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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
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.
Exodus 33:1-6
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
At the end of Exodus, chapter 32, we saw where God’s judgment came down on the people of Israel for their sinful idol worshipping behavior. Three thousand Israelites who chose not to be for God were killed by the Levites and those who survived were struck with a plague.
Through these harsh consequences, we were reminded just how much God hates sin and willful disobedience.
As we turn the page today to chapter 33, we find Moses, the Levites, and those who survived His judgment getting a fresh start as the Lord gives Moses the following instructions during his return visit to the top of Mount Sinai:
"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."
At this juncture, things were beginning to sound good again. Obedient to God’s direction, the Israelites would continue to travel toward the Promised Land and if any enemies like the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, or Jebusites got any big ideas like attacking God’s people, then they would be thwarted by the angel sent by the Lord to drive them out. This would allow the people of Israel to enter and occupy Canaan without resistance.
If God would have stopped here, it would have seemed okay for His people but as we see in our scripture passage, the Lord wasn’t finished laying down pretenses before Moses and the Israelites departed. For we see Him adding this:
"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 willingness to turn from Him to worship idols.
How angry?
Well, as we see in the scriptures, He tells Moses that He was withdrawing Himself from His people because they had shown themselves to be "stiff-necked", a phrase that means being stubbornly rebellious and sinful. God was making it clear through His absence that the conduct of His people was unacceptable to Him to the point of them being unworthy of His presence. And as if this wasn’t enough, He still had more to add, saying:
“...take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.”
Here, we find God telling the Israelites to strip off all their adornments, such as the earrings, necklaces, and rings they were wearing. These “ornaments” were to be left off until the Lord decided “what to do” with His people.
Well, the people of Israel had already gotten a taste of punishment born from the wrath of their God and not desiring any more, they complied with the Lord’s request, removing their jewelry “at Mount Horeb” (a name interchangeable with Mount Sinai). Just as God desired His people to strip themselves of 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.
You know, I think there have been more than a few times where the Lord has seen us as being stiff-necked. I know I have been guilty far too many times. Maybe you can relate.
So what’s the cure for this problem?
Like so many other ways that we fail spiritually, it’s the cross. For there, we see where Jesus hung and died for our sins, the perfect unblemished Lamb who was God’s one and only Son willing to give up His life so we might be able to have ours, not just in the now but for all eternity.
Indeed, it was our transgressions that nailed Jesus to the cross of crucifixion and we can’t afford to make Him feel like He did it all in vain. For if we think about it, every additional sin we commit is like driving the nails through the hands and feet of our Savior a little further. It was this exact thought that drove these words in a powerful song done by singer Ray Boltz quite a few years ago. These lyrics still resonate with me today and I pray they will with you too.
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 the matter of sin with the utmost sensitivity, making it a priority to drive it from our life, each and every moment of every day. We need to turn from our stiff-necked and wicked ways, take off our “ornaments” (pride and arrogance), and humble ourselves through repentance. Then, we need to turn to the only true source of strength, our Lord, who will grant us the power we need to overcome any enticing from the enemy. For through Him and Him alone, we will be able to gain victory over iniquity and lead a life that is pleasing in His sight.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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