There is a bit of a repeated idea in the text today, and it is that of sinning without necessarily knowing you have sinned. You read something along the lines of “if anyone sins unintentionally” frequently through this reading. But one thing you don’t read is that it’s no big deal. Unintentional sin is still sin. And when someone realized their guilt they were still to bring the appropriate offering to deal with that sin.

Almighty and most merciful Father,

we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep.

We have followed too much the devices and desires

of our own hearts.

We have offended against your holy laws.

We have left undone those things which we ought to have done,

and we have done those things which we ought not

to have done;

and apart from your grace, there is no health in us.

O Lord, have mercy upon us.

Spare all those who confess their faults.

Restore all those who are penitent, according to your promises

declared to all people in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake,

that we may now live a godly, righteous, and sober life,

to the glory of your holy Name. Amen.

This is a very common and well known prayer of confession. I love how it addresses things done and things left undone. I think you can apply that to things done knowingly and things done unknowingly (unintentionally). But I also love that this is a prayer for the mercy of Jesus and an appeal to his sacrifice that was once for all for the sins of his people. Sin is nothing to take lightly and reading of all these sacrifices and the entire system should direct our hearts to the worth of Christ’s single and ultimate sacrifice. Let us praise him and let us seek to walk in a way that is worthy of our calling. May He cleanse us from all sin and help us to put it to death that we may walk in the newness of life we have in Christ.

Today we come again to the giving of the Levites and their dedication. There are a great many details in Numbers 8, but the reasoning and the result is what we want to look at this morning. The Levites serve as a substitute for the firstborn. This clearly has its roots in the Passover and the death of the firstborn of all of Egypt (of any who did not have the blood of the lamb covering their doorposts).

17 For all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, 18 and I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel. 19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement for the people of Israel, that there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary.” (Num 8:17–19 ESV).

The Levites became as substitute for the firstborn of all of Israel. They were given to do the service of the tent of meeting. And in a sense, they were given to serve the entirety of the nation. They were purified and set apart to work in service to the Lord for the people.

How would this relate to us today? Consider the context. The people have not been freed from Egypt for long; the Exodus has just taken place in a dramatic rescue out of slavery. I was directed by some resources to turn to Ephesians 4:7-16.

Here, Christ, by his death and resurrection, led captives and gave gifts to mankind. What are those gifts? Look at Ephesians 4:7 - we are his gifts given back to the church. God has poured out his grace on each of his children to serve in various ways so that we would grow to maturity. We are saved from slavery to sin to serve as gifts.

The tabernacle is finished. Moses had inspected all the work and found that all of it had been done just as was commanded by the Lord (cf. 39:43 - and there is a good principle in that statement alone). What we see as the culmination is the presence of the Lord covering the tent of meeting. It was so strong at first that even Moses could not enter. Israel is about to embark into the wilderness, but yet God is with them. They have a visible reminder daily that the Lord is their God and he is with them.

Meditate on the presence of God:

• Psalm 23:6

• Psalm 73:28

• John 1:14

Here are some thoughts from Richard Sibbes that I read this morning. It’s not a perfect parallel, but the idea of Christ dwelling with his people is a beautiful truth and worthy of praise.

“Where his Spirit is, there is holiness. If we consider what a sweet guest Christ is, where he is there is all beauty, work, comfort, strength, and all. And where he is, he is for ever. He never forsakes his lodging, he never forsakes his house and temple. He had two temples built with stone; one by Solomon, and another after the captivity. Both lie now in the rubbish, and are demolished for ever, and shall never be repaired again. But his spiritual temples he never leaves wholly; for whose souls he now dwells in, he will take them by that Spirit that dwells in them, and carry them to heaven, to be where he is. The divine Spirit, that dwells in our souls now, shall quicken our dead bodies, and make them like to his glorious body.

What an excellent honour and happiness is this, to entertain such an one as will rule, govern, and adorn our souls while we live, and carry them to himself and to his Father in heaven, and will quicken our bodies likewise! An everlasting inhabitant he is. If Christ be in us, therefore, we may comfort ourselves.”

Sibbes, R. (1863). The Complete Works of Richard Sibbes (A. B. Grosart, Ed.; Vol. 6, p. 406). James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; W. Robertson.

There has been a great deal of detail written over the past few days. Sometimes it’s hard to think of why this is important. But some of this detail shows the vast importance of this whole system for the Israelites. This all related to meeting with the Lord and the relationship the people of Israel had with their covenant Lord. It’s not something to be taken lightly or according to our own ideas; this is something that is to be followed with what the Lord has set forth.

Taken from the ESV Study Bible

In looking at the work on the priests garments it is impressive what Bazelel was able to make. We were already introduced to these garments in chapter 28 and there we were told a little bit more of the why and less about the how (which is what we came to today).

Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. 3 You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. 4 These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. 5 They shall receive gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. (Ex 28:1–5 ESV).

The people needed mediation between themselves and God. Aaron and his sons were chosen. They were identified with the people and would represent them, in all their weakness. They wore holy garments to cover their own sinfulness. The garments would be made of the same materials as the tabernacle itself showing the character of the work that the priest would undertake. We read of the inscription for the turban - “Holy to the LORD.”

In thinking through all these preparations and the intricacies of erecting the tabernacle and the altar and the lampstand and on and on. Take time and read Hebrews 9:1-28 and reflect on what we now have through Christ and give thanks for the great privilege we have as new covenant believers.

These chapters are absolutely full, and yet they fall on a Sunday morning when providentially I have less time to write. So here is a wonderful reflection from D.A. Carson on chapter 32.

“exodus 32 is simultaneously one of the low points and one of the high points in Israel’s history.

Only months out of slavery in Egypt, the Israelites prove so fickle that the delay of Moses on the mountain (a mere forty days) provides them with all the excuse they need for a new round of complaining. Moses’ delay does not prompt them to pray, but elicits callous ingratitude and disoriented syncretism. Even their tone is sneering: “As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him” (32:1).

Aaron is revealed as a spineless wimp, unable or unwilling to impose any discipline. He is utterly without theological backbone—not even enough to be a thoroughgoing pagan, as he continues to invoke the name of the Lord even while he himself manufactures a golden calf (32:4–5). He is still a wimp when, challenged by his brother, he insists, rather ridiculously, “Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” (32:24). Despite the covenantal vows they had made (24:7), many in the nation wanted all the blessings they could get from Yahweh, but gave little thought to the nature of their own sworn obligations to their Maker and Redeemer. It was a low moment of national shame—not the last in their experience, not the last in the confessing church.

The high point? When God threatens to wipe out the nation, Moses intercedes. Not once does he suggest that the people do not deserve to be wiped out, or that they are not as bad as some might think. Rather, he appeals to the glory of God. Why should God act in such a way that the Egyptians might scoff and say that the Lord isn’t strong enough to pull off this rescue (32:12)? Besides, isn’t God obligated to keep his vows to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (32:13)? How could God go back on his solemn promises? His final appeal is simply for forgiveness (32:30–32), and if God cannot extend such mercy, then Moses does not want to begin a new race (as angry as he himself is, 32:19). He prefers to be blotted out with the rest of the people.

Here is an extraordinary mediator, a man whose entire sympathies are with God and his gracious salvation and revelation, a man who makes no excuses for the people he is called to lead, but who nevertheless so identifies with them that if judgment is to fall on them he begs to suffer with them. Here is a man who “stands in the gap” (cf. Ezek. 13:3–5; 22:29–30).”

Carson, D. A. (1998). For the love of God: a daily companion for discovering the riches of God’s Word. (Vol. 1, p. 106). Crossway Books.

Let these words sink in for a moment:

38 “These are the sacrifices you are to offer regularly on the altar. Each day, offer two lambs that are a year old, 39 one in the morning and the other in the evening. 40 With one of them, offer two quarts of choice flour mixed with one quart of pure oil of pressed olives; also, offer one quart of wine as a liquid offering. 41 Offer the other lamb in the evening, along with the same offerings of flour and wine as in the morning. It will be a pleasing aroma, a special gift presented to the Lord.

42 “These burnt offerings are to be made each day from generation to generation. Offer them in the Lord’s presence at the Tabernacle entrance; there I will meet with you and speak with you. 43 I will meet the people of Israel there, in the place made holy by my glorious presence. 44 Yes, I will consecrate the Tabernacle and the altar, and I will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 Then I will live among the people of Israel and be their God, 46 and they will know that I am the Lord their God. I am the one who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am the Lord their God. (NLT)

This is the daily sacrifice for the people of Israel. These are continual and are to happen at the entrance of the Tabernacle (or Tent of Meeting) where the Lord will meet with his people. At the end of this section we come to a bit of a summary statement. The tabernacle is the place where the Lord will live, or dwell among his people. And he will be their God. This is the God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery (cf. Ex. 6:7, 20:1).

There is something striking and hard to imagine in this. These sacrifices took place daily. Consider the amount of blood spilt.

• What does this system point the people to?

• What is it that takes away sin?

• Meditate on 1 Peter 1:18-21

The details in today’s reading are quite obvious. There is a repeated phrase throughout this reading that goes something like this: Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain (Ex. 26:30 ESV cf. 25:40). Then later in chapter 28 we have the instructions for the garments the priests are to wear. They were made according to the instructions and for glory and for beauty (28:2 ESV). And they were also holy garments that served to cover the sinfulness of the priest. The names of the twelve tribes were engraved on stones on the garment. On the front of the turban on a plate of gold were engraved the words “HOLY TO THE LORD” (28:36).

38 Aaron must wear it on his forehead so he may take on himself any guilt of the people of Israel when they consecrate their sacred offerings. He must always wear it on his forehead so the LORD will accept the people. (28:38 NLT)

This points to the sacred offerings being guilt offerings that were done to atone for sin and guilt. The symbolism of the garment takes the guilt into the presence of the Lord, who is the only one who can truly deal with the guilt of our sin. There must be a mediator for the people of God, a representative.

I like to point people to good resources. Here is an excerpt from the ESV Gospel Transformation Bible:

“Jesus, our Great High Priest, was chosen by God to serve as priest; he identified with human beings in our suffering and obedience so that he might be sympathetic to our weaknesses (Heb. 2:17–18; 5:5–10). He did not require holy garments to cover his sin; for he was the sinless one (Heb. 4:14–15) who was “holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens” (Heb. 7:26). He bore his people upon his heart as he made intercession for them, and he continues to do so (Heb. 7:25). And he clothes us with his righteousness so that we, as those who participate in his priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:5), have our sins covered and are “holy to the LORD.””

Just a few thoughts this morning, and mainly from chapter 24. Here Israel agrees to the covenant of the Lord. They would have been familiar with these types of arrangements where a greater power would set down rules to which the lesser to agree and abide.

4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. 6 And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” (24:4-8 ESV)

The people agree to the covenant. They agree to the stipulations that Moses lays out and they are sealed with the sprinkling of blood. This helps us to see that their rebellion (coming soon, and ongoing in many ways) is actually the breaking of an oath. It is the virtual ripping up of the covenant.

One quick thought on seeing the Lord. Moses, Aaron, his sons, and seventy elders saw the God of Israel (24:10). We know this isn’t a complete seeing, but is nonetheless a gracious disclosure to these men. This also makes the rebellion of Aaron and the people all the more egregious as he was given this grace to see the Lord in this way to strengthen his faith and allegiance.

John 14:21: Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.

The test of love is a desire and effort to please the one that we love.Jesus told his disciples that part of how we display our love for the Father is by keeping his commandments.

The Apostle John wrote very similarly: By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:2,3).

This morning our reading begins with the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). What are we to make of these words? There are some who would argue that these words were only for Israel and have no real bearing on Christians today. I would not be one of those people, nor would the Reformed & Presbyterian world.

In the Westminster Confession of Faith we read this:

2. This law, after his fall, continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness; and, as such, was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai, in ten commandments, and written in two tables: (James 1:25, James 2:8, 10–12, Rom. 13:8–9, Deut. 5:32, Deut. 10:4, Exod. 34:1) the first four commandments containing our duty towards God; and the other six, our duty to man. (Matt. 22:37–40)

5. The moral law doth for ever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof; (Rom. 13:8, 9, Eph. 6:2, 1 John 2:3–4, 7–8) and that, not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator, who gave it. (James 2:10, 11) Neither doth Christ, in the Gospel, any way dissolve, but much strengthen this obligation. (Matt. 5:17–19, James 2:8, Rom. 3:31)

~ Chapter 19:2, 5

These commands are applicable to all of history. But these commands are not directions for how to make oneself right with God. Mankind cannot do that on his own. These are commands for how to live as one rescued by the grace of God. The first 2 verses of chapter 20 help us to see that:

1 And God spoke all these words, saying,

2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Our Shorter Catechism asks what the preface (these verses) to the Ten Commandments teach us: “The preface to the Ten Commandments teaches us, that because God is the Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments.” (WSC 44; WLC 101)

We obey because we have been rescued from the slavery of sin. We obey because we love our Lord and we want to be conformed to his image and please him.

That’s not a word you want to see at the top of a post, but it’s what we have with the Israelites (and too often what we face in our own hearts). At the end of chapter 15 Tyler Israelites grumbled against Moses that they had no fresh water to drink (15:24). The Lord showed that he was more than capable to heal the waters from their bitterness.

But then in the very next chapter we have further complaints.

2 There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron.

3 “If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.” (NLT)

This is what would happen, but then Moses spoke about the “why” behind it.

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.” (ESV)

Moses knew that their grumbling was ultimately against the Lord. But what is the source of this grumbling? Did not these people just witness some amazing events that showed that power and nature of the Lord? How could they now grumble? Well, many view God as their own personal butler in the sky to serve them. They do not understand the nature of God, they merely see his power and believe it is solely for them and their needs. And if those needs aren’t met, we’ve seen that they would have returned to Egypt since they had needs met there (even though in slavery).

What does this tell us about the human heart?

What does it tell you about your own heart? When do you tend to grumble against the Lord?

Take some time to read and meditate upon 1 Corinthians 10:6-13.

Happy Monday morning! It’s nice to see the sun again, and not necessarily the most normal feeling in February. Well today we read of the crossing of the Red Sea, the Song of Moses, and also complaining by the Israelites. What sticks out the most is this confrontation between Pharaoh and the Israelites, but it’s more so a confrontation between Pharaoh (a false God) and Yahweh (the true God).

Pharaoh had let the Israelites go, but then had second thoughts as their slave labor would no longer be available. So they pursue Israel and believe they have them cornered between their army and the sea. And the Israelites are thinking the same thing:

10 As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the LORD, 11 and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? 12 Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’”

13 But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. 14 The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” (14:10-14 NLT)

Why is it that the Israelites are so fearful?

What did Moses tell them and what does this tell the people?

I think it’s helpful to look at the ESV of verses 13 & 14.

And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” (14:13,14 ESV)

How does Isaiah 30:15 add to your thinking?

What does this whole episode tell us about our God?

There is so much that could be written this morning. This is the culmination of the Plagues on Egypt. You can hear the fear in the words of the Egyptians: 7 Pharaoh’s officials now came to Pharaoh and appealed to him. “How long will you let this man hold us hostage? Let the men go to worship the LORD their God! Don’t you realize that Egypt lies in ruins?” (10:7 NLT).

Still to come is a plague of locusts, and then darkness, and it is capped off with the plague of the firstborn, the Lord’s Passover. It is here that the Lord executes profound judgment on the Egyptians and shows there is a difference between his people and those who are not his people. The Lord preserves the faithful, but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride (cf. Psalm 31:23).

Take three minutes and twenty-nine seconds and watch the clip below, and be encouraged and comforted. Too often we doubt the volume of our faith, but it’s not the intensity of our faith, but the object of our faith that matters. The Israelites were shown that very clearly on the night when the Angel of the Lord passed through Egypt.

The story moves quickly today. We encounter the first seven plagues: turning the water to blood, frogs, gnats, flies, death of livestock, boils, and then hail. In the first two plagues you see that the magicians of Egypt are able to replicate what Moses and Aaron declare, but from that point on they are unable to do so and their response in the third plague is: This is the finger of God! (8:19).

Yet we also continuously see a repeated pattern: the plague comes, Pharaoh pleads, the Lord relents, and Pharaoh’s heart is hardened. But look back at 7:14: Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn, and he still refuses to let the people go.” This was after Aaron’s staff (snake) swallowed the staffs (snakes) of the magicians.And it is interesting that the NLT didn’t say his heart was hard - and that’s because it’s a different word. It could be translated as his heart was heavy.

John Currid gave some help in understanding the background to this concept:

“At this time the Egyptians believed that when someone died the person went to judgement in the underworld. The individual’s heart—which was thought to be the very essence of the person—was weighed on the scales of truth. On one pan sat the feather of truth and righteousness; on the other lay the heart of the deceased. If the heart was heavy or weighty with misdeeds, the person was unjust, condemned and thrown to the Devouress to be eaten. If the heart was pure, the deceased would go to the Egyptian afterlife.

In the exodus account the verdict that Pharaoh’s heart was heavy reflects the concept of his heart being filled with iniquity and injustice. His dealings with Israel, and for that matter his own character in general, were unrighteous. God was simply judging Pharaoh as one with a heavy, sinful heart!”

( Currid, J. D. (2000). A Study Commentary on Exodus: Exodus 1–18 (Vol. 1, pp. 165–166). Evangelical Press.)

Once again the condition of the heart of man is vital.

The story is picking up speed. A great deal happens in these few chapter. Moses returns to Egypt, but on the way the Lord confronts him for not circumcising his son and his wife takes action to stay the Lord’s hand. God has remembered his covenant, and his people are to do the same in observing the rites of the covenant.

Then Moses meets up with Aaron and they speak with the elders of Israel about the Lord seeing their affliction. As one can imagine, the result of that announcement is worship. God has seen their pain and heard their groans. Their refuge is showing himself to be so.

But when Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh he isn’t on the same page with the Lord in regard to letting the people go and he actually makes life harder for the Israelites. Which in turn leads to the Israelites being a bit irritated with Moses & Aaron. But the Lord reaffirms his commitment to his covenant and to their deliverance.

Now, in this there are some phrases that can catch our attention, and one is that of the Lord saying he will harden Pharaoh’s heart (cf. 4:21). Carson adds some helpful comments:

“During the succeeding chapters, the form of expression varies: not only “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart” (7:3), but also “Pharaoh’s heart became hard” or “was hard” (7:13, 22; 8:19, etc.) and “he hardened his heart” (8:15, 32, etc.). No simple pattern is discernible in these references. On the one hand, we cannot say that the pattern works up from “Pharaoh hardened his heart” to “Pharaoh’s heart was hardened” to “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart” (as if God’s hardening were nothing more than the divine judicial confirmation of a pattern the man had chosen for himself); on the other hand, we cannot say that the pattern simply works down from “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart” to “Pharaoh’s heart was hardened” to “Pharaoh hardened his heart” (as if Pharaoh’s self-imposed hardening was nothing more than the inevitable outworking of the divine decree).

Three observations may shed some light on these texts. (a) Granted the Bible’s storyline so far, the assumption is that Pharaoh is already a wicked person. In particular, he has enslaved the covenant people of God. God has not hardened a morally neutral man; he has pronounced judgment on a wicked man. Hell itself is a place where repentance is no longer possible. God’s hardening has the effect of imposing that sentence a little earlier than usual. (b) In all human actions, God is never completely passive: this is a theistic universe, such that “God hardens Pharaoh’s heart” and “Pharaoh hardened his own heart,” far from being disjunctive statements, are mutually complementary. (c) This is not the only passage where this sort of thing is said. See, for instance, 1 Kings 22; Ezekiel 14:9; and above all 2 Thessalonians 2:11–12: “For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.””

(Carson, D. A. (1998). For the love of God: a daily companion for discovering the riches of God’s Word. (Vol. 1, p. 78). Crossway Books.)

But there is another aspect to this, and to all the plagues that we will come across: God is showing clearly that he is the Sovereign. In ancient Egypt the heart was the essence of a person. Pharaoh was considered a god - the incarnation of Ra and Horus. And it was believed that the hearts of those two gods were sovereign over everything. Yahweh will show very clearly that they are nothing but false gods with no power to stop the Almighty.

How does this text encourage your trust in the Lord?

How does knowing that God is sovereign give you comfort?

What does this tell you about your own heart? (cf. Proverbs 4:23, 28:14)

This morning we begin Exodus. The words of 1:8 loom large: Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph (ESV). This sets the stage for the pain and heartache that the Israelites (the descendants of Jacob) will endure and experience. The oppression of God’s people is significant. From slavery and hard labor to murder of baby boys. We meet Moses, and then at the end of chapter 2 we read these words:

23 Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. 24 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act (NLT).

The people of Israel were tired. They were burdened and groaning under all their were experiencing. But these words bring a glorious ray of hope.

God remembered - this is not stating that God finally recalled what he has previously done or said, but it carries with it the idea that God will no act to fulfill his promises. If we look back at Genesis 15:13,14 we read these words: 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions (ESV). The Exodus will fulfill that promise (though there is still much to happen).

Verse 25: 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew (ESV). You notice that the NLT adds “it was time to act.” Though that is true, the word “knew” here emphasizes something very important, and that is that God is not removed, distant, or aloof from his people. He knows them. He knows the labor and hardship and pain they are enduring. He hears their groans.

This is great news for all believers. God knows you. He hears your pain and groaning. It may be long-lasting, but he is not unaware and he is certainly our refuge. We see that most clearly in our Savior, who brought us out of much more than slavery to a foreign land, but rather slavery to sin.

This song by Anne Steele, redone by Sandra McCracken and Indelible Grace, is a wonderful summary of the comfort we have for our often weary souls.

1. Dear refuge of my weary soul,
On Thee, when sorrows rise
On Thee, when waves of trouble roll,
My fainting hope relies
To Thee I tell each rising grief,
For Thou alone canst heal
Thy Word can bring a sweet relief,
For every pain I feel

2. But oh! When gloomy doubts prevail,
I fear to call Thee mine
The springs of comfort seem to fail,
And all my hopes decline
Yet gracious God, where shall I flee?
Thou art my only trust
And still my soul would cleave to Thee
Though prostrate in the dust

3. Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face,
And shall I seek in vain?
And can the ear of sovereign grace,
Be deaf when I complain?
No still the ear of sovereign grace,
Attends the mourner's prayer
Oh may I ever find access,
To breathe my sorrows there

4. Thy mercy seat is open still,
Here let my soul retreat
With humble hope attend Thy will,
And wait beneath Thy feet,
Thy mercy seat is open still,
Here let my soul retreat
With humble hope attend Thy will,
And wait beneath Thy feet

We’ve all made a month and we’ve finished our second book of the Bible today. In chapters 40-42 God speaks more and Job responds. God lays out his relationship with Behemoth and Leviathan - two massive beasts that we aren’t sure what they refer to, but it’s clear they are impressive creatures.

God has continued to assert that he is God, not Job or his friends (cf. Job 41:11). Thankfully we also know him through our acquaintance with all of Scripture as holy, just, righteous, merciful, gracious, compassionate, good, and so much more.

But we come to Job’s response in chapter 42:

Then Job answered the Lord and said::

2 “I know that you can do all things,

and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’

Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

4 ‘Hear, and I will speak;

I will question you, and you make it known to me.’

5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,

but now my eye sees you;

6 therefore I despise myself,

and repent in dust and ashes.” (ESV)

Job does not seek to justify himself - he repents. This is not a repentance that agrees with his “comforters” that he is evil, but one that repents of his guilt of demanding God provide him with everything he wanted (with an explanation of all that happened). That is God’s prerogative and Job sees that.

We must learn to see ourselves as we are - creatures. God is God and we are not. We must stop trying to run the universe and learn to rest in God’s wisdom and ways.

Today the Lord speaks. Job has been longing and pleading for a response from God and today it comes. But it doesn’t necessarily come in the manner in which Job had hoped. Job wished to question God about his own suffering and the Lord fires a barrage of rhetorical questions at Job.

Imagine being Job and these are the first words you hear:

2 Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?

3 Brace yourself like a man,

because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.

The questions that ensue ask whether Job was there at the creation or if he knew where the snow came from or where light dwells.

Then we come to chapter 40:2

2 Shall a faultfinder content with the Almighty?

He who argues with God, let him answer it. (ESV)

Carson summarizes this all well:

“It is vital for the understanding of this book that we do not misunderstand this challenge. God is not withdrawing his initial estimate of Job (1:1, 8). Even under the most horrible barrage from Satan and from the three “miserable comforters,” Job has not weakened his fundamental integrity nor lost his basic loyalty to the Almighty. He has not followed the advice of his suffering wife to curse God and die; he has not followed the advice of his friends and simply assumed he was suffering for sins hitherto unrecognized and therefore turned to repentance. But he has come within a whisker of blaming God for his sufferings; or, better put, he has certainly insisted that he wants his day in court, that he wants to justify himself to God. Implicitly, and sometimes explicitly, Job has accused God of being unjust, or of being so removed that the just and the unjust seem to face the same ends. In his better moments Job steps back from the least restrained parts of his rhetoric, but he certainly feels, to say the least, that God owes him an explanation.

But now God is saying, in effect, that the person who wants to “contend” with God—to argue out some matter—must not begin by assuming that God is wrong or by accusing the Almighty of not getting things right. That has been the thrust of the rhetorical questions (chaps. 38–39): Job has neither the knowledge nor the power to be able to stand in judgment of God.”

Carson, D. A. (1998). For the love of God: a daily companion for discovering the riches of God’s Word. (Vol. 2, p. 96). Crossway Books.

So Job answers:

4 I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers?

I will cover my mouth with my hand.

5 I have said too much already.

I have nothing more to say.

This seems like a great step for Job, but the Lord will continue tomorrow with further challenges. Sometimes it takes learning a lesson multiple times to get it into the recesses of our heart and soul.

Chapter 35 is a rebuke of Job. Elihu is not tender in this. There is little doubt that Elihu is answering Job with strength and fervor. The main question is in the first four verses - but most clear in verse 3 and it is basically this - ‘What is the point of being good? If I suffer while being righteous…what does it matter?’ Underlying this is the thinking that the Lord ought to reward righteous living. Christopher Ash wrote: “Although at the start of the book Job firmly rejected this and showed that he worships God purely and simply because he is God and is worthy of his worship, it would seem that Job has faltered in this as his sufferings have continued. This short but dense speech by Elihu carries a sharp but necessary rebuke to Job and to any of us who fall into this trap, no matter how severe the suffering that prompts it.”

Ash is helpful in this. As he addressed verses 5-8 he wrote: “Elihu is not suggesting that God does not care how Job or anyone else behaves. “After all, he is counseling Job in God’s name to cease fighting with God and to submit to him”; so he clearly thinks our actions have moral and spiritual significance. He is saying that since we cannot affect the blessedness of God by our actions, there is no way we should expect to gain any kind of leverage with him. We cannot say to God, “If I stop sinning, I expect you’ll feel happier and reward me” or “I’m sure my good behavior has made your day better, so it seems to me that you owe me one in return.” So to ask what advantage I may expect to gain from my piety is the wrong question; it is a question that reveals I have not properly taken on board the transcendence of God and therefore his impassibility and immutability.”

Ash, C. (2014). Job: The Wisdom of the Cross (R. K. Hughes, Ed.; p. 355). Crossway.

IN verses 9-16 Elihu sets up a hypothetical situationIn which the oppressed ‘cry out’ but they do so without faith. They cry out in anguish, but not really desiring the Lord. And in verses 14-16 he equates this with Job.

Here is the helpful conclusion from Ash in regard to this chapter and the point.

“So what is Elihu saying to Job? He is telling Job that as long as he keeps saying these outrageous and impious things about God, he cannot expect God to answer him. God will not answer his cries any more than he can be expected to answer the cries of other sufferers who do not cry to him from faith. In our soft and liberal cultures we find this offensive. And yet it is true. Elihu is giving Job “the wounds of a … faithful … friend” (Proverbs 27:6); he is telling Job what he needs to hear. In his rough and uncompromising way he is doing Job far more good than the soppy sympathy of one who dares compromise with the name of God. He is challenging head-on our natural and instinctive but sinful expectation that by our virtue we can put God in our debt and that in our painful cries we have a right to have God listen to us. Neither is true, for God is above and beyond us, unchangeable in his nature and consistent in his determination to listen only to the prayers of those who seek him because he is God, and not because of what they hope to gain from him.”

Ash, C. (2014). Job: The Wisdom of the Cross (R. K. Hughes, Ed.; pp. 356–357). Crossway.

Today we hear from a new voice. A younger man named Elihu finally speaks. It is likely he has been sitting there silently all along giving deference to those older than he. As D.A. Carson wrote “Elihu comes across as a rather bumptious individual who up to this point has only just barely restrained himself from speaking.” (It’s ok - I had to look up bumptious too - it means presumptuous, noisily self-assertive).

Yet, even though Elihu may come across a bit arrogant, his arguments take a different tact than those of the previous three “comforters” of Job. In chapter 33 he states that he believes Job has gone too far in insisting so fully on his own innocence that he in essence is charging God with wrong (33:8-12). He also does not believe that God is as distant as Job asserts. But instead of drawing hard and fast lines with regard to human suffering, Elihu actually leaves some mystery. And in the end, Elihu desires to see Job justified (33:32).

Then in chapter 34 you can hear his attitude a bit more. Yet, the arguments he makes, though strikingly close to those of the other men, are a bit different. And at the end of the book when God speaks, Elihu is not rebuked. The ‘comforters’ are, as is Job, but Elihu has no charge against him. His basic approach seems to be in the right, even if he is a bit less than winsome.

This was a memory verse I reviewed this morning (and reminded of as well by Carson): 29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law (Deut. 29:29).

In the last two chapters of Job’s speech in this book (he will speak again but only in response to the Lord) he further recounts his suffering. But it moves a bit beyond that broad idea to laying out how he has been mistreated and lost his standing in the community. He is now mocked by those younger than him…and who would be considered fairly worthless young men (30:1). He is taunted and he lives in terror as his honor is gone. He states that he cried out for help, but evil came instead. He is troubled and restless.

Then in chapter 31 he recounts his his life of dignity and honor. He recounts how he was considered a man who was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil (1:1). He had made a covenant not to lustfully look upon a woman (31:1). He was a man who was well known for his generosity and righteousness. There weren’t secret complaints about Job. He dealt justly and graciously with those around him, and especially those in his charge. And even though he was wealthy he never trusted in it (31:24-28). And he never laughed at misfortune that he observed in others.

Job has continued to state and maintain that he is one of integrity and he is innocent (not worthy of this suffering). But yet he has no comfort. Job’s only hope for an answer to his questions lie with one who has to this point been silent.

• What do you do when God is silent?

• What comfort do you turn to?