Exodus 19
Israel set up camp at base of Mount Sinaiverses 1-2
In the THIRD month – when the children of Israel were gone forth
out of the land of Egypt
the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai
FOR they were departed from Rephidim
and were come to the desert of Sinai
and had pitched in the wilderness
and there Israel camped before the mount
Obedient Israel will be God’s peculiar treasureverses 3-6
And Moses WENT UP to God
and the LORD called to him out of the mountain
saying
Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob
and tell the children of Israel
You have seen what I did to the Egyptians
and how I bare you on EAGLES’ wings
and brought you to MYSELF
Now therefore – IF you will OBEY MY voice indeed
and KEEP MY covenant
THEN you shall be a PECULIAR TREASURE to ME
above all people – FOR all the earth is MINE
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
Instructions given to children of Israelverses 7-8
And Moses CAME and CALLED for the elders of the people
and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD
commanded him
And all the people answered together and said
All that the LORD has spoken we will do
And Moses returned the words of the people to the LORD
LORD coming down to speakverse 9
And the LORD said to Moses
Lo – I come to you in a THICK CLOUD
that the people may HEAR when I speak with you
and BELIEVE you for ever
And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD
Moses sanctified the peopleverses 10-13
And the LORD said to Moses
Go to the people – and SANCTIFY them today and tomorrow
and let them WASH their clothes
and be READY against the THIRD day
for the THIRD day the LORD will COME
DOWN in the sight of all the people
on mount Sinai
And you shall set bounds to the people round about
saying
Take heed to yourselves – that you go not UP into the mount
or TOUCH the border of it
WHOSOEVER touches the mount shall be
surely put to DEATH
There shall not an hand touch it
BUT he shall surely be STONED – or SHOT through
whether it be beast or man – it shall not live
When the TRUMPET sounds long
they shall come UP to the mount
Moses gives final instructionsverses 14-15
And Moses WENT DOWN from the mount to the people
and SANCTIFIED the people
and they WASHED their clothes
And he said to the people
Be ready against the THIRD day
come not at your wives
On the third day the LORD visitsverses 16-25
And it came to pass on the THIRD day in the morning
that there were thunders and lightnings
and a THICK cloud on the mount
and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud
So that all the people that was in the camp TREMBLED
and Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to
MEET with God
And they stood at the nether part of the mount
and mount Sinai was altogether on a SMOKE
BECAUSE the LORD DESCENDED on it in FIRE
and the SMOKE thereof ascended as the
smoke of a furnace – and the whole
mount QUAKED greatly
And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long
and waxed louder and louder – Moses spoke
and God answered him by a VOICE
And the LORD CAME DOWN on mount Sinai
on the top of the mount
And the LORD called Moses UP to the top of the mount
and Moses WENT UP
And the LORD said to Moses
Go DOWN – charge the people
lest they break through to the LORD to gaze
and many of them PERISH
And let the priests also – which come NEAR to the LORD
SANCTIFY themselves
lest the LORD break forth on them
And Moses said to the LORD
The people cannot come UP to Mount Sinai
FOR YOU charged us – saying
Set bounds about the mount
and SANCTIFY it
And the LORD said to him
Away – get you DOWN – and you shall COME UP
you – and Aaron with you
BUT let not the priests and the people break through
to come UP unto the LORD
LEST HE break forth on them
So Moses went DOWN unto the people – and spoke unto them
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to me above all people: for all the earth is mine: (5459 “peculiar treasure” [cegullah] means wealth, jewel, proper good, valued property, what is owned by someone, possession, or special)
DEVOTION: The children of Israel are at mount Sinai. Do we think that God understands human nature? Is it in our nature to be inquisitive? Would we be tempted to get closer to the mountain than the LORD commanded us to through a leader? Would we doubt the leader on this occasion? Would we want to see more of the LORD?
God gives Moses a message for the people. God was telling the Israelites that they were going to be a special people to HIM. They were going to be a jewel to HIM. They were going to be HIS kingdom of priests. They were going to be a holy nation.
They were supposed to sanctify themselves before they came to meet HIM. This means that they were to set themselves apart to the LORD. Part of the process was to wash their clothes. They were to obey the instructions regarding how close to get to the mountain. They were be clean for three days. Husbands and wives were not to have marital relationships during this time period.
HE was coming down the mountain to show the children of Israel that HE was speaking through Moses. They had to see that HE was only going to speak through Moses to them. HE showed the children of Israel HIS power. HE spoke through a THICK CLOUD. HE caused the mountain to shake. HE appeared as a FIRE.
HE was going to provide for them. HE had some rules to follow but they would be blessed if they obeyed them. HE wanted them to be a people that were separated to serve HIM. If they were to be HIS special people, they had to do special things for HIM. HE set the bounds and they were going to keep them. If they broke HIS rules there would be death.
We who are members of HIS church are God’s jewels today. Those who are followers of the LORD are called a kingdom of priests. They are called a holy nation.
We became HIS church because of what Christ did on the cross for us. Once we become a follower through repentance and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we have some rules given to us and if we obey them, we will continue to have fellowship with HIM and receive HIS blessings.
If we are a genuine follower, we will want to bring glory to HIS name. We will want to be different than those who are not followers of HIM. We will want to be sanctified. We will want to be set apart for service to him. The children of Israel said they would do all that the LORD commanded. When we come to Christ, we are saying that we will do all HE has commanded.
We are special to God because of HIS Son’s death on the cross for us. Let’s trust and obey for there’s no other way. Does this mean that we will be sinless? NO!! We will be sinners who are saved by GRACE. People outside the church will look at us as hypocrites because they still see us sinning. They are wrong in their evaluation. We continue until we die with two natures in us: a sin nature and a new nature. There is a constant battle between the two but with confession there is restored fellowship with the LORD. Can a Christian commit the “sin unto death?” YES!! If someone who is a genuine believer continues to sin after the LORD has sent the warning of weakness and sickness, HE can take us to HIMSELF. We will die but be saved, yet so as by fire. Obedience is the key to our relationship with the LORD. HE knows we are human and continue to have our sin nature until we die. HE still expects obedience. If we are not obedient, HE expects repentance.
The LORD set boundaries regarding the mountain. If anyone came to close to the mountain, they were to die. That was the rule. We have the New Testament giving us instruction regarding our actions. If we continue in sin, HE can take us.
CHALLENGE: Let us remember that we are not a slave to sin once we become a follower of Christ. We are to be SANCTIFIED. We are to be HOLY.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people to the Lord. (6030 “answered” [anah] means testify, respond, bear witness, reply, spoke, or declare)
DEVOTION: The Pastor of a church brings a message from the Word of God and asks for a commitment to do what the Word of God asks them to do. The congregation replies that it will do what the Word of God says to do in a given situation. They all go home and mean to do what the Word of God said to do.
This is what is happening here with Moses informing the elders of Israel of what the LORD wants them to do. They state that they will do ALL that the LORD had spoken to Moses.
It had to be a great day for Moses with such a response. However, we know that people make statements and then don’t follow through with their statements. This was true of the children of Israel and is true today in the church.
God wants us to be active in our service to HIM, so that, we can give glory to HIM. HE doesn’t need any more glory but HE wants us to be a part of what HE is doing in our world.
HE wanted the children of Israel to be a part of HIS plan for the ages. HE wanted them to realize that HE wanted to make them HIS peculiar treasure.
HE wants us to be HIS peculiar treasure today. We need to be a people who mean what we say when we make a commitment to HIM. Pastors can preach and people can listen but actions can be lacking.
I would invite guest speakers on a regular basis to each of my churches because a guest speak can say the same thing that I would say but because the people were used to hearing my voice they could shut it out but a guest speaker could get through to them.
God was going to speak to them in person because HE knew how fickle humans are when they say they will do something and then walk out of church and act the same way they have always acted when challenged.
CHALLENGE: When challenged by a message pray that you can practice the action that you were challenged to do and this will bring honor to the LORD.
: 11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people on Mount Sinai. (3381 “come down” [yarad] means to go down, to bring down, to send down, to move downward and lower, or descend)
DEVOTION: Throughout the Scriptures the “third day” seems to have significance. Here we find that the LORD is going to come down from Mount Sinai to speak to the people.
They were to take two days to wash their clothes and prepare for this meeting with the LORD. This will be the first time the children of Israel will hear the voice of God. HE has spoken through Moses to Aaron up to this point.
Moses has instructed them in what the LORD expected of them after his meeting with the LORD. They were to set themselves apart from everything to prepare to meet the LORD.
We are to prepare ourselves before we enter the presence of the LORD whether it is for our daily devotional times or our attendance at a church service. If we sanctify ourselves before we enter these two special times there will be less human nature manifested and more Godly spiritual life manifested.
Many of our personal times with the LORD are not good because we don’t prepare ourselves spiritually for our meetings with the LORD. We should always pray before we open our Bible at home. We should also always prayer before we enter the church to worship the LORD.
Our enemy wants us to enter our devotional times in a hurry, so that, we can get it over with and get on with real business. These are wrong thoughts and actions. This can also happen when we enter a place of worship.
God wants us to take time to prepare to meet with HIM. The children of Israel needed three days. Remember Jesus came out of the tomb on the third day to meet with the disciples. They were using the time to prepare for this meeting.
CHALLENGE: Always expect the LORD to meet with you if you are prepared to meet with HIM.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 21 And the LORD said to Moses, God down, charge the people, lest they break through to the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. (7200 “gaze” [ra’ah] means see, to perceive with attention, direct one’s gaze towards, examine, inspect, become aware of, understand, or have vision)
DEVOTION: I know that I have had a desire to see God face to face many times in my life. I would love to have a vision with HIM in it. I would like to have been around when Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples and allowed them to touch HIM after HIS resurrection from the dead.
The children of Israel were going to be tested to see if they obeyed the LORD and didn’t try to come up the mountain to see the LORD in person. HE stated that they would die if they did.
HE met with Moses individually to tell him that HE was going to appear after they set themselves apart by putting on clean clothes and not approaching their wives for physical pleasure.
They were to be clean in body and soul. God wants us to be clean when we meet with HIM each day. HE wants our undivided attention when HE speaks to us. HE wanted the same there near Mount Sinai.
Human nature makes us want to see in person God. It is hard to believe in a God we don’t see. That is why so many false religions have idols or images to worship. Even the children of Israel wanted a “golden calf” to worship when Moses was gone.
CHALLENGE: We are to worship the LORD in spirit and in truth. We shouldn’t think we have to see HIM face to face. We will someday. What a glorious day that will be!!!
: 23 And Moses said unto the Lord, “The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for you charged us, saying, ‘Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.’” (1379 “Set bounds” [gabal] means 1 to bound, border. 1a (Qal) to bound, border. 1b (Hiphil) to set bounds, set bounds for. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship])
DEVOTION: God descended and presented Himself in a visible form to the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by a fiery eruption. It probably looked like a volcano to them (although I doubt that they knew what a volcano was). It was a frightening sight, and they were told not to go near the mountain under any circumstances. Just to protect them, Moses was directed to set up a boundary marker for the people not to get any closer to the mountain, although we are not told how far away from the top of the mountain this was. God’s purpose in setting up a boundary was that of protection for the people.
Even now, God sets boundaries in His Word for the behavior of people. Some look upon this as an unnecessary restriction and that God is some sort of cosmic kill-joy. The reality is that God, who created man, knows exactly what kind of things constitute constructive behaviors and what kinds of things constitute destructive behaviors. So, He seeks to create boundaries around our lives so that we will not be harmed by the destructive behaviors and have to live with the grief and regret that comes with these when are do them. While there is no sin that God cannot and will not forgive, He still has established a series of natural consequences from our actions which He rarely intervenes in. The statement that “some people want to sow their wild oats and then pray for a crop failure” is true in real life, but the crop failure rarely occurs.
Rather than view God as a harsh disciplinarian, we need to view Him as one who loves us and cares for us and knows what is best for us. He is the one who can tell us what the proper boundaries for living life well are. We should thank Him and rejoice in these boundaries.
CHALLENGE: Are you tempted to complain about a boundary that God has placed in your life? If so, confess this, and ask Him to give you His perspective on why He gave you that boundary. (MW)
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Sanctifyverses 10, 14
Wash their clothesverses 10, 14
Not go in to your wifeverse 15
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
People had to sanctify themselvesverses 10, 14, 22, 23
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God (Elohim)verses 3, 17, 19
LORD (Jehovah)verses 3, 7-11, 18, 20-24
Come in a thick cloudverse 9
LORD came on third dayverses 11, 16-25
Thunders, lightnings thick cloud
Voice of the trumpet exceeding loud
Fire
Smoke of a furnace
Whole mount quaked greatly
LORD descended
Called Moses up the mount
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Land of Egypt verses 1, 4
Wilderness of Sinaiverses 1, 2
Rephidimverse 2
Mount Sinaiverses 16-25
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Go up to into the mountverse 12
Touch the border of mountverses 12, 13
Come to their wives on third dayverse 15
Break through unto the LORD to gazeverse 21
Unsanctified priestsverse 22
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Obey the LORDverse 5
Keep HIS covenantverse 5
Kingdom of priestsverse 6
Holy nationverse 6
Believeverse 9
Sanctifyverses 10, 14, 22, 23
Set boundsverses 12, 23
Be readyverse 15
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Children of Israelverse 1
House of Jacobverse 3
Mosesverses 3-25
Went up to God
Called the elders
Took words of people to LORD
People believe Moses forever
Told people to wash their clothes
Third day
Set bounds around the mountain
Touch mountain caused death
Trumpet sound
Not come to wives on third day
LORD called Moses to top of mount
Moses spoke to people
Peculiar treasureverse 5
Kingdom of Priestsverse 6
Holy Nationverse 6
People trembledverse 16
Meet with Godverse 17
Priests sanctify themselvesverse 22
Aaronverse 23
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Believe Moses foreververse 9
Put to deathverse 12
Perishverse 21
DONATIONS:
Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org Also if you can support this ministry through your local church please use that method. Thank you.
QUOTES regarding passage
9 To forestall all future pretext for saying that the law Moses was about to give to Israel was of his own devising, God conferred on Moses the highest possible honor and deference ever given to mortal man. The “you” in this verse is singular, but the event of the advent or coming of God in a dense, dark cloud was public. Ordinarily God dwelt with his people in a pillar of cloud and fire; but here it turned dense and pitch black, perhaps with a roar of thunder and the flash of lightning as God’s voice pierced his creation. The voice of God speaking to Moses (cf. Deut 4:32–33) would be audible in the camp so that Israel and all her true descendants would trust in Moses’ words both then and for all time. (Kaiser, W. C., Jr. (1990). Exodus. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Vol. 2, p. 418). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
Moses then informed the elders of Israel and the people about God’s covenant and His plan to possess them uniquely. The people heartily responded by promising to obey His laws strictly. In anticipation of the covenant God ordered the people to separate themselves from impurity and to consecrate themselves to God. The three-day purification ritual included washing their garments and abstaining from sexual intercourse. Also during the three days no person or animal was to contact the mountain or he or it would be put to death. Such careful preparation underscored the significance of the event that was about to transpire. The God of the heavens was about to make a covenant with His people. Unlike pagan deities who supposedly dwelt in the mountains, the God of Israel descended from heaven (1 Kings 8:30, 49) to the mountains to converse with His people. (Hannah, J. D. (1985). Exodus. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 138). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Moses had returned to the Lord on the mountain and reported the people’s promise to obey His commandments. The fact that God spoke with Moses personally should have given the people confidence in their leader, but subsequent events proved differently. What a privilege it was for Israel to have a leader such as Moses, and what a tragedy that they repeatedly made life difficult for him! (Wiersbe, W. W. (1998). Be delivered (p. 105). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub.)
19:9 believe in you forever. The Lord designed the upcoming encounter with Him so as to forestall any later accusation that Moses had himself compiled the law and had not met with the Lord on the mountain. It would also lead to great deference being accorded Moses by the people. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ex 19:9). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
19:9 God was able to reveal only so much of His splendor to a people who were unprepared for a full revelation. Hence, He appeared to them in the thick cloud. (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (Ex 19:9). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.)
Ver. 9. And the Lord said unto Moses, &c.] As the Targum of Jonathan, on the third day; though Jarchi says the fourth; which seems not so well to agree with his words on the preceding verse, since it seems to be at the same time that Moses returned the words of the people to the Lord, that he said what follows to him: lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud; which was different from the pillar of cloud in which he went before the people, and now stood in it on the top of the mount; for he speaks not now of his present appearance to Moses, but of his appearance on the mount three days after; wherefore the Septuagint version wrongly renders it, in a pillar of cloud: there were appearances of the divine Majesty in a cloud frequently afterwards, both in the Old and New Testament, see Exod. 40:34; 1 Kings 8:10, 11; Matt. 17:5 and so Christ, the mighty Angel, is said to be clothed with a cloud, Rev. 10:1. And from such appearances as these, the Heathens have represented their deities, as Apollo, Venusl, Juno, and others, coming in a cloud, or clothed with one: that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever; they had believed Moses already, particularly at the Red sea, when they saw what was done there, but afterwards, as it seems, returned to their unbelief again; but now, as they would be eye-witnesses of the cloud in which the Lord would appear to Moses, so they would be ear-witnesses of what he said to him; for though the cloud was a thick one in which he came, so that they could not see any similitude, any likeness at all, not so much as a brightness, a shining glory, as they had seen in the pillar of cloud, see ch. 16:7, 10. yet, the voice of God out of it was so loud, when he spoke with Moses, that this vast body of people being placed around, at the lower part of the mount, heard plainly and distinctly all that was said; so that they were sure they were not imposed upon by Moses, but that the law he delivered to them was from God, since they heard it with their own ears; and therefore they and their posterity believed it forever, and never entertained the least distrust of the divinity and authority of it. This case was widely different from that of Numa or Mahomet, the one pretending to receive instructions from the goddess Egeria, and the other from the angel Gabriel; but all depended upon their own word, none were, nor did they pretend that any were eye or ear witnesses of what they declared; but such was the case here: and Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord; the same which he is said to return to him in the preceding verse, and here repeated for the confirmation of it, and to lead on to what the Lord had to say further concerning them. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, pp. 423–424). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
19:9 that the people may hear when I speak with you. The sights and sounds of the Lord’s presence on Mount Sinai are emphasized throughout the section (see also vv. 11, 16–19) and were to signify further that Moses was the one through whom the Lord was revealing his word to Israel. (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 175). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
Second, all other issues and concerns are subordinated to the central task of presenting the biblical text. Every preacher comes to the text and to the preaching event with a multitude of concerns and priorities in mind, manh of which are undeniably legitimate and important in their own right. One of our aims in preaching, for example. is evangelism. We want to see people brought to faith in Christ through the preached Word. Another motive for our preaching is the edification of our people and their encouragement in faith. All this takes place, however, only as we present and explain the biblical text itself. If a preacher leaves the pulpit without accomplishing that primary task, then no matter ho much the congregation enjoyed the sermon or felt move by it, his people will die. If genuine exposition of the Word of God is to take place, then every other concern must be subordinate to the central and irreducible task of explaining and presenting the biblical text. (From He IS Not Silent by R. Albert Mohler, Jr.)
JONATHAN EDWARDS for Armchair Theologians by James P. Byrd
You’ll discover in these pages a preacher whose pulpit helped launch the widespread revivals that historians call the Great Awakening – arguably the most important mass social movement in colonial America prior to the Revolutionary War. (p. xii)
This was serious business for Puritans, because they knew that Satan could generate false religious experiences and deceive the unsuspecting churchgoers into hell. (p. 6)
Today many mainline Protestants think of preaching as a form of religious communication, delivered in the church by a minister, usually once a week, with most sermons lasting no longer than thirty minutes. With this view of preaching in mind, imagine what it was like in Puritan New England, where ministers typically preached three times each week, with each sermon lasting up to two hours. (p. 7)
Puritans looked to the sermon for trustworthy instruction on politics, culture, and the news of the day. (p. 7)
Even the enlightened thinkers who did not attack Scripture began to stress that we can learn universal knowledge about God from nature without resorting to a particular group of ancient writings. (p. 16)
As a cat lets a mouse think it is free while in reality the cat is in total control, so the devil fools sinners into thinking that they are free and properly religious while all the time the devil is in control until he finally devours them. (p. 20)
THE HOLINESS OF GOD
Be ye holy; for I am holy. 1 Peter 1:16 God’s moral attributes are, in a sense, communicable. Something corresponding to them is to be found in men and women. What are these? Well, first we must mention the holiness of God. What is holiness? I think we almost inevitably tend to deal with it in negative terms, and we define it as meaning that God is entirely separate from and apart from sin. Holiness primarily means separation– separation from evil.
But, of course, holiness is also something positive. It is absolute purity. The Bible teaches us everywhere that God is holy, and a part of the manifestation of this holiness is His hatred of sin and His separation from sin, from the sinner and from all that is evil.
Let me give you certain outstanding examples and illustrations of the Bible’s teaching on this. God has revealed His holiness by granting visions of Himself to certain people. There is the great case of Moses, in Exodus 33 and in other places, where God appeared, as it were, to Moses, and Moses was overwhelmed by the sense of His holiness. The same thing happened to Job, to Isaiah, and to Ezekiel. Anyone who has ever come anywhere near to God has always been impressed by His absolute holiness. The Bible teaches this in certain terms that it uses; it refers to God as “the Holy One” (Isaiah 40:25), and we have God’s injunction, “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16), which is a specific, explicit statement of God’s holiness. I suppose if you were to be asked to say where the Bible teaches the holiness of God most powerfully of all, you have to go to Calvary. God is so holy, so utterly holy, that nothing but that awful death could make it possible for Him to forgive us. The cross is the supreme and the sublimest declaration and revelation of the holiness of God. A Thought to Ponder: The cross is the supreme and the sublimest declaration and revelation of the holiness of God. (From God the Father, God the Son, pp. 69-71, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Daniel 2 Nebuchadnezzar requires the wise men to tell him his dream and its interpretation. INSIGHT One of our responsibilities as children of God is to give God credit for who He is and what He does. It is a careless Christian who stands under the showers of God’s blessings without recognizing them. It is an irresponsible Christian who recognizes God’s blessings and does not give God the credit. Daniel recognizes God’s work and tells the king that it is God who “reveals deep and secret things” (v. 22). And through this, God is glorified. We must always be alert to the blessings of God in our lives, express our gratitude to Him, and give Him public credit. (QuietWalk)
The Scattering Hammer “Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29)
One of the most picturesque of the figures used to describe the Holy Scriptures is that of the hammer striking and shattering a rock. In this text, however, the “rock” is literally a mighty rock mountain. Furthermore, the effect of the hammer is to “break in pieces.” This phrase actually is a single Hebrew word that normally means “disperse” or “scatter abroad,” usually used in describing the worldwide dispersion of the children of Israel. It was used even earlier for the first dispersion at Babel: “So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth” (Genesis 11:8). Perhaps most significantly of all, it is used in the prophecy of Zechariah 13:7: “Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.”
This verse was quoted by the Lord Jesus just after the last supper and applied to Himself: “All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad” (Matthew 26:31). Combining all these themes, our text really seems to be saying: “Is not my word like a mighty hammer from heaven that shatters the great mountain and scatters it abroad?” Our text is inserted in the midst of a stinging rebuke by Jeremiah of Israel’s false prophets, contrasting their lies with the mighty power of God’s true Word. Perhaps it is also a parable of the living Word, who is also the great Rock of ages as well as the loving Shepherd. When the Rock was shattered, the living stones were ejected from the Rock. The sheep that were thus scattered from the Shepherd became the spreading fire of the written Word, and “they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. John 3:36 Another moral attribute of God that the Bible emphasizes is the righteousness or the justice of God. Now this follows, of course, inescapably, from the holiness of God. What is righteousness? Well, it is holiness manifested in God’s dealings with us. I think that is as good a definition as you can get. Or you can look at it like this: It is that quality in God that always reveals God as doing that which is right. It is that in God which makes Him incapable of doing anything that is wrong. Righteousness and justice are the carrying out of God’s holiness and the expression of it in the government of the world. A further definition still is that the righteousness of God is God’s love of holiness, and the justice of God is God’s abomination of sin. And I think that is the definition that most commends itself. Now the righteousness and the justice of God, of course, are revealed almost everywhere in the Scriptures. The wrath of God is taught in both the Old and New Testaments. Our Lord Himself taught it; one of the cardinal doctrines of the whole Bible is that God has a hatred of sin, which He expresses in His wrath. If anyone does not believe, says John, then “the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36). We are all by nature, says Paul, “the children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). But God’s righteousness and justice are not only manifested in His wrath. He reveals the same qualities in forgiving our sins. Having prepared the way of forgiveness, if we conform to it, the justice of God comes in, and by His justice God forgives us. And God prepared the way of forgiveness by providing propitiation for our sins–and this is the most remarkable thing of all. A Thought to Ponder: Righteousness is holiness manifested in God”s dealings with us.
(From God the Father, God the Son, pp. 72-73, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Visit our Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.