God’s Promise to Moses Is a Promise to Us, Too

“And He said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give your rest.’ “ – Exodus 33:14

Moses returned to the plain where the thousands of Israelites (recently escaped from bondage in Egypt) were awaiting his return from Mt. Sinai where God had given to Moses the law (the 10 Commandments) and the Covenant. Moses came down from the mountain and found the people, under his brother Aaron’s leadership, a priest before the Lord, as was Moses, had allowed and even assisted the people in gathering gold they had procured before leaving Egyptian bondage. Aaron had cast a golden calf. They had bowed down and worshiped the golden image, to the great consternation of Moses. His heart was broken.

Could God forgive the erring people? They had broken the first and second commandments: “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.” And “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images.” In their desire to “see” God, they had made a false god to worship.

At the beginning of Chapter 33, God again commanded Moses to lead the people to the land He intended to give them for their inheritance. Even though they had grievously gone against God’s command in making and worshiping the golden calf, still God remembered the covenant he had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, “ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, To your offspring I will give it. I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way for you are a stiff-necked people.” (Exodus 33: 1-3, ESV).

On Moses’ plea, God forgave the people and promised Moses, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14). Chapters 34 through 40 of Exodus tell how the commandments were written by the hand of God again on tablets of stone Moses took with him to Mt. Sinai the second time. The covenant was renewed. Then the Tent of Meeting was built in in a much more elaborate fashion, and the Tabernacle became the center of and place for Hebrew worship until such time as they were settled in Jerusalem and Solomon, a future king, could erect the magnificent temple to honor God and in which they would worship. To indicate God’s presence with the nation, we read: “For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys” (Exodus 40:38). God was faithful to his promise to Moses, earthly leader of the people of Israel: “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14, ESV).

Thank God, that even today, hundreds of years after the Exodus from Egypt, the wilderness wanderings, and the conquest of the Promised Land, God is still faithful to His chosen people. Under the covenant of the Lord Jesus Christ, all who come to Him in faith are the Children of God, we have the continuing promise that God made to Moses so long ago. Thanks be to God, I am a child of the King of King and Lord of Lords. Amen. -Ethelene Dyer Jones. 10.22.2017

The First Commandment

“You shall have no other Gods before me.” -Exodus 20:3 (ESV)

Exodus 20 begins what was later named the Book of the Covenant (see Exodus 24:7). The Ten Commandments are found in Exodus 20:3-17. In their shortened form, perhaps you as well as I memorized them when younger. Not only are they vital for Jewish believers, to whom they were given by God through Moses in either the 1400’s BC or the 1300’s BC, but they have become the foundation of laws for many countries in our world.

On “the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Eypt on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.” (Exodus 19:1). Mount Sinai is believed to be the mountain where Moses saw the burning bush (Exodus 3) and received his call from God to go to Egypt and lead in freeing the Israelites from the bondage of slavery. Now, after ten plagues on the people of Egypt, the Israelites have escaped, they crossing the Red Sea, seeing their enemies destroyed, and finally Moses and his large entourage arrived in the desert area with Mt Sinai stretching upward. Moses was summoned to go to the mountain where God spoke to him, giving him the code of laws which we call the Ten Commandments.

“And the Lord spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Exodus 20:1-2). God identified himself to Moses. No doubt, Moses had no trouble knowing who was speaking to him because he had heard God’s voice before. Was it audible? Did Moses actually hear the voice of God coming out of the cloud that indicated God’s presence? Or was God’s voice vocal, clear, understandable, unmistakable? With Moses’ attention, God identified Himself positively: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” Certainly, with that experience and the escape fresh on Moses’ mind, he was ready to listen again to God’s counsel. This statement from God became a preface to the Ten Commandments and the rest of the law which God would give to Moses to be written down, not only for keeping before the people but to be studied, treasured, followed.

“You shall have no other Gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3). The first commandment declares unequivocally that Yahweh expects and demands total and exclusive covenant loyalty. There are no other Gods to worship save those conceived in the minds of those who would make an image or otherwise put up some entity to worship and follow. Monotheism, the worship of one God, is the only practice to be exercised by Moses and the Children of Israel, and yes, people everywhere are to take this first commandment from God as the exclusive way to worship. “Before me,” might mean, not just “ahead of God,” or “superior to God,” but worshiped “alongside me,” or “in addition to me.” In the creation account, God had made His identity as the one and only God known. In Egypt, with the plagues, Almighty God had displayed His power and superiority to the so-called gods of Egypt. Now, Moses and the Israelites were to demonstrate the power, love and supremacy, in keeping with God’s promise years before to Abraham that He would make him “Father of many nations,” and that Abraham’s seed would be as the sands of the seashore. And tied with that promise, the command to take the knowledge of the Lord to all peoples. And an important lesson for all peoples to learn: “You shall have no other Gods before me” (the first commandment). An important task for the Israelite people was to make the one true God known. God speaks this command with authority and expects obedience from those who love, worship, serve and follow Him. “The Lord is God; there is no other besides Him” (Deut 4:34, 39. TLB).

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for giving us the Ten Commandments that are a guide for how we should live, vertically in relationship to you (Commandments 1-4) and horizontally in relationship with our fellow man in the society in which we live (Commandments 5-10). And we begin on the right road with You by recognizing You, Sovereign Lord, Creator, Savior of all who believe and accept Your Truth, Love, and sacrifice for sin. Help us so to live that we may reflect Your love and sovereignty in our lives. Amen. -Ethelene Dyer Jones. 10.08.2017