Before I get started on this
lesson, as you know, in the last lesson, I preached on the mercy
seat out of Exodus 25, and I made a mistake. Now don't look surprised,
it happens. And either some of you didn't
catch it or you did catch it and you just didn't want to tell
me, but you know if I make a mistake, you can tell me. Now, it wasn't
a vital mistake. I mean, you know, it's not going
to deny the gospel. But I just got to reading that
lesson, and I thought, you know, I made a mistake. And what happens,
sometimes I'll get going fast, and I'll reread and proofread
these things so much, it'll just slip by me. But the mistake I
made in that lesson, and it's lesson 34, and you can change
this on your lessons if you want to, is I was talking about the
lid, the mercy seat. You know, the Ark of the Covenant
is made of wood overlaid with gold. And I said that the mercy
seat was wood overlaid with gold, and it isn't. The mercy seat
is solid gold. Now that may seem to be a minor
mistake, but you know how people who don't believe the gospel,
when they hear you make a mistake, boy, they'll hone in on it. So
I thought, well, I'll just publicly correct that right now. I just
made the mistake. I was just writing about the
Ark of the Covenant, and then I was writing about the mercy
seat, and I thought, well, all of it's, you know, the wood overlaid
with gold is a picture of Christ in his two natures, deity and
humanity. And the mercy seat was pure gold
because that was the seat of where God glorified himself in
his deity, but it's all included. So that mercy seat had to be
over the Ark of the Covenant. So it's not denying Christ's
humanity, it's just enhancing it because our righteousness
is the righteousness of God. And so understand that so you
can correct that on your lesson. I've already corrected it on
mine. Anyway, so much for that. All right, let's go on to Exodus
33. The glory of God in Christ. Well, that's what this is all
about. That's what salvation's all about. God's glory in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And in the first six verses of
Exodus 33, now I won't read all these verses, but you read them
all. We're gonna mainly focus on the
last few verses of this chapter. But here's where God commands
the Israelite Moses to take the Israelites, to lead them from
Sinai to the promised land. And it's here that it's made
clear, very clear, that this work is God's work. That it's
not left to the people on their own auspices and their own abilities
and their own power. to get them where they need to
be. Now, just prior to this, what happened? Moses comes down
out of the mount with the tablets of stone and he finds the people
worshiping a golden calf. You can read about that in Exodus,
I believe, Exodus 32. And this is after the people
had said repeatedly that we're gonna do the works of the Lord,
we're gonna keep the, obey the law of God. And here they are
worshiping a golden calf, and you know the story, how God told
them, whoever's on the Lord's side, come to Moses. And that's
a picture of sinners coming to Christ. God is for those who
are in Christ. If God be for us, who can be
against us? And those who weren't were destroyed. That was God's
wrath upon them. And now here in Exodus 33, God
is telling Moses to take them away from Sinai and take them
to the promised land. And again, he makes it clear. He said in verse two, I will
send an angel before thee, and I will drive out the Canaanite,
the Amorite, the Hittite, Perizzite, Hivite, and Jebusite. God says,
I'm gonna do this. I'll send an angel before you,
and I'll get rid of those who would hinder you from taking
possession of the promised land. So their getting there was by
direction of God, leading them. And their taking possession of
the promised land was by the power of God, not by their own
power. And God didn't tell them, you
know, He didn't tell them, when you get there, draw your swords
and conquer everybody that's there. No, He said, I'll drive
them out. And, of course, we'll talk later on, you know, what
happened when they finally got there. And they sent spies over
and the spies came back with the majority report saying, well,
those people are too much for us. We cannot conquer them. And
then they had a report from Joshua and Caleb. The two came back,
here's the minority report. He said, wait a minute, you're
all thinking wrongly about this thing. It's not by our power
or might that we're gonna possess this land. God has already given
it to us, now let's have it. Let's possess it. That's a picture
of salvation. By nature, we don't know the
way to God, but God shows us the way. And by nature, we think
it's based upon our works or our wills or our power, but it's
not. All we do is possess what God
has already given us through Christ, blessed with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And so, understand,
this is a picture of salvation by God's grace to undeserving
and impotent sinners. God gives it. Now it says here
that Moses, I do want to point out in the next set of verses,
Exodus 33, seven through 11, Moses had a tent. It says in
verse seven, Moses took the tabernacle and pitched it without the camp.
Now that's not the big tabernacle. that God had instructed him,
which had the walls and the inner chamber and the holy holies,
it hadn't been built yet. In fact, in subsequent chapters,
we're going to see that tabernacle built and how God gifted certain
artisans to build the materials and the elements of the tabernacle.
But before that actual tabernacle was built, Moses used to take
a tent, an actual tent, and pitch it away from the camp You know,
we're some distance away, and he called it the Tent of Meeting.
And anyone inquiring, who had a question or a matter to settle,
wanting the Lord's word on this, they would go to the Tent of
Meeting outside the camp and they'd speak to Moses or one
whom Moses had appointed. And when Moses would visit this
Tent of Meeting outside the camp, Exodus 33 9 says, look at it,
and it came to pass as Moses entered into the tabernacle,
that's the tent of meeting, the cloudy pillar descended and stood
at the door of the tabernacle and the Lord talked with Moses.
Now I believe that's another pre-incarnate visitation of Christ. These pre-incarnate visitations
are amazing. Christ, the eternal Son of God,
appearing before the Old Testament saints to speak to them in a
form that probably looked like his humanity, but it was a spiritual
vision. And it was prophetic. This proved
that the Messiah was going to come and unite with a human body
and soul without sin. Time so that he could die to
put away their sins, but it was through this vision through this
Mediation that Moses would speak to the Lord and look at verse
11 It says in the Lord spoken to Moses face to face as a man
speaketh unto his friend in that amazing Abraham was called the
friend of God well Moses was to And we see again that Moses
interceding for Israel here is a type of Christ who intercedes
for spiritual Israel, the spiritual kingdom and people and family
of God. And we also see the glory of God is revealed in the face
of Jesus Christ, which is the glory of his person, God manifest
in the flesh, and the glory of his finished work. to put away
our sins. Righteousness established for
his people. The glory of God revealed in
the face of Jesus Christ, for in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. And you're completed in him.
Well this was a prophecy of that, of his coming. And so beginning
in verse 12, Moses intercedes for the people and he asks for
three great blessings. And in these three great blessings
that he asked for, we see provided by God's grace through Christ,
everything that God requires and everything that we need for
salvation complete in these three requests. Let's look at them
in verses 12 and 13, verse one, or number one. In verse 12, he
says, and Moses said unto the Lord, see thou sayest unto me,
bring up this people and thou hast not let me know whom thou
wilt sent with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee
by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now when God
says, I know you by name, that's his electing love. That's his
redeeming love. You remember those in Matthew
7, he said, depart from me, I never knew you. He knew what their
names were. God knows everything. But when
he says, I know thee by name, he's talking about a name that
has been written in the Lamb's book of life before the foundation
of the world. This is a intimate knowledge. God knows us and he'll bring
his people to know him. Bible says in 2 Timothy chapter
2, I believe it is, where Paul was writing, he said, the foundation
of God stands sure, the Lord knoweth them that are his. Christ
said, I know my sheep. And he said, they'll follow me.
They won't follow, they'll know me. So, and the basis of this
knowledge, Thou hast also found grace in my sight. And so look at verse 13. Now
therefore, Moses says, I pray thee, if I have found grace in
thy sight, show me now thy way. That's the first request. God,
show me your way that I may find grace in thy sight and consider
that this nation is thy people. Show me now thy way. Now, obviously,
there's a very simple physical application to this. If you're
going on a trip and you've never been to the place you're going
to, you're going to want to draw a map or you're going to click
in, now they do, on Wave or Waze or Google Maps or something like
that. And Moses is asking a very practical question in one sense.
Show me the way to the promised land. He didn't know where to
get there. And so God had to show him and the people the way. But think about this on a spiritual
level. Show me the way of salvation. You see, this is inherent with
Moses' request there. And we'll see that in God's answer.
He says, show me now thy way, God's way. These people were totally dependent
upon God's guidance and God's power to get them to their destination. Well, isn't that the way we are
in salvation? In getting to heaven, as we say,
or getting to the new heavens and the new earth? We're totally
dependent upon God's revelation of himself, God's guidance, God's
preservation and God's power. None of it's of us. So on a spiritual
and eternal level, when it comes to God's dealings with sinners,
God's way has to be revealed. Number one, we don't know the
way by nature. First Corinthians chapter two
in speaking of the natural man says that the things of God,
The things of salvation, the things of forgiveness, the things
of righteousness, the things of holiness have not, the things
that are true, the things that are real, the things that save
sinners, have not even entered into the minds of the best of
people, the most noble, the smartest, the most religious, has never
even entered their minds. And you can see that, can't you?
In false religion, in man's religion, man's philosophies, man's way
is always the wrong way. And to man it seems right. Spoken
in Proverbs two times. Proverbs 14, 12, Proverbs 16,
25. There is a way which seemeth
right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
And what ways are those? Well, it's the way of human works.
It's the way of free will religion. That's what man thinks by nature.
I'm gonna preach on that this morning about Christ being our
savior, not faith. Why do we have to say that? It's
because people think that Christ's death does not really ultimately
and finally save anybody. You realize that? Because they'll
tell you right well there are multitudes who've perished in
hell whom Christ died for. Well where does that leave salvation?
Leaves it up to me. And that sounds so right. You
make the right choice. You're saved because you made
the right choice and somebody else is lost because they made
the wrong choice. Now that seems so right. But
it's a way of death. It's a way of death. So man doesn't
know the way. But here's another, here's total
depravity now. You wanna talk about total depravity?
Man doesn't want or desire God's way. The natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them.
They're spiritually discerned. So in order for us to get on
the right way, That narrow way, God has to show it to us, he
has to reveal it to us, and he has to give us the desire to
walk that way. Well, you know and I know, when
it comes to the way of salvation, God says, your thoughts are not
my thoughts. Your ways are not my ways. What's
God's way? Christ. John 14, six. I'm the
way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. That's the way. The way to God
is the way of the cross. Isn't that right? We sing a hymn,
The Way of the Cross Leads Home. In other words, it's by the death
of Christ. He opened the way. He died on that cross to put
away our sins as they had been imputed to Him, and He satisfied
the justice of God, and the way into the holiness was made so,
made clear. The veil was rent in two from
top to bottom. He cleared the way. And it's
the way of righteousness. You're not gonna come to God
without a righteousness that equals and answers the demands
of His justice. Well, we can't find that in ourselves. We can't get it by our works.
Where are we gonna find that way? In Christ, the Lord our
righteousness. He is the way. He's the way of
grace. Moses said, if I found grace
in thy sight. Grace reigns through righteousness
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. So show me the way. But let's move on. Look at verse
14. Now here's the second. request. In verse 14. And he said, my presence shall
go with thee and I will give thee rest. God speaking to Moses. And he said unto him, God, Moses
said unto him, if thy presence go not with me, carry us not
up hence. For wherein shall it be known
here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? Is
it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated. That's what distinguishes God's
people, God's with them. I and thy people from all the
people that are upon the face of the earth. And the Lord said
unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou has spoken for
thou hast found grace in my sight and I know thee by name. He keeps
repeating that. What's the second request? Don't
let me go without thee. Moses knew. that if this task
of getting this rebel bunch, you know what they were? Hadn't
they just been worshiping a golden calf? Even the ones who ultimately
sided with the Lord? In other words, they didn't have
anything to brag about. But Moses knew that to get this
bunch and himself to the promised land, If it were conditioned
on Moses and the people, it would fail. That's right. So not only do we need to be
saved by grace, we need to be kept, preserved by grace. Lord, you have to go with us.
You've got to be present with us. If I, like Noah, have found
grace in your sight, you've got to stay with us. And on a spiritual
level, without grace, that reigns through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ, God's presence is not something to be desired,
is it? Without Christ. Our God's a consuming
fire without Christ. Think about that. Going it alone. Appearing before God without
Christ. God said, I'll be with you. Listen, if you found grace
in the sign of the Lord, he'll be with you, he'll stay with
you. He knows you by name. And it's his, you're his child. You're his son or his daughter.
And he will not let us go. This intimate knowledge. Our
name. Think about that. Sit around
and think about that. Meditate on that just for a moment.
If you know the Lord, that evidences that your name, your actual name,
was written in the Lamb's Book of Life before the foundation
of the world. Now I don't think there was an actual paper book
that God used. I think this is God's heart.
And he never forgets or changes. He knew you by name. He knew
me by name. And he couldn't confuse me with
another Bill Parker. Now there may be another Bill
Parker who is saved, I don't know. But he knows me by name. And
he said, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. He said, no
one shall pluck them out of my father's hand. I and my father
are one. Show me thy way and don't let me go without you.
And then here's the third request. Look at verse 18. He said, I
beseech thee, show me thy glory. That's what it's all about. There's
the third request. Now, if God shows you the way,
and if God is present with you, and shows you his glory in every
aspect of life and salvation, there's absolutely no way it
can fail. What is God's glory? It is His
majesty, His honor, in everything He is by His very nature, and
in everything He does. The heavens, God created this
earth. The heavens declare the glory of God. The earth, His
handiwork. Even creation declares the glory of God. Judgment declares
the glory of God. Providence, that's God's governance
of all things, that declares His glory. But His greatest glory,
and I'm gonna preach on this next week, the Shekinah glory. And you know what that word Shekinah
means? It means God's presence. How God reveals Himself in every
attribute of His nature and His character. The Shekinah glory
can only be seen in the salvation of a sinner by his grace through
the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, in Christ dwelleth all
the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Delivering these Hebrews from
Egypt, bringing them to the promised land, that was a matter of God's
honor and glory, not their own. I mean, they messed up all along
the way, didn't they? But God kept his promise that
he made to Abraham 400 years before. Isn't that the way our
lives are? Now think about it, let's be
honest. We sort of mess up along the way, don't we? Sometimes worse than others.
But God's gonna keep his, if he knows you by name, that's
covenant language now. If you found grace in his sight,
he's gonna bring you to the promised land of salvation and blessing. And you know who's gonna get
the honor and glory for it? Not you, not me, Christ is. That's what this is all about.
Look at verse 19, he said, I will make all my goodness pass before
thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee,
and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will
show mercy on whom I will show mercy. Oh, somebody says, that's
Old Testament. You know where we're going, don't
you? Anybody tell me? Well, that's one. That's the glory of God revealed
in the face of Jesus Christ, isn't it? But we have a direct
quote from this passage, Romans 9, where the apostles again talking
about the glory of God, the same glory that we find in 2 Corinthians
4, 6. And you know what he says here.
Verse 13, as it is written, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated.
What shall we then say? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid. 15, for he saith to Moses, I'll
have mercy on whom I have mercy. I'll have compassion on whom
I will have compassion. That's God's sovereign right. And here's the thing, you and
I know But most people who call themselves Christians deny this,
God's electing grace. God says this is my glory. So what are they denying? The
glory of God. Why would God put it this way?
Well, look at it. He says in verse 16, so then
it's not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but
of God that showeth mercy. Because God's gonna get the glory
that shines forth in the face of Jesus Christ. If it's conditioned on us, then
we get the glory. Actually, we wouldn't, because
it would fail. Isn't that right? Well, look back at Exodus 33.
Verse 20, he said, thou canst not see my face, for there shall
no man see me and live. Now, does that contradict what
he said back over in verse 11 when Moses spoke to the Lord
face to face? And the answer's no. Most scholars
believe that this is saying that Moses, like any of us, could
not see God's face in the fullness of his perfections and the grandeur
of his designs and live as no human being could bear. In other
words, when it comes to God's revelation of himself to human
beings, there is a limit. And so they think it's a matter
of degrees. But what I believe is happening
here is he's showing us with what follows here, he's
showing us that the only way that we can do like Moses, speak
to God face to face and see the glory of God in his face is through
Christ. So look what happens. He says,
and the Lord said, behold, there is a place by me that thou shalt
stand upon a rock. Now we know that's Christ. That's
a picture of Christ. He's our rock. He's our foundation,
our chief cornerstone. And it shall come to pass while
my glory passes by that I will put thee in the cleft of the
rock and will cover thee with my hand while I pass. He hideth
my soul in the cleft of the rock. That's Christ. To be in the clift
of the rock is to be in Christ. It's to be washed in his blood
and clothed in his righteousness. And I will take away mine hand
and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen.
Now, what does that mean? There's a lot of different ideas,
most of which do not deny the gospel of God's grace, some do.
We know, for example, God doesn't have front parts and back parts
like we have. God is spirit. He's not made
out of physical material. So what's being said here? Well,
I heard this preached one time, and I believe it makes sense
to me. What God is saying here is that the revelation of God
that we can see of his glory is based upon his finished work,
what God has done. what God has accomplished, that
being his back parts. In other words, what I've done.
And that's the way it is with the gospel. When we preach the
gospel, we preach the glory of Christ's person as God manifests
in the flesh, along with what? His finished work. That's how God reveals himself,
through a work that's already done. We could try to look out
into the future. And sometimes God has revealed
future events, we know that. But we can't figure all that
out. We can't see that. We know it is God's intention
to glorify himself in the salvation of his people and to save them. His good toward his people. But
the only way we know God's glory is in the glorious person and
in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so what do
we preach? We're not preaching a work that's
to be done by men and women. We're preaching a work that has
already been accomplished and finished and established. A righteousness
that's already been brought. Christ has made an end of sin.
He has finished the transgression. He has brought in everlasting
righteousness. That's not something we are to
do. God's already done it. Now believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Okay.