#27. Exodus 17-20 | Steadfast Love to ... Those Who Love Me and Keep My Commandments

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This is a dwelling place

from Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox.

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Today we'll be looking at

Exodus chapter 17 through 20.

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Every time that they have come.

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To a spot in the wilderness where

they haven't had what they needed.

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God provided it.

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Even when they're grumbling and they

have horrible attitudes, he graciously

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provides exactly what they need.

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The manna rains down from heaven, and the

word manna literally means what is it?

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' It had everything they needed

nutritionally, and it was

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slightly sweet call me crazy.

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But I wonder if this almost had a

similar composition to a mom's milk.

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It has everything that a baby needs

and I've heard there's a sweetness to

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it, though I can't remember myself.

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It just shows the kindness of the

Lord that he's gonna provide this

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every single day that they're in

the wilderness and be watching for

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the day that God has its cease,

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in Chapter 17, the people of

Israel are going to face their very

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first war against the Amalekites.

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They're named after Amalek,

who is the grandson of Esau.

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His descendants continually represent

the enemies of God in scripture,

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we're also going to see an

introduction to Joshua, who will

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become Israel's leader after Moses

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17 nine tells us, so Moses said

to Joshua, choose for us men and

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go out and fight with Amalek.

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Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the

hill with the staff of God in my hand.

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So Joshua, did as Moses told him and

fought with Amalek while Moses, Aaron

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and her went up to the top of the

hill whenever Moses held up his hand.

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Israel prevailed, and whenever he

lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.

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But Moses' hands grew weary, so they

took a stone and put it under him,

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and he sat on it while Aaron and her

held up his hands, one on one side

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and the other on the other side.

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So his hands were steady until the going

down of the sun, and Joshua overwhelmed

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Amalek and his people with sword.

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Then the Lord said to Moses.

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Write this as a memorial in a book

and recite it in the ears of Joshua

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that I will utterly blot out the

memory of Amalek from under heaven.

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And Moses built an altar and called

the name of it the Lord is my banner

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We were not created to do this alone and

although God was requiring something from

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Moses, he didn't ask him to do it alone.

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If you are feeling like your arms are

weary, then it's time to just raise a hand

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and say, I need some support right now.

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And don't be ashamed, we need

others, and it's how the body

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of Christ was created to work.

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Moses would've had

training as an Egyptian,

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and he would've learned writing and record

keeping in Pharaoh's governmental school.

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Now he's equipped to record.

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What the Lord is doing, and I love that

it says recited in the ears of Joshua.

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it seems like it's a holy

pep talk that the Lord is

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building up Joshua's faith here

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and a new name of God is introduced.

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The Lord is my banner.

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We can victoriously face

whatever comes our way,

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knowing that the Lord is our victory

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In chapter 18, Moses is

reunited with his father-in-law.

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Jethro

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Interestingly, 18 two tells us now,

Jethro Moses' father-in-law had taken

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Zipporah Moses' wife after he had

sent her home along with her two sons.

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. So Moses' wife and

children weren't with him.

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And then how do you think that they

would've arranged to meet back up

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together without the Lord's intervention?

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I can't imagine how they would know

where to find each other again.

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But they did

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It seems that they're truly

rejoicing to see each other again.

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and Jethro is going to be a voice

of reason in Moses' life and say

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all that you're doing for the

people, it's just too much for you.

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This is a very different relationship than

Jacob had with his father-in-law, Laben.

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I'm gonna link an episode of our

other podcast in the show notes.

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because having a strife with an

in-law can be truly difficult.

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I am so blessed to have a

mother-in-law like a Jethro to me.

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And though she is very careful about

when she speaks into my life or into

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my parenting, I know when she does.

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That I should listen up.

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I was almost afraid to tell her when

the Lord put this project on my heart,

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because I thought she was going to

say, Stephanie, there's no way that

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you could take that on right now too.

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But when she said, I think you

should do it, I felt I could

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confidently walk forward.

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And I cannot help but think of motherhood.

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When I read 1813, the next day, Moses

sat to judge the people and the people

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stood around Moses from morning till

evening when Moses' father-in-law saw

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all that he was doing for the people.

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He said, what is this that

you are doing for the people?

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Why do you sit alone and all

the people stand around you

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from morning till evening?

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And his father-in-law tells him

what you're doing is not good.

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You and the people with you will

certainly wear yourselves out for

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this thing is too heavy for you.

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Doesn't that sound like what we do?

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There are people standing around

you for morning till evening trying

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to have you solve their problems.

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Jethro actually introduces

an idea of representative

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government here, and he says,

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find some men who fear God and are

trustworthy and place them over the

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thousands, the hundreds, the fifties,

and the tens, and make them be judges.

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And then have them bring

the hardest cases to you.

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This is a passage of scripture that

different founders of nations looked to

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for how can we set up our government?

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In chapter 19, God tells them, I want you

to consecrate yourselves and get ready.

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Do you remember in the burning bush moment

where God says, this will be a sign to you

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that you will worship me on this mountain?

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That fulfillment is gonna happen here.

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In 19 three while Moses went up to God,

the Lord called to him out of the mountain

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saying, thus you shall say to the house

of Jacob and tell the people of Israel.

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You yourselves have seen what I did to the

Egyptians and how I bore you on Eagle's

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wings and brought you to myself now.

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Therefore, if you will

indeed obey my voice.

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And keep my covenant.

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You shall be my treasured

possession among all peoples.

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For all the earth is mine and

you shall be to me, a kingdom

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of priests and a holy nation.

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I can't help think about

one Peter two, nine

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but you are a chosen race, a royal

priesthood, a holy nation, a people for

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his own possession that you may proclaim

the excellencies of him who called you out

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of darkness into his marvelous light and

God is saying, you are important to me.

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you're chosen and you're

a unique treasure.

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To give these titles, it really

means that this is a new nation under

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God and that they have an important

relationship with the Lord, a

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responsibility to the rest of humanity,

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and they're going to have a unique

standing in the world of nations,

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as my moody commentary says.

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So it's a new name and privilege, a new

responsibility, and a new character.

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These verses have been referred to as the

Great Commission of the Old Testament.

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God is separating them out for a purpose.

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1916 tells us on the morning of the third

day there were thunders and lightnings

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and a thick cloud in the mountain,

and a very loud trumpet blast so that

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all the people in the camp trembled.

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Then Moses brought the people out of

the camp to meet God and they took

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their stand at the foot of the mountain.

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Now Mount Sinai was wrapped

in smoke because the Lord

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had descended on it in fire.

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The smoke of it went up like

the smoke of a kiln, and the

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whole mountain trembled greatly.

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And as the sound of the trumpet

grew louder and louder, Moses spoke

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and God answered him in thunder.

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The Lord came down on Mount

Sinai to the top of the mountain.

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And the Lord called Moses to the top

of the mountain and Moses went up

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and this is where God

gives the 10 Commandments.

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Chapter 20 is an absolute

can't miss chapter.

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And God spoke all these words

saying, I am the Lord your God,

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who brought you out of the land of

Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

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You shall have no other gods before me.

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You shall not make for yourself

a carved image or any likeness of

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anything that is in heaven above,

or that is in the earth beneath or

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that is in the water under the earth.

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You shall not bow down to them or serve

them for I the Lord your God, and a

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jealous God visiting the iniquity of the

fathers and the children to the third and

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the fourth generation of those who hate

me, but showing steadfast love to those

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who love me and keep my commandments.

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You shall not take the name of

the Lord your God in vain, for

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the Lord will not hold him.

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Guiltless, who takes his name in vain.

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Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

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Six days you shall labor and do

all your work, but the seventh day

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is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.

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On it.

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You shall not do any work.

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You or your son or your daughter,

your male servant, or your female

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servant, or your livestock, or the

sojourner who is within your gates.

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For in six days, the Lord made heaven

and earth the sea and all that is

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in them and rested the seventh day.

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Therefore, the Lord blessed the

Sabbath day and made it holy honor

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your father and your mother, that

your days may long in the land that

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the Lord your God is giving you.

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You shall not murder.

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You shall not commit

adultery, you shall not steal.

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You shall not be a false

witness against your neighbor.

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You shall not covet your neighbor's house.

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You shall not covert your neighbor's

wife or his male servant, or his female

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servant, or his ax or his donkey,

or anything that is your neighbor's.

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Now when all the people saw the thunder

and the flashes of lightning and the

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sound of the trumpet and the mountain

smoking, the people were afraid and

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trembled and they stood far off and said

to Moses, you speak to us and we will

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listen, but do not let God speak to us.

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Lest we die.

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Moses said to the Peopledo, not

fear for God has come to test

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you, that the fear of him may be

before you, that you may not sin.

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The people stood far off while Moses drew

near to the thick darkness where God was.

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Just as we saw in Genesis one and two.

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God shows that he is

imminent and transcendent.

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He's willing to draw near.

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But he's still all powerful and

worthy of our awe and respect.

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Psalm 40 verse eight says,

I delight to do your will.

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Oh my God, your law is within my heart.

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In our culture, we often look as rules

as the problem, but we need to see the

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sin in our own hearts as a problem.

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and we need to teach our kids

that rules are good, they're for

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our blessing and our benefit.

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God told us here that he's a God

of steadfast love and that the

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blessings of obedience can follow

up to the thousandth generation and

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unfortunately, the consequences of sin.

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Often affect our children and our

grandchildren but God wants that

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cycle to stop and he is able.

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Heavenly Father,

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As we meditate on the 10 Commandments, may

we see them as opportunities to honor you

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and to be blessed.

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Just as Moses drew near to

you, I pray that the call to

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holiness would not hold us back,

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but that we would be purified in our

hearts and in our actions before you.

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May we know our limitations and

may we rely on others for help.

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And Lord, we thank you that you reign

down manna and Jesus, you also gave us

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that example to pray for our daily bread.

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We thank you, that you are our

sustainer and our provider.

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It's in your name, we pray Jesus.

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Amen.