“Divine Rules for Human Conduct”

Life of Moses part 10

Exodus 19-20

Key Principles from earlier weeks…

·         Leadership is God-appointed not self-assumed.

·         God specializes in using broken vessels.

·         God speaks to us today by His Holy Spirit.

·         The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.

·         Predicaments teach us dependence upon God.

I.  The People prepared themselves to meet the Lord

Consecrated – Clean – Disciplined – Obedient

Exodus 19:10-11 ¹⁰ And the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes ¹¹ and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

II.  The Glory of God’s presence descended upon Mt Sinai

Exodus 19:16-20 ¹⁶ On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. ¹⁷ Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, ¹⁹ and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. ²⁰ The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up…

·         Thunder & lightning

·         Thick glory cloud

·         Very loud trumpet blast

·         Mt Sinai covered with smoke

·         Smoke billowed as from a furnace

·         Mountain trembled violently

·         Trumpet sound grew louder & louder

·         Moses spoke & God answered

·         Lord descended to the top of Mt Sinai in fire

Slide: Fire  Hebrews 12:21, 28-29 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."… ²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our "God is a consuming fire."

Slide: Sinai Burnt Peak  Exodus 19:18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently,

Slide: Twin peaks… one Mt Horeb the other Mt Sinai??  Just a thought…both used interchangeably in Bible

Slide: Blackened, charred granite rock from atop Mt. Sinai  Exodus 24:17 To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.

Slide: Next Picture was taken from this location atop Mt Sinai… overlooking the "Holy Area" also notice the burnt rock on the mountain peak of Sinai.

Slide: View of the “Holy Area” from atop Mt. Sinai (picture taken from vantage point of previous slide)

Saudi Guard House – with fences, warning signs, etc

Altar with Petroglyphs – of Egyptian cows, culture, see more next week

Remains of 12 Pillars – we saw pictures of these last week

Old stream bed, water wells & stone fences – stream flowed from Sinai according to Deut 9:21

Large Altar at the foot of Mt. Sinai – saw pictures last week

Slide: Larger picture of the “Holy Area”

Slide: Lightning, billowing clouds  Exodus 20:18-21 ¹⁸ When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance ¹⁹ and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." ²⁰ Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." ²¹ The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

III.  God gave the Ten Commandments… (With corresponding N.T. references)

(first four = our relationship with God… last six = our relationship with one another)

1. You shall have no other gods before me.

Matthew 4:10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"

·         God is a jealous God… our devotion is exclusively to Him alone

2. You shall not make for yourself an idol.

Luke 16:13 "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

·         God’s uniqueness requires unique devotion…

·         An idol can be anything… your child, food, entertainment, money, statues, religious trinkets

3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.

Matthew 5:34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne;

·         To be honored & protected… idle, frivolous, insincere purposes… slang “god”, “Jesus”

·         Taking an oath with no intention of keeping… be very careful of your speech.

4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

Mark 2:27-28 ²⁷ Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

·         Separate it from other days… O.T. required the death penalty for breaking it.

·         Changed from Saturday to Sunday because of Christ’s resurrection on the 1^st day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1Co 16:2)

5. Honor your Father and Mother.

Matthew 10:37 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

·         Respect and honor shown to parents… implies obedience & submission to them (Eph 6)

·         Cursing parents, rebellion against them – a capital offense = death (Ex 21:17; Lev 20:9)

6. You shall not murder.

Matthew 5:22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

·         To preserve society, people are made in the image of God… special creation

·         Murder… to slay… anger, hatred… Cain slew Abel, the first murder ever recorded.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

Matthew 5:28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

·         To protect the sanctity of the home … the building block of society

·         Hebrews 13:4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

·         Marriage vow is a holy commitment and should not be violated by sexual unfaithfulness

·         Adultery is infidelity for either the man or woman… high divorce rate, perpetual adultery?

8. You shall not steal.

Matthew 5:30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

·         Encouraged respect of other’s property… fosters a stable society.

9. You shall not bear false witness.

Matthew 12:36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

·         Lying causes unjustified injury… protects individuals reputations… builds good society

·         God tells us “all liars will have their part in the lake of fire” see Rev 21:8; Jn 8:44; etc.

10. You shall not covet.

Luke 12:15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

·         A general safeguard against many other sins… “keeping up with the Jones”

·         Don’t long for, lust after, desire earnestly what belongs to others…

The Ten Commandments contains 297 words. The Bill of Rights is stated in 463 words. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address contains 266 words. A recent Federal directive to regulate the price of cabbage contains 26,911 words.              —Atlanta Journal

UPI reported Feb 2, 1997 “68 out of 200 Anglican priests polled could name all 10 commandments but half (100) of them said they believed in space aliens”

Slide: Were you able to name all Ten Commandments?

·         Inscribed by the finger of God Ex 31:18

·         Unchangeable absolute moral authority Mt 24:35

·         Fundamental to a good & wholesome society Prov 14:34

·         9 out of 10 are repeated in the N.T. w/higher standards (looks at a woman lustfully… adultery in heart)

·         Law functions to show us our sinfulness, leading us to Christ

No man was able to keep God’s Divine law…

Have you ever told a lie?  That makes you a liar… Have you ever lusted? That makes you an adultery… Have you ever taken God’s name in vain?  Ever prayed to a statue or idol?  Ever dishonored your parents?  Did you ever steal something? James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

	The 10 commandments functions to point out our sinfulness & falling short of God’s perfect standard
	The law could never be kept, except by Jesus Christ… who died for sin… buried… rose again

	O.T. believers were saved by faith the same as us today… once we repent & believe we are no longer under the bondage of the law… we are set free from sin, guilt, bondage, penalty, satan, world, flesh!!!
	Right Pastor… I’m a believer but still not set free… If Jesus is so powerful, why not?
	Let me give you an illustration from David Jeremiah… you need your tank topped off!

	God descended to reconcile man to Himself. Phil 2:5-11; Jn 3:16
	The fear of the Lord keeps us from sinning. Ex 20:20
	God has not changed, you will face Him. Mal 3:6

How’s your love for God & others?  Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?

Moses… “Divine Rules for Human Conduct”