LET MY PEOPLE GO
Exodus 5:1 – “And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told
Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they
may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.”
Exodus 5:3 – “And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us:
let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice
unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the
sword.”
Exodus 6:11 – “Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out
of his land.”
Exodus 7:16 – “And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the
Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve
me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.”
Exodus 8:1 – “And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say
unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.”
Exodus 8:20 – “And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the
morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say
unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.”
Exodus 9:1 – “Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and
tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they
may serve me.”
Exodus 9:13 – “And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the
morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of
the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.”
Exodus 10:3 – “And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto
him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to
humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.”
Exodus 10:8,9
8 And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and
he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD your God: but who are they that shall go?”
{who...: Heb. who and who, etc}
9 And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our
old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds
will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD.”
Exodus 10:24 - 26
24 And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve
the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones
also go with you.
25 And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt
offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God. {us: Heb. into
our hands}
26 Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an
hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God; and we
know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither.
Exodus 12:12 - 14
12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night,
and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against
all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. {gods: or,
princes}
13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the
houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the
plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
{to destroy...: Heb. for a destruction}
14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye
shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall
keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
Worship and Blessings
1.
God’s ultimate aim was
to take the Israelites to the Land of Canaan (the Land of Promises for New
Testament believers)
2.
He entrusted Moses
with this mission
Exodus 3:7,8
7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the
affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by
reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8 And I am come down to deliver them out of
the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good
land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of
the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the
Hivites, and the Jebusites.
3.
God Himself declared
there itself that, during this journey to Canaan,
they should also worship Him.
Exodus 3:12 – “And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this
shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth
the people out of Egypt,
ye shall serve God upon this mountain.”
4.
Worship, Feast and
Possessing the Promised Land are used here closely connected, more or less same.
5.
This is an interesting
point to think on.
What is true worship?
1.
TRUE Worship is
worshiping God in Truth and Spirit.
John
4:24 – “God is a Spirit: and they that
worship him must worship him in spirit and in
truth.”
2.
The worship must be of
a spiritual nature - must spring from the heart, through the influence of the
Holy Ghost.
3.
It must be in TRUTH,
not only in sincerity, but performed according to that Divine revelation which
he has given men of himself.
4.
A man worships God in
spirit, when, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, he brings all his
affections, appetites, and desires to the throne of God.
5.
He worships him in
truth, when every purpose and passion of his heart, and when every act of his
religious worship, is guided and regulated by the word of God.
Who Are Qualified To Worship God
I.
Passover Feast – Christ’s death
1.
Passover feast is a
symbol of Christ’s death as the Lamb of God who bears away all our sins.
John
1:29 – “The next day John seeth Jesus
coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin
of the world.” {taketh away: or, beareth}
Exodus
12: 1 - 14
1 And
the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
saying,
2 This
month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of
the year to you.
3 Speak
ye unto all the congregation of Israel,
saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a
lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: {lamb: or,
kid}
4 And
if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next
unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man
according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.
5 Your
lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out
from the sheep, or from the goats: {of...: Heb. son of a year}
6 And
ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole
assembly of the congregation of Israel
shall kill it in the evening. {in...: Heb. between the two evenings}
7 And
they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the
upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
8 And
they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread;
and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
9 Eat
not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with
his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.
10 And
ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth
of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
11 And
thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your
staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover.
12 For
I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the
firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of
Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. {gods: or, princes}
13 And
the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and
when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon
you to destroy you, when I smite the land
of Egypt. {to destroy...:
Heb. for a destruction}
14 And
this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast
to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an
ordinance for ever.
1
Peter 1:18,19
18 Forasmuch
as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and
gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But
with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot:
1
Corinthians 5:7 –“Purge out therefore the
old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ
our passover is sacrificed for us: {is sacrificed; or, is slain}
2.
Those who are born
again by believing atonement death of
Christ are privileged to worship the Lord
II.
Crossing Read Sea – Joining with Christ through baptism
1.
Crossing the Red Sea is symbolic of Water Baptism
2.
Israelites who crossed
Red sea joined with Moses as one nation
3.
The New Testament
believers join Christ through water baptism.
1 Corinthians
10:1, 2
1 Moreover,
brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were
under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
2 And
were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
1Peter
3:21 - “The like figure whereunto even
baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh,
but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ”
Romans
6:4 - “Therefore we are buried with him by
baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the
glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Colossians
2:12 - “Buried with him in baptism,
wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God,
who hath raised him from the dead.
III.
Worship
– as soon as they cross Read sea
– Brings down Shekinah
Exodus 14 – ends with the following statement
Exodus
14 : 29 - 31
29 But
the children of Israel
walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto
them on their right hand, and on their left.
30 Thus
the LORD saved Israel that
day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon
the sea shore.
31 And
Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the
people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.
Exodus 15 – Starts with Worship
Exodus 15:1 – “Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song
unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath
triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.”
Worship in the Desert
Worship in the desert has certain special features – mainly
6
I.
Separation from Egypt
1.
No Worship in Egypt
2.
Worshiping Jehovah is
different from the idol worship of Egyptians
3.
Israelites should not
take any religious ceremony from Egypt
4.
So God wanted them to
be separate from Egypt
5.
Worship started only
after Israelites crossed the sea – only in the desert
Exodus 8
25 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron,
and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.
26 And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for
we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo,
shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will
they not stone us?
27 We will go three days' journey into the
wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us.
1John 2:15,16
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are
in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father,
but is of the world.
1John 2:16 - For all that is in the world, the lust
of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the
Father, but is of the world.
Galatians 5: 17 - “For the flesh lusteth against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the
other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
1John 5:7,8
7 For there are three that bear record in
heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
8 And there are three that bear witness in
earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
Exodus 23: 23,24
23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring
thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the
Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.
24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor
serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them,
and quite break down their images.”
Exodus 23:33 - “They
shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou
serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.”
Isaiah 52:11 – “Depart
ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the
midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.”
II.
Alone with God
1.
Worship is a personal
communion with God.
2.
Worship is spending
quality time with God
3.
Worship can be:
i.
Public worship
ii.
Personal worship
4.
Maintain a personal praise and worship time
with God
5.
Even among a large
crowd, you can worship God, forgetting all about your immediate circumstances
6.
Mount
Sinai is the place of Personal
meeting with God
7.
Holy spirit can take
you to Mount Sinai – the meeting place of God
Exodus 25: 21, 22
21 And thou shalt put
the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony
that I shall give thee.
22 "And there I
will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from
between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about
everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.
Exodus 29: 42, 43
42 This shall be a
continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak
there unto thee.
43 And there I will
meet with the children of Israel,
and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. {the tabernacle: or, Israel}
III.
In Faith
1.
Worship must be
offered in faith
2.
One has to believe
that the worship he offers pleases God
3.
Also we have to
believe that God is in our midst while we worship Him
4.
For none can please
God by anything without Faith.
Hebrew 11:6 - “But
without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Matthew 18:20 – “For
where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of
them.”
5.
An integral part of
Old Testament sacrifice is also faith – they have to believe that the
sacrificial goat atones for their sin and that the scapegoat bears away all
their sins to the desert
6.
Confessing over the
goat all the iniquities of the children of Israel is an act of faith.
Leviticus 16: 7 – 10
7 And he (Aaron) shall
take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation.
8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the
LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. {scapegoat: Heb. Azazel}
9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and
offer him for a sin offering. {fell: Heb. went up}
10 But the goat, on which
the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to
make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the
wilderness.
Leviticus 16: 21, 22
21 And Aaron shall lay
both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the
iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all
their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by
the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: {a fit...: Heb. a man of
opportunity}
22 And the goat shall
bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let
go the goat in the wilderness. {not...: Heb. of separation}
IV.
Shouts of Victory
1.
Worship is always a
celebration of Joy
Psalms
118:15, 16
15 The
voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; The right
hand of the LORD does valiantly.
16 The
right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly. (KJV)
15 Hark,
glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: "The right hand of
the LORD does valiantly, (RSV)
16 the
right hand of the LORD is exalted, the right hand of the LORD does
valiantly!" (RSV)
2.
The worship of
Israelites just after they crossed the Red Sea was a shout of victory and Joy
Exodus
15:1, 21
1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this
song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath
triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
21 And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the
LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown
into the sea.
2Corinthians
2:14 - Now thanks be to God who always
leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His
knowledge in every place.
Colossians
2:13-15
13 And
you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he
quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14 Blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to
us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15 And
having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly,
triumphing over them in it. {in it: or, in
V.
According to God’s Plan
1.
We worship God
Almighty – So He has every right to decide what kind of worship must be offered
to Him.
2.
Worshiping God is not
as we like, but as He directs.
3.
When Israelites built
the Tent of Tabernacle, they built if according to His Plan.
Exodus
25:9 - According to all that I shew thee,
after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments
thereof, even so shall ye make it.
4.
Jesus tells the
Samaritan Woman that worship is not according to her tradition, but in truth
and spirit.
John
4:19 - 24
19 The
woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20 Our
fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to
worship.
21 Jesus
saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in
this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem,
worship the Father.
22 Ye
worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the
Jews.
23 But
the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father
in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God
is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
5.
Worship is a prophetic
act
6.
Worship Leading is a
prophetic ministry
VI.
Brings Down Shekinah – Brings
down Blessings
1.
Worship brings downs
God’s Heavy Presence
2.
His Presence is His
Glory – Shekinah
3.
His Glory is Blessing – Spiritual, Physical and Material
4.
We see at many
occasions, the priests blessing the congregation after the sacrifice and after
the Glory of God descends
Matthew 18:20 – “For
where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of
them.”
Matthew 28:19, 20
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost: {teach...: or, make disciples, or, Christians of all nations}
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world. Amen.
Leviticus 9: 21 - 23
21 And the breasts and
the right shoulder Aaron waved for a wave offering before the LORD; as Moses
commanded.
22 And Aaron lifted up
his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of
the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings.
23 And Moses and Aaron
went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the
people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people.
Numbers 6: 22 – 27
22 And the LORD spake
unto Moses, saying,
23 Speak unto Aaron and
unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying
unto them,
24 The LORD bless thee,
and keep thee:
25 The LORD make his face
shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The LORD lift up his
countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
27 And they shall put my
name upon the children of Israel;
and I will bless them.
Deuteronomy 21:5 - And
the priests the sons of Levi shall come near (near the heifer that is killed by
the elders of the city); for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister
unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall
every controversy and every stroke be tried: {word: Heb. mouth}
5.
When God had finished
this earth, which he designed for man's habitation, he made man, and put him in
possession of it.
6.
When Moses had
finished the tabernacle, which was designed for God's dwelling-place among men,
God came and took possession of it.
7.
By these visible
tokens of his coming among them, he testified both the return of his favour,
which they had forfeited by the golden calf, and his gracious acceptance of
their care and pains about the tabernacle.
8.
Thus God shewed
himself well-pleased with what they had done, and abundantly rewarded them.
Exodus 40:33, 34
33 And he reared up the
court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the
court gate. So Moses finished the work.
34 Then a cloud covered
the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
9.
As soon as the
Tabernacle was finished and the priests placed the Ark of Covenant in the Holy Place, God’s
Glory came down and filled the temple.
1Kings 8:10,11, 14
10 And it came to pass,
when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the
house of the LORD,
11 So that the priests
could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had
filled the house of the LORD.
14 And the king turned
his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the
congregation of Israel stood;)
10.
Clouds of God’s Glory
came down as a sign of God’s blessings on Christ.
Matthew 17: 1 - 5
1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James,
and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
2 And was transfigured before them: and his face
did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses
and Elias talking with him.
4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus,
Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three
tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud
overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
Professor Jacob Abraham
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