Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"Then the Lord said to Moses, "Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way." When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn and no one put on any ornaments. For the Lord had said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites, 'You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.' "So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb. Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the "tent of meeting." Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent." Exodus 33:1-6
At the end of Chapter 32, we saw where God’s judgment came down on the people of Israel for their sinful idol worshipping behavior. The 3,000 people who chose to not be for God were killed by the Levites. The surviving Levites were struck with a plague. Through it all, we saw once again how much God hates sin and disobedience.
Chapter 33 sees Moses and the Levites getting a fresh start as the Lord tells Moses to "Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey." All sounded good to this point. The Israelites would continue to travel toward the Promised Land and just in case anyone like the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites decided to try and get in the way of what God intended to happen, an angel would drive them out so Israel could occupy Canaan without resistance. Yes, this seemed to be OK but God wasn’t finished laying down the pretenses before Moses and the Israelites got underway.
For we read that God also told Moses, "I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way." Truly, God was still very angry with the people of Israel and their willful disobedience…so much so that He was going to withdraw Himself from the people. Why? Because they had proven themselves to be "stiff necked"…another word for being stubbornly disobedient and sinful. God would not tolerate another incident like what happened at the base of Mount Sinai. He spared Israel once at the request of Moses. It would not happen a second time and fearing it might, God decided to not be in the presence of the people.
Question: If you took an account of your life, would God see you as "stiff necked"? How would He feel about being in your presence? Could He stand to be with you?
Well, God had one more thing to add as He addressed His people. He told them to "take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you." The people of Israel, having been instruments of God’s wrath themselves, surely did not want to perish themselves so they willingly complied with God’s wishes, removing their ornaments at Mount Horeb in a sign of repentance for their sinfulness. Just as God wished for them to strip themselves of their sinful desires, so too did He want them to strip themselves of anything that might make it appear they were proud and royal. It was time for the stiff-necked Israelites to exhibit sincere, humble contrition for their actions.
Question: How do we measure up with the people of Israel? Does our sin upset God to the point of turning Him from us? How much do we see ourselves in need of sincere, humble repentance before the Father?
This Lenten season as we reflect on Jesus, His life and His love…a love that led Him to die on the cross for all of us…let us remember that it was our sins that nailed Him there. And each and every sin we commit now is just almost akin to driving the nails in again…a little farther every time. I’m reminded of a powerful song by Ray Boltz quite a few years ago now. It still resonates in my heart and soul with the following words:
Does he still feel the nails
Every time I fail
Can he hear the crowd cry "Crucify" again
Am I causing him pain
Then I know I've got to change
I just can't bear the thought of hurting him.
Friends, we must treat this matter of sin with the utmost sensitivity and make it a priority each and every moment of every day to drive it from our lives. We need to turn from our wicked ways, take off our ornaments, humble ourselves and repent. Then we need to turn to the only true source of our strength…The Father, Son and Holy Spirit…who all stand by to grant us the strength to overcome any evil Satan might bring. Through them, and only through them, will be able to have the victory every time. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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