Skip to main content

17. A Promise of God in Human Form


Deuteronomy 18:14-22
Key Verse:  “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in His mouth, and He will tell them everything I command Him.
Deuteronomy 18:18

As the people of Israel wandered in the desert for forty years, they learned more about how to serve God.  Unfortunately, the only way that they understood God was as an object of fear.  God was a pillar of fire.  God was an angry earthquake that swallowed up those who disobeyed.  God’s voice was like thunder and God was powerful enough to part the Red Sea and destroy an entire army with one blow.

They were afraid to draw near to this awesome power.  They were more than happy to let Moses do it for them.  They did not want an intimate relationship with this powerful being.  They could only hope to be good enough not to anger Him.

The Lord God understood their fear.  When the people cried out that they didn’t want to see any more of God’s power, the Lord sympathized and told Moses, “What they say is good.”  (Deut. 18:17) God assured Moses, and through Moses, the people, that it wouldn’t always be this way. 

A day will come when One will come whom they won’t fear.  He will speak the truth and they must listen.   This promised one would be a mediator between God and man that they could approach and not fear.  He would speak God’s truths so that they could understand.   The people of Israel wouldn’t have to use secret arts, such as divination and sorcery to try to discern what God was saying, because this mediator would speak clearly and lead them on a path of righteousness. 

It is interesting that Job’s heart desire was to meet God face to face.  The people of Israel feared God and were afraid to see his face.  God, our creator, understands both emotional responses and knows that Jesus can meet both as the perfect answer.

 Hymn:  “How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

258. "Remember, Always Remember!"

Exodus 12:1-30 Key Verse: "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord a lasting ordinance." Exodus 12:14 "Celebrate the feast of unleavened bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come." (Exodus 12:17) "And when your children ask you, "What does this ceremony mean to you?" then tell them, "It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when He struck down the Egyptians." (Exodus 12:27) The original act was an act of worship as the first true act of freedom for the people of Israel. They had been brought to Egypt by Joseph during a time of famine so that through Joseph God could preserve their lives. ( Genesis 37 , & 39-50 ) After Joseph died, however, instead of heading back to C...
Post a Comment
Read more

This Little Light of Mine

Scripture: Psalm 130 Listen Link: www.lcepc.org then look for “sermons” tab. It’s the first Sunday of Advent. Today we lit one candle and heard the passage, in Isaiah 9, about the great light! We have heard that the great light is the child born to us on Christmas day. It is Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. Christmas is a day we will truly celebrate as we have for years and years, and our ancestors before us for centuries. Christmas is coming! Advent means coming! It is good to spend the next few weeks reflecting on all that it means for us. We begin from the depths of darkness. The world is still suffering the effects of sin. We are still suffering the effects of a world broken by sin. And not just the consequences of our own sins. According to Romans 8:22, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” The fires in California, the floods and storms on the East coast, and all the other natural disasters we hear ab...
Post a Comment
Read more

August 13 What Is Fitting

It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—how much less for a slave to rule over princes! ~Proverbs 19:10   On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man!” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. ~Acts 12:21-23  Wow! Well, what in the world can there be to benefit us here? First of all, perhaps we should review the first Biblical definition of a fool, penned by no other than Solomon’s Father, David himself. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1) It is not fitting for the fool to live the blessed life. Why should they when they deny from whom all blessings flow?  King Herod was a fool. Now, just to be clear, this is not the Herod who ruled at Jesus’ birth and ordered the slaughter of the male children in Bethlehem. He ...
Post a Comment
Read more