Exodus 34:10-17
Thank you for listening to Hope for Today. We are honored that you have chosen to be with us for today’s lesson. Today our title is “Moses as God’s Man,” and our passage is the next section of Exodus 34. Before we get into today’s lesson think about that title. “Moses as God’s Man” there was a big job to do, and God used Moses to accomplish it. What about today, is God still using people for specific jobs? Does God need us to accomplish certain tasks?
This question is a bit tricky, there are indeed lots of things we can do for God, and it’s good when we want to serve Him in big ways. However, we are foolish if we think God needs us. God doesn’t need us, but He does want us to partner with Him and be His servant. So yes, God is using people for specific tasks and no God doesn’t need us, but He wants you. Are you willing? Am I willing?
I like the mindset Mordecai had in the story of Esther and it’s a good example for us. He heard about Haman’s plan to destroy the Jews and he persuaded Esther to go before the king on behalf of her people. Mordecai was convinced God would save the Jews, if Esther was going to be silent deliverance would come from another place. Then he asked, “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
The first thing for us to notice and copy, Mordecai had total confidence in God and did all he could. He knew the Jewish people would not be destroyed, but it didn’t look good. He didn’t know how God would deliver them, so He did all he could with what he had. God still is trustworthy, but that doesn’t mean we sit around and do nothing. Let’s be like Mordecai and use our abilities, our resources, and the connections we have to serve God.
Second is the famous phrase, maybe you have been put here for such a time as this. The attitude behind this phrase is an attitude we should have. He knew he was part of a bigger plan, someone greater than Haman or Xerxes was in control and that power had him there for a reason. The same is true for you and me, maybe God put us right where we are for a reason. Not maybe, God has a reason and God has a plan, He is in control. It is our responsibility to see the big picture. So, let’s use all we have and contribute to His plan, right where you are, right now, for such a time as this.
So yes, Moses was God’s man for that moment. Will you be God’s man or woman for this moment? Do you have total confidence in Him and make decisions from His perspective, from the big picture? God doesn’t need us, but He wants us, and it is up to us to allow God to use us, be willing and be available.
If you can turn to Exodus 34:10-17 and let’s listen to Bible teacher J Mark Horst as he teaches the rest of today’s lesson.
Moses was the great leader of the children of Israel many years ago when they traveled from Egypt to Canaan. God chose Moses for that distinctive work.
I believe God has a special work for each person and for each work God has His person. That means God has a work for me and a work for you to do. In this specific place and time in Israel’s history, God chose Moses for this special work. He had a work for His man, Moses.
Moses had grown up, you may remember, in the court of Pharaoh and was heir to the throne of Egypt. But God had to humble him, so He sent Him out on the back side of the desert as a shepherd. He went from being a “somebody” to being a “nobody.” Then, God called him to be the leader of His people. Moses was reluctant to serve, he felt he was unqualified. But Moses as God’s man was especially qualified and trained by the LORD for the task which God called him now to perform.
In Exodus 34:10-17 God confirmed His call to Moses that he was indeed His man for this special task and work.
10. He said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD for it is a terrible thing that will do with thee.
11. Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
12. Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:
13. But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:
14. For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
15. Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a-whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice.
16. And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a-whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a-whoring after their gods.
17. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.
Here then in this text God gave final DIRECTIVES to His man for His work.
The First DIRECTIVE is,
To Observe God’s Outstanding Works
The LORD said, “I’m going to do marvels.” That means He was going to do outstanding works. He said, “Marvels, such as had not been done in all the earth or in any nation.” Moses was going to have the opportunity to observe God at work in a particular, special, marvelous, way before all the people of Israel. The LORD said He had not done this in any other nation or among any other people.
We may wonder, why would God do such outstanding works among a particular people called Israel. There is a reason for that, a special reason. God was going to bring forth His Word and His will to all the people of the earth through the people of Israel and by the hand of His man, Moses. God chose this particular man and this particular people to bring His revelation to all the world and that is an outstanding work.
We may not know all God wills to do, even as Moses did not know all God was going to do, but we should be ready to behold His marvelous works whatever He does. This was preparation for Moses, God’s man, to observe His outstanding works.
The Second DIRECTIVE is,
To Obey God’s Commanding Word
God gave Moses, His man, an especially careful command. It had to do with other people. He named several different ancient people in verse 11; the Amorite, Canaanite, Hittite, Perizzite, Hivite, and Jebusite. These were six neighboring nations to the people of Israel. God said to Moses that he was to be very careful regarding these people because they were not worshipping the true God.
God had a special command regarding their religion. Israel was to have nothing to do with their religions at all. God was giving Moses a commanding word regarding their situation and religion. He said Moses must be careful in every way not to become ensnared in the heathen religions of these neighboring peoples. He said Israel should destroy all their altars, images, and idols.
Moses as God’s man was to obey His commanding word. We must also be sure to follow the commandments of the LORD carefully. We should never presume upon the mercy and grace of God. Like Moses as God’s man, we should carefully obey His word.
The Third DIRECTIVE is,
To Order God’s Demanding Worship.
This is an enlargement of the second directive. Notice verse 14, “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” God will allow no rival, no other worship for His people. Moses, as God’s man, was to order the worship of God by concentrating on the one and only God, the LORD who is a jealous God.
To accomplish this, all others would need to be excluded. There could be no compromise. They could not make a covenant with the other inhabitants of the land to participate in their worship services when they sacrificed unto idols. They could not compromise by taking the daughters of foreigners as wives for their sons, lest their sons be ensnared in heathen idolatry.
God concluded His demands about worship by saying they were to make no kind of molten gods. This is what the ancient Canaanite tribes were known for – casting gods out of gold, silver, or some other molten metal. God was warning Moses, especially against this.
Moses as God’s man was to order Israel’s worship according to God’s demanding way. We too must make certain we are worshipping the true God in His way without compromise. That is what Moses as God’s man was expected to do.
Moses as God’s man received these directives: observe God’s outstanding works, obey God’s commanding word, and order God’s demanding worship. God gave these directives to Moses as His man so that He would be real in Moses’ life. There can be no rivalry with the presence of God in anyone’s life.
I wonder how God comes to you. How do you come to God? Is He real to you? Are you God’s man or woman?
Thanks, J Mark for sharing this lesson with us. Those are good questions. The answers are on us, no other person can answer them for us. I encourage you to think about how you know God, and then put effort into your relationship with Him. If we just let it go nothing will happen, so don’t do that.
As you have also noticed we are coming to the end of Exodus. We have been in Exodus just over a year and now we have three more lessons left. After Exodus is finished, we plan to go through the New Testament book of II Corinthians. We look forward to this change and hope you will join us for this study.
However, if you have questions about today’s lesson or want a copy of this teaching, feel free to contact us. Here is how you can contact us. The best way is by email. Our email is [email protected]. If you don’t have an email, please write to us, our address is Hope for Today, Box 3 Breezewood, PA 15533. Or you can connect with us on our website. Our website is Heraldsofhope.org. On our website you can listen to other programs like this and find more helpful resources, so please look around while you are there. If you go to the connect tab you can even message us directly from our website. Which again is, heraldsofhope.org.
Thanks again for joining us this week. This brings us to the end of our program. Lord willing, we will be together again next week, till then Go with God and I leave you with the question I asked at the beginning. Will you be God’s man or woman for this moment? You are where you are for a reason. Allow Him to work in and through you.
*This episode is an exposition by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.