The Man Moses #10

The Lord said to me,.."I will test my people with a plumbline. Amos 7:8 (TLB)

The Plumbline is a blog to encourage the Body of Christ.

The Man Moses #10

J. C. Sheridan, II

Exodus 20:18 (NKJV)  Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.

The people’s response (20:18-21)The response of the people gathered before the mountain was one of fear and awe (cf. 19:16). Recognizing the mighty power and majesty of God, they wanted to hear of Him through Moses—not directly lest God destroy them. Moses assured them that the purpose of this display of God’s power and holiness was to test their reaction to Him. Fear of Him would help curb their disobedience. Tragically Israel soon lost this fear of Him (Ex. 32)—a frequent theme in her history.

The Book of the Covenant (20:22-24:11) God applied and elaborated on the Decalogue in its civil and religious implications for the nation. This section is called “the Book of the Covenant,” based on that phrase in 24:7.

Statutes concerning worship (20:22-26) God gave the nation regulations about their worship of the true God and the building of an altar. He had come from heaven to Mount Sinai (19:20) to give the Ten Commandments. Now (20:22-23:19) He elaborated on many of the 10 Commandments. The command to worship God alone, not other deities (20:23), and the caution against making carved or molten idols of silver or... gold, re-emphasizes the first and second commandments (vv. 3-4).

On an altar the people were to offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, which would result in His name being honored and their lives being blessed. Reference to a single altar indicates that God intended that worship should be centralized in one place.

The altar was to be unadorned by craftsmanship; it was to be of earth (i.e., of natural stones; cf. Deut. 27:5-7), and without steps so the priests would not be indecently exposed. Altars with elaborate craftsmanship and elevated platforms with staircases were common in the worship of false deities.

God said, I will fix your boundaries - Exodus 23:31 (NLT) And I will fix your boundaries from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the eastern wilderness to the Euphrates River. I will hand over to you the people now living in the land, and you will drive them out ahead of you. Then the Lord prescribed the borders of the Promised Land. The Red Sea in this case is the part of the Red Sea now known as the Sea of Aqaba (probably to form the nation’s southeastern boundary). The Sea of the Philistines would be the western boundary (the Mediterranean Sea), the desert the southern boundary, and the Euphrates River the northern (or northeastern) boundary. 

This territory was occupied during the time of Solomon (1 Kings 4:21) though much of it was not fully under Israel. Pockets of the enemy still lived in the land as Vassals  to Israel (cf. Deut. 11:24 and see comments on Deut. 1:7). Yet the presence of these enemies in the land was a constant menace to Israel, as God had predicted. Joshua 9:3-15 records a violation of God’s command not to make a covenant or treaty (cf. Ex. 34:12) with any of the foreign peoples in the land of Canaan. Failure to drive... out the enemy (23:31) would result in their causing Israel to sin primarily through their idolatry. Israel’s later history certainly proved this to be true.

God’s expressed plan for a territory for Israel is very different from the boarders that we know comprises Israel today!