Exodus 20:18 – 24:8 Bible Teaching

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Okay, gonna hit hard today because I want to make sure we get the genuine story extracted from all of this and not the traditional story.

Moses has just given the Nation of Israel, (who had been in bondage to Egypt for hundreds of years) the name of the Living God, they have been miraculously lead out of captivity and last week they were given what I maintain are “the ten words of the marriage contract” between YAHAVAH and this specific nation.

We ended with the tenth expression included on the tablets which described YAHAVAH’s COMMAND for the people to not covet in any way.

After the giving of these items, we read at verse 18 of Exodus 20

Exodus 20.18-24.8
January 28th 2024
Exodus 20:18 Now when all the people perceived the thunderings and the lightnings and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled; and they stood afar off,
19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will hear; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.”
20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to prove you, and that the fear of him may be before your eyes, that you may not sin.”
21 And the people stood afar off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

So, Moses goes back up to the Mount toward the thick darkness where Elohiym was. And from this point forward Moses records what YAHAVAH adds to the information already given – which we will talk about momentarily.

But before that we have to speak about this first covenantal relationship the Nation had with God. Its not simple to understand because it has some paradoxical meaning that muddies an easy interpretation.

Look back at verse 19 of chapter 20 where after Moses share the ketubah covenants with the people after we read

Exodus 20:18 Now when all the people perceived the thunderings and the lightnings and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled; and they stood afar off,
19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will hear; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.”

This is the human response to a direct nearly unfiltered interaction with the Living God whose name is YAHAVAH.

Again, when humans meet their Maker directly – what is the response in almost case if not every case?

FEAR.

Why? God is a consuming fire. God is Holy. God is just. God is pure unadulterated, unpolluted absolutely incomprehensible truth.

So, when we humans who are not used to such genuine light come face to face with Him – even from a distance, the result, when authentic and not reworked for the human audience, is terror.

I would maintain before you all that this has not changed. Because He does not change except in what I believe are in His continued adapting expressions and extensions of love, but He remains the same, which is why the writer of Hebrews plainly states in the Apostolic Record,

Hebrews 12:28-29 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29 For our God is a consuming fire.

I am sometimes accused of downplaying the glory and holiness of the Living God in the face of His total victory over the Fall but this is an unfortunate by-product of our pushing fulfillment and the fact that God has been reconciled to the whole world by, in and through the final work of Yeshua.

Please here me clearly on this – God’s traits, character, glory and holiness never, ever changes and He therefore remains a consuming fire.

Hear me clearly. What does He as a consuming fire consume? What does fire consume? Combustible materials, right?

Our being fearful, say, of the sun, might be a reasonable comparison. Is the sun beneficial to human life? Beyond our ability to even comprehend, right? But in the fact that it blesses all incomprehensibly, the sun ought to be respected and when we really think about it, feared to some extent because by its very nature it will destroy human beings – especially human beings who refuse to respect its power.

I remember in the sixties hearing my mom talk to my teenage siblings about drug users who decided to stare at the sun and went blind.

They didn’t respect the power of the sun. I learned a direct lesson about the power of the sun when I was about seven years old.

We had a pool in our backyard and my old man drained the water then made me go out and sand its pure white walls in preparation to give it what he called an acid bath.

I didn’t realize it while it was happening but out of the blue I went totally blind – like could not see anything and literally had to feel my way out of the pool to go and get my mom’s attention in the house.

She called the doctor and I was diagnosed with having gone snow-blind. If memory serves, I got my sight back within a couple hours. But to really understand my old man I was back out in that damn pool the very next day wearing my moms sunglasses with a scarf tied over my head.

I would imagine that the creator of that sun has far more might and power by comparison. For believers that fear is akin to an ultimate respect, an awe, and a broken, humble view of Him as (listen) incomprehensible love.

Because of Christ, we can go boldly into His presence and have the Living God as our papa, but never lose sight of the biblical fact that He is holy, He is pure light, His Love is never-ending and incomprehensible and we, of all people, are so fortunate to have access to Him by faith.

The Nation of Israel did too, but the fact remains, under the Law and in that day prior to fulfillment, they should have feared Him because “the way to Him” had to open.

And the dictates of the Law, along with His interaction with a people (yet to be reconciled) demanded a healthy heart of fear.

But listen to what Moses says to them when they say, “you listen to Him – we want nothing to do with such power manifested.” We read in verse 20

20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to prove you, and that the fear of him may be before your eyes, that you may not sin.”

The Hebrew uses two different words in this single passage for fear – One which means frightened and what Moses tells them not to be. That word is Yahray. But then he adds, why, saying

“for God has come to prove you, and that the fear of Him may come before your eyes.”

The Hebrew word for fear there is YIR-RAW, and it means, “morally reverent.”

One is the fear or fright of a thing and the other is reverence for or reverence toward His person in the face of His holiness.

Do I fear God? In the household of faith in His promises? Absolutely not. He is my father/papa and I go to Him in faith with utmost trust in His hand in my life and the life of my family and even this world. Period. Done.

But do I fear disappointing Him by my will and ways. Am I well-aware of His Glory, Power, Light and Love? That He is more holy than ten billion suns and that as this consuming fire He deserves every ounce of respect even though He is our papa.

Unquestionably.

And here’s the gig or catch in putting this all together.

His Kingdom of light and love, to some, is absolutely untouchable, maybe even unseeable, by those in possession of whatever can, should and will be consumed by Him if there is ever a meeting.

Whatever is not of His Spirit, perhaps?

This principle helps us better (but not perfectly) understand the power and holiness of the invisible God, His Son and the finished work it brings into this world.

Fire can warm, it can supply necessary life, nutrients, vision, and empowerment. But at the same time and the right circumstances, that same fire will dry out, evaporate, burn, consume anything lacking the ability to resist it or anything that cannot withstand it force.

When the Nation of Israel feared YAHAVAH, they were frightened by Him, and this response will typically call people to run from such rather than run toward it.

Moses did not want them to run from Him due to being frightened, he wanted them to honor Him by rightly and reverently fearing Him.

And this they did not do. They were able to be terrified of Him, but they refused to respect Him with proper awe.

We might be able to sort of tongue in cheek say,

“The Law didn’t produce awe.
It appeared and produced fear.”

And this response was not what would ever work in the hearts and minds of people who predominantly choose to live like rats. What I mean by this is they didn’t want light or His love or to really follow Him. They wanted their ways which were dark. So, His light served to cause them to scamper when it came rather than to run to Him and gather.

There are 45 instances where YAHAVAH will tell the Nation to fear Him in the sense of Moral Reverence or YIRAH.

The frightened type of fear toward YAHAVAH in the old testament (YAWWAY) is also use toward them and their view of Him as the Old Testament unfolds – which is natural especially in light of their choices and that is why we can read passages like Deuteronomy 4:10 where Moses wrote,

Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.

The fear there IS the kind that is based in being frightened. But at the giving of the Law Moses tried to explain that there would be no reason to possess such fear IF they would learn to reverently show YAHAVAH honor and love by obeying Him.

With all of his in mind, I would suggest that even today, in the face of fulfillment and God being reconciled to the world by and through the victorious work of His Son, that there are souls who, refusing to Revere the living God, will wind up fearing Him (as in being frightened by Him) for the simple reason they have refused to be reconciled to Him.

At verse 22 of Exodus 20, Moses has gone back up to the Dark Mount to communicate with the Living God in the absence of the people. There we read

22 And the LORD said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven.

And from verse 23 all the way through to the end of Exodus, really, YAHAVAH gives them an expanded recitation of these ten words, and in doing so He amplifies them to some extent.

For instance, at verse 23, He starts in again and says,

23 You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.

These two commands, obviously, are slightly more detailed and give insight into what God meant by “have no other gods nor make graven images.”

But remember a couple key things here.

First, the people were not hearing these additions – they didn’t want to hear the Living God through all the terrifying environments by which the additions came.

So, they told Moses, “you hear Him and tell us what He says,” and at verse 21 we read,

“And the people stood afar off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.”

Then Moses reports what was said, which he adds to the narrative of his giving them the ten words.

So, what we are reading from Exodus 20:23 through pretty much the end of Exodus is what YAHAVAH said to Moses as addendums to the ten word declaration.

We have to work slowly here because there are ten thousand ways to Sunday to misread and what is here is really revealing.

So now that Moses has left them at their request and went back to the thick Darkness we read YAHAVAH say to them,

24 An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.
25 And if you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones; for if you wield your tool upon it you profane it.
26 And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.

Do you know what YAHAVAH just said to them? He told them how and where to offer sacrifice, didn’t He? He said,

“In every place where I cause my name to be remembered,” right?

Keep this in mind as we go forward with our review or overview of chapters 21 to the end of the Book.

Yes, this is an overview because all of the minutia is only interesting if you’re interested in the way God went about explaining to them how to get along, how to love, and how to be civil as His people.
So, while the reading is sort of fun – boy do they have a lot of instructions – it isn’t really necessary information. When we get to a game changing line, we will pause.

Exodus 21:1 Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.

All of the content of chapter 21 speaks to their governing of their community. At verse 24 we get the legendary,

24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

This is the earliest account of what is called the “lex talionis,” or the “law of like for like” which later prevailed among the Greeks and Romans.

All of these different regulations about servants and slaves and oxen and the like are witness to the sanctity of life and living.

At chapter 22 we get more rules for civil living and here we come upon the better known verses like

18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. 19 Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death. 20 He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

Remember, the people had just come out from hundreds of years of captivity to another pagan land, they were fearful, they were weak so God was laying out for them how they ought to be in relation to living with each other.

At chapter 23 we get more details about how to live with each other. Then at verse 17 we read about some religious obligations YAHAVAH has for the males, saying

Exodus 23:17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before YAHAVAH Elohiym.

According to their traditions and targums, old men, sick men, male idiots, and male children under thirteen years of age were exempt from this.

We also get a more specific dietary nod at verse 19 which says,

The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of YAHAVAH thy Elohiym. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

From verse 20-23 YAHAVAH speaks of sending His angel before them, saying:

“Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.

Did you catch the Promise – I will go before you and cut these seven specific nations off,” God says. Over and over He says He will do these things “IF” – “IF they obeyed His voice.”

IF

From verse 24 to the end of the chapter Moses writes that YAHAVAH says,

24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.

What was wrong with these seven nations that caused YAHAVAH to ban the Nation of Israel from having anything to do with them?

First of all, the seven nations were all descendants of one man – do you remember his name and origins? His name was “Canaan,” and He was the son of Ham who was the grandson of Noah.

Collectively, they were called, “Canaanites,” and Noah punished Ham for whatever he did when he was drunk by cursing Canaan, his son.

When the Canaanites are described separately, one nation was called, Canaanites, and the others were known as Amorites, Girgashites, Hittites, Hivites, Jebusites and the Perizzites.

The “Canaanites,” according to Numbers 13:29 were “dwellers in the lowlands,” the great plains and valleys which were the richest and most important parts of Palestine.

Tyre and Sidon, were their famous cities, and because they were centers of great commercial activity, the name Canaanite became synonymous with the terms, “trader” or “merchant.” (Job 41:6; Proverbs 31:24; Zephania 1:11; Ezekiel 17:4)

Every now and again the scripture will refer to any non-Israelite as inhabitants of the land sort of like the apostolic record describes any non-Jew as a Gentile.

We are reading some preface material to ready the Nations mind because when the Israelites ultimately come to the Promised Land, they are commanded by YAHAVAH to utterly destroy the descendants of Canaan who possessed it (Ex 23:23; Nu 33:52-53; De 20:16-17)

According to Exodus 23:29 (and Deuteronomy 7:22-23) this action was to be done “by little and little,” to avoid the beasts of the field growing in number. And while the Book of Joshua describes the history of the wars against these forbidden seven nations the extermination of them was never fully carried out. Ever.

Why would a loving God do what seemingly appears ruthless and mean against seven entire nations of people, male, female, children and animals?
We aren’t told all the reasoning here but by going to Deuteronomy 7 we get a better recitation of God’s reasoning.

I want to take the time to read it now so we can hear the logic and the conditions YAHAVAH sets upon the Nation more completely starting at verse 1.

The Book of Deuteronomy contains all that Moses said to the Nation right before they entered the Promised land. It is a rehearsal almost of what they had see and what they were commanded.

So, at 7:1 Moses says,

Deuteronomy 7:1 When YAHAVAH thy Elohiym shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
2 And when YAHAVAH thy elohiym shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:
3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.
4 For . . . they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of YAHAVAH be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.
5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.
6 For thou art an holy people unto YAHAVAH thy Elohiym: the YAHAVAH thy Elohiym hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
7 YAHAVAH did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
8 But because YAHAVAH loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath YAHAVAH brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9 Know therefore that YAHAVAH thy elohiym, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that . . . love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
10 And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.
11 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.
12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that YAHAVAH thy Elohiym shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:
13 And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
14 Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.
15 And YAHAVAH will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.
16 And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee.
17 If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?
18 Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what YAHAVAH thy Elohiym did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt;
19 The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby YAHAVAH they Elohiym brought thee out: so shall YAHAVAH thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid.
20 Moreover YAHAVAH thy Elohim will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.
21 Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for YAHAVAH thy Elohiym is among you, a mighty God and terrible.
22 And YAHAVAH thy Elohiym will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.
23 But YAHAVAH thy Elohiym shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed.
24 And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them.
25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to YAHAVAH thy Elohiym.
26 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.

Back to Exodus 23 YAHAVAH continues to talk to Moses and describes how He will aid them in overcoming the seven nations IF they would obey Him and refrain from engaging with them.

Its short but serves to bring us back to Moses and the Nation and what happens next so let’s read it,

Exodus 24:1 And he (YAHAVAH) said unto Moses, “Come up unto YAHAVAH, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
2 And Moses alone shall come near YAHAVAH: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of YAHAVAH, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, “All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.”
4 And Moses wrote all the words of YAHAVAH, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto YAHAVAH.
6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

Note this sacrifice offered by the young men in verses 5-6. Now read verse 7

7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, “All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.” (which is the third or fourth time that the people verbally stated that they would do all that YAHAVAH has said).

Now listen, as we wrap this portion up.

The book of the covenant appears to contain all of the laws mentioned in the three preceding chapters. Because this writing contained the agreement made between God and them, it was called the book of the covenant.

But the book of what covenant? The ketubah covenant or their marriage contract.

According to Genesis 6 and 15 no covenant was considered to be ratified and binding until a sacrifice had been offered. Why? A sacrifice and a covenant are directly and intimately related.

Remember, a covenant is a contract or agreement between two parties.

In the Old Testament the Hebrew word “berith” (which is translated to covenant) is derived from a root which means “to cut,” and hence a covenant is a “cutting,” with reference to the cutting or dividing of animals into two parts, and the contracting parties passing between them in the making of a covenant.

The corresponding word in the Apostolic Record is the Greek “diatheke,” which is typically translated to, “testament” but the reality is it should read covenant.

Why? Because blood was shed when the new covenant was cut.

In conformity with human customs, God’s covenant is said to be confirmed with an oath, accompanied by a sign and therefore the covenant is also known as God’s “counsel,” “oath,” “promise.”

Simply put, a biblical covenant always, WHEN GOD WAS INVOLVED, included the cutting (of an animal to be sacrificed and for the covenant parties to agree to this) and therefore the result of this would be? That’s right, blood.

Was there a sacrifice made here?

Look at verses 5-6 again where we read

5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto YAHAVAH.
6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

Half of the blood being sprinkled on the altar, and half of it sprinkled on the people, showed that both YAHAVAH and THE NATION were mutually bound.

Do not overlook this! It was entirely predicated on BOTH PARTIES as God was bound to support, defend, and save them and the NATION was bound to fear, love, and serve YAHAVAH and Him alone.

8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which YAHAVAH hath made with you concerning all these words.”
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When this covenant was broken BY THE PEOPLE so often, so repeatedly and to the Point where YAHAVAH would give her a bill of divorce in Jeremiah, it was because the Nation failed to keep what it had promised to keep unitedly at least four times thus far, when they said that they would

“do all that He had said.”

They never ever did. We will pause here and pick it up where we have left off for next week.

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PRAYER

Remember May 7th 2024 HEART OF THE MATTER – FULL CIRCLE