The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Six - I Apr 08, 2018 by: John Herbert | Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T002_20180408.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Ex 19:5 'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. We shall begin to look at events today that takes us beyond Israel's deliverance from Egypt. The full text for this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday April 8th 2018 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Part 6 I ‘Your Descendants After You’ 1). Ex 19:3 And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. 5 'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 'And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel." 7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD. We have seen in our previous weeks of study the extraordinary events that took place surrounding the Exodus from Egypt – from the introduction of supernatural signs seen in - Ex 4:8 "Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. 9 "And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. And the water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land." To the devastation of Pharaoh’s kingdom in - Ex 10:7 Then Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?" To the total destruction of the power of Egypt in the Red Sea recorded in – Ex 14:30 So the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. a). And all of these events, as we have seen, were for a very specific purpose. In fact, the same stated purpose for which God created the Man and the Woman in Genesis Chapter 1 – rulership. b). God’s people Israel were/are to become a Kingdom of priests, a holy nation, God’s own special treasure – to rule at the head of the nations within a Theocracy, with God dwelling in their midst – this was the purpose for Israel’s deliverance from the hand of the Assyrian Pharaoh in the past and will be the reason for their deliverance from the ‘Assyrian’ yet future. c). And then we had seen that all these events from affliction to deliverance, provide a prophetic picture of that which awaits Israel yet future during the time of the Tribulation and beyond, into the Millennial Kingdom. d). And that stated by the Lord that we read to begin this morning - 'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. Sets out God’s expectation for His people in response to that which He had done for them, following their deliverance - faithful obedience to His voice, to His command and keeping His covenant. e). Then in Israel’s journey beyond the Red Sea crossing to Kadesh Barnea under Moses, and then the wilderness wandering with the second generation of Israel to come out of Egypt entering the land of promise at Jericho, under Joshua we find all Jewish history in a microcosm. f). From the Exodus to Kadesh Barnea we can see the history of the Jewish people from their deliverance from Egypt to the crucifixion of the Lord; centuries of disobedience and unfaithfulness culminating in a refusal to enter the Kingdom of the Heavens being offered to them g). Then the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness gives us Jewish history from the crucifixion onwards as God’s people remain scattered and ‘wandering’ throughout the Gentile world; with Joshua at Jericho picturing the return of Christ to gather His people from the Gentile nations and lead them into the land of promise at the end of the Tribulation, where that seen in the verses we read from Exodus Chapter 19 will become a reality. g). And at the heart of all of this, underpinning everything, is redemption on God’s part and faithful obedience and keeping His covenant on Israel’s part. 2). Now when Moses told the Children of Israel that which God had told him, seen in Exodus Chapter 19, note what their response was, Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do. There is no reason to doubt the sincerity of their response to Moses at this stage, but the verbalization of their faith, all that they had sworn to do, had to be proven to test its genuineness and the law had to be given before it could be kept – Ro 5:13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. a). Now as we keep these things in mind there is something we need to come back to, something that we had touched on in our previous study – 1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Not only do the events experienced by the Children of Israel from the Exodus to Jericho provide a history of the Jewish people, past, present and future, which covers millennia, but these same events also provide us with examples, literally types, which were written for our admonition, with the attached warning that if we think we stand we should take heed lest we fall – 1Co 10:6 ¶ Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. b). And according to the scriptures we all began at the exact same starting point as Israel in Egypt - 1Co 5:7 ¶ Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Christ is not our Passover Lamb as the Lamb was given exclusively to the Jews, but He became our ‘Passover’ in the sense that God accepted His death on our behalf and passed over us with respect to the death of the firstborn. So, here then, in the death and shed blood of our Lord is our deliverance from the world, the flesh and the devil, just as Israel was delivered from Egypt – Col 2:20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world Ro 6:11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. Heb 2:14 ¶ Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, c). And beyond our ‘Passover’ experience, like Israel we find ourselves buried and resurrected on the eastern bank of the Red Sea, in a figurative sense – Ro 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. And like Israel, there is only one purpose to our pilgrim journey beyond this point – 1Pe 1:3 ¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. And again, like Israel, we are to obey His voice during the course of our pilgrim journey if God’s purpose for us is to be realized - Jas 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only……….. 1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. 11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, And here again in Peter we find a parallel with that which God said to Israel in Exodus Chapter 19 with obedience on our part implied through the parallel. d). Now, for Israel their deliverance from Egypt could never be undone as it was the result of a Sovereign act of God on their behalf – the blood having been shed could not be taken back and so the nation’s journey to Kadesh Barnea had nothing to do with that which was past, the Passover, except that it was the Passover made the journey possible. Rather their journey had to do with things beyond deliverance, beyond death and shed blood, things to do with an inheritance in the land covenanted to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. An inheritance that could be either gained or lost, depending upon faithfulness. e). And then in conjunction with the journey and the inheritance, as we have seen, there had to be testing of their faithfulness. f). And exactly the same is true for us – our deliverance, our eternal salvation is based on the finished work of Christ on the cross of Calvary – Joh 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. When the Lord declared, ‘It is finished!’ it was recorded in such a way in the original language to show that this was a Divine work completed in time past which would exist in this finished condition for all time. In other words, all that needed to be done to provide redemption for fallen Man was completed at this moment in time and that which was completed can never be undone. g). Not only this, but we also see that it is following the statement concerning the finality of His work that, the Lord ‘gave up His spirit’ – He died. h). Let’s now consider this with regards to His death – Joh 10:17 "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father." Although it is true to say that Israel killed their Passover Lamb, it is equally true to say that the exact moment of the Lord’s death was chosen by Himself and was not determined by any other factor, and He did not lay down His life until His redemptive work on the cross was completed – only when everything was done for all time did the Lord give up ‘His spirit’. i). And again, like Israel, following our deliverance, our ‘journey’ depicted for us in the Book of Ruth - Ru 1:22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. It is a journey from the land of our birth to the land of our calling in which we are to receive an inheritance. And it is not a physical journey, as Israel’s was, but a spiritual journey. j). A journey which from one vantage point is pictured as a race – Heb 12:1 ¶ Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, From another vantage point as growth to spiritual maturity - Eph 4:15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ- And from yet another vantage point as child training - Heb 12:5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives." 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. k). And throughout the course of this spiritual journey faithful obedience is center stage - Jas 1:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. And hand in hand with our faithful obedience will come testing – 1Pe 1:5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 ¶ In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls. l). And the enormous importance of faithful obedience can be clearly seen by bringing the parallel experiences of Israel and the Church together – Heb 4:2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3). We have seen already today the importance given to obeying the Lord’s voice as seen in Exodus Chapter 19 and in Hebrews Chapter 4 we see that ‘the word which they heard did not profit them’. a). And with respect to Israel’s history there are 2 parallel and complimentary events which demonstrate that which the Jewish people heard and the absence of faith in those who heard. b). The first of these is the giving of the Law at Sinai - Ex 19:1 ¶ In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. 2 For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain……………20 Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. We won’t now go into all the details concerning the giving of the Law, but for the purpose of our comparative events let’s note that God, ‘came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain’ – and - Ex 19:16 ¶ Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. c). And it was from the top of this mountain that the Law is given to Moses - Ex 20:1 ¶ And God spoke all these words, saying: 2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 "You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor 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 fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments………………… The symbolism of the mountain immediately takes us to a Kingdom and the association with the 3rd Day inevitably takes us to the 7th Day and the Millennial Kingdom. d). And so, putting this together we will realize that the Law forms the ‘Constitution’ so to speak by which those who were to rule in this Kingdom were to live. e). To obey that which the Lord said on this mountain was what was necessary for Israel to rule at the head of the nations within the Theocracy, within the earthly realm of the Kingdom. f). Now, we will also remember that at the Lord’s first advent He came with a message that was exclusively for the descendants of those who were given the Law at Sinai - Mt 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The Kingdom of Heaven was at hand because their King was in their midst and following national repentance on Israel’s part there would be the expectation of faithful obedience from those who would receive the Kingdom being offered. g). With that in mind let’s look at what we find at the beginning of Matthew Chapter 5 - Mt 5:1 ¶ And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: 3 ¶ "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled………………. That which we have just read are a few verses beyond the offer of the Kingdom recorded in Matthew 4:17 and Matthew Chapter 4 ends this way – Mt 4:23 ¶ And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Great multitudes followed Him--from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. The preaching of ‘the gospel of the Kingdom’ is accompanied by supernatural healing – signs pointing to the spiritual healing which awaits Israel upon repentance. The message and the signs take us to the 3rd Day [7th Day] giving the direct connection with God descending on Mount Sinai on the 3rd Day. a). And just as God came down from heaven to the top of a mountain, so we see Jesus, God the Son sent from heaven going up and sitting on a mountain. b). And just as God then spoke the words of the Law, so Jesus spoke the words of what we have come to call ‘the beatitudes’. And the words Jesus spoke that day formed the ‘Constitution’ so to speak for those who were to rule in the Heavenly Kingdom. c). However, as we have already seen from Hebrews Chapter 4 the word which was heard at Sinai was not mixed with faith and nor was that heard on the mountain at the Lord’s first advent. d). For the generation of Jews of Moses day, this absence of faith resulted in what was for them a cataclysmic rejection of God the Father and rulership in the land of their inheritance - Nu 14:1 ¶ So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 "Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" And for the generation of Jews at the Lord’s first advent, their absence of faith also had cataclysmic consequences as they rejected God the Son and rulership in the Kingdom He came to offer - Joh 19:15 But they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!" 4). So, as we finish let’s remember that these events are ‘examples’ for us and have been written for our ‘admonition’ – what then are we to learn? What is our ‘Sinai’ experience? This will have to wait until next time though – if the Lord is willing. The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Six - I Apr 08, 2018 Speaker: John Herbert Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T002_20180408.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Ex 19:5 'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. We shall begin to look at events today that takes us beyond Israel's deliverance from Egypt. The full text for this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday April 8th 2018 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Part 6 I ‘Your Descendants After You’ 1). Ex 19:3 And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. 5 'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 'And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel." 7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD. We have seen in our previous weeks of study the extraordinary events that took place surrounding the Exodus from Egypt – from the introduction of supernatural signs seen in - Ex 4:8 "Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. 9 "And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. And the water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land." To the devastation of Pharaoh’s kingdom in - Ex 10:7 Then Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?" To the total destruction of the power of Egypt in the Red Sea recorded in – Ex 14:30 So the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. a). And all of these events, as we have seen, were for a very specific purpose. In fact, the same stated purpose for which God created the Man and the Woman in Genesis Chapter 1 – rulership. b). God’s people Israel were/are to become a Kingdom of priests, a holy nation, God’s own special treasure – to rule at the head of the nations within a Theocracy, with God dwelling in their midst – this was the purpose for Israel’s deliverance from the hand of the Assyrian Pharaoh in the past and will be the reason for their deliverance from the ‘Assyrian’ yet future. c). And then we had seen that all these events from affliction to deliverance, provide a prophetic picture of that which awaits Israel yet future during the time of the Tribulation and beyond, into the Millennial Kingdom. d). And that stated by the Lord that we read to begin this morning - 'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. Sets out God’s expectation for His people in response to that which He had done for them, following their deliverance - faithful obedience to His voice, to His command and keeping His covenant. e). Then in Israel’s journey beyond the Red Sea crossing to Kadesh Barnea under Moses, and then the wilderness wandering with the second generation of Israel to come out of Egypt entering the land of promise at Jericho, under Joshua we find all Jewish history in a microcosm. f). From the Exodus to Kadesh Barnea we can see the history of the Jewish people from their deliverance from Egypt to the crucifixion of the Lord; centuries of disobedience and unfaithfulness culminating in a refusal to enter the Kingdom of the Heavens being offered to them g). Then the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness gives us Jewish history from the crucifixion onwards as God’s people remain scattered and ‘wandering’ throughout the Gentile world; with Joshua at Jericho picturing the return of Christ to gather His people from the Gentile nations and lead them into the land of promise at the end of the Tribulation, where that seen in the verses we read from Exodus Chapter 19 will become a reality. g). And at the heart of all of this, underpinning everything, is redemption on God’s part and faithful obedience and keeping His covenant on Israel’s part. 2). Now when Moses told the Children of Israel that which God had told him, seen in Exodus Chapter 19, note what their response was, Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do. There is no reason to doubt the sincerity of their response to Moses at this stage, but the verbalization of their faith, all that they had sworn to do, had to be proven to test its genuineness and the law had to be given before it could be kept – Ro 5:13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. a). Now as we keep these things in mind there is something we need to come back to, something that we had touched on in our previous study – 1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Not only do the events experienced by the Children of Israel from the Exodus to Jericho provide a history of the Jewish people, past, present and future, which covers millennia, but these same events also provide us with examples, literally types, which were written for our admonition, with the attached warning that if we think we stand we should take heed lest we fall – 1Co 10:6 ¶ Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. b). And according to the scriptures we all began at the exact same starting point as Israel in Egypt - 1Co 5:7 ¶ Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Christ is not our Passover Lamb as the Lamb was given exclusively to the Jews, but He became our ‘Passover’ in the sense that God accepted His death on our behalf and passed over us with respect to the death of the firstborn. So, here then, in the death and shed blood of our Lord is our deliverance from the world, the flesh and the devil, just as Israel was delivered from Egypt – Col 2:20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world Ro 6:11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. Heb 2:14 ¶ Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, c). And beyond our ‘Passover’ experience, like Israel we find ourselves buried and resurrected on the eastern bank of the Red Sea, in a figurative sense – Ro 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. And like Israel, there is only one purpose to our pilgrim journey beyond this point – 1Pe 1:3 ¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. And again, like Israel, we are to obey His voice during the course of our pilgrim journey if God’s purpose for us is to be realized - Jas 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only……….. 1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. 11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, And here again in Peter we find a parallel with that which God said to Israel in Exodus Chapter 19 with obedience on our part implied through the parallel. d). Now, for Israel their deliverance from Egypt could never be undone as it was the result of a Sovereign act of God on their behalf – the blood having been shed could not be taken back and so the nation’s journey to Kadesh Barnea had nothing to do with that which was past, the Passover, except that it was the Passover made the journey possible. Rather their journey had to do with things beyond deliverance, beyond death and shed blood, things to do with an inheritance in the land covenanted to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. An inheritance that could be either gained or lost, depending upon faithfulness. e). And then in conjunction with the journey and the inheritance, as we have seen, there had to be testing of their faithfulness. f). And exactly the same is true for us – our deliverance, our eternal salvation is based on the finished work of Christ on the cross of Calvary – Joh 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. When the Lord declared, ‘It is finished!’ it was recorded in such a way in the original language to show that this was a Divine work completed in time past which would exist in this finished condition for all time. In other words, all that needed to be done to provide redemption for fallen Man was completed at this moment in time and that which was completed can never be undone. g). Not only this, but we also see that it is following the statement concerning the finality of His work that, the Lord ‘gave up His spirit’ – He died. h). Let’s now consider this with regards to His death – Joh 10:17 "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father." Although it is true to say that Israel killed their Passover Lamb, it is equally true to say that the exact moment of the Lord’s death was chosen by Himself and was not determined by any other factor, and He did not lay down His life until His redemptive work on the cross was completed – only when everything was done for all time did the Lord give up ‘His spirit’. i). And again, like Israel, following our deliverance, our ‘journey’ depicted for us in the Book of Ruth - Ru 1:22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. It is a journey from the land of our birth to the land of our calling in which we are to receive an inheritance. And it is not a physical journey, as Israel’s was, but a spiritual journey. j). A journey which from one vantage point is pictured as a race – Heb 12:1 ¶ Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, From another vantage point as growth to spiritual maturity - Eph 4:15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ- And from yet another vantage point as child training - Heb 12:5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives." 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. k). And throughout the course of this spiritual journey faithful obedience is center stage - Jas 1:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. And hand in hand with our faithful obedience will come testing – 1Pe 1:5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 ¶ In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls. l). And the enormous importance of faithful obedience can be clearly seen by bringing the parallel experiences of Israel and the Church together – Heb 4:2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3). We have seen already today the importance given to obeying the Lord’s voice as seen in Exodus Chapter 19 and in Hebrews Chapter 4 we see that ‘the word which they heard did not profit them’. a). And with respect to Israel’s history there are 2 parallel and complimentary events which demonstrate that which the Jewish people heard and the absence of faith in those who heard. b). The first of these is the giving of the Law at Sinai - Ex 19:1 ¶ In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. 2 For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain……………20 Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. We won’t now go into all the details concerning the giving of the Law, but for the purpose of our comparative events let’s note that God, ‘came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain’ – and - Ex 19:16 ¶ Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. c). And it was from the top of this mountain that the Law is given to Moses - Ex 20:1 ¶ And God spoke all these words, saying: 2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 "You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor 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 fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments………………… The symbolism of the mountain immediately takes us to a Kingdom and the association with the 3rd Day inevitably takes us to the 7th Day and the Millennial Kingdom. d). And so, putting this together we will realize that the Law forms the ‘Constitution’ so to speak by which those who were to rule in this Kingdom were to live. e). To obey that which the Lord said on this mountain was what was necessary for Israel to rule at the head of the nations within the Theocracy, within the earthly realm of the Kingdom. f). Now, we will also remember that at the Lord’s first advent He came with a message that was exclusively for the descendants of those who were given the Law at Sinai - Mt 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The Kingdom of Heaven was at hand because their King was in their midst and following national repentance on Israel’s part there would be the expectation of faithful obedience from those who would receive the Kingdom being offered. g). With that in mind let’s look at what we find at the beginning of Matthew Chapter 5 - Mt 5:1 ¶ And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: 3 ¶ "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled………………. That which we have just read are a few verses beyond the offer of the Kingdom recorded in Matthew 4:17 and Matthew Chapter 4 ends this way – Mt 4:23 ¶ And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Great multitudes followed Him--from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. The preaching of ‘the gospel of the Kingdom’ is accompanied by supernatural healing – signs pointing to the spiritual healing which awaits Israel upon repentance. The message and the signs take us to the 3rd Day [7th Day] giving the direct connection with God descending on Mount Sinai on the 3rd Day. a). And just as God came down from heaven to the top of a mountain, so we see Jesus, God the Son sent from heaven going up and sitting on a mountain. b). And just as God then spoke the words of the Law, so Jesus spoke the words of what we have come to call ‘the beatitudes’. And the words Jesus spoke that day formed the ‘Constitution’ so to speak for those who were to rule in the Heavenly Kingdom. c). However, as we have already seen from Hebrews Chapter 4 the word which was heard at Sinai was not mixed with faith and nor was that heard on the mountain at the Lord’s first advent. d). For the generation of Jews of Moses day, this absence of faith resulted in what was for them a cataclysmic rejection of God the Father and rulership in the land of their inheritance - Nu 14:1 ¶ So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 "Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" And for the generation of Jews at the Lord’s first advent, their absence of faith also had cataclysmic consequences as they rejected God the Son and rulership in the Kingdom He came to offer - Joh 19:15 But they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!" 4). So, as we finish let’s remember that these events are ‘examples’ for us and have been written for our ‘admonition’ – what then are we to learn? What is our ‘Sinai’ experience? This will have to wait until next time though – if the Lord is willing.