Well, we have been working through the Ten Commandments and have, maybe we forgot that we were working through the book of Exodus, actually, and as we looked at last time the Tenth Commandment, tonight now we begin again looking at everything that surrounded this as we continue our study through the book of Exodus. Tonight we read verses 18 to the end of the chapter. This is the word of the Lord beginning at verse 18, Exodus chapter 20, beginning at verse 18. Now, when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled and they stood far off and said to Moses, you speak to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us lest we die. Moses said to the people, do not fear for God has come to test you that the fear of him may be before you that you may not sin the people stood far off while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was and the Lord said to Moses thus you shall say to the people of Israel you have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven you shall not make gods of silver to be with me nor should you make for yourselves gods of gold an altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings your sheep and your oxen and every place where i cause my name to be remembered i will come to you and bless you if you make me an altar of stone you shall not build it of hewn stones for if you will weld your tool wield your tool on it you profane it and you shall not go up by steps to my altar that your nakedness be not exposed on it may the lord bless the hearing of his word tonight well the author of the book of hebrews makes the case to us and says so plainly that we live and this was prophesied in jeremiah and the great promise that we live in one of the most glorious times uh to live in the days of the new covenant because he said clearly there and in hebrews 8 that god will remember your sins no more that's a wonderful statement but i'm not sure we appreciate what in light of that since we're so used to hearing that and have that read as an assurance of pardon i'm not so sure that we appreciate uh exactly what it was like for israel to receive the law of god when it was originally given to them uh at sinai and this chain of events from chapters 19 uh to 24 here with the giving of the law and all the way here Actually, you'll see as we move into 32 and 33 and 34, the gold in the calf event. We come together on Sunday, and I will read the law. And most of us sit very comfortably. Wilhelmina mints are out. We're hearing and reading the law with mints in our mouth. Am I presumptuous to say that sometimes we're slouching and may be a little careless in listening to the law of God? I wonder if we really have heard the law. Paul asked that question in the book of Galatians where he said, do you who want to be under the law, are you listening to the law? Are you hearing the law of God? What we have before us tonight is the reception of the law on Israel's part and they had to face that voice when they entered into that covenant there in chapter 19 in Sinai and they promised to keep everything and this particular section tonight in exodus chapter 20 especially what sort of surrounds the the ten commandments as we have studied them it comes as a kind of test to us to see how wonderful the new covenant is as hebrews says with a better mediator and better promises a better mediator and better promises we never want to fall excuse me into the mistake of thinking that it is by our observance of the law of god that there is acceptance with him now i know that you've heard that all throughout the course of your life. It's not what your hands have done. It's not by your law keeping. You've heard that all your life, but I'm hoping tonight that that simple basic truth of Christianity, that simple basic truth of the gospel message that we preach has a greater effect in your hearts to turn you to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's my simple goal tonight in looking at what happened here in Exodus chapter 20. And you're going to see that tonight in Israel's cry of fear. Three things. Israel's cry of fear, their distance in worship, and the test that is given to them of obedience. Really important tonight that we see this here. Their cry of fear, their distance in worship, and the test of obedience. We just completed our study of the Ten Commandments, and we have to understand what it was like when Israel received the law of God. Nobody was casually laughing. Nobody was sitting there. It was not a casual event by any means. Moses, remember, later would carry the tablets down. But the Spirit specifically inspired the order to put the 10 words right here to teach us something about the whole arrangement and about the whole feel of the event of receiving the law of god we tend to separate these chapters but there is a big unit here and i want to just a minute capture again the scene so you understand exactly what's happening as we have inspired before us these 10 words or the 10 commandments as we call them the lord of course had delivered them from egypt and all along the way they had been testing him remember uh it really has been remarkable the first 1 through 18 of exodus all we've seen is grace and grace and more grace and help in time of need provision for them manna from heaven long suffering even though israel had been terribly ungrateful the one thing that we never saw from israel in all of these chapters not once was the thing the psalms constantly cry out and show us that of what god loves a broken and a contrite heart. Never once have we seen that. I've not seen one incident of them bowing the knee and confessing their sins to the Lord. After all this grace, no gratitude. But as soon as they got to Sinai, things got a little bit more serious, didn't they? The Lord comes down and here through his servant Moses sets up an arrangement if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant then you shall be a special people to me Israel hears the terms of that and they say in verse 8 as they received it okay all the words of this law we will do of this covenant and immediately after this, what happens? Bounds are put up. The Lord says, get ready then. In three days, I'm coming. Bounds are put up around the mountain. No one's allowed, even with a finger, to touch the mountain. They're not even allowed to touch any part of the mountain that begins to ascend. Moses sets up archers and arrows would be shot if anyone even came close to touching the mountain. And then in three days, the Lord, of course, had come and descended upon the whole thing in a fire theophany. It was one grand, glorious event. The entire mountain was engulfed in fire. Everything went black. A dark, ominous black cloud hovers over Sinai, and you see nothing but lightning torches and fire. It's a fire column. The smoke of a furnace is what it was like. The mountain essentially is on fire and the lightnings are flashing everywhere. Add to this that the trumpet begins to sound. And it gets louder and it gets louder to the point where they could barely handle and stand the strength of it. And it begins to thunder with a thunder that they had never heard before in their lives. A thunder that so shook everything, there were major earthquakes and thunderings under their feet. The fire, of course, putting on display the utter brilliance and holiness of God. The thunder and earthquake showing His undisputed power. The dark cloud covering Him like a garment as we read in the Psalms so that no one could see Him lest they die. It had to be there. What do you think Israel did at this moment? Well, we read in verse 16 before we have the ten words handed to us that they trembled. this must have been some event look at verse 18 now couched between this as two bookends we read the law but we never rarely we do we read what came after in verse 18 we read now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of a trumpet in the mountain smoking the people were afraid and trembled and they stood far off this was a giant cosmic pillar blackness smoke and earthquakes at the very entire time god had descended down upon sinai it was utterly terrifying now the first thing that you say and the first thing that we want to consider tonight is that the law of god itself was a receiving of it was a frightening event sometimes i think we miss this about the law god was doing far more than this is often said and preach that he's just giving them rules for covenantal obedience i hear that a lot as his people no no there's something much bigger going on here and the new testament bears that out but this is the very problem that we often deal with in the christian life this is the way that people look at christianity that christianity is a series of rules that if we do well we'll be accepted by god and if we don't we won't and so people look at us and they think well i could never be a part of that group because those are the people who must really be keeping the law of god and they're good people let me say our clothes don't really tell the story there's a lot of bad stuff in the heart but that's been the mindset in christianity hasn't it you know that even in the in the medieval church there was a well-known sort of axioms made that it went like this god will not deny his grace to those who do what they can it's a common statement and that's spilled over into an entire system of belief that teaches and think about this this is common among us teaches that if we fulfill our side of the covenant we will be blessed i've read that statement in our documents. If we fulfill our side of the covenant, the fundamental problem here is the confusion of what has just happened here on Sinai in comparison to what happened with Abraham. And I'm going to show you this tonight. Abraham was asleep when the covenant was cut. God split pieces. God had Abraham cut the pieces and god passed through those pieces but then we have this arrangement here and god hands israel the law and it doesn't promise any help to them they're the ones swearing the oath saying we'll do it so the law gave no hope the law gave no grace the law gave no leeway the law gave no room for failure that's the issue we have to deal with They didn't give it. So when God came down and spoke these words, He was saying, this is the standard that you shall keep if you are to remain in the land. If not, you're going to be cut off from the earth. And if you want to see how this went for Israel, just trace their history. Trace what happened to the northern and southern kingdom. It should be evident. And this is how the New Testament comes to us and explains the whole giving of the law. This is what Paul said again to sort of set this afresh in our mind. Tell me you who desire to be under the law. Do you not hear the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bond woman and the other by the free woman. But he who was of the bond woman was born according to the flesh and he of the free woman through the promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants, the one from Mount Sinai, which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar. For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the Jerusalem that now is and is in bondage with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. And Paul was saying here, do you understand what the law required? It required obedience. And Paul will go on to say, listen, for as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse, for it is written, cursed is everyone who does not continue to do all things written in the book of the law and do them well that's the arrangement that's what they said we'll do all of them god says curse it if you don't so now we're sort of to getting to the the purpose here of the law as it was given on sinai where paul says well why what why did the god do this why did god give the law on sinai he says it was added because of transgressions because people weren't seeing their sin. People didn't know sin, this Israel, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made. And it was appointed through angels by the hands of a mediator. I'm going to get there in a minute. So here's the scene in Exodus 20. God comes down with heavenly artillery. And when He spoke on earth, the full force of the condemning power of the law was felt by Israel. That's what you're picking up here. They're feeling it. By the law comes the knowledge of sin. All of a sudden, confronted with the holiness of God, something begins to happen in Israel. What is it? Something we haven't seen. They start to panic. They start to fear. And they start to request a mediator. It's really a remarkable moment here. a mediator is is um is somebody who bridges the gap he bears the message and comes as god's spokesman because the people are unable here to receive even the voice of the lord so so look at verse 19 tonight and exactly what happens and they said to moses you speak to us and we will listen but do not let god speak to us lest we die the question at this point would have been for me and should be for us did you remember you just promised to keep everything to him and now you're saying don't even let him give any words to us this is remarkable what would moses mediate moses and this is born out in the new testament too would be one through whom god spoke and worked But the ultimate problem was, as it was endured for a time, Moses only mediated the law. In Hebrews 12, we read about Israel's experience on the mountain when the law was given and what it was like, and he describes it for us. He says, listen, for you have not come to the mountain that may be touched, that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore and this is this for they could not endure what was commanded they could not endure the commands they couldn't even endure listening to them and so if so much as a beast touched the mountain it was to be stoned or shot with an arrow so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, Moses, I'm afraid and I am exceedingly trembling. And then Hebrews will go on and say, so don't refuse him who speaks to you. For if they did not escape who refused him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth, But now he has promised, saying, yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven. And it's that last phrase that is really providing a contrast here where he is, the author of Hebrews, comparing the Sinai event with the end of the world. And he's saying, as the Lord descended on Sinai, and there these people stood before him with the law put in front of them, just as God spoke that law, everyone trembled, everyone begged that they couldn't even, And they confess, we can't endure the commands. Hebrews is comparing that event to the end of the world. So terrifying will it be at the end of the world. It's saying, listen then to the mediator of the new covenant who's speaking to you. That's the beauty of this. In other words, none of us want to ever relate to God on the basis of the performance of our works in law keeping. You're seeing what the experience would be like. you're seeing what you're going to have to face you're seeing what the end of the world will be like right here that's why hebrews says there's nothing then if that's the way we relate to god there's nothing but a fearful expectation of judgment which devours the adversaries i read joseph seiss which i found very interesting in his book on the types the law given from the mountain is a minister of death it's holy just and good but its whole aspect is dark and curious threatening and destructive to every offender the gospel is equally uncompromising with sin and in like manner presents death as the just penalty of disobedience and holds up blood as the only extinguisher of transgression but at the same time it's a system of divine mercy in which Yahweh comes down from the mountain of his wrath think of this morning to make friends with repenting sinners over the blood of the sacrifice it brings glad tidings and publishes peace peace is not being published here peace is not on sinai now the author of hebrews then goes on pastorally and says that we should think about the voice that speaks to us today the mediator that god has sent to give us lasting peace through his indestructible life for those who believe and that's why he says we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens. Jesus, the Son of God, mediator of the new covenant. Through him we have access. He removes the dread and then there's one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ. His indestructible life, says Hebrews, is the answer. Now, I draw all those connections together tonight to now put us in the scene here to see what the intention was of God. the intention was to lead them to christ that's why we had abraham that's why that covenant was given that's what the bible is doing for us with the nation of israel it's using them as a teaching tool as a tutor to bring us to jesus and that should be appreciated by one little phrase tonight in the text that should make you all stop and ponder strongly tonight what he's saying to you Did you catch it in verse 21? The people stood afar off. That is a powerful little statement. A natural tear had so come over them, they kept their distance miles away. They didn't want to be close. They did not want to get close to this. They couldn't get close to the Lord. In fact, that's the sort of story of the Old Testament bearing out the question who can stand before the Lord, this holy God, and how God would make a provision for them to come. That's what the Old Testament is teaching us about the types and the shadows and about the tabernacle which we're about to study, which had a series of courts and veils to keep people out of the most holy place. All of that was teaching us about the holiness of the Lord, that he is a consuming fire and that no one can come into his presence. So the contrast then is made when Jesus was saying, we're not coming to mountains anymore. I want worshipers that worship in spirit and in truth. And the writers are coming and saying to us, listen, now you who were far off, Ephesians 2, have been brought near by the blood of Jesus. I read for the call to worship, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain that is through His flesh. Since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near. You get to come. You're in His presence. You're before the face of God. That leads us to what I want to focus on tonight to really drive home what's happening here. The giving of the law came as a form of a test for Israel in their obedience. Notice it. The key to this tonight is something Moses told them in verse 20 where he says to them, Do not fear, for God has come to test you that the fear of Him may be before you that you may not sin. The people stood far off. God has come to test you, to give His law to you, that you may not sin to which you say huh they've already been through a series of tests remember he kept saying he was testing them along the way he tested them at the waters of mara they sinned he tested them with the manna in the wilderness in chapter 16 they sinned he tested them and actually they put him to the test in chapter 17 sinning and now he thrusts down on them the full weight of the law of God, saying, I'm testing you to see whether or not you will sin. How do you think it went? It's not hard to figure out. I mean, you know your own hearts, don't you? Well, look at verse 22. I believe this is the test. Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, you've seen that I've talked with you from heaven. You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves. gods of gold an altar of the earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings your sheep and your oxen and every place where i cause my name to be remembered i will come to you and bless you if you make me an altar of stone you shall not build it of hewn stone for if you wield your tool on it you profane it and you shall not go up by steps to my altar that your nakedness may not be exposed on it god says i want this is this is powerful i want an altar made of earth. I want rough stones put around it. I don't want one rather than one that's made with all these beautiful elaborate tools. I don't want that. And what we have here is God really provoking them in a good way, actually inciting them and having them think about their pagan paths. I don't want the altars to look like what you were doing in Egypt. I don't want the Canaanite altars of which you're going to be seeing in Mesopotamian altars that were large big beautiful blocks of stone they were like the step pyramids of Egypt where altars were placed and and and Israel used to do this stuff and then they would do all sorts of sexually immoral practices around their sacrifice remember so the Lord says I want simple worship in this test i want nothing outwardly elaborate and i want you satisfied with something here's what it is here's the heart of the test what would go on the altar the test came as to whether they would see their sin and trust in the provision that god would make for them and put on the altar what would what did god want on the altar well two kinds of sacrifices are mentioned here right up front that would really undergird the whole sacrificial system what are they the burn offering and the fellowship offering the whole burn offering a sacrifice of atonement because it meant that atonement made by blood for sin of the purest and the cleanest of creatures so this perfect clean animal would be put on the altar a plain altar not like the other altars and then that object would be sliced in pieces on the altar remember? Leviticus bears this out burned you ever thought that when you came into worship in the Old Testament it was an absolute bloody mess blood was everywhere and God was teaching them you don't want to ever have to face this yourself my judgment because of your sins so I'm making a provision a smoke would then rise and appease him sounds a lot like what God was showing Abraham because it specifically said it was to be cut in pieces it's leviticus and as those animals were cut in pieces who passed through in abraham's day god the peace offering reminded people they were no longer separate from god the fat was burned the offering to god the people enjoyed a meal together celebrating what grace so this is the test would they stay there or would they turn and worship like the pagans it's a test so god commands these two offerings right after the giving of the law as part of the law and you stop and you say uh you see his desire for mercy and grace here you see his desire for gospel he desires mercy he makes a provision it declared that they needed and the provision was made we see the covenant of grace running here a perfect lamb was being provided we see it all subservient to the covenant of grace a lamb was provided without spot so what the passover celebrated he was calling them to faith in christ even then this is what abraham believed abraham rejoiced to see jesus's day and he saw it and he was glad if father abraham saw jesus israel should have seen jesus i don't want step pyramids i don't want pagan festivals in my worship i don't want nakedness and sexual immorality i don't want what you're doing to resemble the pagans because this is about a sacrifice that you need and it's a holy sacrifice to the lord i'm providing a sacrifice of atonement for you i can't help it for a minute just say you know who this is the new testament says listen listen listen to hebrews again we have an altar we have an altar from which those who serve at the tabernacle have no right to eat for the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned outside the camp therefore jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood suffered outside the gate therefore let us go forth to him outside the camp bearing his reproach jesus is your altar jesus is the sacrifice jesus is the offering that's what the cross event is this is what history was all looking to so the old testament was all proclaiming and he's the one that's given us a peace offering he has brought and reconciled god and man so that we can now sit at the table and commune with him in peace and in joy of the holy spirit here's the test your way or christ that's the test how'd they do beloved we're not even off the mountain yet we're not even moved on yet and i'll just read it for coming attractions now when the people saw that moses delayed coming down from the mountain the people gathered together to Aaron and said to him come make us gods that shall go before us for as for this Moses the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt we don't know what's become of him that's your mediator by the way of the old we've dumped him which means we've dumped God and Aaron said break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives your sons and your daughters and bring them to me so the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a molded calf. Then they said, This is your God, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt. When Aaron saw it, ready, he built an altar for it. Did Israel pass the test? And Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow's a feast to the Lord. Then they rose early on the next day offered burnt offerings. I mean, this is unbelievable. The burnt offerings are being offered to the golden calf instead of Jesus, right? Instead of proclaiming Him. And they brought peace offerings. So there's a direct tie here. The test is given. Burnt offerings, peace offerings. Golden calf event. Burnt offerings, peace offerings. And they set their golden calf on an altar they made hewn out of beautiful stone. And the people sat down to drink and they rose up to play. Totally sexual immorality. They trampled the altar. They trampled Christ. And this is why, by the way, we do want to be very careful in worship. See what we can do? They got naked. They indulged in sexual immorality. They did everything right out of the gates to break the Ten Commandments. All the words of this law, we will do. They refuse to listen to what was being said to them from heaven. Notice that here? The gospel was being proclaimed from heaven. If you want to hear Jesus' indictment to Israel, you don't need to go very far further than John 7. Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps it. That is a sweeping indictment. None of you keeps it. And you see, that's why the New Testament is saying Jesus is the mediator of a new and better covenant. He has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses. Because this covenant has better promises. His perfect obedience to the law is for you. You understand that tonight? His perfect obedience to the law is for you. And Him being put on the altar was the cross, is for you. And that's what worship is all about. He's the fulfillment of everything the Old Testament promised to you. And that means that tonight in coming to Him. You have genuine peace. Think of Hebrews again. I will remember the promise of the new covenant. Your sins, no more. The day of judgment that will shake heaven and earth again as was shook on Sinai that day cannot touch us. And I say tonight, just to close, that the intention of God in studying this, for all the discussion that goes on and the complexity of the covenants in this discussion, the intention is so clear. The intention of God in studying this is that we would drop our knees and not do as Israel did in thinking that we can achieve any of this by our moral lives by trying to establish our own righteousness. It's Christ for righteousness. Fix your eyes on the captain of your salvation. He was laid on the altar for you. This is the reason. He is the reason we worship. And He's the reason we get to draw near so that we can worship before the face of God in spirit and in truth as a Father who loves you and cares for you. And as you saw Jesus interceding for you this morning who will never leave you or forsake you. Let's thank Him tonight in worship. Gracious Heavenly Father, there's much to learn and obviously this is a great subject. So much the Scriptures talk about, but we see the plain meaning before us. And thank You that You care so diligently to instruct us in Your truth to lead us to the altar for we have an altar. And we have the whole offering in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ for us. May our worship then be in spirit and in truth. May we now live thankfully loving Your law and keeping it, drawing near to God in full assurance of faith with a clean conscience washed with pure water, worshiping God acceptably with reverence and awe for You are a consuming fire. Thank You for giving us access. And may this peace that we enjoy as we thought about Jesus coming off the mountain to us today as a friend and loving us and praying for us and dying for us excite us to go out into another week to live for Your glory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.