life admin, on a national level, seems to be what Moses is talking about in today’s passage. From Deuteronomy chapter 1, verses 9-18, we read…

9 At that time I said to you, “You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone. 10 The Lord your God has increased your numbers so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky. 11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!  12 But how can I bear your problems and your burdens and your disputes all by myself? 13 Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you.” 14 You answered me, “What you propose to do is good.” 15 So I took the leading men of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them to have authority over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens and as tribal officials. 16 And I charged your judges at that time, “Hear the disputes between your people and judge fairly, whether the case is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner residing among you. 17 Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too hard for you, and I will hear it.” 18 And at that time I told you everything you were to do.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Today’s Scripture passage can be thought of like the three parts of a vine.

Verses 9-12 are talking about God’s faithfulness in keeping his promises. God’s faithfulness is like the roots providing stability and nourishment for the vine.  

Verses 13-15 show us something of Moses’ administration of the nation. The system of administration that Moses put in place (some might call it the law) is like the trunk and branches, giving structure and strength to the vine.

Thirdly, verses 16-18 outline the principles of Israel’s justice system. Justice is the fruit of the vine.

First let’s consider God’s faithfulness…

God’s faithfulness:

If you like watching cowboy movies then you probably know the way many of those movies end, with the hero riding off into the sunset after saving the day.

It is a classic end scene and usually leaves us feeling good as we walk out of the theatre. That kind of ending imagines there is no life admin for the cowboy to do. He is free, without a care or responsibility in the world. Or so it seems.

But have you ever thought about what happens after that? I mean, quite apart from the fact that the hero has to deal with sun strike, he isn’t going to get very far before he needs to stop and set up camp for the night.

From a practical point of view, it would make more sense to ride off at dawn the next day, with the sunrise at your back. Or better still, not ride off at all but stay and make a life with the people you have helped, because the cowboy’s life is pretty lonely really. Sleeping in the desert with rattle snakes isn’t much fun.

Deuteronomy is not like a cowboy movie where the hero (God) rides off into the sunset after saving the day. God is faithful and sticks with his people, despite all the extra life admin Israel causes him.

In verse 9, on the edge of the Promised Land, Moses reminds the people of what he said to them 40 years earlier at Horeb (aka Mount Sinai)…

9 At that time I said to you, “You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone. 10 The Lord your God has increased your numbers so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky. 11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised! 

What Moses is pointing to here, is God’s faithfulness in keeping his promises.

A few hundred years earlier, God had promised to bless Abraham with many descendants and make him into a great nation. God’s promise also included a special covenant relationship with Israel and the gift of land in Canaan.

Moses is acknowledging the fact that God has kept his promise to bless Abraham with many descendants and God has created a covenant with Israel. Now, as they stand poised to enter Canaan, Moses reassures the people that God can be relied upon to keep his promise with the land too.    

God’s faithfulness in keeping his word is the source of our life and redemption. If our faith and hope are not rooted in the eternal promises of God, then our life admin loses its meaning and the fruit doesn’t develop as God intended.  

God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob put the nation of Israel in a privileged position. But with blessing and privilege comes great responsibility. In verse 12, Moses recalls the weight of that responsibility…

12 But how can I bear your problems and your burdens and your disputes all by myself?

There is a parallel telling of this story in Exodus 18. When Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, visited Moses and saw how Moses was being worn out dealing with the life admin of the whole nation, he gave some fatherly advice about delegating responsibility and Moses listened.

Leaving the wilderness to enter the Promised Land is not the end of the story, where everyone lives happily ever after. In Deuteronomy, Moses makes Israel face the facts that blessings, gifts and prosperity (the so called good life in the land) comes with work. It requires people to pull their weight and share the responsibility of administering justice and mercy. If you want the treats, you have to do the mahi (work). 

Moses’ administration:

God’s faithfulness in keeping his promises is like the roots providing stability and nourishment for the vine that is Israel. In keeping with this metaphor, Moses’ administration is like the trunk and branches giving structure and strength to that vine. From verse 13 we read…

13 Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you.” 14 You answered me, “What you propose to do is good.” 15 So I took the leading men of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them to have authority over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens and as tribal officials.

Moses uses a somewhat democratic approach, letting communities and tribes within Israel choose their own leaders. But unlike contemporary western democracy, which is done by popular vote, Moses identifies three criteria for selecting leaders. They should be wise, understanding and respected.

Wisdom, in the Bible, is a very practical thing. It is not abstract or theoretical. Wisdom is knowing how to do what is right.     

Understanding is also practical. It is not something you can gain simply by reading a book, as helpful as reading is. Understanding comes with life experience.

Wrapped up in this idea of understanding is something we call discernment. If wisdom is about knowing how to do the right thing, then discernment is about knowing what the right thing is to do. Being able to separate good from evil.

Wisdom, understanding and discernment are about competence. Good administration relies on people who are capable. 

It’s important too that Israel’s leaders be respected. Respect is different from fear. In New Zealand culture, respect is something that is earned through service and exhibiting good character qualities. Respect goes hand in hand with moral authority and trust. Respect holds the door open for right relationship. It allows good chemistry between people to happen.   

We asked Becca if she would consider leading our children’s ministry because Becca is competent. She has practical wisdom and understanding in working with children and relating with families.

Becca is also respected. She has done her apprenticeship. She has served in the life of the church in a variety of ways and demonstrated good moral character in the process. The staff and Deacons know that Becca will work well with the team. Competence, character and chemistry.

Returning to Deuteronomy. Different societies and cultures organise themselves in different ways. The kind of society or culture we come from shapes the way we do our life admin.

In broad terms, the culture of the ancient near east was more collective and less individualistic than modern western culture and this is reflected in Moses’ system of administration. 

For example, Moses encourages the Israelites to take collective responsibility, rather than exercise individual freedom. Accordingly, he sets up a system in which decisions are made in consultation with the group, rather than each individual doing what seems best in their own eyes.

There is a clear hierarchy with Moses’ administration but this is not at the expense of equality. As we will hear shortly, Moses instructs those in positions of authority to treat everyone equitably.

The hierarchy, with leaders in charge of tens, fifties, hundreds and thousands is functional. Being a leader does not make a person more valuable than anyone else. Everyone, whatever their role, is to be afforded value and respect.   

It is interesting that Moses chooses a mainly collective approach to the administration of Israel. For a great deal of his life, Moses worked alone in the wilderness taking care of sheep and goats. He enjoyed (or perhaps endured) a lot of personal freedom and didn’t really have to answer to or consult with anyone.

Collaborating with others (as usually happens in collective societies) wasn’t really an option for Moses. He didn’t have much choice except to be self-reliant.

And as for identity, well Moses grew up in the Egyptian palace, separated from his kin. When he tried to identify with his own people they rejected him. Moses never really fitted or belonged with any collective group. His strong personal identity was formed in the crucible of alienation and solitude.

Perhaps it was precisely because Moses had lived so much of his life on his own, as an individual, that he could see the wisdom in a collective approach.

Whatever the case, a nation or an organisation that relies heavily on a single leader at the top is not sustainable or resilient over the long haul.         

Moses’ collective approach to the administration of Israel stands as a kind of critique of our modern western approach.

Mark Sayers, an Australian pastor and cultural commentator, says this…

“The whole of contemporary Western culture – from the structure of our malls and cities, to the very fabric of the internet and social media platforms – are ideologies that shape us toward a vision not rooted in the eternal, but in the unlimited freedom and pleasure of the individual.”

In other words, we live in a me society, not a we society. And our society is orientated toward the fleeting feel good moment, not the eternal promises of God.

Interestingly, Mark Sayers sees an opportunity in this self-destructive hedonism. The individual pursuit of unlimited freedom and personal pleasure has a way of imploding on itself eventually. It creates a vacuum of meaning which makes people hungry for God.

Sort of like the prodigal son who only came to his senses when he was feeding pigs and starving. Sometimes, in order to really appreciate that Jesus is the bread of life, we must first realise there is a hunger in all of us which nothing in this world can satisfy.

Having said that, not everyone comes to their senses like the prodigal son did. Some people do not survive the black hole of extreme individualism. Some are swallowed whole by our consumerist society. So I’m not suggesting we must all

go off the rails, like the prodigal son, in order to find meaning in Christ.  

Nor am I suggesting collectivism is the answer. No. Jesus is the answer. Extreme collectivism is just as dangerous as extreme individualism. There is wisdom in finding the middle way, borrowing the best from both worlds.

Paul’s words in Romans 12 are particularly relevant for our time.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Returning to the structure of today’s message; God’s faithfulness is like the roots providing stability and nourishment for the vine that is Israel. Moses’ system of administration is like the trunk and branches providing structure and strength for that vine, while justice is the fruit of the vine. 

Israel’s justice:

In verses 16 & 17 Moses reminds Israel of some principles of justice. These principles reflect the justice of God. Moses says…

16 And I charged your judges at that time, “Hear the disputes between your people and judge fairly, whether the case is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner residing among you. 17 Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike…” 

The first thing we note here is that justice listens. Judges are to hear both sides. This might seem so obvious that we take it for granted but actually, giving people a fair hearing is essential to justice.

When we make room to listen we give people a voice and when people feel heard, their dignity and worth as human beings is upheld. When we are able to speak our truth cleanly, some measure of justice is released in us.

So that’s the first thing, justice listens and hears. The next thing is that justice is fair, impartial, even handed.

The statue of lady justice shows a woman, with a blindfold, holding a pair of evenly balanced scales in one hand and a sword in the other. Justice is blind to whether a person is rich or poor, powerful or not, a natural born citizen or a foreigner.

In other words, a person’s demographic is irrelevant. What matters with justice, is putting things right.

You may wonder why justice is portrayed as a lady in the statue. If the statue finds its inspiration in Scripture, and to some extent it clearly does, then it could be associating justice with wisdom. Because in the Bible, wisdom is personified as a woman. Sophia, is the Greek word for wisdom.    

As I’ve said on other occasions, there is no peace without justice and there is no justice without wisdom.

Verse 17 continues with Moses saying to the judges, ‘Do not be afraid of anyone, for judgment belongs to God’.

Nothing interferes with the faculty of discernment like fear. Justice requires a non-anxious presence.

Moses’ advice here can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Perhaps Moses is saying that human judges represent God. Or maybe he means that human judges should not be swayed by the shifting sands of public opinion or what others may think of them. Rather, they should fix their minds on God’s standard of justice.

Whichever way we interpret this verse, justice is important to the Lord. God and God alone has the right to pass judgement. Ultimately we all answer to God.    

Verse 17 finishes with Moses saying: “Bring me any case too hard for you, and I will hear it.” 

In our judicial system people often have a right of appeal if they don’t agree with the decision made by the judge. But verse 17 is not saying that. In this context, it is not the complainant or the defendant who appeals to a higher authority, but the judge himself.

If the judge can’t decide the case, then they can pass it up the chain to Moses.

A case might be too hard if the judge doesn’t have the powers of discernment to see who is in the wrong and what should be done about it. But a case may also be too hard if the judge senses a conflict of interest.

The point seems to be that justice requires the humility, the self-awareness and the personal integrity to recognise our own limitations, blind spots and prejudices. As Jesus said, we need to take the plank out of our own eye so we can see clearly to remove the speck from someone else’s eye.

Now these principles of justice, outlined by Moses, are not only for those who work in the judicial system. We all have a duty to God, our neighbour and ourselves to act justly.

As the prophet Micah famously said: What does the Lord require of you? To do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Conclusion:

This morning we have talked about the vine that is Israel. In the gospel of John, Jesus says of himself, “I am the true vine and you are the branches”.

Jesus proves the faithfulness of God. Jesus fulfils the roots of God’s promises.

Jesus provides the wisdom and the Spirit, the truth and the grace, the structure and the strength, we need to do our life admin well.

It is only as we stay connected to Jesus that we are able to bear the fruit of justice, mercy and humility.

Let us pray…

Father God, you are faithful. May our faith and hope be deeply rooted in your eternal promises. May our lives be transformed by the renewing of our minds, that we would have the understanding to discern your will and the wisdom to know how to do your will. Keep us close to Jesus we ask and make us fruitful for your glory. Amen.      

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Can you think of some life admin tasks which you have been putting off for a while? Why do we need to attend to life admin? Do you have a plan or a system for administering your life admin? What does that system look like?
  • How is Deuteronomy different from a cowboy movie, where the hero rides off into the sunset while end credits roll?
  • Why does Moses set up an administrative system for managing Israel’s life admin? What is notable or distinctive about Moses’ administrative system?
  • In verse 15 of Deuteronomy 1, Moses recommends three qualities for leaders. Why are these qualities necessary for leaders?
  • Discuss / reflect on Mark Sayers’ comment: “The whole of contemporary Western culture – from the structure of our malls and cities, to the very fabric of the internet and social media platforms – are ideologies that shape us toward a vision not rooted in the eternal, but in the unlimited freedom and pleasure of the individual.”

What do you think this means? Do you agree with Mark Sayers’ comment? How might God redeem a society like this?

  • What principles of justice do you see in Deuteronomy 1:16-17? How are (or can) these principles of justice be applied in our personal lives and our wider society today?    
Tawa Baptist

Time & Place

Scripture: Deuteronomy 1:1-8

Video Link: https://youtu.be/tL-huaR34VI

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Time
  • Place
  • Word
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

In order to run a horse needs four legs. Cars are similar, they need four wheels to drive. And the human body functions best with four limbs, two legs and two arms.

The early church, during the first century, used the Old Testament for their Bible. The New Testament (as we know it today) was still a work in progress. Four Old Testament books in particular were favourites of the early Christians: Genesis, Psalms, Isaiah and Deuteronomy.

These four books were like the four legs of a horse or the four wheels of a car or the four limbs of the human body. Early Christians relied on them.

Modern Christians are different though. We quite like Genesis, the Psalms and Isaiah but we are not as keen on Deuteronomy. If we think of the Old Testament as a body, then it’s like we’ve got four limbs but we are only using three of them.  Certainly I have preached a lot from the Old Testament through the years but not much at all from Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy is quoted over eighty times in the New Testament. It was a favourite book of Jesus, John & Paul, yet it is largely lost on us. So, with that in view, we are embarking on a new sermon series in the book of Deuteronomy. Let’s learn how to use this limb which has been sitting idle for so long.

Not sure how long it will take. Probably we will have to do it in parts, like we have with other larger books of the Bible. Hopefully we survive it together. Anyway, here goes. From Deuteronomy chapter 1, verses 1-8 we begin…

These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—that is, in the Arabah—opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. 2 (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.) 3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them. 4 This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. 5 East of the Jordan in the territory of Moab, Moses began to expound this law, saying: 6 The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighbouring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. 8 See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Now, with an opening like that, it is little wonder that a modern audience is not inclined to read Deuteronomy. The first few verses seem quite dry. They don’t exactly start with a bang like a Hollywood movie. It mostly sounds like a list of names and places we haven’t heard of and that don’t mean much to us.

What we notice, on reflection though, is that these eight verses are talking about time, place and words. Specifically, the words of Moses. So, if we are going to understand Deuteronomy, then there’s something important we need to grasp about time, place and words. Let’s start with time.

Time:

Do you remember the story of Rip Van Winkle? It is a fictional story about lost time. Rip Van Winkle is walking in the mountains one day with his dog Wolf, when he comes across some shady characters who give him a strange substance to drink. Rip is quite happy to imbibe the ale but falls asleep soon after.

When he wakes up, his dog is gone, his beard has grown to his waist and his clothes are falling to pieces. Rip returns to the village to discover his children have grown into adulthood and the American Revolution has been and gone.

His walk in the woods, which should have taken no more than a day, has ended up taking 20 years. The world has moved on and changed without him. He has some adjustments to make. With the rate at which the world is so rapidly changing today, some of us may feel like Rip Van Winkle at times.

From verse 2 of Deuteronomy 1 we read…

2 (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.) 3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them.

It seems that a journey which should have only taken a couple of weeks ended up taking 40 years. Like Rip Van Winkle the people of Israel lost quite a bit of time in the wilderness. Unlike Rip, the Israelites were not sleeping.

Moses lived around the 13th Century BC. So that’s about 3,300 years ago, give or take. If we read the opening verses of Deuteronomy at face value, then Moses’ words were delivered at a time of transition for the Israelites. The nation was on the cusp of entering the Promised Land, with all the possibilities and problems that entailed.

When you dig a little deeper though, you find that Deuteronomy contains a timeless message. It wasn’t just helpful for Israel in the wilderness, preparing to take the land, it also had something to say to the people of Judah, around 600-700 BC, who were trying to hold their place in the land. Then later, after the people had been taken into exile, Deuteronomy spoke a word to those hoping to return to the land.

It seems Deuteronomy is particularly relevant for times of transition and change. This might be one of the reasons Deuteronomy struck a chord with the early church; because Jesus’ coming brought monumental change, both on a personal level but also at a wider societal level.

We, today, live at a time of unbelievable change and transition. What might Deuteronomy have to say to us?

Place goes hand in hand with time. You can’t have a time without a place.

Place:

In New Zealand culture, and in Maori culture especially, place is very important. When someone gives their Pepeha, when they introduce themselves in Maori, they refer to the place they come from. They talk about where their Marae is located as well as the name of their mountain and river.

When we talk about the place we come from and the people we are related to, we are essentially describing our home.

A place to call home was very important to Israel as well. The people had just spent 40 years wandering the wilderness with no place to call home. Now they were about to take possession of a place God had promised them.

The first two verses of Deuteronomy 1 are peppered with place names. For example: The Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab.

We also come across a place called Horeb. Horeb, is another name for Mount Sinai. Kadesh Barnea comes up a few times too.

It is verse 7 though, where Moses quotes the Lord in describing the boundaries of the land…

…go to all the neighbouring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. 8 See, I have given you this land. 

A place is more than just an empty space. For a space to become a place, it needs boundaries. There was a lot of empty space in the wilderness of Sinai but the wilderness was not Israel’s place.

The boundaries of the land, given in verse 7, define Israel’s place. Deuteronomy is a book which defines boundaries. Not just physical and geographical boundaries but moral and ethical boundaries as well.

Without boundaries, space becomes terrifying and dangerous. Boundaries provide security and freedom; they make a place safe and functional.

The boundaries God gives are generous and wise. They are tailored to fit his people.        

Patrick Miller makes the observation that Israel’s land (their place to call home) is promised, given and taken.

God promised the land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The people of Israel have not arrived in this place by accident. They are there by God’s design.

The Promised Land is given by God. It is not deserved or earned. It is offered.

At the same time though, the land needs to be taken by Israel. Israel needs to act if they are going to take possession of the land. Divine gift and human action are two parts of the same whole.

The Promised Land is for us a symbol of God’s Kingdom, our salvation. God’s kingdom is both given by God and, at the same time, taken by us. God’s offer of salvation requires an active response from us, if we are to realise it.    

For us, Israel’s place in the Middle East is associated with a long history of conflict. I don’t really understand the politics of it and I don’t think it would helpful to try and unpick that history too much.

We are followers of Jesus, the Christ. Jesus was never that interested in geopolitical conflicts. Jesus is interested in place though. In John 14, the night before his crucifixion and death, Jesus said to his disciples…

“Do not be worried and upset. Believein God and believe also in me. 2 There are many rooms in my Father’s house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so. 3 And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am. 4 You know the way that leads to the place where I am going.”

The place Jesus was talking about here is a place with God; a room in God’s home. This place is eternal and secure.

If we think of this life as a journey through the wilderness, then crossing the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land is like passing through death to eternal life to be with God our Father.  

John 14 often gets read at funerals and that is appropriate but it also speaks to us in this life, when we feel out of place, like we don’t fit or don’t belong.

God is our home and Jesus is the way home. 

We have been talking about time and place. Deuteronomy is a book that is relevant for all time, especially times of transition and change. At the same time, Deuteronomy is a book about place. It defines the boundaries which give a particular place security and freedom.

Deuteronomy is also a book of words; the words of Moses. Moses’ words give meaning, purpose and identity to Israel’s place, their home. Moses’ words remind Israel of who they are and why they are.

Words:

We live in an age of information overload, an age of advertising, marketing and hype. True silence (inner silence) is a rare and precious thing.

Ironically, the effect of this inflation of information is that words seem cheap to us. Words appear to have lost most of their value. But appearances can be deceiving. Words are still very powerful.

The right words, spoken in the right place at the right time are like seeds planted in the soil of our mind. Good words have the potential to grow and bear fruit in our lives.

There are three references to Moses’ words in the opening five verses of Deuteronomy chapter 1.

The book of Deuteronomy starts like this: These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel…  

Then, in verse 3 we read: Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them.

And in verse 5: Moses began to expound this law…

We could think of Deuteronomy as Moses’ last and perhaps greatest sermon series to the nation of Israel. The book is presented as three or four speeches by Moses. But these sermons are not just Moses’ ideas. Moses is proclaiming and explaining God’s word so the people can understand it and know how to apply it.

Simply put, Moses is the mediator of God’s word.

If God’s word is like a seed, then Moses is like the gardener who plants the seed and waters it and protects it.

Or if God’s word is like information being sent through a fibre cable, then Moses is the technician who connects the cable to your house.

Or if God’s word is like a foreign language that we don’t understand, then Moses is the interpreter making the meaning clear to the people.

Or if God’s word is like electricity, then Moses is the electrician who installs the wiring and switches so we can turn the lights on and see.

Or if God’s word is like flour and water, yeast and salt, then Moses is the baker who kneads the dough and bakes the bread so the people can eat.

Or if God’s word is like an aeroplane, then Moses is the pilot and navigator flying the passengers to the airport of a new and different country.     

Moses is the mediator of God’s word.

The gospel of John, in the New Testament, opens like this…

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all humankind.

The Word that John was writing about here is Jesus, the Christ.

While Moses was the mediator of God’s Word, Jesus actually is God’s Word.

Therefore, Moses’ words in Deuteronomy were pointing to Jesus.

A few verses later, John makes a connection between Moses and Jesus saying…

16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Do you see what John is saying here? The law of Moses is grace already given. We might be inclined to read into these verses a disconnect between Moses and Jesus, as if the law that came through Moses was somehow different from or in opposition to the grace that comes through Jesus.

But the law of Moses and the grace of Jesus are not two separate things. They are not divorced from each other or opposed. The Law of Moses and the grace & truth of Jesus are an organic whole. They go together. They are in continuity with each other. Jesus fulfils the law of Moses. 

If we think of Deuteronomy like the roots of a tree, then the gospel of Jesus is the fruit of that same tree. Deuteronomy is the gospel according to Moses.

The difference here is not between law and grace. The law of Moses is an expression of God’s grace. The difference between Moses and Jesus is that Moses was the mediator of God’s word, whereas Jesus actually is God’s word incarnate, in the flesh, in human form.

To put it another way, if we think of God’s word as light, then Jesus is like the sun (the source of light) and Moses is like the moon, which merely reflects the sun’s light.

Conclusion:

Time, place and words. In Deuteronomy, Moses is sowing the right words at the right time and in the right place. The seeds of his words were given by God to grow into a home for Israel and for all God’s people. 

If you are homeless, adrift in the world, living on the edge of possibility, somewhere between hope and despair, then I believe Deuteronomy contains God’s word for you.

Or if your security is threatened, if your family are under pressure and you are struggling to keep your home together, then I believe Deuteronomy contains God’s word for you too.

Or if you have lost your home, had it ripped out from under you so that you no longer feel like you fit. If you long to return home, then I believe Deuteronomy contains God’s word for you also.

Let us pray…  

Father God, you are our home. Lord Jesus, you are the way home. Holy Spirit, you are our guide. Help us at this time and in this place with the words of life we need to bring others with us, as we make our way home to the Father. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.      

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Which are your favourite books in the Old Testament and why? Have you spent much time reading Deuteronomy? Why or why not? Why was Deuteronomy a favourite book for the early church?
  • What societal changes have you noticed in your lifetime? What transitions are we (in NZ) currently going through? What do you think our country needs at this time?
  • Why are boundaries important?
  • Have you ever felt out of place? What was that like? Discuss / reflect on John 14:1-4. What do these verses tell us about our place (our home) and how to get there? 
  • Can you think of a time in your own life when you received the right word at the right time and in the right place? What happened and what was the effect?
  • What is the relationship between Moses and Jesus?
Tawa Baptist

Inter-dependence – Part 2

Scripture: Exodus 18:13-26; Mark 6:6b-13; Luke 19:1-10

Title: Inter-dependence – Part 2

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Moses transitioned from independence to inter-dependence
  • Jesus works inter-dependently
  • Jesus opens the door of inter-dependence for Zacchaeus
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Robyn teaches five year olds and is always on the lookout for good picture books to read to her class

–         Recently she bought a book which gives the plural nouns for various groups of animals – for example, a school of fish and a gaggle of geese

–         Many of the plurals I hadn’t heard of before – like a loveliness of ladybirds, that was new to me

–         Thought we might see if people here knew their plural nouns

–         We’ll start with something easy…

What is a group of cows called? (A herd, a drove or a team)

–         What about a group of wolves? (A pack)

–         What about a group of zebras? (A dazzle or a zeal)

–         What about a group of butterflies? (A kaleidoscope, flutter, or swarm)

–         What about a group of bacteria? (A colony)

–         What about a group of giraffes? (A tower)

–         What about a group of elephants? (A parade)

Perhaps you knew the answers to most of these but many I didn’t know, which might reflect the way NZ culture has shaped my thinking – that is, to focus on the individual rather than the group

–         None of the creatures we just looked at exist in isolation – they all function as part of a group within a wider eco system.

 

Today we continue our series on well-being and care of the soul, using the acronym: HEALING.

–         Each letter represents a word which, when properly applied, is life giving to the human soul…

–         Hope Energy Appreciation Lament Inter-dependence Nurture & Giving

–         Last week we looked at inter-dependence with particular reference to Paul’s image of the body of Christ as an inter-dependent unity

Inter-dependence is about depending on one another – it is mutual reliance

–         To be inter-dependent is to function as part of a group and not in isolation

Today we explore some other Biblical examples of inter-dependence in practice, beginning with Moses – please turn with me to Exodus 18, page 79 towards the front of your pew Bibles

 

Moses transitioned from independence to inter-dependence:

Moses was famous for leading the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and for giving the Law, including the 10 commandments

–         In Exodus 18 the Israelites are living in the wilderness when Moses receives a visit from his father-in-law Jethro. From verse 13, we read…

13 The next day Moses was settling disputes among the people, and he was kept busy from morning till night. 14 When Jethro saw everything that Moses had to do, he asked, “What is all this that you are doing for the people? Why are you doing this all alone, with people standing here from morning till night to consult you?”

15 Moses answered, “I must do this because the people come to me to learn God’s will. 16 When two people have a dispute, they come to me, and I decide which one of them is right, and I tell them God’s commands and laws.”

17 Then Jethro said, “You are not doing this right. 18 You will wear yourself out and these people as well. This is too much for you to do alone. 19 Now let me give you some good advice, and God will be with you. It is right for you to represent the people before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 You should teach them God’s commands and explain to them how they should live and what they should do. 21 But in addition, you should choose some capable men and appoint them as leaders of the people: leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They must be God-fearing men who can be trusted and who cannot be bribed. 22 Let them serve as judges for the people on a permanent basis. They can bring all the difficult cases to you, but they themselves can decide all the smaller disputes. That will make it easier for you, as they share your burden. 23 If you do this, as God commands, you will not wear yourself out, and all these people can go home with their disputes settled.”

24 Moses took Jethro’s advice 25 and chose capable men from among all the Israelites. He appointed them as leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people on a permanent basis, bringing the difficult cases to Moses but deciding the smaller disputes themselves.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

 

On the wall here we have some examples of bottle necks

–         A bottle neck is a narrow point which slows the flow of something – whether that’s liquid out of a bottle or people through a wall or traffic on the road

–         Sometimes bottle necks are good – they give us more control over things

–         Other times though bottle necks are just frustrating – like when you are driving south into Otaki or north into Pukerua Bay

 

Inter-dependence is different from independence

–         To be inter-dependent is to function in harmony with a group

–         To be independent is to rely on yourself and therefore to operate separately from the group

Independence is narrow, restrictive, unyielding and inflexible – like a bottleneck

–         By contrast inter-dependence is more open and flexible – like a net

 

Although Moses was the leader of the Israelites – he wasn’t really functioning as part of the group, at least not at first

–         Moses’ leadership style was independent and this created a bottle neck to justice

It is not surprising that Moses should operate in an independent way

–         He was raised in an Egyptian palace apart from his people

–         When he did try to help his people they rejected him and he spent the next 40 years working on his own as a shepherd in the desert

–         Moses was used to doing things in an independent way

–         Now it’s not that Moses did everything independently

–         He certainly didn’t operate independently of Yahweh – Moses worked in partnership with the Lord and with his brother Aaron

–         But somehow that didn’t translate to his leadership of the nation of Israel

When it came to settling disputes (large & small) Moses did it all himself

–         To borrow from Paul’s metaphor of the body, Moses tried to be the head, hands and feet

–         Moses’ independent approach made everyone dependent on him and dependencies are generally not healthy

–         As a consequence Moses was over worked and the people became exhausted and frustrated as they waited for days to have their case heard – justice delayed is not justice

 

Often when we are in the thick of it – head down and tail up – we lose sight of the bigger picture

–         As an outsider looking in, Jethro could see that Moses needed to delegate more and so he suggested an inter-dependent network of judges

–         This network of judges would catch any of the bigger issues for Moses to handle (with God) and all the smaller more routine things could be managed by the judges – competent people of good moral character

This was a far better system because it released both Moses and the people from an unhealthy dependency

–         It meant that justice was no longer the sole responsibility of Moses – justice was now everyone’s responsibility

–         Previously it was only Moses who had to think about God’s will

–         Now thousands of people in the community were thinking about it

–         In this way inter-dependence creates a kind of safety net

–         If you fall independently, without a safety net, the landing is painful

–         But if you fall inter-dependently, with a community of mutual reliance underneath you, the landing is not fatal

 

Of course this shift from independence to inter-dependence required Moses to listen with humility to Jethro and to trust and empower other people

–         And that’s the difficult part isn’t it – inter-dependence should make us feel safer but ironically it sometimes makes us feel more vulnerable, because we aren’t in control of other people. What if they let us down?

–         Well, inter-dependence is like a net – sometimes a fishing net rips or develops a tear. When that happens we don’t throw the net away, we mend the net – we face the truth, we forgive each other and we move on

 

Okay, Moses offers us one example of someone who transitioned from independence to inter-dependence. What about Jesus – how did he operate?

 

Jesus works inter-dependently:

Please turn with me to Mark chapter 6, verse 7 – page 53 toward the back of your pew Bibles

–         Unlike Moses, Jesus didn’t try to do everything himself

–         Jesus gathered a team of disciples (or apprentices) around him and trained them to carry on his work

–         These disciples, men & women, came from a variety of backgrounds – they were a diverse group with one thing in common: they trusted Jesus

–         From Mark chapter 6, verse 7 we read…

Then Jesus went to the villages around there, teaching the people. 7 He called the twelve disciples together and sent them out two by two. He gave them authority over the evil spirits 8 and ordered them, “Don’t take anything with you on the trip except a walking stick—no bread, no beggar’s bag, no money in your pockets. 9 Wear sandals, but don’t carry an extra shirt.” 10 He also told them, “Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that place. 11 If you come to a town where people do not welcome you or will not listen to you, leave it and shake the dust off your feet. That will be a warning to them!”

12 So they went out and preached that people should turn away from their sins. 13 They drove out many demons, and rubbed olive oil on many sick people and healed them.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

 

On the wall here is a graph which illustrates the law of diminishing returns

–         The vertical axis measures output or return, while the horizontal axis measures input or effort

–         Up to a certain point (point number 1) you get a good return for your effort, but after that point the rate of return starts to decrease and so you get less return for your effort

For example, imagine you are contracted to pick apples, but you don’t get paid by the hour you get paid by the number of apples you pick

–         You might find that in the first half of the day you are able to pick 1000 kilos of apples

–         But as the day goes on, you get more weary and the apples get thinner on the trees and you find you can only pick 500 kilos in the second half of the day

–         Although you are putting in the same amount of time & effort your return in the second half of the day diminishes significantly

–         That’s one example of the law of diminishing returns

Eventually there comes a point when it doesn’t make sense to carry on by yourself – you need to stop and rest or change one of the other variables like getting someone to help

–         You could carry on working after 10pm but it would become counter-productive because you would be tired and grumpy the next day

–         You could go 18 months without a holiday but it would become counter-productive because you would lose perspective and joy

 

In Mark 6 Jesus doesn’t try to do everything himself – he empowers his disciples to help him in an inter-dependent way

–         First Jesus gives them authority to do the job and then he sends them out to heal people and preach repentance

–         Six teams of disciples working in multiple orchards can pick more apples than one Messiah – Jesus overcomes the law of diminishing returns

Two things Jesus recommends here to encourage inter-dependence…

–         Firstly, the disciples are to minister together in pairs

–         There were a number of reasons Jesus sent his disciples out two by two

–         For instance, 2 witnesses gives more credibility to the message than 1

–         More importantly though, having a companion guards against loneliness

–         At the end of the day we need someone to talk to and understand us

Like the philosopher says in Ecclesiastes chapter 4…

–         Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively. If one of them falls down, the other can help him up. But if someone is alone and falls, it’s just too bad, because there is no one to help him. If it is cold, two can sleep together and stay warm, but how can you keep warm by yourself. Two people can resist an attack that would defeat one person alone. A rope made of three cords is hard to break.

  

The other thing Jesus tells his disciples is: don’t take food or money to provide for yourself, rely on the locals to provide for you

–         Remember that inter-dependence is mutual reliance – it’s a two way street where both parties give and take

–         The disciples would give healing and deliverance and a message for salvation, while those they ministered to would give food and shelter and friendship in return

–         Now this wasn’t a hard and fast rule for all time – later on Jesus told his disciples they should be prepared and provide for themselves – but on this occasion the disciples went in vulnerability and trust

 

Jesus opens the door to inter-dependence for Zacchaeus;

We see Jesus relying on the hospitality of locals in Luke 19 – please turn with me to page 105 toward the back of your pew Bibles

–         In this passage Jesus opens the door to inter-dependence for Zacchaeus

–         From Luke 19, verses 1-10, we read…

Jesus went on into Jericho and was passing through. 2 There was a chief tax collector there named Zacchaeus, who was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was a little man and could not see Jesus because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus, who was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to Zacchaeus, “Hurry down, Zacchaeus, because I must stay in your house today.”

6 Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed him with great joy. 7 All the people who saw it started grumbling, “This man has gone as a guest to the home of a sinner!”

8 Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Listen, sir! I will give half my belongings to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back four times as much.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Salvation has come to this house today, for this man, also, is a descendant of Abraham. 10 The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

 

There was a 12 year boy who was being bullied at school

–         His parents went to his teacher to talk with him about it

–         The teacher listened and then went home to sleep on it

–         The next day he asked the boy (who was being bullied) if he would like to try out for the school cricket team – the teacher happened to be the coach. The boy was keen and joined the team

–         He wasn’t the best player on the side but he turned up to practice regularly and showed commitment to his team mates

–         Things changed for him after that – he made some friends and didn’t have to sit alone at lunchtime

–         He became less afraid and less of a target – the kids that had been giving him a hard time lost interest in him and the bullying stopped

 

Zacchaeus was alone in a crowd

–         I’m not sure if he was the bully or the one being bullied – I expect it was a bit of both

–         Zacchaeus couldn’t see Jesus because of the crowd – if people liked him or respected him they would have let him through, but Zacchaeus isn’t allowed through – he has to climb a tree to see Jesus, extremely undignified and humiliating for a man in that culture

–         People excluded Zacchaeus because they saw him as colluding with the enemy (those Roman bullies) who oppressed them with taxes

–         He was perceived as a parasite – someone who depended on the community without giving anything back

–         Zacchaeus wasn’t connected in an inter-dependent way

 

But Jesus changes that by inviting himself to stay at Zacchaeus’ house

–         Now what we need to understand is that in Middle Eastern culture hospitality is an extremely important social obligation

–         To host someone important is an honour and a privilege, like getting to meet Harry & Megan or Jacinda & Clark

–         Not only that but the host carries the reputation of the whole community on their shoulders

–         If the host doesn’t do a good job then this reflects badly on everyone else

–         The people of Jericho don’t like that Jesus has gone to Zacchaeus’ house for two reasons:

o   They don’t think Zacchaeus is worthy of the honour

o   And they are anxious that Zacchaeus will make them look bad

–         But Jesus is more concerned for well-being than reputation, both Zacchaeus’ well-being and the well-being of the whole community

 

Interestingly Jesus doesn’t need to tell Zacchaeus to repent – the grace Jesus shows in honouring Zacchaeus opens Zacchaeus’ heart in generosity

–         Zacchaeus is really responding to Jesus’ generosity

–         “I will give half my belongings to the poor and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay him back four times as much”  

–         And Jesus replies, “Salvation has come to this house today, for this man also is a descendant of Abraham”

–         In other words, Zacchaeus belongs – he is not a parasite – he is needed, with something good to offer the community of God’s people

 

As I said last week, healing, wholeness, growth – these things don’t happen in isolation, they happen in community

–         If you injure your finger the doctors don’t seek to heal the finger by separating it from the hand – no, they keep the finger attached because the finger is an inter-dependent part of the body

 

We don’t know how the community responded to Zacchaeus after Jesus’ visit but if they were smart they would have included Zacchaeus

–         Someone had to collect the taxes – better to have that person on your side than against you

 

Conclusion:

Moses and Zacchaeus were similar but different

–         They were similar in that they both operated alone – they weren’t connected to their communities in an inter-dependent way

–         But they were different in that Moses was alone because of his independence – he tried to do everything himself without help

–         Whereas Zacchaeus was alone because of his dependency on the community – he took from people without giving anything back

–         Independence and dependence are roadblocks to inter-dependence

In both cases it took a third person with an outside perspective to shine light on the problem so that the solution became obvious

–         In Moses’ case that third person was Jethro and in Zacchaeus’ case it was Jesus

 

We also notice that in both cases the solution was found in sharing power

–         Moses delegated judicial power so that others had authority to help resolve certain disputes

–         And Zacchaeus dispersed power in the form of money to the poor and to those he had cheated

–         Inter-dependence is achieved through generosity – by letting go of power & control and sharing what we have with others

 

What I like about Jethro & Jesus is the grace with which they handled the situation – they did it in such a gentle, respectful and kind way

–         Jethro didn’t force Moses’ hand

–         And Jesus didn’t force Zacchaeus’ hand either

–         At the end of day inter-dependence needs to be a free choice

–         What will we choose?

 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

1.)    What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?

2.)    What is inter-dependence?

–         In what sense is inter-dependence like a net? (as opposed to a bottleneck)

3.)    What problems did Moses’ independent approach create? (both for himself and others)

4.)    How did Moses transition from independence to inter-dependence?

–         What might we need to do to become more inter-dependent?

5.)    How did Jesus overcome the law of diminishing returns in his ministry?

–         What made Jesus’ approach to mission (in Mark 6:7-13) inter-dependent?

6.)    How did Jesus open the door to inter-dependence for Zacchaeus?

–         What did Zacchaeus do to walk through that door?

7.)    How were Moses & Zacchaeus similar?

–         How were they different?

8.)    How did Jethro and Jesus approach Moses and Zacchaeus respectively?

9.)    Who do you identify with most – Moses, Zacchaeus, Jethro or Jesus? Why?

 

 

 

 

 

Tawa Baptist

Moses & Joshua

Scriptures: Exodus 17:8-13; 33:11; 24:13; 32:17;

Numbers 11:25-29; 13:1-14:10; 27:18-20

 

Title: Moses & Joshua

 

Structure:

  • Introduction – Intergenerational relationships
  • Symbiotic relationship
  • Mentoring relationship

o   Showing and telling

o   Inviting reflection

o   Providing a catalyst

o   Investing authority

  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

On the wall here we have a picture of a pair of oxen or bullocks

–         In the old days when they wanted to train a young ox to pull a load they would yoke it with an older well-trained ox

–         The younger ox would learn what to do and how to follow directions by walking alongside the older ox [1]

–         In a way the older ox was a mentor to the younger beast

 

Today we begin a new sermon series on intergenerational relationships in the Bible

–         An intergenerational relationship is exactly what it sounds like – a relationship between two people from different generations, someone older and someone younger

–         We find a number of intergenerational relationships in the Bible

–         For example: Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth

–         The aging priest Eli and the young prophet Samuel

–         King Saul and King David

–         As well as the apostle Paul and his protégé Timothy

 

Our focus this morning though is on the relationship between Moses and Joshua

–         No disrespect to Joshua and Moses but in some ways Joshua is like the younger ox learning from Moses, the older more experienced ox, while the Lord God is the one giving the directions, leading them both

 

Symbiotic relationship:

Please turn with me to Exodus 17 – page 78 near the front of your pew Bibles

–         Joshua was Moses’ personal assistant – his aide

–         Joshua was probably about 50 to 60 years younger than Moses

–         We don’t know exactly how they met, but it seems they had chemistry – a special kind of rapport

–         We first hear about Joshua and Moses working together in the wilderness, following the Israelites’ escape from Egypt

–         From Exodus 17, verses 8-13, we read…

 

[Read Exodus 17:8-13]

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

A healthy intergenerational relationship is mutually symbiotic – or mutually beneficial, in other words

–         Symbiosis comes from a Greek word meaning “living together”

–         From a scientific point of view a symbiotic relationship is ‘the living together of unlike organisms’  [2]

 

An example of a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship, in nature, is that of the sea anemone and a clown fish (from ‘Finding Nemo’ fame)

 

The clownfish supports the life of the sea anemone by feeding on small invertebrates that otherwise have potential to harm the anemone,

–         What’s more the fecal matter (or the poos) from the clownfish provide nutrients (or dinner) to the sea anemone.

–         The clownfish receives the benefit of being protected from predators by the anemone’s stinging cells, to which the clownfish is immune.

–         The clownfish also emits a high pitched sound that deters butterfly fish, which would otherwise eat the anemone [3]

 

The anemone and the clown fish are unlike organisms but they support each other in a mutually symbiotic relationship

–         We need each other and we need each other to be different

 

At their best intergenerational relationships are mutually beneficial symbiotic relationships

–         We see this mutual symbiosis in Moses’ and Joshua’s relationship

 

In Exodus 17 (which we just read) the young Joshua goes into battle against the Amalekites to protect Israel at a place called Rephidim

–         Rephidim means support [4]

–         Moses, who is most likely in his 80’s at this stage, is not physically fit enough for hand to hand combat – he relies on Joshua for that

–         But Joshua and the Israelites are the under dogs in this fight

–         Israel has just spent the last few hundred years in slavery – the people are vulnerable and relatively weak

–         They need God’s help and God lends them a hand through Moses & Joshua working together

 

Moses supports Joshua and his soldiers by raising his hands in the air

–         We are not sure how this helps – but it does

–         As long as Moses’ hands stay up Israel gets the advantage – but as soon as Moses’ hands droop, the Amalekites start winning

–         In the end Joshua wins, not by his own strength but by the hand of God and Moses supporting him

 

Why did God do it this way?

–         Why not just zap the Amalekites with lightning from heaven or have the ground swallow them up, or drown them like he did the Egyptians?

–         Well, perhaps God is teaching Israel to work together symbiotically

 

Moses needed Joshua and Joshua needed Moses and they both needed God

–         By working together as they did Moses & Joshua are a living parable to Israel of how God wants the people to function as a nation

 

So that’s the first thing about Moses’ & Joshua’s intergenerational relationship – it was symbiotic or mutually beneficial, not just to each other but also to the wider community

 

Mentoring relationship:

The second thing we observe is that Moses became a mentor to Joshua

–         Now not every intergenerational relationship is necessarily a mentoring relationship but they can often develop that way

 

A mentor is a wise and trusted advisor who guides a protégé and helps them to develop their potential

–         Mentoring is more than simply teaching a particular skill set

–         Mentoring is about developing the whole person

–         Moses does at least four things in his mentoring of Joshua

 

Moses mentors Joshua…

–         By showing and telling

–         By inviting reflection

–         By providing a catalyst for change

–         And, eventually, by investing his authority in Joshua

 

Let me give you some examples from the books of Exodus and Numbers to illustrate how Moses does these things. Firstly, showing and telling…

 

Telling is when the mentor gives the protégé instructions to follow

–         (Whether the protégé follows those instructions or not is the telling part)

–         And showing is when the mentor demonstrates to the protégé by his own example

 

In Numbers 11, verse 28, we read that Joshua had been Moses’ aide (his personal assistant) since his youth

–         This means that Joshua was sort of like Moses’ first lieutenant

–         In this role, as Moses’ aide, Joshua did what Moses told him to do – just as a lower ranking officer would follow the orders of a general

–         Some religious orders require their priests & nuns to take a vow of obedience

–         Obedience is not a very popular word or discipline these days but learning to follow instructions is essential for any man or woman of God

–         That Joshua was willing to obey Moses was very telling – it demonstrates that he is capable of following God’s instructions

 

Joshua’s role as Moses’ assistant also meant he went everywhere with Moses

–         So when Moses went up the mountain to meet with God and receive the 10 commandments Joshua went with him, not all the way but far enough [5]

–         Likewise when Moses met with God in the tent of the Lord’s presence  Joshua was close at hand [6]

–         Wherever Moses went Joshua followed and so Joshua was continually exposed to Moses’ example in leadership

 

More than just showing Joshua what leaders do (the tasks of leadership), Moses was, by his presence, actually showing Joshua how to be a leader

–         Character is more caught than taught

–         We tend to become like the people we hang out with

–         As adults we need to be careful in the example we model for the young among us

–         Our children will learn more from what we show them, through our actions, than they will through what we tell them with our words

 

After nearly 40 years living and working with Moses, Joshua had perhaps one of the longest apprenticeships in history

–         But by the end of it he had a pretty good handle on what was involved in obeying God & leading the nation

–         Not only that but he had developed, and imbibed from Moses, some vital character qualities like patience and faithfulness and integrity

 

As well as showing and telling, Moses also helps Joshua to think for himself by inviting him to reflect on his experience

–         A good mentor doesn’t always spell out the answer for their protégé

–         Sometimes it may be necessary to explain things but often it is better to teach people to figure things out for themselves and let them draw their own conclusions

 

Turn with me to Numbers chapter 11, verse 25 – page 142 in your pew Bibles

–         This little story is relevant for the season of Pentecost that we are in

–         Incidentally though it also shows Moses inviting Joshua to reflect on his experience – from Numbers 11, verse 25 we read…

 

[Read Numbers 11:25-29]

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

You may remember me telling you the story of when I went to Cubs as a boy and attempted my ‘Duty to God’ badge

–         Most badges were supervised by the Cub leaders but the ‘Duty to God’ badge had to be supervised by a minister

–         There was a chaplain at my school so I approached him and asked if he would supervise me – to which he replied…

–         “You can never do your duty to God”

–         I was 10

 

The Chaplain wasn’t telling me off but nor was he willing to explain what he meant – he was inviting me to reflect on what I was doing

–         It seems I’m still reflecting on it some 36 year later

 

Joshua was loyal to Moses and was worried I suppose that the elders prophesying in the camp might undermine Moses’ authority

–         But Moses doesn’t feel threatened

–         He doesn’t reprimand Joshua for his outburst, nor does he seek to explain the meaning of God sharing his Spirit

–         Instead Moses sees a teachable moment here and invites Joshua to reflect on the experience, and his response to it, by saying…

–         “…I wish that the Lord would give his Spirit to all his people…”

 

I’ll leave it with you to figure out what that could mean

 

The third thing Moses does in mentoring Joshua is he provides a catalyst for the young man

–         A catalyst is something which causes or precipitates a change in the protégé’s identity and thinking

 

Some catalysts can be quite pleasant – like when you get married, your identity and consequently your thinking changes

–         Other catalysts can feel less pleasant

–         Just as hot water is a catalyst for drawing out the flavour in a tea bag

–         So too when we find ourselves in hot water over something – this becomes a catalyst drawing out what is inside of us

 

Moses does two things to precipitate a change in Joshua’s identity and thinking:

 

Firstly, in Numbers 13 verse 16, he changes his protégé’s name (and by implication his identity) from Hoshea to Joshua

–         This name change is a relatively pleasant / feel good catalyst

–         Hoshea means salvation while Joshua means The Lord saves  [7]

–         I wonder if Moses is making the point here that it is not Joshua who will save the people – it is the Lord God who saves

–         This change in thinking would lift a huge weight off Joshua and would remind everyone (including Joshua) to put their trust in the Lord

 

Incidentally, the Greek form of the name Joshua is the same as that of the name Jesus – so Joshua points to Jesus, the ultimate successor to Moses

 

The second thing Moses does to precipitate change in Joshua is send him to the Promised Land with the other 11 spies to scout things out

–         By doing this Moses is putting Joshua into a new and unfamiliar situation

–         How will Joshua respond in a foreign culture?

–         Will this new experience draw out faith or fear?

 

Ironically Joshua doesn’t find himself in hot water until he returns to the Israelite camp in the wilderness

–         Ten of the Israeli spies give a bad report, spreading fear among the people

–         Only Caleb and Joshua respond in faith by essentially saying, “with the Lord on our side, we’ve got this”

–         Despite being under tremendous pressure Joshua & Caleb provide an unpopular minority report and the people are ready to stone them

–         But God intervenes

–         Joshua’s character proves true to his name: the Lord saves

 

You know, when a butterfly emerges from its cocoon it doesn’t just slip out easily – the butterfly has to struggle to get out

–         But the struggle is necessary to get the fluid pumping into its wings – without the struggle the butterfly wouldn’t fly

–         It wouldn’t have been easy for Moses to see Joshua in hot water with the people – but it was necessary for Joshua to go through this struggle

–         The whole experience acted as a catalyst to precipitate a deep change in Joshua – it strengthened his resolve and showed everyone what Joshua was made of

 

One of the things we notice about the butterfly’s struggle to emerge from the cocoon is that it happens in stages, not all at once

–         So in providing a catalyst, little steps are usually best

–         For example, if you are a leader in Sunday school you could develop the potential of your helper by providing the catalyst of extra responsibility

–         Don’t throw them in the deep end by making them prepare the whole lesson – rather start by asking them to organise one game or one craft activity, then gradually give them more responsibility as they are able

–         A bit of extra responsibility might feel like a struggle for them at first but they will grow into it – step by step

 

Providing a catalyst for change requires wisdom from the mentor

–         Knowing when to step in and help and when to hang back and let our children and our protégés fend for themselves – it’s not easy

 

Okay – so far we’ve seen how Moses mentored Joshua by showing & telling, by inviting reflection and by providing a catalyst

 

Now let’s consider how Moses invests his authority in Joshua

–         Investing authority is about the mentor letting go (when the time is right) and passing the baton of responsibility to the protégé

–         It’s about handing over the keys for good

 

If power is the ability to do something then authority is the license or the permission to do it

–         You may know how to drive a car but without a license you don’t have the authority to drive

–         You may be a very capable administrator but without winning an election you don’t have the authority to make decisions in public office

–         You may be able to climb through the window of a house but without a deed of ownership or a rental agreement you have no right to be there

 

Towards the end of Israel’s long sojourn in the wilderness God tells Moses he is going to die and Moses responds, not by thinking of himself, but by thinking of what is best for the nation. [8]

–         Moses knows that the people need good leadership – he doesn’t want them to be left alone like sheep without a shepherd

–         So the question is: who will become the new shepherd of Israel?

–         Who will guide and protect the fledgling nation?

 

To his credit Moses doesn’t assume anything

–         He doesn’t assume one of his sons will succeed him as leader of Israel

–         Nor does he assume that because he has been mentoring Joshua all these years that Joshua will automatically succeed him

–         Instead Moses asks God to appoint his replacement and God chooses Joshua because Joshua is capable

–         After all those years of mentoring, Moses had given Joshua the ability to lead the nation

–         But by asking God to choose his successor, Moses was giving Joshua the authority to lead – and it was a rock solid authority for no one can argue with God’s decision

 

Moses formally transfers his authority by publicly laying his hands on Joshua’s head and proclaiming Joshua as the new leader of Israel

 

Moses’ and Joshua’s mutually symbiotic relationship has come full circle

–         Joshua needed Moses to prepare him for leading Israel and Moses needed Joshua to pick up the mantle of leadership for the sake of the nation

 

Joshua went on to be a wise & courageous leader during a time of great change

–         He transitioned the nation into the Promised Land – no easy task

–         The surprising thing is that, as far as we know, Joshua didn’t mentor anyone else after him

–         And if the book of Judges is anything to go by the nation suffered for it

 

Conclusion:

Here at Tawa Baptist we are blessed with a diversity of ages – all the generations are represented

–         Not all churches are as lucky as we are in this respect

–         We want to encourage people to grow healthy relationships together – not just with people of the same age but also with people of a different generation – we need each other and we need each other to be different

 

To help people deepen their relationships we sometimes run lunches after church – like the Count Me In lunches we are having today

–         I encourage you to attend one of these lunches and get to know someone in a different age bracket to you

–         You don’t need to force the conversation but if you find a natural chemistry with someone older or younger than yourself then look for opportunities to develop the friendship

–         You might not end up in a full on mentoring relationship like Moses & Joshua but your life will probably be richer for it

 

Let me leave you with two questions…

–         Who is your Moses?

–         Who is your Joshua?

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/18-jun-2017-moses-joshua

[1] http://www.draftanimalpower.org/forums/topic/young-and-old/

[2] Heinrich Anton de Bary, 1879.

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbiosis

[4] Refer George Knight’s commentary on Exodus, ‘Theology as Narration’, page 122.

[5] Refer Exodus 24:13 and 32:17

[6] Refer Exodus 33:11

[7] Refer the footnote in the NIV Study Bible

[8] Refer Numbers 27:15-20

Tawa Baptist

Free to Worship

Scripture: Exodus 35-40

 

Title: Free to Worship

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Preparation for God’s coming (hope)
  • Worship from the inside out (freedom)
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

Today we conclude our series on Moses in Exodus by looking at the final six chapters – 35 through to 40

  • In this section the people make the tabernacle in accordance with the detailed instructions Yahweh gave them in chapters 25 to 31

 

The tabernacle, you may recall, is like God’s mobile home – it is a sacred tent for God’s presence

  • The God of Israel is not aloof or detached and He is not fixed in one place
  • Yahweh wants to be present among His people – on the move with them

 

We don’t have time this morning to read all six chapters – I really just want to draw your attention to some of the main points in view, in particular…

  • Israel’s preparation for God’s coming
  • And their worship from the inside out

 

Preparation for God’s coming:

As we heard earlier, today is the first Sunday in Advent, which means we are less than a month away from Christmas

 

Tell me, what are some of the things that you have been doing (or at least need to do) to prepare for Christmas?

  • Write and send Christmas cards
  • Shop for Christmas presents
  • Put up the Christmas tree
  • Decide where you will spend Christmas
  • Buy special food
  • Attend end of year parties

 

Okay, show of hands, who really enjoys this time of year?

  • And who can’t wait for it all to be over?
  • There is much to do in preparing for Christmas – it is a busy time

 

Recently, in the last 3 months, we’ve had two new babies born in our congregation – Matthias & Pascal

  • There is quite a bit to do in preparing for the arrival of a new born baby, especially if it’s your first (as it was for Oti & Ann Na)
  • You need to set up the nursery, buy baby clothes, make arrangements for time off work, get a baby seat and maybe get a bigger car

 

At the beginning of this month Prince Charles paid a visit to Tawa College

  • I imagine there was a fair bit of preparation involved with that visit
  • Communicating to the pupils and the parents what was happening
  • Having some students ready to greet and perform for the prince
  • Liaising with police about security
  • Having some contingency plan if things didn’t quite go as expected
  • I don’t know – I guess there was lots to think of

 

There is certainly a lot to think of in preparing for a wedding

  • Organising the ceremony itself and then the reception afterwards
  • Inviting guests, buying a dress, hiring a suit, arranging flowers, working through some kind of marriage preparation course with the minister
  • Writing a speech, planning the honey moon – all sorts of details you wouldn’t imagine until you go through the process

 

Next week’s ‘19 Sleeps to Christmas’ guest service involves lots of preparation too (nearly as much as a wedding)

  • I don’t want to give too much away but there has been quite a bit of planning and work going on in the background for several weeks now
  • At this afternoon’s practice we’ll put it altogether to see how it works

 

That word Advent (on the front of your newsletters) simply means ‘coming’

  • During Advent we look back to Jesus’ first coming to earth 2000 years ago and we look forward to Christ’s second coming in glory
  • Christmas Advent is meant to be a time of preparation for the arrival of both a special event and a special person

 

When you read through Exodus chapters 35 to 40 you get a feel for the amount of preparation that went into Yahweh’s coming

 

There’s lots of detail about joining and fastening and making and then assembling the tabernacle. For example:

  • He made curtains of goats’ hair
  • He joined five curtains by themselves
  • He made the table of acacia wood… and overlaid it with pure gold
  • He cast for it four rings of gold and fastened the rings to the four corners
  • He also made the lampstand of pure gold… and so on

 

The image presented is not a static one

  • We don’t get a still photo of the completed project
  • We get a series of moving pictures, describing the process of the people’s preparation for the coming of God to dwell in their midst.
  • The community is in Advent mode.’ [1]

 

Much of the detail in chapters 35 to 40 is repetition of chapters 25 to 31

  • The main difference being that in chapters 25-31 God describes things in order of sacredness – starting with the ark in the most holy place and working His way to the outer courtyard and surrounding curtains
  • Whereas in chapters 35 to 40 we get a works report – so the order follows the practical logic of construction

 

Why the repetition? (albeit in a different order)

  • Because preparing for the Lord’s coming (His Advent) is important
  • It is not instant coffee or a microwave meal
  • It is not a Bunnings flat pack or ready-made curtains
  • Everything is unique, a one off, custom made and hand crafted

 

In the Old Testament the tabernacle isn’t just a symbol of God’s presence – it is an actual vehicle for divine presence

  • When God fills the tabernacle in Exodus 40, Moses is unable to enter

In the New Testament Jesus is the actual vehicle of God’s presence – more than just a symbol

  • As the Israelites prepared for Yahweh’s coming so we need to make room for the Christ child – we need to be ready to receive our risen Lord

 

Being prepared for Christ’s coming gets some attention in the gospels too

  • Jesus told a number of parables about being ready for his return
  • The parable of the 10 virgins – only 5 of whom kept their lamps trimmed
  • The thief in the night
  • The parable of the servants and the talents, and so on
  • This looking forward to Christ’s return is not meant to be an anxious thing – it is supposed to inspire hope – Hope is an attractive energy

 

Looking at the book of Exodus as a whole, we notice a contrast between the beginning and the end of the book

  • At the start of Exodus the people are despairing – Pharaoh is crushing their spirit under cruel slavery – they have nothing to look forward to
  • But by the end of the book Pharaoh is nowhere in sight and the people are busy preparing for the Lord’s coming – energised by hope

 

  • Despite the Pharaoh’s of this world and despite Israel’s own failure, God promises to be with His people and that promise fills the people with a sense of joyful anticipation
  • Like the joy and excitement we might feel as we anticipate getting married or as we look forward to the birth of a child or being reunited with loved ones at Christmas

 

As well as describing Israel’s preparation for God’s coming, Exodus 35 to 40 also shows us the quality and fabric of their worship – from the inside out

 

Worship from the inside out:

Aesop has a story about the sun and the wind – it’s a classic, worth repeating

 

The North Wind boasted of great strength.

  • The Sun argued that there was greater power in gentleness.
  • “We shall have a contest,” said the Sun.

 

Far below, a man travelled a winding road.

  • He was wearing a warm winter coat.
  • “As a test of strength,” said the Sun, “Let us see which of us can take the coat off of that man.”

 

“It will be quite simple for me to force him to remove his coat,” bragged the Wind.

  • The Wind blew so hard, branches broke off trees. The world was filled with dust and leaves.
  • But the harder the wind blew, the tighter the man clung to his coat.

 

Then, the Sun came out from behind a cloud, warming the air and the frosty ground.

  • The man on the road unbuttoned his coat.
  • The sun grew slowly brighter and warmer.
  • Soon the man felt so hot, he took off his coat and sat down in a shady spot.

 

“How did you do that?” said the Wind.

  • “Gently, from the inside out”, said the Sun

 

Pharaoh was like the wind to Israel – forcing them against their will with threats and whips and external pressures

  • But the way of Yahweh was more like the Sun – warming Israel, wooing them gently, so they were moved of their own volition, freely, naturally, from the inside out

 

From Exodus 35, verse 4 Moses said to all the congregation of the Israelites:

This is the thing that the Lord has commanded:

Take from among you an offering to the Lord; let whoever is of a generous heart bring the Lord’s offering: gold, silver, bronze… [and so on]

 

And they came, everyone whose heart was stirred and everyone whose spirit was willing and brought the Lord’s offering to be used for the tent of meeting…

So they came, both men and women; all who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and pendants, all sorts of gold…

[and so on]

 

Willing heart – willing spirit

 

In this context the ‘heart’ stands for the inner constitution or disposition of a person – their unseen inner reality

  • While the human ‘spirit’ refers to personal energy, gusto or inner drive [2]

The point is, no one was forcing the people to provide valuables for making the tabernacle – they did it freely and willingly, from the inside out

  • God, in His grace, had moved them with the warmth of His loyal love and commitment
  • The people were so generous that they had to be asked to stop giving

 

The best things in life are simple – Chocolate is a point in case

  • Chocolate only has three ingredients – and two of those ingredients come from the same plant
  • You can add other things to the chocolate like fruit or nuts or some other kind of flavouring but essentially the chocolate itself only has 3 parts
  • Would anyone like to guess what those three ingredients are? [Wait]

 

Yes, that’s right

  • Cocoa beans (or cocoa mass), cocoa butter and sugar

 

The cocoa beans give the chocolate that dark look and bitter taste

  • The sugar is needed to balance out the bitterness
  • And the cocoa butter gives it a smooth silky texture

 

Worship is a bit like chocolate – in that it has three basic ingredients

  • Giving (as in some form of sacrifice or offering)
  • Willingness (as in a willing spirit or a generous heart)
  • And obedience (doing what God asks)

Giving is integral to worship – like cocoa beans are integral to chocolate

  • We can give all sorts of things to God – we might offer songs of praise, money, talents or our time
  • The offering we take up each Sunday isn’t just to cover the church’s expenses – It is primarily an act of worship
  • Likewise, if you volunteer your time on the music team or the property committee or the deacons board or helping with Club Intermed or Youth group or Sunday school or doing the lawns or whatever else you may do
  • Then, so long as you are doing it for the Lord, it is worship

 

We’ve already heard how the people offered their valuables to God – their gold, silver, fine linen and so forth

  • The other thing they gave was themselves – their time and talents in service to make the tabernacle

 

Those who were at Doris Lindstrom’s funeral yesterday would have heard a reading from Exodus 35, verse 30…

 

30 Then Moses said to the Israelites: See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 31 he has filled him with divine spirit, with skill, intelligence, and knowledge in every kind of craft, 32 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 33 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, in every kind of craft. 34 And he has inspired him to teach…

 

The Scriptures go on to say how others joined Bezalel, under his guidance and tuition to build the Lord’s tent and equipment

  • They offered their time and skill

 

What this means is that work is sacred when it is done as an act of worship for the Lord

  • Your work during the week can be as much an act of worship as singing songs of praise in church on a Sunday morning

As the apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians

  • Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men or women, knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord… [3]

If giving is to worship what cocoa beans are to chocolate, then willingness is like the sugar, making the giving sweet

  • Worship isn’t meant to be an empty ritual
  • Worship is not blindly going through the motions
  • Worship needs to be from the inside out – from a willing heart and with a spirit (or an energy) which really wants to express love and appreciation
  • Without willingness the giving becomes bitter drudgery & loveless duty
  • Without willingness the letting go of sacrifice doesn’t free our heart – it clenches our heart into a fist of resentment

 

Okay then – if giving is the cocoa beans and willingness is the sugar, then obedience must be the cocoa butter

 

More than the other two ingredients it is the cocoa butter which determines the quality of the chocolate

  • The cocoa butter is the most expensive of the three ingredients and so cheap chocolate tends to skimp on cocoa butter or substitute it with something else
  • Just as there is no substitute for cocoa butter in quality chocolate, so too there is no substitute for obedience in quality worship
  • Obedience is indispensable to worship

 

Exodus 35-40 never tires of stating how the divine instructions were carried out in precise detail; there are 18 references to Moses doing as God commanded [4]

  • Obedience – doing what God wants – is more important than giving to charity or anything else we might think of as ‘good works’
  • What is it the Lord says, ‘Obedience is better than sacrifice’

 

Without cocoa butter it isn’t really chocolate

  • Without obedience it isn’t really worship

 

The cross was Jesus’ ultimate test of obedience to God

  • We read about it in the accounts of Jesus’ anguished prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane
  • Not my will Father, but Your will be done

 

Giving God what He wants, willingly, that is true worship

 

Conclusion:

The book of Exodus finishes one year after the people left Egypt with the presence of God filling the tabernacle

  • Exodus means ‘exit’ or ‘leaving’ – so it’s really about movement
  • It’s about God taking Israel out of Egypt and into the wilderness
  • Out of the known and into the unknown
  • Out of forced labour under Pharaoh to willing worship of Yahweh
  • Out of slavery and into freedom
  • Out of despair and into hope

 

And it hasn’t been an easy journey for Israel or Yahweh or Moses

  • It’s been a rollercoaster of redemption, failure, forgiveness and faith
  • But through the Lord’s (& Moses’) loyal love, Israel are a new creation

 

Jesus came for our Exodus – for our redemption – to make us a new creation, free to worship the Lord – free to willingly give God what He wants

 

Let’s stand and sing about the Lord’s love and faithfulness as we prepare for communion…

 

 

[1] Terence Fretheim, Exodus, page 314

[2] Alec Motyer, BST Exodus, page 320.

[3] Ephesians 6:7-8

[4] Terence Fretheim, Exodus, page 313.

Tawa Baptist

YHWH

Scripture: Exodus 34:1-9

 

Title: YHWH

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • YHWH
  • Moses
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

Today we continue our series on Moses in Exodus

  • You may remember that God made a covenant with Israel – a sacred agreement in which they were committed in loyalty to Yahweh
  • Sadly the people were quick to break this commitment by making and worshipping a golden calf
  • But Moses interceded for the people asking God not to destroy them
  • And God listened to Moses
  • This morning’s reading picks up the part in the story where God is renewing the covenant with Israel – giving them a second chance

 

Israel didn’t really appreciate what God was offering them in the covenant

  • But now, through their fall and failure, they learn more deeply the extent of God’s steadfast love for them

 

Today I will be reading from the New Revised Standard Version

  • The words will appear on the wall behind me
  • Exodus chapter 34, verses 1 – 9

 

The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai and present yourself there to me, on the top of the mountain.

 

3 No one shall come up with you, and do not let anyone be seen throughout all the mountain; and do not let flocks or herds graze in front of that mountain.” 4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the former ones; and he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tablets of stone.

 

5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name, “The Lord.” 6  The Lord passed before him, and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God compassionate [merciful] and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,7 keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

 

8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. 9 He said, “If now I have found favour in your sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

YHWH:

On the wall here we have some text language

  • If you are under the age of 30 then this will probably be easy
  • But if you are over 40 then it might be a bit harder
  • So for those over 40 only – what does BTW mean? [Wait]
  • Yes – that’s right – ‘By The Way’

 

That was an easy one to get you started

  • What about FWIW? [Wait]
  • ‘For What It’s Worth’

 

Okay – one more – BOT [Wait]

  • ‘Back On Topic’

 

You could be forgiven for thinking the title of this morning’s message (on the front page of the newsletter) was text language – YHWH

  • But it’s not – this is God’s name
  • In English it is usually translated simply as LORD, all in capitals
  • But really it is untranslatable
  • We tend to put vowels in to at least make it pronounceable – so it sounds something like ‘Yahweh’
  • In any case there is significant mystery and sacredness in the name

In Exodus 33 Moses had asked to see the Lord’s glory and God had said…

  • I will make my goodness pass before you and will proclaim my name before you …but you cannot see my face… you may see my back.
  • Now in chapter 34 (the passage we read earlier) God does just that

 

6  The Lord passed before him, and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God compassionate [merciful] and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…

 

Yahweh is different from the deities of the pagan nations around ancient Israel

  • The gods of the other nations were represented by wooden or metal statues – something the people could see and touch
  • Something that wouldn’t talk back or tell them what to do
  • Something they could control

 

But Yahweh forbids the people to represent Him in this way

  • Instead Yahweh represents Himself with words: poetry is God’s language
  • Words are like seeds – they are powerful and once buried in the soil of our imagination take root, grow and bear fruit in our actions

 

The first characteristic or attribute God reveals about Himself here is that He is compassionate (sometimes also translated merciful)

 

Compassionate and merciful are relatively long words in English

  • The Hebrew root word is quite short – just three letters ‘RHM’
  • As Phyllis Tribble observes, the Hebrew word for ‘compassionate’ or ‘merciful’, when used in relation to Yahweh, is intimately connected to the word for ‘womb’ [1]
  • Compassionate and womb share the same linguistic root

 

A womb is a sacred and holy part of a woman’s body

  • It is where human life grows and is formed in secret
  • A womb is a powerfully creative thing – a place of nourishment and protection for the child
  • And it is cloaked in mystery – science doesn’t yet understand it

 

It’s like God is saying in poetic language…

  • ‘My inner most being is sort of like a womb
  • At my core is mystery, power and creative energy
  • I am like a mother to you Israel, carrying and protecting and nourishing you, bringing you into this world at great pain to myself
  • And like a mother I am compassionate’

 

To be compassionate means to receive the other person’s suffering

  • To see their sadness and pain and reach out to accept them so they know they are not alone
  • We don’t have to pretend with God
  • If God asks us how we are we don’t have to say, “I’m fine”, if we are not
  • We can be honest with God – He can handle it

 

Steve Apirana has a song we sometimes sing in church called, Something Beautiful

  • Something beautiful, something good
  • All my confusion, He understood
  • All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife
  • But He made something beautiful out of my life

 

This is really a song about God’s compassion

  • God has the power to receive our pain and suffering
  • To take it into Himself and transform it into something beautiful
  • To do something creative with it so that it serves a good purpose
  • Just like when Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery
  • God received Joseph’s rejection (his pain & suffering) and used it to save many people, including Joseph’s brothers

 

In the ‘Gospel for Asia’ magazine which came out this month there is an article – a true story of a 2 day old baby girl who was left in a rubbish bin [2]

  • The doctor had said the baby was abnormal and the parents felt so ashamed they threw the child into a dumpster
  • The sister-in-law of the man who had thrown the child away was a Christian. Her name, Pranaya
  • When Pranaya learned that her wee niece had been put out with the rubbish, she went & found the child, reached into the bin & lifted her up
  • Pranaya carried the baby home, named her Jansi and cared for her
  • Even after Pranaya married and had children of her own, she still accepted Jansi in her family

 

Pranaya showed compassion, graciousness & steadfast love – she reached out to accept someone else’s suffering – to carry, nurture, protect and nourish Jansi

  • This is what God did for Israel and it’s what He does for each of us

 

The second word God uses to describe Himself is gracious

  • To be gracious here means that Yahweh acts freely and generously, without need for compensation or hope of benefit
  • God works pro-bono – for free and without agenda
  • God’s graciousness points to His freedom
  • God doesn’t do things for us because He needs something from us
  • God doesn’t need anything – He is able to meet His own needs
  • God does things for us because He wants to and He can

 

That phrase, slow to anger, literally translates from the Hebrew ‘long of nose’ or ‘long nostrils’ – this is Hebrew idiom which is lost on us to some extent

  • Make the snort of anger noise – that’s a snort of anger
  • To say that God has long nostrils means, it takes a long time for the snort of anger to come through God’s nose

 

In today’s English idiom we might say ‘God has a long fuse’

  • Someone with a short fuse is someone with a quick temper – they explode in anger at the smallest thing
  • Someone with a long fuse (like God) is not prone to exploding

 

As we heard last week, anger or wrath is not primary to God

  • It is secondary and temporary
  • If anger is represented by the white ball in a game of pool then the cue which sets the white ball moving is God’s care
  • Like an expert pool player God is in control of His anger

 

We could say that ‘slow to anger’ basically means God is patient

  • He is not pressured or in a hurry – He measures twice and cuts once

 

Steadfast love is mentioned two times by Yahweh in today’s passage – so it is given extra emphasis

  • It translates from the Hebrew word hesed
  • Hesed doesn’t have an exact English equivalent
  • Loyal love or covenant love or steadfast love are generally the best translations
  • Steadfast love (Hesed) is not a romantic feeling which waxes and wanes
  • It is not skinny love
  • Steadfast love has substance – backbone
  • It is an unswerving, unbreakable commitment to someone else’s well-being

 

William Shakespeare was describing something like steadfast love when he wrote…

  • Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no; it is an ever-fixed mark, That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;

 

In other words, true love is constant – it does not change with the circumstances

  • Steadfast love goes on loving the other person even when that love is not reciprocated
  • The commitment that Noah shows for Ally in the movie the Note Book is steadfast love
  • The commitment Ruth shows to her mother-in-law Naomi (in the Bible) is also steadfast love

 

Faithfulness is complete trustworthiness and reliability

  • It means Yahweh won’t go back on what He has promised
  • He won’t break His word – His word is truth
  • God does not promise Israel an easy road
  • He promises to go with them – He promises His presence

 

In verse 7 the Lord continues revealing His character saying He is a God who

  • …keeps steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

 

 

Now, at first glance this statement sounds contradictory

  • God is saying He forgives people but then in the same breath He also says He doesn’t clear the guilty
  • So which is it: forgiveness or justice? Grace or punishment?
  • Well, it’s not either / or with God – it’s both / and
  • The steadfast love of God requires Him to exercise both forgiveness and just judgement

 

What we notice is that the judgement – or the just consequence – is limited to 3 or 4 generations, while the steadfast love is unlimited, for 1000’s

  • Wrath is not a continuous aspect of God’s nature
  • Wrath is temporary – a particular response to a historical situation
  • God’s natural inclination, His default setting if you like, is to show steadfast love

But steadfast love does not mean anything goes

  • There is no predictability or inevitability about divine grace
  • We should not presume upon God’s forgiveness
  • We can’t say, ‘Well, I know this is wrong but I’m going to do it anyway because God is my mate, He will forgive me, it’s in His nature.’
  • God is not obligated to forgive us
  • If we are playing Him for fool then He will see through that

 

The Lord is slow to anger and quick to forgive but that doesn’t mean we have immunity from the consequences of our actions

  • For forgiveness to really happen, something has to die
  • Usually it is our pride and wilfulness which needs to die

 

Okay, so hopefully that helps you to understand something of the meaning of Yahweh’s name

  • But really we can only know Yahweh through a relationship with Him
  • We can only know Yahweh’s compassion if we suffer
  • We can only know His graciousness if we have empty hands to receive from Him
  • We can only know His steadfast love & faithfulness if we trust Him through thick & thin
  • We can only know His patience and forgiveness if we admit our failure

 

The other person in this morning’s reading is Moses – let’s take a look at things from his perspective

 

Moses:

Moses has just experienced a revelation of God’s goodness

  • There is something overwhelming about God’s goodness
  • There is a grandeur and a beauty to it (like a mountain range) which both inspires us and makes us feel inadequate at the same time

 

God’s goodness infinitely outweighs our goodness – we become aware that we are unworthy, not equal partners in the relationship

Moses responds by bowing before God in worship

  • Worship is the appropriate response to God’s goodness
  • In bowing we are saying, ‘God, You are the bigger, better person here. How can I possibly stand in Your presence.’

 

Based on Yahweh’s revelation of Himself, Moses goes on to ask three things of the Lord (for the sake of Israel)…

  • Go with us – that’s presence
  • Forgive us – that’s grace
  • And take us as Your inheritance – that’s acceptance
  • Presence, forgiveness and acceptance

 

One interesting thing we observe here is the way Moses identifies himself with the people in their sinfulness

  • Go with us – forgive us – accept us
  • Moses could have said forgive them – but he doesn’t
  • Moses wasn’t part of the golden calf debacle and yet he stands in solidarity with the people – he wears their shame, he carries their cross
  • Remind you of anyone?

 

Forgiveness is the key to Yahweh’s relationship with Israel

  • In order for Yahweh to accept Israel and go with Israel, the Lord will need to be prepared to forgive Israel, for they are a stiff necked people
  • Like a mule that won’t be led by its master Israel will fight God and resist Him each step of the way

 

In verse 10 God answers Moses’ prayer for presence, forgiveness and acceptance by saying: “I hereby make a covenant [with Israel]”

  • Renewal of the covenant is not automatic – Moses must make an admission of guilt on behalf of the people

 

We are not that different to Israel

  • Forgiveness is key to our relationship with God also
  • Without God’s forgiveness we can’t know His presence or acceptance
  • But forgiveness is not automatic – there needs to be an admission of guilt on our part, otherwise it is not an open or honest relationship

Conclusion:

This morning we’ve heard about the Lord’s name – His character, His values, His nature

 

As the Son of Man, Jesus is like the new Moses – interceding for humanity before God – carrying the cross of our shame – asking for God’s presence, forgiveness and acceptance for us

 

And, as the Son of God, Jesus embodies and personifies Yahweh’s name

  • Jesus shows us God’s compassion and graciousness
  • His patience, steadfast love and faithfulness
  • Most of all though Jesus shows us God’s forgiveness on the cross
  • This is not a forgiveness to be presumed upon or treated lightly
  • This is a forgiveness which calls us first to confession and then to the obedience of faith

 

As a way of responding to the message this morning I would like to lead you in a guided prayer. I invite you to close your eyes as we pray…

 

Imagine you are in the place of Moses

  • You are up the mountain in the cleft of a rock
  • No one else is with you – just God
  • You can’t see God – you can only hear Him

 

God speaks His holy name to you

  • It is not like anything you have heard before and you’re not sure if you could even repeat it

 

God goes on to explain the meaning of His name

  • This is God’s character, His values, His nature

 

The Lord is compassionate – able to handle your deepest hurt and pain

  • He is gracious – giving generously without expectation of return
  • The Lord is patient – unhurried and completely in control of Himself
  • His love is steadfast – like a mountain range – majestic, immense, ancient
  • There is a strength & reliability in His words which both reassures you & makes you feel uneasy at the same time

 

This revelation of God’s goodness inspires your trust

  • But it also reveals your own lack of goodness
  • Your lack of compassion
  • Your lack of graciousness
  • Your lack of patience and self-control
  • The skinniness of your love and the lightness of your words

 

How can you stand in God’s presence – this is not a relationship of equals

 

God finishes talking and gives you opportunity to respond

 

What is it you want to say to Him?

  • What is it you want to ask?
  • Take a moment now to quietly speak to the Lord (in your heart)
  • [Wait]

 

Lord, go with us, forgive us and accept us we pray

  • In Jesus’ name. Amen

[1] Walter Brueggemann, ‘Theology of the Old Testament’, page 216.

[2] Gospel for Asia magazine, November 2015, pages 20-21.

Tawa Baptist

Moses Intercedes

Scripture: Exodus 32:1-14

Title: Moses Intercedes

Key Idea: Moses intercedes for the people by asking God to be true to Himself

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Israel’s disloyalty (vv.1-6)
  • God’s anger (vv.7-10)
  • Moses’ intercession (vv.11-13)
  • Conclusion – Yahweh repents (v. 14)

Introduction:

The Christian mathematician, Blaise Pascal, famously said…

  • All human evil comes from a single cause, man’s inability to sit still in a room 

With the holidays approaching some of you may be contemplating travelling away for a break

  • Most holidays we go to see family who live about 7 hours north of here
  • When our kids were little they would sleep some of the way but invariably we had to provide some entertainment for most of the trip
  • We might listen to the Wiggles or High Five for a while but by the third or fourth time through the tape that got a bit tiresome
  • We played the classic I spy with my little eye & word association games
  • But my favourite game (and probably their least favourite) was seeing how long they could stay completely quiet and still for
  • Some attempts were more successful than others

Please turn with me to Exodus chapter 32 – page 92 in your pew Bibles

  • Today we continue our series on Moses
  • At this point in the story Moses is up Mount Sinai receiving instructions from Yahweh
  • He has been gone about 6 weeks and the people are growing impatient
  • Like passengers in the back seat of a car, all they had to do was sit still and wait quietly. Sadly, they weren’t able to do this
  • From verse 1 of Exodus 32 we read…

[Read Exodus 32:1-14]

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

This Scripture passage rather conveniently divides into three parts…

  • Israel’s disloyalty in verses 1-6
  • God’s anger in verses 7-10
  • And Moses’ intercession in verses 11-13

First let us consider Israel’s apostasy – their disloyalty or rejection of Yahweh

Israel’s disloyalty:

As an explanation of the quote we opened today’s sermon with, Blaise Pascal goes on to observe…

“Nothing is so insufferable to man as to be completely at rest, without passions, without business, without diversion, without study. He then feels his nothingness, his forlornness, his insufficiency, his dependence, his weakness, his emptiness.”

 

Moses has been up the mountain listening to Yahweh for about six weeks

  • All the people had to do was be still and wait, but they couldn’t manage it
  • Moses’ absence had put them in touch with their own nothingness, their insufficiency, weakness and emptiness
  • To overcome these insufferable feelings the people gathered round Aaron and took matters into their own hands, saying to Aaron…

‘We do not know what has happened to this man Moses, who led us out of Egypt; so make us gods to lead us.’

There is quite a bit wrong with this sentence

  • For starters we hear contempt in the phrase, ‘this man Moses’, as if Moses were a stranger to the people

Worse than this though there is a complete denial of God

  • The people credit Moses with leading them out of Egypt when in fact it was the Lord Almighty who led them
  • By pretending God does not exist the people are able to say, ‘make us gods to lead us.’

This request is a blatant disregard of God’s instruction not to make images or idols for worship

  • It amounts to nothing less than a rejection of Yahweh who delivered Israel from slavery – It is a betrayal of the worst kind
  • The people don’t want a God who can think and speak and act
  • They would rather have a lifeless object which they can see and touch and control

An idol isn’t necessarily a statue that people bow down to

  • It could be money in the bank, or our job, or a status symbol, like the clothes we wear or the car we drive
  • An idol is basically any mechanism or device which makes us feel like we are in control
  • By that definition a bomb or a gun could be an idol

We are not in control of course but it makes us feel more powerful, more secure if we can maintain the illusion that we are calling the shots

  • Jesus said that human beings live by faith
  • Which means we are actually more empowered, more secure, when we accept the reality that we are not in control and simply trust God

Apparently Aaron gave little resistance to the people’s demand

  • He asked for the people’s ear rings, melted them and made a gold bull
  • Then the people said, ‘Israel, this is our god, who led us out of Egypt’
  • Aaron went along with this and built an altar in front of the golden bull saying, ‘Tomorrow there will be a festival to honour the Lord (Yahweh)’

What we have here is syncretism

  • Syncretism is the combining of different, often contradictory, beliefs

In the ancient east statues of golden bulls or calves were used by pagans in the worship of Baal

  • Aaron was combining aspects of Baal worship with the worship of Yahweh, the Lord Almighty. That was syncretism
  • It was also the breaking of the third commandment not to take the Lord’s name in vain

[Set up table with water & turps and empty glass]

I have here a jug of water and a bottle of turps together with an empty glass

  • Imagine the empty glass represents the human soul
  • You only have one soul – one container
  • Worshipping the one true God – the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ – is like pouring water into our soul – it refreshes us, it is life to us
  • Idol worship is like pouring turps (or poison) into our soul – it will kill us
  • Syncretism is when someone tries to mix the water and the turps
  • Even a little bit of turps will ruin the water and make it unfit for drinking
  • It doesn’t work to worship God and Buddha at the same time
  • Just like it doesn’t work to follow Jesus and put money or career first

[Return to the pulpit]

From our vantage point in history we might look back and think, how could the Israelites do such a terrible thing?

  • But at the time the people of Israel couldn’t see that it was terrible
  • They probably thought they were doing a virtuous thing – not unlike terrorists who also think they are doing a virtuous thing
  • What’s more Israel were doing it in a democratic way – this was the collective wisdom of the majority. (So much for democracy)

We shouldn’t feel too superior to the Israelites – I’m not sure any of us is so pure in our worship of the Lord

  • That’s the thing about syncretism – we can’t always see it
  • Like turps it appears the same as water
  • Apostasy doesn’t present itself as a red devil with horns
  • It comes as an angel of light – we may think it a good thing at first

 

Verse 6 tells how the people sacrificed to the golden calf and then sat down to a feast which turned into an orgy of drinking and sex

  • Idolatry (putting ourselves in control) leads to moral chaos and the breakdown of society

So, that’s the people’s disloyalty

  • What about God’s response?
  • Well, God is angry

 

God’s anger:

My grandad had a pool table and we used to play pool together

  • Pool is basically a game of physics – it’s about the transfer of energy
  • Energy is transferred from the cue to the white ball and onto a numbered (or coloured) ball

Anger is essentially a form of energy

  • Energy is not good or bad – it’s just energy
  • When we are angry we have an intense concentration of energy in us which moves us – sort of like balls in a game of pool are moved

If anger is the white ball (on a pool table) then the numbered (or coloured) balls on the table are the different faces of anger

  • Just as a moving white ball transfers energy to the other balls on the table so too anger expresses itself in a variety of behaviours
  • Perhaps the black 8 ball represents outrage – swearing or yelling or throwing your weight around
  • But outrage isn’t the only face of anger – sometimes people hold the rage in and it becomes sadness, bitterness, resentment, cynicism, or contempt

One common face of anger is sarcasm

  • Some people think sarcasm is funny, but it’s not something I enjoy
  • Sarcasm is a form of anger
  • If you are sarcastic a lot then you have a problem with anger, underneath

God uses sarcasm with Moses in verse 7, where He says…

  • “Go back down at once, because your people, whom you led out of Egypt have sinned and rejected me
  • God is picking up on what the people said earlier about Moses leading them out of Egypt
  • God is angered by the people’s denial of Him and this angry energy is transferred into words of sarcasm – like the white ball transferring energy onto the yellow ball

The other thing to say here is that anger is never a primary emotion – even with God (perhaps especially with God) – anger is always secondary

  • Anger is energy that has been transferred from something deeper
  • The white ball on a pool table doesn’t move by itself
  • The white ball (of anger) moves because it is hit by the cue

So what does the cue in the hands of God represent?

  • The cue represents what we might call care or love or compassion
  • It is precisely because God cares so much that He hits the white ball of His anger
  • If God didn’t care about the people He wouldn’t have been so upset
  • If God hadn’t been so attached to Israel He would have put the cue down and walked away from the game

As I understand it Buddhism is a non-violent religion

  • Jesus also taught non-violence
  • So Buddhism and Christianity appear similar (like turps & water)
  • But when you take a closer look you realise how different they are
  • Buddhism says the way to avoid violence is to not care, to not love and not form attachments
  • Because when you don’t care about anything, you don’t get angry or upset about anything and so you don’t hurt anyone

By contrast Jesus teaches us that we must care, we must form attachments

  • We shouldn’t become attached to money or material objects but we should care about our neighbour and we should love God
  • Of course this means we will inevitably get angry
  • The pool cue of care will set the white ball of our anger in motion
  • Jesus’ intention is that we use the energy of anger for good
  • Release the energy in a controlled way and in a direction which achieves a positive outcome

I think, in hindsight, that my grandad was using the game of pool to teach me lessons for life

  • He was always telling me don’t hit the ball too hard
  • Take your time, line it up right and hit the ball gently because then, even if you miss, at least it will be in place for you to sink next time
  • Hitting the ball hard just makes a mess of things

God was angry with the Israelites because He cares

  • The Good News Translation has God saying to Moses…
  • “Now don’t try to stop me. I am angry with them and I am going to destroy them. Then I will make you [Moses] and your descendants into a great nation.”

Words like this in the mouth of God are difficult for us – especially in light of events in Paris yesterday

  • We have to keep the bigger picture in mind – God’s overarching goal for humanity is, not to destroy but, to save as many as possible

The Good News Bible is usually pretty good but their translation of the opening sentence, ‘Don’t try to stop me’, is a bit misleading

  • God actually does want Moses to stop Him, why else would He tell Moses what He was thinking

A more accurate translation (like the NIV) reads…

  • “Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

This translation makes better sense

  • The fact that God is asking to be left alone with this decision tells us at least two things…

Firstly, that God is in control of His anger

  • He is not about to react in the heat of the moment
  • God is not like David Banner, who could turn into the Incredible Hulk at any time. ‘Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry’ – that’s not God
  • God is taking time to consider His actions – measure twice, cut once

Asking to be left alone also tells us this was not an easy matter for God

  • It’s like finding out that your husband or wife has been cheating on you
  • There is tremendous grief involved for the Lord
  • God wants time on His own to deal with His grief and anger, that’s how deeply affected He is by Israel’s rejection

Now it is important to understand that God’s grief isn’t all about Himself

  • Yes, Israel’s rejection of Him hurts but I reckon God is also grieving for the other nations of the world – for humanity generally
  • The Lord’s intention for Israel was that they be a holy people – a nation of priests who would lead the other nations of the world to God
  • By worshipping the golden calf Israel have pointed the other nations away from the Lord and over a cliff
  • Israel have made it harder for people to come to God and that grieves the Lord’s heart

God doesn’t want to destroy anyone, least of all His beloved people

  • His overarching purpose is to save as many people as possible
  • But what is He to do if Israel rejects Him?
  • He can’t force the people to love Him
  • What choice does He have but to start again with Moses?

Moses’ intercession:

Although God has asked Moses to leave Him alone with His grief and anger, Moses stands His ground and intercedes for the people and for God

With an idol, there is no dialogue – there is just the monologue of our own self talk

  • But with God there is dialogue – our prayers can influence God
  • What we say and do makes a very real difference
  • Which means that to some degree the future is open
  • God’s overall purpose is to save or redeem as many people as possible and, thankfully, we can’t change that
  • But we can influence God’s strategy for how He reaches His goal

To use the metaphor of driving a car…

  • If God is the driver and we are the passengers, and it’s His purpose to travel from Auckland to Wellington, then we can’t change His mind about the destination
  • But we can influence the route He takes in getting there, where He stops and how many people He picks up on the way, that sort of thing

It’s not like life is a movie and we are just playing the roles and reading the lines that have been written for us

  • We are not fated to a particular destiny
  • Christians don’t believe in fate
  • Christians live by faith
  • Faith is not set in stone – it’s organic, it’s interactive, it’s dynamic

When God made humanity He didn’t make us in the image of an idol – a lifeless lump of stone that can’t talk back or change anything

  • God gave us a mind to think with, freewill to choose, emotion to move us and a voice to speak
  • God made us like Himself, in His own image
  • And in doing that the Lord was sharing His power with us

Moses seems to understand this and so when God says, ‘Leave me alone…’, Moses stands his ground and talks back

  • Moses is not disrespectful to God
  • He does not minimise or condone or justify what the Israelites have done in betraying Yahweh
  • And he does not deny the truth of what God is feeling – although he does ask the Lord to put His anger aside

Moses speaks up and appeals to God’s reason, reputation and integrity

  • Moses does not appeal to human rights – he doesn’t say, ‘God, you can’t kill the people because they’ve got rights’
  • We may have rights when it comes to other human beings but when it comes to God we don’t have any rights
  • All we have grace – everything we have is a gift from God
  • Human rights don’t come into it

When we consider what Moses says to God we soon realise that Moses is actually interceding for God Himself, more than the people

  • Moses is asking God to be true to Himself

In verse 11 Moses appeals to the Lord’s reason…

  • “Why should your anger burn against your people whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?”

In other words, Lord, why destroy the people you have just saved – that doesn’t make sense. You’ve got a lot invested with these people. Don’t throw that away

 

Then in verse 12 Moses appeals to the Lord’s reputation…

  • “Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’?”

In other words, Lord, killing the Israelites now will make You look bad so that it will be harder for the other nations of the world to trust You

  • God needs to preserve His reputation if He wants to save as many people as possible

                                                                    

And in verse 13 Moses appeals to the Lord’s integrity…

  • Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever’.

In other words, remember who You are Lord. You are a God who keeps His promises.

  • If You break Your promise to Abraham You won’t be able to live with Yourself

 

Conclusion:

Interestingly the text does not record God saying anything else here

  • Moses has the last word on this occasion
  • God listened to Moses – He changed His mind and did not bring on the people the disaster he had threatened
  • The future is open

This is perhaps Moses’ finest hour

  • He saves the people from destruction by asking God to stay true to Himself

Outtakes

Moses knows all about anger

  • He knows all about caring too much
  • And he also knows the sting of rejection

Remember how Moses (as a younger man) killed the Egyptian slave driver who was beating a Hebrew slave

  • And then the next day when Moses tried to settle a dispute between two fellow Israelites, the man answered sarcastically…
  • ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?’
Tawa Baptist

God Goes Camping

Scripture: Exodus 25-31

Title: God Goes Camping

Key Idea: The tabernacle is a sacred tent through which God mediates His holy presence within Israel

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • God dwells among His people
  • God’s tent
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

On the wall here we have a picture. Can anyone tell me what this is? [Wait]

  • Yes, that’s right. A hub
  • A hub is at the centre of things – it holds everything together and gives shape and coherence to the whole, while also allowing movement
  • It isn’t just wheels which have hubs.
  • People, families & communities have hubs too

For many busy people these days the hub of their life is their smart phone – it is the central connecting point holding all the strands & loose ends together

  • For some, the hub may be their family – so being near to parents or children or grandchildren is important to them
  • For others their hub may be found at work or in the pub or their local sports club or RSA – anywhere they might connect with others
  • For those who are Christians though, Jesus and His church are the hub

This morning we continue our series on Moses by focusing on Exodus chapters 25 to 31

  • This is where God gives Moses some quite detailed instructions for the making of a tabernacle
  • The tabernacle, in the context of Exodus, is essentially a sacred tent through which God mediates His holy presence within Israel

Terence Frethiem notes that…

  • In their journey through the wilderness God gives Israel two basic institutions, the Law and the Tabernacle.
  • Both are portable
  • Both are designed to bring order to disorder
  • And both give shape to life when the centre has trouble holding
  • The Law provides an ethical shape and the Tabernacle provides a liturgical shape [1] 

Or said another way the Law and the Tabernacle were the hub of Israel’s life

  • The Law and the Tabernacle were the centre, holding the nation together and allowing movement
  • They were designed to keep Israel distinctive from the nations around them – to prevent Israel from conforming to the pattern of this world and enabling them to follow God’s pattern

God dwells among His people:

One of the distinctive things about God and His pattern is that He comes to dwell among His people

  • Yahweh is not aloof or removed like the gods of other nations – He is present with His people, living with them

Art is good for the soul

  • It helps us to reflect on our experience and find meaning in our pain
  • Art has the potential to put us in touch with beauty and goodness
  • It can inspire us, challenge us and help us to feel more connected

Normally if you want to view paintings or sculptures you would go to an art gallery – a special purpose built facility containing art works

  • Galleries are usually found in cities and so if you are a child and your parents won’t take you, or if you live out the back of nowhere, you might not ever get to see fine art

 

Some years ago a NZ couple came up with the idea of a portable art gallery called the Real Art Road Show

  • The Real Art Road Show is basically a truck which travels the country displaying art work to school kids
  • Rather than going to a gallery, the gallery comes to you

The truck opens up and school pupils walk through it

  • We had this Art Truck set up in our church car park a few years ago and kids from Tawa School came through

Why am I telling you this?

  • Well, as I said before, the tabernacle is a sacred tent through which God mediates His holy presence within Israel
  • It is basically a mobile home for Yahweh – the Lord God
  • Sort of like the concept of the Real Art Road Show truck
  • Rather than God’s presence being contained in an immovable temple or a fixed place like a mountain – God will be on the move with His people
  • Unlike the pagan religions around them, Israel’s God does not expect His people to come to Him
  • Rather, Yahweh comes to dwell among His people
  • Just as they are living in tents in the wilderness, so too the Lord will dwell in a tent with them

Seven (plus) chapters is a lot of space to devote to this subject – which indicates the tabernacle was pretty significant to God and Israel

  • Because the purpose of the tabernacle is to mediate God’s presence to the people, the Lord refers to it as ‘the tent of my presence’ or ‘the tent of meeting’. At the end of chapter 29 the Lord says to Moses…
  • “…at the entrance of the tent of my presence… I will meet my people and speak to you. There I will meet the people of Israel and the dazzling light of my presence will make the place holy…
  • …I will live among the people of Israel and I will be their God. They will know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of Egypt so that I could live among them…”

In saying that He will live among the people of Israel, God is not forcing Himself into the community

  • Israel has a choice about whether they will receive God or not
  • God could have made the tent Himself and plonked it down in the middle of the camp, but He doesn’t
  • God is respectful of human freewill
  • He entrusts the making of His mobile home to the Israelites
  • If they don’t want God living among them then they simply don’t make the tent. By making the tent Israel are accepting Yahweh’s presence

We see God’s vulnerability, in giving the people the option to reject Him, at the beginning of Exodus 25 where the Lord says to Moses…

  • “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give.”
  • God wants His people to give willingly and freely – because they love Him and value His presence with them

Now while God comes to dwell among His people, God still maintains certain boundaries

  • Boundaries are important in relationships
  • Without appropriate boundaries the wheel of community falls apart
  • God’s tent is a holy place – it is made sacred and special by His presence
  • The people need to respect God’s holiness by keeping a certain distance

Holiness in the Old Testament is a dangerous thing – like fire

  • It provides warmth and light but if you get too close it will harm you
  • It’s not like people could casually drop by for a cuppa & a chat with God
  • In more than one place in these chapters God makes it clear, ‘You can’t touch this’

Only certain people (like the priests, Aaron and his sons) were allowed to approach the tabernacle and then only in a respectful and prescribed way

  • God devotes a whole chapter to instructions for the consecration of priests
  • Just as it took God seven days to consecrate the cosmos so too it takes seven days to ordain a priest
  • God’s holiness is a serious matter

It’s interesting to me that people outside the church often have a better sense of God’s holiness than we Christians do

  • We can be a bit casual in our approach to the Lord, while those who are less familiar with God may be more cautious

I remember when Robyn and I invited my grandfather to our wedding

  • He asked where the ceremony would be held and we said in a church
  • He then replied, ‘The church would fall down if I walked into it’
  • He was joking but there is usually a kernel of truth in people’s humour
  • His point was, ‘A church building is where God is worshipped and so it is a holy place. I’m not holy. How can I approach God?’

If you think about it, God’s holiness actually lends a certain dignity & honour to humanity who are made in His image

  • In verse 2 of Exodus 28 the Lord says, “Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron, to give him dignity and honour”
  • The rest of the chapter goes on to detail what the priest’s vestments will look like

The priest represented the people before God – he was sort of like the nation in one person

  • So by dressing the priest in a special way God was basically communicating to the people that His holy presence clothed all of Israel with dignity & honour
  • They were to be different from the nations around them and did not need to be ashamed of who they were

Okay then, God comes to dwell among His people Israel

  • His dwelling with them is not to be forced but freely accepted
  • Nor is His dwelling with them to be a casual thing, for God’s presence is holy, giving dignity & honour
  • What about the tabernacle itself – what can we learn about God’s tent?

 Tabernacle - plan

God’s Tent

On the wall here is a sketch of the tabernacle together with the surrounding courtyard and equipment (it’s also on the back of your newsletters)

  • This is not to scale and it doesn’t convey anything of the beauty or fine art prescribed by God – but it does give us an overall picture

[Take my Russian dolls and set them out on a table]

 

I have here my Russian dolls to help us understand something of the layout of God’s tent

  • On other occasions I have used these Russian dolls as a metaphor for the different layers of our human self
  • Today though, I am not using these dolls to describe our personality, much less God’s personality
  • God is mystery and He can’t be reduced to a set of dolls
  • I’m simply using these Babushkas to help us understand the layout of God’s tent (His mobile home)

From verse 10 of chapter 25 God begins His instructions with a plan for making what we call the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ or the ‘Ark of the Testimony’

  • Interestingly God starts with the smallest doll
  • He begins with the core or the heart of His mobile home

At the very core of God’s tent – in the most holy place – we find His covenant with Israel

  • As we heard last week a covenant is more than just a contract
  • A covenant is a sacred agreement for attachment
  • At the very heart of God’s house is not a TV, but a reminder of His commitment to Israel’s well being
  • We might call this commitment – this covenant – loyal love

After giving the dimensions for this ark (or chest), God then says in verse 17 of Exodus 25…

  • “Make an atonement cover of pure gold…” to go over the top of the ark

Some versions of the Bible translate this verse ‘mercy seat’

  • Essentially the atonement cover or the mercy seat represents forgiveness
  • God provides a covering for Israel’s sin and that covering is forgiveness
  • Forgiveness is the second smallest doll in the tabernacle

God is so good – He does not require us to deny our imperfection

  • He provides for our imperfection and shows a willingness to re-enter the relationship with us when we fail

The most holy place is separated from the holy place by a veil or a curtain

In Luke 23, verse 45 we read that when Jesus died on the cross the curtain in the temple – the curtain into the most holy place – was torn in two

  • Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross reveals God’s forgiveness, His atonement for our sin

The next doll (or the holy place) is where we find the table with the bread of the presence and the lamp stand – bread & light

  • Perhaps bread is the strength to serve and light is the wisdom to see by
  • Strength and wisdom is found with God
  • What did Jesus say?
  • I am the light of the world. I am the bread of life

Moving out of the tent itself to the outer courtyard we find a basin for the priests to wash their hands and two altars

  • This diagram only shows one altar but Exodus describes two
  • One for burning incense, a symbol of the people’s prayers rising to heaven and the other for burning sacrifices

The main altar, for burning sacrifices, was basically like an incinerator

  • It wasn’t like a table with a top on it
  • It was open at the top with a grate part way down
  • This is where animals were offered to God

The message seems to be it is not a cheap or easy thing to come near to God

  • There is sacrifice and purity involved

The courtyard is fenced off with a curtain around the perimeter

  • There is only one entrance to the courtyard and that faces to the east – toward the sunrise
  • (What was it Jesus said? No one comes to the Father except by me. Jesus is the gate to God the Father.)
  • Verse 16 of Exodus 27 tells how there is to be a curtain made of fine linen embroidered with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, at the entrance to the courtyard

So the impression given to the people looking from the outside is one of beauty

  • The outer doll is attractive
  • Or to put it another way, God’s presence – His holiness – is beautiful
  • This stands in contrast to our society which generally tends to associate beauty with youth, novelty and permissiveness

In saying that the outer doll is attractive and beautiful and fascinating in its intricate design and detail I don’t mean that God is pimping His mobile home

  • God is not making His tent look flashy
  • If anything He is toning it down so as not to embarrass His neighbours
  • When you think about it the really precious stuff is hidden inside God’s tent where most people don’t get to see it

The metals used inside the tent are gold & silver – whereas the metal used outside is predominantly bronze

  • There may be practical reasons for this but I can’t help thinking of the poetry of it all – God is modest and often comes to us in ordinary ways
  • He doesn’t put the gold on the outside of His tent – He puts it on the inside
  • He doesn’t bring out the best wine first and then save the poorer quality wine for later – No, He saves the best till last
  • The longer we are in relationship with Him, the more we get to know Him and the deeper we go, the better it gets

When we put all that together, from the inside out we have…

  • Loyal (covenant) love at the very core of God’s tent, the smallest doll
  • Then forgiveness or mercy
  • Then light & bread or wisdom to see by and strength to serve
  • Then the outer court, a place of purity & sacrifice
  • And then the largest doll – the curtain at the entrance – humble beauty, the beauty of holiness

As I mentioned before, quite a bit of space is devoted to the Tabernacle in Exodus

  • We may wonder why there is so much detail
  • Well, later in Israel’s history Solomon would build a temple
  • In many ways the temple was modelled off the tabernacle, except the temple wasn’t portable like a tent
  • God moved into the temple but you get the sense He was uneasy with it
  • I think He preferred His mobile home

Some centuries after Solomon the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and the survivors of Israel carried off to exile in Babylon

  • While in exile they didn’t have a temple
  • But they did have the elaborate description of the tabernacle which they could read about and picture in their mind’s eye
  • What a comfort it would have been to the exiles to be reminded that God is not fixed in one place – that God is able to move with them

Conclusion:

Ultimately though, the instructions for the tabernacle point to Christ

  • Jesus is the incarnation of God – He is Emmanuel – God with us
  • In the person of Jesus God didn’t just set up a tent among His people
  • God’s Word actually became a man and lived life as one of God’s people
  • Holiness rubbed shoulders with humanity

As we read at the beginning of John’s gospel…

  • The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth

Now God lives among His people by His Spirit

  • Today the Christian Church is the tabernacle of God
  • We, the Lord’s people, are God’s mobile home, made to mediate His presence in the world
  • This is a mystery too profound to explain – the best we can do is remain present to it (present to God’s presence, among us and through us)

Let us pray…

[1] Terence Frethiem, Exodus, page 277.

Tawa Baptist

Covenant

Scripture: Exodus 24:1-11

Title: Covenant

Key Idea: A covenant is a sacred agreement for attachment

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Communication
  • Commitment
  • Communion
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

[Display slide 1]

 

On the wall here we have three images…

  • Some rope, a paper clip and a mother & baby having a cuddle
  • One word connects them. Can anyone tell me that word? [Wait]
  • Yes, that’s right – attachment

[Stop displaying slide 1]

This morning we are talking about covenant

  • A covenant is a sacred agreement for attachment
  • A covenant connects people – it holds relationships together

Please turn with me to Exodus chapter 24, page 85 in your pew Bibles

  • Today we continue our series on Moses
  • Last week we heard about the Decalogue – God’s 10 words in Exodus 20
  • These words of instruction are His recipe for living well
  • This week, in Exodus 24, we are still at Mt Sinai where the covenant between God & Israel is formalised. From verse 1 we read…

Read Exodus 24:1-11

 

May we be aware of God’s presence with us now

Today’s reading describes how the covenant between God & Israel was formalised

  • More than just a regular contract a covenant is a sacred agreement for attachment
  • A covenant goes above and beyond a regular contract to bind relationships together
  • There are three aspects to a covenantal agreement, each of which support attachment. They are: Communication, commitment and communion

Communication:

Cell phones – it is difficult for many of us to remember how we ever got on without them

  • They are so convenient and helpful for keeping us in contact with each other. It’s the same with the internet
  • Cell phones & internet give us a feeling of attachment
  • It’s not real attachment – it’s only virtual – but we can still get a bit anxious if someone doesn’t reply to our text or email quickly enough

Of course to be able to use a cell phone or the internet you need a network provider – whether that’s 2 Degrees or Spark or Vodafone or whatever

  • There isn’t much loyalty with network providers these days – we tend to go with whoever happens to be offering the best deal at the time
  • You might be on a contract with some company but a contract is different from a covenant
  • With a covenant both parties to the agreement have a sense of loyalty to each other
  • So a covenant is more permanent – less fickle – than a contract

As I mentioned before one of the key aspects of a covenant is communication

  • Communication supports attachment by creating a shared understanding, which in turn enables an agreement to be reached

What we see in the Bible is that God initiates the communication

  • From chapter 19 of the book of Exodus God has been communicating the terms of His offer to Moses
  • Now in verses 3-8 of Exodus 24 Moses leads the people through a ritual of communication & commitment to formalise the covenant

The ritual of communication begins with Moses telling the people all the Lord’s commands & instructions and the people respond by giving a verbal agreement

  • Then Moses puts it in writing
  • So far it is looking very much like a regular commercial contract
  • Except the way you seal a covenant is different from the way you seal a contract
  • You seal a contract by signing it – with your signature
  • But you don’t sign a covenant – you cut a covenant
  • Sealing a covenant, therefore, involves the shedding of blood

Blood is an interesting thing to use for sealing the deal

  • Unlike ink, blood is potent – it represents life
  • If you have a wound or an infection in some part of your body, it is the flow of blood which heals it – without blood flow the wound won’t heal
  • Using blood to seal the agreement gives the covenant more weight, more significance, more meaning
  • This covenant between God & Israel is a sacred agreement for life and healing

To cut this covenant, Moses gets some fit young men to sacrifice some animals

  • He takes half the blood and sets it aside in bowls
  • Then he takes the other half of the blood and throws it against the altar
  • This is messy stuff – but essentially the blood on the altar represents God’s signature – His part in cutting the deal

Before getting the people’s signature though, Moses first reads the book of the covenant to the Israelites

  • This details the terms of the agreement – both God’s promises to them and their responsibilities to God and each other

Commitment:

When you attach a trailer to a car you don’t just tie it on with rope or stick it on with masking tape – that would never hold

  • You need something strong, firm and able to take the weight, like a tow bar bolted (or welded) to the frame of your car
  • The coupling at the pointy end of the trailer is attached to the tow ball with a clasp, a bolt to hold the clasp in place and a safety chain

The genius of the tow bar and trailer arrangement is the capacity for movement

  • The attachment to the tow ball allows some pivoting from side to side so you can turn corners and back the trailer
  • If the attachment was completely rigid, allowing no movement at all, something would break or you’d never make it around a bend

The second aspect of covenant is commitment

  • A covenant commitment is firm and strong like a tow bar
  • But it’s not completely rigid
  • There is some room for movement in the commitment

After hearing God’s offer and terms read aloud the people say…

  • “We will obey the Lord and do everything that he has commanded”
  • This shows us the people entered into the agreement knowingly & freely

Then Moses took the blood in the bowls and threw it on the people

  • He said, “This is the blood that seals the covenant which the Lord made with you when he gave you these commands”
  • In other words, ‘This is your signature which seals the deal’
  • Now the people are officially attached by their commitment to Yahweh as He is attached and committed to them

One of the key differences between a covenant and a contract is the strength of the commitment

  • The commitment inherent in a covenant is far greater than the commitment stipulated in a contract
  • The strength of a contract is like masking tape compared to the strength of a covenant, which is like a tow bar

A contractual commitment tends to be limited

  • It is usually for a fixed period of time (like a lease agreement)
  • Or until one of the parties decides they want out (like an employment agreement)
  • But a covenantal commitment is more open ended – it doesn’t have an expiry date
  • A covenant is till death do us part (like with marriage)

This is not to say there is no room for movement with a covenant

  • Like a trailer on a tow ball there is capacity to turn corners and make minor adjustments
  • The point is, a covenant is stronger and more fit for purpose when it comes to carrying anything of weight or substance

The sacrifices made in verse 5 aren’t just a way of obtaining blood to seal the deal – they are also an acted out parable or a visual symbol of the commitment required by the people

  • The message is: Being in a covenant relationship with God will cost you
  • Moses is up front about that cost and so is Jesus
  • ‘Pick up your cross and follow me’, is what Christ said

The Israelites did two things in particular to remember their commitment to God’s covenant

  • The first was male circumcision – cutting the foreskin and shedding the blood of sons at eight days old
  • This was like adding your signature to the covenant in a personal way
  • The second sign of the covenant, for Israel, was keeping the Sabbath
  • Dedicating one day in seven to the Lord by stopping to rest

We Christians also do two things to remember God’s new covenant with us through Christ

  • We commit initially (and personally) by being baptised in water
  • And we remember the covenant on-going by sharing communion together

 

Communion:

Perhaps my favourite image of attachment is that of tree roots in the ground

  • Not only do the roots keep the tree firmly in place through all sorts of weather, they also draw up water & nutrients from the soil to feed the tree
  • There is an organic closeness between the roots and the soil

The third aspect of covenant present in today’s reading from Exodus is communion

  • After the ritual of communication and commitment, Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and the 70 elders of Israel went up the mountain and communed with God

Verse 10 tells us they saw God and beneath His feet was what looked like a pavement of sapphire, as blue as the sky

This verse is shrouded in mystery

  • We don’t get a description of what God looks like, God is indescribable
  • The most we get is a description of God’s footpath

God does not say anything here – He just lets the men gaze in awe and wonder

  • They saw God and then they ate and drank together
  • It is unclear whether this means the men actually ate with God or whether they simply ate with each other after seeing God
  • Either way we know they enjoyed a unique communion with the Lord, for God did not harm these leading men of Israel

Communion – this is perhaps the most important difference between a covenant and a contract

  • The primary purpose of a contract is to protect the parties from each other
  • By contrast the purpose of a covenant is not to protect but to share
  • With a contract the different parties to the agreement are trying to maintain their separateness – this is mine, this is yours
  • But with a covenant the parties are aiming for oneness – what’s mine is yours – like tree roots in the soil
  • Marriage is a covenant in which the two become one

God’s covenant with Israel at Sinai is similar to marriage in that both God and Israel are agreeing to work together (as one) for the same purpose, with each other’s well-being in mind

Conclusion:

This morning we’ve heard how a covenant is a sacred agreement for attachment

  • A covenant holds relationships together with communication, commitment and communion
  • It combines strength with movement – like a tow bar
  • And it allows closeness and sharing – like tree roots in soil

Not every agreement we enter into needs to be a covenant

  • In fact, because covenants are so demanding, we human beings can only handle 1 or 2 at a time
  • Those two being marriage and our relationship with God through Christ

Jesus came to establish a new covenant between God and humanity

  • It is a covenant in which God’s words are written on our heart so that we internalise them and obey God from the inside out
  • It is a covenant in which Jesus is sacrificed on the cross so that His blood seals the deal
  • And it is a covenant which makes communion or closeness with God and each other possible, so that we may share in God’s life

In a few minutes we will remember the new covenant made possible through Christ as we share together in the living ritual of communion

  • To help us prepare let’s stand and sing, ‘Only by grace can we enter…’
  • I ask the communion stewards to come forward at the end of the song

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+24%3A1-11&version=GNT