The Wilderness Wanderings, Part 1
The Gospel In the Exodus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 2 viewsNotes
Transcript
Slavery
Deliverer
Plagues
Passover
Red Sea
Wilderness
Our Wilderness – This life between redemption (Passover) and baptism (the Red Sea) and death (Crossing the Jordan River)
Why The Wilderness? (vs. 1-6)
Why The Wilderness? (vs. 1-6)
vs. 1 - During Israel’s time in the wilderness it became a time of learning to lean on God and trust His daily presence and provision.
vs. 2-4 - During Israel’s time in the wilderness, it became a time of learning to worship.
vs. 5-6 - During Israel’s time in the wilderness it became a time of refining, testing, and temptation
All of this points to Jesus
baptism
communion
rock
temptation in the wilderness
vs 6-13 - If we are followers of Jesus (baptized into His name) we will be tested, just like Him.
Our Good God: Help in the Wilderness
Our Good God: Help in the Wilderness
What did God give them to help them through the wilderness?
God Gave Them His Presence (vs 1) - Cloud by day and pillar of fire by night.
Burning Bush - This is Holy Ground.
The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
Pillar of Fire - Guidance, Covering, and Protection
The Cloud was a symbol of God’s presence and protection. They had come under the protection of God. This is a reference to the Shekinah Glory of God. It is referenced as falling upon the Holy of Holies at the dedication of the temple and the presence of God being so heavy that the Levites fell to their knees and could not carry on their service. It is the cloud that hovered over the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle during the wilderness journey.
The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
The angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them.
At the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion.
Fire on Mount Sinai - The Holiness of God
Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.
Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.
God Gave Them the Tabernacle (vs 2-4)
A Time of Learning to Worship
Worship for God’s Provision for us
Passed through the sea - He saves us.
baptism
redemption
justification
spiritual food - He sustains us.
bread / manna
Jesus is the bread of life
spiritual drink - He satisfies us.
Living Water - Holy Spirit - fire
Communion
Bread
Blood
the Rock - He solidifies us.
Rock is an OT title for Yahweh - emphasizing strength and force / foundation and security / the one who upholds all things
After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
God’s Word - Jesus
Living Water - Jesus
Everything in the Tabernacle pointed to Jesus.
Not surprising since the whole tabernacle set up was a picture of Jesus Christ. The Son of God Himself was the tabernacle and when He came to earth John says it this way:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Tabernacle:
Gate - Jesus is the door
High Priest - Jesus is our high priest
Bronze Altar - Jesus is our sacrificial lamb / Jesus is our Good Shepherd
Wash Basin - Jesus is our sanctification
Table of Showbread - Jesus is the bread of Life
Pitcher of Wine - Jesus is the Vine
Candelabra - Jesus is the Light of the world
Altar of Incense - Jesus is our intercessor.
Veil - Jesus is our mediator.
Ark - Jesus is our atonement
contents - Jesus is the way (10 commandments) and the truth (authority) and the life (manna).
This leads to the understanding that Communion is now a spiritual meal in reminder of what Christ has done and His presence with us through the wilderness.
God gave them the Law (vs 5-6)
The Wilderness became a time of refining, testing, and temptation.
“You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. “He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.
“Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. “Thus you are to know in your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. “Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.
Tempted / Tested - Peirazo
try, prove, refine - as by God to demonstrate the genuineness of one’s faith
to tempt and solicit to sin - to cause one to fall as by Satan
“Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
Refining: Discipline and Sanctification - living and learning as His covenant people
Israel – First generation will die in wilderness, next generation to enter Promised Land
Us – We are to die to our old self, putting off the old self, new self matures till Heaven.
But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
Discipline is necessary in the refining process. He is disciplining us for our good!
Refining leads to sanctification which leads to peace, righteousness, holiness, and healing.
But we have to be willing to let discipline do its work. If we are not trained by it, we will keep going through it until we have learned the lesson that God intends for us to learn.
Do not be stubborn with God! He’s only trying to do things for our good!
Our Good God: Help In The Wilderness
His Presence - Fire
Worship - Tabernacle
Sanctification - Law
The wilderness may seem burdensome, but God gives us His presence and his grace to help us in our time of need.
The wilderness may seem like a forlorn place where nothing good can come out of it. But God is making streams of life in the desert through our worship of Him.
The wilderness may seem like punishment for something we’ve done wrong (and it might be), but God disciplines us and turns it around for our good.
The wilderness may seem like a time of unending trial, but God is refining us and purifying our faith.
If we have the right attitude, the wilderness will produce a harvest of righteousness, peace, and holiness.
Finally, in the end, we will shine like pure gold reflecting the very image of Christ and we will be perfected and established to the praise of His glory.
Closing Song: The Goodness of God