Message 50
Scripture Reading: Exo. 19:1-25; 3:1, 12; 5:1, 3a
If we read the book of Exodus in the spirit with much prayer and thereby enter into the spiritual significance of this book, we shall see that it portrays God’s salvation from the beginning to its consummation. Exodus is composed of two main sections, chapters one through eighteen and chapters nineteen through forty. In the first section we see God’s salvation, God’s provision, the victory over the flesh, and, in chapter eighteen, a portrait of the kingdom of God. After God’s chosen and called people had been brought into the kingdom, they were ready to accomplish God’s purpose to build His dwelling place on earth. In this message we come to the second section of Exodus, which is concerned with God’s dwelling place.
The main point in chapters nineteen through forty is that God’s saved people are brought into the presence of God and into the knowledge of God. Using New Testament terms, the people are brought into fellowship with God.
There is no indication in the first eighteen chapters of Exodus that the children of Israel had been brought into fellowship with God. Although God’s people had experienced God’s salvation, had enjoyed God’s provision, and had been brought into God’s kingdom, they had not yet been brought into such fellowship. However, beginning in chapter nineteen, they are brought into fellowship with Him.
Exodus 3:1 speaks of the mountain of God, Horeb. In 3:12 the Lord said to Moses, “When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.” In chapter nineteen we see the children of Israel at the mountain of God, Mount Sinai, the place where God could contact His people. In 3:12 God said that His people would serve Him on the mountain of God. It is a very significant thing to serve God. In 5:1 Moses told Pharaoh to let the people go so that they might hold a feast unto the Lord in the wilderness. According to 5:3, the people were to make a journey of three days into the desert and there sacrifice unto the Lord. To sacrifice unto God is to offer something to Him, and to hold a feast unto God is to enjoy with God what is offered to Him. Up to the end of chapter eighteen, we have not yet seen the service, the sacrifice, or the feast. Although God’s people had many experiences and much enjoyment, they had not yet begun to serve Him.
We have seen that in chapters twelve through fourteen God’s people experienced His redemption and salvation. In chapters fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen they enjoyed God’s provision. The bitter water was made sweet, the people enjoyed the twelve springs and seventy palms at Elim, and they partook of the manna and of the living water from the smitten rock. Through God’s salvation and provision, His people were brought into a position of being in the kingdom of God. In the foregoing message we saw that chapter eighteen is a picture, a type, of the kingdom. We thank the Lord for the light He has shown us from this chapter.
In the early years of my ministry, I gave a number of messages on Exodus 19. Most of those messages, however, were on the negative points. In these messages, I prefer to stay away from the negative points and emphasize the positive ones. We need to have a positive impression of Exodus 19 and 20. Many Christian teachers emphasize the negative aspects of these chapters by pointing out that the law is good and spiritual, but we are fleshly, and the law cannot help us. Chapter nineteen of Exodus is actually very positive, for here God’s chosen people are brought into fellowship with Him.
The distance between Egypt and Mount Sinai was a journey of about three days. I believe this was the reason Moses told Pharaoh that the children of Israel had to take a journey of three days into the wilderness. Furthermore, 4:27 indicates that Aaron was charged by God to meet his brother, Moses, at the mount of God in the wilderness. Although the distance from Egypt to Mount Sinai could be traveled in three days, it took the children of Israel more than two months. Although we could have entered into fellowship with God immediately after we were saved, in our experience most of us travel, journey, wander, instead. But in our wandering we enjoy God’s provision. Even though our journey may be under God’s care and according to His leading, we are not yet in fellowship with Him. But in Exodus 19 we have a very precious point — that God now brings His redeemed people into His presence. Prior to that time, they had heard about God. However, they had not heard God’s voice directly. The same is true among many Christians today. Although they have heard about God, they have not experienced God’s direct speaking. Before they came to the mountain of God, the children of Israel heard about God through Moses’ preaching and teaching. But here God brought them directly into His presence. He came down upon the mountain, appeared to the people, and spoke to them. Thus, they heard the voice of God directly and personally, not indirectly through a mediator. In the presence of God they heard His direct speaking.
We should not read the book of Exodus simply according to the letters in black and white. Rather, we should regard everything in every chapter of this book as a picture. We have pointed out that every item in Exodus is a picture. Egypt is a picture of the world, and Pharaoh is a picture of Satan. Likewise, the Passover lamb, the crossing of the Red Sea, the manna, the living water from the cleft rock, and Amalek are also pictures. Moreover, Zipporah, Jethro, and the captains in chapter eighteen are pictures related to the kingdom. Now in chapter nineteen we have a portrait of the fellowship between God’s redeemed people and God Himself. Here His people are brought into the presence of God and into the knowledge of Him. They are brought into the fellowship of God and with God. According to the portrait presented in this chapter, God is present on earth, on the mountaintop, and the people are gathered around the mountain. What a marvelous sight!
If we would enter into fellowship with God, we need to experience His full salvation. We need to be saved from the condemnation of sin, the world, and Satan, as seen in chapters one through fourteen. Then we need to enjoy God’s rich provision (15:1—17:7), conquer the flesh (17:8-16), and be brought into the kingdom of God (18:1-27). If we do not have such an experience and enjoyment, we shall not be able to have fellowship with God.
Our spiritual experience matches the experience of the children of Israel. First we are saved from sin, the world, and Satan. Then we enjoy God’s provision. The bitter water is changed into sweet, and we eat of manna, the heavenly food, and drink the living water flowing from the smitten rock. Through the enjoyment of these divine provisions, we are equipped to conquer the flesh and subdue it. We should not excuse ourselves by saying that we are weak. If we make such an excuse for ourselves, we shall not come to God’s mountain. The more excuses we make, the more we shall be kept away from the mountain of God. We need to say, “Yes, I am weak, but the Lord is not weak. I have Moses, the heavenly Christ, interceding for me, and I have Joshua, Christ as the life-giving Spirit, dwelling in me and fighting for me.” We have the living Spirit with the cross operating to deal with our flesh. Once the flesh is slain, we are immediately in the kingdom. Then, in the kingdom, we are ushered into God’s presence to enjoy fellowship with Him. Exodus certainly is a portrait of our spiritual experience. If we consider our experience, we shall realize that it corresponds to the record in this book.
The children of Israel were brought into the presence of God at Mount Sinai (19:11). The significance of Mount Sinai is that it is the place for God to speak. On Mount Sinai God did not perform miracles. Rather, He simply spoke. With God’s speaking, there is also the heavenly vision. Therefore, the spiritual significance of the mountain of God is that it is the place of God’s speaking with God’s vision. First, the children of Israel heard God speaking, then they saw the vision. This vision was of the pattern for God’s dwelling place on earth.
As we gather together in the meetings of the church, we should have God’s speaking with His vision. In many of the so-called religious services today, there is no speaking of God and no vision from God. What an enjoyment to hear God’s direct speaking and to see God’s vision in the church meetings! Meeting after meeting, we may have God’s speaking and see more of God’s vision. It is a very great matter to hear God’s speaking and to see His vision, especially the vision concerning His dwelling place. It is of vital importance that we go to the genuine mountain of God, to God’s mountain on earth today.
According to the record in the Bible, God often spoke from a mountain. The Lord Jesus delivered the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens while on a mountain with His disciples (Matt. 5:1-2). It was also on a mountain that He uttered the prophecy concerning the end of the age (Matt. 24:3). God the Father spoke to Peter and the other disciples while they were on the mount of transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-2, 5). John was carried away to a high mountain to see the vision of the new heaven and the new earth with the New Jerusalem. Thus, in our experience we need to come out of Egypt, cross the Red Sea, and journey through the wilderness until we arrive at the mountain of God. At this mountain we are brought into God’s presence. Without His presence, what we say or do means nothing. His presence is everything to us. Many of us can testify that whenever we gather together into the Lord’s name, we enjoy His presence. We hear His speaking, and we see His vision at the mountain of God.
We are brought into the presence of God through sanctification. Exodus 19:10 says, “And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes” (Heb.). Verses 14 and 22 also speak of sanctification. To be sanctified is to be separated from the world unto God. When the children of Israel were assembled around Mount Sinai, they were far removed from Egypt. They had been separated from the world. At Mount Sinai they were living in God’s presence, having been sanctified, separated, unto God in an absolute way. When we gather together in the church meetings, we should also be separated from the world unto God. Praise the Lord that we are a sanctified people!
Exodus 19:11 says, “And be ready against the third day: for the third day Jehovah will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai” (Heb.). It is significant that this verse does not speak of the second day or the fourth day, but speaks of the third day. In the Scriptures the third day signifies resurrection. To be in resurrection means that the old has passed away and that we are altogether in a new position and situation.
Before God spoke to the people, the people prepared themselves. If God had come to speak to them on the first day, they would not have been ready. Suppose you had been among the children of Israel during those days of preparation. What would you have done? Certainly you would not have wasted time in idle conversation. Instead, you would have prayed, “Lord, show me anything that separates me from You. Lord, I don’t want to have anything between You and me.” You would have used your time to get ready to meet with God. You would drop one thing after another until you were in resurrection, ready to meet the Lord. Instead of indulging in criticism, gossip, or complaining, you would pray until you were in resurrection, until the old things had passed away and you were altogether in a new position.
Having been brought into the presence of God, God’s people heard His speaking (v. 9). This is fellowship. To have God’s speaking is to be in God’s presence.
Whenever we are brought into the presence of God and enter into fellowship with God, we are spontaneously brought into the knowledge of God. Before we come into fellowship with God, we are ignorant of many things. We know neither the world nor God’s building. We do not know the altar, the lampstand, the showbread table, or the ark. Everything revealed in chapters twenty-five through forty corresponds to what Paul describes as the full knowledge of God. Many Christians today are ignorant of what the church is. They do not know the ground of the church, the content of the church, or the function of the church. Before the children of Israel were brought into the presence of God, what did they know about the outer court, the holy place, or the Holy of Holies? Did they know anything about the ark made of acacia wood overlaid with gold? Certainly not! They were ignorant concerning these things.
When we come to chapter twenty, we shall see that the law is a revelation and description of God Himself. The law shows what kind of God He is. Before the children of Israel were brought into the presence of God, they did not have this knowledge of God, even though they had experienced His salvation, had enjoyed His provision, had defeated Amalek, and had been brought into the kingdom.
In the fellowship of God we first come to know the grace of God. In 19:4 the Lord said, “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.” This is grace. Isaiah 40:31 says, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles.” Those who trust in the Lord will be carried on eagles’ wings. Experientially, this is what Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 15:10: “But by the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace unto me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” All that we experience of the Lord’s salvation and provision is an experience of the wings of the great eagle. Perhaps you have been saved for many years without realizing that God has borne you on eagles’ wings. You have been carried by the grace of God, and this grace has been doing everything for you. First, Christ is our Passover lamb; then He is an eagle.
Whenever I recall my years with the Lord, I am filled with gratitude. For more than fifty years, I have been the object of His mercy and grace. Throughout the course of these years, I have been carried by the wings of a great eagle. Many things which have taken place have been not at all according to my expectation. I thank the Lord that so many things did not work out according to my way, but according to His way. He always knows what I need. I never expected to come to this country, but the Lord has brought me here. Have you ever dreamed that you would be where you are today? In the words of a hymn written by Charles Wesley,
’Tis mercy all, immense and free;For, O my God, it found out me.
What a mercy to be carried on the wings of a great eagle! At the mountain of God, the children of Israel could say, “Lord, we are not here of ourselves. Your strong wings have brought us out of Egypt and carried us through the wilderness to this place, where we are here with You.”
As we hear the Lord’s voice and receive His revelation, we know His grace. The longer we remain in His fellowship, the more we know His grace and realize that we owe everything to it. Year after year, we have been carried on by the grace of God. Every morning I pray, “Lord, thank You for another new day to live You. Lord, I ask You to make this day full of Yourself. Please give me this day’s portion of grace. Grant me grace today that I may live You and practice being one spirit with You.”
In the fellowship with the Lord we also begin to know the holiness of God (19:10-24). Exodus 19 shows the seriousness of honoring God’s holiness. We must sanctify ourselves because God Himself is holy, and the place where He dwells is a holy place. In Exodus 19 Mount Sinai was a holy mountain because God had descended upon it. Because the mountain was holy, a boundary was set which the children of Israel were not permitted to cross. In verse 21 the Lord said unto Moses, “Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto Jehovah to gaze, and many of them perish” (Heb.). Moses answered, “The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it” (v. 23). To this, the Lord replied, “Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee” (v. 24). Only Moses and Aaron were privileged to cross the border. To be sure, they knew that their God was a holy God. Elsewhere the Lord charges the people, “Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy” (Lev. 19:2). Because God is holy, the people had to sanctify themselves. To serve a holy God they had to be a holy people.
We should not take this word about God’s holiness as a mere doctrine. If you consider your experience, you will see that in fellowship with the Lord you are first grateful to Him for His mercy and grace. Then you come to realize the need of holiness. In God’s presence we must be holy. If we would remain in fellowship with Him, we must sanctify ourselves and everything related to us. We must not cross the border of God’s holiness. This is a very important lesson found in Exodus 19.
Because this chapter presents the details of fellowship with God, I appreciate it very much. I can testify that what it records corresponds to my experience. After I know the Lord’s grace, I sense the need of holiness, of sanctification. Sanctification is the experiential aspect of holiness. When God’s holiness becomes our experience, that is sanctification. We need to be separated from the world unto God. This is to honor the boundary of God’s holiness. However, we all can testify that we lose the fellowship with God whenever we violate the boundary of His holiness. Only when we maintain holiness will our fellowship with God continue.
In fellowship with God we become God’s personal possession and peculiar treasure (19:5). The Hebrew expression in verse 5 has a double meaning; it means both personal possession and peculiar treasure. For example, a sister may possess a very precious ring. That ring is her personal possession and also her peculiar treasure. She would not trade it for anything. Likewise, when God’s redeemed people were brought into God’s presence, they became His personal possession and peculiar treasure. Oh, we can become God’s personal possession! We can become so dear and precious to Him that we become His peculiar treasure. This shows what intimate affection exists in our fellowship with God. Our fellowship with the Lord must reach the point that we enjoy such intimate affection with Him and He with us that God would say that we are His peculiar treasure, His personal possession. How intimate, dear, and precious! When we enter into such fellowship with God, He considers us as such a treasure and possession.
According to 19:6, the children of Israel were to be unto the Lord a kingdom of priests. As we stay in the Lord’s presence, we become a kingdom of priests to Him. What is portrayed concerning this in the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New Testament. We, the believers, are a kingdom of priests unto God (Rev. 1:6). As priests, we live in God’s presence, enjoying Him as our portion, even as He enjoys us as His treasure. This is a mutual enjoyment. If such a thing could exist in Old Testament times, how much more should it be our experience in the New Testament age! What is depicted in the Old Testament is merely a picture; in the New Testament we have the reality. Praise the Lord that we are God’s peculiar treasure and priests enjoying Him as everything to us!
Eventually, we become a holy nation (19:6). The mutual enjoyment between God and His people separates them unto Himself. Nothing so separates us unto God as this mutual enjoyment. When God enjoys us as His peculiar treasure and we enjoy Him as everything to us, we are absolutely separated from everything other than God unto God Himself. As a result, we become a holy nation.
Exodus 19 is a precious chapter. Yes, it does speak of thunder, cloud, and smoke. If we do not care for the holiness of God, we shall experience these things. However, Moses and Aaron were not afraid of the thunder. They realized that the thunder, cloud, and smoke were not for them. Their portion was God’s presence with His speaking and enjoyment. We need not be afraid of God, for He treasures us as His personal possession. We are priests unto Him and a holy nation. What need have we to be afraid?
What a tremendous difference there is between Exodus 1 and Exodus 19! In chapter one God’s people were in Egypt under the tyranny of Pharaoh. But in chapter nineteen they are at the mountain of God, having become God’s peculiar treasure. Here they enjoy God to the uttermost and they are separated unto Him. Although we thank the Lord for this picture, we thank Him all the more that we today may enjoy the reality, the fulfillment.
