KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Tuesday, February 05, 2019
Chapters: Exodus 19-21
Message: God’s Peculiar Treasure
Hello My Friend,
When you think of obedience, the first reaction is to disobey. It really is in our sin nature to go against any kind of authority, point being, we can have little interest in something, but the second we are told we cannot have it, we want it. I have learned over the years that when God says, “NO!”, there is an absolute good reason for it, and if we go against Him we will surely regret it. Oh, and if we truly have a strong relationship with Jesus Christ, while temptation always comes, He always keeps us from falling, I can attest that He has, and still keeps me from falling over that edge. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” – I Corinthians 10:13.
“that ye may be able to bear it.” No, this is not a message about how sinful we are, but if we know how God feels about something it will save us a lot of heartache so we do not sin out of ignorance. Let me tell you, something as simple as doubt can lead to sin, and what we do not know really can hurt us. So, here is Israel, they have been on their journey to the promised land for a few months now, and God has proven to them quite a few times that He is right there with them. Well, it did not matter, once the next challenge came they were right back to doubting Him again. And here was the thing, the Egyptians, they had their own gods, and these gods were of statues, images, and idols, and this is what they expected from God Almighty, they wanted physical proof that He existed. God, led them to Mount Sinai, and spoke with Moses.
“And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” – Exodus 19:3-6.
“then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people:” God’s people are truly peculiar in that they are set apart, and so different from the world. Now, we are all sinners saved by the grace of God, if we are saved, but God’s people do not blend in with the world, they stick out like sore thumbs. And that is how it should be, if not we will face a lot of unnecessary suffering, which Israel proved time and time again for their disobedience to Him. Now, if they wanted to see God there had to be some rules.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, 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 upon mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth 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 soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.” – Exodus 19:9-13.
“when the trumpet soundeth long,” In order for the people to see God they had to first clean themselves, take baths, and wash their clothes, second, they had to be ready, and third they had to wait for Him to call them, which was the long sound of the trumpet. Since we are covered in the filth of sin we cannot even stand before God face to face, let alone touch Him, otherwise, it is an instant death sentence. Only when we are clean, and ready for Him can we avoid death when He calls for us. This may sound harsh, but it is the rule we must obey if we want to live. Now, it has been three days, the people are careful to heed the instructions, standing afar they anxious wait for the long sound of the trumpet, but they got much more than that.
“And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon 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 upon 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 spake, and God answered him by a voice.” – Exodus 19:16-19.
“and God answered him by a voice.” Talk about a light show! Fire coming down from heaven, striking the mountain, smoke coming out of the top, thunder, and lightening, it sounds like something from The Wizard of Oz, but that was no man, that was God Himself, and He began speaking directly to the entire congregation.
“And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” – Exodus 20:1-6.
“And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me,” I have read these verses at least once a year for the past twelve years, and even wrote from them, but this is the first time it spoke to me. You know, there were over six hundred commands that God had given Israel, six hundred and thirty actually, and they all come down to the first ten, which we all need to ingrain in our brains. God’s purpose for giving commands was never designed for the purpose of saving a soul, we are all sinners no matter what generation we come from, they were designed to set us apart from the world that is full of every god, idol, and creature known to man that they worship. God’s mercy endures to all who love Him, and if we love Him, we will keep His commands, and they are not grievous. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” – I John 5:3-4.
“even our faith.” Let me tell you, the world proclaims faith all day long, but faith is more than believing in something, it is complete and utter trust in God, and living by that trust. As I was praying this morning I asked God what exactly is it He wanted me to ask Him for because sometimes I feel what I am asking is not in His will for me. God’s response, “You know what to ask.” How many times do we go around something hoping for the one thing we are asking for when we know what God’s answer is? Do we forsake God because He tells us, No? Faith is not only believing, it seeing, even when we cannot see it for ourselves, and it is doing while we are believing, even when there is no guarantee that we will see it in our lifetime. Abraham was told he was going to be the father of multitudes, yet he did not see them, but he believed, and that is what saved him. Now, the whole congregation are witnessing God’s presence and hearing Him speak, and they were deathly afraid.
“And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.” – Exodus 18:23.
“Fear not: for God is come to prove you,” We are not perfect, we never will be until we get to heaven, and God knows this, which is why He sent His perfect Son. Following God’s commands has never been for keeping our salvation, it has always been about fearing God so that we do not live in so much pain from the consequences of sin. When we first get saved most of us are not aware of God’s Word in detail, so we tend to find out that many of the things we thought were okay to do, are in fact, wrong, but this is how we He proves us and we become more like Christ through the obedience of His Word. By the way, to fear God means to honor, respect, and worship only Him, those who love God will want to follow His commands as they walk in His Spirit. Since Israel just came out of slavery, God thought it necessary to address the issue of slaves.
“Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them. If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.” – Exodus 21:1-6.
“and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul;” An awl is an iron instrument used for piercing small holes in leather. This tool was used to brand a person who loved their master and family, and wanted to spend the rest of their lifetime in service to them. We too get branded when we believe in and trust Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we are branded by His blood and will spend eternity serving Him. There has been such an uproar these days about slavery, yes, some slaved were treated badly, but the majority of them were treated just as the Bible says, these people were a part of the family, just like we are all a part of the family of God.
“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” – Galatians 4:4-7. Praise God!
Jesus Christ Magnified: “And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.” – Exodus 19:18.
Today’s Prayer: God, You call on us to be separate, to be different from the world, and to them we are very peculiar, but You are okay with that because that is how You prefer us to be. In order for us to be Your peculiar people we need to obey Your commands, and if we love You we will obey them, and they will not be grievous to us. Jesus, You have cleansed me through Your Son, and I thank You and praise You for that, You tell us that we need to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves, which is really all ten commands wrapped up in two, lead me and guide me, ingrain Your commands in my heart, teach me, and give me the strength, power, and wisdom to follow them. In Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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