SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Preaching the Cross Radio Podcast, featuring the radio ministry of Pastor James W.
SPEAKER_00: Knox of the Bible Baptist Church of Delaney, Florida.
SPEAKER_00: Our prayer is that these half-hour Bible study programs will bring the lost to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and enable the saved to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Savior.
SPEAKER_00: Now here's your host, Pastor James W.
SPEAKER_00: Knox.
SPEAKER_01: I'm Brother James, and I greet you one more time in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
SPEAKER_01: This is the Preaching of the Cross Radio Broadcast.
SPEAKER_01: We are very, very thrilled to have you tuned into the program today.
SPEAKER_01: It is our joy and purpose in life to teach God's words to anyone that has ears to hear.
SPEAKER_01: We pray and trust God to send listeners our way, people who want to know the truth, people who will rejoice in the truth.
SPEAKER_01: And when God answers those prayers, it is a blessing to our hearts.
SPEAKER_01: So we're thrilled that you're out there listening today.
SPEAKER_01: We trust that we can be of help and blessing to you as we study God's word together.
SPEAKER_01: We've been in the Bible book of Exodus for a long, long time.
SPEAKER_01: We made our way verse by verse from chapter one all the way through chapter 40.
SPEAKER_01: And then a couple of broadcasts ago, we started going back and just hitting a little, uh, well, a note here and a thought there, an idea in this place, and a principle in that place, some things that we did not stop to cover and to talk about as we made our way through the book of Exodus.
SPEAKER_01: We have come to material in the 17th chapter, that's where we stopped last time.
SPEAKER_01: We have a picture as Moses is up on the hilltop with his hands uplifted to heaven, and Aaron and her helping him to keep his hands uh upheld as the Lord fights uh for the people against Amalek.
SPEAKER_01: And there's a threefold picture in this uh scene that we discussed as the Moses pictures the Lord Jesus who ascended up to heaven and maketh intercession for us, according to Romans 8 and verse 34.
SPEAKER_01: And in that chapter of Romans, uh there are a there's a list of great blessings enjoyed by saved Christian people.
SPEAKER_01: This is the high point that at the right hand of God there is one who is making intercession for us.
SPEAKER_01: He's there on behalf of his own, he's actively helping by interceding for everybody that is washed in his blood.
SPEAKER_01: And so in the midst of the battle, God's servant is not alone.
SPEAKER_01: But these three men on the hilltop, secondly, show how vital prayer is.
SPEAKER_01: They went up unitedly.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 10 said, Moses, Aaron, and her went up to the top of the hill.
SPEAKER_01: Now it may seem a small point, but nothing is placed in the Bible without significance.
SPEAKER_01: And the mention of them going up together emphasizes that there was unity of purpose amongst them as they set out to pray.
SPEAKER_01: You know, of the apostles it is written that they all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, that's Acts 1.14, that they were all with one accord in one place, Acts 2.1.
SPEAKER_01: Psalm 133 1 says, Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
SPEAKER_01: They also, they also approached the time of prayer with determination.
SPEAKER_01: They went up to the top of the hill.
SPEAKER_01: The thought of stopping halfway, which would have made the journey physically easier, doesn't seem to have been considered.
SPEAKER_01: They set off to reach the hilltop.
SPEAKER_01: Prayer is one of the most difficult features of the Christian life to discipline.
SPEAKER_01: In the morning there's not enough time, there's so much to do, so we think we'll leave it till evening, and then the duties of the day have worn us out, and now we uh the body and mind aren't fresh enough to complete the task.
SPEAKER_01: Attempts in the middle of the day are often pushed about or moved aside by activity.
SPEAKER_01: There really has to be a determined purpose in turning aside to pray, such as these men displayed when they went all the way to the top of that hill.
SPEAKER_01: And then as they commenced their work on the hilltop, there was consideration for each other.
SPEAKER_01: Moses held the rod in his hand, singular.
SPEAKER_01: It would appear that he held up the hand in which was the rod, and then passed it to the other hand, then back again.
SPEAKER_01: From one to the other, the rod passed, with the purpose of ensuring that it was always held up.
SPEAKER_01: But as the time passed, you remember the hands of Moses became heavy.
SPEAKER_01: And it's not hard to appreciate the pain he would feel as he stood with an arm raised, holding that rod high.
SPEAKER_01: You ought to try it sometime, I'm sure many of you have.
SPEAKER_01: And then it was that support of his two colleagues that comes into view.
SPEAKER_01: They put a stone under him on which he could lean, and they held up his hands, and together they accomplished what alone would have been exceedingly difficult or probably impossible.
SPEAKER_01: As Joshua and his men fought in the valley, they could look up to the hill and see that the rod of Moses was still being held high.
SPEAKER_01: It was like a banner prominently raised to encourage them, and they knew that this was the rod that had brought judgment on Egypt, and they were confident it would have the same effect upon Amalek.
SPEAKER_01: And what a beautiful picture this is of mutual support in prayer.
SPEAKER_01: When prayer is being offered in the prayer meeting, it's the responsibility of all who are present to pay attention to the prayer, to bear up in the presence of God, him who is praying.
SPEAKER_01: When there's such common interest and consideration, it really breathes life into a prayer meeting.
SPEAKER_01: And these men stayed on that hilltop until the going down of the sun, as long as the battle was being waged.
SPEAKER_01: They continued their intercession.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, no doubt there were many moments when fatigue spoke to their flesh and said, uh, you ought to quit now.
SPEAKER_01: Who could blame them if they came down off that mount?
SPEAKER_01: But they knew, they knew the work they were doing was vital, and they kept their watch.
SPEAKER_01: Like them Christians today, need to keep at prayer till the going down of the sun, the battle's not over, the fight's not won, the enemy's still in the field, God's people are still in the field.
SPEAKER_01: Let us not, let us not forsake the place of prayer.
SPEAKER_01: And then this rod held up by Moses was one of authority.
SPEAKER_01: That had been evidenced by its use in Egypt.
SPEAKER_01: Above the valley there stood one with a rod of authority in his hand, and the events on earth were dependent on this.
SPEAKER_01: Moses tired.
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
SPEAKER_01: But in heaven, God never tires.
SPEAKER_01: The rod of authority never lowered.
SPEAKER_01: No matter how fierce was the onslaught of Amalek, they could gain no victory because the one overlooking the conflict fought for his people.
SPEAKER_01: The lesson is that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes sometimes we forget about that.
SPEAKER_01: Oftentimes he cannot be seen.
SPEAKER_01: God is there, he's present, he's overall.
SPEAKER_01: Glory to his name.
SPEAKER_01: Now, when this matter was over, Moses was to write this in a book.
SPEAKER_01: And this is the first instruction in Scripture for someone to write.
SPEAKER_01: It seems that Moses had to write that the remembrance of Amalek would be utterly blotted out.
SPEAKER_01: Just get rid of it completely.
SPEAKER_01: And why?
SPEAKER_01: Why was it written in a book?
SPEAKER_01: Well, the reason was that it had to be rehearsed in the ears of Joshua so that it would never be forgotten by him.
SPEAKER_01: An event that he always had to keep in the forefront of his mind.
SPEAKER_01: Even although there was a blood relationship between Amalek and Israel, there had to be no treaty, no alliance, no agreement with them at all.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord had declared that Amalek would be blotted out and God's people could have no links to such a nation.
SPEAKER_01: A solemn reminder in Deuteronomy 25, 17, remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way when ye were come forth out of Egypt.
SPEAKER_01: And then a number of points we need to consider.
SPEAKER_01: First, the future of Amalek did indeed confirm that the judgment of God was carried out.
SPEAKER_01: Second, Saul was ordered when he was king to smite the Amalekites after having had brought to attention, to his attention, the fact that the Lord remembered that which Amalek did in Israel.
SPEAKER_01: 1 Samuel 15, 2 quotes the Deuteronomy passage and said, Saul, don't you remember what they did?
SPEAKER_01: Don't you remember what God commanded?
SPEAKER_01: But Saul failed in this.
SPEAKER_01: He spared Agag, king of the Amalekites, and the best of their flocks.
SPEAKER_01: 1 Samuel 15, 20 to 21.
SPEAKER_01: Later, David vanquished these people while recovering all that they had taken from Ziklag, an Israelite city.
SPEAKER_01: That's 1 Samuel chapter 30.
SPEAKER_01: A great blow against what remained of Amalek took place during the reign of Hezekiah, when five hundred men of Simeon smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped.
SPEAKER_01: And despite this, a few survived.
SPEAKER_01: And the final reference to them is when Haman.
SPEAKER_01: You remember him?
SPEAKER_01: Haman, the Agagite, from Agag, people that Saul spared in disobedience to the word of God.
SPEAKER_01: This man, known for his hatred of the Jews, was a courtier in the palace of Ahusarius, and he was disgraced and hanged for his plot against the Jews.
SPEAKER_01: Esther 7 and verse number 10.
SPEAKER_01: Now it should be noted in passing that Joshua was the first man to be instructed to live by the book.
SPEAKER_01: Joshua 1.8, the book of the law, was the guide for all Israel.
SPEAKER_01: And as the leader of the nation, Joshua had to set an example of obedience to the word of God.
SPEAKER_01: And he did.
SPEAKER_01: Those Amalekites, I'll tell you, God's people have enemies.
SPEAKER_01: And in your life, you have enemies of your faith.
SPEAKER_01: And you better get rid of them fully and completely as soon as you can.
SPEAKER_01: They're not going to leave you alone, that's for sure.
SPEAKER_01: Now in Exodus 17, verse 16, there's an altar being built at this particular spot, and we're told the reason why.
SPEAKER_01: The reason why.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 15, Moses built an altar.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 16, because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
SPEAKER_01: Don't forget it.
SPEAKER_01: Amalek has always been opposed to God.
SPEAKER_01: This is why that nation will be put out of remembrance.
SPEAKER_01: In opposing Israel, Amalek raised its hand against their God, who dwelt in the cloud.
SPEAKER_01: Now, there were other nations which were less than friendly to Israel, but it appears that the censure against Amalek was particularly strong.
SPEAKER_01: And there are a number of reasons for this.
SPEAKER_01: Amalek, as we noted, was a blood relation to Israel and should even have had natural feelings of affection for them.
SPEAKER_01: And Amalek was the first nation to deliberately seek to destroy Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Other nations later opposed them, but notice must be taken of how they acted.
SPEAKER_01: First, permission was asked of the king of Edom to pass through his territories with the promise that Israel would not touch the crops or take water from the wells.
SPEAKER_01: Edom refused permission and led an army to block the way.
SPEAKER_01: Israel then turned aside to seek another route.
SPEAKER_01: That's in Numbers chapter 20.
SPEAKER_01: Then Arod, king of the Canaanites, came against Israel and took some of them captive.
SPEAKER_01: Israel fought with them and destroyed them, Numbers 21, 1 to 3.
SPEAKER_01: Sion, king of the Emorites, he refused permission for Israel to pass through his land, and he gathered an army which fought against Israel.
SPEAKER_01: And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, Numbers 21, verse 21 to 30.
SPEAKER_01: Then Og, a big old Og the giant, king of Bashan, he fought with them and was so completely defeated that of his armies there was none left him alive.
SPEAKER_01: Numbers 21, 33 to 35.
SPEAKER_01: The king of the Moabites, in alliance with Midian, sought assistance from Balaam to curse Israel, but in this he failed.
SPEAKER_01: After the sad episode when the people committed whoredom with the daughters of Moab, Moses was instructed to vex the Midianites and smite them.
SPEAKER_01: That's Numbers 22, verse 1 through 25, 18.
SPEAKER_01: And the Midianites were decisively defeated in Numbers chapter 31.
SPEAKER_01: Now, the only enemy on this list who was not engaged in battle was Edom.
SPEAKER_01: And the reason was he didn't seek to destroy Israel in this way.
SPEAKER_01: All the others did, even Moab and Midian, who did battle by using another kind of warfare.
SPEAKER_01: That which was of the spirit world.
SPEAKER_01: To oppose Israel meant overwhelming defeat.
SPEAKER_01: But all these enemies stood against Israel as their 40-year journey was coming to an end.
SPEAKER_01: And Israel was traveling to Canaan.
SPEAKER_01: But Amalek, Amalek was the only enemy to attack them at the beginning of the journey.
SPEAKER_01: And the defeat they suffered was of particular significance because it showed what would be the end of all Israel's enemies.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says this, speaking of the New Testament church, and as we've said so many times, we we learn spiritual lessons from physical people.
SPEAKER_01: Israel, earthly people, the church, heavenly people, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.
SPEAKER_01: We don't use swords and guns and bombs and missiles and the rest of that.
SPEAKER_01: That's not Christianity.
SPEAKER_01: But we learn, we learn that God fights for us against our foes, spiritual foes, that God gives us victory over our enemies, spiritual enemies.
SPEAKER_01: And 2 Thessalonians 1.6 says, seeing it as a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you.
SPEAKER_01: And so you can count on it.
SPEAKER_01: You don't have to take vengeance, you don't have to get even.
SPEAKER_01: God knows, God remembers, God will settle all the scores.
SPEAKER_01: Praise the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Praise the Lord for that.
SPEAKER_01: I'm glad he does.
SPEAKER_01: Glad he does.
SPEAKER_01: All right.
SPEAKER_01: In chapter 19, Moses goes up on the mountain for the first time.
SPEAKER_01: And his dealings with God there occupy the book of Exodus until the end of chapter 34.
SPEAKER_01: And in that period of time, he ascends up on the mount seven times.
SPEAKER_01: We mentioned this way, way back in our study.
SPEAKER_01: Seven trips up the mountain.
SPEAKER_01: The initial message to Israel, he goes up in 1903 and comes down in 1907.
SPEAKER_01: Instructions to prepare for the third day, he goes up in 1908, comes down in 1914.
SPEAKER_01: His charge to warn the people not to come near.
SPEAKER_01: He goes up in chapter 19, verse 20, comes down in chapter 19, verse 25.
SPEAKER_01: He draws near after the giving of the Ten Commandments, chapter 20, verse 21, and comes down in 24 3.
SPEAKER_01: The covenant meal and return to the camp is implied in verses eleven to twenty-one of chapter twenty-four, where he goes up in verse nine and down in verse eleven.
SPEAKER_01: The two tables of stone and the charge regarding the tabernacle are given.
SPEAKER_01: When he goes up in twenty-four, twelve and comes down in thirty-two, fifteen.
SPEAKER_01: And then the second two tables of stone are taken up the mountain in thirty-four four, and down he comes in thirty-four, verse twenty-nine.
SPEAKER_01: What a career Moses had.
SPEAKER_01: What an incredible life of those meetings with God on the mountain.
SPEAKER_01: Now, the Hebrew people, Hebrew people, the message to them in chapter 19 was addressed to the house of Jacob and the children of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Which is a very curious thing, as the kingdom is not divided and does not split into ten and two, Israel and Judah, until 1 Kings chapter 13 and 14.
SPEAKER_01: But here God is already referring to the house of Jacob and the children of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Now the name House of Jacob reminded them that they had gone down to Egypt.
SPEAKER_01: Genesis 46, 27 says, All the souls of the house of Jacob which came into Egypt were threscore and ten.
SPEAKER_01: Their background and the behavior of the house of Jacob, which led to their being in Egypt, must not be forgotten.
SPEAKER_01: As the house of Jacob, they did not deserve the grace of God which they had experienced in their deliverance by the blood of the Lamb.
SPEAKER_01: It is remarkable that when the coming kingdom of the Lord Jesus is described by Luke, he writes, And he shall reign over the house.
SPEAKER_01: Of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
SPEAKER_01: That's Luke 133.
SPEAKER_01: That coming glory will also be due entirely to the grace of God.
SPEAKER_01: They had not earned the right to be delivered, nor will they earn that right in a future day.
SPEAKER_01: But God will give it to them.
SPEAKER_01: They were also called the children of Israel, referring to the dignity bestowed upon them as the descendants of the man who became a prince with God.
SPEAKER_01: The former expression, House of Jacob, is found only once in Genesis, only here in Exodus, Exodus chapter 19, and 22 times in Scripture.
SPEAKER_01: The name children of Israel first used after the new name was given to Jacob at Peniel, Genesis 32, and it's included in the first verse of Exodus.
SPEAKER_01: So God doesn't use words for no reason.
SPEAKER_01: There's always a reason, an important meaning behind everything that God has to say.
SPEAKER_01: Now, with privilege comes responsibility.
SPEAKER_01: Moses brought this message from the Lord to Israel.
SPEAKER_01: If, if, if you keep my words, if you keep my commandments, if you obey me, they'd be a peculiar treasure.
SPEAKER_01: This word's used eight times in the Old Testament, and six of those times it refers specifically to the nation of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Exodus 19 5, Deuteronomy 7 6, Deuteronomy 14 2, Deuteronomy 26 18, Psalm 135, verse 4, Malachi chapter 3, and verse 17.
SPEAKER_01: God's peculiar treasure, not gold, not silver, not diamonds, not rubies, not planets, not galaxies, no, no, people, people, his people.
SPEAKER_01: How about that?
SPEAKER_01: Now on this mountain, Mount Sinai, God gave the law.
SPEAKER_01: And in comparing the law with grace, which they now enjoyed, the writer of the Hebrews describes the scene on this mountain or at this mountain in a sevenfold way.
SPEAKER_01: He says, for this is Hebrews 12, 18 to 21.
SPEAKER_01: For you're not come unto the mount that might be touched.
SPEAKER_01: Believers today have not come to a mountain that can be touched, as did Israel.
SPEAKER_01: This does not refer to the command to refrain from touching the mount.
SPEAKER_01: It emphasizes that Sinai was a material mountain that could be touched, even though Moses was the only one allowed to do so.
SPEAKER_01: But in the Gospels, all believers may come to a spiritual mountain.
SPEAKER_01: That mountain burned with fire.
SPEAKER_01: Everything about this scene was designed to cause awe in the heart of the beholder.
SPEAKER_01: How different this is from the burning bush which Moses was allowed to approach.
SPEAKER_01: Everything there was to attract Moses to that bush, that was grace at work.
SPEAKER_01: Here it is law and distance, and the flames displayed kept the people at bay.
SPEAKER_01: Nor under blackness, surrounding the mount from which the flames ascended to heaven there was blackness, gloomy obscurity stood between them and the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: How different from that, which we now enjoy, God having brought us out of darkness and into his marvelous light and darkness, blackness and darkness.
SPEAKER_01: Despite this being the morning, darkness also surrounded the mount.
SPEAKER_01: The use of these two words together emphasizes the impenetrable nature of the darkness that separated them from Sinai.
SPEAKER_01: And what words could we use to describe the light of the glorious gospel that is shined in our hearts?
SPEAKER_01: And tempest.
SPEAKER_01: Storm and tempest raged around the mount.
SPEAKER_01: Doubtless the quaking which gripped the mount was part of the storm.
SPEAKER_01: There was no manifestation here of the God of peace.
SPEAKER_01: Law-keeping would never allow anyone to enjoy the peace of God.
SPEAKER_01: And the sound of a trumpet was heard above the rolling peals of thunder and raging of the storm.
SPEAKER_01: How loud it must have been for all Israel to hear its call above such a tempest, and it frightened them, it terrified them.
SPEAKER_01: Seven of the voice of words was heard.
SPEAKER_01: But so fearful was the sight that the people entreated that they might not hear his voice anymore.
SPEAKER_01: They'd removed themselves from the enjoyment of his presence.
SPEAKER_01: Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake.
SPEAKER_01: Now there's no record in the Old Testament of these words being spoken, but their inclusion in the New Testament is sufficient to confirm that he uttered them.
SPEAKER_01: The Holy Spirit directed the writer of Hebrew who said, I was there, I know what he said.
SPEAKER_01: So the law, when the law was given, fear, trembling, distance, separation, man not permitted to approach God, man warned in so many different ways that God is beyond his reach.
SPEAKER_01: And then we come to that New Testament.
SPEAKER_01: We see the veil of the temple rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
SPEAKER_01: We see the Lord Jesus Christ with open arms.
SPEAKER_01: We see the little children sitting upon his lap.
SPEAKER_01: We see him touching men and women, compassing them about with his love and with his grace and with his mercy.
SPEAKER_01: We see light, not darkness, we see peace, not tumult.
SPEAKER_01: We draw nigh to God through a new and living way, through the shed blood and the finished sacrifice of our wonderful Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: Do you know him?
SPEAKER_01: Have you trusted him, not your good works?
SPEAKER_01: Have you trusted him, not your deeds or merits?
SPEAKER_01: Have you trusted him, Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners, as your Savior?
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says it's so simple.
SPEAKER_01: Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures.
SPEAKER_01: He was buried.
SPEAKER_01: The third day he rose again from the dead, alive forevermore, according to the scriptures.
SPEAKER_01: And if you will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you can and will be saved by the grace of God for time and for eternity.
SPEAKER_01: Hallelujah.
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