Tag: Steadfast Love

50.s. Wilderness – 14.y. ““Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings”

 

Deu 10:17-22  For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.

 Joshua 22:22     “The Mighty One, God, the LORD! The Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows;

 1 Chronicles 16:25-26    For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be feared above all gods.  For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

 Psalms 136:2   Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.

 Daniel 2:47     The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries

 Revelation 17:14    They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

 Revelation 19:16     On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

 Nehemiah 1:5    And I said, “O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,

 Psalms 99:3    Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he!

 2 Chronicles 19:7    Now then, let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the LORD our God, or partiality or taking bribes.”

When God requires us to show justice, compassion, and reverence, it is because these virtues answer to aspects in God’s own character. The obedience God calls us to is always set in the context of what He did for us. Our service and obedience unto the LORD is based on what He has done for us and is to be the grateful response to His goodness. If there is a lack in obedience and reverence, there is almost always a lack of appreciation for what the LORD has done. Any wisdom, beauty, or skill we show is not to our praise. (Guzik)

We are here taught our duty to God in our principles and our practices. We must fear the Lord our God. We must love him, and delight in communion with him. We must walk in the ways in which he has appointed us to walk. We must serve him with all our heart and soul. What we do in his service we must do cheerfully, and with good will. We must keep his commandments. There is true honour and pleasure in obedience. We must give honour to God; and to him we must cleave, as one we love and delight in, trust in, and from whom we have great expectations. We are here taught our duty to our neighbour. God’s common gifts to mankind oblige us to honour all men. And those who have themselves been in distress, and have found mercy with God, should be ready to show kindness to those who are in the like distress. We are here taught our duty to ourselves. Circumcise your hearts. Cast away all corrupt affections and inclinations, which hinder you from fearing and loving God. (Henry)

50.d. Wilderness – 14.j. “You shall therefore be careful to do”

 

Deu 7:11-15  You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today. “And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. You shall be blessed above all peoples. There shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock. And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you.

 Deuteronomy 4:1    “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.

 Deuteronomy 5:32    You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

 John 14:15    “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments,…. The laws, moral, ceremonial, and judicial, urged thereunto both by promises and threatenings, in hopes of reward, and through fear of punishment: which I command thee this day, to do them; in the name of the Lord, and by his authority; by virtue of which he made a new declaration of them to put them in mind of them in order to observe them. (Gill)

 We are in danger of having fellowship with the works of darkness if we take pleasure in fellowship with those who do such works. Whatever brings us into a snare, brings us under a curse. Let us be constant to our duty, and we cannot question the constancy of God’s mercy. Diseases are God’s servants; they go where he sends them, and do what he bids them. It is therefore good for the health of our bodies, thoroughly to mortify the sin of our souls; which is our rule of duty. Yet sin is never totally destroyed in this world; and it actually prevails in us much more than it would do, if we were watchful and diligent. In all this the Lord acts according to the counsel of his own will; but that counsel being hid from us, forms no excuse for our sloth and negligence, of which it is in no degree the cause. We must not think, that because the deliverance of the church, and the destruction of the enemies of the soul, are not done immediately, therefore they will never be done. God will do his own work in his own method and time; and we may be sure that they are always the best. Thus corruption is driven out of the hearts of believers by little and little. The work of sanctification is carried on gradually; but at length there will be a complete victory. Pride, security, and other sins that are common effects of prosperity, are enemies more dangerous than beasts of the field, and more apt to increase upon us. (Henry)

What does it mean to be careful to do the commandments, rules, and statutes? How is this manifested in the life of a believer? What would you expect to see in their lives, or for that matter, your personal life? 

We seem to look more outward than inward. We can apply what it looks like to another person but for ourselves, we seem to be, if not clueless, less critical. Why is this? I think the root of our indifference stems from a lack of commitment, purpose, and the desire to wholly serve, honor, obey, trust, and rely in and on God. Our desire to have our sin made known to us so that we might grow and mature in our honor and glory of Jesus Christ, seems to be lukewarm at best. 

Do we wake each day with the first thought of thanksgiving and how we might better honor and glorify Jesus Christ in our thoughts, words, and actions? Do we ask God to show us our hearts? Do we really want to know our hidden sins? Do we want to grow in our understanding of God’s grace, mercy, and love? Do we seek to understand His holiness and our sinfulness? Do we spend time in His Word? Do we spend time praying? Do we truly love others? Do we seek to encourage? Do we find fault with other’s actions all the time? Do we criticize others frequently about what they said or didn’t say, or did and didn’t do? Neglect and complacency are the effects of a lukewarm heart, mind, and soul toward service to God.

50.c. Wilderness – 14.i. ” Know therefore that the LORD your God is God”

 

Deu 7:6-10  “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.

 Titus 2:14    who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

 1 Peter 2:9    But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

 Malachi 3:17    “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Israel was holy in their standing before God before they were holy in their conduct. They were set apart unto God by His choosing (God has chosen you to be a people for Himself) and were then called to live as chosen people. As much as anything, their election meant the LORD set His love on them. Their motivation for such a total obedience was to be that they knew God loved them. (Guzik)

A proper understanding of the evil of sin, and of the mystery of a crucified Saviour, will enable us to perceive the justice of God in all his punishments, temporal and eternal. We must deal decidedly with our lusts that war against our souls; let us not show them any mercy, but mortify, and crucify, and utterly destroy them. Thousands in the world that now is, have been undone by ungodly marriages; for there is more likelihood that the good will be perverted, than that the bad will be converted. Those who, in choosing yoke-fellows, keep not within the bounds of a profession of religion, cannot promise themselves helps meet for them. (Henry)

For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God—that is, set apart to the service of God, or chosen to execute the important purposes of His providence. Their selection to this high destiny was neither on account of their numerical amount (for, till after the death of Joseph, they were but a handful of people); nor because of their extraordinary merits (for they had often pursued a most perverse and unworthy conduct); but it was in consequence of the covenant or promise made with their pious forefathers; and the motives that led to that special act were such as tended not only to vindicate God’s wisdom, but to illustrate His glory in diffusing the best and most precious blessings to all mankind. (Brown)

For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God,…. Not sanctified in a spiritual sense, or having principles of grace and holiness in them, from whence holy actions sprang, at least not all of them; but they were separated from all other people in the world to the pure worship and service of God in an external manner, and therefore were to avoid all idolatry, and every appearance of it: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself above all people that are upon the face of the earth; for special service and worship, and to enjoy special privileges and benefits, civil and religious; though they were not chosen to special grace here, and eternal glory hereafter; at least not all of them, only a remnant, according to the election of grace; yet they were typical of the chosen people of God in a special sense; who are chosen out of the world to be a peculiar people, to be holy here and happy hereafter; to enjoy communion with God in this life and that to come, as well as to serve and glorify him now and for evermore. (Gill)

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.o. Wilderness – 13.u. “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things”

 

Deu 4:9  “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children— how on the day that you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. Then the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land that you are going over to possess.

 Proverbs 3:1    My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,

 Proverbs 3:3   Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.

 Proverbs 7:1   My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you;

 Proverbs 4:20-23  My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.  Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.  For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.  Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

 Hebrews 2:3    how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,

 Psalms 119:11    I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Their only danger was, lest they should grow careless and unmindful of all the wonderful things that God had done for them and thereby not teach them to their children.  The possession of the oracles of God by Israel was a benefit to them only as these were kept in mind and reverently obeyed. Therefore they were to take heed and diligently beware of forgetting the circumstances under which the Law had been received at Horeb. God had then commanded the people to be gathered together, so that they stood before the Lord, were in his manifested presence, and were made to hear his voice speaking to them from amidst the fire and the clouds that covered the mount. They had thus actual evidence and guarantee that the Law they had received was Divine; and this they were to keep in mind as long as they lived, and to communicate to their children in all coming time, that so they might fear the Lord; for on this rested that covenant which God had made with Israel, and which they were to keep as the condition of their continuing to enjoy privilege and life. (Unkown)

When we are passive towards God’s Word and the things of God we will become complacent and neglectful. The quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit’s leading will be drowned out by the busyness of whatever we have turned to or allowed to consume our desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. The Bible was inspired and authored by and through the Holy Spirit. His Word was given to us so that we might know God and His plans, purposes, and promises. How many days go by when we are just going through the motions of being a faithful servant? How many times do we leave our house and give no thought to how we might continually honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions? How many trials and problems do we seek to rely on self-reliance rather than reliance on God our heavenly Father? 

God is ever-present and worthy of all praise, honor, glory, and worship. Becoming careless and unmindful of God’s purpose for each of us is to believe, trust, follow, obey, and rely upon Him, and grow in our understanding of His great power, might, grace, mercy, and love, and be in a continual desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions, we drift away, think unholy things, speak worldly thoughts, and seek the pleasure of fleshly and worldly desires. 

How is it possible to know what honors and glorifies Jesus Christ if the Word of God is neglected?

How is it possible to grow in our understanding of God’s grace, mercy, and love if there is no desire to do so?

How is it possible to determine what is holy and what is worldly when all that fills your mind is what comes from that which is worldly?

How is it possible to be a light shining in the darkness when the light of God’s Word is dim in your life?

How is it possible to know God’s will when there is no desire to know it?

How many years have we been walking in the wilderness because we allow worldly values and culture to consume us and we walk on paths away from God?

When there is no heart, mind, and soul desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions – all of the time – then there will be no fueled desire to read His Word and know God.

See what David said; 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 

47.c. “Wilderness” – 11.i. “He will by no means clear the guilty”

 

Num 14:13-19  But Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O LORD, are in the midst of this people. For you, O LORD, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, ‘It is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

 Micah 7:18    Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love

 Nahum 1:2-3   The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.  The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

 Exodus 20:5    You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

The Israelites for the last 2 years have seen the 10 plagues against Egypt that set them free, the parting of the Red Sea, the death of the Egyptian army, water from a rock, manna each morning, the leading of God by a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, the 10 commandments given, directions for building the tabernacle, and the establishment of the priestly order of worship. 

Now they are to head into the promised land at God’s direction, but what do they do? They think it best to send in spies and scope out this promised land to determine the fruit of it and the strength of the people living there. At the conclusion of this “spying out of the land”, 10 of the spies gave a favorable report of the fruit of the land but a fearful report of the people and their strength. Only two gave favorable reports and trust in God, Caleb, and Joshua. 

In two years they have witnessed a special calling of God and a powerful display of His strength and love. And yet, they feared what God has promised them in this new land. Their fear is well-placed if they look at it from a human perspective. They did not have their own means, power, or strength to win battles over the people in the promised land. They had never battled. What were they to use for weapons? What plans could they come up with to defeat these people? As they looked at this from all sides with a human perspective it was obvious they could not venture into the land. In fact, they deemed it better to go back to Egypt and become slaves. Let’s choose another leader amongst ourselves and head back. We will not trust God or Moses, His chosen leader. 

Now Moses intercedes for the people whom God could easily destroy. It is in this intercession that the people are redeemed from certain death and we will next read of God’s judgment for this fear, rejection, and rebellion.

God is able to do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine. He is limitless in wisdom, power, and might. He can do all things. What is there that He has not created? What is there that He can not do? Why do we wallow in fear and anger at situations that God can easily overcome? Trust and rely on Him and all things are possible.

46.c. “Wilderness” – 10.i. “The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you”

Num 6:25  the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

 Psalms 21:6   For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.

 Psalms 31:16    Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love!

 Psalms 67:1    May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us

 Psalms 80:3   Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

 Psalms 119:135    Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes.

 Daniel 9:17    Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate.

 Malachi 1:9    And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. 

 Exodus 33:19    And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

 John 1:17    For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Happy the people whose king makes God’s strength his confidence, and God’s salvation his joy; who is pleased with all the advancements of God kingdom, and trusts God to support him in all he does for the service of it. All our blessings are blessings of goodness, and are owing, not to any merit of ours, but only to God’s goodness. But when God’s blessings come sooner, and prove richer than we imagine; when they are given before we prayed for them, before we were ready for them, nay, when we feared the contrary; then it may be truly said that he prevented, or went before us. (Henry)

the blessings which are laid up in Christ for his people, and which he imparts unto, them, and they are blessed with in him; so that he is made a blessing, or rather blessings to them; such as redemption to free them from, bondage, righteousness to justify them, sanctification to make them holy, wisdom to direct and guide them, and strength to assist and support them; through whom they have the forgiveness of sins, by whom they have peace with God, and from whom they receive all their joy and comfort, and at last eternal life and happiness; and all these are for ever, they are irreversible blessings, are never repented of, nor taken away. (Gill)

The “face” of God is his personality as turned towards man, or else turned away from him. His face hidden or turned away is despair and death (Deuteronomy 31:17, 18; Job 13:24); his face turned against man is destruction and death (Leviticus 17:10; Psalm 34:16); his face turned upon man in love and mercy is life and salvation. (Unknown)

There are uncomfortable situations and heart-hurting things that we experience. Some are of our own accord and others are at the hands of others. We don’t know why sometimes we are protected from them and other times we must walk through them. God knows. He will lead us and guide us and give us strength to rest in Him for resolution.

45.d. “Wilderness” – 9.j. “For it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin”

 

Exodus 34:9  And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

 Exodus 33:13   Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.”

 Exodus 33:17    And the LORD said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”

 Isaiah 48:4   Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass,

 Exodus 32:9    And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.

 Exodus 33:5     For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.’”

 Numbers 14:19     Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

 Psalms 25:11    For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great.

 Psalms 28:9    Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

 Psalms 33:12   Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

 Psalms 78:62    He gave his people over to the sword and vented his wrath on his heritage.

Moses asked for the goodness, grace, and mercy of God be extended to himself and the nation. Moses knew they did not deserve it (we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin), but he asked for God’s grace and not His justice. (Guzik)

Yea, saith Moses, the rather go along with us; for the worse they are, the more need they have of thy presence. Moses sees them so stiff-necked, that he has neither patience nor power enough to deal with them; therefore, Lord, do thou go among us; else they will never be kept in awe; thou wilt spare, and bear with them, for thou art God and not man. (Benson)

It is a stiff-necked people, and therefore need thy glorious and powerful presence to rule them. Or rather, though it be a stiff-necked people, deal with us as men do with their inheritances, dwell among us, protect us, improve us. (Poole)

For it is a stiffnecked people; and therefore have need of such an one to be with them, to rule and govern them, to restrain and keep them within due bounds; or though it is a stiffnecked people”; for this is the reason given by the Lord why he would not go among them, wherefore Moses prays that he would go, notwithstanding this; he owns the character of them was just, yet humbly prays that God would nevertheless grant, impart, reveal, make known, confer, his presence and pardon our iniquity, and our sin; which he had the greater reason to hope he would, since he had just proclaimed his name, a God pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin; and, the more to gain his suit, makes himself a party concerned, calling the sin committed, “our iniquity, and our sin”; even his among the rest, who had found grace in the sight of God, and therefore entreats others might also, since they were all sinners, and there was forgiveness with him and take us for thine inheritance; to possess and enjoy, protect and defend, cultivate and improve, keep and preserve for ever. (Gill)

On this manifestation of mercy, Moses repeated the prayer that Jehovah would go in the midst of Israel. It is true the Lord had already promised that His face should go with them (Exodus 33:14); but as Moses had asked for a sign of the glory of the Lord as a seal to the promise, it was perfectly natural that, when this petition was granted, he should lay hold of the grace that had been revealed to him as it never had been before, and endeavour to give even greater stability to the covenant. To this end he repeated his former intercession on behalf of the nation, at the same time making this confession, “For it is a stiff-necked people; therefore forgive our iniquity and our sin, and make us the inheritance.” Moses spoke collectively, including himself in the nation in the presence of God. The reason which he assigned pointed to the deep root of corruption that had broken out in the worship of the golden calf, and was appropriately pleaded as a motive for asking forgiveness. (Keil)

When I look at the way of our country and the number of people who deny and reject God and things of God, I do fear God’s Holy judgment. However, when I look at those who are “called” by His name and their trust, reliance, and obedience I am encouraged and hopeful. 

Surely Satan has a grip on many in our nation, states, cities, and neighborhoods, but God and the Word of God are more powerful. He is able to pierce the hearts and minds of lost souls, heal a nation, state, city, and neighborhood, and bring about a manifestation of holiness, servitude, reverence, and reliance in people who are now lost and in darkness. 

Let our prayers be continuous for the power of God to bring a bright overwhelming light to the sinfulness of sin and lead and direct the course of our nation, states, cities, and neighborhoods into reverence and worship of Him.

43.v. “Wilderness” – 8.b. “Abstain from every form of evil”

 

Exodus 23:4  “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him.  If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him. “You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit.  Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked.

 Proverbs 4:14-15   Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil.  Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.

 Isaiah 33:15    He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil

 1 Thessalonians 5:22   Abstain from every form of evil.

 Proverbs 17:15   He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

 Romans 1:18   For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

 Romans 2:5-6   But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.  He will render to each one according to his works:

 Exodus 34:6  The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

How you feel about someone does not determine right and wrong behavior towards them. There are principles of justice that must be observed above our feelings. This command to do good for your enemy was important. It showed that goodness and kindness in Israel was not only required for those one liked and loved, but to all. One might not need a command to do this for a friend, but it was necessary for the enemy and one who hates you. God knew that it was always easy for the poor to be neglected in the administration of justice. Being poor did not make one right in a legal dispute, but it should never keep them from getting a fair hearing and justice. God knew how much evil and injustice is justified among men by lies, so He emphasized truth telling in Israel’s daily life and legal practices.  In the promotion of justice, God also commanded against bribery. Specifically, He commanded against the taking of a bribe; bribe makers can’t exist without bribe takers. (Guzik)

Here we have a sort of anticipation of Christianity—active kindness to an enemy being required, even when it costs us some trouble. The principle of friendliness is involved—the germ which in Christianity blossoms out into the precept, “Love your enemies.” (Ellicott)

 Every thing in it is suited to the desired and avowed object, the worship of one only God, and the separation of Israel from the pagan world. Neither parties, friends, witnesses, nor common opinions, must move us to lessen great faults, to aggravate small ones, excuse offenders, accuse the innocent, or misrepresent any thing. (Henry)

Keep thee far from a false matter, from receiving a false testimony, or taking the false or wrong side of a cause, or engaging in a bad one; keep aloof off from it, as much at a distance from it as possible. God will not justify those wicked men cleared by them, but will, in his own time and way, sooner or later, inflict the deserved punishment on them. (Gill)

To be bribed by gifts, because “the gift makes seeing men blind, and perverts the causes of the just.” (Kiel)

It is very easy to be swayed by what we hear and what we read, but how are we to know the truth from lies, good from bad, and right from wrong? Someone with clear intent on causing harmful reactions in their hearers or readers can speak convincingly and so craftily that a person is moved to think badly or even take some sort of shameless action. Wisdom has two faces. Wisdom from and of the world will confuse, make anxious, cause fear and hate, division without remedy, needless pain, suffering, and death, and guide the weak and blind down paths that neither honor nor glorify God. The other face of wisdom is of God. It comes to us in and through the presence of the Holy Spirit and manifests itself by peace, truth, faith, hope, without fear, unity, grace, gentleness, kindness, patience, and generosity, all of which honor and glorifies Jesus Christ. It is sad that in many, more time is spent with worldly wisdom than seeking and desiring Godly wisdom. No one is immune to the temptations and offers of worldly wisdom. We are bombarded with it constantly. If time in God’s Word is second in our lives to what the world is spewing out that person is in trouble of being dragged away into unholy thoughts and actions. Be cautious about your time, what you take interest in hearing and reading, and what you allow to influence your thoughts and actions. Seek and desire the Holy Spirit to guide you and allow you to recognize the worldly from the Godly in what you hear and read.  Allow the filter to your heart, mind, and soul to be the Word of God and the Holy Spirit indwelling there. 

42.w. “Wilderness” – 7.e. Sinai – You Shall not bow down

 

Exodus 20:5  You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Joshua 23:7   that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them

 Joshua 23:16    if you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”

 Judges 2:19   But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.

 2 Kings 17:35    The LORD made a covenant with them and commanded them, “You shall not fear other gods or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them,

 Numbers 14:18    ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’

 Job 21:19    You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’ Let him pay it out to them, that they may know it.

 Isaiah 65:6-7    Behold, it is written before me: “I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their lap  both your iniquities and your fathers’ iniquities together, says the LORD; because they made offerings on the mountains and insulted me on the hills, I will measure into their lap payment for their former deeds.”

 Jeremiah 2:9   “Therefore I still contend with you, declares the LORD, and with your children’s children I will contend.

 Jeremiah 32:18     You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts,

 Romans 8:7     For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

 James 4:4    You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

 John 15:23-24    Whoever hates me hates my Father also.  If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.

Thou shall not bow down thyself to them,…. Perform any worship to them, show any reverence of them by any gesture of the body; one being mentioned, bowing the body, and put for all others, as prostration of it to the earth, bending the knee, kissing the hand, lifting up of hands or eyes to them, or by any outward action expressing a religious esteem of them, as if there was divinity in them: nor serve them; in a religious manner, internally or externally, by offering sacrifice and burning incense to them; by praying to, or praising of them; by expressing love to them, faith and trust in them, hope and expectation of good things from them, and the like. The reason of this second command, relating to the making and worshipping of images, next follows:

for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God; jealous of his own honour and glory, and will not give it to another; even to graven images, nor suffer it to be given to them without resenting it; and jealousy is fierce and cruel, and breaks forth into great wrath, and issues in dreadful scenes oftentimes among men. (Gill)

If God is first in our lives there should be no room for other things to which we serve, honor, and give reverence. No room should be given to make something more reverent than God. We should not allow something to take place of God or the honor and glory due Him alone. We may not make images of gold, silver, or wood and place them in our homes and take time to worship the form or bow down to it, but in essence, we do allow things to become an idol of sorts. Take a look at where your TV is placed and how much time it is given. It may not be an idol, but certainly, it is given more time and reverence than God. How would your lives be different if there was no TV being watched, no internet to surf, and no iPhone available?  I would like to think there would be more time for God’s Word, more time for reverence to Him, more time to communicate face to face, and much less being told what to think, how to act, and what to say by the narratives being spewed out day by day, minute by minute. Do we not discern that these narratives proclaim what is contrary to God and things of God? Do we not understand that what we take in will have an effect on our hearts and minds? 

What would our lives be like if we studied God’s Word in equal amounts of time that we spend on social media, yet alone watching TV?  How much time would we have to meditate on God’s Word and the things of God? Would we live differently, think differently, and speak differently?  

Obviously, we all know the answer to this, but are we/you willing to intentionally choose to live life differently than how the world indicates you should?  Try it for a week – no TV, social media time reading, or posts on computers or phones or iPads, in the home or away from home.  Try using this time for reading, communicating, and discerning things of God. I think there may be a big change in your thought pattern, speech, and actions.  

Do not bow down to what this world has to offer. Give God the reverence, honor, and glory through how you spend your time.