♪ From thy wound inside which flowed
♪ ♪ Be of sin none pure ♪ ♪ Saved from wrath and made me pure ♪
♪ Could my tears forever flow ♪ ♪ Could my zeal no longer know
♪ ♪ These for sin could not atone ♪ Thou must save and Thou alone
In my hand no price I pay Simply to Thy cross I plead While I
draw this fleeting breath When my eyes shall close in prayer If you have your Bibles turn
with me to Exodus the 23rd chapter. Read verses 20 through
25. To Exodus 23. Verse 20 says, Behold, I send
an angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring
thee to the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and
obey his voice. Provoke him not, for he will
not pardon your transgressions, for my name is in him. But if
thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak, then
I will be an enemy to thine enemies, and an adversary to thine adversaries. For mine angel shall go before
thee, and bring thee into the Amorites, and the Hittites, and
the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites,
and I will cut them off. Thou shalt not bow down to their
gods, nor serve them, nor do their works. Thou shalt utterly
overthrow them, and quite break down their images. Ye shall serve
the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread and thy water,
and I will take sickness away. from the midst of thee. Let us
pray. Our Father in heaven, most blessed,
gracious, merciful Lord, we praise you for the kindness and tender
heartedness you have shown your people. We thank you for fully
saving them from their sins by the blood of Jesus Christ. We
thank you that you have made us to realize there's nothing
in us or about us that can contribute to that wondrous work. It was
accomplished before we were ever born, outside of every human
help, that our Savior died in the room
instead of His people, and fixed it so they'd never
die, that they'd never be charged with sin, that never be condemned. We praise you for that. Pray
for our brother Fred. Pray that you would be merciful
to him in this situation. You know our hearts agreed with
this news. We know also that you're on the throne and all
things happen for your children according to your good will,
for their good and for your glory. Father, where we don't understand,
cause us in our hearts to bow in thanksgiving, knowing And
it's you who rule this world. And you do it on behalf of your
children and for the glory of your name's sake. We pray for
Brother Fred. Our hearts desire he be healed.
You know our hearts. We know also that you're God
and we do bow to you. Help us, Lord, to remember each
other in prayer Help us to pray for the sick and the needy, to
remember those who are shut-ins and can't make it. Pray for those
who are away from us for whatever reason. Pray you'd bring them
safely home to us. And help us now, Lord, as we
look at your word to worship you in spirit and in truth. We
pray in Christ's precious name and for his glory alone. Amen. Now, the 21st through the 23rd
chapter of this book, are composed of a series of various
and sundry laws that deal with proportional dealings for transgressions,
whether they're intentional or unintentional, and mostly not
lend themselves to expositional study, but rather are plain and
simple solutions to certain infractions that occur. Now would that you
might peruse these chapters and see the subject addressed and
the punishments and recompenses therein for yourselves. You'll
find that the punishments and fines and such are just and they
are balanced. And it's the punishment fits
the crime or the infraction in every case. There was one verse
that has been the cause of the demise of many women throughout
the ages in this particular series of chapters. In chapter 22, in
verse 18, it says, Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. Now
a witch is an enhancer or a sorceress. That was used in the Salem witch
trials to kill the witches in Salem, Massachusetts. Thou shalt
not suffer a witch to live. And this was used greatly during
the dark ages and by the Roman church. And one of the ways that
was employed to discover a witch was a sure bet of discovering
a witch. A woman suspected or accused
of witchcraft was taken to a river. She was tied to a large stone
and cast into the water. If she sank and drowned, she
was declared not to be a witch. If she surfaced, she was declared
to be a witch and summarily burned to stake. Innocent or guilty, she was a
goner and assured the multitude that even if they were not sure
or wrong, the case had been settled permanently regardless of the
situation. The concept of pure religion
is found in this passage of Scripture in chapter 22 and verse 22. It says this, He shall not afflict
any widow or fatherless child. This is a constant account throughout
Scripture and is set as such in the Word of God. James chapter
1 and verse 27. Pure religion is to care for
the fatherless and the widows and keep yourself unspotted from
the world. As we have seen in our studies
in Numbers and Deuteronomy, this theme is constant in Scripture. God cares for widows In orphans,
the widows and the fatherless hold a special place in the father's
heart because he even says, as I said in the book of James,
which is in the New Testament, this is pure religion. James
1, 27. This is pure religion. That means
undefiled religion that you take care of the widows and the fatherless. Also, an oft-repeated theme is
present in these three chapters, and has been and will be repeated
throughout the history of this nation as we're studying in Jeremiah,
which is in the last days of Israel before they have it captured
and the Temple is burnt down and Jerusalem is destroyed. The
theme is singular. It was first saw at Sinai when
the law was given. The theme is forbidden idolatry.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. And this prohibition
has been constant, and it is in this passage of Scripture
in chapter 22 and verse 20. It says, He that sacrifice unto
any god save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly Destroy in
chapter 23 in verse 13. It says in all things that I
have said unto you be circumspect That means walk apart from this
world and make no mention of the name of other gods Neither
let it be heard out of thy mouth then in verse 24 thou shalt not
bow down to their gods Nor serve them nor add do after their works,
but thou shalt utterly overthrow them and quite break down and
their images. Then in verses 32 and 33 of that
chapter, it says, Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor
with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land,
lest they make thee sin against me. For if thou serve their gods,
there will surely be a snare unto thee. So that theme is continually
repeated. We've seen it repeated throughout
our study in the Old Testament. The book of Deuteronomy is full
of the warnings of the people as they get ready to cross the
Jordan and go to the Promised Land, not to mess with their
gods. Anytime that takes place, it
always ends up bad for the child of God. It always does in Scripture.
Solomon had many wives and many concubines, but he married pagans,
and those who worshiped strange gods, in the end, he allowed
those gods to be brought into the Temple and to be worshiped
alongside the God of Heaven. solemn and the wisest of all
human beings that happened to him. So the theme of prohibition
of idolatry is throughout the scripture. But I want us to draw
your attention tonight to verses 20 through 25, which I read to
you in chapter 23. This is the illumination of a
character introduced back in chapter 14 and verse 19, just
before our Lord delivered His people out of bondage. Chapter 14 verse 19 he said this
and the angel of God which went before the camp of Israel Removed
and went behind them. There's the angel of God mentioned
and the pillar of the cloud went before them and stood before
them." Now this is mentioned here and is connected with the
cloud and the fire pillar which protected Israel in the deliverance
from Egypt. Now the Angel of God signified
one person, and that is the Lord God, the Lord Jesus Christ. The
cloud pictured Him as blotting out our transgressions, as it
says in Isaiah, as a dark and great cloud. And the fire pillar
pictured Him as the light of the world. And each of these
things is an aspect of the salvation that He brought on Calvary Street.
This angel again is mentioned in chapter 33 when Moses says
to the Lord, If You won't go with us, I don't want to go.
He says, If You won't go with us into this promised land, don't
take me there. okay they're actually in the
beginning of the jury it over in that chapter uh... thirty-three
inverse to its is this this is and i will send an angel before
the and i'll drive out the canine amirite hittite pezzerite and
hivite now that lines up with uh... with the verse uh... i
think it's verse twenty three yeah, in chapter 23, where it
says, mine angel will go before thee, and bring thee into the
Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, and the Hivites,
and the Jebusites, and I will cut them off. So that's that,
and then in chapter 33, verse 14, here Moses is pleading with
the Lord, and he says this, and he says, now therefore, or verse
12 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 send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee
by name, and thou hast found grace in my sight. Now therefore
I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now
thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy
sight, and consider that this nation is thy people. And the
Lord said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give
thee rest, I will give thee rest. And he said unto them, If thy
presence go not with me, carry us not hence. He said, My presence.
So that is where the title, one of the titles of the Lord in
Scripture is the Angel of His Presence. It is a representative
of the Lord Jesus Christ being present with His people. Verse
14 reveals who the Angel is. He is God's presence with His
people. Before and after the people he
runs, he's a forerunner to go in before them, he follows behind,
he's the reward. One designation of the Lord Jesus
Christ is that designation. Thus we find in the passage,
chapter 23, the word ANGEL is different than the other times
we read it, we just looked at. The word ANGEL is capitalized.
It's capitalized. It says in verse 20, Behold I
send an ANGEL An angel, what does that mean? What does that
signify? That this angel is particular and it's the only way he's described
throughout scripture. This signifies that he's not
a created being like all the other angels. In fact, he alone
is the creator of all the angels. That's talking about the Lord
Jesus Christ and that's how he's described throughout scripture
as the creator. Sometimes people think that Jesus
Christ is somehow diminished in character. He's God. And He
is the Creator God. Let's look at a few references
to that in Scripture. John Chapter 1. John Chapter 1. Which begins in the beginning
with the Word. The Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God. And that speaks of the Lord Jesus
Christ being the Light of the world. The Light that lighteth
all men that come into the world. In John Chapter 1. In verses
1-3 it says, Then the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not
anything made that was made. That is Jesus Christ the Creator
over in Colossians chapter 1. The same type of language is
used to describe Him. In Colossians chapter 1 In verse 12 it says, It is giving
thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet, or suitable
to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated
us into the kingdom of his dear Son. Now the rest is a description
of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood,
even the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn of every creature, for by Him that is by Jesus Christ
by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are
in earth visible and invisible whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers all things were created by Him and
for Him all things were created by Him and for him. Angel, what does that word mean?
That word means messenger. That is the basic meaning of
the word angel, is a messenger. So an angel is a messenger of
God, and this one is a unique messenger of God. Turn over to
Malachi, the last book in the Bible. It talks about this messenger
of God coming into his temple Malachi chapter 3, it says, Behold,
I will send my messenger, now that first speaks of John the
Baptist, and he shall prepare the way before me, and the Lord
whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger
of the covenant. Now what covenant is he talking
about? They have already been in the Old Covenant since Sinai. This is the last book in the
Bible, and after this book God is not going to speak for 400
years. He is talking about the New Covenant. The messenger of
the New Covenant, whom ye delight in. Behold, he shall come, saith
the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of
his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth?
For he is like a refiner's fire. You know, a refiner's fire is
that which melts the ore, and it becomes liquefied, and then
the dross, the ore begins to shake under the heat, and the
dross rises to the top, and the dross is taken off the top, and
you have the pure gold. That's what a refiner's fire
does. And the fuller's soap, the fuller
is a bleacher, a person who works with clothing to make their clothes
white. When He described the robes of Jesus Christ on the
Mount of Transfiguration, He says His robes were whiter than
any fuller could make, whiter than the driven snow. Now, what shall this one do as
He comes? He says, He shall SIT. as a refiner and purifier of
silver. And he shall purify the sons
of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer
an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah
and Jerusalem be pleasant to the Lord, as in the days of old,
and in the former years. Now we know that's talking, when
he talks about the sons of Levi in the Old Testament, he's talking
about the priesthood in the New Testament. Sons of Levi were
priests. they couldn't own land, they
didn't own property, they were supported through the people,
through the offerings made to the church, or to the temple,
and that was the only job they had. They took care of the temple.
In the New Testament, the Levitical priesthood, the Old Testament
pictures the church in the New Testament, and that's what Peter
said, they're a royal priesthood and a holy generation to offer
what? gifts acceptable to God by the Lord Jesus Christ, the
same kind of language that is used here. This is the one who
comes into the temple as a refiner of fire to cleanse his priests
of the church. This was typically expressed
when our Lord entered the temple and found the money changers
there in the early days of His ministry. They had turned His
Father's house of prayer into a den of thieves. And he plaited
a whip of cords, and sent the thieving felons packing, and
ran them out of the temple. This cleansing was fully realized,
however, on Calvary's tree, when his entire holy temple was cleansed
of all sin. The cleansing wave, I see, I
see. I plunge, and oh, it cleanseth
me. The blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin. And here in
our chapter 23, back in chapter 3, God refers to Christ as His.
My messenger and his presence in the midst of his people is
profound. He will keep his people in the way. That's language that's
used throughout the New Testament. Historically, this refers to
the way through the wilderness, that 40-year journey that will
go on before they reach Canaan. But spiritually, it refers to
Christ. Because He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life,
and no man comes to the Father but by me. And He's the one who
will bring us to the heavenly promised land, to Emmanuel's
land, forever and ever. That way is important. You remember
when Adam sinned and was cast out of the Garden of Eden, sent
out of the Garden of Eden. He was sent out with the gospel.
But at the east of Eden, our Lord put up an altar. And on
that altar was two cherubs facing each other, just like the Ark
of the Covenant. And between them was what was called a flaming
sword, but actually the word there is shaken, which is the
kind of glory of God. Now, it was put there, and that's
where Abel offered his sacrifice. That's where Cain brought his
sacrifice, but only the blood sacrifice was accepted and respected
by God. But that altar was put there,
it says, to keep the way of the tree of life. Over in John 14,
one person even asked the Lord, how can we know the way? Look
over at John 14. Remember, our Lord said that
His angel would go to a place that He had prepared for them.
The same kind of language used by our Lord Jesus Christ in John
14. When He says, ìLet not your heart
be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Fatherís
house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you, ìI go to prepare a place for you.î And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself,
that where I am, there you may be also.î And then the question
arises, ìWell, how are we going to know how to get there?î And
whether I go, you know, and the way you know. And Thomas, the
one who doubted, said unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou
goest, and how can we know the way? And Jesus said, I am the
way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh to the Father but
by me. I am the way. I go to prepare
a place for you, and I'm the way to that place. He's the way. The people are
also told by the Lord to beware of this angel. Verse 21 back
in our text, Beware of him and obey his voice. Provoke him not,
for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my name is in him. What does this word beware mean?
It means to heed. How many times did our Lord tell
his disciples and those who heard him, Take heed what you hear. Take heed how you hear. These
are the things. Take heed. This means listen
to Him. Remember what our Lord said on
the Mount of Transfiguration? When Peter was going to erect
those three different temples, one to the prophets and one to
the law and one to Jesus, our Lord said, this is my beloved
son in whom I am most pleased." You hear him, same type of language,
Deuteronomy 18, when he talked about that prophet that was to
come, you hear him. If you won't hear what he says,
because he speaks my words, if you won't hear what he says,
you'll have to deal with me. Peter repeated that, speaking of the
Lord Jesus Christ in Acts chapter 2 at the message at Pentecost. Heed what he says. Why? because His words are the words
of God. His words, it says in John 6.63,
are the Spirit. His words are Spirit and they
are life. Words being life. How can that be? Only by the
grace and wonder and miraculous work of God Almighty to take
this Word which is called a seed and plant it in your heart and
bring forth fruit. That is the only way that happens.
Thy Word is called the Word of life. He is to be obeyed because
this angel is LORD and KING. And when He says something, it
is not an offer or a request. The KING does not request things.
The KING says this is what is going to be done, and that is
what is done. He is the KING. God has given Him authority over
all flesh to give eternal life to as many as He has given Him.
And it says He will not pardon your transgression. To whom does
that belong? heartening transgression, forgiving
sin. Forgiving sin is the sole prerogative
of God Almighty. In fact, the Pharisees jumped
on the Lord Jesus Christ in Mark Chapter 2 and said, You are blaspheming
because you have forgiven this man's sin. No man can forgive
sins but God. Of course, they did not know
they were talking to God. The prerogative to forgive sins
belongs to the Lord. I will have mercy on whom I will
have mercy, I will be gracious unto whom I will be gracious,
and whom I will I will harden, that is, solely. Yet he says,
You listen to this angel, which is another picture, another statement,
this angel is Jesus Christ the Lord, the forgiver of sins. Secondly,
God declares that he is to be obeyed because God has put his
name in him. put his name in it. This means
that God's reputation and glory is invested in this angel. That
word name means reputation and glory. So God's glory and his
reputation is fixed up and bound up in the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is the language of Scripture also. John chapter 3 and verse
35, here are the words of John the Baptist talking about the Lord Jesus
Christ. It says in John chapter 3 verse 35, ìThe Father loveth
the Son, and hath given ALL THINGS into His hands.î Has given ALL
THINGS into His hands. I like the old Scott Richardson
said, ìGod has put all His eggs in one basket.î And they are! And that basket has a NAME! He
is the ANGEL of GOD! He is the LORD JESUS Christ. He says in John chapter 17 and
verse 3, As thou hast given him authority over all flesh, so
all flesh is under his authority, given him authority over all
flesh, that he might give eternal life to his many as thou hast
given him. In Matthew chapter 11, same kind of language, our Lord
speaks Matthew chapter 11 and verse
27 says, All things are delivered unto me of my Father, and no
man knoweth the Son, but the Father, neither knoweth any man
the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will
reveal Him. And in Colossians chapter 1 says
that He will have preeminence in all things, for all fullness
is in Him. all fullness is in Him. So when
He talks about BEWARING OF HIM, because God's NAME is in Him,
that means God's GLORY, God's REPUTATION as a JUST GOD and
a SAVIOR is tied up COMPLETELY in the PERSON and the WORK of
the Lord Jesus Christ. If He is obeyed, God said He
will fight for you against your enemies and against your adversaries.
What are our adversaries? Our adversaries are sin, and
Satan's self, and the ordinances that are contrary to us. And
He has defeated them all, taken them out of the way, and nailed
them to the cross. That's what He says in Colossians 2, verses
15 through 17. Those ordinances that were against
us, He has taken them out of the way, and nailed them to His
cross, and ended them. And if you serve the Lord, it
says, He will bless their bread and their water. Both of those
are references to the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the bread from heaven
and He's the water of life. It says, He will take sickness
from thee. That's a promise He made back
in Exodus chapter 15, just after their deliverance. And Exodus
chapter 15 and verse 16, excuse me, verse 26. He says,
And I said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord
thy God, and wilt do that which is right in thy sight, and wilt
give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I
will put none of these diseases that was in Egypt upon thee,
which I have brought upon Egypt. For I am the Lord that healeth
thee. I am the Lord that healeth thee. In Psalm 103, that great Psalm
of David, that old saint, he said, Blessed be, let's read
it. Psalm 103. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord,
O my soul, forget not all his benefits. What are his benefits?
Who forgiveth all thy iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases.
He may not heal them while you're here, but he'll heal them. I told you the story of old Charlie
Payne years ago, had a heart attack, had open heart surgery,
and it went wrong. Got some type of staph infection
or MRSA or something in that incision, and it was killing
him. And Henry Mahan went to see him hard. Charlie was a member
of Henry's church. Henry says, how you doing, Charlie?
And Charlie says, well, I'm going to get better, or I'm going to
get plum better. Better, I'm going to get plum,
but someday we'll be plum better. will be plumbed. It may not be
better here on earth, but our souls are saved and our sins
are forgiven and we're headed for glory. One day we'll be in
a place where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no tears, nothing
but joy and peace in Jesus Christ if you obey His voice. If you
obey His voice, He said, there'll be no sickness there. What is
it to obey His voice? What is it to obey this angel?
If you obey, it's the gospel you obey. That's what Paul said
in Romans chapter 10. They have not all obeyed the
gospel. For faith comes by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God. How does a person have faith?
It's a gift of God. By grace you are saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It's a gift of God, not of works
lest any man should boast. If you obeyed, thank God that
you obeyed, because that's why you obeyed. You obeyed because
God caused you to obey. Look over at Romans, Chapter
6. Romans, Chapter 6, Verse 17 says,
But God be thanked. So, whatever follows, this is
what you thank God for. But God be thanked that you were
the servants of sin, but have obeyed from the heart that form
of doctrine which was delivered you. What is that form of doctrine?
It is the doctrine of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of Christ, which
we are to abide in, and we have obeyed it. Why? Because we believed.
How did we do it? God had given us faith to do
it. If you obey, it is His obedience
that was the cause of it. He was obedient even to the death
of the cross, and this is the mind that is to be in you, to
bring all things to the obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ. This
is the angel of the covenant. This is our Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Father, bless us to understand
Him. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. All right. I sent it to you, didn't you
get it? Uh-oh. Sorry about that.