Are you and I able to look upon God’s face? Why or why not? What about when we’re in Heaven – will we be able to look upon God then?
In today’s text, we’ll consider Moses’ request to see God’s face. And we’ll also consider God’s response, and how He safely tucked Moses into the ‘cleft in the rock.’
Questions That We’ll Answer: A) What did the ‘cleft in the rock’ typify? What was it all about? B) Why did God say He would not go with the Israelites in Exodus 33? C) Why was Moses so concerned by this? Why did they need God’s presence?
The ‘golden calf’ incident is a dark blot in Israelite history. While coming down the mountain, Moses heard the sound of warfare from below. But he soon found that it wasn’t warfare – it was singing and adulation toward an idol. The people had broken God’s law. Terribly. Egregiously. And to demonstrate what they’d done, Moses shattered the 10 Commandments before their eyes.
Questions That We’ll Answer: A) What were the people thinking? And why did Aaron help? B) Were the people trying to replace Jehovah altogether? C) What was the immediate punishment that they received?
Does God care how we worship Him? According to Exodus 28, the answer is YES. In the last fifteen chapters of Exodus, we read about the construction of the Tabernacle. In these chapters, God gave the people some meticulous, specific details for the Tabernacle’s components and design. He also gave specific details for the clothing of the priests – including a phrase they were to wear on their foreheads, “HOLINESS TO THE LORD.”
Questions That We’ll Answer: A) What was the significance of God meeting with His people in the tabernacle? B) In what way did the Tabernacle reflect or anticipate Heaven? C) How are you and I considered “priests” as NT believers?
What was the Ark Of The Covenant? In Exodus 25, God told the Israelites to construct an ‘ark,’ and to place the ark in the Tabernacle. But what was the purpose of the Ark? And what was the significance of the ‘mercy seat’ that was on its top? These questions will be the focus of today’s study.
Questions That We’ll Answer:
A) What do we know about the ark’s construction and origins?
B) What was the ark’s history as it was moved from place to place?
C) And finally, where is the ark today? Egypt? Ethiopia? Where?
The Israelites had seen ‘animal sacrifices’ before. On many occasions, they’d seen blood on the altar. However, they’d never been sprinkled by that blood (the way that Moses did in Exodus 24). Why did Moses do this? And what was the point of this “blood oath” or covenant that the people had entered into with God? That will be the focus of today’s study.
Did you know that Jesus Christ appears throughout the Book of Exodus? From the Red Sea to their arrival in the Promised Land, Jesus Christ makes multiple appearances in this part of the Old Testament. In Exodus 23, we see one of these – an occasion when He is referred to as the “Angel of the Lord.”
God’s law can teach, it can restrain, and it can disciple. But it cannot save. That was the problem of the Israelites as they looked at the burning mountain. When they heard the ten commandments, they realized this – as significant as those commandments were, they only condemned, and did not redeem. The fire on the mountain was a reminder that the people still could not approach God, even with the law in hand. So what was their hope? We’ll consider that in our continuing study of the Book of Exodus.
The people were out of Egypt. They’d gone through the wilderness. Now, they had arrived at the mountain of God.
“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. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.” – Exodus 19:16-17
Ordinarily, bread doesn’t come from Heaven. Ordinarily, water doesn’t come from rocks. But in Exodus 16, they did! God provided for His people using the most unexpected means. Click to hear Part 7 of our new series on the Book of Exodus.
Across the course of the first nine plagues, all of Egypt’s gods had proven worthless – the God of Israel had brought plagues upon the very things those gods were supposed to protect. And yet, Pharaoh had learned nothing. His heart had only grown harder. However, the 10th plague would break his spirit and take his son. Following the events of the Passover night, God’s people would be set free. And in the implementation of the Passover meal, a neon arrow would point forward to the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Click to listen to today’s sermon on the “passover” from Exodus 12.