God's Promises in desert life

God’s Promises in Desert Life

Exodus 15 : 22 -  20

 I.     Introduction

1.      Desert Life is a shadow of Faith Life on Earth that leads to the Land of Promises, Canaan

2.      Passover Feast is the covenant between God and us to save us from eternal death, the punishment of Sin

3.      Passover feast is deliverance from God’s destroyer

4.      The Pascal Lamp is a shadow of Christ

5.      Every New Testament Born Again Christian has entered into a covenant with God through Christ that delivers them from the Angel of Destruction

6.      Faith Life just follows this covenant

7.      Faith Life just follows this covenant

 Note:  

·  All promises are given on certain conditions of rules and laws of God.

·  Promises are fulfilled only if those rules and laws of God are fulfilled by man

·  No Blessing is free – we have to pay a price

II.   Healing

1.      The first Promise God gives the Israel is to heal them

2.      The first statue given by God to Israel in the desert is preceded to this promise

3.      Their Soul is healed by the observation of Passover Feast

4.      When a New Testament Christian is born again, his soul is healed

5.      Then comes the healing of his physical body

6.      See how much importance God gives to the healing of physical body – only next to the healing of soul

Exodus 15: 22, 23, 25, 26

22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.

23 Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.

25    So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them. And there He tested them

26    and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you."

7.      Israelites could get no good water

8.      So they were afraid that they may die in the desert

9.      God promises a healthy life – it does not matter:

                                   

                                    i.          they drink water or not

                                    ii.         the water is bitter or sweet

Exodus 23: 25, 26

25     "So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.

26     "No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.

Mark 16 : 18 - "they (those who believe Jesus) will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

John 10 : 19 - "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

III.             Destroy Enemies

1.   The Second Promise is to Destroy their Enemies

Exodus 17 : 8 - 14

8    Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

9    And Moses said to Joshua, "Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand."

10 So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

11 And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

12 But Moses' hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven."

15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner (Jehovah-nissi)

Adam Clarke’s Commentary:

1.      Jehovah-nissi -  Jehovah is my ensign or banner.

2.      The hands and rod of Moses were held up as soldiers are wont to hold up their standards (flag) in the time of battle.

3.      As these standards bear the arms of the country, the soldiers are said to fight under that banner, i.e., under the direction and in the defense of that government.

4.      Thus the Israelites fought under the direction of God, and in the defense of his truth; and therefore the name of JEHOVAH became the armorial bearing of the whole congregation.

5.       By His direction they fought, and in His name and strength they conquered; each one feeling himself, not his own, but the Lord's soldier.

Exodus 14: 8 - 14

8     And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness.

9     So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army …….

13   And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.

14   The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."

  

IV.             Kingdom Priests

1.  The Third Promise is to make them a Kingdom Priests of God

Exodus 19: 1,2; 5,6

1   In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.

2   For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain.

5   'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.

6   'And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."

1 Peter 2: 9 - But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light

2.                  God promises that they will be:

           

i.      Special Treasure

ii.    Kingdom Priests

iii.  Holy Nation   

John Wesley’s Notes on the Old and New Testaments:

Special Treasure –

1.      Not that God was enriched by them, as a man is by his treasure

2.      But he was pleased to value and esteem them as a man doth his treasure

3.      They were precious in his sight. 

4.      He took them under his special care and protection, as a treasure that is kept under lock and key. 

5.      He distinguished them from, and dignified them above all people, as a people devoted to him, and to his service.

Adam Clarke’s Commentary:

A holy nation

1.      They should be a nation, one people; firmly united among themselves, living under their own laws; and powerful, because united, and acting under the direction and blessing of God.

2.      They should be a holy nation:

i.        saved from their sins

ii.      righteous in their conduct

iii.    holy in their hearts

iv.    every external rite being not only a significant ceremony, but also a means of conveying light and life, grace and peace, to every person who conscientiously used it. 

Kingdom Priests

1.      They should be both a kingdom, having God for their governor

2.      A nation, a multitude of peoples connected together; not a scattered, disordered, and disorganized people

3.      A royal nation, using their own rites, living under their own laws, subject in religious matters only to God, and in things civil, to every ordinance of man for God's sake.

3.         This was the spirit and design of this wonderful institution

4.         It could not receive its perfection but under the Gospel

 

V.  Blessings to Thousand Generations

1.  God promises mercy and blessings for a thousand generations to come

Exodus 20: 1 – 6

1    And God spoke all these words, saying:

2    "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3    "You shall have no other gods before Me.

4    "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;

5    you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

6    but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Professor Jacob Abraham

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