Three Days In

Three

 

 

Wednesday 12/06/17 

Message – Three Days In…

Series: Thru the Bible – Exodus 15b-18

***Video is HERE***

 

 

Three Days In…

Exodus 15:22-27,

“22  So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.

23  Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.

24  And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”

25  So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them,

26  and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His – sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”

27  Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.” 

God tests His people – then gives them rest.

Words to know…

  • Statute – A decree stating an expectation or mandate.
  • Ordinance – A legal decision or judgment rendered to be obeyed.
  • Commandment – While this word Can be used in reference to human commands, like that of a king, in the first 5 books of the Bible it is ALWAYS used in reference to a direct command of God. (This will be important as we continue!)
  • Jehovah – From H1961; (the) self Existent or eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God: – Jehovah, the Lord. Jehovah = ” the existing One”

    It is the proper name of the one true God. The Jews refused to pronounced it except without the vowels out of respect to the holiness of the name. It seems as though this word is actually referring to the person of the godhead we refer to as Jesus or the Living Word.

Psalm 23:1 has the Lord (Jehovah) as David’s shepherd, and when Jesus comes into the world He identifies with that role. “I am the good Shepherd”

By saying, “For I Am Jehovah Who Heals you”… it appears that this ordinance and its consequences were somehow connected to the name he revealed to them. Jehovah-Rapha

Exodus 16

Vs. 1-31

  • 2 ½ months into their journey they reached the Wilderness of sin.
  • This general area was in or near Midian which was were Moses had married and tended sheep for 40 years and where his father-in-law Jethro still lived with Moses’ wife Zipporah whom Moses sent back home. We will see them again in chapter 18.
    • God tests Israel with hunger (Deut. 8:1-6)

“(1) Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers.  (2)  And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to reveal what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.  (3)  So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.  (4)  Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.  (5)  You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you.  (6)  “Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.”

 

  • We see that God TESTS us to reveal our hearts and to teach us!
  • Israel still complains and blames Moses
    • At this point this was most certainly just a way of avoiding telling God directly that they did not trust Him – because they HAD to know at this point that it was the Lord Who had brought them out of Egypt.
  • God hears (the results of the test) and turns it into an object lesson to teach them
    • Again the pattern of evening to morning
      • Evening (ereb) you will know by meat to eat
        • Ereb = evening but the word has another connotation of obscurity, chaos or disorder.
        • The word know here is experience based and means to perceive, consider and discern.
      • Morning (boker) See God’s Glory by bread from heaven
        • Boker = morning but the word has another connotation of becoming discernable, increasing in clarity and order.
        • The word see here means to learn to know by observation.
  • Israel disobeys and God begins to complain

Vs. 32-36

  • God keeps proof of faithfulness and faithlessness in the ark of the covenant.
    • Laid it up BEFORE the Testimony (the ark which was to be made later – remember up to this point, this was all written in retrospect) See Heb. 9:4

Exodus 17

Vs. 1-7 (refer to slide for Rephidim)

  • The people contended with Moses over the lack of water. The strength of this word is seen in it’s use as a lawsuit in some places. This was open and accusatory strife to the point where Moses thought they may seek to stone him.
  • Moses called it “tempting Jehovah” – because the people were saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
  • Moses appeals to God – “what should I do with them?”
  • God sends Moses out with the elders (the older and wiser of each tribe) and commands him to strike the rock (as symbol of Christ – when His side was struck and the water gushed out) – See 1 Cor. 10:1-14

Vs. 8-16,

  • Moses is using Joshua almost from the beginning. It was an apprenticeship – like the disciples with Jesus or Timothy with Paul.
  • Moses is upheld by those called to help him.

We then read and commented on chapter 18. There is more information in the audio/video of the actual message. I hope you listen, learn and enjoy!

Blessings! 

 

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

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Blessings!

 

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!