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Teaching podcast from the Eagle Community Church of Christ in Mont Belvieu, TX.
Well, we are still in the book of Exodus this week. Last week, we talked about Egypt. We talked about how the Israelites came out of over four hundred years of slavery. And we also talked about how hard that is for us to kind of grasp that fact. How would you feel coming out of four hundred years of slavery?
John Gunter:Now, you may immediately think, well, I'd feel pretty good because I'm free. But as we go through the story, we understand that it it's a little more complicated than that. Right? Well, now you're out of slavery, and you're being chased by an army. Now you're out of slavery, and you have an army on one side and a sea on the other.
John Gunter:Well, god delivers. Well, now that god has delivered and I am thankful for that. Now, I find myself in the wilderness away from my routine. How many of you are on a strict routine? Like, you know how every day is gonna go.
John Gunter:We've got people here that already know what they're gonna eat every day this week. Not calling any names. You're out of your routine, you're away from your home, and even if circumstance wasn't great. Now, I feel like it's worse because everything's unfamiliar and and so when we we read this story, we understand, okay, it is complicated and hopefully, we can see ourselves in some of their groaning and griping. Yes.
John Gunter:It's really easy to kind of point our finger but I would imagine when we get to heaven and we see some of these people, they're probably going to step on the other side of a mirror at one point and just point to it because we're the same way, aren't we? One moment, we're grateful and thankful. Thank you, God, for all you've done. And the next minute, we're like, well, there's probably something better out here I could be doing. And I veer from the path.
John Gunter:And what we see this week is, what does Israel do now that they've been given their freedom? How are they going to follow god? How are they going to honor god? Because god is he's shown up and shown out, we might say. He gave all these these plagues.
John Gunter:The pharaoh finally releases them. They think they're in trouble. He leads them through the the sea. They think they're going to starve to death. They think they're going to die of thirst and he fulfills all of their needs.
John Gunter:Now what? And so we're gonna begin this morning with Exodus 19, in verse two. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. Their Israel encamped before the mountain. While Moses went up to God, the Lord called to him out of the mountain saying, thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the people of Israel, you yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself.
John Gunter:I highlighted that, bore you on eagle's wings because that's a that's a special verse to this church. When we began this, this congregation and changed the name, it wasn't just about the school here. It was about God bearing us on eagle's wings. Now that is a a picture, a metaphor of freedom. Anybody flown before?
John Gunter:It's a different feeling, right? Looking out the window and go, oh. I can't imagine trying if I could anybody wanna travel back in time? I would until I think about they didn't have medicine. I'd probably die immediately or something.
John Gunter:But can you imagine telling like the founders of our nation, oh, yeah. One day, there will be metal tubes flying through the air. How crazy that would sound. You might as well say we're traveling across space to other planets. Right?
John Gunter:Which we have got done. Right? And I can't imagine, but but this metaphor even gets used in in modern cinema. Sinai? Cinema.
John Gunter:If you've ever watched the the Lord of the Rings, j r r Tolkien uses this where eagles come down and help out. In the the the moments that it looks like everything's lost, eagles come down and take the people away. And all of a sudden, you they're free. And that's using this metaphor as God delivering. But he said God says, I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself.
John Gunter:Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel. And so what God is telling Moses at this point is, I didn't just get you out of Egypt for whatever reason, for the heck of it, right? Just for freedom's sake. I got you out of Egypt to bring you to myself and that's the overarching picture we should be seeing as we go through the story.
John Gunter:That we began in the garden where god wanted to dwell with his people and they said, no, thank you. I found something better and god spends the rest of the time working on how we're going to rectify that. How we're going to make that relationship okay again and so god and again, we talked last week, not everything that that god does is on the timeline I would like. Four hundred years sounds a little long for me but god chooses to do things when god wants to do them and now that he's done them, you are going to be his treasured people and so there is they are saved for a purpose and what I want you to notice here is that god has done this and the Israelites have nothing to say, here's here's how we deserve this, right? There is nothing they can hold up and say, okay, god owes me.
John Gunter:God saves them and then says, you're gonna be my people if you will just obey. He says, all the earth is mine. That you will be a a kingdom of priests if you'll just follow me. You'll be a a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. So, again, the word holy means set apart for a purpose.
John Gunter:You got that? That you will be a holy nation. You will be set apart for a purpose. We are to be known as a holy people. That you are set apart for a purpose.
John Gunter:You ever wondered or had a conversation about what am I here for? What's the meaning of life, right? Well, those of us who are people of faith believe we all, every single one of us have a purpose. That god has made us holy. We're not holy of our own volition.
John Gunter:That god has made us holy, that we are here for a purpose. Why this don't know what to do? Go shine the light of Jesus wherever you go. Let's start there. Well, I don't know how to do that.
John Gunter:Alright? That's why we're in this, right? The story. What is god doing? What are we experiencing?
John Gunter:And god says, you will be my people and what god does to begin this is he reminds them of what he just did for them. Now, I talk all the time about how impatient we can be. We are a what have you done for me lately people, aren't we? And apparently, that has never changed because it's that's exactly what they do and god has to remind them. These are the people, right?
John Gunter:Can you imagine somebody, you ever had been in that conversation? Somebody likes to tell stories and they keep tell reminding you of the story and you're like, I was there. I had a buddy who like to tell stories and every time he included me and the story wasn't anywhere close to correct. That's a different different thing altogether. But god has decided, you're going to be my people if you will just follow me and we go on to what does that look like?
John Gunter:What does that mean? How are we going to proceed? And so in Exodus 20, you're gonna recognize a lot of this. We know as the the 10 commandments And he begins this way, and God spoke all these words. And if you're in class this morning, you heard, Heath explain that, this is known as the Decalogue or the 10 words.
John Gunter:We we've just said the 10 commandments, 10 words. God 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. He begins again with a reminder to the people of what he has done. So if they're under any, like, confusion about what has happened and who's responsible, God begins this whole thing with, that was me. I did this.
John Gunter:I brought you out. K? That is who, we're talking about here. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness or anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.
John Gunter:So this begins with how you're going to, see God. God is not something you create and mold and fashion and hold and control. You will hear me say, don't put god in a box. There have been a lot of arguments in churches and everyone of em I've ever been in about what god can and cannot do and I always take the position. Let's let god handle that.
John Gunter:Whatever he thinks he ought to do, whether I believe he can or not or should or not, that's not I'm not in that position, right? Woe is me if I have the pride to think I am but this is, you can't control god. Don't try to. God is bigger than all this. So, don't make these things.
John Gunter:Don't create other gods or something like that. You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I, the lord your god, am a jealous god visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. I want you to notice what that says. What does it say? Of those who what?
John Gunter:Hate me. Hate me. Not you stubbed your toe and and said that word you shouldn't have said. Okay? I think growing up, I I had, if you weren't perfect, you were lost.
John Gunter:How many of us in here aren't perfect? Let's start there, right? Because that's ridiculous to think that that that I'm I'm walking perfection. Now, Katie will tell you I am. But I've already been told that Logan said I wasn't this morning.
John Gunter:I didn't have all the answers. This is news to me. We all learn, I guess. But yeah, it's crazy to think that that you know, we're walking around perfection. He says, those who hate me, that is a choice that you make.
John Gunter:Not a mistake. I I've said it before and you've probably heard it before that some people have said about Church of Christ, the best thing that could happen to a Church of Christ person is get baptized and break your neck after getting out of baptistry. Because that's the only time you're perfect. Your sins are washed away and immediately death. And hopefully you didn't say something you shouldn't have said right before you die.
John Gunter:Which is sad. But what god is saying is that you can choose to hate him. You can choose to turn away from him, right? And and that's what he's talking about. I will visit the iniquities on to the third and fourth generation.
John Gunter:What you do, how you live your life has consequence Yes. It has negative consequences but what I would like to focus on is positive consequences because if you choose to live your life for god, there's a very good chance that your children will, that your grandchildren will, and I know we may not see it but you're here because you've heard me say before, there were people in the past who did this, right? They gave their life to god and now we sit here as evidence of their faith years ago. Generations back. And so, we can have positive and negative things and I hope we we want our kids and grandkids.
John Gunter:That's the most important thing to me is my boys are faithful, loving god their whole lives. That's what I want for them more than anything. I want them to have success in the world and to to have a good living. But more than anything in life, I want them to know God. Period.
John Gunter:And so, I I want to do everything I can to help them, right? I want to teach them. I want to bring them to class. I want to do everything I can to put god in front of them that they know about god and that's what we're talking about here. God is jealous.
John Gunter:We can put all kinds of things not just graven images but we can put all kinds of things in front of god. So, let's not do that. Let's turn and love him. He says, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the lord your god in vain for the lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
John Gunter:Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Did I get that? Yeah. Keep it holy. For in six days, the Lord made the heavens and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.
John Gunter:Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Alright. Now, we we understand that they got that a little out of whack and what that was for but he just told a bunch of people who were enslaved brick layers doing hard manual labor, you have a day off. The seventh day, you're going to keep it holy. The lord rested and you're going to rest.
John Gunter:Now, Jesus has to clean this up. The New Testament said, man was not made for the Sabbath. Sabbath was made for man, Right? For you to enjoy, and that's what God has given you. Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God has given you.
John Gunter:You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house, and you shall not cover covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that is your neighbor's. So God begins with life needs to be ordered around me and how you see me. The rest of the words or the commandments are ordered around how we see or how we react to one another. A lot of conversation has been around this like verse 17 about not coveting.
John Gunter:We are so blessed that sometimes we can covet stuff that you may have but I have the funds that I don't even really have to worry about coveting. I'll just go get it. Right? I I wish and and I look around a lot of times. There are a lot of things I want in life, a lot of expensive toys.
John Gunter:Anybody out there like that? And there's so many of those expensive toys that because we're very individualistic, I think I need to buy and have, and I might use them three times a year. And I've spent all of this money like I I I love you know, I'm from Arkansas, and so I I love, deer hunting. And so part of deer hunting, besides paying a lot of money for free meat, is putting out food plots, which is also free once you pay all the money to put it out there. And so I want a tractor.
John Gunter:And again, I would use a tractor about twice a year. I love to go out in a camper. I would use a camper about twice a year. And and so, like, we should be able to share those types of things, shouldn't we? Like, if we all weren't so selfish and worried about, can I have this one exactly I want it?
John Gunter:That's all our problem, isn't it? Men, Well, I would I would share but then it wouldn't be available when I need it, right? I love what Heath McCartney does. Heath just buys two of everything and that way he can loan one, he has one. I like that.
John Gunter:I like that. He'll tell you, he'll loan it to you, don't worry about it. I got another one. Yeah. Like that.
John Gunter:But but there are there are ways that we can kind of get around the covetousness but we still can be consumed with all of these things, right? If you don't have the money, then you worry about things. Oh, I'd like to have that. Boy, I need that tracker. Need it.
John Gunter:It becomes a need at that point, right? And again, if I just use my example, if I didn't spend all that money, just took it to the grocery store, well, it may make it a trip but let's be honest, groceries are expensive. But I could save a lot of money, couldn't I? Well, God is telling us about how we should treat one another. That it is not just about us and God, this individualistic thing.
John Gunter:Y'all don't worry about me. I don't worry about you. It matters how I treat you and how you treat me. That we are not people that should be taking advantage of one another. They should be looking at one another's property, jealous, and and desiring whether that's a we read about adultery.
John Gunter:We read about just coveting things but we can get into that and so god is saying, if you want to be my people, this is what it's going to look like. So, we skip down to Exodus chapter 32 And Moses has has come and he has gone face to face with God. Now again, we've already read two reminders about who God is. God reminding the people, I bore you on eagle's wings. I brought you out of slavery.
John Gunter:He keeps reminding them. Well, Moses goes up to the mountain to talk with god, but it was a little too long for them, and that's how this begins. When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together, Aaron, and said to him, up. If you told one of your your your significant other that this afternoon, actually try that and text me and tell me what happens. That's like saying, woman, you know, alright.
John Gunter:Play the funeral music right then. He says, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. It's almost like they're already distancing themselves whoever that guy is. This Moses character who brought us out of the land.
John Gunter:We don't know what's happened to him. So Aaron said to them, take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, sons, daughters, and bring them to me. So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, these are your gods, oh Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
John Gunter:Uh-oh. Anybody feel like your short term memory isn't there? Hate it. I wish my memory works really well. I I told you my preacher in Texarkana, he remembered our names.
John Gunter:He remembered my parents' names who he'd only met like once or twice. I can't do that. We're gonna have to introduce ourselves several times. But my goodness, wouldn't you remember this, you would think. I believe I would remember the plagues, the Passover, the Red Sea, the army, the slavery, and all of a sudden, after about forty days, this is too long.
John Gunter:We've got to move along from this Moses character. Let's create this golden image, this golden calf, and then claim these are your gods, oh Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Do you think god needs to remind them again? They've already forgotten. They've already decided that wasn't god.
John Gunter:How many times in your life have you seen God work? And as time goes on, you forget that God's shown up for you. We need those reminders too, don't we? That God was with you in that hard time. He was there and you got out of it.
John Gunter:But as time passes, we can forget, can't we? When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it and Aaron made a proclamation and said, tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord. And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. And the Lord said to Moses, go down for your people whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.
John Gunter:Did you notice what he said and how he said it? Because what I might do, if the kids are acting up, I'll say, Katie, get your son. See how God just distanced himself. You know what? Go get your people who you brought up.
John Gunter:Right? He has distanced himself from the whole thing. Okay. They are not mine anymore. They're not acting like mine.
John Gunter:They've chosen not to be his. That's the issue. It's not god is choosing in this moment. They have chosen. This is our god now.
John Gunter:They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, these are your gods, oh Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. They are already turning away from god and saying, god is something other than what he is. God is now these golden calves. And can you imagine how god would feel in that moment?
John Gunter:You ever not get, gotten credit for something you did, how that felt? Not only did you not get the credit, somebody else did. Anybody just real happy about that? Probably ruined your day, didn't Even if you didn't say, oh, I can't say anything now to make me look, you know, whatever. That is not a good thing but can you imagine claiming that this is god, this golden calf who you know good and well hasn't been there until now.
John Gunter:So, the people are physically out of Egypt. They are physically out of slavery but their hearts often like ours are slow to move and be changed into the hearts that god wants and desires. Yes. And so just like us, they are very slow to learn and understand but being rescued from slavery, it means a new life. Just like for us, baptism does.
John Gunter:But what it doesn't mean also is that everything is perfect after that, right? I often tell people who are going be baptized, we baptized quite a few lately but if if we have an opportunity to to talk, a lot of times, I will tell people that this doesn't mean everything's going to be be perfect. This often means that this is when it's going to be hard, right? It's just like, going on a diet. Right?
John Gunter:Today, I'm gonna live the right way and eat the right things. What did you just think about when I said diet? Right? I'm thinking, alright. Maybe I can get one more ice cream before I start this whole thing.
John Gunter:Right? It begins as, uh-oh, something within us desires something other than what we need. Right? That's exactly the same way it is with, with following God. At the moment, I choose to follow god is like Satan's alarm goes off and he says, I gotta go after him because now is the time.
John Gunter:I gotta get him now because if he commits to this, it's gonna be hard and so god's word right here exposes us. You see this? That when he tells us not to and when we when even we say for ourselves, what I'm not gonna do is eat sweets anymore. Boy, I love some M and M's. Man, if I could only have, right?
John Gunter:Immediately. Just like just like in the garden, you can have anything you want except this. And what do we want? That. Yeah?
John Gunter:I'm the same way today, aren't you? Why hold on? Why can't I have that? It must be good. Right?
John Gunter:All the ways that our mind tells us, well, I need more. So god tells Moses what Israel has done. Moses returns. He breaks the tablets. He confronts their sin, and then pleads for the people.
John Gunter:Exodus 33 becomes this conversation about whether god's presence will even continue in Israel. Again, god has kind of distanced himself and said, those people who you brought out, you know, your people have done this and so this conversation continues and and Moses is pleading back and forth. He wants god to continue with them. Please, stay with us and so, Moses does not treat the promised land by itself as enough. You know, god gives all these promises to the people.
John Gunter:I'm going make you a great nation. I'm going give you this land and and Moses makes the case that that is not enough to simply have the land or even safety or national identity. Israel is supposed to be a people with their god. Right? Alright.
John Gunter:Let's think about our situation. Are you happy to live where you live? That's a summer, probably not. I'd like to live in a place that has a fall. It'd be nice.
John Gunter:But, really, I love where I live. I love the people. I love everything about it. We have, all the things I want to do, I can go do. I love where I live.
John Gunter:But is it enough if I don't have God? No. Not for me. I have freedom. I'm able to do whatever.
John Gunter:But without God, I am nothing. And that's what Moses tries to say. That is not enough to have all of these things. We are supposed to be a people with God. In Exodus 34, so Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first that he's already broken, And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai as the Lord had commanded him and took his hand, took in his hand two tablets of stone.
John Gunter:The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. This is what God says you ought to know about him. The word of God is God revealing himself to us. You ever heard somebody say, well, the God of the New Testament is grace and mercy.
John Gunter:The God of the Old Testament is wrath, fire, and vengeance. What god wants you to know about himself is this, the lord, the lord, a god merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. And I believe it, don't you? Look at what the Israelites have done to God, what they've said, all the groaning, complaining, everything's wrong. How many of you have patience like that?
John Gunter:I have already yelled at my kids at this point. I'm just saying. Right? My kids know, hey, none of that. That's enough.
John Gunter:I need silence. God is slow to anger. He is abounding in steadfast love. The word used for steadfast love is Hesed, H E S E D, if we were using that in English. Hesed, steadfast, fast, everlasting love.
John Gunter:That's who god is. Keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin but who will by no means clear the guilty visiting the iniquity of the fathers and the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation. And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, if now I have found favor in your sight, oh lord, please let the lord go in the midst of us. For it is a stiff necked people and pardon our inequity and our sin and take us for your inheritance.
John Gunter:How many stiff necked folks do we have in here today? If it's not you, point it to your the person you know who is. Yeah. Sometimes, that's just the case and sometimes our prayers need to be that way, don't they? I don't know how to fix this situation.
John Gunter:Lord, you know they are stiff necked. You might as well say stubborn, right? Stiff necked means it is hard for me to turn. I'm not gonna turn from my way. I am set out on a path.
John Gunter:I am not gonna turn one way or the other. Moses understands these people. You know, Lord, this is how they are, but please stay with us. Partner our iniquity and our sin and take us for your inheritance. It says in in verse 34, then the cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
John Gunter:God has chosen in this moment to stay with his people. That the glory of the lord is now going to reside in this tabernacle. Again, as we go back to Eden, god walks with Adam and Eve. We didn't want that. Okay?
John Gunter:God is fixing this relationship and now, God is back. He said, this is how it's gonna be to live, in my midst, and now God has given them a tabernacle where he will dwell. And it it says, and Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. And if the if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up.
John Gunter:For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and the fire was in it by night, and in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journey. So do you see how God is now dwelling with them and leading them very physically? Now, you're following. Now, it seems like, okay, maybe we're getting it, a little more. God has chosen, okay, if you want to be my people, this is what it's going to look like.
John Gunter:And so what does this covenant life teach us? The grace of God does not make obedience unnecessary. Right? We can't be a people that just praise god for his grace and mercy and live life any way we want, okay? The grace of god does not make obedience unnecessary.
John Gunter:God really gives grace and obedience. It's proper place. We respond to God because of what he has done for us. Right? Paul will say, while we were yet sinners, God sent his son to die for us.
John Gunter:Saying that, you haven't done anything to earn it. This is God's gift to you, and that's what we see here is that God is gracious. He is giving these people chance after chance, and being rescued does not mean that everything is over and everything's gonna be perfect. Just like your baptism, you come out, your sins are washed away, life to me now. Life will not be perfect.
John Gunter:There will be times of struggle. There will be times of questioning. There will be times that you're wrestling with your faith. We live in a time we we say things like Murphy's Law. Right?
John Gunter:Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Thought often it seems to happen to me financially is where I like my antenna's up. We thought we were going to make some extra payments on some stuff this month, lost a dryer. Been there? Finally ahead.
John Gunter:No, you're not. Right? No, you're not. And and so, life is not going to be perfect but if we have god, we have all we need. Boy, I don't know about that y'all.
John Gunter:If we have god, we have all we need. Amen. At Sinai, god tells Israel, I brought you to myself. He has given them, he is giving them a land, he's already fulfilled the people part, right? And now, god goes with them as their god being a special people And so, the story moves forward.
John Gunter:Israel now has god's covenant, his commands, and now a tabernacle to follow and to have god's presence within their midst. But they still carry the same weakness, the same difficulties, the same struggles that we have. So the question moving forward in the story is whether the people will learn to live faithfully with God. How do you think it's gonna play out? Probably like a roller coaster.
John Gunter:Bunch of loops, maybe even going backwards at times. But that is how we are, but god is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. Amen, sir? Amen. And so god's heart is for his people.
John Gunter:The question this morning is, are you gonna be a part of that number? Are you gonna be a part of god's people and live faithfully to him, to be obedient to him? We're gonna have a a moment of invitation. We'd love to pray with you. If you wanna pray about anything, encourage you.
John Gunter:If you got a struggle, we we just love to wrap our arms around you and share our own. But if you haven't begun that walk with him, don't wait another day. God's desire, as we have seen from Adam and Eve in the garden, now we're fixing this with the tabernacle, God's desire is to be with you. But you have to come to him. So come to him this morning.
John Gunter:Would you come as we stand and as we sing?