Hear – Praying Pint

51.o. Wilderness – 15.u. “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.”

Deu 20:1-4  “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’

Deu 20:8  And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.’

Deuteronomy 3:22   You shall not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who fights for you.’

Genesis 26:3     Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.

Joshua 1:5     No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.

2 Chronicles 32:7-8    “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.  With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Psalms 118:6     The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

Romans 8:31    What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

1 Corinthians 15:33    Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Deuteronomy 1:28    Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”’

Israel, a small nation surrounded by great empires, was rarely in a strategically superior position. Despite the clear danger, they also had a clear command from God to not fear. Israel was commanded to not fear what any logical military man would fear: superior numbers, superior technology, and superior equipment. Yet, Israel was given a reason to not fear. God did not deny that the enemies of Israel would usually have more horses, chariots, and people than Israel. But God asked them to recognize a greater fact: That the LORD your God is with you. It was the job of the priest to encourage the soldiers to trust in God. Though the priests were not normally to go into battle. When Israel was obedient, and trusting in God, they could never lose. But when they were disobedient, or not trusting, they could never win – even if they had superior forces.

To God, the size of the army wasn’t important; the heart of the army was far more important. He didn’t want people who might be distracted from the real battle by worrying about the cares of everyday life (their home, their vineyard, their fiancée’); nor did He want people who were not really trusting Him. God could do more through a smaller army that was really committed to Him than through a bigger army that was full of compromise. (Guzik)

There is a fear that most experience – It is a “sudden fear” of when something happens. A car accident that is about to happen, waking up to smoke in your home, loud unexpected noise, or being startled by someone or something you didn’t know was there. We are just born with this. Proverbs says, do not be afraid of sudden fear. When sudden fear occurs, recognize it, and do not be afraid. You would apply brakes or swerve in an on-coming accident. You would flee a burning building. You would not try to pick up a venomous snake as it slithers by. You would be cautious, attentive, mindful, and putting things into their right place within your mind. God is there. God is sovereign. God is all-knowing. God is all-powerful. He will never leave or forsake you.

There is another type of fear that should not be in the hearts and minds of those who trust in, rely upon, and cling to Jesus Christ. It is the fear of an unknown outcome of a potential event of something in the near or distant future. How do these fears arise within us? How do they gain even a spec of space within our minds? If you spend any time reading or watching news outlets you will be told what to fear right now and what to fear in the future. They will lay out their narrative in convincing crafty words. Every news and weather outlet broadcast station is supported by income from advertising that pays certain fees depending on the number of viewers. How better to get more viewers than to incite fear? Stay tuned for more breaking news. We will keep an eye on this for you, stay tuned in. This is a developing story, stay tuned. New information has come to light, stay tuned. This could affect every single person, so stay tuned. Scientists confirm, stay tuned. Witnesses have stated, stay tuned. Researchers have just revealed, stay tuned. The more they can generate fear the masses will tune in and hopefully rely on them to make sense of the fear being generated.

In contrast, God’s Word says to “Fear Not”, “Be of this world but not partakers of it”, “Be anxious about nothing”, “Trust in the Lord your God”, “God will never leave you or forsake you”, “I am with you”, “I am your rock and refuge”, “God is all-powerful”, God is ever-present”, God is all-knowing”, “the battle is the Lords”, “nothing can separate you from the Love of God.

The biggest battle we should fear is the battle with, neglect, complacency, lukewarmness, being attracted to things of this world, lust, greed, pride, envy, jealousy, arrogance, hate, anger, self-worth, self-reliance, etc….. Paul said that by the renewing of your mind, studying yourself as a workman who doesn’t need to be afraid, be anxious about nothing, guard your heart, be strong, be steadfast in your commitment, lean not unto your own understanding, be courageous, trust in Jesus Christ, be faithful, be holy, be more than babies in the Word of God and its application in your lives, hold onto what is true, rejoice, praise, be joyful, and love, these things must come to pass but do not be afraid, etc…..

Fear has no place in the heart that trusts in God. We can place all of our concerns at His feet and fully trust in Him to be with us no matter what the concern is. He will never leave you. He is ever-present. He can do all things mighty and powerful is He.

50.k. Wilderness – 14.q. “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is”

Deu 9:1-3  “Hear, O Israel: you are to cross over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you have heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the sons of Anak?’ Know therefore today that he who goes over before you as a consuming fire is the LORD your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you. So you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as the LORD has promised you.

Nahum 1:6     Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.

Matthew 15:10   And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand:

Ephesians 5:17    Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

They had come, 38 years before this, nearly to the verge of the promised land, but were not permitted, because of their unbelief and rebellion, at that day or time, to enter; but this time they shall certainly pass over. This was spoken in the eleventh month of the fortieth year of their journeying; and it was on the first month of the following year they passed over, and during this interval Moses died.

God was leading Israel into something too big for them. It was a challenge they could only meet if they trusted in God. The cities they would battle against were mighty and the people they would battle against were great and tall. Yet God had called them to enter into this seemingly impossible battle. There was no way Israel could do this in the flesh, or on their strength. God commanded them to do something that was just beyond their ability to do in themselves. Obviously, God did not inspire Israel with a false sense of confidence or hype. He wanted them to realistically know what the battle ahead would be like. In the same way, Jesus never calls us with hype or false promises that would lead to false confidence. He plainly says, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. (Matthew 16:24) Jesus let us know right from the beginning that following Him would require giving God everything. (Guzik)

Moses represents the strength of the enemies they were now to encounter. This was to drive them to God, and engage their hope in him. He assures them of victory, by the presence of God with them. He cautions them not to have the least thought of their own righteousness, as if that procured this favour at God’s hand. In Christ we have both righteousness and strength; in Him we must glory, not in ourselves, nor in any sufficiency of our own. It is for the wickedness of these nations that God drives them out. All whom God rejects, are rejected for their own wickedness; but none whom he accepts are accepted for their own righteousness. Thus boasting is for ever done away (Henry)

In our time it is hard to imagine this taking place. And yet, it did. Great fortified cities and fierce warriors occupied the land of promise. God said He was going to be with them and that He would be their strength, power, and might. They had to work but this work was because of His sovereignty and for His purpose. How many times have we gone off and done something that was not by god’s leading, only to fail? How many times have we followed God’s leading, only to take credit for ourselves?

In modern times, Israel became a nation once again almost 2,000 years after the death of Jesus. In 1948 this amazing feat took place. They were back in the promised land. They have been attacked over and over again by those who deny it belongs to them, and yet they are established. They are established because of God’s Sovereignty, purpose, and plans. Those who do not support Israel are in a battle against God. The last battle with mankind’s attempt to do away with Israel and anything to do with God will take place in Israel. You do not have to search very hard to see all of the uprisings and protests against Israel because they defended their country against attacks to know how a great majority feel about Israel. They deny God’s plans and purpose for His chosen people. They deny God’s Word. They reject Jesus Christ. They reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All of this leads to the final days when Jesus returns to once and for all claim those that are His and destroy every last soul that denies His rightful place as King of Kings, Savior, Redeemer, Son of God.

49.z. Wilderness – 14.e. ‘The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”

Deu 6:4-5 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

The LORD our God, the LORD is one: This is the essential truth about God. He is a person and not a vague pantheistic force. Being one, He cannot be represented by contradictory images. Since the LORD our God is one, He is not Baal, or Ashtoreth – He is the LORD God, and they are not.

i. In the mind of many Jewish people, this verse alone disqualified the New Testament teaching that Jesus is God, and the New Testament teaching of the Trinity – that there is one God, existing in three Persons. At some times and places, as Jewish synagogues said the Shema together, and when the word one (echad) was said, they loudly and strongly repeated that one word for several minutes, as if it were a rebuke to Christians who believed in the Trinity.

ii. Christians must come to a renewed understanding of the unity of God. They must appreciate the fact that the LORD is one, not three, as 1 Corinthians 8:6 says: yet for us there is one God. We worship one God, existing in three persons, not three separate gods.

iii. Yet, the statement the LORD is one certainly does not contradict the truth of the Trinity. In fact, it establishes that truth. The Hebrew word for one is echad, which speaks most literally of a compound unity, instead of using the Hebrew word yacheed, which speaks of an absolute unity or singularity (Genesis 22:2 and Psalm 25:16).

iv. The very first use of echad in the Bible is in Genesis 1:5: So the evening and the morning were the first day. Even here, we see a unity (one day) with the idea of plurality (made up of evening and morning).

· Genesis 2:24 uses echad in saying the two shall become one flesh. Again, the idea of a unity (one flesh), making a plurality (the two).

· In Exodus 26:6 and 11, the fifty gold clasps are used to hold the curtains together, so the tent would be one (echad) – a unity (one) made up of a plurality (the many parts of the tabernacle).

· In Ezekiel 37:17 the LORD tells Ezekiel to join together two sticks (prophetically representing Ephraim and Judah) into one (echad), speaking again of a unity (one stick) made up of a plurality (the two sticks).

v. There is no way that echad has the exclusive idea of an absolute singularity; the idea of One God in Three Persons fits just fine with the term echad. (Guzik)

49.y. Wilderness – 14.d. “Fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.”

Deu 6:1-3  “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

Exodus 20:20     Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”

Job 28:28    And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Psalms 111:10   The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

Psalms 128:1   Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!

Proverbs 16:6    By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:13   The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

Luke 12:5   But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

1 Peter 1:17   And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,

The “fear” that brings God pleasure is not our being afraid of him, but our having a high and exalted, reverential view of him. To fear the Lord is to stand in awe of his majesty, power, wisdom, justice and mercy, especially in Christ – in his life, death and resurrection – that is, to have an exalted view of God. To see God in all his glory and then respond to him appropriately. To humble ourselves before him. To adore him. We tend to be in awe of worldly power, talent, intelligence, and beauty. But these things don’t impress God because “His delight is not in the strength of the horse (mighty armies, worldly power) nor his pleasure in the legs of a man (human strength).” But God delights in those who fear him – those who stand in awe of him – and instead of trusting in their own human abilities or resources, “hope in his steadfast love.”

By way of contrast, the wicked person doesn’t fear God – he doesn’t stand in awe of God. The wicked has a low view of God:

Psalms 36:1-4. Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil.”

The wicked person has such a low view of God and such a lack of awe for God that he doesn’t think God can find out his sin or hate it. He doesn’t act wisely or do good because he doesn’t view God as holy and just and serious about punishing sin. He trusts in his own wits and strength. Obviously, the Lord doesn’t find any pleasure in the wicked. The wicked refuses to fear God. (Altrogge)

For the unbeliever, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God. For the believer, the fear of God is something much different. The believer’s fear is reverence of God. Fearing God means having a reverence for Him that greatly impacts the way we live. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshiping Him in awe. Fearing God is good because it saves us from caving into our own sinful nature.

As I walk with the Lord, I discover that God poses an ominous threat to my ego, but not to me. He rescues me from my delusions, so he may reveal the truth that sets me free. He casts me down, only to lift me up again. He sits in judgment of my sin, but forgives me nevertheless. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but love from the Lord is its completion. (Eisenhower)

For the unrepentant, God-denying, and God-rejecting, fear should be like that of standing before an all-powerful tormentor and executioner who has complete authority and power to execute judgment upon you.

For the believer who trusts, believes, follows, obeys, and relies upon and in God, fear takes on a different form where there is such love, respect, and awe of God that displeasing Him deeply hurts them and they intentionally and purposefully choose to live in such a way that reflects this love, respect, and awe – and in doing so this desire permeates their life so that in all they think, say, and do it is purposefully set on honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ.

49.t. Wilderness – 13.z. “I speak in your hearing today”

Deu 5:1-5 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the LORD make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. The LORD spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, while I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain.

Psalms 106:23 Therefore he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

Moses demands attention. When we hear the word of God we must learn it; and what we have learned we must put in practice, for that is the end of hearing and learning; not to fill our heads with notions, or our mouths with talk, but to direct our affections and conduct. (Henry)

Israel was bound to the covenant they agreed to in Exodus 24:1-8, yet the covenant was made with the previous generation which perished in the wilderness. The present generation had to understand and embrace the covenant if they were to enjoy the blessings of the covenant. In fact, the covenant was originally made with the previous generation, and Moses did not deny this. But he drove the point home: This was their covenant; it is a covenant of the living, not of the dead. (Guzik)

“Hear, learn, and do them”. How many hear but never learn? How many learn but do not apply? The Bible is full of examples of those that did not and of those that did. Those who did not listen and learn were rejected and punished by God. God blessed those that did. These examples were given so that by them we would intentionally choose to believe, trust, follow, obey, and be reliant upon God. When it comes to learning there must be a desire or experience that roots this information in our minds. Without a desire to learn and grow in knowledge and understanding of the Word of God and the Things of God, there will be no learning or application in our lives. How often are we given the example of “Their hearts were like stone and their ears were deaf and there was no love for God or obedience to His Word? He sent angels, prophets, and finally His Son, and yet people still reject, deny, and turn away from God and the Things of God.

Unless there is a desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions, our hearing will dull to the Word of God. The application will be nothing more than doing what is right in our own eyes. We are often looking for and expecting God’s blessings, but give no thought to obedience because we lack a foundational desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. David’s desire should inspire us to be like-minded; Search me and know me, see if there is anything within my heart and mind that is offensive to You, and lead me on paths that honor and glorify You.

48.t. Wilderness – 12.z. “Sin is crouching at the door

Num 32:23  But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.

Genesis 4:7   If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Genesis 44:16   And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.”

Psalms 90:8    You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

Psalms 139:11   If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,”

Proverbs 13:21    Disaster pursues sinners, but the righteous are rewarded with good.

Isaiah 3:11    Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.

Isaiah 59:1-2    Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;  but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

Romans 2:9    There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek

1 Corinthians 4:5    Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

But if ye will not do so,…. As they promised they would, and Moses insisted on it that they should: behold, ye have sinned against the Lord making such a request, and not fulfilling the conditions on which it was granted: and be sure your sin will find you out; fly in their faces, accuse them in their consciences, charge and load them with guilt, and bring deserved punishment upon them: sin may be put, as it often is, for the punishment of sin, which sooner or later will find out and come upon the impenitent and unpardoned sinner. (Gill)

“The language is striking: it is not just that their sin will be discovered but that their sin will be an active agent in discovering them.” (Allen)

“Sin is like the boomerang…it comes back on the hand that has launched it forth. The brethren accused Joseph of being a spy, and cast him into the pit; and on the same charge they were cast into prison. King David committed adultery and murder; so Absalom requited him.” (Meyer)

“The guilt will haunt you at heels, as a bloodhound, and the punishment will overtake you” (Trapp)

Spurgeon suggested several ways in which our sin might find us out:

· We become ill at ease.

· We feel ourselves to be low and despicable.

· We become weakened by our own inaction.

· We have little joy in the progress and prosperity of the church.

· We lose our appetite for the gatherings of God’s people. (Spurgeon)

How much hidden sin do we entertain in our hearts and minds? Lust, greed, pride, grumbling, anger, fear, and complacency, to mention a few of those hidden sins that have the opportunity to ensnare us. They are ever present in our sinful nature and can be stumbling blocks in our witness and testimony of Jesus Christ. What or how is it that there are hidden sins of the heart and mind that seem to allow us to have a heart and mind void of knowing that we are harboring these sins? Knowing the answer does not take much reading or understanding of Scripture. Peter said it like this: 1 Peter 1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But whoever lacks these traits is nearsighted to the point of blindness, having forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Growth – There is no growth when there is no nourishment. Do you hunger for God’s Word or do you just snack at it?

Work – God’s Word is to be put into practice in our thoughts, words, and actions. How can it be put into practice when it is neglected?

Purpose – Our purpose on this side of eternity is to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions. How can this purpose be fulfilled if His Word is neglected and our ability to do it is blind and deaf to it?

Obedience – How are we to know and obey the things of God when His Word is not hungered and thirsted for?

Reliance – How are we to rely on God when there is no communion with Him, or there is no heart-deep desire to honor and glorify Jesus

Oh that we were made aware of the sinfulness of our Sin in the light of the Holiness of God!

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

46.e. “Wilderness” – 10.k. “So shall they put my name upon the people”

Num 6:27  “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

2 Chronicles 7:14   if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Isaiah 43:7    everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

Jeremiah 14:9    Why should you be like a man confused, like a mighty warrior who cannot save? Yet you, O LORD, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not leave us.”

Daniel 9:18-19    O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.  O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

Numbers 23:20    Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.

Psalms 5:12   For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield.

Psalms 115:13    he will bless those who fear the LORD, both the small and the great.

Ephesians 1:3   Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

Aaron was commanded to pronounce this blessing over the people of Israel – not over the other nations. Though God blesses all mankind, there is a definite and strong sense in which He has blessing only for His people. We have to join ourselves to Him to gain that blessing. To be blessed by God is to have His name on you – to be identified with who He is and all His nature. This was a great gift, to have God’s name upon us. (Guzik)

“When God saith, ‘I will,’ all the devils in hell cannot turn aside the blessing, and all the ages of eternity cannot change the King’s word. The Lord has blessed his people, and he would have them know it. He has blessed them with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, and it is his wish that they should experience the fullness of this blessedness. Are any of the Lord’s people without a sense of this blessing? It is not the will of God that you should continue in this low condition.” (Spurgeon)

I will bless them; really and truly bless them bless them with blessings indeed; with all sorts of blessings temporal and spiritual; with solid and substantial ones; and such are blessed, and will remain so, these blessings are irrevocable and irreversible. Unless the Lord blesses, the blessings are in vain. (Gill)

How is a person to receive blessings from the Lord when their heart and mind are fixed on things of this world? Doesn’t God’s Word say that He will turn His face from those who harden their hearts and minds? How many seek the blessing from God but are only giving Him lip service and their hearts and minds are far from desiring to honor and glorify Jesus Christ?

Sometimes God’s blessings are tangible; jobs, financial, relational, and material, but I can think of no greater blessing God can give to man than wisdom and understanding of who He is and His holiness, grace, and mercy in the light of our sin and sinfulness.

44.r. “Wilderness” – 8.x. “It is not the sound of shouting for victory or cry of defeat”

Exodus 32:17-18 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.”

Joshua went with him, and tarried in a lower part of the mount all the forty days until he returned, though not so low as the bottom of the mount where the people were, nor so near it as to know what they did there, for of their affairs he seems to be entirely ignorant; nor so high as where Moses was, or, however, not in the cloud where he conversed with God, for of what passed between them he had no knowledge, until declared by Moses: he said unto Moses, there is a noise of war in the camp; such a noise as soldiers make in an onset for battle; he supposed that some enemy was come upon and had attacked the people, and that this noise was the noise of the enemy, or of the Israelites, or both, just beginning the battle; or on the finishing of it on the account of victory on one side or the other; and as he was the general of the army, it must give him a concern that he should be absent at such a time.

It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery; that have got the better of it, and have obtained the victory, and shout on that account; or, “not the voice of a cry of strength”, or “of a strong cry”; that is, of men who have got the victory, and are in high spirits, and shout with a strong voice; and “not the voice of strong men that overcome in battle:” neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome; which is not a voice of shouting, but of howling; or, “not the voice of the cry of weakness”, or “of a weak cry”; who being unable to stand their ground are conquered, and make a bitter outcry on falling into the enemy’s hands, or being wounded shriek terribly, and “not the voice of the weak who are overcome by the enemy in battle,” but the noise of them that sing do I hear; as at a merry entertainment, either on a civil or religious account: Moses, who knew what the children of Israel had done, and what they were about, could better judge of the nature of the sound he heard than Joshua could, who knew nothing of what was transacting. (Gill)

What a change it is, to come down from the mount of communion with God, to converse with a wicked world. In God we see nothing but what is pure and pleasing; in the world nothing but what is sinful and provoking. (Henry)

While Moses was gone there was the first person by whom the thought was communicated; “Moses is more than likely gone and or dead. We will no longer have God leading us or before us. We should make us gods to go before us.” Soon as this was spoken for the first time others jumped on the idea as if the 10 commandments and the commitment to God which had just happened less than two months prior was no longer a part of their memory. This first person who communicated the thought of idol worship easily led others to the same thought.

We need to be mindful of sin in our thought life as well as sin in what we speak. We may not think of ourselves as a leader of others, but surely others are watching and we do not know how easily our spoken word or actions might lead them away from God. Communicate your doubts, fears, anxiety, and worries to God, acknowledge them, confess them, and ask God to forgive them and fill you with more understanding and wisdom of His great power and might, so that you can rest assured on Him alone and not the circumstance(s) that give you reason to doubt.

44.o. “Wilderness” – 8.u. “Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts.”

Exodus 32:8-10  They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”

Exodus 20:23    You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.

Deuteronomy 9:16  And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the LORD your God. You had made yourselves a golden calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you.

Judges 2:17   Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so.

Proverbs 29:1    He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.

Zechariah 7:11-12     But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.  They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts.

Psalms 78:8    and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

Quickly after the law was given to them, and they had promised to obey it; quickly after God had done such great things for them, and declared his kind intentions to do greater. Untractable, willful, and stubborn; unapt to come under the yoke of the divine law, averse from all good, prone to all evil, incorrigible by judgments, and obstinate to all the methods of cure. (Benson)

How easy is it to fall away from intentional obedience to God and things of God? How easy is it to keep that unholy thought just a few more seconds in your mind? How easy is it to be tempted by things and thoughts of this world and what it establishes as important? How easy is it to not eat or drink from His Word? How easy is it to be influenced by things in this world?

Take time and think about your past week and how much time was spent between worldly and Godly pursuits. There is no time like right now to affirm a new intentional choice to spend more time studying and meditating (thinking) about things of God, holiness, and the sinfulness of sin.

43.f. “Wilderness” – 7.m. Sinai – “You shall not covet”

Exodus 20:17  “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

1 Samuel 15:19    Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD?

Ecclesiastes 5:10-11   He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.

Isaiah 57:17   Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.

Ezekiel 33:31    And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.

Micah 2:2   They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.

Habakkuk 2:9   “Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm!

1 Corinthians 6:10     nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Philippians 3:19  Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

Colossians 3:5   Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

1 Timothy 6:6-10    But godliness with contentment is great gain,  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Hebrews 13:5    Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Covetousness works like this: the eyes look upon an object, the mind admires it, the will goes over to it, and the body moves in to possess it. Just because you have not taken the final step does not mean you are not in the process of coveting right now. Covetousness can be expressed towards all sorts of things; it is the itch to have and to possess what someone else has. It speaks of a dissatisfaction with what we have, and a jealously towards those who have something better. Jesus gave a special warning about covetousness, which explained the core philosophy of the covetous heart: And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” (Guzik)

This command seems to have been added in order to teach the general principle that the Law of God is concerned, not with acts and words only, but with the thoughts of the heart. True godliness consists in bringing “every thought into captivity to Christ. (Ellicott)

God give us all to see our face in the glass of this law, and to lay our hearts under the government of it. (Benson)

The others forbid all desire of doing what will be an injury to our neighbour; this forbids all wrong desire of having what will gratify ourselves. (Henry)

No human eye can see the coveting heart; it is witnessed only by him who possesses it and by Him to whom all things are naked and open Luke 12:15-21. But it is the root of all sins of word or deed. (Brown)

Those inward motions of the heart, which from the fountain of original corruption do spring up in the heart, and tickle it with some secret delight, though they do not obtain tie deliberate consent of the will. For seeing this law of God is spiritual and holy, Romans 7:12,14, and reacheth the thoughts, intents, and all the actual motions of the heart. (Poole)

This is the tenth and last commandment, and is an explanation of several of the past; showing that the law of God not only forbids external acts of sin, but the inward and first motions of the mind to it, which are not known, and would not be thought to be sinful, were it not for this law; nor are they known by this law until the Spirit of God by it convinces men of them, in whose light they see them to be sinful; even not only the schemes and contrivances of sin in the mind, the imaginations of it, thoughts dwelling upon it with pleasure, but even the first risings of sin in the heart; and such motions of it which are not assented unto, and unawares spring up from the corruption of nature, and are sudden craving desires after unlawful things, even these are forbidden by this law. (Gill)

“Thou shalt not covet: lays it down again that we are not mere slaves of our natural desires and passions, but have a controlling power implanted within us, by means of which we can keep down passion, check desire, resist the impulse. Man is lord of himself, capable, by the exercise of his free will, of molding his feelings, weakening or intensifying his passions, and shaping his character. God, who “requires truth in the inward parts,” looks that we should in all cases go to the root of the matter, and not be content with restraining ourselves from evil acts and evil words, but eradicate the evil feeling from which the acts and words proceed. (Unknown)

Temptations to covet are around us all the time. We are constantly reminded and told through advertisements what we need, what we want, and what we should have. It takes careful discernment to understand the heart and mind. This comes through the indwelling Holy Spirit and God’s Word penetrating and being active in our hearts and minds. Oh that our prayers would be in line with; God show me my heart, allow me to see what I covet wrongly, and lead me in my thoughts and actions that honor and glorify Jesus Christ.