A COMMAND TO WORSHIP GOD
Exodus 31:12-18
INTRODUCTION
The book of Exodus is a book of transition for the nation of
Israel from
slavery to
freedom.
The nation grew up in 400 years of slavery in Egypt .
Although they knew the true and living God handed down by word of mouth from
Jacob and his family, they only
knew formal worship of the idol gods of Egypt .
The Egyptians worshiped from 500
to 2000 idol gods (Baker Theological Dictionary).
The true living God had not performed any miracles or given
them any new revelations during their time in slavery. After the death of
Joseph there is no recorded man who
regularly spoke with God.
There seem to be a 400 year gap in God's communication
with man. It is the same as the gap between the close of the
Old Testament and the
beginning of the New Testament. In both cases God selects a
deliverer of His people
to start a new covenant or dispensation with man. Moses is
the dispensation of the Law
and Jesus is dispensation of Grace.
I AM That I Am. After delivering Israel
from slavery God gave them His Law for
freedom.
God also establish a formal structure for all Israel
to worship Him.
In slavery all Israel
knew was oppression and death. Under God's law, Israel
would
learn freedom and eternal life. They would learn that freedom comes with
responsibility
to Yahweh, the almighty God. Yahweh would be their
protector, provider and
promise keeper.
In the mist of desert, the Lord established His law and His
tabernacle with Israel . The Tabernacle was complete with an
order of priests, rules for sacrifice, sacred vessels and an order of worship.
I believe all of us go through a "desert time", a
time of growth and development
before He takes us to the next level. Israel
had to go through the desert to get prepared
for the promise land.
Exodus began the dispensation of the Law. God's house rules
for free and holy
people. In slavery, Israel
depended on the Pharaoh of Egypt. In freedom
The delivery of Israel
out of slavery is the fulfillment of part of the prophecy
God gave Abraham 400 years earlier. Genesis 15:13
. This is proof that
God keeps his promises.
WHEN GOD SPEAKS WE SHOULD LISTEN
V:12. " Then the Lord said to Moses,
13 "Say to the Israelites, 'You must observe my
Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come,
so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. "
A. Those who serve the Lord must always have a listen ear.
1. Like a man and
his wife must be tuned to each other, the servant must tune his
ear to the
Lord.
2. God always has
a message for us. The question is are we ready to hear from God.
B. God commanded a day of rest for the Israelites.
1. God wants us to
have some vacation time each week.
2. God intends for
us to set aside a day to worship Him.
C. We are not like the world.
1. Our
relationship with God has separated us from the world and its habits.
2. A sign of our
devotion to God is our day of worship.
D. Not only has God separated us from the world, but by His
divine operation
has made us Holy.
1. The Hebrew word
for Holy is "qodesh" which means a sacred place.
2. God equips each
believer with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
3. We are God's
holy place, the temple of the Lord.
3. When we worship
the Lord, we come to know Him as our Lord.
4. We need that
constant reminder that we belong to the Lord and that He
takes responsibility for us.
WORSHIPPING THE LORD IS OBEDIENCE
V:14. "'Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you.
Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that
day must be cut off from his people. "
A. During the day of
worship, the Israelites were commanded to dedicate themselves to
the Lord.
1. The Israelites
were just starting their way to the promise land when God gave them
His commands.
2. God's commands
were the tools that the Israelites would need to face the difficulties
of being free
people.
3. They grew up as
slaves in a foreign land and were not accustom to controlling their
own lives.
B. In Egypt, they
were bombarded with the worship of idol gods while trying to
maintain their
belief in their God.
1. Notice, God
gives us a choice to choose salvation or death.
2. Worship on the
Sabbath day was a command not an option.
3. In slavery in Egypt ,
the hard labor of Israelites was to their death.
4. Now being freed from slavery, God made
the labor of the Israelites
their livelihood.
5. So that their work would not become their
idol, God commanded a day of rest.
6. The consequences of rejecting God's
command is death.
FAILING TO WORSHIP IS SEPARATION FORM GOD
V:15 For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day
is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath
day must be put to death.
16 The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it
for the generations to come as a lasting covenant."
A. To understand the "work" we must consider it in
God's divine creative order.
1. The work of
creation was God giving life, first to earth and then to man.
2. God gave man
the work of maintaining his creation.
3. Man was not
given work to survive but to participate in God's ongoing population
of life on
earth.
B. Man was made in God's image and likeness, therefore He
mandated a day of rest so
man could reflect
on the good done with his hands under the divine power
of the creator.
1. Under slavery in
Egypt , work was
death, but under freedom with God, work
produces life.
2. Under slavery
there was no rest, under obedience to God is the freedom to rest.
3. Sometimes we
have to break with the traditions of the past to find
the joy in the
presence.
C. We have to understand this concept of work because in the
New Testament
The Hebrew
word for work is melakah which is general employment or
occupation.
The Hebrew
word for rest is sabbathown which means special holiday.
The Hebrew
word for Sabbath is the same but means intermission.
God
commanded Israel
to take an intermission from their general occupation.
This
intermission was meant for their good, not to their harm nor to
deny the
care for those in need. The act of healing ( Mark 3:2)
and the act of preparing a meal was
considered a violation of the Sabbath which
not
intended (Matthew Chapter 12)
WORSHIP, A SIGN OF OUR DEDICATION TO THE LORD
V:17. " It will be a sign between me and the Israelites
forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the
seventh day he abstained from work and rested."
A. God set the example for us to follow.
1. He completed
His creative plan in six days.
2. On the seventh
day God rested and reflected on His creation.
B. God set believers apart from the world.
1. The world work
to survive, believers work to rest.
2. The world work
to obtain goods, believers work to enjoy the goods provided.
3. The world's
work ends in death, believers work ends in
life
C. When the world see us worship, it is a sign that we serve
the true and living God.
1. We worship the
God of peace, joy and everlasting life.
2. The world
worship their works wish leads to misery, frustrations and death.
3. We are
commanded to worship God which will work to our good.
THE WORD OF GOD IS
PERMENANT
V:18. " When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount
Sinai , he gave him the two
tablets of the
Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God."
A. The study of the God's Word should bring confidence in
our lives.
1.God's commands are to be permanent in our
hearts.
2. We need to
study and meditate on God's Word so that they are permanently
implanted in
our hearts and minds.
B. God is the author our health and our salvation.
1. The love of God
has to be maintained with our obedience.
2. Love is defined as our obedience to God's
commands.
Rev M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
For more lessons, follow me on face book or visit my blogs
goodnewsrevmmitc.blogspot.com and www.revmmitchell.com
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