Jesus embodies the second word (Ex 20:4 - 6)

Short teachings from Hillcrest Church further exploring Sunday's teachings.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey, hope you're having a good day. Tim here, and we are diving deep into the ten words of life. So just kind of a final um uh final thought on the second word and just uh the character of God revealed there. You know, it's so interesting in the second word, uh, you shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or the earth beneath or in the waters below. You should not bow down to them or worship them. Uh he says all that, and then he says, four, and then he gives a God gives a picture of his character. Uh and Carla did a nice job talking about that this past Sunday, and I just thought I'd kind of just say a few things in my own words, because I think um it's a really powerful image of God's character. Um but he says, God says, For I the Lord, that is Yahweh, Yahweh, your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. And so there's these uh there's a few ideas there. One, this idea of of jealousy, which uh is best not thought of as a as a um kind of an insecure jealousy, but this um passionate protection uh over the relationship. This the God is forming this covenant relationship, he is passionate to guard his covenant relationship with his people. Um and then you get this um, and I and I know sometimes we get uh caught up in the generational language, and and and if you have questions about that, you can send them in. I'll talk more about that specifically. I thought Carlo, you know, he touched on that and did a nice job. Um, but the the the idea that I just want to draw our attention to is I think one of the key ideas that God's wanted to convey, he you know, he's saying, hey, he's passionate, passionately protects this covenant relationship. And then you what you're getting a glimpse into, God is saying, I am both just and merciful. I both uh deal with sin and I uh show mercy. And um, you know, the new numbers there, the three and four versus a thousand, um, is meant to convey um I don't know what ratio sounds too mathematical, but the idea that um God is both just and merciful, but his mercy far outweighs his his his desire to punish sin. Um and and this is a theme that um that runs throughout the Hebrew scriptures. I mean, so often people talk about um God in the Hebrew scriptures as angry. Uh when you listen to God talk about himself in the Hebrew Scriptures, what we actually get is a picture of a God who says, I don't want to punish sin. Like that is not my first desire. My first desire is always to show mercy. And if you will only turn around and take a step towards me, I will run a thousand steps for the one that you uh that you made towards me. And the the and you get this, you know, uh this this numerical difference. Three and four versus thousands. Like, yes, I I I cannot be good if I leave sin unpunished, undealt with. But you gotta know my mercy is so much bigger. Um it's really interesting as you're as you're in the book of Exodus, the passage that I would also point you to that that flows that uh out of this second word um is Exodus, uh is Exodus 33 and 34. It's really interesting because you get very similar language um showing up here. Um in Exodus 33 and 34. Um essentially, God and Moses, you get this glimpse into their relationship with one another. It's really beautiful, um, powerful. Um uh the this is Exodus 33, 17. The Lord said to Moses, Yahweh said to Moses, um, I am pleased with you and I know you by name. And Moses says, We uh now show me your glory. And so um God uh Moses is asking to see the glory, the the being, the essence, the radiance, the immensity of God. Um and God says, Uh, I will cause my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name the Lord in your presence. Um uh He goes on, uh, but you cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live. And then there's this famous moment. He says, There's a place where you can stand in the rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand till I have passed by. Uh I will remove my hand, you will see my back, but my face must not be seen. And so the and then um and then it happens. Uh uh the Lord, this is in chapter 34, the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed uh his name the Lord Yahweh. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming. Um, and uh this next what I'm about to read is uh the most quoted uh Old Testament text by the Old Testament. So when you when you're going through the Old Testament, Exodus 34, 6 and 7 gets referenced like more often than anything else by the rest of the by the rest of the Old Testament. And um, and it's how God uh speaks about himself uh in front of Moses and listen to the connections to that second word about idolatry that we just uh we just heard. But this is what God says the Lord, the Lord, um the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished. He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation. And you get some of these same ideas. You get um the word jealousy doesn't pop up there, but you get God's um him naming himself. I am Yahweh, this is who Yahweh is. I'm not just generic God, I am Yahweh, the one who delivered you from slavery. Uh, you get his compassion, and you get this uh again, this contrast. Yes, I deal with sin. I I will not ignore wickedness and wrongdoing and evil, and yet my mercy, uh my forgiveness so far outweighs um uh that punishing of wickedness. That uh I want you to know that about me. And this is this is um this revelation that uh that God gives of Himself. And I think the maybe the takeaway thought is I was actually just talking with Carlo uh when last week, we were talking about these passages. Um, and these are passages that I'd encourage you to um spend uh spend time in. Um I think John Mark Cummer has a book, God has a name on on this second passage, it's Exodus 34, uh, that uh that I'd point you towards. Um that actually Carlo has spent a lot of time with, he was telling me it was really powerful for him. But uh the I guess we Carlo and I were talking, and particularly about um that kind of Exodus 20, that second word where God says, I'm jealous, um, I will not leave sin unpunished. And yet my my mercy, um uh you know, showing this faithful love to a thousand generations so far outstrips um uh my my desire to punish sin. And I and I, you know, I was just reflecting on like a God who is passionate for a relationship with his people, who will not leave sin unpunished, and yet whose mercy so far outstrips um his desire to judge sin. And I was like, what like what does that look like? Uh you know, those are all kind of abstract phrases. What does that look like in action? What does it look like in real life? And I just I found myself saying, it looks like Jesus. Like it looks like Jesus of Nazareth. If you want to understand a God who is passionate to protect his relationship with his people, who who refuses, who will not ignore sin, who who desires, who will name evil as evil and bring judgment on it, but whose mercy, whose love so far outstrips um the desire to punish sin. Well, that looks like Jesus of Nazareth, it looks like his life, it looks like his teachings, it looks like his servanthood, and it looks like his death on a cross. Um the the cross is where the passionate jealousy of God, the no to sin, and the yes to mercy all uh come to their apex. And then it looks like a resurrection and a new life offered uh to all of us. And so um, yeah, that uh the the the second word enfleshed Jesus for you and I. Uh hope that's an encouraging word for you, and um we'll see you on Sunday as we get into the third word. Uh yeah, do not bear the name wrongly. Can't wait. All right, we'll see ya.