“These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. “So it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. And you said: ‘Surely the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he still lives. Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? You go near and hear all that the Lord our God may say, and tell us all that the Lord our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.’ “Then the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!”
Deuteronomy 5:22-29 NKJV
I have taught on this chapter in another message but not in this regard. Have you ever promised the Lord that you would obey Him no matter what? Did you say it because you were afraid of the outcome or was it because you truly revered and loved Him? Israel was at that place. They had experienced something no other nation or a people had ever encountered before. They heard the audible voice of Yahweh and even though it wasn’t meant to make them afraid of Him, but revere Him, they chose instead to ask Moses to be their voice and mediate between them and God.
They also made a hasty promise. They said whatever God wanted them to do they’d hear and obey Him. The Lord knew that they wouldn’t and we can hear His heart as He says these words to Moses. “Oh that they had such a heart in them” or if only they really meant it. People tend to promise a lot of things when faced with the unexpected. We love Him until the next time. We obey until the storm has passed. Loyalty is a struggle for most of us, we tend to carry our past offenses and hurts into current relationships. Using what we’ve gone through as a protective mechanism, a buffer of sorts. Israel had gone through a lot before being delivered. All they had known was fear and abuse. So when true love showed up they had no idea how to respond. But this wasn’t that. God had guided them like a shepherd with the tenderest of care. Please take the time to read the Exodus account.
All that was asked of them was obedience and trust. He had proven Himself faithful, gentle, loving and kind. There wasn’t anything they needed that their God didn’t see about. They lacked absolutely nothing for forty years. The Ten Commandments movie had a lot of Hollywood theatrics, showing some as old and sickly, but the truth was God healed them before He delivered them. He restored what was stolen from them in one night. He removed every obstacle. We’re reading the story but they lived it, so when God said to Moses; “if only they were sincere about reverencing and obeying Me” it was coming from a place of yearning but also a place of knowing. See a synopsis of all God did for Israel in Psalm 105 and Psalm 78.
Whenever we become fearful we will also become forgetful. God doesn’t want us to be afraid of Him. He calls us to draw near. He delivered us not to become the next slave master, but to be our Father. We cannot see Him through the eyes of past experiences. This is why the renewed mind is so valuable for the Believer. We get to know Him through His Word. He’s not abusive in His discipline and chastening. He never leaves a scarring on our hearts. We can always sense His love while being corrected. Being unyielding to His chastening produces callousness of the heart which was the case with most of the older Israelites. They were living too much in the past. God had become another pharaoh in their minds. You can hear it in their accusatory questions and tones. “ Did you bring us out here to die?” We were better off in Egypt.” Exodus 14:11-12
What have you been accusing God of? Have you forgotten all He has already done for you? Or do you believe you did it all on your own? Have you allowed Him to heal you or are you stuck in Egypt? Allowing what you’ve passed through to define you. Have you allowed the deliverance to bring fear instead of reverence? That’s what the Israelites did. The fear they embraced was meant for their enemies. It was to show them the lengths God was willing to go to in order to protect and defend them. His wrath and power was reserved for the enemy, their enemies. But instead of running towards Him they asked for a middle man. They instead asked Moses to be their ears.
“You go, then tell us what He’s said.” They never got to know His heart. The psalmist wrote. They knew His acts, Moses knew His ways (heart). Psalm 103:7
We know His thoughts towards us are good. But have you opted for the middleman? Your pastor, teacher or Christian friend. Are you depending on others to tell you what the Bible says or are you diligently searching and seeking the Word to know Him better? If the latter is true, fear will be your mantra. You’ll fear death, you’ll fear being alone, you’ll fear lack, you’ll fear everything that moves. Truly obeying and trusting Him brings bold confidence and trust. You’ll want to draw near to Him. Let Him speak, let Him lead your life. He’s like no other lover, no other master, no other friend. He doesn’t know how to disappoint, He meets every obligation and fulfills every promise. But are you onboard? Are you willing to do all He’s asking of you? His requests aren’t burdensome, they’re only for our benefit. Why settle for a Moses when you have been granted access to His presence?
“‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’”
Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV
“God’s promise of entering His rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. For only we who believe can enter His rest. As for the others, God said, “In My anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter My place of rest,’” even though this rest has been ready since He made the world. We know it is ready because of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: “On the seventh day God rested from all His work.” But in the other passage God said, “They will never enter My place of rest.” So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So God set another time for entering His rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear His voice, don’t harden your hearts.” Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall. For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the one to whom we are accountable. So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:1-16 NLT
IF ONLY….😢
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant
October 7, 2021